Day 4582

No luck getting the car into the shop today. I guess those days are gone forever. I do have an appointment for tomorow though. I've abandoned the dealership for an independent Land Rover garage. The dealership couldn't get me in until the middle of August. I still hope this engine problem can be resolved quickly. I'm tired of walking in this heat and am more than ready to return to the gym.

I took my long walk right after breakfast again and it seemed even hotter than yesterday. I was able to complete my entire route today although I was very slow. I'd hate to even think about doing this all summer. I know that we had a terribly hot summer back when we had our first Dalmatian. Spot was getting old and he couldn't handle the heat well at all. I couldn't either, but those days are just a distant memory. Today is very real. I hope our air conditioner keeps working and we don't have any power outages. There was a very brief brownout this morning but it only lasted a few seconds. 

Luckily, Janet's car is still working fine. We went and visited the rescue Dalmatians this afternoon and they were glad to see us. We haven't been up at the kennel for several weeks, so it was good to catch up with everyone. Today, we met Spot, our newest rescue. He is a very friendly young male and hopefully he'll find his forever home soon. I took some pictures of Spot for the website and when we were finished playing with Charlie, JoJo, Willie, and Rocket, we took Spot to the vet for some additional tests and new bloodwork. I was hoping that JoJo wouldn't want to play in the outdoor yard today, but true to form he headed outside as soon as we saw him. It took treats to get him back inside again to the much cooler indoor play area. Rocket has really come a long way. He is no longer fearful and has become an expert at catching treats in the air. All the dogs were more subdued today because of the heat. Just like our own home, the kennel air conditioners were having trouble keeping the place cool.

We're getting these messages from Ercot now advising us to set our thermostat higher to save energy and avoid power blackouts. Usually the recommended temperature is 78 degrees. I hear people saying that there is no way they're keeping their homes that warm. Some still insist on keeping the temperature at 72 degrees. I keep wondering how they can even get their homes that cold. We're meeting the Ercot guidelines, but it's not for lack of trying to get the place colder. We can get the temperature down to 76 degrees at night when things cool down, but during the hottest part of the day our AC struggles to keep the place below 80 degrees. Cool air is still coming through the vents, but it doesn't stay cool long. We have way too many single pane floor-to-ceiling windows. You can feel the heat radiating in just standing next to these windows.

Dawn is a lot smarter than JoJo about the heat. She's OK with her sunrise walk, but wants to stay inside for the rest of the day. When we take her outside to pee, she does her business very quickly and races right back to the door to get inside again. I can't say that I blame her. It takes me almost an hour to cool down after I take my long walk. I'm drinking a lot of water lately. I'm sure that's a good thing. You've got to stay hydrated.

I'm not sure how I'm going to get my steps tomorrow. I have to get the car down to the shop by 8 AM. Since nobody has loaner cars anymore, I'll need to take an Uber back home. Lord knows how long this will take. Everything seems to take longer than expected. I hope this garage will actually work on the car tomorrow. The dealership was notorious for stacking cars up so they could maintain a steady workflow. Sometimes I would take my car in and it would be several days before they would get to it. It is what is is though. There's not a lot I can do about the situation. Car have become way too complicated for me to work on them myself anymore.

Here's hoping that tomorrow goes well. I enjoyed visiting the Dalmatians today and the house is finally getting cooler again now that the sun has set. We're doing the best we can, but this is going to be a very long summer.

Sophia is toay's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4581

This has got to be one of the hottest summers on record. I remember one summer like this, but I was a lot younger then. If this continues, I may just start saying that this summer is the worst ever and chalk the past up to memory loss. If I were smart, I would have just stayed inside today, but I'm hooked on getting my steps. Getting at least 10,000 steps every day and writing a blog post every evening are about the only goals I have left.

I got an early start on my long walk this morning, but it didn't help much. It was already too hot when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk. In this weather I soak my hat in cold water before I leave the house and it is already dry before I reach the halfway point. The wildflowers are almost all gone now and the grass in the meadows is turning yellow. I still see a few ducks, but most of the other animals are in hiding. I don't see as many joggers anymore, but there are still plenty of cyclists. Maybe it feels cooler when you are moving faster. Surprisingly, I was able to complete my entire route today. My pace was really slow, but that had more to do with foot pain than with the heat. 

Dawn did get her Sunday outing, but we were careful to make sure she didn't get overheated. We only spent a few minutes in our Sunday park and then went straight to the ice cream store. It wasn't surprising that the place was pretty busy today. Ice cream and hot weather were made for each other. Sometimes we bring home a pint of our favorite flavor. They said they were out of that today, so we picked something else. We had some of the ice cream for dessert tonight and were surprised to find the flavor that the store said they were out of. It was a small surprise, but a nice one.

I hope I can get my car worked on tomorrow. I don't drive much, but it is still a real inconvenience being without a car. I can't get to the gym for starters. If the car ends up being in the shop for a while, I'm going to have to continue these very hot walks in the park. I stay hydrated and don't think there is any danger in walking in the heat but it isn't very pleasant. It definitely helps to get an early start. I don't think it would be wise to walk in the afternoon. I'm still hoping that the problem with my car is minor. The check engine light came on in my old Defender whenever the gas cap went bad. The same thing happened back when Janet had a LR-2. There is even a sign inside of my gas filler door that says to turn gas cap until you hear a clicking sound or the engine light will come on. Replacing the gas cap is easy. Replacing a major engine component is something else entirely.

Janet tells me that there is a new Dalmatian up at the kennel now. We'll get to meet this new boy tomorrow. I think we are supposed to take him to the vet as well. I need to remember to take my camera. The new guy will need to go on the website soon. It been a while since we've visited the rescue Dalmatians. Last week was the July 4th holiday and the week before that Janet was on vacation. I always enjoy visiting the dogs. Playing with a dog is so much more enjoyable than dealing with people.

