Day 4067

What a nasty day. There was black ice on the roads that caused a 100 car pile up in Fort Worth and the temperature never got above freezing all day. Janet postponed going to the gym this morning and needless to say, I certainly didn't need to go anywhere. As I slowly drank my morning smoothie, it was clear that this was going to be a very cold and uneventful day.

It doesn't take much to shut us down in Dallas. This would be a normal winter day in much of the country, but here the mail didn't get delivered and I got an e-mail from the city saying not to expect normal trash pickup tomorrow. Oddly, the message said to put your trash out tonight anyway and they would just come when they can. I feel sorry for those who had their vaccine appointments today. That's not something you would want to postpone.

Dawn is no fan of winter weather. She was a little reluctant to walk this afternoon, but completed her short one mile walk anyway. I dressed in my warmest clothes so I could keep on walking. The trails were virtually empty. I only encountered a single runner today. There were no bicycles at all. For the most part, the roads and trails were clear, but I had to cross two bridges that were still completely iced over. I walked slowly and carefully across each bridge because at my age falling is definitely not a good idea.

You could tell that the birds and other animals knew that something was up with the weather. The resident geese had moved to the opposite side of the lake and the Muscovy Ducks were more than a mile away from their usual habitat. There were some visiting Canadian Geese where the local geese usually live. I hardly saw any squirrels at all. Most of them probably had a nest to take cover in.

On bad thing about taking my long walk right after I finish my morning smoothie is that I have to take bathroom breaks. I didn't have to do this when I was younger, but I didn't drink several quarts of liquid every morning then either. These days I need to plan my route between strategically place porta-potties in the park. It's a nuisance but it's also a necessity.

While I was walking, I heard a bunch of fire truck sirens that appeared to be headed in the direction of my house. This is always a little alarming when you are on foot and miles away. I got out my phone and checked the petcam. Dawn was sleeping on the bed and everything was fine. I like the petcam. Who knows. Maybe the Chinese are spying on us, but the little camera does provide some reassurance that Dawn is safe when we are away.

I got a reminder from my accountant that my tax information is due soon. I haven't even started yet. One more unpleasant task in my immediate future. I wish seniors were exempt from dealing with taxes. Hey, if you can be exempt from jury duty, why not taxes as well? 

It's hard to believe but they say the temperatures will be in the single digits next week with a good chance of snow accumulations of up to a foot. Yikes. I really hope this isn't true. Spring can't come soon enough for this Southern boy.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3705

Have you ever tried to change a password and gotten a dialog box that starts with "enter old password" before letting you enter a new one? Jeez. If I knew my old password, I wouldn't be needing a new one. We stopped using our petcam after it seemed to acquire a mind of it's own one evening. Now, we want to use it again with Dawn, but can't remember the password. The only alternative was to restore the camera's factory settings and install it all over again. This was a difficult process the first time and seemed even harder today. I guess I've lost a few more brain cells.

When I finally got the IP camera working again, I went up on the roof to see if it was dry enough to do some more repairs. Everything looked good. I took a tape measure and found the exact spot where the water was leaking in the kitchen. Now that everything is dry, I did see a small tear that could be causing the problem. I used the remaining silicon to cover this area and hoped for the best. The entire five gallon container is gone now. If this doesn't work, I'm going to have to buy another container of this expensive stuff and keep trying. The roofer has gone radio silent and doesn't answer the phone or e-mail. I have a feeling that I'm on my own now.

Dawn is doing so well now. She's become a member of the family. She's very comfortable around the house now and isn't bothered when we have to leave. Because she's a curious Dalmatian, I went to the storage warehouse and retrieved some more gates. We always gated our other dogs in a safe area when we had to leave. This gave them more space than keeping them in a crate and kept them from eating little things that would require a trip to the emergency vet. I'm never gone long, but it doesn't take a lot of time for a dog to get into trouble.

By the time I finished all my Saturday chores, I was surprised that I still had time for my walk. It was windy today, but the temperature was much warmer. I was tired by the time I returned home, but it was a nice day to be outside. All in all, I felt pretty productive today. I went grocery shopping, filled the car with gas, paid a few bills, reinstalled the petcam, and made some roof repairs.

I also watched the launch of the 13th Cygnus resupply mission on NASA TV this afternoon and wondered about traveling to Wallops Island. It's one of the few NASA launch sites I haven't visited yet. Wallops Island is pretty remote with few nearby hotels. There are no convenient airports either. Everyone I know who has gone to Wallops has loved the experience though. It's not high on my list, but one of these days I'll probably go there myself.

One thing I didn't do today was write. I still haven't started my Solar Orbiter article. I'm a procrastinator who is at his best staring at a deadline. With nobody demanding a finished article immediately, it's easy to keep saying "maybe tomorrow." The article will get written. I just don't know when.

One thing I'm sure I'll be doing tomorrow is going to the gym. Those 20,000 steps on Sundays don't walk themselves.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day