Day 4503

I had to pick up some prescriptions while I was grocery shopping this morning and out of curiosity I asked the pharmacist if I would save any money if I used GoodRx instead of my prescription drug plan. "Well, let's see," she said. The pharmacist picked a random bottle out of my order and looked it up. "This would cost you $3.65 using GoodRx and $34 using your Supplemental Part-D plan. I was shocked. "So why am I paying all this money every month for my prescription drug plan," I asked? The pharmacist just shrugged. "A lot of people are just using GoodRx these days," she said. Looks like I'll be adding another app to my phone.

Smartphone apps have taken over the world. They're cheaper and more efficient than employees and everyone wants you to use them. Janet wanted me to pick up something at the store that she said was on sale. I returned without it, because it wasn't on sale after all. "You have to use the coupon on the store's app," Janet said. "They scan it at the register and the price comes off your bill." Who knew? Janet has apps from dozens of different stores on her phone. I have none. Well, I guess I do have one, but even that app that lets me bypass the register at one store is starting to irritate me. I've learned how to do things a certain way and find it frustrating when I am forced to change.

It was even windier today than yesterday. I wonder what is causing this? At least we still get a decent amount of rain, so the wind doesn't cause wildfires like it does out west. Our part of the country seems to be in some sort of a sweet spot where the climate isn't changing as rapidly as it is in other parts of the country. Temperatures are getting much hotter out West. They are actually getting a little cooler here.

It was nice and cool today. If it wasn't for the unrelenting wind, it would have been a very pleasant day for walking. I completed my full six miles this afternoon, but foot problems definitely slowed me down. I can't decide if the Hoka boots or the lighter Hoka running shoes are more comfortable. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Basically, the last mile is hard no matter what I'm wearing.

It's been interesting to watch the construction of the new bike trail through the park. Whoever is building this thing is much more efficient than the highway department. I've been amazed at how fast the construction is proceeding and how nice the results look. It looks like the entire project will be finished by early Summer, just like they promised. The only bad thing about this new super trail is that it will bring even more bicycles to the park. Bicycles and dog walkers don't mix well. We always have to keep any eye out for bicycles when we are walking Dawn. She likes to meander from one side of the trail to the other following the best smells. Bicycles are silent and deadly. We always have to make sure that Dawn isn't wandering into their path. It seems to be an unwritten rule that bicycles never slow down for anymore.

I tried to learn a few more features of the star tracker camera this afternoon. It would be nice to just take one camera out to the observatory and this one has to go with the star tracker. Once again I'm faced with the issue of learning new things. I know the camera I use for taking dog pictures backwards and forwards. This new one, not so much. The menu structure on these two cameras is completely different even though they can share lenses. I may end up having to take both cameras because the learning curve on the new one is a bit steeper than I'd hoped.

I got Chinese take out for dinner again. This time I checked my order at the restaurant to make sure that I was actually taking home what I ordered. This week has gone quickly. It's almost time for Dawn's Sunday outing again. Hopefully, it won't be quite so windy tomorrow.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4490

It was hard to get up this morning. I'm still feeling tired from my trip. You can't keep a dog waiting though. I dragged myself out of bed and off we went on our morning walk. It was a nice morning, but really windy. I think the wind blew in more pollen because both Janet and I had allergy problems this morning.

We always have a big breakfast on Sunday morning and then after doing a few chores around the house, we left again for Dawn's Sunday outing. We took my car this time because Janet's car was in the shop for a recall repair. She had a loaner car, but they don't allow pets in rentals and loaners anymore. The way Dalmatians shed you could never convince anyone that a dog had not been in the car. Dawn is always nervous about new things, but she did pretty well in a different car. It probably helped that Janet sat in the back with her. There was plenty of room. The seats were down and Dawn had her favorite blanket. I'm glad this worked because I may need to take Dawn and Janet to training class this week. The Audi dealer is way behind schedule and who knows when the recall repairs will be completed.

The wind was blowing harder when we started our walk but it kept things cooler. Dawn enjoyed her second walk, but we got a big surprise when we went for ice cream afterwards. The place should have been open for several hours, but evidently employees arrived late and they weren't ready to serve yet. We were told to come back in an hour. So much for ice cream this week. We definitely weren't messing with getting Dawn back in a car again today.

I worked on my article for SpaceFlight Magazine for a bit and then I took my afternoon walk. I don't even call it a long walk anymore, because I haven't been going that far lately. I'm trying to give my foot some time to recover and it seems to be helping. For the past several days I've only been walking two miles. I still had a respectable total though because of the two short one mile walks with Dawn.

The catkins are falling from our Oak trees again. These small cylindrical flower clusters form every spring just as the tree's leaves start to turn green. They make a huge mess. I have to sweep the porch every day because it is completely covered with catkins. If it's a windy day they blow inside when you open the front door. The catkins can completely clog the pumps on the roof as well, so I'm hoping that all the wind we've been having lately is blowing the mess off the roof. I'd much rather have this stuff on the front porch than the roof. I really don't want to climb up there again to unclog the pumps. It's just getting too hard.

