Day 4229

I got a message from Patrick Air Force Base today saying that due to the increased threat from Covid, new protocols would be going into effect immediately. In a long list of new restrictions, one thing stood out to me: no more on base launch viewing. What a shame that things are going backwards. I was hoping to resume attending launches soon. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to hear that McDonald Observatory is reconsidering its plan to resume pre-Covid operations in September. Very little surprises me anymore. I'm beginning to think that this virus might be with us forever. People overestimate their ability to control things. Do you really think we can stop floods, wildfires, and deadly new diseases? We can't even control overpopulation which is causing many of these problems in the first place.

There is no point in being gloomy though. Dawn had a good day and I actually got quite a bit done. Maybe Dawn didn't lick her paws because she wasn't left alone today. I made sure to wait until Janet returned from grocery shopping before I went to the gym. We had a nice sunrise walk and are continuing to explore new locations in the park. Dawn seems curious and increasingly confident. When it was time for me to take her outside to pee around lunchtime, I didn't even need to put her on a leash. I just told her it was time to go pee and she followed me out to the back door. This may seem like a small thing, but it's been months since she has followed me on her own. Maybe Dawn is starting to like me.

I think the camera case foam inserts I ordered over a month ago are finally on their way. I thought I was dealing with a large organization, but apparently the company is just a single guy who cuts the foam to order. He wrote me today saying that he'd been sick lately and was way behind on orders. I was promised that my order would be in the mail tonight. I kind of feel bad now that I've been pestering this guy. Keeping a small business alive is never easy and I imagine that there isn't a lot of demand to refurbish old camera cases.

When I went to the gym this afternoon I was surprised to discover that half of the treadmills weren't working. I usually use the same treadmill, so I've never really paid much attention to all the others. Today someone else was using my regular treadmill, so I was going to use one of the many others on the floor. It took quite a while to find one that would work. What happened to the repairman who used to regularly service these machines. I used to see him frequently at the gym. Did the guy get Covid? Did he retire? People who make or fix things are in short supply these days. One by one, many of the craftsmen and repair people I used to depend on have simply disappeared.

I paid a bunch of July bills today and continue to be amazed at how much more expensive everything is getting. Inflation is real. Utility bills are higher. Insurance is higher. Not only are prices going up in stores, quantities are getting smaller. I've been using those blue Scott shop towels for years and the price has literally doubled. To add insult to injury, I noticed last week that the size of the rolls is smaller and they decreased the size of each sheet to maintain the same sheet count per roll. Who do these guys think they're fooling? When we started buying wet food for Dawn, we've noticed that many brands have smaller cans now. The cans were larger when we bought for Dot and Dash. The prices haven't come down though. The prices never come down.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I will have to buy some more party ice tomorrow because I still haven't gotten the ice maker in the refrigerator fixed. I haven't made a service appointment for my car either, or scheduled two upcoming doctor's appointments. I'd just as soon postpone everything this summer. The dentist did pin me down though. Got to go to the dentist next week.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2214

I couldn't figure out why it was so dark when we got up this morning. As soon as I went outside, I knew the answer. The world was enveloped in a heavy fog. I love foggy mornings, but the dogs were a bit confused when they couldn't see ten feet ahead of them. The fog lifted quickly, but it was pretty while it lasted. As soon as we finished walking Dot and Dash, I took a camera down to the lake and tried to capture some pictures of the sailboats. If I had arrived twenty minutes earlier, I would have gotten some great photos, but the fog was already dissipating. Story of my life. It's hard to combine nature photography with walking dogs. I took a few pictures anyway and headed back up the hill to fix my breakfast.

Dot was very slow this morning on her walk, so it surprised me that she did so well at her physical therapy session. She was able to stay on the underwater treadmill for the full eighteen minutes and we were able to include a couple of intervals where she was walking at a higher speed. There's no way to predict how Dot is going to react anymore. Every day is a new day. Some days she is strong and full of energy and other days she hardly leaves her bed. I've come to realize that she can poop at any time with very little warning. She still seems happy though and that's all that counts.

My missing UPS package arrived today. According to the UPS website, it was never missing at all. They just added an extra day to the delivery schedule and said it was still on time. I guess that's one way to handle things. There never was any explanation about how a package could arrive both yesterday and today, but at least it wasn't broken. If I were busier and didn't have OCD, I'd never notice that the FedEx and UPS websites aren't always accurate. I probably wouldn't even track my packages at all. I'm convinced that people who spend too much time tracking things don't have enough on their plate. I track everything, but when I'm busy I can go for days without checking my UP fitness band or Apple Watch. When I'm not busy, I check these things all the time.

I don't know what's happening with my joints. I've had problems with my shoulder for ages and occasionally my knee goes out as well. Lately, I've started having problems with my right hip. I'm kneeling and standing all the time. I kneel down to get Dot's harness on and then stand up to walk her. I kneel down to make our low platform bed in the morning. I sit on the floor with Dot during her acupuncture sessions. It's disconcerting when you find yourself in a low crouching position and can't get up. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Getting old sucks. The last thing I need at this point is to be up on the roof and have my hip joint lock up on me. With all my aches and pains, I've still reluctant to have surgery though. There's a place for surgery, but I think it should be a last resort.

It's been impossible to get Dot to poop at night this week. Her internal schedule has changed. We'll take her outside and walk her around forever before we go to bed, but apparent she isn't ready to go yet. She seems to prefer doing her business at 3 AM now. In her bed. I've never slept soundly, but lately I'm sleeping even less than usual. I saw on TV yesterday that researchers now think that lack of sleep might cause Alzheimer's. I'm doomed. On the other hand, they say that writing every day is good for cognition. Sleep less, write more. That's my motto. Maybe everything will balance out in the end.

Vegas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day