The in-door water supply in our refrigerator doesn't work anymore. When did that happen? It might have happened months ago, since I usually just drink bottled water. You can still get ice through the door, but no water. Oh, well. One more thing to fix. So many problems around our house involve water. The washing machine has been repaired several times. We just got a new dishwasher. I need to get a new toilet as well. These are all basically water problems. Our worst water problem was having a water line break under the concrete slab of our house. What a mess. Hopefully that will never happen again. 

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4580

Not a great day. The app that lets me bypass the checkout line at the grocery store didn't work this morning and there were no berries. All they had were grapes. These were minor annoyances though. When I got back in the car, the check engine light came on. This is not a light you want to see, so I curtailed the rest of my shopping and went back home. The last thing I wanted today was for my car to die in a grocery store parking lot when I knew the dealership closed at noon. 

When I called to make a service appointment, they said that the earliest they could get me a loaner car was the middle of August. What? I tried calling the other place that services Land Rover, but they weren't open on the weekend. I don't drive much so this isn't a serious inconvenience. I'm more worried about the cost. Engine problems can be expensive. Hopefully this is something minor. The car didn't overheat on the way home and the engine sounds normal. I will need to take the car in for service though. It's not a good idea to ignore the check engine light.

Since I couldn't make it to the gym today, I took my walk in the park on what was probably the hottest day of the year so far. The temperature got up to 109 degrees today. Not surprisingly, I wasn't able to complete my full route because it was so hot, but I was able to get at least 10,000 steps. It probably wasn't a good idea to walk outdoors on such a hot day, but I hated the idea of starting over on steps. The bad news is that I'll have to do the same thing again tomorrow. I'll try to get an earlier start though.

Our air conditioner is having a hard time keeping up with this heat. I set the thermostat at 76 degrees and then watched the temperature slowly climb to 80. We just have too much single pane glass in the house. These large windows aren't insulated like double pane glass and on a hot day you can feel the heat just standing next to them. After the sun set, the inside temperature started falling again, but the air conditioner has been running all day. I don't even want to think about what our electric bill is going to be next month.

I certainly didn't accomplish much this afternoon. I did a load of laundry and watered a few plants. This heat takes away my desire to do anything. I wanted to check the oil level in my car to make sure it wasn't low and discovered that there wasn't a traditional dipstick in the engine compartment. There's a setting on the dash where you can check the oil level there. Why am I just now discovering this? Probably because this car has never leaked oil and I get it changed routinely at service checks. I was always checking the oil on my Defender. It did leak.

I don't think we will be walking on Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. Dawn will get her sunrise walk, but it's just too hot during the middle of the day. We will get ice cream though. Dawn doesn't like the heat but she does love her trips to the ice cream store.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4579

Another hot day. It's really hard for me to get motivated in this weather. I kind of envy Dawn's ability to sleep for most of the day. There's a whole list of things I need to do, but I keep postponing things. I need to schedule my car for a recall service. I hate dealing with the dealership now, so I keep putting this off. 

I need to retrieve a few things I put on consignment at a guitar store several years ago. I haven't talked to the place since before Covid started and I know my stuff hasn't sold yet. The electronic gear will just go to my storage warehouse, but if I don't do anything, the store might go out of business and the stuff could just disappear. 

I really need to start calling people about repairs to the house, but living in a house while renovations are going on is one of the worst things I can think of. There are doctors appointment I need to make and I need a haircut again. I could go on, but you get the picture. It's easier to just do nothing.

I went back to the gym again after breakfast. If it gets any hotter, it's going to be too warm for our sunrise walk with Dawn. It's definitely too warm for doing yard work during the day. Going to the gym reminds me of the Groundhog Day movie. Everything is always the same. The same people are always there and are doing the same exercise routines. The place is nice and cool though. It must cost a fortune to keep the giant room as cold as they do. When I watch the same people do the same exercises on the same machines day after day, I realize that most people's lives are more or less like mine. Everyday life is not always exciting. Most things we do are repetitious and often boring.

I think spending nine days alone with Dawn has changed things a bit. We seem to get along better now. Dawn comes when I call now and seems to be content to share the bed with me. I took a long nap this afternoon and she was right there with me. Dawn is still more excited when Janet is in the house, but I am no longer someone to fear. I hope this continues. Life will be a lot easier if Dawn starts treating Janet and I the same way.

My sister reads a lot and I asked her for a few recommendations. Now she wants to send me boxes of books she's already read. I need to send her pictures of my office. Our house is already filled with bookshelves and there isn't room for anything more. There are books in the storage warehouse too. Sadly, I really don't read that much anymore. Three or four books would probably keep me busy for the rest of the year.

Food and gasoline aren't the only things that are getting more expensive. I paid some utility bills today and every one of them was higher than expected. I can't think of a single thing that is actually getting cheaper these days. If I was still working, I could raise my own rates, but that's not going to happen. I learned quite a few years ago that the kids working in ad agencies these days don't want to hire their grandfather. Too bad the stock market is also taking a hit. It's kind of like a perfect storm of bad news.

A lot of people on my Facebook feed are getting Covid. Why now? I thought the pandemic was supposed to be winding down. It makes me wonder if I'll eventually get Covid myself. I've probably escaped so far because I'm not around other people very much. Avoiding people still seems like a good plan to me, but my luck could run out at any point. It's probably not good to dwell on thoughts like this. It's a crazy world. My luck could run out driving to the gym or even walking in the park.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4578

Today was just like yesterday. Tomorrow will probably be the same. I'm not happy with this heat wave, but what are you going to do. It's summer in Texas. I think it's been this hot before, but I mostly remember last summer, which seemed much cooler.

I've pretty much given up on walking in the park for a while. We still take our sunrise walk with Dawn, but even that is getting a little too warm. I always go outside after I finish breakfast to evaluate the weather and I'm not even tempted to take my long walk. It's just too hot.

I returned to the gym this morning and might keep going for the rest of the summer. When I used to just go to the gym on Sunday I was always surprised that so many people chose the same day as me. Now I realize that these people go every day. Some of the regulars seem to live there. If I go in the morning, they are there, and if I go in the afternoon, they are still there. I never stay more than two hours. On an average day, it's more like an hour and a half.

