Day 4835

What happened? Today was supposed to be nice and I was going to go up on the roof and look for leaks. It wasn't warm and nice at all. It was very chilly outside and there was an all day drizzle. It never rained very hard, but it never stopped either. I waited and waited to take my long walk and I finally gave up, put a raincoat on and walked in the rain.

Dawn had a minor setback this morning. When we took her out to pee in the yard, she saw the neighbor's dog in the back alley and started barking and running toward the fence. She always barks at anything in the alley, but this was an unfortunate time. She was running too fast and must have strained a muscle in her weak leg. She didn't fall, but she was limping a bit. 

We helped her back on the bed and she didn't want to get off again for quite a while. We had to feed her breakfast in bed again. Eventually today's Rimadyl pill kicked in and she started walking normally again. We don't want Dawn to be in pain, but we definitely would like her to take things easy for a while. We're making progress, but it's going to take a while for her to heal. We would have been fine this morning if Dawn hadn't seen the neighbors walking down the alley with their dog. You win some. You lose some. Dawn is a very protective dog. I can't seem to explain to her that it's not our alley.

I was the only one walking in the park today. I saw one man walking his dog but that was it. There were no bicycles and no joggers today. I did see a group of park employees laying new sod in a bare area. I guess they don't get the day off when it rains. My raincoat kept me surprisingly dry and I was able to complete my entire route. My shoes and socks got wet though. Why didn't I think to wear my waterproof Hoka boots? Days like today were exactly why I bought those boots. 

I got a form letter from my accountant today saying that since my tax materials arrived later than their self imposed in-house deadline, they might not have time to finish my return by April 15. They could need to file an extension on my behalf. First in, first out the letter said. What? I delivered the materials the same time I always do every year. It's never been a problem before. I don't want to file an extended return. I'll have to give the guy a call. My return is always pretty simple. I can't believe it would take them that much time to prepare it this year.

I'm so sick of all this rain. It just seems to go on and on. We're going to miss bulky trash pick up this month because the remaining leaves in the back yard are too wet to rake. The roof still isn't leaking, but I have very little faith in my repairs. It never gets dry enough for me to find and seal the remaining leak. Dawn doesn't like the rain either. It's really hard to get her to poop when the ground is wet. If we do managed to get her down to the park, the ground is slippery and that increases the danger of falling. The rain isn't over either. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry, but there will be new storms arriving on Thursday and Friday.

Hopefully there will be no surprises tomorrow. Is a predictable life, a healthy dog, and a dry house too much to ask?

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4821

I went to the storage warehouse today and brought home Petey's orthopedic dog bed and Dash's Help 'Em Up Harness. I could start a store with all the dog paraphernalia we've accumulated over the years. It comes in handy though. We're hoping that Dawn makes a full recovery but have no idea how long that's going to take. The x-ray results came back today and Dawn does have a bulging disc in her neck. This would explain some, but certainly not all of her symptoms. We've dealt with lots of illness and injuries before but this one is new. We still can't identify a cause. 

Dawn's problems just seemed to appear out of nowhere. What do a swollen neck and stumbling have in common? Hopefully the Help 'Em Up Harness will help keep Dawn from falling when we take her outside to do her business. She will stumble or collapse with no warning at all. A few minutes later she will seem normal again. The pain medication is helping keep Dawn calm, but we really need to figure out what is going on. We'll talk to the vet again tomorrow, but if there were any easy answers we'd probably already know them.

I missed my chance to search for leaks on the roof because it is supposed to start raining again later tonight. It wasn't a great day to attempt repairs anyway because I need the roof to be dry to apply the remaining Armor Flex. It was a grey day with a light mist in the air for most of the day. It was easy to convince myself that it wasn't worth the trouble to do anything.

I don't mind walking in a light mist so I took my long walk anyway. I didn't get as many steps today because there was no sunrise walk with Dawn, but I kept moving. The mist was so light that I didn't get very wet and it certainly kept things cooler. All in all, it was a good day for a walk. The weather has gotten so warm lately that it's hard to believe there will be another hard freeze. Stranger things have happened though. We've had some pretty heavy snowfalls in March. Let's hope that doesn't happen. I have enough problems without dealing with snow.

I backed another Kickstarter project this morning. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson after backing the Benro Polaris star tracker, but apparently not. Backing the Polaris project was several years filled with delays and frustration, but eventually I did receive the product and it has more or less lived up to expectations. Kickstarter backers usually get a much better price than what the new product will eventually retail for. There's always a risk though. The product may end up being a failure or never ship at all. At any rate, I may get a self leveling tripod someday.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do in April. I haven't received any requests for help from the observatory, so maybe they don't need volunteers anymore. I hesitate to apply for credentials at Kennedy Space Center because we don't know what is going on with Dawn yet. If she's having trouble moving around, it's going to take both of us to help her. I'm not even sure I even want to go anywhere now. You've got to be in the mood.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4817

There was very little evidence that we'd had a huge storm last night. The sky was clear this morning and the ground was even relatively dry. We noticed a few downed trees in the park when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning and a new leak appeared in the office, but that was about it.

