Day 4893

The mountain of construction materials in the front yard is now mostly up on the roof. Quite a lot got done today. The main roof is finished except for the metal flashing that goes around the fascia. The roofers still need to finish the carport, but they assure me that they can do this tomorrow morning. The translucent fiberglass covering over the atrium will be replaced as well. Our new roof may get it's first test tonight. It was supposed to remain clear all week, but a surprise thunderstorm has cropped up over Amarillo and it appears to be headed our way. I wish the roof was completely finished before it is tested by weather, but I learned long ago that I have no control over the weather. Actually we've been pretty lucky to have had two warm sunny days in  row.

I went up on the roof to inspect things for the first time this evening and everything looks a lot better. There are no low spots I can see that would cause ponding. The TPO Membrane seems tough and resilient. With any luck, this roof should drain normally now. I'm going to be real disappointed if there is still standing water after the first big rain. We'll see what happens. There's no way to determine how well the roof is going to perform until it gets wet.

I like to think of myself as a low key person who doesn't get bothered by anything. I'll have to admit though that this roof replacement has stressed me out. I didn't sleep well last night. Usually I fall asleep instantly. The work has been extremely noisy and there have been times when I though the house was falling apart. I think replacing all the rotted wood has given the house a lot more structural stability, but it won't reverse the interior damage that has already been done. There are still cracks and stains in the ceiling all over the place. One thing at a time I guess. Once we are confident that the roof no longer leaks, we can start repairing the damaged sheetrock and give the house a new coat of paint. 

We took Dawn on her early walk at the normal time. The roofers start working early, but Janet and I start our day even earlier. When the roofers arrived this morning, I was already eating my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. I stayed around the house longer than usual today because Janet wasn't going to return home until about 2 PM. I still didn't feel comfortable leaving Dawn alone with the roofers making so much noise on the roof. Today was even noisier than usual because the roofers were running a large portable generator right outside my office window. The electric welding  machine that fused the TPO segments together must have required 240 volts because they used our outdoor electric outlets for all their other tools.

When Janet returned home I took my long walk. Since it was mid-afternoon by this time, I almost immediately began to feel hot. I have a feeling that our mild Spring is just about over. It's been way too wet this Spring, but I think I prefer the rain to a long string of 100 degree days. Today I passed a group of photographers surrounding a tree. I asked what was going on and one guy said there were baby eagles in the tree. The nest looked too small for eagles, but what do I know. Eventually a guy on a bicycle showed up and told everyone that we were actually looking at baby Red Shouldered Hawks.

Tomorrow is going to be busy. The roofers are supposed to finish their work in the morning. I bet it's going to take them all day. I have an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I always like to get a haircut before I take a trip. I'll spend part of the day packing. I haven't even started yet. The weather doesn't look great for Sunday's launch, but I'm going to try to remain optimistic. It's got to be better than my last trip to Florida.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4892

It was pretty noisy today. The roofers arrived around 7 AM and immediately begain tearing off the old roof. There was a lot more damage than I anticipated. There were several places where the 4x8 plywood decking underneath the roof had completely rotted away. We ended up having to completely replace 5 of the half inch thick 4x8 decking panels. No wonder the roof had been leaking so bad. Once water managed to penetrate the Armorflex silicon coating, it had a clear path to the inside of the house. There was a modified bitumen roof under the Armorflex, but the seams had gone bad long ago. Basically, the previous roofer had just done a shoddy job.

So far, I've been very impressed with this roofing crew. They have been extremely professional, always making me immediately aware of surprises they discovered. There were a fair share of surprises. The amount of rotted wood was massive. They actually did an excellent job of repairing the rotted wood I already knew about. The fascia and soffit on the low side of the roof where the water normally drains looks as good as new now. I was surprised that these guys brought a real carpenter with them. Usually the people roofing companies try to pass off as carpenters is laughable.

The roofers were surprised that our existing roof had virtually no insulation. I knew about this just by looking at my electric bills in the summer. The original tar and gravel roof provided excellent insulation, but when a previous roofing company replaced it with a thin torch down modified bitumen roof placed directly over the decking, the insulation value vanished. This time we are adding three inches of insulation under a TPO Membrane roof. The low areas where water used to pond have already been leveled and hopefully I will never need to use the pumps again.