With all my aches and pains I'm really having second thoughts about taking a long road trip again. I don't know if I have another road trip in me. Especially all the way out to West Texas. Maybe a few trips to Kennedy Space Center each year is all the traveling I need. The way prices have gone up, I don't know if I could afford much more anyway. At any rate, I'll need to decide soon because the Dark Sky Festival is at the end of the month. This might not even be an issue because I don't even have a place to stay yet. Nobody has bothered to reply to my enquiry about reservations at the Astronomer's Lodge.

It's weird how much can change in a year. Janet sees an apocalyptic future. I won't go quite that far, but things do look pretty dismal. Workers aren't showing up to make ice cream. Restaurants don't have bread to make french toast. Prices for absolutely everything have gone through the roof. I'm glad I grew up and spent most of my working years in much better times.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4479

Another blustery day. I think today was even windier than yesterday. It rained a bit last night, but the weather wasn't as bad as I expected. Some thunder in the distance woke me up briefly. The power never went out and the roof didn't leak. The ground was wet in the morning and Dawn didn't want to go outside and pee. The little diva doesn't like getting her paws wet.

I didn't do anything of consequence today. I was surprised that the day went so quickly because I can't remember doing anything at all. Our routine was a little different because Dawn didn't want an early walk. We waited until this afternoon when the ground was a little drier and the sun was starting to reappear. My own routine almost never changes. I made the bed, ate breakfast, checked my e-mail, and caught up on today's news. Then I walked. When we took Dawn on her walk after lunch, I didn't realize how windy it was and didn't dress warmly enough. I had to come back to the house with Janet and Dawn to get a warmer coat before continuing on with my long walk. I'm still not walking very fast, but I was able to complete my entire six mile route today. I really need to think of something more interesting to do with my time. These walks may be good exercise, but they are getting boring. I guess I could go over to the other side of the lake, but it is still the same lake. I don't think it would make much difference.

I thought about making reservations at the Astronomer's Lodge for the Dark Sky Festival, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I'm still not entirely sure I want to make the trip. I always enjoy my time at the observatory, but I really hate the long drive. Maybe I'll wait and see how I feel after my trip to Kennedy Space Center. I'll either feel better about traveling or worse. It's hard to tell at this point since I haven't been anywhere in quite a while.

Even though today was chilly, it's finally starting to feel like Spring. The meadows in the park are turning green and the Dogwood and Redbud trees are all in bloom. Wildflowers are finally starting to appear, although there aren't nearly as many as I've seen in previous years. The Oak trees in our yard are starting to get leaves again. The tree we were thinking of cutting down actually seems healthier than the other trees. I wasn't expecting that. There's a downside to Spring, unfortunately. It won't be long before I have to start mowing the grass again. It might finally be time to find a yard service to take over this chore for me. It's getting harder and harder for me to push the mower.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of March. Where has this year gone? It will be Easter soon and then I'll have another birthday where I'll feel absolutely ancient. At least I'm still relatively healthy. Almost every day on Facebook I read about someone about my age who has passed away. I think I've got a few good years left. Maybe quite a few. The challenge is not to waste them.

Dawn and Janet came back from training class earlier than I expected tonight. The dogs were getting cold and class let out early. I'll be surprised if there are many more cold days like this. Summer is just around the corner and we all know what Texas Summers are like.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4478

We had a short power outage last night. The beeping noise one of the battery backups for the computer made when the power went out got Dawn upset and she wouldn't go back to sleep. I turned the noise off but it seemed like Dawn was on high alert for the rest of the night. I had trouble getting back to sleep because she wouldn't sleep and woke up tired this morning. I probably would have woke up tired anyway. That's been happening a lot lately.

The weather changed again overnight. It was still warm, but extremely windy. The wind didn't seem to bother Dawn. She was eager to walk this morning. The walk woke me up, but I was eager to go back to bed when we returned. I made myself stay up, made the bed, and finished my breakfast, but my heart wasn't in it today. I really shouldn't be feeling this tired.

I made my travel arrangements for the Axiom-1 launch after breakfast. I was surprised and a bit disheartened at how much more expensive everything was than when I planned a similar trip about a year ago. Airfare, hotel rates, and rental cars were all significantly more expensive. Why? Are company costs that much higher, or do these guys just think they can get away with it? At any rate, I don't think I can just travel on a whim anymore. Making too many of these trips to Florida could put a serious dent in my budget.

I was determined to do something useful today, so I got the vacuum out and cleaned the carpets. The carpets are worn and need to be replaced. Somehow this seems impossibly hard to me, since so much stuff would need to be moved. The office is full of heavy stuff that would need to be moved out of the way.  It took over twenty years to fill this room up, so clearing it out in a day for the carpet installers wouldn't be easy. The master bedroom isn't as cluttered, but that seems daunting as well. There is a large, heavy king sized bed and I would have to hook up the television and all the home network stuff all over again. I'm beginning to understand why every room in my Dad's house was piled to the ceiling with stuff when he passed away. It's easy to accumulate stuff. A lot harder to make sense of it later.

