Day 2824

There are pumpkins everywhere. It isn't even October yet. I've even seen Christmas lights in a few stores. Couldn't we just give it a rest? I'm sure that some of these early pumpkins will rot before Halloween even arrives. I used to dutifully get pumpkins every year to decorate the front porch. They would often sit there until February when I would eventually notice that they had turned into a pile of mush.

I don't buy pumpkins anymore. We don't cook a big turkey on Thanksgiving either. There is still a tree at Christmas, but it is a very small simple tree. I think I have finally mastered downsizing the holidays. Now, if I could just figure out how to downsize everything else.

I'm going to miss those pictures of Saturn from Cassini. I wonder what the team in charge of this mission is going to do now? They spent more than a decade working together to learn about the planet and now their spacecraft is gone. I wonder if I'll see other missions on this kind of a grand scale in my lifetime? People still thought big when Cassini-Huygens was conceived in 1988. More than 5000 people worked on the project during it's lifetime. The 22 foot tall spacecraft weighed over 12,000 pounds and traveled almost 5 billion miles to take hundreds of thousands of pictures and discover 6 new moons. I wish were still doing things like this. We still could if we weren't tearing ourselves apart with hatred and bickering.

Maybe this is why I'm not all that excited about the iPhone X. We've gone from discovering the universe to discovering new ways to take a selfie. Who am I to criticize though. The folks in silicon valley who are discovering new ways to communicate with emojis are still doing more than I am. All I did today was go to the gym and use the wet/dry vacuum to suck more water from under the shower tiles.

I was looking for some alternate dog walking shoes while my boots are at the shoe repair shop. In a dusty corner of my closet, I found a pair of my Dad's boots I used to wear when it snowed. I forgot I even had these boots because it hasn't snowed much lately. What was amazing is that even though these boots were over fifty years old, they were still in better condition than most brand new shoes today. My Dad wore these shoes trapping animals in Alaska. I've worn them off and on for decades and they still look like they could last a lifetime. I know I sound like a broken record talking about shoddy, disposable products, but it's true. Nothing is built to last anymore.

I think I spotted the tip of a new nail starting to grow where Dash ripped his dewclaw out. He still doesn't want me near the area, so I try to clean the wound with saline solution while he is asleep. I'll be glad when his dewclaw has grown back. Dash is not a good patient. I still have to have him wear the cone whenever I'm not watching him closely.

My allergies didn't seem so bad today. I still used a lot of Kleenex and Visine, but it wasn't like yesterday. It's weird how the amount of pollen in the air can vary so much from day to day. I'm going to have to start checking the pollen count every morning.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2649

 

My taxes are done. Well, they aren't really done, but they aren't my responsibility anymore. When I dropped the files off at the accountant's office, I made sure that they could open the CD with my Quickbook records before I left. I use such an old version of Quickbooks Pro that I'm always afraid that my accountant won't be able to import the files into their system. I hate to switch accounting programs. I was probably the last person in the world who still used MacMoney. When I finally switched to Quickbooks, I never bothered to upgrade. The first version was fine.

It was kind of chilly this morning. When I put on my favorite winter coat to walk the dogs, the zipper broke. The last time the zipper broke on this coat, I asked the tailor to replace it with a heavy duty indestructible zipper. Apparently indestructible zippers last two years. I took the coat back to a different tailor and asked them to put in a third zipper. I'm so tired of fixing things that are poorly made. Nothing lasts very long anymore. I still have a parka that my Dad wore when we lived in Alaska. The coat is over fifty years old and looks like it will last another fifty years. I doubt that I'd ever have to replace the zipper in this sturdy coat. So, why don't I just wear my Dad's coat and forget about all the shoddy imitations I've bought over the years? It's a nice coat, but something designed for Alaskan winters is a little warm for Texas.

I actually went to an animal rescue group meeting tonight. It's rare that I'm able to attend these meetings anymore, but Janet came home early, so I felt safe leaving Dot for a while. I didn't contribute very much to tonight's meeting, but at least I stayed the entire time. Several people had to leave early this evening, so the meeting was shorter than usual. It still seemed long to me though. I've spent the better part of my life sitting in long meetings, but I think my meeting days are over. I just don't have the patience for them anymore.

We saw another coyote on our walk this morning. Somehow the subject of coyotes came up at our meeting tonight and almost everyone had seen one recently. One guy even said that they were coming into his yard. I guess urban coyotes are a thing now. I sure wish that Dash was a little more wary of the critters. He is sometimes terrified of other dogs, but he seems oblivious to coyotes. He was literally walking right toward one this morning. I would think that he could have smelled the coyote, but Dash didn't seem to care. I didn't want to take chances, so we changed directions and took the long way home.

I almost forgot to take out the trash tonight. Somehow going to the meeting after dinner made me forget it was Thursday. When I finally hauled the trash can out to the curb, someone else had already taken my favorite spot. I'm superstitious about the trash truck missing my can, so I reluctantly placed the can somewhere else and hoped for the best. I don't know why I worry about stuff like this, but it's probably not going to change. Lost mail, broken zippers, and forgotten trash cans are all pretty normal these days.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2007

When I went to the gym this afternoon, I thought I'd try to resume the strenuous workouts I used to do this time last year. I was exhausted. Somehow, being one year older, dislocating my shoulder, and going to the gym on Sunday afternoons instead of three days a week have taken their toll. I made it through the routine, but I'll be sore tomorrow. Perhaps I should have skipped getting the water off the roof and vacuuming when I got home.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the little Philae spacecraft that landed on a comet seven months ago has come alive again. The space geeks among you might remember that Philae's batteries went dead after just 60 hours because it landed next to a cliff and wasn't receiving enough sunlight to recharge the batteries. The comet kept moving though and as the sun got closer and closer, the solar panels began receiving more sunlight and the batteries slowly recharged. It amazes me that we know how to build things this well, and yet we rarely do it. I'm lucky if I can get the equipment around the house to run for two weeks without some sort of mishap, and yet the Philae comet lander and several incredibly durable Mars rovers just keep on working. It's a shame that we've almost lost the concept of things that last a lifetime. People seem strangely content to buy something amazingly cool and just throw it away when it inevitably breaks. I wonder how long our cool new Keurig coffeemaker and Dyson vacuum cleaner are going to last?

The dogs had a good day today. They seem much more content on weekends when everybody is home and the pace is a little more relaxed. The recent rain has cooled the air down a bit too. When you're walking old dogs, every degree counts. It's a shame that Dot is so fragile. She had a playful moment today where I could tell that she wanted to race around and play with Dash like she did in the old days. I quickly put her harness on and tried to follow her around so she wouldn't fall and break a hip or something, but I think I spoiled the moment. All the vets have warned me that Dot will injure herself if she tries to run without assistance. Watching her move slowly around the house, I believe them.

Protecting dogs from harm while still allowing them to be dogs is difficult. Instincts are strong and Dot would still like to chase after anything that comes down the alley, while Dash continues to follow his nose to the most appealing smells, even if they lead to something dangerous. Since Dash likes to walk along the shoreline, I have to keep a sharp eye out for poisonous snakes in the Summer.  Today, Dash stubbornly wanted to go down a street where I knew there was a dangerous, aggressive dog that sometimes gets loose. We did walk home the safe way, but Dash wasn't happy about it.

I get the rest of my dental work done later this week. Hopefully when this is complete, the onslaught of ridiculously high bills will abate somewhat. It would be nice to have a Summer without any medical emergencies, car problems, or major appliance meltdowns whatsoever.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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