Day 4176 - Memorial Day

Will this ever end? We had more rain today. This is the wettest Spring I can remember. The plants love it, but I don't think anyone else does. We got a lot of rain today, but still managed to find time to walk. Dawn's walk was completely dry, but I ended up cutting it pretty close on my own walk a little later. As soon as I completed my full six miles and returned to the house, the skies opened up and it started pouring. If I'd been walking just a little slower, I would have got soaked.

The park is a popular place for picnics and barbecues on Memorial Day. I was surprised at how many people stubbornly refused to give up in spite of the bad weather. There were makeshift tents and tarps erected over picnic tables. I saw one huge tarp that roofers often use to cover damaged roofs strung between several trees. The tarp not only covered a picnic table and a barbecue pit, it covered the owner's car as well. Nothing seemed to bother these people. The ground was wet and I could hear thunder in the distance, but the barbecues continued all over the park.

I think I've lost my mojo when it comes to fixing things. I have a waterproof iPhone case with a Gorilla Glass screen protector. One of the corners was loose, so I thought I'd fix it this morning. I carefully took the case apart and cleaned it. I found the problem. There was a broken post on the back of the case, so the corner screw on the front couldn't be tightened. I tried to super glue the broken part back together, but in the process a lot of other small parts started breaking or falling off. I tried to super glue these parts back together as well, but ended up losing one of them. I didn't align the post with the brass nut perfectly, so when I finally did attempt to reassemble the case, the screws on the front wouldn't align with the nuts inside the small posts in the back. I can't believe that I used to be able to fix watches. I was so clumsy that I ended up making a mess of the case. I thought the case company had gone out of business, but I managed to find a replacement on the Internet and ordered it. It must be coming from China, because the shipping charges were almost as much as the case.

The pumps on the roof aren't working very well, but I really don't want to climb up there and inspect them.  The weather is nasty and the roof gets slippery when it's wet. If I can't even fix an iPhone case, I don't want to risk fixing a pump on a slippery roof. Luckily, when I was just a little younger I made some pretty decent repairs to the roof. Even after all this rain, there have been no leaks.

We didn't get to visit the Dalmatians today. The kennel was closed for Memorial Day. The dogs were fine because kennel attendants still check on them several times a day to feed them and take them out to poop. The place just wasn't open to the public. Maybe when we visit next time the two dogs that have already been adopted will have gone to their forever homes.

Dawn has started licking her paws a lot. We don't know if this is a nervous habit or whether she is allergic to something outside. I thought she might have been bitten by fire ants, but there are no welts or sign of a bite on her paws. We found some socks that Dash used to wear when he had an injured paw, but they wouldn't fit on Dawn. Dash had really tiny feet for a Dalmatian. There is a big box of dog stuff at my storage warehouse. Dash had so many types of socks, shoes, and booties when his rear legs began to get weak and I may be able to find something for Dawn that might work. She needs to quit licking because her paws are already starting to get red and irritated.

According to the weather forecast, it is supposed to rain every day for the rest of the week. Not good. I hope the forecast is wrong. Enough is enough. I'm really getting sick of this rain.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4131

I'm falling apart. I threw out my back last night when I was emptying the dehumidifier water bucket. I thought I'd feel better in the morning, but I woke up with one more in a long list of aches and pains. I'm sure many people have a lot more serious back problems, but this was a new one for me. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. 

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning. I turned on the pumps and nothing happened. I could hear the pumps running on the roof, but no water was coming out of the hose. This was unfortunate because it meant I needed to climb up on the roof and investigate. I finished my breakfast and waited for the rain to subside a bit before attempting to fix the pumps. I already knew what had happened. Every Spring, tons of catkins fall from our Oak trees and cover the roof. These catkins get sucked into the pumps and clog them. It's an easy fix, but you have to go up on the roof first. 

For the first time I can remember I had a difficult time scaling the rock wall leading to the roof. My back hurt. My arms felt weak. I got the distinct feeling that my roof climbing days were coming to a close. I unclogged both pumps, got the water running again, and went back inside. There was no point in doing anything further until the rain completely subsided. Maybe it will get hot again and the standing water will just evaporate. At any rate, I have no desire to go up on the roof anymore. The water can wait.

There isn't much to do on a rainy day. I don't like watching television and I don't like driving in the rain. Work used to keep me busy on rainy days, but work projects are few and far between these days. I have mixed feelings about getting shut out of the Crew-2 launch. Planning for a launch would definitely give me something to do, but I can't really afford a trip right now anyway. Realistically, I should be glad that I didn't get credentialed this time. I have time to work on getting back to Kennedy Space Center and hopefully the next time I get approved, travel won't be an issue.

I was glad when the rain finally stopped because Dawn clearly didn't want to take a nap with me. When Janet returned home we took Dawn on her short daily walk and then I continued onward. I knew today was going to be slow and didn't even bother to track my time. I don't know why I even bothered walking today. The weather was chilly and I felt stiff and painful. Right or wrong, it's important for me to keep moving. I eventually completed my route and returned home. This time I did take a nap.

We didn't get any mail today. Somehow this always seems to happen when the weather is nasty. The Postal Service Creed doesn't seem to mean much anymore. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Nope. I don't think that's the creed anymore. I do a better job of completing my appointed rounds than our mail carrier.