I tried to walk a little further this afternoon, but was only able to add one additional mile to yesterday's pitiful total. I think the wind did me in today. The wind was so strong when I was down near the lake that it almost blew me off the trail. There was a news story recently that a body had been discovered in the lake on Friday. Yesterday someone discovered a dead dog in the lake. It's sad that this idyllic place is really just a part of a very big city with all of the problems that big cities typically have. Police patrol the park a lot more frequently now. I guess that's a good thing, but this is definitely not West Texas. I miss the empty, wide open spaces but I do worry about falling more than I used to. At least Dallas has good hospitals.

It's supposed to rain later tonight. I dread the thought of rain these days. I don't like to go up on the roof anymore and the longer standing water sits up there, the greater the chance of a leak. I really need to call a roofer and get started on a new roof. I'm just procrastinating now. I guess I know I'm going to be disappointed whoever I choose. I'll be even more disappointed if I do nothing though. 

Now that I've take care of my Florida trip, it's time to decide whether I'm going back to the observatory at the end of April. I probably will, but I dread that long drive. I seem to dread everything these days.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4436

It was really windy today. I almost got blown off the trail at several points during my long walk. On my way home there was the usual crowd watching the eagles, but I didn't see the nest. I didn't think anything of this. The nest is hard to see from my vantage point on the trail and I figured I was just looking in the wrong place. I've seen these birds so many times that I no longer walk over to the spot where you can see the eagles clearly. Later I learned that the nest had blown down in the wind and the eggs inside had broken. It was a sad ending to the eagle saga that has captivated the city for months. I wonder if the birds will stay? Somehow I doubt that they will build a new nest and start all over again.

My friend's house up the street is just an empty lot now. Everything is gone. The excavator even ripped up the swimming pool. It's weird how quickly this happened. It can take several years to build a house these days. It took less than two days to completely erase one. This made me kind of sad as well. I'm sure something grand will appear on this lot in due time, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the house that was torn down. The empty lot is one more sign that we live in a disposable society.

The power company tree crews have left the neighborhood. I didn't see any trucks today. It will take a while to clean up all the little twigs in the yard and our Asian Jasmine ground cover is pretty badly trampled. I wish the crew had left our Live Oak trees alone and cut down our damaged Red Oak tree instead. That wasn't on their agenda though. I was hoping that I'd have a better view of the southern horizon with the trees gone, but I didn't even get that. Now I just have a better view of the neighbor's trees on the other side of the alley. 

I wrote a letter to my sister this morning and took it to the post office. On the way home I picked up some new meds for Dawn at the vet. I'm not even sure what these pills are for, but Janet knows. I wasn't very productive today but I did change the sheets. Was putting a fitted sheet on the bed always this hard? Aching joints have made a lot of simple tasks seem difficult now. I shouldn't complain so much, but I still think that growing older sucks.

I still haven't taken the star tracker outside at night and tested it. It's so easy for me to make excuses. The light pollution in Dallas is terrible. There are a ton of bright lights in our neighborhood as well, including some in our own yard. The moon is getting pretty bright as well, but it isn't nearly as bright as our security light. It makes you wonder why I even got interested in astronomy. Maybe I'll return to McDonald Observatory this Spring. It's nice and dark out there. Then again, maybe I won't go after all. I have no interest in making that long drive anymore.

Dawn does seem to be becoming friendlier with me. That's a good sign in a world with very few good signs. Today she saw me returning from my long walk through the living room window and came running out to greet me with her tail wagging. We might end up becoming buddies yet.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4326

Dawn got a bath today. I'm sure she thought we were going for ice cream when she hopped in the car. She certainly seemed disappointed when we arrived at the self-bathe place instead. I don't mind a dirty dog, but Janet prefers a clean dog sleeping next to her. My sense of smell isn't so good, so I probably wouldn't know the difference even if Dawn was filthy. I'll have to admit that Dawn's fur does feel soft and smooth again though. The lady that owns the facility clips Dawn's nails and does her anal glands while we are there. We've never been very successful at doing these things ourselves.

The plumbing company still hasn't received the check I sent them almost a month ago. I called today to see if they wanted me to cancel the check and pay with a credit card, but the bookkeeper told me to wait another week or so. They have discovered what the problem is. They typically send prepaid return envelopes with their invoices and evidently the post office is holding on to over a hundred of these invoices because the woman who processes them quit and they haven't finished training her replacement yet. How hard could it be to process a postage paid envelope? I always thought they were treated just like any other piece of mail. You don't see postage paid envelopes very much anymore, but they used to be very popular. I remember using them quite often back in the day. Needless to say, the plumbing company isn't very happy with the post office. I don't blame them. Mail service for all types of mail has deteriorated recently, but a month to get a letter delivered less than ten miles away is pretty extreme. If I had known this was going to be a problem, I would have just gotten in the car and driven the check over to the plumbing company.

In other dysfunctional news, I read an article that people in North Texas are camping out in front of DMV offices at 2 AM just to get a good place in line to get their driver's license when the office opens the next morning. Evidently the influx of people moving to Texas and chronic staff shortages have caused a huge backlog at the DMV. It can take over a month to get an appointment to renew your license or take a driver's test. Who knew? I haven 't been to the DMV in years because I started renewing my license online as soon as that became an option. I hope they get this all sorted out before I have to go back in person to take the vision test again.

