Day 4902

Just another grocery day. The day started as always with Dawn's sunrise walk. It was nice and cool this morning. I wish the temperature would stay in the low 70's for the rest of the summer, but of course that's not going to happen. I'd better enjoy this weather while it lasts, because in a month from now it's going to feel a lot different.

When we returned to the house we had a big weekend breakfast. I couldn't eat like this all the time, but it's nice to have a change of pace from my shredded wheat and fruit. Shredded wheat was on my grocery list today, but I still couldn't find any at HEB. Hopefully they'll have my favorite brand back in stock before I run out. I found everything else easy enough and was back at the house by 11 AM. I've discovered that the stores aren't nearly as crowded if I go shopping an hour earlier. Probably a lot of things would be easier if I did everything an hour earlier.

By the time I was ready for my long walk it had warmed up quite a bit. It wasn't uncomfortable though because it was still overcast outside. It always feels cooler when there is no direct sunlight. There were no ducks to count today. The Muscovy Ducks have been gone for several weeks, but the geese were gone today as well. I have no idea where the geese went. I'm not even sure that these domestic geese can fly. I thought that breaking in a new pair of Hoka shoes would ease my foot pain, but the new shoes haven't made much difference. Some days are good and other days are terrible. There's no point in going to a doctor about this. I've seen the orthopedic specialist several times and it's pretty obvious that I have arthritis.

I was going to work on my AX-2 article this afternoon, but never got around to it. I've managed to convince myself that there is no point in finishing the article until the eight day mission is complete and the Dragon capsule splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico on June 1st. Hey, I've still got plenty of time.

I resisted the urge to do another load of laundry this afternoon. I think my obsession with doing laundry is why our water bill has gone up. I hate to think what the water bill is going to be like in July when we are watering the lawn again. Actually, all the utility bills have gone up this year, but what else is new. It's just another sign of the times.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but I think we'll still be able to take Dawn on her Sunday outing. The rain isn't supposed to start until later in the afternoon. There has been no appreciable rain since the new roof was completed. I'm curious to see how well it drains. I'd be real disappointed if there is still standing water up there after all this trouble. I'll go to the mall again in the morning. Mall walking is another thing that would benefit from starting an hour earlier. I went earlier last week and the place was almost empty. 

I really need to make an effort to work on my article tomorrow. I need to put a new screen on the screen door at the back of the house as well. I've got a roll of screen wire. I just don't have the energy to do this anymore. Usually after my walks all I want to do is take a nap.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4799

Not a lot happened today. It's a good thing that I have a high tolerance for boredom, because I didn't do anything of consequence all day. I'm actually surprised that the day went so quickly. We got up later than usual so there was no need for flashlights on our early walk with Dawn. No clear blue skies today. The temperature was warm enough, but it was overcast and felt like rain was on the way. It's discouraging to think that the buckets will be back in the house and strategically placed under the leaks again by tomorrow morning.

Dawn expects a piece of shredded wheat when I fix my breakfast now. We have many little rituals and most of them involve food. I was in no hurry to get started this morning because I knew there was nothing on the agenda. I have nobody to blame but myself for this. I'm just not interested in very much these days.

After I checked the mail and looked for nonexistent important messages in my inbox, I got ready for my morning walk. It's hard to decide what to wear on days like these. If I dress for the back yard, I'm cold when I'm walking near the lake, If I dress for the shoreline, I'm hot during the rest of the walk. I should have this figured out by now. I've been walking this same route for years.

When I was walking, someone warned me about a loose pitbull in the park. I said that I knew about the dog and that it belonged to a nearby neighbor. "Oh, dear," said the woman and told me she had already called 311 about the dog. This dog is very sweet and I hope it went back inside before animal control came to pick it up. There are people who think it is perfectly fine to let their dog out to pee without a leash even if they don't have a fence. You can't convince these people that this is dangerous for the dog. 

My pace wasn't that great today and my feet hurt, but I managed to complete my six miles. By my last mile I'm always wondering why I do this everyday. Often my walks are boring. Walking is good exercise but I ought to be able to think of something more interesting to do. I must be a familiar face in the neighborhood by now. A lot of people wave at me, even though I have no idea who they are.

