Day 4739

It was clear and cold this morning. I made sure to dress warmly this time for our early walk with Dawn. Even Dawn wore a sweater today. There aren't nearly as many people out on cold mornings but we did encounter a few hardy souls. I was just glad to see the sun again.

The leaks have finally stopped at the house. I put the buckets aways again and tried not to look up at the ugly stained ceiling. I still haven't found anyone who can fix everything but it's not for lack of trying. The world has changed and the suppliers I have relied on for years are no longer around. I'm not a big fan of online resources. Recommendations from friends are much better. Of course you have to have friends with similar problems for that to work.

I think I continue taking my long walk every day because it's a great way to kill time. I'm usually out for over two hours and that's two hours that would be totally wasted if I was sitting around the house. These walks are hard on my feet but are probably great for my heart. I've been doing this for so long that people wave at me as I go by. I don't know who they are, but I suppose I've become a fixture in the neighborhood. We've lived here for thirty years and I've always walked in the park. Spot, Petey, Greta, Dot, Dash, and now Dawn have all gotten daily walks in the park. People often stop me to ask about the dogs but often I find that they are thinking about the wrong dog. I guess if you don't own one, all Dalmatians look alike.

I still wonder where the eagles go when they are not near their nest. Sometimes I will go weeks without seeing them, but I know they are around here somewhere. I don't know where the White Pelicans go when they aren't at Sunset Bay either. It's hard to hide a hundred pelicans. The only birds I see consistently are the five domestic geese and three Muscovy ducks that live near Sunset Bay.

I paid a few more December bills today but that was about it. I wonder if something has happened to the price of natural gas? Our gas bill went up dramatically this month. It has been colder than usual but there have been plenty of cold months in the past where our bill was much lower. I guess this is to be expected. The prices for everything are becoming ridiculous.

It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of December. Where has this year gone? I did get to see Artemis launch and spent several days out at McDonald Observatory last Spring, but all in all it's been an uneventful year. I kind of miss working. A steady stream of writing jobs provided a structure to my life that is missing these days. There just isn't that much that interests me.

I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and am already wondering what I'm going to do tomorrow. I keep thinking about restarting my Friday breakfast restaurant tradition but I'm not as hungry as I used to be. Some of my favorite restaurants have closed too. Maybe I'll get in the car and try something new one of these days, but for now a bowl of shredded wheat and fruit is just fine.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4452

I started working on my taxes today. I didn't get very far but at least I've got a folder to put my information in. I haven't done my own taxes for many years but there is still a lot of information to pull together for my accountant. Why do retired people even have to pay taxes? It's called an income tax and I don't have an income anymore. It wouldn't be so bad if people could choose what their taxes were used for. If I had a choice I would send mine to help the people in Ukraine this year. I'm fairly certain that the money will be wasted or spent on some government program I hate. At least I live in Texas. We don't have a state income tax.

I've finally seen pictures of the four new Dalmatians that the rescue program is picking up. They all come from a puppy mill in Marshal, Texas that hopefully is finally shut down for good. The dogs are all in bad shape, but they are at our vet now and will receive the care they've been needing for a long time. One of the females is pregnant and will have puppies soon. Dawn was rescued from this same puppy mill so I know how bad the conditions are there. All of Dawn's fear and nervousness came from this place. If you would like to help these dogs, a fundraiser has been created to provide for their care. If you are reading the real blog on my blogspot page, you can click on this link to donate. If you are looking at my JPEG images on Facebook, just look for the Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas page. 

I wonder how long this warm weather is going to last? The temperature topped 80 degrees today. It felt more like Summer than Spring. I'm happy for the warmer temperatures. They certainly beat the snow we had in March a few years ago. It's weird to have your furnace and your air conditioner both working on the same day. When we wake up in the morning the furnace is running. By mid afternoon, the air conditioner kicks in. I think that Dawn likes this warmer weather. There's a sunny spot in the bedroom that's become her new favorite place.

My allergies are worse than ever this year. I wonder why? Are pollen levels higher or is my resistance lower? It's hard to tell. It is irritating to blow you nose all day long though. It's definitely not as much fun to walk when your nose is dripping and you are constantly sneezing. I've had seasonal allergies for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately antihistamines make the problem even worse for me. I can't remember exactly when this is over for the year, but I hope it's soon.

I can't believe that Russia just bombed Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The place is on fire now. This is insane. Didn't these guys learn anything from Chernobyl? The fact that the rest of the world seems paralyzed by the fact that Putin has nuclear weapons seems as good a case for banning all nuclear weapons worldwide as I've ever seen. Who would enforce this though? It would probably be impossible unless space aliens stepped in. Humans have been fighting each other since the dawn of time. I don't have a lot of faith that this sad episode is going to bring us to our senses.

This week has sure gone quickly. I've already taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start all over again. Every Friday I toy with the idea of resuming my Friday morning restaurant breakfasts. I doubt that I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow, but one of these days I will. It's long past time to start having fun again.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day