We're getting better at putting on Dawn's head wrap in the morning after we get up, but so far it doesn't seem to be helping much. The hematoma on her left ear actually seems to be getting larger. Hopefully the No Flap Ear Wrap will help over time because the only other option is surgery. The hematoma doesn't appear to be liquid enough to just drain it.

My morning routine now includes turning on the roof pumps before I start breakfast. I thought I had cleared most of the water away before I went to bed last night, but there was lots more this morning. Did it start raining again during the early morning hours or was standing water on the roof just migrating to the low spots where the pumps are located? It didn't really matter. I knew that I was going to have to crawl up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water if I wanted the leaks to stop.

Construction is finished on the service road through the park and I've gone back to my old walking route. Even though this walk has become monotonous and a little too familiar, I still find it enjoyable. I always do great on the first two miles, start to slow down a little on the third mile, and am really starting to drag by the time I've finished my fourth mile. I guess I could make my walk a little shorter, but I've gotten used to this. I see the same ducks and geese every day along with a lot of familiar people walking their dogs or cycling. It's too bad that Dawn doesn't feel comfortable walking with me. She could use the exercise.

After lunch I went up on the roof and removed the rest of the standing water. The weather looks nice for the rest of the week, so I won't have to worry about leaks for a little while. I had really hoped to end these frequent trips up on the roof, but necessity prevails. It always rains a lot during the Spring and I'm going to have to continue sweeping away the standing water until we get a new roof installed. I'll try to be careful. I've investigated getting landscapers and yard crews to do this job for me, but nobody seems interested. It's probably best that I continue doing this myself. The Armor Flex coating is fragile and if you don't know what you are doing you could easily make the situation worse. I've resigned myself to paying for a new roof, but I'm going to be really mad if these leaks continue after it is installed.

Today is Janet's grocery day and Dawn spent over an hour before she arrived barking at the front door. Grocery day seems very exciting for Dawn. My own grocery day is tomorrow and Dawn could care less. I guess the things I buy aren't as interesting for a dog. Janet and I have both gotten tired of grocery shopping because the stores and roads are so crowded now. I don't know where all these extra people came from but the city doesn't feel the same as it did several years ago. It would be nice to live in a small town.

The leaks have stopped and I need to put all the buckets away. I've made my grocery list and I guess I'm ready for the weekend. We will have a big breakfast tomorrow instead of my usual shredded wheat and fruit. Everything else will be the same. It's no surprise that I need a trip to Florida every once and a while. This routine can become pretty monotonous. 

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4815

This weather is driving me nuts. As soon as the leaks stop the rain starts again. Once water gets under the Armor Flex coating on the roof there is a time delay before it reaches the inside of the house. What this means is that it can be sunny outside while the roof is leaking inside. The leaks aren't nearly as bad after my attempt to patch the roof, but even a small leak is still annoying. It's not raining right now, but we have tornado warnings starting tomorrow evening. I'm wondering if this will ever end.

There was nothing important on the agenda today. I ate my breakfast and tried to time my long walk so I wouldn't get wet. We were lucky again on Dawn's sunrise walk, making it home a few minutes before a heavy shower began. My luck ran out later this morning. Everything looked good on the weather radar, so I headed out. The weather was fine for the first mile or so and then a sudden shower appeared out of nowhere. I got wet, but it was quite warm so it wasn't a big deal. The shower didn't last long and I was almost dry again by the time I returned home.

I am so hooked on getting my steps these days that very little stops me. It's been a long time since I failed to get at least 10,000 steps. When I make the drive to West Texas it's almost impossible to reach my goal since I'm spending all day in the car. I missed my goal when I had gall bladder surgery too. There's not much you can do when you are hooked up to IV tubes in the hospital.

My feet were in bad shape today. I could barely walk when I got out of bed this morning. The odd thing is that the pain is worse when I first wake up. After I put on shoes and start walking around it usually gets a lot better. Aches and pains are the story of my life these days. Between bad knees, a bad shoulder and the persistent foot pain, something always seems to hurt. Most of this can just be attributed to growing older. Like many people my age I probably have a moderate case of osteoarthritis.

It's hard to believe that it is already March. Where does the time go? I did make it down to Florida in January for a Falcon Heavy launch, but most of this year has just been dealing with rain and roof leaks. It would be a nice break from this frustration to make another trip out to the observatory in April for their annual Dark Sky Festival, but I'm not sure that I'm up for the long drive anymore. When I made the trip last year it was really tiring. I definitely don't want to fall asleep at the wheel and my left hand tends to go numb if I grip the steering wheel for too long. Unfortunately there is no way to fly to this destination. It's a long drive to West Texas or nothing.