My routine is pretty simple these days. I shoot free throws on the basketball court until I get fifteen baskets. Sometimes this goes quickly and other times it takes a while. Next, I walk long enough on the indoor track to get my steps for the day. If Dawn takes a decent walk in the morning, I walk two miles. If Dawn doesn't feel like walking, I walk three miles. I spend a little time working with free weights before I go home. Today I used a machine where you sit on a bench and pull down on a weighted horizontal bar. I'm trying to stretch my bad shoulder a bit and get some more mobility. At first I couldn't use this machine at all because I couldn't raise my right arm above my head high enough to reach the bar. I'm getting better though. One benefit of going to this gym is that I can watch what all the physical therapists are doing with their patients and then do some of the same things myself. It's a nice gym and I could do a lot more, but mostly I'm just here to keep my Fitbit happy and get those steps.

I should have stayed inside when I returned home, but the spiderwebs on the windows continue to bug me and I decided to finish cleaning the windows. I only do a few windows each day so I won't get too hot. Our house has a lot of windows and spiders seem to love them. I think this is because lights from the house attract bugs in the evening and spiders build webs to catch the bugs. I always carry one can with window cleaner and another can with wasp spray when I am cleaning windows. Little by little I am getting rid of the wasp nests, but there are a lot of them. I think I'm making progress. The bedroom windows look a lot better when I'm taking a nap anyway.

I think Dawn has turned a corner with me. She no longer leaves the room when I'm in the bedroom during the day. We share the bed quite peaceably now. Maybe after spending nine days with me, she finally realized that I am not a threat to her. Dawn is also comfortable walking to the meadow behind our house with me now. She won't take a longer walk unless Janet is with me, but I think we are making progress. Janet seems pleased with this situation. I think she is eager to travel again.

I'm surprised that the week has gone so quickly since basically nothing has happened. This week's trash has been taken to the curb and I think I've remembered which parts of the yard needed to be watered. Maybe something interesting will happen soon, but I'm not counting on it.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4577

Another really hot day. Our air conditioner is running constantly and is having trouble keeping up with the heat. The temperature is already in the mid 80's when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk now. This is OK, but by mid-morning it is already too hot to do much outside. Sadly, there is no relief in sight. The forecast shows that the next nine days will be pretty much the same. It's a triple digit month.

I must have gotten stung by one of those hornets when I was cleaning the windows the other day. I didn't notice anything at the time, but now I've got a big welt on my leg. It looks and feels just like a bee sting, so I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I'm not allergic to bee stings, but this is irritating. The swelling is much worse than your usual mosquito or chigger bites.

I didn't even think about taking a walk in the park today. After I checked my messages and did the breakfast dishes I headed straight for the gym. The place wasn't very crowded today. Probably because I was earlier. Since this gym is run by a major hospital, there are always a lot of physical therapy patients. I always feel like I'm falling apart until I see what these people have to go through. Considering my age, I'm pretty lucky to still be relatively healthy. I'm glad they keep my gym super cold. It may be boring walking around the small indoor track, but it certainly beats getting sunburned while being drenched in sweat. I shot baskets for a while, walked several miles on the indoor track, and used several machines that will help my upper body strength. I have a feeling that I may be back tomorrow. I just can't handle a walk in the park in this heat.

I'm finding ants all over the place in the house now. Most of them appear near doors and windows and almost all are dead. I have no idea where they came from. Maybe they were part of the ant invasion that appeared on our front porch last month. After I vacuum the dead ants up, they don't tend to reappear. Maybe this was a one time event. I certainly hope so. One of the downsides of living near the park is that there are critters everywhere. We have to watch out for possums and raccoons when we let Dawn out at night and squirrels are everywhere. Luckily, we seldom see snakes. Our main battles are with the spiders who relentlessly built huge webs near our windows. Most of the spiders are harmless and help control other insects, but the webs are a huge nuisance. 

I'm still having trouble staying occupied during the day. Now that I'm no longer working and have stopped collecting things, the only things that seem to interest me are rocket launches and observing the night sky at McDonald Observatory. Where did all the other interests go? I used to write songs and play in a rock band. I spent several years as a fashion photographer. At one point I considered myself an art collector and never missed a gallery opening. None of these things interest me anymore. I guess it's OK for interests to ebb and flow, but it does seem a bit strange. Most people seem to keep their interests and obsessions for much longer.

Dawn won another ribbon at training class tonight. I was surprised that they even had the class since it was so hot, but Janet said there was a nice breeze and the dogs were all OK. Dawn really likes going to this class now. Like the Sunday outing and her early morning walks, it has become part of her routine. My own routine is almost as simple as Dawn's, but I don't win many ribbons.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4576

I know this is not the hottest summer on record. It's seems that way though. How did I survive all those other hot summers? As the temperature rises, my desire to do anything diminishes. A trip to somewhere nice and cool would be welcome at this point.

Our sunrise walk with Dawn is still the nicest part of the day. We start before the sun comes up, but it is usually above the horizon on our way home. As soon as we see the sun, you can instantly feel the temperature rise. I still wonder how people lived here before there was air conditioning.

Since it was way too hot for a walk in the park, I went to the gym this morning. I went pretty early because I couldn't think of anything else to do. I was surprised that the place has reinstated their mask rule. I thought we were over that. It's kind of a silly rule. You have to wear a mask when you enter the building and are signing in, but you don't have to wear a mask when you are actually exercising. A very small percentage of the members keep their masks on all the time. Probably one of them complained and the rule was reinstated. 

I didn't stay at the gym long today. I just walked enough on the indoor track to get my steps. I didn't even feel like shooting baskets today. When I got home I continued the window cleaning job I started yesterday.  There were more hornets following me around today, but I didn't get stung. I did find a big nest and destroyed it. Hopefully hornets and wasps aren't valuable like bees. I really hate the hornets. There are still more windows to clean, but after about an hour I'd had enough of the insects and the heat and came back inside.