We had chili and cornbread for dinner. Chili gives me heartburn but it seemed like the perfect meal for a cold, rainy day. It's a shame that the body refuses to cooperate as you get older. I used to have an iron stomach and could walk for days. I guess I should be glad that anything still works at all. By any objective standards, I'm still pretty healthy. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3847

I should have brought my good camera when we went to the kennel today. We were greeted by a new dog we hadn't met before. Lucky was a foster who returned to the kennel. She initially went to her foster home before I had a chance to photograph her for the website. Fosters are either temporary or they turn into adoptions and Lucky wasn't destined to be a foster fail. She will still need to find her forever home, but she's going to be perfect for somebody. I'll do her portrait next week.

Lucky seemed quiet and reserved compared to Hank and Charlie. The two boys were full of energy today. They both love to play catch but still need to work on releasing the ball so you can throw it again. Charlie will sit, stay, lie down, and come on command. Hank will automatically sit before receiving a treat now. He's been harder to train since he's deaf, but we are making progress.

Dawn didn't get much of a walk this morning. We noticed that a storm was approaching on the weather radar, so we quickly took a short walk and returned home a few minutes before the downpour started. I'm glad we timed things right today, because the rain was quite heavy. At least the pumps are working again. I think I discovered what the problem was yesterday. The two pumps are in different areas on the roof and if one runs dry before the other, it can overheat and trip a breaker. I watched things more carefully today. Actually the rain was so heavy that there was little danger of either pump running dry.

The rain eventually stopped and I took another walk later in the afternoon to get some more steps. The morning's rain had basically turned to steam. It was incredibly humid outside. I don't know why I continue walking. Probably just because I can't think of anything better to do.

I think It's going to rain again tomorrow. The combination of terrible weather and equally terrible news on TV is starting to take its toll. This summer seems like an episode of Black Mirror. There are conflicting reports about absolutely everything. It shouldn't be raining this much in July. The virus shouldn't be getting worse in July when everyone was so good about distancing in March and April. I'm still irritated that Florida has turned into such a mess. Will I ever get back to Kennedy Space Center again? Will I even have the nerve to fly again? I've gotten used to the idea of our old house falling apart. Now it appears like the entire world is falling apart.

I was initially surprised when international travel ground to a halt. Now it appears that state-to-state travel is being restricted as well. At least we live in a big state. There's plenty to do here in Texas. I'd hate to be locked in a little state like Connecticut. I need to reexamine things and find some activities that are satisfying and enjoyable to do while the world crumbles around you. Reading seems an obvious choice. I used to be a voracious reader, but it's hard for me to pick up a book these days. Oddly, I find it easier to write than to read. I seem to have lost my interest in music as well. At least there are dogs. Dogs are always enjoyable.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3740

The baby owls have really grown since I saw them last. I initially mistook one of the babies for the mother this afternoon. A closer look quickly revealed that I was looking at one of the babies, but it was still surprising to see how quickly they had developed. Evidently, young Great Horned Owls eat four times as much as adults, causing them to grow very quickly. The mom isn't around as much these days, but still returns almost every day to feed her children mice and encourage them to fly.

I think there are a lot more doomsday preppers than I ever would have imagined. I can't believe how much food people are buying. When I went to Sam's Club this morning to get some necessities, I saw people with enough food to last them for an entire year. Several people with large SUV's had the entire back of their cars stuffed to the ceiling with food and paper products.

It's easy to see how panic buying escalates. Literally everyone in the store had a big package of paper towels in their buggy, so I got one too. It wasn't a brand that I usually buy, but who cares when you are facing the apocalypse. I certainly hope people don't decide to start using paper towels as toilet papers. If that happens there are going to be some major plumbing problems.

I finally found some distilled water, oatmeal, and blueberries. I never realized that so many people need distilled water. I use it to prevent mineral scale from building up in my coffee maker. Other people use it for more important things, like preventing their Dalmatians from developing stones and keeping CPAP machines running properly.

I wonder when these Spring rains are going to end? I spent so much time clearing the roof of water yesterday and now it's raining again. Water on the roof is my own private version of the Sisyphus myth. The gods who condemned Sisyphus thought that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor. They were probably right. At least the roof isn't leaking.

I think dogs are loving this pandemic. I've never seen so many people walking their dogs in the park. It's good that people are becoming more active. They seem to becoming kinder too. I wonder how long this will last when the pandemic is finally over? I think the panic buying will finally subside when people realize they have more food than they could possible use. Maybe people will continue to drive less as well. One can only hope. I hope some of these new behaviors become permanent.

It's a shame that I won't be able to go to the gym tomorrow. Our options for doing things away from home continue to grow smaller. Janet and I did do our part to support local restaurants by ordering a pizza from a little neighborhood restaurant that makes a good pie.

My dealer told me that I sold a few more brass trains today. It's kind of astonishing that anyone is still buying railroad collectibles during the apocalypse, but it's fine by me. Today's sales almost paid for my trip to McDonald Observatory. I still don't have the nerve to look at my brokerage account. Janet and I have both lost a lot of money, but it's better at this time not to know how much.

The lesson of this week is that life goes on no matter what happens. We adjust to things and establish new priorities. I hope you guys are all doing well. Nobody I know has died yet. I hope I can say the same thing next week.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3627

Lots of rain today. It was such a dismal, wet day that I decided to take my walk at the gym. This was a first. Driving in the rain to walk on an indoor track isn't something you'd expect of me. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Walking five miles on an indoor oval track is much better than getting cold and wet in the park. I may do this again. There is no sensation  of distance when you are walking on an indoor track. The only sensation is of time. To my surprise, I completed my walk faster than I do in the park. This was probably because there were no hills to climb. I also passed people on the track, which almost never happens in the park. People in the park are young and fit. People at my gym are taking physical therapy or recovering from heart attacks. I often think I'm one of the younger members.