It was cold and windy today. In fact, it was so windy that I had to hold on to my hat frequently while I was taking my long walk. Several times I felt like the wind was going to blow me off the trail. I didn't make very good time today, but I don't think it was the wind that slowed me down. I'm still feeling tired because of the Covid and flu shots I got the other day.  My arm doesn't hurt as much at the injection site anymore, so hopefully my energy will bounce back soon. This shot seemed to pack more of a punch than the first two, but I will feel safer traveling on an airplane now.

I have to go back to my doctor so the nurse can add the booster shot information to my vaccination card. I thought I wouldn't need the card anymore now that you can download an official vaccination record to your phone. When I showed my phone to the nurse she said, "What good is this? I can't write anything on your phone." The whole idea of these vaccination cards wasn't thought out very clearly. They don't fit in your wallet and in most cases there is no corresponding electronic record. You should be able to update all this information electronically. Right now, it's a mess if you happen to lose your card.

Janet had a meeting tonight, so I took a long nap on the bed with Dawn. She seemed reasonably relaxed and stayed on the bed with me the entire time, but was sure happy when Janet returned. I don't think this dog is every going to be best friends with me.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4055

It was hard to tell if today was a busy day or not. I did my grocery shopping, filled the car with gas, walked Dawn with Janet, walked six more miles by myself, and picked up some Chinese food for dinner. It still seemed like nothing happened. It was really windy today. There were whitecaps on the lake and I almost got blown over a couple of times. It must have been windy to the west of us as well. By sunset the sky started looking strange and you could tell that a dust storm was rolling in.

It's weird to listen to all the gloom and doom on television and then look around me when I leave the house. The park was full of people today and I had a hard time finding a parking place when I went to pick up dinner at PF Changs. There may be parts of the country that are still shut down, but Dallas isn't one of them. They say that local hospitals are full but you'd never know it. Everything looks completely normal in this town.

Leaves were blowing everywhere today and I was hoping that ours would blow away. No such luck. The thick mat of Oak leaves covering the back yard seems glued to the grass underneath. Maybe the leaves are still damp, but I think they are just being difficult. This was the perfect chance for them to blow away and save me a lot of work. It looks like I'll still have to spend an entire weekend raking leaves sometime before the next bulky trash day. We've decided that it isn't worth hiring a lawn service anymore, but when I look at all these leaves, I wonder if this was the right decision.

It's flu season again, but there have been almost no cases of the flu reported this year. Could it be that the best way to prevent the flu is just wearing masks and staying away from other people? Who would have thought. Maybe staying away from other people is the way to prevent most diseases. I keep waiting for isolation to start trending, but it's just not happening. People love to congregate. I wonder why. There are many hidden benefits to keeping to yourself and minding your own business, but I don't think I'm going to become a trend setter. Even I'm going to need the help of other people to return to Kennedy Space Center.

I should have continued yesterday's cleaning efforts, but my heart wasn't in it. It's discouraging to spend hours cleaning up the office and have the place look exactly the same when I'm finished. I started my company in 1990 and stuff has been accumulating in the office ever since. I was amazed yesterday at how many things I found that I had never even used. I'll get interested in something, buy the gear I need, and then my interests will turn elsewhere. I am well prepared though. Well prepared to be living in the 1980's anyway.

Janet said that Dawn waited at the door for me the entire time I went out to pick up dinner tonight. Was she waiting for me or the food? I suspect the latter. I think she's warming up to me, but we've got a ways to go. Sometimes this dog is just rude. Often when I want to take a nap on the bed, she will get up and go to her other bed in the kitchen. I keep telling her that she's supposed to be man's best friend.

I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow. Maybe I'll work on my article about astrophotography. It sure beats raking leaves.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3716

It was really cold this morning. We thought Dawn might like to wear Dot's winter hat on her walk. Dawn wasn't so sure. She gave us one of her huge Dalmatian smiles, showing not only her teeth, but her tongue as well. This was kind of a nervous smile. "What are you doing to me," she was saying. "This hat doesn't even fit." Dawn didn't have to wear the hat. She tried to humor us though, wearing the hat around the house for a little while without trying to shake it off.

One of the reasons it felt so cold this morning was that there was a fierce wind. The temperature was in the high thirties, but the strong winds made it feel like it was well below freezing. The weather didn't seem to bother Dawn. She still loved her walk. The sky was clear and there were lots of things to smell. Dawn really enjoys smelling things, but so far doesn't chase squirrels.

It's a shame that people steal packages off porches these days. It takes away one of the main benefits of ordering online. I had to re-route a FedEx delivery to a FedEx facility today. Hopefully, I can pick it up tomorrow. I do this for UPS deliveries as well. Janet picks up her Amazon purchases at Whole Foods. It's less convenient, but this is just the world we live in. Who would have thought that you'd end up driving across town to pick up a FedEx delivery or never answer your phone because you didn't want to talk to a telemarketer. I never thought I'd have to take my shoes off at the airport either.

It looks like I'm going to be really busy at the observatory. I received a ton of additional background information today. There are viewing targets for each Star Party night as well as a list of alternate targets in case it is partly cloudy. If your target is covered by clouds, I guess you just point your telescope somewhere else. There is a lot to look at in the night sky. The few things I'm familiar with don't even begin to scratch the surface.

