Day 3493

I'm starting to get estimates in for fixing things around the house. The estimates seem high, but I guess they're realistic. My reference points are costs from twenty or thirty years ago. Everything is much more expensive now. A lot of the repairs are really necessary but there is no joy in doing them. I've lost interest in the house. Like most old things, it has become a money pit. I don't talk about the architecture anymore. The mid-century design used to seem cool to me but now it is just a place to live. I definitely can't see moving anymore. The house is paid for.

The roofer has promised to bring me some more of the special silicon coating so I can patch some new small tears in the elastomer myself. I'm OK with this. I don't want to push my luck and demand that he bring a crew out to the house again. He's been out here a lot over the years. I just hope he brings the silicon stuff before it rains again.

My sculptor friend said she'd see about fixing the broken sculpture. It's really a bird bath, but it is very artistic. I need to bring the broken pieces to a school where she is teaching tomorrow. Maybe she will weld the thing back together on the spot. She is teaching a welding class.

Although the magazine won't be published until early August I keep hoping to find an advance copy of Spaceflight Magazine in the morning mail. Even a PDF file of the layout in my inbox would be welcome news. I won't be a pest and bother the editor, but it's hard to wait. I really want to see this. Maybe seeing the article in print will inspire me to do something even better in the future.

I certainly need some inspiration at this point. The dog days of summer are wearing me down. The weather is too hot. I feel too poor. Nothing seems exciting at all. I continue to spend my days taking long walks and sweating profusely. I don't read a lot anymore and I've already seen the two summer movies that seemed halfway interesting. I've had a gift card in my wallet for months now and I can't even think of anything to spend it on. The card expires at the end of the month so I guess I'll have to think of something.

I haven't tired of the new neighborhood restaurant yet, so I'll probably go back there again tomorrow morning. Pancakes or omelets? Such big decisions. I learned that my favorite clothing store is having their big end of summer sale, but who needs new clothes to walk in the park? It's weird to have no desire to buy things anymore. Buying things sustained me for years.

I guess writing sustains me now. The desire to have something to share will eventually force me to do interesting things again. It's kind of embarrassing to write about nothing.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3491

I guess I was surprised that the carpenter actually showed up. My expectations are pretty low these days. I liked the guy. His life seemed like the carpenter's version of mine. He'd worked for a number of large construction companies and employed other people himself before concluding that he was happiest working alone. He asked all the right questions and seemed knowledgable. If his bid seems reasonable, he'll be the guy I use to rebuild the greenhouse. Hopefully, by the end of the Summer I can cross this task off my list.

I also called a sculptor friend to see if she could repair a backyard sculpture that got broken during the same June storm that destroyed the greenhouse. Since I was feeling industrious, I climbed up on the roof to see if I could patch some small tears in the elastomer coating using the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. After examining the area carefully, I chickened out and begged the roofer who's trying to avoid me to bring me a new supply of the Armor Flex silicon material instead. If I use anything else, I think the repair will fail because silicon only sticks to silicon. The Liquid Rubber in a Can also had all sorts of danger warnings in very small print in the can. I don't have a good feeling about this stuff.

I was a little envious to learn that several of the folks I went to Kennedy Space Center with were participating in Apollo 11 50th Anniversary events today. One got invited to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to hear Buzz Aldrin and other Apollo era astronauts speak at a special 50th Anniversary Dinner. Another was at the Smithsonian in Washington DC for the unveiling of the restored spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. A third was taking his wife to see a Duran Duran concert in the Rocket Garden at the Space Center. There wasn't much on my agenda. After talking with the carpenter, I just took another very hot walk in the park.

I don't know why this summer seems like the hottest ever. Last year it was well over 100 degrees at this time. I remember a year that was so hot that the lake started to dry up. So far this year it is only in the 90's. It still seems miserable to me though. Maybe I'm just getting old. I need to start watering the grass more often. Everything is turning brown and going to die soon. I hate the thought of humongous water bills though. I find myself wishing for rain and hating rain at the same time. Basically, I'm ready for Summer to be over.

Fifty years ago this morning Apollo 11 started its journey to the moon. There certainly wasn't anything momentous going on today. As I channel hopped while I was drinking my smoothie for breakfast the only things on the news was more of the endless bickering you see in Washington DC these days. I'm enjoying all the documentaries about the Apollo 11 Anniversary, but I wish something equally exciting was going on now.

In lieu of excitement, I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and finished updating the Dalmatian Rescue website. At least I did something today.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1395

With life returning to normal, I decided to use some of my free time to get a haircut. I should have gotten a haircut over a month ago, since I was starting to look like Albert Einstein on a bad hair day. It just wasn't worth the effort on most days though. The only time I go to the mall lately is when I'm getting a haircut at Toni & Guy or shopping for a birthday present for Janet. Although I noticed a number of new stores and tons of new Fall merchandise, I still didn't feel compelled to buy anything. The haircut was all I needed today. 

There were some interesting sculptures in the mall made using canned vegetables as the primary building block. This was probably some sort of fundraiser, but I didn't look to see who the cans benefited. I'd never noticed before that Trader Joe's canned corn is quite colorful.

I turned in another article today and got my October invoices in the mail as well. Things were slow this month. Looking at the bills I sent out today, it doesn't look like there's going to be a lot of money coming in next month. At least the stock market had a good day. Any day the DOW decides to go up 300 points is just fine as far as I'm concerned. Evidently, investors were heartened by news that Congress was finally getting around to doing something. I think everyone must have been listening to a different newscast than I was. Sure, some folks got together in the White House and talked for a while, but unless I'm missing something here, they didn't actually agree on anything. Nothing has really changed.

The dogs were both in good spirits today. When they're having a good day, it's easy to forget that they are both prone to seizures. So far, nobody has been able to pinpoint the cause of the seizures or tell me when they are going to happen next. All I know is that when the dogs do have seizures, they are pretty severe. My own condition is equally mysterious. I really feel pretty good these days, but my blood work tells a different tale. I really don't like all the uncertainty, but what are you going to do?

I know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm already looking forward to a delicious breakfast. I might even have a side of bacon with my omelet. I know I've got one more article to write tomorrow morning, but if that turns out to be it for the day, I'm going to try to get to the gym as well. One day a week really isn't doing me that much good.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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