Day 4442

We met Willie today. This delightful three year old male came to Dalmatian Rescue from animal control in a nearby city. It always seems strange to me that such a nice dog could wind up abandoned or stray but it happens a lot. I don't know a lot about Willie's history, but I think it's safe to say that his future will be a lot better than his past.

With four Dalmatians at the kennel now, we're spending more time playing with the dogs. Jo Jo has adjusted to his new surroundings well. Oliver is recovering from an eye infection. We helped the kennel staff give him eye drops which was a lot harder than I thought. Oliver wouldn't stay still and had no interest in the drops. Charlie continues to amaze me at how well trained he's become. This is a good group of dogs and we enjoy spending time with them.

It was so warm today that the air conditioner came on for a while. It's almost impossible to plan for this weather. Every day is something new. There was a light mist when we took our sunrise walk this morning, but the sun came out later in the day. Amazingly, the temperature topped 80 degrees this afternoon. Apparently there are still more surprises to come. We are under a severe thunderstorm alert now with storms arriving in the area later tonight. I'm really getting tired of this schizophrenic weather.

I'm also getting tired of my foot problems. I investigated some alternative treatments offered by sports medicine specialists this afternoon. One involved injections of bone marrow concentrate and the other treated you using stem cells. Both procedures looked a little sketchy to me, but what do I know. I'm in no hurry to do something stupid. I'll ask my doctor about these alternative treatments the next time I see him.

The foot pain has definitely put a damper on my long walks. I didn't even get close to 20,000 steps today. We typically walk about a mile and a half with Dawn in the morning and I walked another two miles after we returned from the kennel. That was plenty. I don't think new shoes are going to be a magic bullet at this point. The cartilage between the bones in my feet is wearing out and I haven't heard of many effective ways to replace it.

Traffic has gotten so bad in the city now. When we are driving back and forth to the kennel it seems like a completely different place than it used to. Rush hour seems permanent now. Where are all these new people coming from? I guess there are still a lot of job opportunities in Dallas. I've never seen so many out of state plates.

My repairs to the problematic French toilet didn't go so well. I'm already hearing a drip again. I wish things would stay fixed. Every time I hear a strange noise in the kitchen or utility room I think I'm going to have to make another call to the appliance repairman. I'm nervous about finishing repairs to the living room ceiling as well. I know that as soon as I get things looking nice again, the roof leak will reappear.

I'm continuing to watch the weather radar. The storm is closer to us now. It looks like the worst weather will be to the north of us, but we're definitely going to get some rain. Let's just hope the roof doesn't start leaking while we're asleep.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4441

Sunday is usually a good day for walking but I didn't make it very far today. My feet just weren't cooperating. I tried the Voltaren again but as usual it did nothing. Our sunrise walk with Dawn was fine because she spends so much time smelling things that we end up going very slow. Now that we've decided to let Dawn choose her own route and walk wherever she wants she seems much happier. 

Our Sunday outing walk was a little more challenging and Dawn and Janet got back to the car at least five minutes before I did. I still made it thogh. Usually on Sunday I will still take my regular long walk, but I just didn't have it in me today. After the first mile I knew it was time to turn around and come home. I'm reluctant to stop walking, but I may have to for a while.

I'm still frustrated with my Google blog site. If you read this on Facebook you don't see how messed up the actual site has become because all you see is a photograph of each days individual post. There is more to the real blog with a header, additional pictures, and a sidebar with links and an index of previous posts. The problem is that Google has retired, or as they call it "depreciated" the ancient theme I initially used to create the blog. Some of the elements don't work anymore and the sidebar isn't at the left side like it used to be. For some reason it's at the bottom now, below a ton of old posts. I guess I could transfer the blog content to one of the new modern themes they offer these days, but I like the look I had. Definitely a first world problem, but it is irritating.

Apple is equally irritating. I don't update the OS on any of my computers anymore so I can continue to run old familiar software and open ancient files. Each computer seems to have a system that works best, but they are all pretty old at this point. Apple has no interest in supporting its older systems. My Safari doesn't work well anymore because the browser is meant to be used with current operating systems. Even older Quicktime files won't open on the latest Macs. I liked the Apple of ten or even twenty years ago much better than the current company. I doubt that they care.

We forgot to give Dawn the calming medication before we went on our Sunday outing today and she was back to her usual frantic behavior in the car. I'm not a fan of these type of meds, but I reluctantly have to agree that gabapentin seems to help. Dawn was much calmer on last Sunday's outing. She wasn't as frantic while still seeming to have plenty of energy to enjoy her walk. I wonder occasionally if Dawn even likes these Sunday excursions. We're doing this all for her. It would be a shame if she'd rather stay home.

I voted in the state's primary election yesterday. I wonder why so many people are running in these primaries? Both sides seems to have an abundance of candidates and they are all badmouthing each other. Isn't this counterproductive? I think some of the things they say today will come back to bite them in the general election. It's weird that I am still a regular voter. I dislike politics intensely and think most politicians are totally worthless.

I do like Janet's cooking and we had a delicious dinner tonight. It made up for all the foot pain earlier in the day. Tomorrow it's time to visit the kennel Dalmatians again. I hear that we have a new dog, so I'll need to remember to take my camera. 

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4440

Today was busy. We started out with a fairly long sunrise walk with Dawn. She likes walking along the shoreline now and had a good time smelling things. As usual, it was cold when we left the house this morning but it warmed up quickly. By the time we returned home for breakfast, I already felt like shedding my heavy coat.