I had to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the gym and the store was almost empty. I guess everyone was eating leftovers today. Since it was a cold, rainy day I thought we'd have chili for dinner. Eating chili almost guarantees that I'll have heartburn later this evening, but it still seems like the perfect meal for a wet winter day.

I guess it's a good sign that there are still no roof leaks. We've had a ton of rain lately. The pumps on the roof have been working pretty well, but they don't even come close to removing all the water. At best, the pumps can turn four inches of standing water into one or two inches. To remove the rest I have to get up on the roof and sweep the water over the edge of the roof with a big push broom. When it eventually stops raining, that's what I'll be doing.

Ginny has discovered squirrels. We may have to start taking her out to pee on a leash again. A dog that is recovering from heartworm treatment shouldn't be running around the back yard trying to catch squirrels. All our dogs have liked to chase squirrels. Dot even caught a few. It doesn't help matters that there are a ton of squirrels in the park. They could care less where the park ends and our yard starts. I've seen up to a dozen of them in the yard at the same time.

I didn't do any Black Friday shopping today. Instead, I deleted hundreds of Black Friday messages from my e-mail inbox. The ads and e-mail spam are relentless. From now until Christmas, retailers are determined to sell me something. These guys should know that I'm not really their target audience anymore. I don't need much. Unless someone's going to offer me a Mercedes Sprinter van for half price, I'm not interested.

Fitbit says that I am sleeping better since Ginny has arrived.  This is a bit counterintuitive, but it makes sense to me. Having a warm dog next to you is comforting. I didn't sleep well when Dot and Dash were sick, but they needed lots of attention. When our dogs were young, we all slept well. Ginny certainly has no trouble sleeping. She is sleeping next to me right now.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3591

I watched the sky turn from partly cloudy to gun metal grey as I took my walk this morning. It was clear that more rain was on the way. I tried to get everything I needed to do finished before the rain arrived. I was pleased that I was able to complete my five mile walk without getting wet. I went to the bank without getting wet as well. I thought about going to the grocery store, but I found some left overs in the refrigerator and decided not to push my luck.

I made reservations for Thanksgiving Dinner when I completed my errands. We go to the same place every year and I've finally learned that you can't make these reservations too early. Apparently a lot of other people have decided that they're just as tired of cooking on Thanksgiving as we are. Thanksgiving is exceptionally late this year. It is always the fourth Thursday in November, but this year the holiday seems way too close to Christmas.

I'm not very energetic on a normal day, but on a rainy day I find it hard to even move. Everything seems like it can wait until the rain stops. I spend my time checking the weather forecast, checking the roof pumps to make sure water is flowing, and looking suspiciously at the ceiling for signs of a leak. When Dot and Dash were with us, we were like peas in a pod. All three of us hated rain. I've spent lots of time curled up with the dogs on rainy days.

I almost forgot to take the trash to the curb this evening. My instinct for avoiding getting wet overpowered my instinct to always have the week's trash ready for Friday morning pickup. Luckily, Janet reminded me that it was trash day. When I hauled the wet trash can to the curb, I noticed that everyone's bulky trash was still sitting on the curb as well. A quick Google search conformed what I suspected. Bulky trash pickup for October has been suspended because all trucks are needed for the tornado cleanup effort.

I need to remember that early voting starts tomorrow in Texas. Ballot propositions often seem like a lot of mumbo-jumbo to me, but this year there's one that I definitely feel should pass. Proposition 10 is a constitutional amendment that would allow municipalities to transfer retiring police dogs and horses without charge to their handlers on the animals retirement. Currently retiring police dogs are considered surplus property and they can be disposed of like any other surplus property. It is completely legal for a city to just have their retiring dogs put down. This is clearly wrong. Service dogs develop a strong bond with their handlers and they should be able to continue to spend their remaining days with them on retirement. I'll never tell you how to vote for president, but I think that old dogs deserve respect. If you live in Texas, I hope you vote yes on Proposition 10.

It looks like it is going to rain all night. Do I leave the pumps running all night? If it keeps raining, this is probably a good idea. If the rain stops, it is a bad idea. I've burned out pumps before. Either way, I'll probably just stay home for breakfast tomorrow. I've still got enough fresh fruit for one more smoothie.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3509

I predicted this would happen. We had a brief heavy rain this morning and the roof is wet again. After weeks of pleading, the roofer still hasn't brought over the special silicon product I need to make repairs. It's been so dry in July that almost any day would have been a good time to patch the tears in the elastomer material. Now I need to clear the water off the roof, dry everything off and start all over again. The main problem is that commonly available patch materials available at Home Depot and Lowes won't stick to the silicon that's already on the roof and the commercial product I need is only available to the trade in very large drums. It's quite expensive too. Jeez. I don't need much of this stuff. I'm sure the roofer is waiting till he has a small amount of silicon left over from another job, but this isn't helping me any.

The rain cooled the temperature a bit, but it's still as muggy as ever outside. I thought I'd have a pleasant walk this morning, but I might as well have just walked the rain. I was still drenched in sweat by the time I returned. While I was in the park, I saw a guy pick one of the yellow berries on a Horse Nettle plant and eat it. Dude, don't you know these plants are poisonous? Apparently he thought it was a wild cherry tomato. Close but not close enough. Horse Nettle and Tomatoes are both members of the Nightshade family. Tomatoes happen to be one of a very few Nightshade varieties that are edible. I don't think Horse Nettle is nearly as dangerous as Belladonna, commonly called the Deadly Nightshade, but I'm not going to try eating any Nightshade berries. I don't even like tomatoes that much.

