Day 4925 - My Birthday

I turned 75 today. Any way you measure it, that's getting old. I think I'm hanging in there though. We started the day early to avoid the heat. Dawn got a nice sunrise walk and then I had my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. Right after breakfast I mowed the grass. I did both the front and back yards and was finished before 9 AM. The temperature was already in the mid-eighties, but it was still overcast so I decided to take a short walk and get my steps before it got really hot.

I'm definitely slowing down and am not as fit as I used to be, but I felt good that I was still able to do this much on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. My Mom had already passed away before she reached 75 and my Dad had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and a host of other ailments by his 75th birthday. I'm basically still reasonably healthy. I try to walk six miles every day and am staying active. Who knows how long I can continue this, but nothing is stopping me at this point. I still hope to be attending launches at Kennedy Space Center when I'm 85.

I'm glad we walked Dawn really early this morning because it was way too hot for her to be outside later in the day. It looks like this heat wave is going to continue for the rest of the week. Luckily our air conditioner is working well and I think the insulation we added to the roof is helping keep the house cooler. I'm glad we didn't have to deal with the power outages that plagued other parts of the community after last week's storms. This is not the time to be dealing with power outages.

It was a low key and largely uneventful birthday, but I felt good about it. I didn't do much during the afternoon. I took a shower and looked at my birthday messages on Facebook. I'm not a big fan of social media anymore, but I still think these birthday messages are a nice thing. Nobody sends cards anymore. I got one birthday card from my Luddite sister who has probably never even looked at Facebook. Later in the afternoon I tried to take a nap with Dawn but she wasn't in a celebratory mood. As soon as I went in the bedroom, Dawn went out in the kitchen.

Janet and I went out for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. We've been there for birthdays before and the food is always good. The prices were a bit higher and the portions were slightly smaller, but what else is new. All restaurants are doing this. At least the place was still in business. A lot of our favorite restaurants didn't survive the pandemic and are no longer here. Our waiter seemed disappointed that we weren't having dessert, but we had cake at home. We wanted to include Dawn in the birthday celebration.

After some cake and a glass of champagne, I did what I always do every evening. I wrote a blog post. Since I will have reached my 5000 Day goal before my next birthday, this might be my last birthday post. We'll see what happens.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4862

As soon as we finished walking Dawn this morning, I turned on the computer and watched the Starship orbital launch attempt on the Space X live feed. I wasn't terrible surprised when the launch got scrubbed at the last minute. A lot can go wrong with something this complicated. At any rate, I'm glad I didn't drive down to Boca Chica to see the launch in person. The people who did make the trip are probably wondering now whether to stay for another attempt, or cut their losses and go home. Space X has not scheduled another attempt yet, so waiting is a gamble. Chasing rockets is complicated and can often end up being much more expensive than you'd planned. I guess it's worth it though. I'm still planning on going to Florida for the upcoming Viasat-3 launch. That one got delayed again today as well.

Our nice Spring weather continues. It's always a little chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn, but the temperature rises quickly. By the time I'm ready for my daily long walk, I can usually change into shorts and a t-shirt. It's weird to see the temperature change so dramatically in just a few hours, but luckily the high temperature for the day is still very pleasant. I could probably put my time to better use, but a long walk seems essential now. Without my daily walk, I would end up spending even more time doing unavoidable chores around the house. 

Today's chores were changing the sheets on the bed and pulling weeds in the yard. I think that bulky trash pick up is tomorrow, so I wanted to get a few more things out to the curb before the trucks arrived. I tried to clean up the front yard today. The yard still doesn't look great, but I can see a definite improvement. When I'm doing yard work I often think about getting a yard service like the other neighbors, but I never do anything. The yard is small and I do need the exercise. 

The roofers want to get started on replacing the roof. I guess we might as well get this over with, but I'm not eager to spend a lot of money on something I can't even see. Getting a new roof is the key to fixing up the house. It makes no sense to repair stained sheetrock or replace carpets and paint until the leaks are eliminated. Sometimes I think it would be easier just to move, but we already live where we want to be. This is definitely the best part of town to have a dog. At any rate, the roof replacement is on my radar now. The work will probably begin within the next several weeks.

It seems like I'm spending more and more time dealing with spam these days. I get multiple spam phone calls, spam text messages, and spam e-mail every day. I never answer the phone anymore unless I recognize the number on the caller ID. When I get spam text messages I immediately block the caller. A lot of these messages get blocked by service providers before I even see them, but quite a few seem to get through. I feel like I am under siege. Who are these people and why are they making such an effort to deceive me? If a message on my caller ID says "suspected spam," why does the phone company even bother to put it through?

Tomorrow will be another day very much like today. Will I do anything different? Probably not. I really should have made plans to go out to the observatory for Dark Sky Week, but it's too late for that now. I'll think of something. Maybe I'll wash the car.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4857

The weather has been perfect for the past several days. The skies are clear and blue on our sunrise walk with Dawn and there are white puffy clouds when I take my long walk later in the day. Everything is green now. All the trees have leaves and the wildflowers are in full bloom. It's a pleasant time for walking, which is a good thing since that's all I'm doing these days.

I still haven't heard anything about the Viasat-3 launch. Another launch photographer told me that Space X is only giving journalists a 2 or 3 day notice about credentialing status these days. That's a shame since Southwest Airlines tickets will definitely be more expensive at such short notice. I'm assuming that I'll get approved but I might not. You never know.

Some neighbors stopped us to talk on our early walk this morning and Dawn did really well greeting their dogs. She used to be nervous around these dogs, so I think the training class is helping her. Janet said she did well in class tonight, although she is not heeling as well while wearing a harness. We're still not putting anything around her neck after learning about the bulging disc in her neck. There is no point in aggravating something that is already a problem.