Dawn seems to know that Janet is back for good. She's much more relaxed now, even when Janet is out of the house. I don't know why this dog doesn't like me. We both like to do the same things. Napping and snacking aren't a bad way to spend the day.

Now that I'm up to date on the latest star tracker firmware and have watched the two movies that seemed vaguely interesting on Amazon Prime, I don't know what to do with myself. I could go to a camera store and buy something I don't need, but inflation has made me feel poor. I'd like to attend the Artemis-1 launch, but NASA has been slow with credentialing. I still don't know if I'll get press credential yet. It's not worth the trip without credentials because you can't get close enough to get good pictures. I guess I could start taking pictures in Dallas again. I used to do this a lot, but the city has become way too crowded. I don't enjoy getting out of my own neighborhood anymore. I'd rather drive halfway across the state to the Davis Mountains than visit another part of town.

I'll probably go back to the gym tomorrow. If I was smart, I would just keep walking after we finish our sunrise walk with Dawn. It's still pretty nice very early in the day. I like having breakfast before I start my day though, and by the time I finish breakfast it is already too hot. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll think of something to do. There are still more windows to clean.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4575 - Independence Day

Our summer heat wave continues. It got up to 102 degrees today and there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was already in the mid-80's when we took Dawn on her first walk in over a week. The temperature didn't bother her this morning. She was eager to walk. Dawn has become a different dog now that Janet has returned. She's bolder, more energetic, and her tail wags a lot. It's pretty clear that Dawn views Janet as her companion and me as some sort of kennel attendant. 

It all makes sense in a weird way if you know about Dawn's past. She was born in a puppy mill and lived her entire life there as a breeding dog until she was rescued. A couple owned the kennel, but the wife died at some point, leaving the kennel operation to the husband and their son. I think that Dawn liked and trusted this woman, but was mistreated by the two men after she died. It's really all she knows. Even after several years with us, this is still all new to her. She trusts me a lot more when Janet is around. Probably the kennel was run better and the dogs received better care when the man and his wife owned and operated the place together. I'm just guessing here, but the couple might have even been responsible breeders when they were younger. That was a long time ago though. I'm glad the puppy mill was finally shut down and the remaining dogs were given a second chance. If anyone deserves a second chance in life, it's Dawn.

I'm not the world's most patriotic person, but I do have some thoughts about Independence Day. I find it terribly sad that some in this country seem to hate what the founding fathers created and actively want to tear everything down and start over. I don't think many of these people understand the differences between a republic and a representative democracy or the founders belief that that individuals should control the state rather than the state controlling the individual. If these leaders were alive today they would seem more like libertarians than democrats or republicans. They believed in very limited government and created a republic rather than a representative democracy specifically to prevent the federal government from becoming too powerful. I guess you could call me a libertarian as well. I still think that the people who started this country had a brilliant idea that has lasted for over two hundred years. Our government has become too powerful and you are not going to improve things by making it even more powerful. You can tear everything down if you want, but a phoenix is not going to rise from the ashes. All you will be left with is a hollowed out empty shell. 

I tried to take care of a few things in the yard today but it was probably a mistake. It was just too hot to be working outside. I tried to get rid of all the wasp and mud dauber nests under the eaves of our house. I almost got stung several times. There was actually a hornet's nest inside the step ladder I was using. After I sprayed, the wasp and hornet spray got all over the windows and then I had to clean the windows. I watered the Japanese black bamboo in the atrium as well as the small tree in our front courtyard. I forgot the name of this tree. It's not a crepe myrtle or a dogwood, but it's about that size. Jeez.  It wasn't that long ago that I knew the names of all the plants in our yard.  Now I'm forgetting everything.

Forgetting bills is worse than forgetting the names of ornamental trees. I forgot to pay my storage warehouse rent this month. Luckily I remembered the bill on my long walk this morning and I was still within the grace period so I didn't have to pay a penalty. I probably should set everything up on auto-pay, but I like to pay my bills at the last possible minute and most companies prefer to suck the money out of your account as early as possible. 

I did take my long walk this morning, but I'll probably just go to the gym for the rest of the week. It's going to be even hotter tomorrow. A short sunrise walk with Dawn is all the outdoors we need until things start to cool down again. I'm starting to hear fireworks now. I'm not a big fan of fireworks, but luckily Dawn isn't afraid of them. The only noise that seems to bother her is the dishwasher.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4574

Life has returned to normal. At least I hope it has. Janet returned this evening and Dawn was overjoyed. I think she got back just in the nick of time because Dawn was starting to become fearful and was acting weird again. This morning when she was eating her breakfast in the bedroom, I accidently turned on the dishwasher while I was fixing my own breakfast and the noise terrified her. She stopped eating and ran and hid in a corner. I don't know why the little four note chime the dishwasher makes when it powers on is so frightning to Dawn, but it's always been that way. I need to figure out a way to turn off the sounds on the dishwasher. Life will be a little easier without these fearful beeping noises.

Last night when I was letting Dawn out to pee before we went to sleep, there was a possum at the back door. It's a good thing I saw the possum before I opened the door. I'm sure this is what Dawn has been smelling in the yard this week. She's definitely been interested in something. After I chased the possum away, the rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Since my gym wasn't open today, I was forced to take a walk in the park. I got an early start, but it was still very hot. Surprisingly, I was able to complete my entire route, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I returned home. I doubt that the gym will be open tomorrow either since it is a holiday.

After a shower and a change of clothes I cleaned up the house for Janet's return. It's weird that a little noise from the dishwasher freaks Dawn out, but she doesn't mind the vacuum cleaner at all. When I vacuumed the bedroom, she just sat on the bed and watched me. She didn't seem alarmed or upset at all. Most of our other dogs hated the vacuum cleaner. Who knows. Maybe Dawn was just happy to get her room cleaned.