There are still a lot of Herons and Egrets at the lake. I finally got close enough to photograph one of the Great Egrets today. What a strange looking bird. With a long yellow bill and an even longer neck, you'd think this bird would have trouble eating. Nope. They seem to be designed to catch small fish. I see Egrets catching and eating fish all the time.

The security light in the back yard came on normally this evening. Maybe the problem was temperature related. It is cooler today. Maybe the rain washed spider webs off the light sensor. Actually, I have no idea what is going on. I suspect that just when I begin to think that the problem has fixed itself, the light will go dark again. I spend way too much time thinking about obscure problems like this and not enough time dealing with problems I can actually solve.

There were no strawberries at the store today. I asked the produce guy when a new shipment would arrive. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday, or maybe Tuesday," he said. I guess that means he didn't know. I'll go check again on my way home from the gym tomorrow. I need strawberries for my smoothie.

Am I ready for another 20,000 step day tomorrow? I'm not sure. Surely there is a better way to spend my time. I keep thinking that all this activity is keeping me healthy, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm wrong about a lot of things.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3408

Every time we get a heavy rain my first thought is that this was the worse storm ever. I felt this way last night when the rain was pounding down, but when I took my walk today I had to acknowledge that I've seen higher water levels at the lake before. I think my tolerance for bad weather isn't what it used to be. The rain was pretty bad though. Especially since one of my pumps on the roof wasn't working. I'm really glad that I wasn't traveling. I saw on the news this morning that one of the parking garages at the airport had flooded and lots of cars were completely underwater. This was the same garage where I parked when I went to Houston recently. A lot of travelers are going to be really surprised when they return home.

I was surprised that I even got a chance to walk today. Basically, it rained all day. I saw a little break in the clouds around noon and took advantage of it. I almost finished my three mile trek, but the rain started again when I was about 100 yards from home. I got wet, but it didn't matter. The next thing on my list was taking a shower.

I was almost certain that the roof would leak again last night, but the living room is still dry. So far, so good. Maybe judicious use of the two sump pumps is helping. The second pump started working again this afternoon, so I didn't have to go up on the roof and fix it. I don't know why these things are so balky. Sometimes they become clogged with leaves. There might be a bad electrical connection too. All the extension cords are underwater when it rains.

My contact at the auction house wants to re-offer some of the art that didn't sell recently with a lower reserve. Sounds good to me. The only other alternative is to take the art back and wait until the artist dies. A lot of art spikes in value after the artist dies. This plan probably won't work though, since the artist is younger than I am.

I found out today that the training class where we used to take the dogs on Wednesday evening had made a donation in Dot and Dash's memory to Dalmatian Rescue. This was so nice. Dot and Dash hadn't gone to class since they became sick several years ago and I was surprised that anyone still remembered them. I've still got some dusty ribbons that Dash won sitting on my desk. I continue to be amazed that he won ribbons for obedience when he was young, because as he became older and more stubborn he wouldn't even come when you called. Both dogs enjoyed the class. They probably thought the exercises were silly, but the weekly class was their chance to make friends and socialize with other dogs.

I hope that the weather improves tomorrow. Rainy days give me a bad case of cabin fever. It's not that dry days are all that exciting, but at least I'm not fretting about water leaks. I'll see if I can do something useful when the skies clear again. The back yard could certainly use some work.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3390

Lots of rain today. I picked a terrible time to go grocery shopping. It was overcast when I entered the store. When I was ready to leave, it was raining so hard I could hardly see my car. I got soaked taking the groceries to the car and the inside of the car got soaked when I was loading them inside. Driving home was a nightmare. The windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the rain and big trucks would send rooster tails of water cascading over your car whenever they passed you. Weather changes rapidly in Texas. If I had just waited two hours, I could have avoided the whole mess.

Luckily, the rain didn't start until about 10 AM so I was still able to give Dash his morning walk. He seemed a little stronger than yesterday, but he was still exhausted by the time we returned home. If we're lucky, Janet is still able to give Dash his morning meds before we leave for our walk, but our schedule has definitely changed. When Dash was younger he wanted breakfast as soon as he woke up. Lately, he won't touch his food until noon. He has trouble picking food out of his bowl, so we have to hand feed him now. At least he's still eating most of the time.

The art I had up for auction today failed to sell. There were no bids at all. I was definitely disappointed. I knew this work wouldn't do as well as some of the things I auctioned last Fall, but I did think it would sell. I always thought it was a lovely piece. Who knows what will happen now. Maybe it will wind up on my wall again.

Whenever we have a hard rain, I get worried about the roof leak. I don't trust the roof at all. I moved the furniture out of the way and got the buckets ready, but so far no water had come through the ceiling. One of the pumps seems to be clogged. Only a small amount of water was coming through the hose. The pumps clog easily at this time of year. The Oak and Elm trees are starting to bud and this means catkins are falling from the trees and littering the roof. These small cylindrical flower clusters are how Oak and many other trees pollinate and they are the perfect size to clog sump pumps.    The sticky yellow pollen also makes a mess of your car during the spring. You can add catkins to the list of things I hate.

