Day 3680

I'm glad I decided to trim trees and rake leaves this morning. Less than an hour after I bagged up the leaves and hauled the branches I'd cut out to the curb, the bulky trash trucks arrived and hauled everything away. I thought the trucks were coming tomorrow, but I guess I got lucky.

About three months ago I heard something about a new free gym membership plan that was going to be added to my health insurance coverage. I've been waiting for a letter explaining the program ever since. I never heard anything, so I finally went on the healthcare website to see if there was any informations there. The plan has already been in place for several months. Hmm. I wonder when they were going to tell me about it? Since my current gym supports the plan, all I have to do is sign up. This will be the third gym membership plan I've joined since turning 65. Hey, even the government wants me to keep moving. All these plans for seniors have been pretty good. I just wonder why they keep changing.

I got an e-mail today saying that my social media press accreditation for Kennedy Space Center has been officially approved for the Solar Orbiter launch. I can make my reservations now. A few hours later I got another e-mail saying that my traditional media press accreditation for Kennedy Space Center has been verified and submitted for approval. Hmm. I wonder if I will ultimately get both of these applications approved? I'm still hoping to get a real press pass. I suspect that both types of media accreditation provide pretty much the same access. Often when I go to these events, the social media folks are on the same bus with the magazine and television journalists. In my own mind, a real press pass is better because it makes me a working journalist. Instead of having an expensive hobby, I would be embarking on a second career. Here's hoping anyway. There's no real money to be made following space launches, but there's no money to be made sitting at home watching Netflix either.

Another cold front must have rolled through town last night. This is probably why I have a continually runny nose. We keep going back and forth between warm and cold weather on a 48 hour basis. There's no time to get used to anything. Now it looks like it's going to start raining again around midnight. I'm tired of this, but I guess it has always been this way. When I look back at old January posts, it is always a story of cold, wet weather. Last January it was much worse because I was still trying to keep Dash walking. His rear legs were weak and he dragged them while walking, so he needed three layers of protective socks and boots to keep his paws from bleeding. On cold days it took forever to get Dash dressed. He has a sweater under his Help 'Em Up harness, a leg brace, and the protective socks and booties. It was worth the effort though because Dash still loved to walk. It was his favorite time of the day.

I was surprised to see a patch of Pink Phlox blooming in the park today. Aren't these plants supposed to bloom in the Spring? They were definitely the only wildflowers to be seen. I was glad to have something to photograph. The park can look pretty bleak during these cold winter months. There are always birds to photograph, but I would need to bring a better camera. On a cold day, these walks are purely for exercise. I just want to get back to the house so I can get warm again.

Maybe tomorrow I can finish all the things I meant to do today. I did manage to get some leaves raked, but it's hard to get motivated on a cold winter day.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3009

The bomb squad was in the neighborhood last night removing a live grenade that was found in the road. Since this is Texas, it was unclear whether this was a malicious act or if someone just lost their grenade. I was surprised that the event didn't receive much coverage in the local news. I did read that a police robot moved the grenade to a nearby school playground where it was safely detonated. So that's what I heard last night. I just thought it was a car backfiring, but I heard the noise at exactly the same time that the bomb squad was removing the grenade. What a world we live in that something like this wouldn't even get much attention.

Janet had to go to work so early this morning that Dash was totally confused. He usually eats his breakfast with Janet but this morning he didn't even wake up until she was ready to leave. I didn't wake up either. I took Dash outside to pee and saw Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn stretched out in a line in the Southern sky. This was all the evidence that Dash and I needed to go back to bed. We slept for another three hours and then ate our breakfast at a normal time.

The weather was kind of chilly this morning, but it still seems like Spring. We watched the sun come up on our morning walk and I found a patch of Purple Phlox starting to bloom. The Purple Martins have returned and are engaged in a war with the local Sparrows for possession of the Martin houses in the park. I saw the Cedar Waxwings again perched in a Cedar Tree and off in the distance there were still a few White Pelicans floating serenely on the lake. I enjoy mornings like these, especially when there are no bicycles to be seen.

The refrigerator is still working like a charm. It's to early to claim victory, but I have a feeling that the recent repair just might work. The reason I'm optimistic is that the temperature is very stable now. Last week it kept fluctuating. If there is still no ice build up two weeks from now, I'll be able to cross the refrigerator off my to-do list for a while.

When I was taking some mail to the post office this afternoon, I stopped at a neighborhood Italian restaurant and picked up a calzone to take home for dinner. I haven't had a calzone in years. I don't know why I've been craving Italian food lately, but the calzone was very good. It was very inexpensive too. It's a shame that bread and pasta immediately convert to glucose in your stomach. I could live on bread if I didn't have to worry about becoming a diabetic. Oh, well. I can always eat more vegetables tomorrow.

Dash is still eating well and taking two walks a day. I hope this means that his heart condition is improving. The only way we can tell how he's doing is to use an echocardiogram to measure the size of the blood clots in his heart. We'll run another test in a month in a half, but so far Dash seems to be improving.

I hope I don't get heartburn from that delicious calzone. I could really use a good night's sleep tonight.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day