My Fitbit quit working this morning, so I have no record of today's walk. I don't know why this bothers me, since I already know exactly what the Fitbit was going to tell me. I've done this walk so many times that I can gauge my pace pretty exactly by just listening to my footsteps. I know where all the mile markers are and how long it will take me to arrive home again. I still like to look at the Fitbit though. This afternoon I figured out how to get the thing started again, but I still don't know what went wrong.

It's a good thing that Janet and I like ham. There's a lot of leftover Easter ham. I've been having ham sandwiches for lunch and more ham for dinner. We may have to freeze some of this. At this rate I'll be eating ham until June. It's a shame that there are no more holidays coming up for a while. I always enjoy a good holiday.

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a call for volunteers out at the observatory this year. Usually I get called at least once a year. Maybe it's just as well. I have serious misgivings about driving that far again. On the other hand, I love that place once I manage to make it out there. It's quiet and peaceful and the night skies are incredible. The Astronomer's Lodge has a really good cook too. I'd go out there just for the meals.

This week has really gone quickly. You'd think I'd be bored to tears since I basically do nothing all day. I putter around and before you know it the day is over. It's probably a good thing that I don't have clients anymore. I'm slower about everything now. I don't know how I ever managed to get so much stuff done back in the day.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4824

Dawn is getting tired of wearing her harness all the time, but it's for her own good. We need a handle to grab if she starts to go down. No falls today, but she's still pretty fragile. Dawn is learning to walk up the step to the bed, but you've got to watch her like a hawk. Her instinct is still to jump on and off the bed like she used to. We have a nice dog bed on the floor, but she is reluctant to use it. Dawn is a very stubborn dog.

I hate to see Dawn so sedated, but if it's bed rest she needs the plan seems to be working. I watched her this morning while Janet was grocery shopping and she mostly just slept. There is no anxiety now and she seems relaxed. The real test will come when her meds run out. Strangely, the hematoma on her ear seems to be getting better because she can't shake her head anymore. I think the swelling in her neck is better today, but it's hard to tell.

Yesterday's hard rain just seems like a bad dream now. Today was beautiful and the ground was dry again. Did the sudden storm even happen? The sky was clear this morning and our roof leaks stopped fairly quickly. I guess I'll take what I can get. Historically it always rains a lot during this time of year. Increasingly, it does seem like we are having an early Spring. It's hard to imagine more snow and ice when the air conditioner is running in March.

I wrote a letter to my sister today and took it to the post office. Traffic on our street has gotten impossible, It took me ten minutes to get out of the driveway. It doesn't matter what time of day you are out and about. It always seems like rush hour these days. The traffic and crime in the city make me wish I lived in a small town. That's not going to happen though. We like our neighborhood by the lake, the house is paid for, and moving anywhere is way too much trouble. Moving is for younger people. I moved around a lot during my 20's and 30's. It didn't seem like a big deal back then, but I can't imagine doing that sort of thing now.

I wonder how long I'm going to be able to continue walking six miles a day? It seems harder now. My last mile was terrible today. I walked a lot faster when I was trying to avoid the rain yesterday. I'll continue walking because it's good exercise and so much easier than driving to the gym. I do wish that it wasn't such an effort to remain physically fit. Growing old isn't all that fun.

I think I'm going to need a new phone, a new computer, or maybe both. Increasingly, things I use a lot aren't supported anymore. I can't update the system on my phone, computers, or even my watch because they are all too old. Safari is worthless on my computer now so I've had to switch to Firefox. I can't even upgrade my watch anymore because the watch says I need a newer phone. On and on it goes. Apple basically does a terrible job of supporting old hardware. Like most companies they just want you to buy new stuff.

Tomorrow is my grocery day. I wonder how expensive everything is going to be this week? Inflation seems fairly relentless when you like to travel and are living on a fixed income.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4797

I found a tick on my leg when I woke up this morning. This doesn't seem to be the right time of year to be on the lookout for ticks, but we live near the park and we have a dog. It goes with the territory. We checked Dawn and couldn't find anything on her. Then we washed all the bedding just to make sure. It was going to be a busy day anyway. This just made it a little busier.

I had a lot on my grocery list this morning, so shopping took a little longer than I expected. As usual the stores and the roads were crowded. Maybe I'm imaging things but it seems like a whole lot more people have moved here in the past year. I don't remember Dallas ever being this crowded before.

Considering how cold it was yesterday, I was surprised at how warm it was today. It was actually a beautiful day. Dawn had an enjoyable early morning walk and then I had a nice longer walk when I finished my grocery shopping. The walk itself was uneventful, but my feet didn't hurt as much today. I have no idea why each day is different, but I'll take what I can get. I only had to wear a light jacket today. What a difference a day makes.

I was tired when I returned from my walk, but I still had work to do. Since the roof wasn't going to stop leaking until I swept away the remaining standing water, I reluctantly climbed up the brick wall and started pushing the big broom that resides permanently on the roof. Within an hour after I finished removing all the standing water, the leaks inside the house stopped. I'm good for now, but there is a 60% chance of rain next Tuesday. It looks like it is going to be a long Winter with lots of leaks because realistically I doubt that a new roof can be installed until April. 

Janet started making the bed when I was out walking, but there was still some bedding in the dryer so I finished things up after I got done with the roof. Dawn was taking her customary afternoon nap but it was surprisingly easy to get her off the bed. All I had to do was lie down on the bed for a few minutes and she left the room. I could see her peeking in the bedroom door occasionally as I put a variety of pillows, blankets and comforters back on the bed. Dawn knew she had been tricked, but she didn't return to the bedroom until I was finished.