This afternoon I made an appointment to see the dermatologist. I don't really need to see the dermatologist anymore, but I've learned that it's easier to go ahead and make an appointment whenever you get a notice from a doctor. You can't ignore doctors. Once you are on a doctor's list, you're going to be there forever. Maybe I'll ask the dermatologist about my tick bite. Usually I have no reaction to ticks at all, but this time I have a hard lump where the tick bit me. Hopefully it wasn't once of those Lyme Disease ticks.

I spent the afternoon recharging camera and computer batteries and updating the apps on my iPad. My cameras are always ready even though I seldom use them anymore. I do use the camera on my phone though. That's probably reason enough to get a new phone.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4783

It was a fairly typical Saturday. I did my grocery shopping and continued to be amazed at how expensive everything is getting. I did my walking and was equally amazed at how slow I'm getting. I'm still making an effort though. It seems important to keep moving.

There was a light mist in the air when we took Dawn on her early walk this morning. It never really turned into rain, but my jacket was wet by the time we returned home. Dawn was wet too. I think she would have preferred staying home. I wish everything would dry out. There are still leaves to rake and I don't want the roof leak to reappear. I was thinking of repairing the damaged areas with what remains of my five gallon bucket of Armorflex silicon coating, but the surface needs to be dry before you can apply this stuff. I'm not sure if I can manage to lift the bucket up to the roof either.

I couldn't find shredded wheat at the store today. Hopefully the shelves will be restocked before I run out completely. I have become such a creature of habit that I don't know what I'd do if I'm forced to eat something else for breakfast. At least I found everything else on my list. I was actually very close to the gym this morning, but I came home and walked in the park instead because I didn't want to leave the groceries in the car. I didn't want my week's supply of strawberries to go bad.

I'm beginning to think that the bald eagles have moved somewhere else. I haven't seen them for over a month and I'm out in the park every day. It still seems kind of ironic that the birds would disappear right after the city fenced off several acres of land near their nest. The eagles stay so high in the trees that I don't think they care what is happening on the ground anyway unless it is something they can eat.

No leaks today. The ceiling is stained again though. It's probably not worth bleaching the stains away with more rain on the way, but the task is back on my to-do list. I really need to get serious about hiring a roofing company to replace the roof. I find it very irritating that replacing a roof has become so expensive, but being mad isn't going to stop the leaks. I need to find someone who will give me a twenty year guarantee. In twenty years from now I'm probably not going to be around anyway.

I looked at some of the test pictures I took with the star tracker yesterday and finally discovered where panorama pictures were being saved when I hit the "save to local" button in the Benro app. I thought they were being sent to the camera, but apparently they are being saved on my iPhone instead. This is good to know if I ever get around to actually using the tracker. For now it is just something to test on a slow day.

Hopefully the weather will stay dry for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. Rain or shine, I'll probably go mall walking as well. There will definitely be ice cream.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4324

Not a lot happened today. I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I went to Home Depot and got a new plunger to replace the one I broke trying to clean out a slow drain last week. I went to Auto Zone to buy a windshield wiper blade for my car. I only needed one wiper blade because I bought the other one over a month ago when it was the only one in stock. Wiper blades at Auto Zone only cost a small fraction of what the Land Rover dealer was going to charge me. I had trouble finding a blade that matched the one that was already on the car, but the counter guy eventually found something for me in the back. Why did I do this today? Well, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. Doctors frown on canceling an appointment because it is a rainy day.

I tried a different brand of shredded wheat this morning because the brand I'd been using had too many crumbs. When I got to the bottom third of the box, all I was eating was crumbs. When I opened this new box, the cereal inside looked exactly the same as the old box. It was so similar that it looked like it came from the same factory. What was I expecting? Did I really think that this cereal would be better because the picture on the box looked better. Maybe I should just go back to fixing myself an omelet in the morning.