We're on the edge of the tornado warned area, so hopefully we won't get any severe weather tomorrow. I actually worry more about high winds than tornados. High winds have already brought down several large trees in our yard and there are several more that are just waiting for the right storm to take them out. These old mature Oak trees really don't hold up that well to high winds. I wonder if there are still places where the weather is nice all the time. Florida has frequent hurricanes and my favorite place in West Texas is dealing with a huge range fire right now. I wouldn't even consider living up North. How do people deal with all that snow? Who knows? Maybe it will be nice tomorrow. Our weather forecast is often wrong.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4811

It must have rained last night because the roof started leaking again. It wasn't a bad leak, but a leak is a leak. I didn't even bother to go up on the roof and remove the standing water. Every time I do, it just starts raining again. These leaks are frustrating. There's little I can do about them. It's going to continue raining and I can't find the source of the leak. Eventually we'll have a new roof but I can't find a lot of joy in that. Putting a new roof on our house is way too expensive and when everything is said and done, the house will still looks the same.

Roof leaks weren't my only problem today. The dryer quit working as well. Luckily the load in the dryer was almost dry when the machine quit. Who knows what the problem is this time? I've already replaced a lot of things on the washer and dryer, but there's obviously still a lot of stuff left that can break. I'm hoping that the dryer just overheated and threw some kind of circuit breaker. That is doubtful though since the machine has cooled down and still is  not working. I can't call the appliance repairman until Monday either. Did I mention that I hate going to the laundromat.

I had a lot of things on my grocery list today, so shopping took a while. I'm still having trouble dealing with the continual price increases. Enough is enough. Almost every week I notice that something I buy regularly has gotten more expensive. This trend has been going on for a long time and shows no signs of ending soon. You'd think at some point customers would revolt. I'm not sure there's a lot we could do. Nobody's forcing us to go to the grocery store.

My walk was slower today. I probably walk slower when I'm discouraged. It's not surprising that I like going to launches so much. These trips take me to an imaginary world that is largely free of day-to-day problems. Broken appliances and roof leaks aren't the end of the world, but they are irritating. As soon as you take care of one thing, something else needs attention. I enjoy my walks, but even a walk in the woods doesn't eliminate day-to-day problems. My feet still hurt and I never know when it's going to start raining.

Janet has gone to a charity event tonight and this always puts Dawn in a bad mood. This dog has grown way too dependent on her and neither of us know what to do about it. Dawn just doesn't trust men. She's fine with me feeding and walking her, but she's always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's a shame that Dawn doesn't trust me since I'm the one who's here at the house the most. I understand though. Dawn was mistreated by men for most of her life and I'm a man. It's pretty simple.

I guess I'll go mall walking in the morning. If I'd been selected for Crew-6 coverage I'd be leaving for the space center tomorrow. I shouldn't dwell on that though. I get accepted for some launches and rejected for others and never know why. There are plenty of other launches later in the year. 

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4809

I can't get used to this roller coaster weather. Yesterday I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Today I was wearing my down parka again. We've gone back and forth like this for weeks. It's weird to say the least. Even though it was chilly this morning, we had a nice early walk with Dawn. She doesn't seem to mind the cold nearly as much as I do. I can tell the days are gettig longer now. A few months ago we would have been walking in the dark at this time of day. Today is was quite light out and we watched the sun rise as we headed back to the house.

It looks like I failed at stopping the roof leaks. I thought I had dodged a bullet yesterday, but right after breakfast I noticed a small wet spot in the office carpet. The roof was leaking again. My patching efforts must have helped because there was only one small leak instead of multiple leaks all over the house. It was still disappointing to see a leak though. I was forced to climb up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water from yesterday's rain. I wasn't surprised to find that the leak was directly under the biggest duck pond on the roof.  The roof was largely dry, but this one large puddle of standing water was evidently enough to cause a leak. My patches seemed to have held up fairly well during the rain, but I must have missed something. If there is a lot of standing water, it doesn't take much of a hole in the elastomer coating to cause a leak.

I've given up on going to the Crew-6 launch. My application must have gotten lost because I still haven't heard anything one way or the other. NASA is usually pretty good about notification even if your request is rejected. I don't know what happened this time. Truthfully this is a blessing in disguise. I wasn't planning on returning to Kennedy Space Center until April or May and couldn't really afford this trip anyway. I do like to go to most of the important launches, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything to miss this one.

I had to change my route through the park again today. There is some major construction taking place on one of the park's main service roads. I still can't figure out how the park seems to get better roads than the rest of the city. In our neighborhood we get those cheap spray on roads. This was a proper road. They had one of those huge machines that scraped away the old road and then they started from scratch applying completely new pavement. Personally I would prefer no roads through the park, but the place has become a recreation destination. Not everyone can get to this place by walking out their back door like I can.

The roofing company wants to come over and meet with me next week to go over their bid. I don't know what this is going to prove. It's certainly not going to soften the blow of whatever expensive price they put on the job. I've dealt with roofing bids before. They are always more expensive than you expect. I can think of lots of ways I'd rather spend the money, but we can't go on living like this. We need a new roof.