I think I can put all the buckets away, but I'll probably leave a few out overnight just in case something starts leaking again. The only other chore I did today was empty out the ice maker in the refrigerator. The ice maker shuts off when the tray is full, but we don't use much ice and the ice in the bucket eventually fuses into a solid block. Sometimes it's almost impossible to even get the ice bucket out of the freezer. I take the bucket outside and chisel the ice block out and then clean the bucket and put it back in the freezer. I've tried turning off the ice maker but that causes even more problems. Water can freeze in the supply line causing the plastic line to split. Evidently this refrigerator was meant for people who use a lot of ice.

It looks like the weather is going to remain nice over the weekend, so Dawn will get her Sunday outing tomorrow. I'll go mall walking as well. Walking in the park is actually better exercise, but I've spent enough time in the park this week. It's time to go look in store windows and ponder how screwed up the world has become.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4791

It was over seventy degrees today. It's hard to believe that we were freezing last week. We had a nice early walk with Dawn this morning and then came home to an equally nice weekend breakfast. Even though it was a beautiful day outside, I went mall walking. I just wanted a change of pace.

There were a lot fewer people walking at the mall this morning. Maybe they were walking outside today. I made my five circuits of the mall and came home. There was nothing new today. There were no store openings or closings and none of the window displays had changed. Even the restaurants looked empty today. This appears to be one of the few places in Dallas where people still wear masks. I see more people wearing masks at Northpark than anywhere else. I still don't understand today's styles. Younger women all wear their hair long these days. You don't see any of the shorter cuts that used to be popular. Maybe nobody wants to be mistaken for a Karen. A surprising number of men wear beards now. A thick beard combined with a shaved head seems to be popular. When did having a beard become so fashionable? I guess beards are better than fades and man buns though. I show my age. Even tattoos seem weird to me.

When I returned from the mall, Dawn was ready for her Sunday outing. It was a perfect day for a walk and Dawn enjoyed her outing. We often see people riding horses in this park but Dawn totally ignores them. Dalmatians are supposed to have an affinity for horses and many of our previous Dalmatians seemed to like them. Horses mean nothing to Dawn. She gets much more interested when she sees a possum.

I didn't get quite as many steps today but it sure felt like I walked a lot. I still can't figure out why I walk slower at the mall. It's feels like I'm actually walking faster. Since I use a different app to track indoor walks, it occurred to me that maybe the app measures my steps differently. The next time I go mall walking, I'll track my steps as an outdoor walk and see if it makes a difference. Consistency seems to matter to me. At least the ice cream cones we get are consistent. They are overpriced, but they are pretty much the same every week. Dawn certainly likes them.

This afternoon I did a number of small chores around the house. I tried to wash a down jacket and it didn't go as planned. I followed the washing instructions exactly, but the coat was so light that the final spin cycle in the machine wasn't working properly. The coat was sitting in a puddle of water when the load was finished. I had to run the spin cycle again with several towels thrown in the load to get the spin cycle to run properly. The instruction said to throw two clean tennis balls in the dryer with the jacket to get the down filling to fluff up properly. This actually worked pretty well. I also cleaned out the atrium today. I don't know how all the leaves get in there, but they do. I've been waiting for a warm day to attempt to open the broken sliding glass door, since I was afraid I might have trouble closing it again. Everything worked well though. The atrium looks nice now and the door was actually easier to open and close than I expected.

It was largely an uneventful day, but it was a peaceful one. I got some exercise and I got a few things done. That's enough for me. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice as well. I'm dreading the return of rain on Tuesday though. The house is finally dry and the cleanup is complete. I'm not looking forward to going through the whole water leak drill all over again.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4789

It was a beautiful day today. It was a little chilly, but the ice is almost gone. Dawn was certainly happy to get a walk again. She's been house bound for several days. The only reminder that it wasn't a perfect day was the occasional sound of water dripping from the ceiling. There were fewer leaks this morning, but they were still there. I knew what I had to do.

After breakfast I went to Home Depot to get some large sponges that would dampen the sound of water hitting the buckets and bought a new large plastic tub to replace one that had shattered outside in the cold. I emptied all the buckets and got ready for my long walk.

I knew I was going to have to get up on the roof and sweep the standing water away to get the leaks to stop, but I wanted to wait until the afternoon to get started on this loathsome task. A walk would give me time to think about things. The roads and trails were completely dry today. Once the temperature got above freezing, the ice disappeared quickly. One thing I noticed was that my Hoka boots provide a lot more support than the regular Hokas I was wearing this morning. I'm going to save the boots for bad weather though. They're too expensive to be my regular shoes. I've got so many leather shoes I don't even wear anymore. The Hokas are so much more comfortable.

I got rejected for the upcoming Crew-6 NASA Social. I wasn't terribly surprised since NASA gives new applicants preference now. I've been to too many of these things before. It's just as well that I'm not going anywhere in February. I really can't afford another Florida trip until later in the Spring. I was still disappointed to have my application rejected though. I'd attend every launch if I could.

After I returned from my walk, I went up on the roof to remove the standing water. I tried to see if our stepladder would reach the lower carport roof, but it was too short. I should have realized that I had probably tried this before. If the stepladder was tall enough it would have been a much easier way to get up on the roof. I didn't buy a ladder at Home Depot because they were heavy, a bit expensive, and I couldn't figure out how to get one of the large ones in my car.