Janet had an event to attend this evening, so it was up to me to get Dash to eat his dinner. I got him to take his evening meds by rolling the pills in little strips of ham, but we didn't do so well with dinner. He wouldn't touch his regular meal. This mix of chicken, rice and vegetables is healthy, well balanced, and quite tasty. I'd eat it myself. The only thing I could get Dash to eat tonight were two small ground beef patties. This isn't really enough, but maybe Janet will have better luck when she gets home. Our refrigerator is so full of things we use to try and keep Dash eating that there is hardly room for our own food anymore.

I think the rain is supposed to continue tomorrow. Maybe the forecast will change overnight. I've had enough of this rain. I"d like to walk Dash in the morning and then go to the gym. I'm not looking forward to driving in a downpour again.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3366

Our power went out before dawn this morning. I knew a storm with straight line winds was headed our way, but I wasn't expecting a citywide power outage. I think over 100,000 customers were affected. Needless to say, it took a while to get the lights back on again. The Oncor outage reporting system was overwhelmed for a while. Initially, the system didn't even recognize me when I called in our location.  When Dash started pooping in the dark, I knew it was going to be a long day.

My initial worry was the heavy rain. With no electricity, the pumps weren't working. I knew that water would accumulate quickly on the roof, but there was very little I could do. I found a portable camping light, cleaned up Dash's poop, and convinced him to come back to bed for a while. There certainly wasn't much point to getting up early this morning. There wasn't going to be a morning walk.

I thought the high winds would blow the roof off the greenhouse again, but luckily it stayed in place. Power outages are not uncommon in our part of town. Sitting in the dark wondering if Dash is going to freak out and if my phone battery is going to die is a very familiar feeling. These outages make me realize how dependent we've become on electricity. You can't do much in our house without electricity.

Eventually the power returned and I began the time consuming process of resetting clocks and timers. The washer and dryer turn on automatically after a power outage. This shouldn't be happening, but it does. Everything has a clock in it these days. The land line phones, the WiFI thermostat,  the Keurig coffee maker, and the timers on the living room lights all need to be reset. The furnace wouldn't even work until I reset its internal calendar. It didn't know whether it was supposed to be on the day or nighttime settings. It's always a pain to get the WiFi network and U-Verse TV up and running again. The router for the network is supposed to reboot automatically after an outage, but it seldom does. If you turn things on and off again enough times, they usually start to work though. By the time Janet returned from the gym, I had everything working again.

The day turned out surprisingly nice despite its rocky beginnings. After the storm blew through and headed East, the skies cleared and by early afternoon the temperature was up to 75 degrees. Dash eventually got a nice walk. It was just a little late. I hope I got the water off the roof in time. That seems to be the key to preventing a leak. I turned the pumps on as soon as the power was restored and by the time I climbed up on the roof to finish the job, the water level was actually pretty low.

I was supposed to have a meeting with my financial adviser this afternoon but I didn't feel like driving to his office. We just talked on the phone instead. I'm glad I don't own any Boeing stock. Boeing is getting hammered because of worries about the 737. I flew home in a 737 on Monday and everything seemed fine. The company says pilots just aren't reading the instruction manual, but some pilots say otherwise. The problem is that modern planes are just a giant computer. You don't fly them manually anymore. It's usually not a problem if you need to reboot your computer at the office. If you need to reboot your plane's computer during takeoff, you've got a big problem. This is why I'm not very optimistic about self-driving cars. Can you imagine millions of cars with wonky computers on the road. It's not going to end well.

I seemed really busy today, but as usual I didn't get much accomplished. Dash got his walks and took all his meds. I fixed my morning smoothie, and all the electronic gizmos in the house are working again. As power outages go, this one wasn't too bad. I didn't need to go buy bags of ice to save the food in the refrigerator and I didn't have to call AT&T to come out and fix the U-Verse. The only challenge was cleaning up poop in the dark. Hopefully, tomorrow will go smoothly.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3355

We went and photographed the new dogs in the Dalmatian Rescue program today. I haven't been to the kennel for a while, so there were quite a few faces I hadn't seen before. It's easy to forget how strong and active young Dalmatians are. Dot and Dash were this way once. You think they'll be able to run and jump forever, but the years go by quickly. These new dogs were a lot of fun. I'm sure they'll all find great homes soon.

As expected, it was another rainy day. The gentle showers came and went throughout the day, so I was still able to walk Dash and do my grocery shopping without much trouble. Dash only got one walk today, but that was plenty. The rain picked up toward the end of the day and neither of us was in the mood to get wet.

Apparently, I still don't know how to tell time. I was going to stay up late and watch the Space X Crew Dragon launch tonight. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the launch was yesterday. Hmm. 2 AM on Saturday is not very late at night. It is actually very early in the morning. No great loss. Everything is recorded these days. I watched the launch this evening and pretended it was live.

My source for peaches has disappeared. I don't know where Kroger was finding peaches at this time of year anyway, but there were only four left when I went shopping this morning. The display was gone too, so I don't think the peaches are coming back soon. Oh, well. It's back to strawberries for the rest of the Winter. You can almost always find strawberries. When I was a kid, fruit really was seasonal. Nobody flew in berries from South America. Actually, fresh fruit of any kind was kind of a rarity. I mostly remember canned fruit.

Since it was cold and rainy this evening, we had chili for dinner. I love a good bowl of chili, but it doesn't always love me. I took my heartburn medicine ahead of time and had a beer with dinner as well. My doctor says it's fine to take a proton pump inhibitor like Protonix occasionally. It's not a good idea to take these drugs for years at a time though, since they can cause bone loss and osteoporosis-related fractures. It's always something, isn't it. For a long time I thought Protonix was a miracle drug, since it allowed me to eat anything. I guess there is no free lunch when it comes to heartburn.