I haven't really accomplished much this week. There are still leaves to rake and it appears that I failed to stop the leaks yesterday. It doesn't look like I'm going to the Crew-6 launch either. I did get this weeks trash taken out to the curb this evening and the roof has finally stopped leaking. More importantly, there is no longer any rain in the forecast for next week. Hey, I'll take what I can get. Dawn is still being good about wearing the No Flap Ear Wrap. It will probably take a while, but I hope this will help eliminate the hematoma in her left ear.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4800 - Valentines Day

Only two hundred days to go. I should have established a less ambitious blogging goal back in the beginning, but I still think I can do this. In less than a year I will have written a daily post for 5000 consecutive days.

I wasn't surprised to see the roof start leaking again when we woke up this morning. We got a lot of rain last night. Thunder and lightning woke me up several times and I always got up and checked for leaks. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep. The leaks didn't start until I was having breakfast this morning but it didn't take long for the water to make a mess of things. We had water running down a wall again, making it impossible to capture in a bucket. Luckily this leak was in a hallway where we have brick floors.

It was still raining early this morning, so Dawn didn't get her usual sunrise walk. We didn't forget her though. When the rain ended, Dawn got a nice walk later in the day. I didn't take my usual long walk because I was too busy dealing with roof leak problems. I did get my 10,000 steps though. Just barely.

All in all the leaks weren't nearly as bad as the previous two rain storms. The pumps on the roof were working well too. When I started seeing clear sky, I climbed up on the roof and swept away the remaining standing water. So far, so good. The leaks have finally stopped and I don't see any more rain in the two week forecast. If the roof gets completely dry again I may try to patch the obvious holes with the remaining Armor Flex silicon coating I have left. I doubt that this will fix the problem, but maybe it will help.

I still haven't gotten an estimate for replacing the roof from the roofing company, but I wasn't expecting anything until the end of the week. Prices were pretty high when I replaced the roof the last time and I expect that they are even worse now. I don't have much of a choice though. You just can't live in a house with leaks all over the place.

Although I had the best of intentions to quit climbing on the roof, it looks like this unpleasant chore is still going to be a part of my future for a while. I'm more careful these days but I'm also more clumsy. I definitely don't want to end my days by falling off a roof. Maybe by Summer we'll have a new roof and I can put this all behind me.

We didn't have our usual Valentines cupcakes this year. Janet had a class this evening and we were both tired anyway. Hopefully tomorrow will just be an ordinary February day. I'd like to hear something about the Crew-6 launch soon so I can make plans, but I'll be happy enough if nothing happens at all tomorrow. As long as the house stays dry, I'm good.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4798 - Superbowl Sunday

That was a good game. I wasn't a huge fan of either team, but the game was competitive right down to the final seconds. I do think the best team won. I spent most of my career working in the advertising industry and I'd be the first to admit that I don't understand superbowl commercials anymore. Traditionally, these commercials are supposed to be the best of the best, but they are no longer funny or memorable. There wasn't a Budweiser commercial with Clydesdales and Dalmatians either. I still think Prince and Michael Jackson had the best halftime shows. Rihanna didn't even come close. It was a good game though. Hard to believe that Patrick Mahomes is only 27 years old.

Other than watching more football than I normally do, the rest of my day was pretty normal. We had a nice early morning walk with Dawn, ate a big weekend breakfast, and then I went mall walking. The mall seemed virtually empty today. A lot of the window displays have changed. Several stores seem to be featuring raincoats. I guess this makes sense. It is the rainy season here in Dallas. 

I still walk a lot slower indoors than I do outdoors. It's a mystery. I think I'm walking faster until Fitbit tells me otherwise. I don't spend a lot of time looking in the windows anymore. I've practically memorized everything. Mall walking is still a nice change of pace from my regular walks in the park. I wouldn't do it if the stores were open though. I prefer going to the mall when the stores are closed.

Dawn got her Sunday outing today. She seems to know that this is her day. She gets all excited about 30 minutes before we are ready to leave. You can tell she is excited, but as soon as the car starts she immediately goes into panic mode. I don't think we could ever take a long car trip with Dawn. Dawn doesn't really calm down in the car until she gets her ice cream cone. She's pretty normal after that.

The leaks have stopped. I put all the buckets away today. We've got a reprieve until the next rain storm, but unfortunately there is more rain on the horizon. It's supposed to rain again as soon as next Tuesday or Wednesday. These leaks are getting old. I'm really hoping that the roofing company I contacted gives me a decent bid so we can finally put an end to this madness.

I still haven't heard anything about the Crew-6 launch. I hate waiting until the last minute to learn whether I've been credentialed or not, but there's not much I can do about it. I like to think that the articles I write are of some value, but they're probably not of any consequence. Attending a launch still feels like work though. That's good. I'd hate to think that all I've got left are hobbies.

Tomorrow it's back to shredded wheat for breakfast and more long walks in the park. I should make an effort to add more variety to my life, but I probably won't. I like consistency, as long as we aren't talking about consistent rain. 