The climb up the bricks is hard on my knees now. This whole process seemed a lot easier when I was younger. At least the roofer I called is coming out tomorrow to give me an estimate. The roof is in bad shape. The Armorflex silicon coating is torn in so many places that it is basically worthless. I could feel a lot of squishy areas where water had gotten between the coating and the asphalt roof underneath. The problem with the existing modified bitumen roof is that the seams between the asphalt and rubber strips have started to go bad, letting water get inside the house. The Armorflex coating was supposed to prevent this problem, but now the coating has gone bad as well. It's time for a brand new roof.

I finished removing all the standing water just before dinner this evening and a few hours later all the leaks stopped. Unfortunately, there is more rain in the forecast later in the week. I really can't continues going up on the roof like this. I'm getting too old and one of these days I'm going to fall. I've asked lawn care guys to give me a bid on doing this job for me, but there has been no interest. It's really a terrible job.

Janet did her grocery shopping today. Tomorrow, I do mine. She said the stores were out of a lot of things because trucks weren't resupplying them during the ice storm. Maybe there will be a better selection tomorrow. I hope the roofer can come up with a good solution to my problems. I'd really like to put roof leaks behind me.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4782

Another nice day. I wish this weather would continue but there is rain in the forecast for next week. I took advantage of the clear skies and took three walks today. It was cold enough on our sunrise walk with Dawn that I needed two coats. My long walk in the park later in the morning only required one coat. By mid-afternoon it had warmed enough that I wore shorts for a final shorter walk. That's Texas weather for you. Almost 22,000 steps today. Not bad for an old man with creaky joints.

I finally got around to updating the star tracker this afternoon. This update made everything worse. It's always a gamble with these firmware updates. The company is trying to provide compatibility for so many different brands of cameras that when they make an improvement for one brand they often inadvertently cripple something for another brand. I think the tracker works best with Canon cameras. The Olympus I use is not a popular brand and sometimes gets overlooked. The tracker basically still works fine, but my camera wouldn't stay connected today. I have no idea what the problem is. I eventually got everything working, but I don't have a lot of faith in this unit. I think it would be a giant hassle to get everything working properly in the dark.

I really thought the leaks were over after I cleared all the water off the roof yesterday. Much to my surprise another small leak appeared today. Will this ever end? Only about one drop of water fell per minute, but it was still a leak. Probably a lot of water got underneath the surface of the roof before I removed all the standing water. That water's got to go somewhere. I suspect that when everything dries completely the next round of rain will start. I really can't catch a break with this roof.

I got a letter saying that it was time for my annual appointment with my gastrointestinal doctor. When did this start? I think that if you see a doctor once, you will end up seeing them forever. Just about every time I've been referred to a specialist by my primary care physician, I end up becoming a permanent patient. I hate to ignore these doctors, since you never know when you will need them again. I do think I have way too many doctors now though.

It's time to renew my credentials with the Space Force. Unlike NASA credentials, these last for a full year. Since there are launch pads at Patrick Air Force Base as well as Kennedy Space Center, you really need to be able to access both locations. Most people think the space center is one big location, but the NASA side and the Air Force side are two separate entities. It's totally different watching a launch on the Air Force side, but the view is still good. I'll try to send in the renewal forms tomorrow and then I'll wonder for months if they got lost. I always seem to get credentialed, but it really seems to take a while.

This week has gone quickly. It's already time to make a grocery list again. Sometimes it seems like I spend my life repeating the same things over and over again. No wonder Dawn always seems to know what is going to happen next. We are very predictable around here.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4723

I think we got a one day reprieve before Winter arrives. It was really nice today. It got up to eighty degrees with clear skies this afternoon and I was able to take my long walk wearing shorts and a t-shirt. That's about to end. A cold front just rolled through town and the temperature is already falling rapidly. Tomorow morning it is supposed to be twenty-eight degrees. I know Texas weather is unpredictable, but this is ridiculous.

We walked very early this morning and had to wear our lights again. I kind of thought that walking in the dark was over after the time change, but I forgot that the days are still getting shorter. I was a little wary when we entered the park this morning. I noticed that the were a lot of feathers but no bird in our front yard. This is usually a sign that coyotes or bobcats are nearby. We didn't see any critters this morning, but I wouldn't be surprised of something was watching us. Bobcats and coyotes are not uncommon in the park.

I took my long walk right after breakfast because I knew that Dawn had a vet appointment later in the day. It was really a pleasant day for a walk. It's hard to beat seventy degrees and a light breeze. I saw one of the Bald Eagles again today. I can't really tell the difference between the male and female eagle, but I just assume that if the eagle is in the nest it is Nora and if it is sitting at the top of a nearby tree it is Nick. The word seems to have gotten out that the eagles are back. I"m seeing a lot more people with binoculars and cameras every time I pass by the nest.

There is still a lot of work taking place on the five new stone gates the park department is building. There must have been some leftover money in their budget because these gates are very elaborate. I still have no idea what their purpose is although I'm assuming they will be used to regulate traffic. Maybe this is useful, but there isn't a lot of traffic in this section of the park anyway. 

After a quick lunch we took Dawn to the vet to get her flu shot. I didn't realize that this vaccine needs a booster in three weeks. All vaccines seem to require a booster these days. The shot was uneventful, but the vet said that Dawn was showing early signs of gingivitis and that we needed to do a better job of cleaning her teeth. This is easier said than done because Dawn hates getting her teeth cleaned. None of our dogs have enjoyed having their teeth brushed, but Dawn seems the most determined to avoid having anyone near her mouth. Brushing her teeth is a challenge.

We took Dawn to get a bath after her vet appointment. The groomer told us that canine flu was going around and tried to convince us that herbal remedies were the way to prevent it. When we mentioned that Dawn had just gotten her flu shot, she kind of rolled her eyes at us. She obviously didn't believe in vaccines. We didn't mention that we had both recently gotten a Covid booster. It is pointless getting into an argument about vaccines.