Grocery shopping is always interesting these days. I pay more attention to prices now. I had to fill my tank and gas is definitely more expensive than last week. A tub of strawberries that was $2.95 six months ago is now $7.95. A bottle of Tide liquid that was $17 not long ago is now $24. My Keurig coffee pods have gone up quite a bit as well. Even bottled water is much more expensive than it used to be. At least the beer I like is still the same price. That's probably just because it was too expensive to begin with.

The weather was so warm this afternoon that I finally decided to wash my car. The car looks nice now which almost guarantees that it will rain the next time I have to take it out of the driveway. I also cleared the carport and front porch of leaves again. Every time I do this I think I'm done for the year, but the leaves keep coming. I don't know where they are coming from. There haven't been any leaves on the trees for quite a while now. Out last windstorm took care of the few remaining ones. We've already removed most of the leaves from the back yard. There are still some in the side yards, but we'll take care of those before next month's big trash day.

I don't know why I bothered to take my long walk today. By the time I finished my grocery shopping and household chores, I'd already had plenty of activity. I should have been content with 10,000 steps and rested my feet a bit, but long walks have become a compulsion. Without my persistent foot pain, today would have been a great day for walking. The sky was clear and the temperature was unusually warm for February. It was over 70 degrees this afternoon. I just wore a t-shirt and jeans on my walk and probably could have gotten away with wearing shorts. I don't think this will last unfortunately. I believe another cold front is headed our way later this week.

I hope Google isn't abandoning my blogging platform. Yesterday I has a lot of trouble adding pictures to my post and today I noticed that my blogspot layout is all screwed up. Hopefully this is just a temporary glitch. After I've made this big commitment to post for 5,000 consecutive days it would be just my luck that Google blogs don't last that long.

Janet had a volunteer event today so this was a good time for Dawn and I to get to know each other a little better. Dawn wasn't pleased about the situation, but she's actually been pretty good with me. I've been able to feed her meals and get her to take her meds. When it's time for her to go outside and pee, she's come to the door when I call. She even stayed on the bed with me when I took a short nap this afternoon. We aren't best buddies yet, but this is encouraging. We've got a long way to go before Janet leaves on her Spring trip, but I think we're making progress.

Hopefully, the weather will be as nice tomorrow as it was today. It's always a pleasant surprise to have great weather in February. We'll plan on having our Sunday outing with Dawn. Of course there'll be ice cream.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4439

Another uneventful day. We're having better luck with Dawn's morning walks when we let her choose which direction she wants to go. Lately she wants to turn right at the back gate, go down the hill and walk along the shoreline. That's OK with me. I don't know why we kept trying to get her to walk up the street for so long. It's still very cold in the morning but it warms up quickly. Dawn doesn't seem to mind the cold. I'd like it a little warmer, although I'm getting used to the thirty degree temperature swings every day.

I keep thinking that I'm going to skip my long walk for a while because my feet are bothering me so much. I keep walking though because I can't think of anything better to do. I waited until several hours after breakfast this morning in hopes that it would warm up. It did warm up a little, but it was still below freezing when boredom set in and I decided to set out on my daily trek anyway. I dress warmly and am always amazed to see runners pass me wearing light shorts and a t-shirt. I look more like I'm headed for the South Pole on days like this. Even though it was chilly this morning, it was a beautiful day. It's always nice to see blue sky. Cloudy skies bring rain and rain brings roof leaks.

I kind of miss seeing the eagles. I was seeing them every day for a while. With the nest gone, there are no longer any gawkers in the park. I guess the birds are still in the area. Some people say they are building a new nest but I don't think anyone really knows for sure. They were certainly nowhere to be seen today. I'm glad I managed to get a few pictures. Now I'll have to go back to snapping shots of more common birds.

I was going to practice using the star tracker again today, but lost interest before I even got the thing out of the box. I think I've already proved that the unit does work. It doesn't work that well though because the current software version is still buggy. I'm waiting for the next software upgrade. One of these days I'll take the tracker out at night and photograph something. I think I'll wait until it is warmer though. I'm kind of a fair weather astronomer.

It's tax season again. What a pain. I haven't even started gathering my tax files together. It seems like I just finished doing this for the previous year. Why do old people even have to pay taxes? It seems like you should be exempt at some point. Oh, well. I'd better start working on this stuff. Every year my accountant seems to want my files a little earlier.

It's time to make a grocery list again. Janet says gas prices have gone up. Probably everything has gone up. I'm glad I'm retired. If I was still working full time I think today's economy would make me a little nervous. The 70's and 80's were a good time to be an ad guy. The 90's were actually a good time to start a business. Today I'm not so sure. What would I do today? Maybe I just don't know where to look for opportunities anymore. 

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4438

Today was mostly just fighting the weather. It was cold when we woke up and kept getting colder as the day progressed. I thought we'd get some sun today but it stayed overcast all day. At least there was no more rain. I still wonder how Northerners deal with Winter so well. Every time I go outside I bundle up in multiple layers. When I come back inside all the layers come off again. I do this over and over again all day long. Where is this mythical place where it is 72 degrees all year long?

I had my first TeleVisit with a doctor today. Everything worked fine but this made me wonder why this type of thing is any better than a simple phone call. Basically a TeleVisit is just a phone call except that you can see the other person. Zoom calls are the same way. A Zoom call is just an old fashioned conference call except that you can see the other people. Is it actually important to see the other people? To me it's distracting. I've been on work related conference calls for decades and never had any desire to see who I was talking too. On a video call you always start thinking about how goofy you look and spend more time inspecting the other peoples surroundings than thinking about the subject at hand. Call me old fashioned, but I still think reading is the best way to consume information and talking to someone is a lot simpler than texting them. 