Lucy 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 4796

The roofing guy was nice and seemed knowledgable. He didn't like my idea about going back to a tar and gravel roof, but the solution he proposed seemed reasonable. At first he wanted to put a new roof over the existing roof, but we've already been down that road. I made it clear that I wanted to remove the existing roof material, check to make sure there was no rotted decking, and then apply a completely new roof. Lord knows how much that's going to cost. The guy said he'd have a firm estimate in three or four days. No hurry. I think it would be crazy to do this before it gets warmer anyway. This company came highly recommended, but so did the companies that replaced my roof before. I don't have a lot of faith in roofers.

It was so cold today. This was a total surprise to me, since it was nice yesterday. Dawn seemed fine on her early morning walk, but I made a mental note to dress warmer when I took my long walk a little later. Part of the problem today was the wind. A cold winter wind isn't very pleasant to walk in.

I waited until after the estimator finished his roof inspection to take my long walk. I was thinking that it would get warmer if I waited until later in the day, but actually it seemed to get colder. At least there was no rain. The ducks and geese seemed hungry today and would chase after anyone who came near them at Sunset Bay. I would think it would be pretty miserable to be a duck in the winter, but then I'm not a duck. I'm certainly glad I don't live up North anymore. I have no tolerance for cold weather.

Despite the cold I managed to complete my six miles and get my steps. I'm persistent and it takes a lot to keep me indoors. The walk is getting boring, but I'm a creature of habit. Since the park is huge, I could easily take a different route but I seldom do. I think I follow the same route day after day because it's easy to compare results. I know exactly how long it takes to reach various points along the way on both good and bad days. I'm not a competitive person by nature, but I do compete with myself from time to time. It's always nice to get better at something. Even walking.

I didn't do much this afternoon, but the day still seemed to go quickly. The roof is still leaking a little but I don't hear a lot of dripping water anymore. Probably by tomorrow morning all the leaks will have stopped. Actually I'm surprised that the roof is still leaking at all. It seemed pretty dry when I was up on the roof with the estimator this morning. There is no rain in the immediate future but I'm sure it will rain many times before a new roof can be installed. 

I hope I hear something about my application for Crew-6 credentials soon. Sometimes NASA waits until the last minute to issue credentials and then the airfare to Orlando becomes more expensive. Hotels are often more expensive if I wait until the last minute to book as well. There's nothing I can do about this, so I just wait. Last minute credentialing is no problem for the launch photographers who live in the area. It can be a problem for me though. I wish I could plan ahead.

I do have a plan for tomorrow. It's grocery day for me. If I go to the gym at all, it's usually on Saturday. We'll see how the day goes. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow afternoon and shoot some baskets. I'm getting tired of counting ducks in the park.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4795

Another slow day. The roof is still leaking, but the amount of water I'm collecting in the buckets has slowed down considerably. I guess that's progress. If I'm lucky, the leaks will stop just in time for another round of rain. The roofers are coming out again tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a firm estimate soon and get started on putting an end to this mess.

It was a beautiful day today. There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning and the temperature was much warmer than yesterday. Dawn enjoyed getting her morning walk. The fields behind our house were still a little soggy, but that didn't bother her. She finally had lots of things to smell again.

After breakfast I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I do this about once a month now.  I used to write lots of letters to friends, but this type of correspondence is becoming a lost art. Almost nobody writes letters anymore. I still don't leave outgoing mail in our box for the postman to pick up. Force of habit I guess. We never have the same postman for very long and I don't have a lot of faith in any of them. I need to take my mail to the post office and put it in the slot myself.

Today was a good day for a long walk. The weather was nice and the temperature was just about perfect. My feet are still giving me problems, but I'm getting used to the discomfort. I keep thinking that I need to go back to the gym where I can work on my upper body strength as well, but it's so much easier to go walking in the park. I just walk out the back door and I'm there. I'm sure I could be doing more, but six miles a day seems to be more than enough activity for me.

After I returned home I upgraded the star tracker software for what seemed like the 100th time and tested the unit again. That's all I do is continually test this thing. The Polaris tracker still works, but it has never seemed very reliable. Reliability probably isn't even an issue at this point. I don't spend a lot of time looking at the stars these days. It's not even worth attempting astrophotography in the city. The light pollution is terrible. I knew that comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was going to be near Mars tonight but I didn't even bother to look for it. The green comet is fairly dim and I just didn't have the patience to search for a pale fuzzy thing in the sky.

I'm still having computer problems. Nothing is broken, it's just that everything is too old. If I was still working this would be a huge problem. Not an issue anymore. Instead of thinking about a new computer, I spend more time thinking about getting offline altogether. It's becoming harder and harder to see the point of it all. Maybe a little notebook and a ball point pen is all I need.

I've taken the trash out to the curb and emptied all the water buckets. These weeks go quickly, but Spring still seems distant. I'm hoping that the roofing people have good news for me tomorrow, although I'm not terribly optimistic. I wish I'd never bought a house with a flat roof.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4794

When going to the dentist turns out to be the best thing about your day, it's usually a pretty dismal day. The dental hygienist is always very complementary about the way I take care of my teeth. My gums are healthy. There is very little plaque on my teeth and no cavities. One more dental cleaning is in the books. I'll go back for another in August.