Dawn doesn't like getting a bath but she always seems to feel better afterwards. We've noticed that she doesn't lick her coat after a bath. She was probably itchy before her bath. It's Fall and there are a lot of allergens in the air. At any rate, Dawn's coat looks nice and white again and she smells good. This probably won't last long.

I'm not looking forward to sub-freezing temperatures tomorrow morning. I guess the cold weather had to arrive sometime. It's almost December. At least our furnace is working well and the roof leaks have stopped.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4721

It was a nice Fall day. The skies were blue, the temperature was mild, and most of my water problems are behind me. There is still water dripping from the can light in the office ceiling, but the drips are very slow now. What was once a steady stream is now only about two drips per minute. Probably by tomorrow morning I can remove the last remaining bucket.

Dawn was eager to walk this morning. She doesn't like it when we sleep in on weekends and did her best to make sure we hadn't forgotten about her. It was nice to see the sun again. The meadow behind our house was still wet and spongy from all the rain, but the roads have dried out. We had a nice walk at a fairly brisk pace and then returned home for another weekend breakfast.

I think all I really do on Sunday is walk. It would have been a nice day for walking in the park, but I went to the mall anyway. It's nice to have a change of pace and I enjoy looking in the shop windows before the stores open. There are very few middle aged mall walkers. There are old people like me and young couples with children. This seems to be a popular place to bring young children. There were tons of kids today.

It's easy to see that the Christmas season is the most important time of the year for retailers. The stores are opening an hour earlier now and most of them have all new merchandise in the windows. I see clothes I like in many of the windows but have no interest in buying anything. There is no reason for me to dress up anymore. I actually kind of miss the days when I had to wear a suit and ties for client meetings. Once, in the early days of my business I had a retail menswear client and agreed to be paid in clothes. I still have an abundance of nice clothes. All these years later I still have a few things that I've never even worn.

As soon as I returned from the mall, Dawn was waiting to go on her Sunday outing. She gets really excited about visiting new places, but still is scared while she's in the car. You'd think our Sunday routine would be old hat for her by now. Apparently not. She's always happy when we reach our destination, but the journey still seems terrifying to her. 

It's surprising how much our ice cream cones vary from week to week. Sometimes the ice cream is hard. Other times it is soft like a Dairy Queen cone. The size varies too. It just depends on who is serving that day. I wish they were more consistent about giving Dawn a free pup cone. She seems to know that these little cones are just for her. No pup cones today, but Dawn got plenty of ice cream. The ice cream always calms her down.

I should have done some chores today but didn't feel like it. I took a nap instead and as usual Dawn left the room as soon as I got on the bed. Janet says to ignore this behavior, but I still feel bad knowing that Dawn is uncomfortable when Janet is gone. She is definitely a one person dog.

It's almost time to pay property taxes again. Hopefully this is the last big expense of the year. I didn't do a great job budgeting this year. I probably did a little too much traveling as well. At any rate, I hope next year is more predictable. We shouldn't have as many appliance repairs. I think everything broke this year.

It's back to shredded wheat and fruit tomorrow. I need to think about putting up the Christmas tree as well. Christmas will be here before you know it.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4665

I did a lot of walking today. 20,000 step days are becoming increasing rare, but I had another one today. The weather was just about perfect and I certainly didn't have anything better to do. There was no need to go mall walking this morning. It was much nicer to be outside.

We had to share the trails with a bunch of runners on our sunrise walk. A local running group was having a race. We probably should have started our walk earlier, but we typically walk later on weekends. Even though we are both retired, we still seem to differentiate between weekdays and weekends. Walking with Dawn is much more enjoyable when the park is empty. She loves to smell things and will wander right in front of passing runners and bicycles if we aren't watching carefully. Janet ordered some little clip-on lights so bicycles won't run over us when we are walking in the dark. Neither of us are a big fan of bicycles.

The park was more enjoyable when I took my long walk after breakfast. The runners were gone and all that was left of the race were a few volunteers cleaning up. Surprisingly, my feet didn't hurt very bad today. I maintained a fairly good pace for my entire walk. I'm still having problems with seasonal allergies, but they weren't as bad today. The air was clean and the humidity was much lower than it was a month ago. I can tell the humidity is lower because I don't have to empty the dehumidifier as often. During the summer I had to empty the water bucket twice a day. Now it takes the entire day to fill with water.

Dawn got a nice Sunday outing today. Since the temperature was cool all day we were able to walk a full mile at her Sunday park. Dawn likes to eat grass and we've had to be careful and keep her away from tall grass in these parks lately. The city has been trying to eradicate the Johnson Grass that has overrun the native prairies in the area and they've been selectively applying herbicide to the Johnson Grass. When I first started seeing the tractors applying the herbicide, I thought they would kill everything. Whatever they are using appears to be very selective. Only the Johnson Grass appears to be dying.

After we made our trip to the ice cream store and headed home, I tested the washing machine. I'm happy to report that is is working normally again. Even the clothes seem to be a little cleaner. The only downside to cleaning out the drain filter is that the machine drains more rapidly now. Sometimes the floor drain overflows now and I've had to plug it again. I stuff a cloth down the floor drain pipe so that condensation from the AC can still drip through the pipe, while backflow from the washing machine drain is greatly reduced. I wouldn't have these problems if the builders of this house had put in three inch drain lines instead of two inch pipes. A two inch drain is just too small for modern appliances.