Right now the house and yard look like a disaster, but I have high hopes that everything will look good again in a few days. I'm finding nails everywhere. I'm going to have to do a very careful sweep of the driveway before we bring our cars back. So far, everything is right on schedule. I'm hoping that the roofers are able to finish tomorrow. The weather was great today and will still be good tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast on Friday though. 

We still managed to get all the usual things done. Dawn got her early morning walk before the roofers arrived. I took my regular long walk as well. I waited until Janet returned home before I left though. All the noise on the roof kind of scared Dawn and I didn't want to leave her alone in the house. Fitbit says I'm not burning as many calories on my walks now, which is weird since my pace has been faster than usual this week. Sometimes I don't trust my Fitbit. It often doesn't agree with the Apple Watch at all. I wonder if I could ever walk without all the tracking devices? I tend to think that things don't even exist unless you measure them or write about the experience.

In other news, I applied for TSA Pre today and got the lawn mower batteries replaced. I filled out the TSA Pre registration information online, but I can't get an appointment to be fingerprinted until June 20. Bureaucracy has become impossibly slow. I had to wait over a month to get an appointment to renew my driver's license. They say it can take up to a year to get your passport renewed these days. Ironically, it only takes a few minutes to get a new credit card.

I hope tomorrow goes smoothly. I'll be glad when this roof replacement is behind me. I've still got a lot to do before the AX-2 trip as well. It's good to get things done though. I've been talking about getting the roof replaced for years. Now it's finally happening.

Susie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4891

The roof replacement isn't off to a great start. The roofers arrived bright and early this morning. They tramped around on the roof for a while, causing a bad spot on the office ceiling to start leaking again. Then about an hour later they left. They told me that there was rain in the forecast and they would have to wait until tomorrow to start. I could have told them that there has been rain in the forecast all week. Ironically, it didn't rain at all today. Not one drop. It actually would have been a nice, relatively cool overcast day to work on the roof. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I've never had great luck with roofing companies and they've all come highly recommended by architects and friends we know.

It might not have been a good day for replacing a roof, but it was a good day for walking. Dawn enjoyed her early morning walk before the roofers arrived and I enjoyed the cooler weather a little later in the day when I took my daily long walk. Before I took my walk, I participated in a teleconference with the astronauts who will take part in the AX-2 Mission to the International Space Station. I didn't really learn anything new, but it is always interesting to be a member of the working press. I didn't ask any questions today, but I did listen and take notes.

It's a shame that the roofers didn't get started on the roof today. The sooner they start, the sooner they'll finish. We'll have to be really careful about letting Dawn out in the yard tomorrow. Although the roofers were only here for an hour, they managed to leave all the gates open. The job foreman this morning kept referring to things he said he'd talked to me earlier about. I didn't remember any of them. This could have been my fault though. There's a lot I don't remember these days.

According to Fitbit and my Apple Watch, I'm not as active on my walks anymore. It certainly feels like I'm as active as I've always been, so I don't know if there's something wrong with my devices or with me. I know I'm slowing down but maybe my equipment is as well. I'm having all sorts of minor problems with my computers lately, so the problem could easily be with the watch or Fitbit. It's hard to determine why my computer feels slow and sluggish lately. Is it the router, the WiFi network, my hosting company, my browser, or the computer itself? I'm growing tired of being constantly connected. Life was easier when I just wrote my thoughts down in longhand in a little leather journal and didn't even know my blood pressure.

I may be slow, but I still think my long walks are very beneficial. At least people aren't reading about my demise on Facebook. I continue to be surprised at how many former co-workers and classmates have passed away. I'll continue walking and hope my body keeps functioning. I don't really feel old until I look in the mirror. That face has definitely seen better days.