Dawn was eager to eat her dinner tonight and took all her meds, so I guess the dishwasher trauma wasn't that bad. Dawn is definitely a complicated dog. Hopefully, now that Janet has returned, life will return to a more relaxed pace. Dawn totally trusts Janet and doesn't really trust me at all. We've managed to get all the important things done, but she never really did relax and become my buddy. That's OK. At least we both know how to get by when the need arrises.

I was going to get Chinese take out for dinner tonight, but the restaurant was closed. I sure wish people would update their websites. I thought about getting pizza instead, but my favorite pizza place was closed as well. I saw several other closed restaurants in my search for take-out and ended up getting something at the deli counter at a nearby grocery store. When I got home I saw an article online that a lot of restaurants in Dallas were closing for the month of July because it was the slowest month of the year and they wanted to give their employees a rest. Sounds like they just wanted to save money to me.

Tomorrow we'll take our sunrise walk again. I bet that Dawn will be eager to walk. It's been more than a week she's had her regular morning walk. Even though it's Monday, we won't be able to visit the rescue Dalmatians, since the kennel will be closed for the holiday. Since my gym is closed as well, I'll probably be walking in the hot sun again. I think Dawn and I did pretty well this week, but it's good to have Janet back.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4573

When I went out to water the lawn early this morning I could already tell that it was going to be too hot for a walk in the park. Dawn and I have our morning routine down pretty well now. When I get up, I make the bed while she is still sitting on it. It's not that hard because I only use a small corner of the bed. I fill her water bowls with fresh water and fix her breakfast. When I return to the kitchen to fix my own breakfast, I can hear her eating in the bedroom. After I finish eating, I take Dawn down to the meadow behind our house so she can poop and pee. It would be nice if she felt like walking further, but so far she wants to go straight back to the house. I give her morning meds with a little cream cheese and then I do the breakfast dishes. I still haven't used the dishwasher. Why bother for one or two plates.

I thought I'd combine grocery shopping with a trip to the gym this morning. I went to the gym first so the groceries wouldn't spoil in the hot car. The gym is pretty empty on a Saturday morning. The roads were pretty empty too. Maybe everyone is traveling during this holiday long weekend. I shot some baskets on the basketball court and walked three miles on the indoor track. That was enough for me.

The grocery store was out of shredded wheat. How can you be out of something so basic? My list was very small today. I needed milk, orange juice, and strawberries. The fresh squeezed orange juice I get was a dollar more than the same bottle was last week. I wasn't really surprised. Everything seems to get more expensive on a weekly basis.

Dawn typically likes to lie out in the sun for a while in the afternoon. Not these days. It's just too hot. When I took her out to pee after I returned home, she did her business quickly and then ran straight to the back door. She's a smart dog. Nobody needs to be outside in this type of weather.

Maybe Dawn likes Janet better because she finds me boring. I certainly haven't found much to get her excited this week. She's fine with me napping on the bed now though. She seems relaxed and mostly just ignores me. We both seem to have the ability to nap for a long time.

I watched the Artemis-1 rollback to the VAB on a NASA livestream for a while this afternoon. This was kind of like watching paint dry because the huge mobile launcher moves at a maximum speed of one mile per hour. I saw a few of my photographer friends on the video feed taking pictures of the rollback. These guys seem to never tire of photographing rockets. It is an interesting little community. I wouldn't mind being a part of it. Unfortunately Florida is just as hot and humid as Texas right now. Winter launches are much more pleasant.

Hopefully Janet won't have any problems with her flight home tomorrow. Every time I turn on the news there's another story about flight delays and cancelations. I don't think it's been this bad for quite a while. Planes are full. Pilots are unhappy and are picketing in front of airports. TSA lines are ridiculous. On top of all this, airfares are more expensive than ever. I'm glad we did a lot of traveling back when flying was easy and cheap.

It looks like I'll have to walk outdoors tomorrow because my gym isn't open on Sunday. I'd better get an early start. I asked the receptionist if they were ever going to open on Sundays again and she said they were having trouble hiring people. Nobody wants to work anymore. I have mixed feelings about working. I always enjoyed writing for a living, but hated having people tell me what to do. I've had a lot of dumb assignments in my time.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4572

Another uneventful day. I think it's impossible for me to get eight hours of sleep. When I go to bed earlier, I wake up earlier. Somewhere between six and seven hours is all my body seems to want. It's too bad that Dawn wasn't in the mood to walk when I took her outside this morning. It was really nice out just before sunrise. She's not going to walk until Janet returns though. I'm lucky that I can get her to go down to the meadow behind our house to do her business.

I took my long walk right after breakfast to avoid the heat. Apparently, I'm not the only one trying to avoid the heat. The park is surprisingly crowded early in the day this summer. I often see neighbors walking their dogs while I'm in the park. Today one of them was one dog short. It turned out that the dog had died of cancer recently. It's sad that our dogs are with us for such a short time.

I went to the bank this morning and then stopped at a nearby grocery store to get some more salad greens. Actually I just got a couple of pre-made salads so I wouldn't have to make anything. I'm spoiled that Janet makes me a nice salad every day. On my own, I would revert to eating tuna fish out of the can pretty quickly.

The Benro folks wanted me to run a test on my star tracker and sent me some pre-release software to install. I was a little apprehensive because there was a good chance that everything would stop working again. Boredom makes you take chances though. I figured that if the beta firmware didn't work, they would fix the problem later. I carefully followed the instructions I was sent and was pleasantly surprised that the tracker still worked. There weren't any camera disconnect problems either. Maybe my problems are over for a while. Actually, I'm pretty lucky to be communicating well with the manufacturer in China. They always answer my questions within a day or two and have been pretty responsive. A lot of people on the user group haven't even received their trackers yet. One of these days I'll have some really nice astro photos to show you. It might be a while though. Lord knows when I'm going to be able to get back to the observatory.