Dawn is still weird about being in the house with me when Janet is gone. When I try to take a nap in the bedroom, she hops off the bed and goes out to the hallway by the front door and whines until I leave the room. I've started napping on the couch in the living room because it just makes life easier. I don't think Dawn is ever going to change. She is nervous about everything and doesn't feel safe when Janet isn't around. When Janet is here, Dawn actually seems to like me. I'm OK with all this. Dawn had a very rough life before we adopted her. I'm sure she has a doggie version of PTSD.

Tomorrow the appliance repairman returns to fix the refrigerator. This is basically preventative maintenance since the refrigerator works just fine now. The warm to the touch metal exterior is a bad sign though. If we don't replace the fan that cools the compressor, it could fail at any time. It could still fail even with a new fan, but I'd like to keep this thing running as long as possible. Modern refrigerators keep getting larger and it is almost impossible to find a replacement that will fit into the designated refrigerator slot in our kitchen.

I didn't see any little green web worms today. I did see a lot of dead Hackberry trees in the park though. Maybe the worms have finally eaten their way through their food supply and died.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4539

It was a nice day. It was a little warm this afternoon, but there was a pleasant breeze all day. Dawn was in the mood to walk today which is always a plus. There was no hesitation like there was on previous days and she enjoyed both her sunrise walk and the Sunday outing later in the day. It may seem weird that I measure a day's success by Dawn's reaction to it, but that's just the way it is. Our days go much smoother when Dawn is in a good mood.

Basically all I did today was walk. I did vacuum the house this afternoon, but that doesn't really count. Walking is much more fun. It's amazing how dirty the house gets in a week. We live in a dusty area. Dust blows in from the park and dust blows in from the street. Dawn tracks in a fair amount of dirt as well. At any rate, the house is a bit cleaner now, even though it won't stay that way long.

Our first two walks with Dawn were enjoyable, but my third walk later in the afternoon was just to make sure I got my steps. By mid afternoon it was much hotter outside and my feet were starting to hurt. I would have gone back to the gym, but unfortunately it isn't open on Sunday anymore. Weekday hours aren't as long as they used to be either. A lot of Covid cutbacks have become permanent now in all types of businesses. When companies learn they can get away with giving you less, that's exactly what they tend to do.

I was working outside this afternoon and a spider must have fallen on my head. I didn't notice at the time, but about thirty minutes later when I was back inside and sitting at the computer,  I noticed something on my lip out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was dirt or a small leaf and brushed it off with my hand. I was quite surprised when a small live spider fell on the desk. Have I mentioned that I dislike spiders almost as much as I dislike snakes. I wonder how that spider could have been walking around on my head for half an hour and I never felt a thing.

Dawn continues to leave the room when I come into the bedroom to take a nap. She doesn't go far. She just goes out in the hallway and lays on the bricks in a place where she can peek around the corner into the bedroom door and see if I am still there. As soon as I leave the room, she immediately returns and hops on the bed again. I wish she'd realize that we both like to do basically the same things. We eat and we sleep. If she'd just learn to relax, she will have a lot more fun when Janet goes on vacation. The weird thing is that Dawn is fine with me as long as Janet is in the house.

When we went for ice cream after Dawn's Sunday outing today I asked for a waffle cone instead of the regular cones we usually get. The waffle cones are a little more expensive, but I was curious to see if they would fill these cones to the bottom. Nope. It's still a scoop on top of a basically empty cone. The waffle cones leak too. I guess I'll go back to regular cones next week.

We won't be able to visit the Dalmatians tomorrow since the kennel is closed for Memorial Day. Don't worry. The dogs are still fed and looked after. The place just isn't open to the public tomorrow. I'm going to miss visiting the guys. Visiting the rescue dogs has become a permanent part of our Monday routine.

I hope my gym is open tomorrow. I think it's going to be too hot to take a long walk outside. If Dawn would cooperate, I might just take a long nap inside. 

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4537

Another cool morning that turned hot in the afternoon. Dawn wasn't eager to take her sunrise walk. I don't know why because it was really nice outside. We bribed her with a couple of dog biscuits and made it around our little one mile loop. Maybe she was just pretending about not wanting to walk to get the biscuits. Dogs are sneaky that way.

When I was eating breakfast this morning I noticed a stain on the brick floor in the kitchen. When I went to investigate the bricks felt damp. I hadn't spilled anything recently, so this seemed weird. I sure hope there isn't a water leak under the slab. This happened once before and it was a nightmare to get repaired. I'm beginning to hate older houses. Maybe the damp bricks are nothing, but I'm suspicious. Something is always breaking or falling apart in this 65 year old modern house.

At least there was a little bit of good news this morning. I upgraded the software on the Polaris star tracker and it still works. I ran a lengthy test and everything worked perfectly. The camera didn't disconnect at all, so maybe my problems are over. I felt pleased when I put the troublesome tracker back in its box. I may not be using it any time soon, but it's always there when I need it.

Dawn seems to have reverted to being nervous around me again. Somehow I must remind her of the two men who ran the puppy mill where she spent most of her life. Dawn is totally devoted to Janet but will probably always be a little suspicious of me. It's understandable, given the life she's had, but it's still kind of sad. 

I should have gone to the gym today, but I just keep walking in the park. It's becoming close to impossible for me to try something new. Going to the gym isn't even that new, since I used to go frequently before Covid hit. It's just so much easier to get up every morning and do exactly the same things every day. I have two places I like to visit and that seems to be plenty. I have a routine that mostly consists of walking and eating. I still spend time on the computer even though there is no real work to do and I always end the day with a blog post. Sometimes I'm bored, but not as often as you'd think. It's really not a bad life as long as nothing breaks.