I find that I don't even like YouTube videos. If I'm searching for something on the Internet and I'm given a choice of a video or a print article, I'll always choose to read the article first. I'm a fast reader and I can immediately go to the information I need. A video puts you on the other person's schedule. There are way too many long winded instructional videos out there. It's kind of weird that I have this attitude since I spent a big chunk of my career making instructional videos.

I don't know why I bothered to take my long walk today. It was bitterly cold. The temperature wasn't that bad but the wind chill made it feel fifteen to twenty degrees colder. I always felt better when the wind was at my back. Unfortunately since I walk in a huge circle, the wind was directly in my face a lot of the time. I still completed my entire route, but I'm not sure what it proved. This was one of those days where I'm not sure what it proved to even get out of bed.

When I was walking this morning I saw one of the eagles circling around the tree where the pair's nest used to be. It was kind of sad. I wonder if the birds realized what happened and why. They basically picked the wrong tree and made their nest on a dead limb. There is speculation that these are young eagles and are inexperienced nest builders. Maybe this is how they learn.

After I spent a lot of time yesterday taking leaves and trash out to the curb, the trucks didn't even come today to pick it up. I wonder why I take these e-mail messages I get from the city seriously. Half the time they are wrong. Now when I took out the week's regular trash this evening I didn't have a place to put the can. My regular spot was occupied by many big black bags filled with leaves. 

I'm not looking forward to our early walk tomorrow morning. It's going to be very cold. The main reason we walk early is so that Dawn will poop. She doesn't like to go in the yard. I guess an early walk is a good way to wake up, but a cup of coffee in a warm house would probably work just as well. Lets face it. I'm just not a morning person.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4437

I had to scramble to get all the bagged leaves out to the curb for bulky trash day. For weeks I'd been thinking that big trash day was next week, but it turns out it is tomorrow. How is it already the third week in February? It seems like February just started. I guess I could have looked at a calendar. Depending on memory doesn't work so well these days. 

After I moved all the bags of leaves out to the street, I thought I'd start cleaning up the sticks and twigs left behind in the yard by the power company tree trimmers. These guys should have done a much better job of cleaning up. There were twigs and small branches everywhere. I picked up as much as I could before it started to rain and added the growing brush pile to the leaf bags piled on the curb. All this activity was harder than I thought it would be. Old bones aren't meant for bending over and picking up hundreds of twigs and branches. My back hurts now.

Maybe I was just tired because I took my long walk before attempting to clean up the yard. It wasn't as windy as yesterday, but there was still a strong breeze. There was a light mist as well. It didn't really feel like it was raining, but by the time I returned home my jacket was wet. Dawn has done better than I have on walks lately. The weather was fine on her sunrise walk this morning. If I remember, it was pretty good yesterday morning as well. Yesterday the temperature dropped as the day progressed. Today it got wetter as the day progressed. My feet weren't my friends today. Lots of foot pain, but by the time I finished hauling trash out to the curb, I still managed to get 20,000 steps.

We got more rain than I expected this afternoon. I really hope we don't have another roof leak. I have the pumps working and there appears to already be a lot of water on the roof. Hopefully, the pumps will remove enough so a leak doesn't develop. I probably should have waited to start making repairs, but the stains on the ceiling were driving me crazy. Winter just isn't a good time to deal with roof problems. As soon as you start making a little progress, it starts raining again. Needless to say, it's frustrating.

Basically, everything is frustrating these days. I don't get angry, but I'm in a continual state of mild irritation. Do I really need dozens of robocalls and spam messages every single day? Why am I paying AT&T to irritate me using my own phone? Why do all publications have paywalls on the Internet now? I'm never going to subscribe to your online whatever. I know if I wait a few days I'll be able to find the same information for free somewhere else. A pox on your paywalls. Why is every ad on television for some kind of prescription medicine with announcer copy describing side effects that will probably kill you. Can't we just go back to ads about tv-dinners and refrigerators. Social media is insanely irritating. I'm convinced that you can trace back most of today's problems to social media. Society doesn't function well when every problem is instantly broadcast to the entire world. Someone lights a match and all the sudden it's a forest fire. We don't need to know what everyone else is doing in real time. It's not good. We would all be better off if we all just minded our own business.

I need to remember that I have a teleconference with my gastro-intestinal specialist tomorrow. I've never done one of these virtual visits before, but it sure beats driving down to Baylor hospital. When I was given the option of an office visit or a virtual call, it didn't take me long to decide. One of the biggest changes that Covid has made is that you basically don't have to leave your house anymore. There is a virtual option for just about everything.

Dawn didn't get to go to training class tonight. It's raining outside now. I keep hearing about severe weather warnings, but it's hard to tell what's headed our way. It's pretty calm right now. There are some severe storms out in West Texas this evening that are headed to the Northeast. Hopefully they will pass to the North of us by the time they arrive here tomorrow morning.

Joshua 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 4435 - Valentines Day

We worked on training Jo Jo today while we were up at the kennel. He's a big friendly boy and must weigh at least 80 pounds. The first thing he needs to learn is not to jump up on people when he greets you. He likes toys, but not like the other dogs. Every toy we introduced him to he took outside and tried to bury it. We had lots of fun getting to know him today and he made us laugh a lot. 

