Day 4374

My FedEx package still hasn't arrived. Actually I think it is even more lost than it was yesterday. After I initiated a trace on the package, I received a message saying that duplicate tracking numbers had been found. One of the identical numbers appeared to originate from Oregon and the other from New Jersey. I was asked which of these numbers was correct. How would I know? I have called Fedex for help numerous times but the only people I am able to talk to are contract call center workers based in another country. They don't know any more than I do. I tried to contact the distribution warehouse myself and eventually found their website. It was filled with a seemingly endless list of one star reviews written by people who were experiencing the same shabby treatment that I'm getting. One person had discovered an unlisted direct line to the warehouse and posted it on the site. When I called the number, nobody answered. FedEx used to be good. Now, it appears that nobody cares. Packages are lost routinely and drivers just make up excuses why they weren't able to make a delivery. I'm not sure if I will ever get my package.

I'm continuing to walk even though my feet are starting to hurt again. Foot pain was pretty bad today even though I'm wearing my newest pair of Hoka shoes. I know I walk a lot, but these shoes should definitely last more than six months. At least it was a nice day for walking. The temperature really varies a lot from day to day. Yesterday was cold. Today was so warm that I didn't even need to wear a jacket. I actually think I made good time today, but I forgot to wear my Fitbit. I hate when that happens. Now I don't get any credit for two hours of exercise.

The photo backdrop we used for the Santa Paws events finally got washed today. Now that it is clean, I'll take it back to the storage warehouse and probably forget where it is when I we need it again next year. It is hard to believe that Christmas is so close. Where has this year gone? We still haven't decided what to have for Christmas dinner. Last year we had a crown roast. The year before we had a smoked ham. Often we go out to eat on holidays, but Christmas Day isn't a good time to go to a restaurant. 

It looks like Dalmatian Rescue is getting two five month old puppies. I don't know if these dogs will be at the kennel next Monday, but it will be fun to meet them when they arrive. We haven't had any puppies in the program for a long time. I guess Oliver is still a young dog, but he is definitely not a puppy.

I don't know why the missing FedEx package bothers me so much. My life isn't going to change much even if I never receive the package. I guess I just hate when things are out of my control. I feel totally powerless to resolve this situation. I've called again and again and nobody seems to care. The entire company seems to be run by a bar code reader. Once something is scanned and in the system the scan becomes the reality. If your own eyes are telling you something different it just doesn't matter. Even today, someone on the phone told me that the package was at the FedEx Print Center and ready to pick up. Umm. No it isn't. I've already been to this store twice and called them again this morning. They are getting tired of hearing from me too.

I finally got a lead on a good contractor from someone I trust. Hopefully we can start fixing a few things around the house soon. Of course "soon" for a busy contractor might mean three to six months from now. Hey, at least I've moved the ball forward a few inches. 

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4141

I almost forgot it was Monday today. I was getting ready to take my long walk when Janet reminded me that it was time to go see the rescue Dalmatians. I took my camera in case the new female in the program was at the kennel, but when we arrived we learned that she had already been adopted. Charlie and Cooper were glad to see us as always. We've been pretty good at teaching these active guys to "go out for a pass" and catch a toy football in midair. We need to try to teach them some manners. Maybe they would find a home quicker.

We had already taken Dawn on her short walk before we left for the kennel, but there was still time for me to take my long walk after we returned home. I knew I was going to be slow this afternoon because my foot was bothering me before I even left the house. It's kind of irritating that the only thing my foot doctor was able to recommend were new shoes and some topical pain cream. There is just no magic bullet when your cartilage begins to wear out. I'm going to keep walking though. I have a feeling that things would get worse rather quickly if I quit moving. I know other people with arthritis and the fact that I can still walk six miles a day is proof that I'm really not doing all that bad. It could definitely be a lot worse.

My package isn't in Indiana anymore. With any luck it might arrive later this week. I wonder why USPS surface mail is so much slower than FedEx Ground or UPS Ground? Most UPS Ground orders arrive in three or four days. I know why Amazon Prime is so quick. They have giant warehouses all over the country and most things we order on Amazon are already in the Dallas warehouse anyway. Maybe I should be glad that the post office is slow. It gives me something else to track every day.