Reading all this background material inspired me to send another article proposal to Sky and Telescope. We'll see if I get a response. I'm learning to be patient about query letters. Some magazines respond quickly and others seem to take forever. Sky and Telescope is always slow to respond. I hope I don't end up being a nuisance to the editors I've gotten to know. I think I want to hear from them a lot more than they want to hear from me.

I think I'm going to take my McDonald Observatory target list to the observatory north of town when I visit. It would be really beneficial to know where to find some of these objects ahead of time. I talk a good game about liking astronomy, but I really don't spend a lot of time outdoors looking at the stars. I don't like the cold for starters. Tilting my head sharply to look straight overhead occasionally gives me neck pain as well. It might have been easier if I was interested in stamp collecting instead.

I still haven't picked up another bucket of the silicon coating to apply on the roof. I'm going to regret this the next time it rains. I keep postponing this chore because the silicon material is quite expensive and it's a long drive to the roofing supply store. It didn't take me long to buy that wide angle lens though. I guess we all have our priorities.

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3657

A loud thunderclap woke me up this morning. I looked outside and it wasn't raining. Weird. Something had changed though. It had gotten very cold again. These rapid weather changes are driving me crazy. You never know what to wear. Maybe we always had a succession of cold fronts sweeping away the warm weather every winter. I don't remember it this way though. Something seems different this year.

Janet returned home today. We'll resume our regular schedule and go visit the Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm not sure whether the five new dogs are at the kennel yet. They always spend at least a week at the vet after we pick them up to make sure that they don't have any hidden health issues. I think this group is relatively healthy. None of them have heartworms. Some do have intestinal worms though. Luckily, these are easy to treat.

It wasn't easy to get my 20,000 steps today. I was already tired when I returned from the gym. The gym was as piece of cake compared to my long walk though. The wind was brutal. The wind chill made the temperature seem much colder than it actually was. Whenever the wind stopped blowing, I felt overdressed. When it started up again, I was cold. I couldn't believe that I saw a few runners this afternoon wearing shorts and t-shirts. What planet do these people live on? I was wearing two coats and I was still cold.

I received a reply from a magazine I sent a query to last month. The e-mail was dated 2:37AM, which seemed a bit strange in itself. Basically, it was just a form letter saying the magazine always welcomes new submissions but that it was difficult to get published. OK. They said the article I submitted was not appropriate for the magazine. Of course it wasn't. I never submitted anything. I just attached a writing sample to my query as the magazine requested. This magazine goes to the bottom of my list. I have a feeling that it is going to be next to impossible to connect with these people.

If it warms up a bit, I'll definitely have to go up on the roof tomorrow. It rained a lot yesterday and there is bound to be a lot of residual water on the roof. When the pumps quit pumping, it doesn't mean that the roof is dry. There are far too many low spots for the two pumps to remove everything. No wonder I spend so much time daydreaming about traveling to space launches. Keeping this house from crumbling around me is a never ending chore.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Dalmatians again. I didn't visit the kennel while Janet was away because it was filled to capacity with Christmas boarders. When the kennel is full, we're just in the way. Most of the holiday boarders should be gone when we go up tomorrow. Hopefully, the dogs will be as glad to see us as we will be to see them.

The year is rapidly drawing to a close. I wonder if 2020 will be any different? It was really sad losing Dash this year, but there were some good things as well. Every year is this way. You've got to learn to take the bad with the good.

Petey & Greta are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3348

The roof is leaking again. I definitely wasn't expecting this. It was a clear sunny day and there wasn't even that much water on the roof. Apparently the roofers hadn't stopped the leak, they had just slowed the water down. Somehow, water was still getting under the elastomer coating and finding its way inside through a bad seam. I put a bucket under the drip in the living room, cleared the remaining water from the roof, and looked for a damaged area where the water might be getting in. I couldn't find anything. The dripping water stopped in about an hour, but that wasn't the point. There shouldn't be a leak at all. I sent an e-mail to the roofer, informing him of the bad news and made a mental note to contact the people who still owe me a bid for completely replacing the roof. This is getting old.

Dash pooped in the bed three times last night. I think this is a new record. The poop landed right on the puppy pad each time, so there really wasn't much of a mess to clean up. Dash never woke up. We wondered why he never pooped yesterday. Now we know. Despite the interruptions, I actually got a good night's sleep. Apparently Dash did too. He was eager for a walk this morning.

The weather app on my phone has been saying that today was going to be windy for the past several days. It was pretty calm when we took our morning walk, so I thought the forecast must be wrong. Nope. This afternoon it suddenly became fiercely windy outside. I could see the wind trying to rip the roof off of the greenhouse again. Some of the new nails I added held and some of them didn't. None of the fiberglass roof panels blew off this time, but they all were loosened. The problem is that I can't climb on the shed roof to secure the top of the fiberglas panels because the greenhouse is too flimsy. When a panel falls off, I just push it back in place and nail the bottom to the top of the greenhouse wall. Apparently this is not enough.

My to-do list today included getting phenobarbital for Dash, a small plunger to help clear a slow drain in the bathroom, and fresh fruit for next week's breakfast smoothies. Kroger has peaches again, so the smoothies will taste a little better. I wonder why none of the other stores have peaches yet?  When I filled the car with gas, I noticed that the station had brand new pumps. It still took two tries to get the new pump to accept my credit card.