I'm surprised that Oliver is still at the kennel. He's such a nice dog. He's basically just a big goofy puppy. Charlie has become an old friend. We've known him a long time now. Charlie is one of the smartest dogs we've ever had in the rescue program. He's also one of the most unpredictable which explains why he's been at the kennel a while.

The power company tree trimming crew arrived at our house today. The two Live Oaks near the alley basically have no leaves anymore. The trees are still healthy and small branches with leaves will start to appear next Spring. We've seen this before. This is the third time these two trees have been trimmed to keep the branches away from the power lines. They both look really ugly now. I was hoping that the crew would just cut the trees down this time. No luck though. I don't think the crew even carried large chain saws with them. The tree crews probably won the contract from the electric company on a fixed budget and they had no interest in wasting time with individual trees. They had a schedule to keep. They were very efficient in removing smaller limbs and then grinding them up in a wood chipper. Our two trees were a big job though. The five person crew was in our yard most of the day.

I didn't get around to taking my long walk until later in the afternoon. I didn't make it very far this time. I don't think I planned very well. I wore a t-shirt and it didn't take long for me to discover that this wasn't enough. I was cold. My feet hurt a lot today as well. The worst thing was that my allergies have returned with a vengeance and I forgot to bring Kleenex with me. How could today be so different than yesterday? The sky was clear both days, but the wind must have been blowing from a different direction. I'm so tired of seasonal allergies, but they'll probably be with me forever. As bad as they are, I still prefer blowing my nose a lot to taking antihistamines.

I thought that Dawn would be upset by all the noise in the backyard today, but it didn't seem to bother her. She spent the day sleeping on the bed as usual and the only time she barked was when someone from the work crew got too close to the house. I don't know how she knew. The blinds were closed and you could never hear footsteps over all the other noise. We waited until all the equipment was gone before taking her on a short walk. The yard was a danger zone for a while.

It was my turn to drive to the kennel today and it reminded me how much I hate driving in this city. Traffic is terrible and everyone is in a hurry. People are always running traffic lights and making illegal u-turns. I don't understand all the u-turns. It seems like half the city is lost. Right now I can't imagine driving all the way out to West Texas again. A forty-five minute drive around town makes me tired.

We didn't get cupcakes for Valentines Day this year. Neither of us wanted to stand in a long line at Sprinkles. We did have some champagne in the fridge and a few leftover brownies so we had a little party anyway. Dawn kind of got cheated though. Usually we always went to Sprinkles because the dogs loved their dog cupcakes. 

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4434 - Superbowl Sunday

Not a lot to complain about today. My team didn't win the Superbowl, but other than that it was a great day. Something in the air has changed and my allergies are gone. At least they're gone temporarily. The weather was nice today. By early afternoon the temperature was 65 degrees. My feet didn't bother me a lot either. I took three walks and managed to get 22,000 steps.

Before our Sunday outing with Dawn, Janet wanted to try giving Dawn gabapentin to see if it would help with her anxiety in the car. Our vet told us to give her the pills two hours before any anxiety provoking event and that they would wear off about four hours later. We can use the gabapentin as needed without having her take it all the time. 

I've always been a sceptic about any type of mood altering drug, but I'll have to admit that the pills did seem to work. The gabapentin took the edge off of Dawn's anxiety without doing anything dramatic. Dawn was still alert, had fun smelling things, and enjoyed her walk. There was still a little anxiety in the car, but the difference was dramatic. She seemed more relaxed about her walk as well. The one segment of the walk that made her nervous previously seemed normal now. All in all, this seems to be a safe and practical way to reduce stress in the car. 

The lady at the drive thru window finally noticed Dawn in the back seat and gave her a free pup cone this morning. Dawn thought this was a great idea. Usually we order two cones, eat some ourselves, and then give Dawn the rest. Today Dawn still got to share our cones and then had another cone all for herself. The gabapentin certainly didn't affect her taste for ice cream. I don't think she had much to complain about today either.

After I finished my long walk, I attempted to bleach away the brown stains in the living room ceiling. I must have learned something from my past attempts because I didn't make a mess this time. The ceiling looks much better now, but unfortunately the source of the leak is still up there somewhere. If we have another hard rain, I'm sure the stains will reappear. If I were younger I might make a further effort to find this leak. I've tried though and it seems hopeless. I really need to just give up this fight and have a new roof installed. I'm sure there would still be standing water on any new roof, but with a good enough warranty it probably wouldn't even matter. My goal now is just to avoid going up there and risk breaking my neck.

I was disappointed that Cincinnati didn't win today's game. I never followed either team very closely, but Cincinnati seems like a better city than Los Angeles. I can't find much to like about LA anymore. I can't find much to like about the current crop of Superbowl television commercials either. Most of them didn't even make sense. Today's advertising creatives don't seem to have a sense of humor. Their attitude appears to be lets spend a lot of money, create a lot of action, and make a lot of noise. The halftime show certainly made a lot of noice.  Call me old fashioned but I would have preferred hearing the Eagles sing Hotel California to this. The soundtrack to today's chaotic life has no melody.

I imagine that the power company crew will be back to trim our trees tomorrow. We still don't know whether they will cut the trees down or just make a mangled mess of things again. I suppose we will go visit the kennel dogs, but it depends on what's going on in the yard. I don't really feel comfortable leaving Dawn alone if the yard is filled with the sounds of trucks and chain saws.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4433

This weather is driving me nuts. Yesterday was nice. Today was bitterly cold again. There was even snow in the forecast for a little while today, but nothing materialized. I never know what to wear anymore. A t-shirt and shorts might be appropriate one day and the very next day you find yourself looking for a down jacket and extra sweaters. I just wish the weather was more consistant. I don't like surprises.