It's been raining nonstop for almost 24 hours. Dawn didn't get a morning walk and I almost didn't get an afternoon walk. There are leaks everywhere in the house. I've run out of buckets again. It was raining pretty hard when I drove to the dentist, but by mid-afternoon most of the precipitation had finally moved out of the area. I did get to eventually take a long walk and get my steps, but it was very cold outside. Although the temperature was almost fifty, it felt more like thirty. There was a light mist and a strong wind. Lets just say that it wasn't a very pleasant walk.

The roof leaks are driving me crazy. I never know where the drips are going to occur. This time the leaks appeared in a different location than they did during the ice storm last week. My Fitbit didn't register any sleep at all last night. I know I must have slept, but the dripping water kept waking me up. Every time I heard a new sound I had to get up and investigate. At least this time there has been no water flowing down the walls. Those type of leaks are almost impossible to capture in buckets.

I was the only person on the trails today. I literally did not see anyone else when I was out walking this afternoon. I'll admit that I'm a bit obsessive, but walking gives a structure to my day. The exercise is good for me too. Even the ducks looked miserable on today's walk. I feel sorry for the animals on days like this. They have no place to hide. The geese seemed angry since no one was feeding them. I should have taken them some dried corn or frozen peas. People are always feeding the ducks and geese bread, but that's just about the worst thing you can give them. I just kept moving today. I wanted to get back home where it was warm and relatively dry.

I got a surprise e-mail this morning. The local historical society in a small Pennsylvania town asked me for a copy of a story I'd written about their town many years ago. I'd almost forgotten about the story and no longer had a copy. Why would someone even remember this so many years later? It was thirty years ago. I told the lady that I'd look for the story but I doubt that I'll find it. I remember it was somewhat controversial and I ended up taking it off my website. I don't like controversy and prefer to remain invisible. Lesson learned I guess. This is why I mostly just write about myself these days. 

The rain has moved to the East but the roof is still leaking. I'll have to empty all the buckets before I go to bed tonight and if the weather is nice tomorrow I suspect that I'll have to climb up on the roof and sweep away the standing water. The roofing company did call me today. They want to schedule a time for their flat roof specialist to come out and take a look at things. Maybe if all goes well we can replace this roof in the Spring. Until then, I just hope it quits raining.

Hopefully it will be dry enough to give Dawn a walk in the morning. She didn't get to go to her training class tonight and appears to be getting cabin fever. Although Dawn is basically a lazy dog who spends most of the day on our bed, she does like to go smell things in the park. 

The medical and dental appointments never end. Now the dermatologist wants to see me again. Didn't I just see this guy a little while ago? It appears that doctors want to see you every six months now. This week has gone quickly, but not quickly enough for me. I just want it to be warm and dry again. Hopefully tomorrow will be an improvement.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4793

I've been waiting for rain all day. For most of the day there have only been a few sprinkles. That's changing quickly though. Is the roof going to leak again? Probably. I just hate the suspense. I'll probably go to sleep tonight thinking that everything's fine and then wake up in the middle of the night hearing the dreaded dripping sounds I've grown to hate.

Most of my problems today weren't related to water. They were with my computer. The hardware is too old to upgrade to a modern operating system and that means most of my software is not supported anymore. A lot of things still work fine, but if something crashes it's very hard to reinstall it again. I've tried to upgrade my antivirus software, but current versions require a newer system. I've had to quit using Safari because it is considered system software and I'm still running Sierra. I guess I could upgrade to High Sierra which is the last OS that my computer will recognize. High Sierra wouldn't make any difference though. It is still ancient. Basically, when I fire up the computer every morning I'm taken back to 2010. Hey, there's nothing wrong with 2010. It was a good year. A lot has changed though. Especially when it comes to Internet security, WiFi, and how websites function. A lot of websites just won't work with my antique browser and hardware.

Will I give in any buy a new computer and upgrade all my software, or will I just abandon the Internet altogether? It's an open question. Computers were a vital and very essential tool when I was working, but I'm retired now. Basically just about the only thing I use a computer for these days is writing this blog. With my blogging goal less than a year away, we'll just have to see what happens. I still spend a lot of time online, but it is just force of habit. I have a feeling that I could make better use of my time.

Even though it's been a dreary day, Dawn and I both got our walks. It was surprisingly warm today. I only needed a light jacket on my long walk and probably could have gotten away with wearing shorts. I got a little wet on my walk, but the heavy rain is just starting now. I can hear thunder outside so I'd better get the buckets ready. 

I haven't heard anything yet from the flat roof specialist who was supposed to call me. I'm going to remain optimistic for a while, but I have my doubts that this story has a happy ending. When roofing companies take a good look at my problems, most just walk away. I'm so tired of dealing with leaks I could scream. This has to be dealt with though. Will I weather these storms or will I go batshit crazy? Only time will tell.