The strong winds only lasted a couple of hours but they stirred up a lot of dust. When I was taking Dash on his evening walk it looked like there was a dust storm on the horizon that partially obscured the sun. I hadn't seen skies like this for three or four years and though it would make a great photograph. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. Dash walks so slowly now that by the time we got home, the sun had completely set. I guess the dust storm photo will have to wait until the next dust storm.

Today was discouraging. I can't believe I'm still dealing with a roof leak, a slow bathroom drain, and a dilapidated greenhouse. There is no joy in replacing a roof. It is expensive and you can't even see the results when it's done. I don't even think a new roof will increase the value of the house. The neighborhood is slowly becoming gentrified and our small house will ultimately become a tear down no matter what we do.

I hope that Dash wakes up with lots of energy tomorrow. Janet has an early charity event to attend and it's up to me to get the day started. We'll see how it goes. I'm not a morning person and neither is Dash

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3313

First it was the rain and now it is the wind. The weather is not my friend in the Winter. A cold front swept through town last night, bringing sustained thirty mile per hour winds along with it. The high winds continued for most of the night and blew the roof off the greenhouse again. The old greenhouse was built in 1955 and is pretty frail by now. It doesn't take much to bring it crashing down.

I've fixed the greenhouse roof before, but it's hardly worth the effort. When a stiff wind catches the edges of the translucent fiberglass roof panels, they just blow off again. Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the roof panels all over the yard, so I got a hammer, some nails, and a ladder and put the dilapidated greenhouse back together again. It's anybody's guess which will last longer: my greenhouse repairs or the roofers efforts from last week.

It was so cold this morning that we all had to wear our warmest clothes. Getting Dash dressed on a cold morning is quite an effort. First we put on his sweater. Over that goes his Ruffwear harness. Then we attach the leg brace and put on a fitted bandage, a pair of socks, and the Ultra Paws boots on his rear paws. Since it was extra cold this morning, he also wore a hat to keep his ears warm.

If Dash didn't love his walks so much, we wouldn't go to this effort. I'd just as soon sleep in a little longer on cold mornings like this. Walks are still Dash's favorite part of the day. He is transformed from a dog who falls down every five minutes in the house to a dog who strides purposely through the wet grass in the park, smelling every bush and tree along the way. It's kind of amazing that he gains stability if he is moving forward. If he is standing still, his rear legs start to sink fairly quickly. I often have to hold him up now while he is eating or drinking water from his bowl. Even smelling things along the way can be hazardous. If he gets too interested in the scent of another dog who has peed on a tree, he will lose control of his rear legs and stumble.

My attempt to repair the greenhouse made me pretty late this morning, but I still had lots of errands to run. When I'm shopping on Saturday, I buy the same staples over and over again. It's amazing how much the price of things like paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry detergent have gone up over the years. How can people continue to say that inflation isn't a problem when the cost of many ordinary things has doubled?

The skies are starting to clear, so I might actually be able to see tomorrow's blood moon lunar eclipse.  I've tried to photograph these things before, but our yard doesn't provide a very scenic backdrop. A red blood moon always looks good when it is near the horizon in a national park. Not so much in my yard. I think the moon will be more or less directly overhead at totality, so a scenic backdrop probably doesn't even matter. I'm only going to be outside for a few minutes anyway. It's not worth getting cold just to see a red looking moon.

I go to the gym again tomorrow. I think putting the greenhouse back together this morning provided more of a workout than going to the gym ever does. Actually, just putting on Dash's winter clothes today was quite a workout.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3306

Winter is here. It was all about the weather today. The wind was blowing so hard that it felt much colder than it actually was. Even though there was no rain or snow, it still felt like we were headed toward the South Pole on our morning walk. I'm glad we don't live any further north. The weather reports from the middle of the country looked pretty grim today.

I think the roof survived yesterday's rain. No water entered the house. The pumps kept the water level reasonably low, but when I went up to inspect things after breakfast, there was still lots of water to sweep away. It seemed even colder up on the roof than it did on the ground. The roofers did a pretty good job of repairing and sealing the areas where water was coming inside, but I can already see other areas that are likely to deteriorate in the weeks and months ahead. I've pretty much resigned myself to climbing up on the roof and sweeping the water away every time it rains. I think that the best I can hope for is that the recent repairs will keep the house dry until early Spring when I can make a decision about completely replacing the roof.

Dash has already torn up the plastic sheet we use to protect the bed in case he pees on it again. I went to Home Depot to see if I could find a better solution and came home with a shower curtain. The plastic shower curtain is waterproof, easy to place on top of the bedspread before we go to bed, and inexpensive enough that we can just keep replacing it as needed. Dash only peed on the bed once, but I'm convinced that he'll do it again the first time I forget to place a protective covering under his blanket.

I'm listening to the Cowboys vs Rams playoff game as I write. The Cowboys better pick up the pace a bit in the second half. Early in the season I didn't even think that they'd make the playoffs. It's never over till it's over though. Wouldn't it be a surprise to see the Cowboys in the Superbowl again. Somehow, I don't think it's going to happen.