I found everything I needed at the grocery store this morning, but the shelves still looked a little empty. Usually the day before the Super Bowl the stores are packed, but everything looked normal today. It's hard to get excited about this years game. I guess I'm for the Bengals since it's been so long since they've had a chance at this, but neither team has captured my attention this season. I'll watch the game even though I don't think there are any Dalmatians in the new Budweiser commercial this year and I don't have a clue who is preforming at the halftime show. It's hard to top Prince singing Purple Rain during a downpour in Miami and I still think Michael Jackson set the gold standard for these events. Maybe I'm prejudiced but I liked the game where the Cowboys beat the Steelers back in 1996. Those were the days. Sure seems like a long time ago now.

Today was not a great day for walking. My feet hurt and it was cold and windy as well. I didn't let that stop me. I trudged along and completed my route even though it took a while. I'm not going to get 20,000 steps today, but I did keep moving. Even though it was a nasty day, there was still a small crowd looking for the eagles. I wonder how long this is going to last? I was more interested in the two Muscovy Ducks I see every day. I took a close look and these are definitely different ducks than the one who wound up in our yard recently. I wonder what happened to that other duck. In all these years I never knew there were three Muscovy Ducks in the neighborhood. Maybe there are quite a few and I just don't see them.

I'm trying to get Dawn used to doing things with me while Janet is out of the house. I want her to be comfortable and relaxed when Janet goes on a trip later this Spring. It also would be nice if she would come when I called. So far it's not going well. Dawn isn't scared of me. I'm just of little interest to her. She gets so excited whenever Janet comes home. I'm sort of like the hired help. I'm useful for walks and fixing dinner, but not worth getting out of bed to greet me when I come home.

I'm perpetually cold now. The thermostat says the house is warm and the furnace is working fine, but I'm always looking for an extra sweater. Was it always this way? It seems like I used to be warmer around the house but memories aren't always accurate. Sometimes when I'm falling asleep random events from my past flash through my mind. Did these things even happen? Often my recurring dreams seem real and reality seems like a fuzzy dream. I still wonder how I wound up having a successful career in advertising. This wasn't where I was headed at all.

I hope it is warmer tomorrow. We still plan on taking Dawn for her Sunday outing, but we might wait until later in the day. Dawn is not a big fan of cold weather. Right now, hot chocolate seems more appropriate than ice cream, but of course dogs can't have chocolate. Ice cream probably isn't that great either, but it's only once a week and Dawn loves it.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4432

The power company crews arrived in our alley today. I asked if they would just cut down the two trees at the back of our yard that are growing through the power lines but they made no promises. It will be much easier for them to just cut off the branches touching the wires like they've done in the past and leave the bare trunks again. The trees eventually grow back but they are so ugly now after multiple haircuts like this that they are not worth saving anymore. 

Ironically, the last time the power line crews were here they asked us if they could remove the trees. I was determined to save them then. Now that we are ready to let them go, tree trimming budgets have been cut and the crews are only doing minimal trimming. We'll have to see what happens. I thought they'd get to our trees today, but they spent most of the day in our neighbor's yard. I'm sure they'll be back though. Our trees are tangled up in the power lines worse than anyone else's.

When I was starting out on my long walk this afternoon I noticed that a friend's house had been scraped. A big excavator was being unloaded as I was walking down the street and by the time I returned the house was gone. My friend sold the house a while back and I guess that the new owners just wanted the lot with a nice view of the lake. This was a very nice house and many years had gone into fixing it up. It still seems strange to me to buy a house and just tear it down, but it's pretty common these days. RIP old house.

I wish my seasonal allergies would go away. My eyes are watering constantly and I spend the day sneezing and blowing my nose. Sadly, things will get worse as Spring approaches and everything starts to grow again. I used to suffer from allergies only a few months a year. Now it seems like there are only a few months without them.

Dawn still doesn't seem to like walking in the morning. She was eager to get her harness on today and raced out the back door, but as soon as she got to the park she froze again. We got her moving using some treats we have in  our pockets, but she froze in place several times before we completed our loop and made it home again. Oddly, we walked exactly the same route this afternoon and Dawn was fine. No problems whatsoever. None of this makes any sense to me. Maybe it would if I was a dog.

I didn't accomplish much today. I was going to wash my car but didn't get around to it. I was going to write a letter to my sister, but didn't do that either. I did take several naps and thought about what I was going to do tomorrow. I probably won't do those things either. The older I get, the less important it seems to stay busy. I still get stuff done. It just takes a little longer.

I wonder what I'll find at the grocery store tomorrow? At first I just noticed that things were getting more expensive. Now I'm starting to notice that entire shelves are empty. We never should have shut the country down for two years. The economy isn't like a light switch. You can't just turn it off and back on again. I'm glad I'm retired. This doesn't seem like a great time to be looking for new clients. Everyone seems cautious and confused. Maybe we'll snap out of this malaise, but I certainly don't have any answers.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4431

Dawn got a clean bill of health at her exam this morning. She's lost a little weight and all her lab reports looked good. Our appointment was very early this morning, but it left the rest of the day free. Basically Dawn is a very healthy dog with a lot of anxiety. She definitely didn't like going to the vet this morning. I think she knew right away that we weren't going for ice cream.