I finally contacted the right person at NASA and got an update on my Artemis-1 status. Yes, they received my application for press credentials a long time ago. No, they haven't made any final decisions yet. I hope I get selected but it would certainly save me a lot of money if my application is rejected. I don't think airfares and hotel rates are going down any time soon.

I found Dawn sitting in the corner again this afternoon. Some noise that I hadn't even heard had spooked her. She came when I called and we went outside to sit in the sun for a while. Dawn is fine, but she is still very nervous without Janet at her side. We get all the essential things done during the day, but I can tell that she is sad and a little depressed. At least she doesn't run away when I take a nap on the bed anymore. I took a long nap this afternoon and Dawn stayed right there with me. We are definitely building trust, but there is a big gap between trust and joy. I tell Dawn that her friend will be returning soon, but I'm not sure she understands.

It's grocery day again tomorrow. This week really went quickly. I don't need much since I got some of my shopping done today, but I do need strawberries. Janet returns on Sunday. I think Dawn will be very happy.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4571

It's hard to believe that it's already the last day of June. Where has this year gone? It feels more of a survival year than a year filled with milestones, but maybe surviving in these times actually is a milestone. 

I'm certainly getting plenty of sleep lately, but Dawn had me worried for a little bit last night. I woke up feeling the mattress vibrating and it was caused by Dawn shivering and shaking. She then sat up and it looked like she was going to throw up. I got some towels out of the bathroom because I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get her to move. Then I sat with her for a while and she calmed down and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. I used to think her shaking was just fear, but now I'm wondering if she might have had a mild seizure. Dawn has had a seizure before when we first got her, but it was much milder than those experienced by some of our other dogs. Maybe I worry too much. Shivering and shaking at times seems to be part of Dawn's personality. She even does this when Janet is home.

We didn't get an early start today, but I still took my long walk in the park. I just don't feel like going to the gym or driving anywhere. Dawn and I have established a pretty good daily routine. I always make sure to take care of all the morning events before I leave on my walk. Dawn seems happy with this arrangement. I don't even try to get her to come out to the kitchen for breakfast anymore. She likes me bringing her breakfast back to her in the bedroom. I guess it's a dogs equivalent of breakfast in bed.

We really need some rain. The park is looking pretty dry right now. Our yard is OK, but that's because I've been more diligent about watering the grass. There isn't a lot to look at in the park now. I'm basically just walking to get my steps. I'm always surprised to see quite a few other people out walking or running on hot days like this. Texans must love punishment. I managed to keep up a pretty good pace today. I still can't figure out why I walk faster outdoors than on the more comfortable indoor track at the gym.

I've been trying to get clarification from NASA about my status for the upcoming Artemis-1 launch. The whole process has been more difficult than I thought it would be. People's job descriptions change frequently at the space center and when I'm finally able to connect with someone, it's usually the wrong person. I usually get the name of another person to contact and the whole process begins again. At least I'm getting answers to my e-mails now. For a while it felt like my mail was just going into a black hole. I think I've still got plenty of time to get credentialed. This launch has been postponed so many times that I wouldn't be surprised if it was postponed again. The current schedule is for a late August or early September launch. We'll have to see.

Dawn doesn't get upset when I take naps in the bedroom now. I can stay for an indefinite length of time and she just continues her own napping. With each passing day, she seems to show a little less fear. That's why I'm thinking that last night's episode might have been a very mild seizure instead of a panic attack. We're still a long way from becoming best buddies, but we're getting along. Dawn is definitely a survivor. She's been through a lot worse than this in her past life. I wish she knew what I knew. Janet is coming back and we are well past the halfway point in the vacation.

I didn't watch a movie this afternoon. I can't say that I did anything productive, but the day went quickly. I may have to go to the grocery store tomorrow. I've still got some of the pot roast left, but the refrigerator is looking pretty empty. I'm kind of hooked on having a salad with dinner now and I need to get some fresh greens. I may need to get some more milk for my cereal as well. Such excitement. Maybe this is why fewer people are reading the blog these days.

I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and the can seemed almost empty. Not much trash this week. It's kind of amazing how much more activity there is around the house when Janet is home. No wonder Dawn seemed bored.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4570

No early start today. Dawn and I slept in again. I was glad to be back on a regular schedule, but my long walk was warmer this morning. My daily routine is more complicated now, but I try to do everything in the proper order. The first thing I do when I get up is fill Dawn's water bowls. Then I unlock the back door and gate and fix Dawn's breakfast. If she won't come out to the kitchen to eat, I take her bowl back to the bedroom and then fix my own breakfast. 

After I finish eating and wash the dishes, we go down to the meadow behind out house so she can poop and pee. I remember to take poop bags with me now. When Janet is home, this is when we typically take our sunrise walk, but Dawn wants to come straight back to the house now. When we return Dawn gets her morning meds. We don't use pill pockets because Dawn likes to take her pills with cream cheese. I've finally learned how to make the bed with Dawn sitting on top because she is very reluctant to leave her favorite place.

This morning I thought the hot water heater was broken because I hadn't heard is come on in a while. It felt cooler to the touch as well. It turned out that nothing was wrong. I just haven't been using a lot of hot water lately. I haven't run the dishwasher or done any laundry since Janet left on vacation. I use so few dishes that I just wash them by hand. There isn't nearly enough dirty laundry to run the washing machine yet. I haven't even been taking out the trash every evening this week. Every two or three days is plenty. I maintain a pretty low profile on my own and still don't know if this is a good thing or pathetic.

Since I didn't get started on my long walk until a little after 9 AM today, the sun was already high in the sky. There was a little breeze when I was near the shoreline, but it wasn't enough to cool me off. I don't know how the guys working on the new bike trail can stand the heat. They are out in the sun all day. I didn't see many ducks this morning, but the Monk Parakeets and Purple Martins were active. Both of these birds are very loud. Nobody really knows where the Monk Parakeets came from. They aren't migratory and typically are found in South America. Some think a family pet got loose, but that doesn't explain why around a 100 of the colorful green birds live at the lake now.