I keep looking for the bald eagles on my walks, but haven't seen them in almost a month. The Muscovy Ducks seemed to have disappeared as well. One of the resident geese doesn't seem to like the other geese. Most days I just see four geese, although I occasionally I still see five. Hey, the green monk parakeets were back today though.  I haven't seen them in a while. The constantly changing wildlife keeps these walks interesting. Maybe this is why I have no strong desire to go back to the gym. I keep track of the ducks on my long walks and enjoy looking in store windows when I'm mall walking. There's nothing to see when I'm at the gym.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4888

Every time I go shopping on Saturday I'm amazed at how much traffic there is. The roads are crowded and the stores are full. The city has changed a lot in ten years. I often fantasize about living in a small town with excellent health care and great veterinarians. Unfortunately, I don't think these places exist. It could be a lot worse though. At least I don't still live in Seattle. That city has really changed a lot. Whenever I visit another large city, Dallas starts looking a whole lot better.

The weather forecast last night said that it would be raining all day. It didn't rain at all. Now the forecast says it will be raining all day tomorrow. We'll see what happens. Whatever happens, it doesn't look good for replacing the roof next week. I'll wait until Monday to call the roofers though. A lot could change over the weekend. I'm torn between wanting to get the roof done immediately and postponing things until the middle of Summer. I know that the roofers will want to go ahead despite the weather and make all kind of promises they can't keep. If they only worked during completely dry weather they wouldn't have much business this Spring. 

The stores seemed unusually crowded today. Maybe it was because it's Mother's Day tomorrow. I might be imagining things, but prices still seem to be going up every single week. It's discouraging. I found what I needed though. I'm glad I only need to do this once a week. I don't even need to get all the groceries either. Janet gets some things and I get other things. I doubt this routine will ever change. It seems to work.

It was nice outside when we took our early walk with Dawn, but by the time I was ready for my long walk, it felt like Summer was already here. I was hot and mildly uncomfortable walking this afternoon. How am I going to make it through July and August?  Today's temperatures were nothing compared to what's coming our way later in the year. I've walked my way through Summer before and I guess I can do it again. I'm not looking forward to July and August though. I guess I can always go to the gym. They keep my gym very cold.

I'm talking myself into going down to Florida for the AX-2 launch. SpaceFlight has already expressed an interest in doing an article and I think I'm going to get credentialed for this one. Even though these trips can get expensive, I'm not spending money on other things these days. When I'm sitting here doing nothing, I can think of all sorts of reasons to go. When I'm paying for these trips, I can think of a lot of reasons to never go again.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. I'll go mall walking either way. One good thing about mall walking is that the weather doesn't matter. It's always exactly the same inside. 

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4887

My editor liked my article about the Viasat-3 launch and sent me a press proof of how it will appear in the July issue of SpaceFlight. I'm getting to be a regular contributor to this magazine. Will I be able to make it to the AX-2 launch several weeks from now? We'll see. I paid my credit card bills from the previous launch today and it's not looking promising. Everything is getting way too expensive. Being a space journalist is not a lucrative endeavor. Most of the other rocket photographers I've met down at the space center get paid virtually nothing for their efforts. We all seem to think it's worth it though. Not many people get inside access to view launches like this.

I continue to worry about the weather for the roof replacement next week. I was going to call the roofers today and try to postpone things, but I think I'll wait until Monday. The weather forecast changes daily. If the weather improves we might as well go ahead and get this done. I still don't want to deal with rain while half the roof is pulled off though. I'd kind of rather wait till July when we can go for weeks without any sort of moisture. With my luck, the best time for the roof replacement will probably be when I want to go to Florida for the AX-2 launch.

Today was a typical Friday. Janet did her grocery shopping. Dawn got impatient waiting for her to return. And I took another long walk. It was a good day for walking. The sky was overcast and it was relatively cool with very little wind. I like days like this. Dawn wasn't so sure about her own morning walk. She's scared of the neighbor's cat and won't go down into the park if the cat is outside in the neighbor's yard. We had to take a different route this morning but it all worked out fine. Dawn actually seemed excited to be doing something new.

I did nothing new at all on my long walk later in the morning. I followed my familiar route. Made sure all the resident ducks were accounted for. And tried to keep up a decent pace. I'm hopelessly slow compared to some people I see walking. Fitbit thinks I'm doing a good job though. Walking six miles a day still seems like a better alternative than going to the gym.