I've got the pumps on the roof running now, but the rain is stopping and won't begin again until almost morning. Do I leave the pumps running and risk burning them out, or do I turn them off and risk a leak if the rain is heavy and the water levels build quickly? It's a tough choice. I wish I could find a pump that was safe to run dry for extended periods of time. It would make life easier. I guess I'll play it safe and turn the pumps off and place a bucket under the spot that usually leaks. I've had enough of this lousy weather, but there is no sign that it will end soon. March is often just as wet as February in Dallas.

There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. I'll probably go to the gym anyway. Hopefully, Dash will sleep through the night. If he goes outside to pee while it's raining, he'll get wet and dirty and by the time I dry him off and clean him up, I'll be wide awake. I'll bet those young Dalmatians at the kennel won't have any problems sleeping tonight. Young dogs and young people seldom do.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3305

Today was full of inconsistencies. When I returned from taking Dash on his morning walk, his breakfast wasn't in his bowl like it usually is. Hmm. Did he eat before I got up this morning? Was his regular bowl of chicken still in the refrigerator? I couldn't find it anywhere. I couldn't ask Dash and Janet was already gone. I didn't want to feed Dash twice, but he seemed hungry so I fed him some dry kibble that he usually likes. When Janet got home, I asked her about the breakfast. "Did you look in the microwave," she asked? Nope. Why would I look there? No harm was done. Dash ate his chicken for lunch. When I went to the hotel for breakfast, the regular chef wasn't there. The customers didn't seem normal either. Two ladies with diamond encrusted wristwatches at the next table were comparing their friends divorce settlements. Another couple nearby returned their meals without eating them. I knew what they were eating and there was nothing wrong with the food. I've ordered the same thing many times. Another customer wanted to specify exactly the type of fruit she was going to get in her fruit bowl. Evidently pineapples and bananas were unacceptable. Everyone seemed picky and extremely demanding today. The substitute chef undercooked my French Toast a bit but I would never return a meal. Mom taught me to eat what was put in front of me. That being said, I hope the regular chef returns. I like consistency.

There has been a light rain for most of the day, but so far there is no water in the house. This is a good sign, but we're not out of the woods yet. Sometimes it takes hours for the water to penetrate the roof and find its way inside. I've got buckets ready, but hopefully I won't need them tonight. Even if the roof survives this rain, it's going to be hard to ever trust it again. This thing is just a disaster waiting to happen.

The rain was intermittent today, so Dash got both his walks. I'm surprised that he still enjoys walking as much as he does. I'm providing a lot of support lately with a leash at both ends of his special harness. My function is similar to a spotter for a weightlifter. When I sense that Dash is starting to stumble, I keep him upright. Without this assistance, I doubt that he could walk very far.

I can't decide whether to leave the pumps on tonight. They do a good job of keeping the water level from getting too high on the roof, but if the rain stops and they run dry for very long, the motor burns out. I used to have a pump with a built-in sensor that would automatically turn the pump on and off when the water reached a specified level. I used this pump on another flat roofed home I owned for many years until it eventually wore out. Nobody makes this type of pump anymore. I've looked and looked. Not surprisingly, the old metal pump was made in the USA. The new ABS plastic pumps are all made in China.

I still can't bring myself to wear my new work boots. This is getting ridiculous. I wore them around the house for a while today to make sure I'd gotten the right size. They aren't house slippers though. These are boots meant for rainy days like today.

Like always, I'm hoping for a good nights sleep. I certainly didn't get one last night. I imagine that I'll wake up several times tonight, listening carefully for the sound of dripping water.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3296

Cold rain. Leaking roof. Incontinent dog. Put these ingredients together and you've got the basis for a sad country song. Basically, today was a mess. I started putting buckets on the floor as soon as I got up. The pumps weren't working, so I had to climb up on the roof in the rain to prime them. When I returned, Dash was stumbling down the hall, knocking over the buckets I'd placed a little earlier. There was no morning walk today, but there was definitely poop to clean up. There's always poop to clean up.

The rain didn't freeze today, but it still might. It is very cold. As the day progressed, the leaks in the ceiling continued to spread and I ran out of buckets. I had to go to Home Depot and pick up a few of those big plastic containers that people use to store sweaters and children's toys. I thought a big container would be better at catching water than three or four smaller buckets. It's a shame that I had to buy more containers. I already have a ton of these things in the storage warehouse, but they are all full of stuff. The containers worked, but they made it even harder for Dash to navigate the hallway.

I'm stuck with this mess until the rainy period is over. Lord knows when that will be. There is bad weather in the forecast as far as the eye can see. You can't repair the roof when it's wet and I'm not sure the roofers can find the leak anyway. They certainly failed the first time they tried.

I went out and picked up some meds for Dash after lunch because driving in the rain was preferable to listening to water drip into plastic buckets. I'm sure I'll be driving in the rain tomorrow too. Dash has an appointment for one of the periodic echocardiograms we use to monitor his heart. Hopefully, the blood clot hasn't returned. I'm also hoping that he won't poop in the car on the way to the cancer center. That's always a possibility since it is very doubtful that he'll get a walk before his appointment.

I finally got the pumps on the roof working but they don't remove enough water to stop the leak. The pumps are basically useless. I'm just about out of ideas for stopping the leak while it is still raining. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to have to use my new car fund to replace the roof. Jeez. What's the fun in that? Even with a new roof, it's still going to be a very old house with a host of other problems. I'd rather have a new car.