Dash is still stumbling a lot, but other than that, he seems like a happy dog. We tried putting a leg brace on both rear legs this morning but it was too much. Dash couldn't walk at all. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board. When we ordered the second brace for the left leg we were hoping that it would provide some additional stability. Unfortunately, it just made it harder for Dash to walk. Both legs are weak, so maybe we can alternate the left and right braces on different days. Dash walked fine when we went back to our old configuration. He likes the cold a lot better than I do.

Janet made chili tonight. A hot bowl of chili is the perfect meal for a cold Winter day. It reminded me that even though I'm freezing, it's been a pretty good day. The roof isn't leaking. Dash has been in a good mood. And it doesn't look like there is going to be any more rain for the next week. Hey, the Cowboys didn't win, but the chili was delicious.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3283

I was optimistic when I got up this morning. The sky was clear. The temperature was warm. It seemed like a good day to fix the roof. Unfortunately, the roof had other ideas. It still wasn't dry. I tried to clear away the remaining water before the roofers arrived but I wasn't successful. When the roofing crew joined me on the roof, they agreed that the coating couldn't be applied until the roof was completely dry. I wonder when that's going to happen? Probably next Spring.

While we were up on the roof, we located a few more areas where water had gotten under the supposedly impenetrable silicon coating. Since the repair job seems to be growing by the day, the crew did what any workers would do. They called their boss. Hopefully someone with the authority to approve more extensive repairs will come out tomorrow. I kept reminding the guys that there are thunderstorms in the forecast for next week. I'd like to think my roof is a high priority for these guys, but I doubt it. There's always someone else with an even bigger problem.

Oddly, the other roofers I contacted to give me a bid for completely replacing the roof haven't showed up either. I have a feeling that all roofers are the same. They are completely dependent on the weather and most of them have more jobs than they can handle.

Although the weather was nice, it sure was windy. For the most part I like the wind because it blows the leaves off the roof. Today's wind was a bit excessive though. It blew some of the roof off the greenhouse. The greenhouse needs repairs even more than the house, but it is a relatively low priority.  Neither Janet or I have a green thumb. We quit trying to grow plants in the greenhouse years ago. Now it is mostly just a big shed to store broken lawnmowers and tillers.

Dash has stopped waking up when it is time for him to poop at night. As recently as two months ago, he would wake me up around 4:30 AM and we would both race to the back door. Now, he just poops in his sleep. It's almost become a nightly occurrence. If I wake up to go to the bathroom, I always check to see if there is a pile of poop near his tail. Usually there is. I've developed a technique for picking the stuff up without waking Dash or making a mess on his blanket. When I'm successful, I can just go back to bed and postpone changing the soiled blanket until morning. If Dash has strayed off his blanket during the night, all bets are off though. Occasionally I'm faced with a huge mess.

Tomorrow I get the dryer fixed. The appliance repairman is much more reliable than the roofers, so I think there is a good chance of success. I've already called in part numbers, so hopefully the parts we need will already be on the truck. It will be a relief not to hear the irritating high pitched squealing noise anymore, especially since I'm doing laundry every single day. Dash has turned our home into a laundromat.

The only bad thing about getting the dryer fixed tomorrow is that I won't be able to go out for breakfast. We're completely out of fresh fruit, but pancakes sound good. I'll make pancakes and sausages. On that optimistic note, I'm going to take the trash out to the curb and call it a day.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3258

I was right about the leaves. It was very windy last night and a whole new batch of leaves have fallen. Oh, well. I kind of hope that the wind continues and blows all the leaves off the trees before the next rain. Dry leaves are much easier to remove from the roof. If I'm lucky, maybe the wind will do the job for me.

Dash almost made it through the night. Close is not always good enough unfortunately. By the time I cleaned up the poop, it was time to get up anyway. Janet stayed home and fixed breakfast while I walked Dash this morning. Lately, Dash won't go anywhere without Janet leading the way, but today was the exception. He was eager to hit the road this morning and didn't even notice that she wasn't with us. Dash really enjoys the cold more than I do. I thought the strong wind might blow him over, but he held his own and did just fine.

By the time I left for the gym after breakfast I felt like I'd already had a workout. Cleaning up poop isn't all that strenuous, but it feels that way sometimes. Lack of sleep is tiring. I couldn't really blame Dash for my restless night. Dash woke me up once. The other times were because of heartburn. I probably should have asked my doctor to schedule an endoscopy to examine my esophagus. Something isn't right. I've had problems with GERD in the past, but I thought that was all behind me.

There were some younger people at the gym today who made my own efforts to stay in shape seem pitiful by comparison. I'm always surprised that most people I see at the gym really seem to enjoy working out. When do the endorphins kick in? I'm persistent, but I never find much joy in exercise. Usually what sustains me is the thought of taking a nap when I get home.

I actually did take a nap today. It was the only way I could get Dash to settle down. He would follow me into the shower and then slip on the tile floors. He would try to get under my desk like he used to do and then get stuck. Usually when Dash follows me everywhere, he is tired and wants me to rest with him. He does not like to be alone anymore. Resting with Dash seemed like a fine idea today. It would have been an even better idea last night.