I wonder about things when I'm walking. There are big signs in the park telling people not to feed the ducks. There are also educational posters explaining why it it is bad for ducks and geese to eat bread. Apparently nobody reads these messages because I still see people feeding bread to the ducks every single day. Often they are feeding them right next to a sign telling them not to feed the ducks. These are probably the same people who leave litter all over the place after having a picnic. It's not that surprising that I am a solitary person. I like animals better than people. Except for snakes. I'm not very fond of snakes.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I'm beginning to dread these Saturday shopping excursions. Traffic is terrible and driving skills seems to have deteriorated precipitously in the past several years. Maybe I'm imagining things but people weren't as rude and seemed to drive a lot better before Covid. Maybe it's just all the new people moving into the area. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Grocery shopping still beats mowing the lawn.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4532

What a difference a day makes. Finally, a proper Spring day. The temperature was in the sixties for most of the day and there was a nice breeze. Dawn was pleased with the situation and so was I. This would have been a great day for walking, but my feet refused to cooperate. This was a bad day for foot pain. After our two walks with Dawn today, I really didn't feel like walking much further.

Dawn really enjoyed our Sunday outing today. I think she knows where we are going by our schedule or maybe by what we wear. It's weird to see a dog get so excited to get in a car she hates riding in. The ride is short fortunately and pretty soon she is back on the ground again, tugging at her leash and smelling everything in sight.

After our walk, we always go for ice cream. The ice cream place raised their prices about a month ago, but now the price has gone back to what it used to be. There must have been complaints. There's always more than one way to achieve your objective though. I noticed today that the cones are smaller than they used to be. The cones used to be filled all the way to the bottom and now there's just a scoop of ice cream on top and the cone itself is largely empty. I feel cheated. Maybe the price increase would have been better.

Today changing the sheets was on the agenda. Why has putting on a fitted sheet gotten so hard? I struggle with lifting the heavy mattress and tucking in the bottom sheet now. This never used to seem like a difficult task, but my wrists still ache hours later. Now I think I know why my Dad started just sleeping on the top of his bed after Mom passed away. It was probably too much trouble to make the bed. Janet says I need to go back to the gym because I'm losing my upper body strength. She's probably right.

Today's long walk was just a short walk through the neighborhood. A lot has changed over the years. One by one all the small frame houses are being torn down and replaced by McMansions. I wonder how people can afford these monster houses or why they even want them. Who really needs a third story on their house? I'm old enough that I don't even like the idea of stairs.

I feel perpetually tired these days. After every activity I feel like taking a nap. You'd think that after a number of short naps I wouldn't feel like sleeping at night. That isn't the case at all. I go to sleep quickly and sleep soundly. Sleeping has become one of my favorite activities. I'm starting to remember my dreams better than my daytime activities. I lived in Seattle for several years right after I graduated from college and I can't ever remember going to the grocery store there. How did I eat? I remember furniture stores and art galleries, but no grocery stores. Weird. The other day I was thinking about a production house that I used to use when I started my business. I went there frequently, but now I can't remember why. What client was I working for and why wasn't I doing the work in my own studio? I could go on and on. I still think I'm pretty sharp, but I'm sure I've lost a few brain cells along the way.

I guess I'm going to have to get the uninterrupted power supply fixed tomorrow. I've already lost one computer due to power surges and I don't want to lose another. The UPS is heavy and awkward though, so I'm not looking forward to this. I'm definitely going to have to take a nap after finishing this chore.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4495

It was hard to get up this morning. I was still asleep when Janet and Dawn were ready to walk. Janet said that she woke me up earlier, but I have no memory of a wake up call. At any rate, I quickly got dressed and off we went. I think our rainy weather is over, but it was still very windy. Dawn remembers that we gave her a treat to get her moving again when she used to freeze in place. Now she does this every morning just to get the treat. She's not nervous anymore, just conniving.

After breakfast, I got the lawn mower running. I was kind of surprised that the batteries still held a charge after being dormant all winter, but everything seems to work. I'll probably have to mow the grass this weekend. It's getting pretty thick. I keep meaning to ask one of the neighbor's yard crews what they'd charge to mow my front lawn as well. I haven't been home lately when they've been working on the neighbor's yards though. One of these days I'll catch them. I'm getting tired of doing the mowing myself.

I made an appointment to get a haircut. I should have done this several weeks ago. Now the first time I can get in is next Wednesday. That will work fine. I just wanted a haircut before I go to the observatory. I still have mixed feelings about this trip. One day I'll feel like canceling my plans and not going at all. The  next day I'll feel better and start looking forward to the peaceful isolation of Mt. Locke. I've been going back and forth like this for weeks. Hopefully, I'll be in a good mood on the day I'm supposed to leave.

I got a notice this afternoon that the Hoka boots I've been trying to find for over six months are finally back in stock. Too bad I didn't get this notice before I bought the regular Hoka Bondi 7 shoes a few weeks ago. Oh, well. I went ahead and ordered the boots because lord knows when they'll be available again. The notice said "limited supply, act now" so they'll probably be out of stock again tomorrow.

There's already a new update to the star tracker software. Now I'll have to get the tracker out and install things all over again. I've lost track of how many updates I've already installed. I can't decide whether to take the tracker to the observatory with me. If memory serves, these volunteer assignments keep me so busy that there's not much time for photography anyway. It would be tempting not to take a camera at all. I've already taken plenty of pictures out there already.

I don't know how I did it, but I got 22,000 steps today. The weather was nice and I didn't have much else to do. "Might as well walk" has been my motto lately. I was tired when I returned home, but the foot pain wasn't that bad. I felt this way yesterday as well. Hopefully, this trend continues. The last thing I want on a road trip is foot pain.

