Day 3806

The weather was much better today. There was a slight chance of rain as we headed out on our morning walk, but we chose to ignore it. The park was surprisingly quiet this morning. People must be returning to work. It's amazing how quickly traffic has returned to normal levels. I don't know where everybody is going, but they're certainly going somewhere. It appears that Texas has decided the pandemic is over.

Those companies that make vinyl signs and banners bust be doing a booming business these days. Almost every store and restaurant in the neighborhood has a brand new banner saying that they're open again. I was kind of hoping that the empty highways and quiet skies would last a little longer. I understand the urgency of getting back to business though. So many small businesses are on the verge of going under. I'm sure that if I wasn't retired I would feel a lot more urgency about getting back to business myself. It takes an enormous about of work to make a small business successful. It still seems so unfair that the only winners in this whole situation appear to be huge companies like Walmart, Home Depot, and Amazon.

We took Dawn to look for a new collar today. Hey, even a dog can help support small business. Janet is convinced that short excursions will help Dawn overcome her fear of the car. Dawn seems excited to be going somewhere now, but she still doesn't like the car itself. We didn't find the perfect collar at the pet store, but the short trip gave us all something to do. I think Dawn would have preferred to go for ice cream again.

I took some letters to the post office this afternoon and was planning to get stamps while I was there. There was such a line at the counter that I quickly decided that I didn't need stamps after all. Ever since the pandemic started there have been lines at the post office. I don't get it. The grocery stores have all figured out how to make this work. Somehow the simple process of buying something at the post office has gotten way more complicated. I'm sure once the government gets involved everything becomes more complicated. I dread the day when I need to fly again. I have a feeling that going through the TSA line will be like getting a medical exam.

I keep wondering who got selected to cover the Demo-2 launch at Kennedy Space Center. Somebody is out there taking photos and making videos. I'm seeing lots of activity as the launch approaches, but I don't recognize many of the people making videos. I think NASA staff is doing a lot of the coverage themselves. At any rate, tomorrow is the big day. There seems to be a good chance that the launch will get rained out, but I'll be watching tomorrow afternoon anyway. I'm still disappointed that I couldn't be there in person.

I got Murphy up on the Dalmatian Rescue website today. At least I did something constructive. I'll probably be up on the roof again tomorrow. I'd much rather be at an observatory.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3196

I'm fascinated by the new quick and easy meals I've discovered. I never heard of Cadence Gourmet before, but I'm going to remember the name. Gourmet recipes using fresh, organic, locally sourced ingredients are flash frozen using liquid nitrogen so the ingredients maintain their texture, color, nutrients and flavor. The fish, meat, vegetables, and sauces are encapsulated in what can only be described as rock solid frozen eggs. Toss these weird looking nodules in a frying pan and fifteen minutes later you have an amazing meal that looks and tastes fantastic. Why didn't I discover this concept earlier? Flash freeing in nitrogen doesn't taste frozen at all. Portion sizes aren't a problem either. Each recipe is sold by the pound at a self-serve kiosk. Buy as much or as little as you want. It would have taken me forever to fix the Thai Green Curry Shrimp I had this evening. Piece of cake. This is a game changer for a lazy gourmet like me. Maybe I'll have the Chicken Tikka Masala tomorrow.

Dash has thrown me another curve. When he wakes up at night, he now has trouble standing. I have to be ready to help him off the bed, so he won't stumble and fall. I have to steady him as he regains his footing and hope that he doesn't poop before I can gently lead him out the back door. He's already fallen off the bed once or twice when I didn't wake up in time. I wish I could convince Dash to sleep  on the floor in a dog bed, but he is very stubborn. He doesn't want to wear his harness to bed either. It would be a lot easier to lift him on and off the bed using the handle on the harness. This is still a work in progress. Dot went through a period when she still wanted to sleep on the bed, even though it was no longer practical. She eventually learned that it was safer and more comfortable to sleep on the floor. Hopefully, Dash will learn this too.

The weather is improving. I saw a patch of blue sky today and the water dripping from the living room ceiling has finally stopped. Since there is still some standing water directly over where the leak is located, I'm not sure where this leak actually originates. Water tends to follow the path of least resistance, so the leak could be anywhere. I'll call the roofer tomorrow, but I'm not very optimistic.

One of the dogs Janet and I photographed recently has already been adopted. That's good news. I wish there was more good news. With a deteriorating house, an aging sick dog, and a crumbling business, good news is in short supply. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Maybe I'll see another Great Egret on our walk. Maybe Dash's poop will be firm. Maybe the stock market will rally. I'm certainly not going to watch the cable news channels. That would spoil everything.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2984

I saw a little patch of blue sky this afternoon. A lot of dog owners must have seen that same patch of blue, because there were more people walking their dogs in the park than I've seen all month. I noticed that there were no loose dogs today. Probably the people who are fond of letting their dogs run free aren't so fond of muddy dogs. Although we saw the sun for a while, the park is still pretty soggy.

I was surprised that the weather improved today, because we woke up to thunderstorms again. The rain quit as we were finishing breakfast, but it was still pretty foggy. It would have been a good morning to photograph ghostly sailboats, but Dash comes first. By the time we returned from our walk, the fog had already lifted and I was starting to see shadows on the ground.

I don't think it's time to celebrate yet. Thunderstorms are supposed to return on Tuesday. Hey, at this point I'll take what I can get. They say it's going to be a nice day tomorrow. I can't decide what to do about the roof. On one hand, it's probably better to leave the water up there until the rain finally quits for good. On the other hand, I've got an actual leak now, so removing the water is more of a priority. Getting rid of the water is a good thing, but I risk damaging the elastomer coating if I'm up on the roof in wet weather. My whole life is like this now. It's almost impossible to make a decision about anything.

I can't figure out why more people don't use the little app I use to bypass the checkout line at the grocery store. Whenever I get groceries on Saturday, I'm the only one in the store using this app. Everyone else is standing in long checkout lines. The app is free and saves a ton of time. What's not to like? I guess I should be glad that few people use this convenient app. If everybody chose to bypass the checkout line, the app would probably crash all the time and it would just irritate me.

Just as I was starting to get into watching the Olympics, it's over. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed watching curling. It's kind of a mash up of shuffleboard, billiards, and bowling. Since the curling competition is finished and here doesn't seem to be any more halfpipe or skating excitement, I found myself watching a Time/Life infomercial about music from the sixties this afternoon. I kept trying to guess the names of the bands before they showed them on the screen. Say what you will, but music from the sixties and seventies was still the best. I won't be buying the overpriced 9 CD set. I think I've already got all these tunes on vinyl in my storage warehouse.

Dash was much better today. I still don't know what triggers his periodic vestibular episodes, but I'm glad he is still able to fully recover from them. Vestibular disease seems to affect dogs differently. Some never recover from their initial seizure and others are more like Dash. He has had dozens of vestibular events, but has been able to bounce back from each of them. The blood clots in his heart have nothing to do with the vestibular disease. Dash's heart problems are a totally separate issue.

It's time to go to the gym again. I've been saying that I need to go more often for years now and yet I never do. It's ironic that my excuse is always that I don't have the time. I should have plenty of time. I don't do anything. I think I've become so good at doing nothing that it consumes my entire day.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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