Dawn usually eats lunch with Janet, but I don't have a lunch routine. I typically don't eat lunch at all. I've tried to duplicate Janet's routine, but Dawn won't come out to the kitchen with me. She loves sliced turkey and cheese though. So I always take a little bit of turkey and cheese back to the bed for her. She loves carrots too so I always save a few carrot slices from my pot roast for her. Dawn definitely doesn't live on table scraps. Her real meals consist of a special prescription diet designed to prevent bladder stones from forming. A little Potassium Citrate powder is added to her evening meal and a Probiotic supplement is added to her morning meal. Janet has researched Dawn's diet carefully with our vet. I just follow directions and make sure she is eating the right amount of everything at the right time. I'm a forgetful person, so Janet always puts Dawn's meds in labeled little plastic baggies before she goes on vacation. Each day there is a bag for morning meds and another bag for evening meds. I appreciate this. After taking her meds, I mark them as being taken on a calendar in the kitchen.

It was a slow afternoon, so I watched another movie called I Think We're Alone Now. This atypical end of the world film featured a guy who actually liked the idea of being the last person on earth until he discovered that he wasn't alone after all. Considering that the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was directed by the same women who also directed the first three episodes of The Handmaidens Tale, it didn't get good reviews. Another film I never heard of until I found it on Amazon Prime. I don't want to make a habit of watching a movie on my computer every afternoon. I need to find something constructive to do tomorrow.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4569

I woke up early this morning, so I got up and ate my breakfast before getting Dawn out of bed. I think I woke up so early because I went to bed early. I've been getting a lot of sleep lately. By the time I finished feeding Dawn, made the bed, and took her down to the meadow behind our house to do her business, it was still really early. It seemed like I should just go back to bed, but I was wide awake. I decided to make the most of the situation and began my long walk before 7 AM this morning.

If I was more of a morning person, I'd do this every day. It was still pleasantly cool outside. I was able to complete my entire six mile route without feeling like I was in a sauna. I even saw a few of my favorite ducks this morning. They were enjoying the cool weather too before going into hiding when the sun became oppressive later in the day. My feet hurt a bit today, but it comes and goes. I certainly have plenty of time to rest when I'm home. The only trouble with being so efficient is what do you do with the rest of the day? I still didn't feel like leaving the house or starting any home improvement projects. I guess that's why Facebook exists. I can still waste a lot of time looking at pictures of dogs and admiring much better astrophotography pictures than I'll ever take. I'm definitely not spending a lot of time listening to the news. There is nothing uplifting about current events.

I had so much time on my hands today that I decided to watch a movie. Amazon Prime is my friend and Science Fiction is always my go-to genre. The film I picked today was the Denis Villeneuve film Arrival. Hey, I liked what he did with Blade Runner 2049. Arrival is an interesting film about how language shapes reality. It definitely wasn't your usual alien invasion movie. The aliens in this movie have the ability to see all of time, all at once. Past, present, and future all all mixed together. The aliens know that in 3,000 years they will need help from humanity, so they come to earth to begin sharing their perceptions through their language. The lead character is a linguist who is tasked with figuring out what the aliens want. Her own perception of reality changes as she begins to learn the alien language. This film questions our instinct to destroy things we don't understand and does a pretty good job of showing how language alters our perception of the world. To me, this is a much better movie than Independence Day where we just blow up the aliens. I guess it isn't surprising that language is interesting to me. I'm a writer. I guess what is surprising is that I hadn't even heard of this movie until I started looking for something to watch this afternoon. I don't keep up with the movies very much.

Dawn seemed a bit more normal today. I still had to bring her breakfast back to the bedroom this morning, but she eagerly went out to the kitchen to eat her dinner. She gets a 10 PM evening snack that she was pretty excited about as well. I took a long nap this afternoon and she didn't leave the room. I think we are making progress. It's too bad she doesn't feel comfortable taking walks with me. I don't want to push my luck though. If Dawn is happy around the house, that's fine with me.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4568

We didn't make much progress today. Dawn didn't want to come out to the kitchen to eat and I had to take her meals back to the bedroom. She did eat though and took all her meds. At one point I found her hiding in a corner of the bedroom for no apparent reason. A strange noise must have scared her. I took her outside to show her that everything was normal, and then she was fine again. We did get all the essentials done today, but this wasn't one of Dawn's better days. Hopefully, she'll be feeling a little more adventurous tomorrow.

It was a lot cooler this morning. When I woke up the temperature was still in the mid 70's. It was an easy choice to take a long walk instead of going to the gym. I walked right after breakfast and was out of the house before 8 AM. Before eating breakfast I hooked up the second sprinkler I bought and watered the front lawn. I also watered the plants inside the atrium. I used to do this from inside the atrium, but now I just water them through the screen wire wall on the back side of the space. It's just too much trouble to open the broken sliding glass door these days.

My walk was enjoyable this morning because of the lower temperatures, but there wasn't a lot to see. The Spring wildflowers are starting to disappear and most of the animals and birds are in hiding. The fancy new bike path that is being constructed through the park is almost complete now. It looks like they are going to meet their July deadline. My feet aren't hurting as bad lately. Maybe they are just becoming numb. Summer walks aren't nearly as enjoyable as the ones I take in the Spring and Fall. I'm still getting the steps I need though. I think discipline is important. If I only did things I liked to do, I probably wouldn't do anything at all.

The Benro folks wanted me to run some tests on the star tracker to help isolate the problems I've been having lately. I ran the tests they wanted, but the camera didn't disconnect today. Actually, everything seemed to work fine, which baffled me. The phone app and firmware versions were exactly the same as they were before when I was having a ton of problems. This thing is full of mysteries and it is still difficult to talk with the Chinese manufacturers. It gives me something to do on a slow day though. When all the bugs are eventually worked out, it will be an amazing piece of gear to take out to the observatory. I could use it here of course, but there isn't much to see with all the city light pollution.