The first pictures from New Horizons were received today and Ultima Thule looks like a big snowman. Weird to think that a big icy snowman has been lurking at the edge of the solar system for billions of years and we didn't even know it existed until last year. I bet there's lots of other stuff floating around in space that we don't know about either.

Clearly I'm no rocket scientist. The New Horizon's team at Johns Hopkins was able to fly their spacecraft directly to a tiny 19 mile long speck in the sky billions of miles away from Earth and I can't even find how water is getting into my house.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. If Dash gets a clean bill of health at the vet, maybe he won't have to take Plavix anymore. Realistically, this isn't very likely. It's not very likely that the rain will stop or the stock market will rally either. The Apple earnings warning today even surprised me. Apple hasn't had a dire warning like this since 2002. For many investors this news will seem like a sign of the apocalypse. I have a feeling that 2019 is going to be a very bumpy ride.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3180

The weather was dismal today. We got up early and managed to get Dash walked before the rain started, but it was pretty wet after that. Since there was no thunder and lightning, we though it would be safe to leave Dash for a while to go photograph the new rescue dogs. That plan didn't turn out so well. There must have been a wreck on the freeway because traffic slowed to a standstill. Then the rain got heavier and we could barely see the road. It didn't take long to decide to take the nearest exit and return home. We can photograph the dogs another time.

Dash was still sleeping when we returned. I wish I could sleep as easily as he can. I had to get up several times last night to attend to Dash and I'm still tired. I tried to take a nap, but couldn't get to sleep. I had planned to stay home until the rain stopped, but after a few hours of doing nothing I got cabin fever and decided to do my Saturday shopping anyway. There must be a lot of water on the roof because it was flowing off the edges on all four sides when I left the house. At least the pump was still working. The pump should take care of the water on the carport. I'll deal with the rest later. One thing about a heavy rain is that your car doesn't get dirty. Driving is kind of like going through a car wash. When I returned from grocery shopping, the car was  actually cleaner than when I left.

I like listening to the radio in the car. I never listen to music. I like shows like Freakonomics Radio, The TED Radio Hour, How I Built This, Hidden Brain, and similar shows about science, technology, and economics. Most of these shows seem to be on NPR. I always learn something new and my favorite shows are when someone disproves something I've believed all my life. Why aren't there shows like this on television? Television is a wasteland.

It was a very slow day. Since there wasn't anything interesting on television, I found myself looking through the auction catalog I saw yesterday for the first time. It was interesting to read about the other art that was in the auction with mine. For a brief moment I wished I was a buyer instead of a seller. I did enjoy buying art when I was young. I wonder how the auction house acquired all this stuff. Some of the work was spectacular. I bet a lot of it came from estates. I've noticed that the large art auction houses have entire departments to deal with estates.

It is so humid today that the house feels damp even with the dehumidifier running. I wonder what it would be like to live in a house that was always dry and dust free? I'll probably never know. There is so much dog hair in the house that doing a load of wash just moves the dog hair from one article of clothing to another. Janet cleaned the floors today and I did the laundry. By tomorrow everything will be dirty again.

I hope the weather clears up tomorrow. I'll go to the gym either way, but I think the day would be more enjoyable if I woke up looking at blue sky.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3152

We're getting a lot of rain. I know it's been dry and we really need need this, but I'm starting to worry about the roof. I can't leave all that standing water up there forever. The new elastomer coating had plenty of time to dry, so maybe there won't be a problem. My experience says otherwise unfortunately. For the time being I'll just wait and hope. There is no point in removing the water while it's still raining.

We had to wait until mid-morning to give Dash his walk because it was raining pretty hard when we woke up. The showers we've been having are sporadic, but they never stop long enough to get anything done. We got a little break in the weather after breakfast, but by the time we finished walking Dash, it was already raining again.

On days like these I have to forget about keeping the car clean. Ther's no avoiding Saturday errands. Today, I needed coffee and fresh fruit a lot more than I needed to stay dry. At least the strawberries looked good today. I hate to brave the weather just to find some rotten fruit.

Dash had a really good appetite today. Go figure. He ate all his meals without having to bribe him with peanut butter and dog treats. He still seemed hungry after his regular breakfast, so we fed him a little more. I can't figure out these daily fluctuations in appetite and energy. It doesn't make sense. Everything is so consistent in Dash's life that you wouldn't expect dramatic changes. All that being said, I'm really happy whenever Dash has a good day. He needs a lot more good days.

There isn't much to do on dark, rainy days. I tried to diagnose a problem with Janet's laptop. I watched a cooking show on PBS. I read a long online article about how the dinosaurs died out. I'm fascinated by theories of how the universe began or how the dinosaurs died. Basically a lot of really smart people are just guessing. I know of at least three distinctly different theories of how the dinosaurs became extinct. They all sound plausible to me.

Dash slept well last night, but I didn't. I woke up every time I heard rain on the roof. My Fitbit says that I experience normal periods of deep sleep, but I don't believe it. I'm such a light sleeper that the slightest noise always wakes me up. This is good when I've got a sick dog that needs attention. It's bad when I'm tired and really need to sleep.

If I can't sleep tonight, I might turn on the computer and watch the Parker Solar Probe launch. This launch has been delayed several times but it is scheduled to lift off around 2:30 AM this morning. I almost applied to NASA to view this launch in person, but I can't bring myself to leave Dash. It's not a big deal to miss this one. I'm sure they'll be launching plenty of satellites for the rest of my lifetime. It is a pretty audacious idea to send a spacecraft right through the sun's corona without burning it up. I hope they succeed, but it will be seven years before we find out whether the mission is a success.