I watched the Delta IV Heavy NROL-82 launch on the ULA live stream this afternoon. I've always wanted to see one of these launches in person because the Delta IV Heavy is huge. I was approved to see the last Delta IV Heavy launch in Florida but the trip didn't work out for a variety of reasons. Since these rockets are almost always used to launch giant school bus sized spy satellites you don't get a lot of access at a launch. It would still be great to see one lift off though. There are only three of these aging giants left, so I'd better get planning if I want to see one of the remaining ones fly.

Janet is having a wisdom tooth removed tomorrow, so I'll need to take her to and from the dentist. Whenever you have a wisdom tooth removed you kind of wish you'd taken care of this earlier in life. Wisdom tooth roots go on forever and it is not always easy to remove them. My dental surgeon told me that the hole where the tooth used to be would fill in over time. It never did. There is still an indentation in my jaw that is easy to feel at the gum line. Hopefully Janet's extraction will go smoothly. We've stocked up on tasty soups so she'll have something to eat while she recovers.

We're starting to think that Dawn used to just be fed once a day. She still eats the same amount of food, but her schedule has changed. She isn't as interested in breakfast anymore and wants to eat more at dinner. I guess this is OK, but it seems weird to have a dog that isn't interested in breakfast. We couldn't fix breakfast fast enough for all our other Dalmatians. To each his or her own I guess. As long as Dawn continues to eat a normal amount of healthy food, we're not going to worry about when she eats. 

I'll continue eating my own breakfast at the same time every morning. Hey, I'm not a dog, even though I act like one at times.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4138

I had to scramble to get our walks completed before the rain began today. I took my long walk immediately after breakfast and actually made good time. When Janet returned from grocery shopping, we took Dawn on her short one mile loop. Less than half an hour later it began to rain pretty hard. It continued raining for the rest of the day, but it felt good to get most of our major chores out of the way before the deluge began.

It's still raining and I think we got some hail at one point. It could have been a lot worse however. Other parts of North Texas saw tornados. We didn't even have much wind. The two pumps on the roof are working well today, so all is well. I'm continually grateful that Dawn has no storm phobias. Thunder and lightning don't bother her at all. She just freaks out if I'm in the kitchen with her.

The park was pretty empty when I walked this morning. I guess a lot of people didn't want to risk getting wet. I don't want to get wet either, but I've grown to depend on a multitude of weather apps on my phone. I never take selfies, but I do check the weather a lot. Sometimes the weather radar lets me down, but everything worked perfectly today. Hopefully this storm will have moved well to the East by tomorrow when I need to do my own grocery shopping.

My missing package has mysteriously reappeared. It has taken 12 days for it to move from one post office in Indiana to another post office in Indiana. I suspect that it was thrown in the wrong bin and was only recently discovered. The post office assures me that all is well though. The package is on the move. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get it sometime next week.

I didn't wake up in time to watch the Crew-2 launch live on the Space X stream, but I watched the replay later. What a beautiful launch! This would have been a great one to see in person. When I see the pictures some of the other launch photographers take, I can't help being a bit envious. I've got to figure out how to get credentialed again. Sometimes I ask photographers I know what their secret is, but nobody has revealed it yet. I'm sure it all depends on who you know. That's how it works in every other aspect of life. Why would it be any different at NASA?

Dawn didn't eat her breakfast this morning. We left the food out and she ate everything normally around noon. When I fixed her dinner this evening, she didn't eat that either. About an hour later when I wasn't in the kitchen, she wandered out and ate everything. Now that Dawn is becoming more confident, she is starting to set her own schedules. There is nothing wrong with this. It is actually a good thing, but it is a bit unnerving for a person like me who had a fixed, inflexible schedule for almost everything.

There are some large, older houses near the halfway point of my daily walk. They were probably built in the 1940's and I've always liked them. Today I noticed that one of my favorite houses was being demolished. This is a trend in our part of town. Developers will buy a house on a large older lot, scrape it, and then put up two large homes on the same lot. There never was a lot of respect for history in Dallas, but   now the old buildings are disappearing faster than ever. I'm sure our house will be scraped someday. It's a shame. A decent person would restore it instead.

I hope I see blue sky in the morning. It's grocery day tomorrow and my list is pretty long. Janet and I have a system on groceries. She buys the things that require a discerning eye and I buy the commodities. It's hard to go wrong when you are just buying beer, laundry detergent, and toilet paper.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day