My supplemental health insurance went up in price again. I think the cable bill went up too. Everything keeps getting more expensive, while no additional money is coming in. This sucks. It's too bad I am no longer an in demand web designer. I could use a little extra income these days. I hear jobs are plentiful, but I don't think I'd want the type of job seniors tend to get these days. I'm not cut out to be a greeter at Walmart. I'll just have to learn to be more frugal. I was never very good at being frugal.

This week has gone quickly. I need to make a grocery list because my own grocery run is tomorrow. I'm trying to avoid outdoor chores, but the grass will need to be mowed very soon. Can it wait another week? We'll see.

Dixie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4864

We are getting closer to pinning down a start date for the roof replacement. I think the roofers will be ready to begin sometime in early May. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any closer to pinning down anything else. I have no idea if or when I'll be going to Kennedy Space Center again. The launch date for all the missions originally scheduled for April keeps changing. In theory I'm still going to the Viasat-3 launch, but I haven't received my credentials yet. I have a feeling that Space X is preoccupied with the Starship orbital launch and I won't hear anything until that takes place. I guess all this uncertainty should teach me to just chill out and carry on. Life won't change much whether I go to these launches or not.

It was quite warm today, but it was overcast, so it was still reasonably pleasant walking weather. The days are getting longer now and it is almost always daylight when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk. This morning we saw no photographers surrounding the tree with the baby owls. Have the owls left the tree or have the photographers become bored with taking endless pictures? Maybe I'll have to visit the tree tomorrow and see if the owls are still there.

I got a late start on my long walk today, but I guess it didn't matter. There was certainly nothing else on my schedule. I see a lot fewer birds these days because the seasonal migrations have taken place and the migratory birds have left the area. There are still Purple Martins fighting with Starlings over the Martin houses in the park and a handful of Great Egrets and Blue Herons but that's about it. I don't even see many Mallards this Spring. The resident geese and Muscovy Ducks are always at Sunset Bay, but that's because they just hang around and wait for people to feed them. I haven't seen the Monk Parakeets in ages. I wonder where they went? I did see one of the Bald Eagles today. It was flying and I didn't get a great view, but the bird definitely was an eagle.

It bothers me that even though I walk six miles a day, my Apple Watch still says my fitness level is low. This is because the watch can estimate the amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. Unfortunately, certain blood pressure medications can throw the measurement way off and make it seem artificially low. There's nothing I can do about this, but it's irritating that I do so much exercise and still get a low score. I'm pretty sure that the Apple Watch and Fitbit don't make me any healthier, but I do like to measure things.

I should have mowed the grass today but I did a load of laundry instead. I've grown to hate mowing the lawn. I need to either buy a self-propelled lawn mower or hire a lawn service. Pushing that old mower around is getting harder and harder. I try to convince myself that this is good exercise, but it just feels like a giant nuisance. Too bad I can't just let the weeds grow and call the yard a small "native prairie."

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. Since we no longer use a leash around her neck because of the bulging disc, it's a little harder to get her to heal. Dogs tend to pull more when they are wearing a harness. A harness isn't typically allowed in the training class, but Dawn has a doctor's excuse. She still does all the other exercises well, but if she doesn't heal properly she's not going to be winning any more ribbons. I'm sure Dawn could care less. The reason she likes the class is that she gets to see other dogs.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4862

As soon as we finished walking Dawn this morning, I turned on the computer and watched the Starship orbital launch attempt on the Space X live feed. I wasn't terrible surprised when the launch got scrubbed at the last minute. A lot can go wrong with something this complicated. At any rate, I'm glad I didn't drive down to Boca Chica to see the launch in person. The people who did make the trip are probably wondering now whether to stay for another attempt, or cut their losses and go home. Space X has not scheduled another attempt yet, so waiting is a gamble. Chasing rockets is complicated and can often end up being much more expensive than you'd planned. I guess it's worth it though. I'm still planning on going to Florida for the upcoming Viasat-3 launch. That one got delayed again today as well.