I finished the day by paying some bills and doing a little accounting. Most of the bills from my Florida trip haven't even come in yet, but I know it isn't going to be pretty. It's a shame that life has become so expensive. I don't know if I'd do more if prices were reasonable again, but I might. 

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Dasy 4494

I'm losing track of the days again. I thought it was Friday for a while this morning. Nope, it's only Thursday. It's an easy mistake to make when all days seem more or less the same. Now that the days are getting longer, our sunrise walks with Dawn don't seem quite so early anymore. The sun is usually well above the horizon before we leave the house. It's interesting to see where Dawn will lead us on these walks. Now that she is more confident, she takes a slightly different path each day. I don't really think she's being adventurous. She's a dog and is probably just following interesting smells.

After breakfast this morning I wrote an overdue letter to my sister and took it to the post office. In all the years we've lived here, I've never just left a letter in our mailbox for the postman to pick up. I have no faith in mail carriers and somehow think the mail will never be delivered this way. I still like to drop the letter in the slot myself at the posts office. 

On the way home I needed to stop at CVS and HomeDepot to pick up a few things. CVS is really strange these days. I think there is only one employee in the entire store. Usually there is nobody at the register. You have to search around the store to find the employee who is usually stocking shelves and tell them that you need to check out. It's kind of ironic that businesses say that they can't find employees when they don't really want them either. Just about everyone is trying to get you to use an app on your phone to make your purchases. I do use an app for grocery shopping, but it seems to get worse with each new update. Now you have to wade though a bunch of ads before you can get to the scanning function. 

I have to go to Home Depot to find light bulbs. I still have two lamps in the living room that use quartz halogen bulbs instead of LED bulbs. It's getting hard to find these kind of bulbs. Home Depot still has incandescent bulbs if you are really old school. I don't go that far. Most of the lights in our house have been converted to LED bulbs by now.

It was a nice day for a walk. It was 70 degrees with clear skies and very little wind. I'm back to walking my regular six mile route again, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back to my old pace. It used to take me 18 minutes to walk a mile. Now it takes me at least 21. It's hard to say if it's my feet or just general wear and tear that is slowing me down. All I know is that I sure feel older than I did last year.

I was finally able to order the custom camera part I wanted from the weird Chinese website. A nice lady from the company guided me through the arcane order process using Facebook Messenger. We'll see if I actually get this part now. Actually, I've ordered everything from photo backdrops to watches directly from Chinese companies and they've never let me down yet. Many of these companies seem more modern and efficient than their American counterparts. Ordering from Europe is the worst. I really try to avoid ordering anything from Europe.

I hope the Elon Muck is able to buy Twitter. It's a long shot because corporate America and the investment community hates Elon. He's a loose cannon to them and might ruin the privileged little world they've created for themselves. Something got to be done about social media though. It's gotten out of control. Even I have been censored and all I do is write about dogs. I still miss the old days when all we had was IRC and newsgroups. The Internet was nice when it was all about conversation. Now it's about influence and power. That's not good. I think we'd be better off if social media and today's connected world just disappeared. We don't need a hive mind. We need people to start thinking for themselves again.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4483

Another nice Spring day. We walked a little later this morning so I got to sleep in a bit. Dawn enjoyed her early walk and enjoyed getting a little bacon with our Sunday breakfast even more. It was a relaxing morning, but the tranquility didn't last long. After breakfast I was forced to start packing for my trip.

I hate packing, but I try to be methodical about it. First I make sure all my devices are fully charged. Then I transfer the documents I need from the desktop computer to the laptop. Most of these documents have been printed as well, but I like to have a backup. I did a load of laundry because some of the clothes I wanted to take were dirty. I located the cables and plugs I need and put them in a bag. I put my meds, toothpaste, razor, other toiletries in another bag, and then put some orthotics in my new Hoka shoes which I will be taking on the trip. I did this off and on during the day and I'm still not completely done. Should I take a jacket? I usually do but the forecast says it will be very warm in Titusville. I'll definitely take a light raincoat. It always rains at some point during these trips.

We had a nice Sunday outing with Dawn this afternoon. It was warm, but it still felt like Spring instead of Summer. Dawn seems to like getting two walks during the day, but she still doesn't like riding in the car. Each of these walks is a little over a mile. Dawn does pretty well, but I don't think she would want to go much further. As usual, we concluded our Sunday outing with ice cream cones. I wonder if all dogs like ice cream. All of ours certainly did.

I didn't take a long walk today because I still had packing to do. I did take a short little walk later this afternoon just to make sure I got at least 10,000 steps. It's hard to meet my step goals while I'm traveling. Sometimes I'll walk after dinner at the hotel. If I'm early at the airport, I'll walk up and down the concourse until my flight boards. Launch events are usually pretty busy though. There always seems to be some place that I need to be.

I hope the trip goes smoothly. Yesterday a ton of flights to Florida got canceled because of storms in the area. Hopefully that is over now. The Artemis-1 wet dress rehearsal got delayed because of lightning strikes and a problem with fans on the mobile launcher. Since the Axiom-1 rocket is on an adjacent launch pad, I hope this doesn't foul things up. The last thing I want at this point is to add extra days to my trip. Everything is too expensive as it is.

I wish I'd booked a later flight, but I really didn't have much choice. I need to pick up my press credentials at a place I've never been before and I wanted to allow enough time to get lost. I'll have to get up very early but I can always sleep on the plane. I always fear that I won't be able to get a car with GPS at the Orlando rental car lot. Oddly, cars with in-dash GPS are surprisingly hard to find. I can't imagine driving around in a strange city without GPS these days. How did we used to do this?

I'd better go finish packing before it gets too late. I'd really like to go to bed early and get some sleep tonight.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day