Against my better judgement, I went up on the roof after we got home from the vet and cleared away the remaining standing water and what was left of the Fall leaves. I was pleased to see that more water had evaporated than I anticipated, but not so pleased to discover a few new tears in the elastomer that will have to be patched. It was a little harder getting down from the roof than it used to be, but the job needed to be done. Now I can work on removing the stains from the living room ceiling again. I wish I could find someone to go up on the roof for me, but it's a weird job and if someone doesn't know what they're doing they could easily ruin the fragile roof.

Janet was determined to get Dawn to walk this morning. Eventually we made it around our short one mile loop. Dawn was fine after we got off the street that leads to the park. She just doesn't like that street early in the morning. I'm not looking forward to walking Dawn when Janet is on vacation. Maybe we'll just stay in the yard for a while. If Dawn freezes in place it often takes both of us to get her home again. At least she's a healthy dog. A little weird maybe, but that's a lot better than being sick.

I'm pretty healthy too, but I feel like a cripple when I take my long walks these days. I don't think there is much I can do about the foot pain. The cartilage that used to provide a cushion is mostly gone now and I don't want to resort to steroid shots. I don't want to do the fusion surgery either. It seems like having all the little bones in your feet fused together would make walking really awkward. Sometimes I think going back to the gym would be better, but using my other joints is no picnic either. Walking is still better than doing something that puts a lot of strain on my shoulders or knees.

I still got 20,000 steps today, but I'm walking really slow now. I guess that's OK. It gives me plenty of time to think about other things I might be doing. So far, I haven't come up with anything. Most things end up being like my experience with the star tracker. I like to learn new things, but as soon as I get reasonably good at something I lose interest. As soon as I get one really good picture using the tracker it will probably go back in the box. 

The duck hasn't returned to our yard, so I guess it was just passing through. I probably should have encouraged it to stay because it looks like it was eating grubs. We've always had problems with grubs in the backyard. They live underground and eat the roots of our grass. I think grubs are one reason it has always been difficult to get grass to grow in the yard. Ducks and dogs aren't always a good mix though. Most of our dogs would have tried to kill the duck. Dawn would have probably been scared of it.

This week has really gone quickly. I was going to wash the car today but that would have violated my one task a day rule. Surviving another trip up on the roof was plenty for one day. I'm sure Dawn would say that surviving a trip to the vet was plenty for her as well.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4430

We got Dawn to walk this morning by doing our regular route backwards. She didn't want to go down the street first. When we turned around and went toward the field behind our house first, everything was fine. Maybe we should just let Dawn choose where to walk every morning. It would probably make life a lot easier.

I suspect that Dawn was more enthusiastic this morning because it was much warmer than yesterday and we got off to a late start. Dawn doesn't like the cold and I think she'd like to sleep in a little longer. I wouldn't mind sleeping longer myself, but Dawn refuses to walk with me alone, so we walk when Janet has the time. She's the busy one in the family.

After breakfast I went and got a haircut. My hair is a lot thinner these days, but it still grows fast. I always know it's time for a haircut when my eyebrows start getting bushy. I rarely see people and there isn't a pressing need to look presentable, but I still enjoy getting a haircut. It's relaxing in an odd sort of way. I catch up on things with my stylist, who Janet and I have both known for years, and when I walk out the door, life feels a little more organized. A good haircut doesn't make me look any younger. I feel a little younger though.

I think I walked way too long this afternoon. At least that's what my feet are telling me. It was such a nice day that it was easy to keep putting one foot in front of the other. By the time my feet started to hurt, I was already a long way from home. It is hard to believe we were in the middle of an ice storm a week ago. Today the temperature was over seventy degrees. It definitely felt like Spring today even though all the trees were bare.

I've been wondering what happened to the two Muscovy Ducks I usually see on my walk. I haven't seen them for quite a while. Imagine my surprise when I returned home and found a Muscovy Duck in our backyard. I thought this was the female of the pair I see in the park, but Janet thinks it is a different duck because it doesn't have quite as many white feathers. She's probably right because she's much more observant than I am. I wonder where this duck came from? In all the years we've lived here, we've never had a Muscovy Duck in our yard. There have been plenty of possums, a few raccoons, and the occasional armadillo, but we've never had ducks. This duck had no fear of us and didn't want to leave. Oddly, Dawn wasn't even interested in the duck. Some of our other Dalmatians would have been obsessed with a duck in the yard. The duck stayed around for hours but eventually I shooed it away. I knew that if the duck became a permanent resident, it wouldn't take long for Dawn to develop a taste for duck poop. 

I continue to see crowds watching the eagles while I walk. Predictably, there are divided opinions about what to do about these birds. I hear people in the park talking about how exciting it is to see them up close while others whisper that everyone should just leave the eagles alone. The two eagles haven't made it easy for people to leave them alone. They built their nest right alongside one of the busiest streets in town. Everyone knows where these birds are now. I predict that the crowds are going to be around for a while. 

When Dawn and Janet came back from training class tonight I asked how Dawn did. Janet didn't say anything, but pulled out a best in class trophy from behind her back. I couldn't believe it. Dawn has really come a long way. None of our other dogs have ever won the trophy on trophy night. Dash won a few ribbons before he got bored with training class, but he never came close to winning the trophy. I'm not sure that Dot ever won anything. At any rate, even though Dawn is consumed with fears and phobias, she is a very smart dog. We are proud of her.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4429

We got off to a slow start today. Dawn froze on her morning walk and refused to move. This hasn't happened in ages. It's been so long since Dawn froze on a walk that we thought this behavior was ancient history. Usually Dawn will start following Janet if she starts walking away, but not today. We tried everything we could think of to get her interested in walking but all she wanted to do was go back to the house. Later in the afternoon we tried the same walk all over again and had no problems whatsoever. Go figure. 