It was supposed to rain today, but it didn't even get that cloudy. I would welcome a little rain at this point. The yard is getting really dry and without a sprinkler system I need to remember when to water everything. Too much water is just as bad as too little and I definitely don't have a green thumb. I'll make an effort though. We had a wet Spring this year and the yard still looks pretty nice.

Dawn seems a little depressed. I wish she wasn't so dependent on Janet, but there's not much I can do. I make sure she gets her meals at the appropriate time, keep her water bowls filled, and take her out to pee at regular intervals. I'd like to see a little more tail wagging, but she's safe and well taken care of. I was hoping that she'd be more relaxed today, but there's always tomorrow. The last time Janet went on vacation, Dawn eventually did begin to relax. It took forever though.

I'll probably take another early walk tomorrow. The forecast says that the temperature will only be 72 degrees at sunrise tomorrow. I need to take advantage of these cooler mornings while I can. 

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4567

Dawn seems a little calmer today. She still doesn't want to leave the safety of the bedroom, but she will come out to the kitchen to eat her meals, and walk down to the meadow behind our house to do her business. Today, all I had to say was "dinner's ready" and she ran right out to her bowl to eat. This is an improvement over yesterday.

I still need to remember to fill her water bowls frequently during the day and make sure she takes her meds at the proper time. Dawn and I both live by a fairly rigid schedule, so we're working on getting everything coordinated.  I think we're doing pretty well. Dawn still doesn't like me in the bedroom with her during the day, but is perfectly comfortable sharing the bed with me at night. It's always been this way and I still don't have an explanation.

Since my gym wasn't open today, I took my long walk right after breakfast. I probably should have left the house earlier, but Dawn and I slept in this morning. Neither of us are early birds. The temperature was still in the mid 80's around 9 AM but climbed quickly during my walk. I don't see many ducks and geese anymore. I don't know where they're hiding to get out of the heat, but they must have found a good place. No such luck for me. I was able to complete my entire route, even though I was getting pretty hot toward the end. I probably should take these long walks before I eat breakfast, but I doubt that I'd have much of an appetite when I got back. I'd probably feel more like throwing up. I'm going to have to make the decision on whether to walk or go to the gym just about every day this summer. It's a tough choice. I don't like to drive in the city, but I don't like to return home drenched in sweat after a walk either. 

I felt better after a shower, but running the shower raises the humidity in the house. I don't like that either. Basically, I just don't like anything about summers in Texas. I remember summers in Colorado and Northern Idaho were much nicer. Maybe just being younger was nicer. I think Dawn has the right idea. She basically just lies in bed all day next to an air condition vent. The bedroom is one of the coolest rooms in the house and the bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch and chairs in the living room. No wonder she doesn't want to share this room. It's the best room in the house.

I still haven't found much to do during the day. I've been avoiding fixing things around the house because I've already done all the easy things. The only things left are difficult tasks with a high risk of failure. I think most of these things can wait for a while. I really need to get the factory recall scheduled for my car, but I'm dreading calling the dealership. They stopped offering free loaner cars after the chip shortage decimated their new and used car inventory. I think they just sold most of the loaner cars. At any rate, the last time they promised me a loaner car, they ended up sending me home in a Uber. Boo. Even though I hate driving, I hate being without a car even more.

It didn't really seem like Sunday today without Dawn's Sunday outing and a trip to the ice cream store. We'll resume these activities when Janet returns. Dawn's a smart dog. Unless her entire support team is around, she feels much safer staying close to home. I can't blame her. I kind of feel the same way.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4566

Dawn and I made it through the first day OK. She was reluctant to eat her breakfast this morning, but finally decided she was hungry when I added a little gravy to her bowl. She did much better with dinner tonight. She's taken her meds and we're still working on getting her outside to poop. Things that were easy when Janet was home are a bit more difficult now. I'd say all in all we're doing fine.

I got groceries much earlier than usual this morning. I should do this more often. The stores weren't crowded at all. My list wasn't long this week, but there were still a few things I needed. I don't know why I  always worry that I'm going to have car problems when I'm on my own. Probably because occasionally I do have car problems when I least expect it. All went well though, and I was back home again before we're usually finished with breakfast on the weekends.

I thought about going on a long walk this morning, but it was way too hot. Dawn didn't get a sunrise walk because she didn't want one. When Janet is gone, she does her business as quickly as possible and heads straight back to the house. That's OK with me. The last thing I want is to have her freeze in place or start acting weird when we are far from home.

Since it was already near 100 degrees when I finished my grocery shopping I wisely decided not to attempt a long walk today. I went to the gym instead. Hey, the car worked well for grocery shopping so I figured it would work well again. My gym is never crowded on Saturday. This seems a bit counterintuitive to me, but I always like an empty gym. I shot baskets for a while and then walked long enough on the indoor track to keep my Fitbit happy. I think I exercise more to keep consistent stats than to actually improve anything. There are a lot more serious people at the gym than me, but I'm still probably getting some benefit from this. It's always good to keep moving.

I wrote a letter to my sister today and took it to the post office. I wouldn't need these letters if she read the blog. That's a lost cause though. I may pretend to be a Luddite but she's the real deal. No complaints about writing letters though. Writing letters is good. It's better for the soul than adding three or four emojis to the end of a text message. I used to keep up a running correspondence with at least half a dozen people. Now it's down to this one letter a month.

Dawn isn't going to get an ice cream cone tomorrow. She seldom rides in my car and would be terrified if I tried to take her somewhere without Janet. She seemed terrified just going down to the meadow behind our house to pee this evening. Hopefully she will start to relax soon, but it will probably take a couple of more days.

I don't have any big plans for tomorrow. No little plans either. I'm going to have to start my long walk really early to avoid the heat. Going to the gym isn't an option because it is closed on Sunday. This would actually be a good time to binge watch movies on Netflix, but I'm not that kind of guy. I'd rather lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling than watch movies on TV. Maybe I'll fiddle with the star tracker again. That's definitely still unfinished business.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day