I've got a dentist appointment tomorrow. That's actually where my computer problems started today. The program I've used for years to remind me of upcoming events crashed and I had trouble reinstalling it. The program has completely disappeared on the app store and I think the company has gone out of business. I'm sure there are similar programs out there, but I liked this one. This isn't the first software that has bit the dust on my computer. It probably won't be the last either. For the moment I just wrote all my appointment information on a piece of paper and put it on the kitchen table where I will see it when I eat breakfast tomorrow.

No wonder I like to go to launches in Florida. It's an imaginary world where none of these problems exist. Reality is an old house, an old car, and an aging body that are all falling apart. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of staying healthy, but long walks won't fix an old house. It's a shame that my carefully curated list of craftsmen have all died or retired. These guys could have fixed anything in this house, but they're all gone now. There's no use crying over spilt milk. I'm already starting to hear dripping water. I'd better get the buckets out.

Stortz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4790

Shopping is not a pleasure anymore. Traffic is unreal these days. Even at 10 AM Northwest Highway looked like the worst evening rush hour I've ever experienced. Where are all these people coming from? It feels like the population of Dallas has doubled overnight. Stores are crowded and shelves are empty. I routinely have to go to several stores to find things that I used to find in a single location. Prices keep rising and in an effort for keep prices lower, many stores are replacing familiar national brands with their own private labels. Most of these private label brands seem to be of lower quality. It's sad. As soon as we reset our expectations and learn to accept this new reality, I suspect things will get even worse.

What happened to our ice storm? It's like it never even happened. The weather was nice today. It was much warmer and the ground is almost dry again. We had a great walk with Dawn this morning. She really missed her walks during the storm. I think we're almost back to normal now. I cleaned and put most of the buckets away and did a huge load of wash. It seems like every towel and cleaning cloth we own was put to use when there were leaks everywhere. I thought all the leaks were gone, but after the temperature warmed up a very small leak reappeared in the office. This leak has finally stopped as well, but I'm still leaving a container under it just in case.

The roof estimator wanted to come over a little early, so I postponed my long walk until after he finished looking at things. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the problems I was having. The guy was young and I don't think he had dealt with many flat roofs before. He took a lot of pictures and said he was going to confer with someone at the company who had a lot of experience with my type of roof. Later in the day I got a call from someone who seemed to have a wealth of knowledge about anything related to roofing. She didn't even live in Dallas and said she worked with roofing companies all over the country. She seemed to know a lot about my particular roof and had the exact dimensions, even though the guy who came out never took any measurements. She said there is a company that uses satellite and drone imagery to provide this information for roofing companies. Welcome to a new world where practically everything is outsourced. The woman said that she would have a specialist in residential flat roofs contact me next week. So far, so good I guess. This wasn't what I was expecting, but I will say that this company has been very responsive. I'm going to stay optimistic even though there is more rain in the forecast for next week.

My long walk was slow today. I had a lot of foot pain. There's not a lot you can do about osteoarthritis. Bone on bone contact of any nature is going to be painful. They say that a change in diet can slow down the degeneration of cartilage, but it may be too late for that already. I don't know if I could do it anyway. You are supposed to give up alcohol, red meat, cheese and other dairy products, refined carbohydrates and sugar. Jeez. What's left?

I did get my steps today. I've been surprisingly active lately. At least working on the roof had a few benefits. I got 24,000 steps yesterday and 22,000 steps today. Walking is still enjoyable, but it's starting to take a toll on me. I feel quite tired after I finish my long walks these days. I guess that's the point, isn't it? You are supposed to feel tired after exercise. 

It looks like it is going to be nice tomorrow, so Dawn will get her Sunday outing again. I'll probably go mall walking as well. I don't get as many steps when I go walking at the mall, but I need a change of pace from my walks in the park at least once a week. Mall walking when the stores are closed is strangely peaceful.

Duke 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 4788 - Groundhog Day

I didn't need Punxsutawney Phil to tell me that we were going to have six more weeks of winter. All I had to do was look out the window. The freezing rain actually stopped around noon today and the temperature eventually climbed to two degrees above freezing. This was good news for anyone out on the roads, but it was bad news for me. The thawing ice on the roof just caused my roof leaks to get even worse. I've got more leaks than I have buckets now. The pumps still aren't working either.

It was hard to get to sleep with all the leaks last night. Every time I'd hear a different cadence of dripping water, I'd jump out of bed and investigate to make sure nothing was being damaged. Janet eventually went to sleep with headphones on to block the noise. Fitbit says I fell asleep too, but it doesn't seem like it.

The first thing I did this morning was empty all the water buckets. The whole process seemed to take several hours. Whenever you remove a full bucket, you have to have another empty one ready to immediately slide under the leak. I try to put a sponge at the bottom of each bucket to dampen the splashback, but as the water rises in the bucket, the sponge becomes useless. Sometimes the leaks are too close together for the dripping water to fall into the five gallon buckets. I also need a few large rectangular plastic tubs like people often store sweaters or winter clothes in. I always have to put a towel under each bucket because water inevitably splashes outside as the water drips. If a leak is near a wall it is very hard to capture the water. Trust me. It's a huge mess.