When Dawn first began to freeze in place we didn't know whether she was having a small seizure or was just being extremely stubborn. We still don't know. She's always fine as soon as we return home. At least we were close to the house this time. Once on a walk I had to leave Janet with Dawn and walk over a mile home to get the car so we could retrieve Dawn and get her back to the house again. We've asked several vets what this all means but it seems like a mystery to them too.

I did even less today than I did yesterday. I paid some bills and made an appointment to get a haircut. Other than my perpetual long walk, that was about it. I got a letter from NASA this morning asking me to fill out a survey so they could assess my needs at the Artemis 1 launch before they made a final credentialing decision. I don't know if this means I'm about to get a press pass or not. The letter did say that completing the survey did not guarantee getting credentialed. I'll just have to wait and see. It does appear that NASA is expecting a lot of people for this historic launch. My best hope for getting accepted is if Covid fades away before the launch takes place. I never had a problem getting a press pass before all the Covid restrictions began.

I wish I hadn't gotten apprehensive about going up on the roof. I know there's still water up there and it doesn't evaporate very fast in the winter. It's discouraging to see brown stains begin to reappear on the living roof ceiling. I worked really hard to get rid of those stains less than a month ago. The roof does better if I go up and remove all the standing water right after a big rain, but I think my recent apprehension is warranted. My sense of balance just isn't as good as it used to be. Bad feet and a weak knee don't help either.

At least I can still walk. I had another 20,000 step day and I wasn't really trying. I wish I could find a source for the Hoka hiking boots. I know if I just go ahead and buy another pair of Hoka running shoes like I've got now, the boots will suddenly reappear and be available everywhere. These shoes really do help my feet but they don't last very long. High end running shoes never last very long. I'm used to keeping a pair of leather boots for decades. I've had boots that I've resoled five or six times. You can't do that with flimsy running shoes. You are real lucky if they last a year.

I added Jo Jo to the rescue website today and marked several dogs as adopted. This is the only website I work on anymore. There used to be dozens of websites that I actively maintained and website maintenance kept me busy every single day. The days of old fashioned static sites are over and my programming skills are deteriorating. I had a good run while it lasted though. It's weird to see a profession slipping away. I'll be able to keep writing forever, but I just don't have the desire to keep up with all the changes in website design. Today's dynamic sites are much more complicated than they used to be. Actually, everything in life seems more complicated than it used to be.

Tomorrow I get a haircut and Dawn gets her annual exam at the vet on Thursday. I'm trying to stick with doing one thing a day. It keeps life simpler.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4428

Peanut has been adopted. When we saw this six month old puppy last week, we knew it wouldn't take long for him to find his forever home. There were still three Dalmatians at the kennel however. Today we met the newest member of the rescue program. Jo Jo is a three year old male Dalmatian mix who is still getting used to his new surroundings. We took some pictures for the website, but didn't spend a lot of time playing with this handsome boy. He needs some time to relax and get settled. Charlie and Oliver were certainly relaxed. They look forward to seeing us now and always enjoy the toys and treats we bring.

Visiting the kennel is really our only activity on Monday. Dawn got her sunrise walk, but I didn't take mine until later in the afternoon. I wanted to wait until it got warmer. It's hard to decide when to walk in the Winter. I have more energy in the morning, but don't have to wear as many coats in the afternoon. Either way, I usually have problems with my feet. I probably should start going back to the gym and try a different type of exercise. These long walks don't seem to be helping things.

I wonder when the trash is going to get picked up. The ice storm threw the sanitation department off schedule and last week's trash is still sitting out on the street. I don't think any trash got picked up last week because the dumpster at the kennel was full and so was the one at our vet. It's kind of amazing how much trash we all generate. In our neighborhood most of it is Amazon boxes. No wonder a lot of shopping malls are going out of business. Everyone is buying their stuff on Amazon.

I've been watching the power company tree crews slowly get closer and closer to our house. I wonder how cooperative they are going to be this time? We are going to ask them to take down the two trees near the alley. After many years of power line trimming, they have totally butchered these trees. Since they are right next to the power lines, there isn't much left when the trimming crews are finished with them. I wish now that we'd removed the trees seven years ago when the power company offered to cut them down. Now, they seem to be doing minimal trimming, so they might just make them really ugly again. We'll see. They'll probably be here later this week.

I didn't pay any attention to the eagles today. I didn't pay any attention to the star tracker either. I did a load of wash and ate a lot of snacks. That was about it. Other than meeting the new Dalmatian it was really an uneventful day. I wonder what I'm going to do with myself this year. I'm not nearly as obsessed with going to Kennedy Space Center or McDonald Observatory as I was in previous years. Covid restrictions have taken a lot of the fun out of traveling. I don't have the energy I used to either. I guess that's why I keep walking. It would be so easy to slip into doing nothing.

I still need to make an appointment to get my hair cut. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I can't believe I wore my hair long for so many years. It just seems like a nuisance now. A lot of things seem like a nuisance as you grow older. I'm glad I started this blog a long time ago. Today my attitude would be more like "why bother." Writing something every day is definitely a nuisance.

