Day 1538

Unbelievable! Yesterday it was 81 degrees. I was wearing shorts and we had the air conditioner on. Today, it is twenty degrees, there is a fierce wind, and it is sleeting outside. Only in Texas. I'm beginning to wonder if I just imagined yesterday. It is so cold that even the normally cold blooded Dot refuses to go outside. I don't blame her. I don't want to go outside either.

When I discovered what the weather was like, I immediately scrapped my plans to go to the gym today. There is little point in going to the gym if you end up wrecking your car on an icy road afterwards. The only time I even got near the car today was to start it up in the driveway to make sure the battery still worked. I'm once burned, twice shy about batteries and cold weather. They've let me down before and probably will again.

I'm glad I picked up that DVD of "Gravity" yesterday, because watching an Oscar nominated movie inside a warm house sounds a lot more appealing than anything I might have been doing outside. I really liked the movie, although I probably would have liked it even more if I'd taken the trouble to drive to a nearby 3-D theater and see it on a big screen. I can see why the special effects took over three years to create. They were simply spectacular. After a while I forgot I was looking at special effects. It just looked like someone had filmed the whole thing in space. Alfonso Cuarón deserves major kudos for pulling off an extremely ambitious production. Even Buzz Aldrin was impressed, and he's been to the moon. At any rate, watching this movie, while Janet cooked some savory smelling pork chops in the slow cooker and the dogs curled up for a nap on their dog beds, seemed like a good way to spend a very cold day.

I guess I hadn't realized that the Oscars had become an all day television event. The red carpet fashion shows seemed to begin around noon and the actual ceremony is still going on. If this show is anything like last year, it will still be still be going on long after I go to bed. I guess I don't really care who wins, or I'd be watching the show instead of writing this blog post. Ellen is pretty good as a host though. Maybe I just like snarky humor.

I hope the weather improves tomorrow. I've got a lot to do and I doubt that I'll be able to get away with staying inside all day. Jeez, when is this crazy weather going to finally run its course? I'm ready for Spring. Just like I expected, all the early blooming daffodils and flowering dogwoods are frozen now. An early Spring really doesn't mean much if it is immediately followed by a late freeze.

Despite the terrible weather, there is still a lot to be thankful for. Dash's recovery has been remarkable. The furnace works great this year, and the house is actually warm. I've already received my assignments for tomorrow, so there's be plenty to do, whether I get outside or not. I wish that damn redbird would quit pooping on my car though. It's driving me nuts.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1510 - Groundhog Day

Damn you Punxsutawney Phil. The last thing we need right now is six more weeks of Winter. It looks like that's what we're going to get though; starting with today. Luckily, we didn't get the freezing rain that was forecast. We did get a lot of very cold rain that was only a degree or two above freezing though. I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for Spring.

Bruno Mars was the best thing about the Superbowl. He brought more energy to his short halftime performance than Peyton Manning exhibited during the entire game. What happened Denver? This contest was billed as the league's best offense against the league's best defense. Unless I missed something, the Denver offense was nonexistent.

The commercials were terrible this year.  I always like the Budweiser commercials, but their dogs and horses formula is something they perfected long ago. The only commercial that showed any degree of originality was the somewhat self-depreciating Radio Shack spot. Going into a Radio Shack store really is like going back to the 80's. By humorously acknowledging that history has passed them by, maybe the company is creating an environment for change. Who knows. They probably don't know how to change though and will continue to fail in a spectacular way, just like J.C. Penny.

Change is difficult. I'd be the first to acknowledge that people and companies get set in their ways. Even the relatively minor changes I'm having to make as a result of my shoulder injury, are driving me crazy. I'm really having problems with hiring a dog walker. I'm usually the one ranting and railing about irresponsible dog walkers in the neighborhood, so it's hard for me to trust one of these people myself. I'm sure there are excellent dog walkers, but I've seen some of them do some really stupid things down in the park and was glad they weren't responsible for any of my dogs.

Maybe there's a solution though. A friend let me borrow a waist leash today. I gave the contraption a trial run this afternoon and it actually seems to work as promised. A sturdy dog leash is attached to a belt that goes around your waist, allowing you to walk even large dogs hands-free. I see joggers using these things occasionally, but I'd never used one myself. Surprisingly, the leash seemed to work. I'll have to walk the dogs separately, but I was able to give Dash a good, well controlled walk without using my hands.

Instead of our usual Superbowl burgers, Janet cooked braised porkchops in the slow cooker and served them on top of an arugula and pear salad. The combination was delicious and the porkchops were unbelievably tender. I love the slow cooker. I guess it all goes to prove that it doesn't matter if the weather is terrible and the Superbowl is a bust, as long as you end things with a great meal.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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