Our nice Spring weather continues. It's always a little chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn, but the temperature rises quickly. By the time I'm ready for my daily long walk, I can usually change into shorts and a t-shirt. It's weird to see the temperature change so dramatically in just a few hours, but luckily the high temperature for the day is still very pleasant. I could probably put my time to better use, but a long walk seems essential now. Without my daily walk, I would end up spending even more time doing unavoidable chores around the house. 

Today's chores were changing the sheets on the bed and pulling weeds in the yard. I think that bulky trash pick up is tomorrow, so I wanted to get a few more things out to the curb before the trucks arrived. I tried to clean up the front yard today. The yard still doesn't look great, but I can see a definite improvement. When I'm doing yard work I often think about getting a yard service like the other neighbors, but I never do anything. The yard is small and I do need the exercise. 

The roofers want to get started on replacing the roof. I guess we might as well get this over with, but I'm not eager to spend a lot of money on something I can't even see. Getting a new roof is the key to fixing up the house. It makes no sense to repair stained sheetrock or replace carpets and paint until the leaks are eliminated. Sometimes I think it would be easier just to move, but we already live where we want to be. This is definitely the best part of town to have a dog. At any rate, the roof replacement is on my radar now. The work will probably begin within the next several weeks.

It seems like I'm spending more and more time dealing with spam these days. I get multiple spam phone calls, spam text messages, and spam e-mail every day. I never answer the phone anymore unless I recognize the number on the caller ID. When I get spam text messages I immediately block the caller. A lot of these messages get blocked by service providers before I even see them, but quite a few seem to get through. I feel like I am under siege. Who are these people and why are they making such an effort to deceive me? If a message on my caller ID says "suspected spam," why does the phone company even bother to put it through?

Tomorrow will be another day very much like today. Will I do anything different? Probably not. I really should have made plans to go out to the observatory for Dark Sky Week, but it's too late for that now. I'll think of something. Maybe I'll wash the car.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4855

What a difference a day makes. The park was empty today and all signs of yesterdays celebrations were gone. I'll have to give people credit this year. Everyone seemed to have done a great job cleaning up their mess. In prior years I'm seen the park totally trashed on the day after Easter. This year all trash was neatly bagged and placed in or near trash receptacles. By the time I took my walk this morning, collection crews were already hauling the trash away.

I didn't expect much to happen today and it didn't. We took Dawn on her early walk, I ate breakfast, made the bed, checked my messages for the illusive accreditation notice I've been waiting for, and then got ready for my long walk.

Last year I watched an old stone building in the park being restored. Over the weekend it looks like someone lost control of their car and it smashed into the building and destroyed one of the stone walls. The building is in ruins again. I wonder how long it will take to restore the building again. It took years to fix it the first time.

The lake seems kind of empty now. The White Pelicans, the Double Crested Cormorants, and even the gulls have all disappeared. There don't even seem to be many Mallards left. When the migratory birds leave they aren't replaced by a new batch of Summer birds. A few Great Egrets and Blue Herons remain, but the only birds I saw on the water today were Coots. Don't worry. I'm not becoming a birder. There's just not a lot going on in the park.

I'm surprised I haven't heard from the roofers. I was almost certain they'd be wanting to get started on the roof replacement by now. As much as I want to avoid this project, I may need to call them. The sooner the roof gets fixed, the sooner we can deal with the rest of the house. I think I'll wait to call until I've heard about accreditation for the April 18th Falcon Heavy launch. I should have heard something by now, since the launch takes place next week. I guess I'll go to the launch even if I get notified at the last minute. It's irritating not to be able to plan ahead though. Maybe this is a sign that I need to think about scaling back my launch coverage plans. I spend way too much time fretting about this stuff.

We stopped Dawn's pain medication today and she still seems fine. There are no signs of discomfort at all. We may never know if her problems were caused by the bulging disc in her neck or the shoulder tear. Maybe it was a combination of both. Now that she seems strong again it's going to be harder than every to keep her from jumping. Every time she jumps down from the bed or a chair, I worry that she will land wrong and injure herself again. To Dawn's credit, she is learning to use her step though. At least she uses it when we're watching her.

I have no plans at all for tomorrow. I guess that's OK. I had no plans for today and everything worked out fine.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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