There is some odd construction going on in the park. This morning I saw a bunch of small stone dams blocking some of the gullies that fill with water when it rains. Wire mesh held the stones in place, but water could clearly pass through the stone barriers. Was this some sort of erosion control or something else? There was also a huge pile of stones blocking a trail at one point. The cyclists who ride in the dark are going to love that. The park department definitely stays busy although I seldom know what they are doing. I wish the street department was this industrious. Potholes can stay in city streets for years without any attention.

I've noticed that a lot of people are looking for the eagles when I take my walk in the morning. I haven't seen the birds again, but the word is definitely out that they have arrived. If you see someone going from tree to tree looking upward, they are probably looking for the eagles. I even passed a city event sign that said "The Eagles have landed." I spend so much time in the park that I"ll probably see these birds again. I hope I have my camera with me next time.

I got an invitation in the mail to go to a focus group about cars. I like talking about cars, but I'm not sure if I'll attend. Focus groups usually pay attendees a small stipend for their trouble, but they are sometimes located far away and take place at inconvenient times. I'll probably talk myself out of this. I'm really reluctant to do anything new these days. 

I did order a new backdrop for this years Santa Paws pictures. We've got a ton of these Christmas themed photo backdrops now, but Janet thinks we need to make the set look a little different every year. She's probably right. I ordered the backdrop from China, so hopefully it won't be sitting on a ship somewhere when we do the Christmas pictures. I paid for expedited shipping, so I assume that this means it will be coming by air. We'll see. Hard to believe that it is already time to be thinking about holiday pictures again. Where did this year go?

I need to remember not to eat breakfast tomorrow. I have a physical exam scheduled in the morning to see if my blood work has finally returned to normal and I'm not supposed to eat anything after 10 PM tonight. Needless to say, I hate missing breakfast. 

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4271

Back to the gym again. I'm still not very active, but I'm trying. With each passing day I feel a little better, but I still have no desire to do anything. I'm trying to force myself to go to the gym everyday because otherwise I'd just spend the day sleeping. I'm actually surprised that I can still sleep at night. With all the naps I've been taking, my Fitbit has been registering more than 8 hours of sleep each day for the first time I can remember.

We still start our day with a sunrise walk with Dawn. If there happens to be a breeze, these walks are enjoyable but you can feel the heat as soon as the sun clears the horizon. Dawn still enjoys these morning walks but she has no desire to go any further than her standard one mile loop. I can't say that I blame her. Lately, I'm ready to return home after one mile myself.

I'm still having shredded wheat for breakfast. What happened to my smoothie? I have no desire for a smoothie anymore. This is one of the oddest side effects of my illness. How can a mealtime favorite for many years suddenly turn your stomach? I imagine that I'll return to having smoothies at some point, but for now this remains a mystery.

NASA keeps sending me invitations to apply for credentials, but always adds a disclaimer saying that due to Covid restrictions, almost nobody will be accepted. Why not just reach out directly to the ten people you want to cover your events. I have no plans to return to Florida anyway, but it is frustrating that it appears to be coming much more difficult to cover launches at Kennedy Space Center. I'm not even sure that I have a media sponsor anymore since my editor is no longer working at Spaceflight Magazine. I wonder how long it will take me to get to know the new editor?

I walked several miles at the gym today, but my pace was so slow that it hardly registered on my Fitbit. I was so cold today that I wished I'd worn a jacket to the gym. This is another odd side effect of my hospitalization and surgeries. I'm perpetually cold now. The temperatures outside are near 100 degrees but I'm wearing a jacket around the house. I guess I could turn the thermostat up, but Janet and Dawn wouldn't approve. The house isn't really that cold. It's just me.

I guess I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow. There are no restrictions on shopping, just on lifting heavy objects. I'm pretty sure I can still pick up a box of strawberries. Do I even need strawberries and blueberries if I'm not fixing a smoothie every morning? Who knows. I just wish that I'd get back to my old schedule.

I've got no real plans for tomorrow. I suspect that life without a gallbladder will be exactly the same as life with a gallbladder. Maybe one of these days I'll be enthusiastic about something again. I'm not feeling it now though.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day