Later this afternoon I watched the Insight landing press conference at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Damn. I could have been asking questions at this press conference. Maybe someday. I shouldn't get discouraged about not making the cut for this NASA event. The timing wasn't right anyway. I'd still like to be a space groupie though. Hopefully NASA won't cut funding for these unique opportunities for bloggers like me to become reporters for a few days. I still remember my trip to Vandenberg Air Force Base and would really like to do this again sometime.

I fell asleep at the computer again. It's time to go to bed. Hopefully, the weather is a little warmer tomorrow.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2886

It was so windy today that I kept expecting one of our trees to topple over. It has happened before. I see old growth trees fall in the park all the time, but luckily nothing happened to ours today. The wind did signal a change in the weather. A cold front moved through town this afternoon and it's currently about twenty degrees colder than it was this morning. Dash seems to like this chilly weather. I can't say that I agree.

The only thing I accomplished today was to catch the cockroach that eluded me yesterday. This time I had my flyswatter ready. The bug didn't have a chance. I hate to think how many of these things might be lurking around the house. There are certainly plenty of places for them to hide in the office. The office was full even before I brought all the paraphernalia home from the storage warehouse for Santa Paws pictures. Now, it's a total mess.

Dash seemed to want a walk around 3 PM this afternoon, but when I looked outside I noticed a mobile grooming truck parked in our neighbor's driveway. We would have to walk right by this truck to get to the park. It would be just my luck that the groomers would open the door just as Dash and I were walking by and out would come the dog who bit me. I wasn't going to risk it. I'm still very apprehensive about that dog.

I waited about an hour until the truck drove away and then we took our walk. We encountered another loose neighborhood dog along the way, but luckily this one was friendly. These people let their dog out in the front yard without a leash all the time. Over and over again, it races out in the street to greet me and Dash. One of these days it is going to get run over. I really don't understand how people can pay so little attention to their dog's safety. Is it that hard to keep your dog on a leash? The streets are busy. There are coyotes in the area. There are snakes. There are just too many unpredictable things that could happen.

I tried to sweep the leaves off the front porch today. It was impossible. Prevailing winds tend to blow leaves onto the porch where they pile up against the front door. When you open the door on a windy day, the leaves blow inside. This is one of many things that make me wish I lived in Arizona with a big cactus and a swimming pool in the yard. At any rate, I swept the leaves away three times today and the wind blew them back again every time. It's futile to battle against nature. Nature always wins.

I wonder how Black Friday got to be such a big deal. We are being inundated with Black Friday flyers in the mail and Black Friday e-mail messages. I don't think I've ever bought anything on Black Friday. I guess it's a good deal if you want to stand in line for a cheap big screen TV, but how many televisions do you need? I think everybody already has a big screen TV by now. I guess I'm not the target market. I'm so out of the loop that I thought Black Friday was yesterday.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1791

I was pretty pleased with myself when I successfully repaired my iPhone case using the replacement part that came in the mail today. Good as new, I thought. Then I went outside and discovered that a big gust of wind had blown off a segment of the greenhouse roof. Oops. This repair was going to be a lot harder. I found the corrugated roof segment that had come loose, but getting it back in place wasn't going to be easy. The steeply pitched roof isn't really strong enough for a person to stand on, and to make matters worse, there are still bees inside the greenhouse. Even though the greenhouse is basically just a shed to store the lawn mower and garden tools these days, I'd still like to get a roof on the building before the bad weather arrives later this week. Since it's virtually impossible to find competent people to do little jobs like this, it looks like I'll have to tackle this chore myself.

Since I'm not stupid enough to try to modify the furnace myself, I made an appointment with my HVAC guys to come install the new WiFi thermostat that Klout gave me. I was disappointed to hear that Marty, my favorite service technician, was no longer with the company. Marty has been fixing heating and cooling equipment at various properties I've owned for over twenty years. Now that he's gone, my go-to list of service people I trust has shrunk to exactly zero. There used to be dozens of people I could depend on to repair cameras, trim trees, remodel bathrooms, and install glass. They're all gone. My favorite carpenter decided he could make more money selling life insurance. An astoundingly good plumber I depended on abruptly quit a company he'd been working with for fifteen years and just disappeared. My camera repairman hung on for as long as he could by accepting work from collectors in Japan, but he eventually went out of business anyway. I've been through four insurance agents and five stockbrokers. Nothing lasts anymore. It's sad. Is a little continuity in this world too much to ask?

The park was filled with concrete trucks this afternoon. I find it ironic to see these huge, heavy trucks trampling all the native prairie grasses that other park enthusiasts have been telling people not to even walk across because they are so rare. I'm sure there is a master plan somewhere, but all I see is a lot of people at cross purposes. The contingent that wants more bike paths probably could care less about the native grasses. Although things look messy now, I doubt that the prairie grasses have been damaged. They're basically just weeds and have been here for hundreds of years. Trucks or no trucks, they'll be back next Spring.

I got my November invoices in the mail today. This chore doesn't take me as long as it used to, because my client list has shrunk considerably. Occasionally I think that I should do some marketing and get some new clients. Then I think, "now why would I want to do that?" It's all a matter of priorities. Losing a good HVAC repairman can be devastating. Losing a client is probably a blessing.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day