I guess today was a success. Dash is happy. There are no signs of roof leaks. And the refrigerator is full again. Pretty soon it will be time for another trip to the gym.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3016

The roof leaked last night. I was really hoping to avoid this, but it's been raining steadily for several days now. I guess my luck ran out. The leak wasn't bad, but it's one more reason to get the roofers out here as soon as possible. The leak forced me to go up on the roof and remove the standing water even though I know it is going to rain some more. I have no idea where the leak is coming from. There are four or five suspicious areas, along with others I probably haven't discovered yet. Water is relentless. Once it has breached the outer elastomer coating, it looks for weak points and eventually finds its way inside.

While I was eating breakfast this morning, I got a notice on my phone that I had a dental appointment in an hour. I'd completely forgotten. I knew the dentist would be mad if I canceled the appointment at the last minute, so I put the rest of my breakfast in the refrigerator, hopped in the car, and headed North. With normal traffic, the dentist office is about an hour away. I arrived with five minutes to spare. All I needed today were new x-rays and a cleaning. When I was younger I would have skipped minor things like this. Luckily, I finally realized that I can't ignore my teeth. I faithfully go to the dentist every six months now.

Since the rain is finally starting to subside, I was able to give Dash two walks today. I never know whether he's going to take his afternoon walk, but today he seemed eager to go. Inconsistencies in people and animals baffle me. Why would Dash refuse to walk one day and be eager to walk the next? At any rate, I was glad that Dash felt like moving today. These slow walks are probably the closest thing to physical therapy he's going to get. The underwater treadmill helped Dot quite a bit as her legs began to get weaker. I don't think we're going to be able to try this with Dash. He hates riding in the car and the trip downtown would be a nightmare.

I kept wondering why it was only Tuesday today. It feels like it should be Friday. Rainy days just seem longer. It doesn't help that I'm not getting much sleep either. Dash had to go outside twice last night. Why he can't learn to poop just before he goes to bed, I'll never know. We made it safely outside both times, so I didn't have to clean up poop in the house. I did have to clean up something though. Remember that roof leak I was telling you about.

I'll have to wash the car tomorrow. I actually did quite a bit of driving today, considering it was so wet and messy. Everything was important though. In addition to the dental appointment, I needed to make a deposit at the bank so I can pay my taxes, and as always, there were bills to take to the post office. Tomorrow, all I'll need to do is pick up something for dinner at the grocery store. The refrigerator is still nice and cold, but it's looking pretty empty.

Maybe I'll sleep better tonight. It all depends on Dash. I think I've programmed myself to wake up whenever Dash moves. He moves around a lot. Oh, well. Sleep is nice but I can live with a little less as long as I don't have to clean up poop every night.

Doc is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3015

All day rain. That's all you need to say about days like today. I didn't even attempt to walk Dash this morning. The rain hadn't started yet when I woke up, but as slow as Dash moves these days, I knew we would be drenched by the time we returned. It didn't take long for the storm to arrive. Dash was predictable. He needed to pee, but wouldn't even stick his head out the back door. I kept trying to tell him that this was going to go on for a long time. Unfortunately, he still thinks I can stop the rain.

It didn't take long for cabin fever to set in. Dash was restless and so was I. There's not much to do in a small house on a rainy day. Dash kept going to his food bowl and I kept turning the TV on and off again. I don't know why I kept expecting to find something interesting. There's never anything interesting on daytime TV.

I kept checking the weather radar, looking for a gap in the cloud cover, but the rain was pretty steady. Around 3 PM the rain stopped for a while and I decided to take Dash for an afternoon walk. We walked for about fifteen minutes and then the rain started again. I don't know why I thought we'd be able to make it home. Dash is really slow. We got wet, but at least there wasn't any thunder and lightning.

I dried Dash off, changed my clothes, and watched the stock market lose most of yesterday's gains. I can't recall any really bad news today. Everyone is just jittery. I should stop fretting about the market. I certainly can't change anything.

I'm surprised at the number of people who say they are going to leave Facebook. Why are these people surprised that Facebook is selling their information? Jeez. What else has Facebook got to sell?  Wait until they discover that Alexa and Siri are listening to everything they say. I doubt that many of these outraged people will actually leave Facebook. That would be like me telling someone I was going to give up ice cream or bacon. Social media is here to stay and privacy left the building a long time ago.

I wonder how long it's going to take the roofers to get to me now. Every day of rain probably delays them another three weeks. It's amazing how long this has gone on. Occasionally, I'll look at old blog posts and realize that I've been dealing with this roof problem for over five years. I've still got buckets handy, but luckily there are no active leaks at the moment. The roof is constructed in layers. I worry when the top layer breaks, but water has to penetrate three more layers before it can get inside. We've got another day of heavy rain tomorrow and then hopefully I can start to clean things up.

I'm tired of fixing things. I need to find a good book or a TV series to binge watch on Netflix. I used to be a voracious reader, but it's difficult for me to pick up a book anymore. I wonder why? Maybe I should write a book. There are several dystopian novels floating around in my head, but it just doesn't seem important to put the ideas on paper. I only think about these matters on rainy days. When the sun is shining, I just fix broken things.

According to the weather forecast, tomorrow is going to be just like today. That's a pleasant thought. If it's going to be wet, at least the stock market should have the decency to go up. I need some good news.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day