I typically have to empty the buckets three times a day. I have to do this one more time tonight before I go to bed. There is so much standing water on the roof that I will have to get up on the roof either tomorrow or Saturday, depending on when everything thaws completely. Slush is just as slippery as ice. I think this is probably the worst roof leak we have ever had. Probably because the roof is not in good condition. I called a roofing company today that came highly recommended by a friend we trust. I looked at their website before I called and it seemed like they were quite knowledgable about flat roofs and the problems they create. We'll see. At any rate, an estimator is supposed to call me back tomorrow to set up a time to come over. 

In between all my cleanup woes, I still found time to walk. Dawn remains in the yard for the time being because it is still too dangerous to get her down to the park. Maybe tomorrow afternoon we can finally give her a walk. I was able to walk my entire route in the park today. Except for a few bridges, the roads and pathways were free of ice. There was lots of slush, but it wasn't slippery. I had good traction with my Hoka boots and never felt I was in danger of falling. Yesterday I had fears of twisting an ankle while I was off the trails tramping my way through the icy woods. Today was just a regular long walk. The only difference between any other day was that it was messy. I also got rained on for a bit. The cold rain didn't last long, but my outer jacket was wet by the time I returned home.

I got my steps today and am doing the best I can to manage the leaks. I still feel very tired and discouraged though. This is the rainy season and even if I do get a new roof fairly soon, we're going to have to wait until everything dries out to remove the existing roof and replace it. Lord knows how many times it's going to rain again before that happens. I may have to be dealing with the bucket brigade over and over again until it drives me completely crazy.

The roads are definitely drivable now. I may go to Home Depot tomorrow to get more tubs and five gallon buckets, along with some rags and sponges. I may get a ladder too. It's not really safe for me to climb up the bricks anymore. I'm in a bad enough mood as it is. If I break a leg, things will be even worse.

Hopefully, I'll still like the roofing company after we talk. I'm ready to do this. A new roof on a house like ours will be expensive, but it's clear that I need a new roof a lot more than I need a new car. I'm looking forward to a reasonably normal weekend. Hopefully it will be warm enough to take Dawn on her Sunday outing again. She hasn't had a proper walk since this mess started and she's starting to get cabin fever.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4787

It's hard to believe, but today was even worse than yesterday. The temperature is still below freezing and we got more freezing rain overnight, adding another layer of ice to the ice that was already there. Dawn was smart enough to poop in the back yard this morning. I think she knew how treacherous it would be to go down to the park. Unfortunately Janet and I weren't as smart as Dawn. We tried to duplicate the walk we took yesterday and failed miserably. The roads were so slick that it was impossible to even walk up the street that led to the park. Neither of us wanted to fall, so we came back home.

It didn't take long for the roof to start leaking. As I predicted, heat from the house caused the bottom layer of ice on the roof to melt and eventually the trapped water found its way inside. The pumps are useless in this type of weather. They are metal and are the first things to freeze. It will have to warm up quite a bit before the pumps are functional again. Needless to say, I can't go up on the roof and remove the ice. I have a hard time even walking on our front porch. It would be insane to attempt to climb up on the roof.

I ate my breakfast, puttered around the house for a while, and paid some bills online. I kept thinking about my steps though. I hated to give up. I eventually decided that if I walked through the neighbor's back yard, I could avoid the slick roads and driveways and make it to the park where I could walk through the wooded areas. The meadows and wooded areas were covered with ice too, but it wasn't as slick as the roads and bike paths because my boots could crunch through the surface ice and provide the traction I need. That was the plan anyway.

I dressed as warmly as I could without hampering my mobility and set out on my 10,000 step quest. This was one of the most difficult walks I have taken in a long while. I couldn't shuffle along like I often do. I had to consciously lift each leg and plant my foot firmly to crack through the ice and keep from slipping. It was extremely cold outside, but I felt my body heating up just from the amount of effort involved. I did pretty well until I came to a road. It was just a small internal park road, but I knew almost immediately that I couldn't make it across. I retraced my steps through the woods in the other direction until I eventually came to another road. By the time I gave up and decide to come back home, I had walked over two miles.

Believe it or not, I did get my 10,000 steps today as well as closing all three rings on my Apple watch. It might be hard to do this again tomorrow. According to the weather forecast, we are going to get even more freezing rain tonight. So far, the precipitation has been mostly sleet and it hasn't been sticking to the tree limbs or power lines. We've still got power, which is more than a lot of people in Austin can say. The only good news is that it is supposed to get above freezing by tomorrow afternoon. Maybe by Friday afternoon we can finally get our cars out of the driveway.

It's driving me crazy listening to the water drip from the roof. So far, all the leaks are in the office. I've got three buckets placed and I hope I won't need any more later tonight. My worry is always that a new leak will crop up while I'm sleeping and that there will be a big mess in the morning. By Sunday most of this will probably just be a bad memory, but right now I'd give this day a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. We've had worse ice storms in the past, but this one is pretty bad. Janet and I are getting too old for this. Dawn probably is too. It would be much nicer to be sitting on a warm beach somewhere.

Myles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day