Stortz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4427

Lots of walking today. The sun was out. The temperature was much warmer. It was just a nice day. Dawn enjoyed her sunrise walk. We had our usual Sunday breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. We waited a while for the ice cream store to open and then we took Dawn on her Sunday outing. I thought the fields we typically walk in might still be muddy, but everything has pretty much dried up. The only evidence that there ever was an ice storm is lots of sand on the city streets and a few small pockets of snow in deeply shaded areas.

Dawn is completely predictable. She's excited to go in the car, scared of the ride itself, and really enjoys 80% of our walk in the park. There's one small section of the park she doesn't like. Unfortunately we have to cross this area to return to the car. I guess we could just turn around at this point, but then she wouldn't get much of a walk at all. Once we're past the dubious area and make a right turn to head up a small hill, Dawn is fine again. The area that Dawn doesn't like looks exactly the same as the rest of the park to Janet and I. Dawn obviously knows something we don't.

The ice cream store still has lots of help wanted signs. They're even offering a signing bonus now. It seems like this would be a nice place to work for a high school kid. It's not hard to serve ice cream and the place is a lot safer than your typical restaurant, since all the customers are drive through and never get out of their cars. What do I know though. Maybe there's some reason that it's a horrible job. The ice cream is good however and it certainly calms Dawn down. 

The park was crowded today. When I passed the eagle's nest on my long walk I noticed that there were two police cars protecting the eagles. I guess each eagle got their own police escort. Why can't regular people get this type of protection? You can get fined up to $100,000 if you mess with an eagle. People mess with each other all the time with no penalties at all. Shoplifters aren't even prosecuted anymore if you steal less than $750. It's a weird world we live in where birds get more respect than your average citizen. 

It's good to be an eagle. I'm not sure how smart these birds are though. They couldn't have picked a worse spot to build their nest. It's right next to a very busy road and large crowds are starting to form on the other side of the road as word spreads about their location. These birds could have had more privacy if they had decided to build their nest at the city zoo. People are going to have to be real careful driving down this road after the eggs hatch. If a baby eagle falls out of the nest and you happen to hit it with your car, you are in a world of trouble.

I'm glad the roof leaks have stopped. If I was younger and more nimble, I would have been up on the roof today, removing the remaining water. I've spent a considerable amount of time up on our roof, but I hesitate to do this anymore. If I do anything on the floor in the house these days, I have to have a plan for how to get up again. Every morning when I wake up, there are so many minor aches and pains that my first thought is always "I'm toast," followed by "How am I going to make it out to the kitchen?" I seriously wonder if I'm going to be able to travel to the observatory at all this year. There's a lot of rough ground out there and no hospital for hundreds of miles.

It looks like a busy week ahead. We'll probably visit the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I need to get a haircut soon. And Dawn has her annual exam at the vet later in the week. Three events in one week is a lot for me. Sometimes three events in a month is a lot. How did I ever get so much done when I was younger? It's a mystery.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4426

Life is back to normal. It was much warmer today and the snow and ice has virtually disappeared. Dawn was happy to get a morning walk again. It was still chilly early this morning but the temperature was above freezing for most of the day. 

The roads are no longer empty. When I did my grocery shopping this morning the traffic was as bad as it ever was. The only thing strange today was that the grocery store shelves were surprisingly empty. I guess there was a lot of panic buying before the storm and nobody has had time to restock yet. I did manage to find what I needed though. All in all, this winter storm wasn't nearly as bad as everyone expected. We've seen a lot worse. Hopefully this is as bad as it gets this year. I have my doubts though. We've seen a lot of nasty weather later in February.

The leak in the office finally stopped. The leak stopped for a while last night when everything refroze, but started dripping again this morning. Luckily, this was the only leak this time. I can see a little staining in the living room ceiling where I carefully bleached everything clean just last week. This means that some moisture is getting in, but not enough to actually cause a leak. I'm glad I didn't attempt to repair the sheetrock yet. Now I'm going to have to bleach the ceiling all over again. I knew this was going to happen. Leaks always occur when the roof freezes over. I actually think the roof leaks started many years ago when a thick canopy of ice covered the roof for weeks during an extended cold spell. At least the pumps are working again. I pumped quite a bit of water off the roof today. I'm not climbing up there though. With my foot pain, a bad knee, and a poor sense of balance, it wouldn't be a wise thing to do. I'm really hoping to replace the roof this Spring. Still got to find a good contractor though.

Janet has returned to the gym, so I walked by myself today. Most of the roads and trails were dry and I was able to wear my Hoka shoes again. I'm sure this helped, but my feet still hurt. I'm still walking the same distance, but my pace has really slowed down. It's really pathetic how slow I'm walking lately. Just about anybody can pass me now. At least I'm still moving. That's the important thing.

The two eagles that have taken up residence in the park have become quite the local attraction. People call them Nick and Nora now. There was quite a crowd watching the nest today. There are always a lot more people in the park on weekends. I didn't bother to join the group this time. I've already seen the two eagles many times and once I managed to get a few good pictures my interest has started to wane. I'll probably get a few more pictures in the days ahead. There's no hurry though. The pair is expected to remain in the area until Summer.

I didn't bother to monkey around with the star tracker today. The next step will be to take it outside at night and actually try to track and photograph something. It's still too cold for that though. I don't expect any dramatic results because there is so much light pollution in Dallas. Orion is bright enough to see from our back yard though. That's a good place to start. 

I think it's going to be even warmer tomorrow, so it looks like Dawn will get her Sunday outing. Even though Dawn is a lazy dog who loves to lounge on the bed, I could tell that she missed her walks the past several days. It will be good to resume our regular routine again. The regular routine definitely includes ice cream. We all love ice cream.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day