Day 4820

Dawn had a setback today. She could hardly walk this morning and we had to help her off the bed. She was favoring her left front leg and her neck seemed puffy as well. Things didn't get better as the day progressed, so we took her to the vet. They took x-rays and gave her some pain pills, but we still don't really know what is going on. If I had to guess, I think she might have a slipped disk in her neck, but it could be anything. She was very stressed before we went to the vet, but the pain meds appear to be working and she is calm now. Hopefully we can find out what is going on soon. This is a strange set of symptoms with no apparent cause. Up till now she has been a very healthy dog.

Dawn didn't get a morning walk for obvious reasons and I didn't take my own walk until later this afternoon because I didn't want to leave Dawn alone in the house. Everything is more of less back to normal while we wait for a diagnosis, but it's going to be hard to keep her off the bed. Our bed is her favorite place, but jumping on and off is not going to be good while she has a weak front end. Her front legs aren't swollen and appear normal but she has already fallen twice. Something is definitely very wrong.

I made an appointment with the roofers to go over their bid and schedule getting the new roof installed. I'm not looking forward to this, but it has to be done. I hope I picked the right roofing company. These guys came highly recommended, but I've been disappointed by roofers before. I want this to be the last roof we have to deal with on this house. Janet and I are getting too old to be dealing with continual roof leaks. When the roof is fixed we will need to repair damaged sheetrock inside the house and then get new carpets and paint. First things first though.

It's time for a haircut again, so I made an appointment for later in the week. I also renewed some prescription that I will pick up tomorrow. I usually get a haircut before I travel, but there are no travel plans in the immediate future. There are interesting launches at Kennedy Space Center in April, but I may need to skip them. A lot depends on what is going on with Dawn. It wouldn't hurt to lay low and save some money either. I've already been to Florida four time in the past several months.

I got my steps today but didn't complete my full six miles. There was a lot going on. It's just as well that I didn't walk as far today because my feet were bothering me. I was slow on my long walk which was a shame because it was such a nice day for walking. It feels like Spring has arrived even though it's a little early. Spring flowers are already starting to appear and a lot of trees in the park are turning green. I hope we don't have a late March freeze, but it has happened many times before. Wildflowers this early in the year almost guarantees that we will have another freeze.

Tomorrow is my last day to attempt roof repairs before more rain arrives. I don't have a lot of the Armor Flex liquid silicon left, but there is enough to patch a few leaks. All I need to do now is find them.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4819

Today was a good day. The weather was almost perfect, but more importantly, Dawn is back to normal again. We may never know what was wrong with her yesterday. I suspect that she just pulled a muscle or something when she got too wild during her grocery day shenanigans. She gets very excited and races around the house when Janet brings home the groceries. At any rate, we saw no signs of problems today. She walked normally and had no problems getting on and off the bed.

If it's Sunday, I go walking at the mall. I went earlier this morning and the place was almost empty. I need to remember this since I'm perpetually trying to avoid crowds. I can't get over how much the place changes from week to week. I always see stores that have closed and others that have just opened. A surprising number of businesses seem to just move from one location in the mall to another. You have to watch where you're going while mall walking. So many people never look up from their phones while walking that you'd bump into them if you didn't move out of their way. I see this in the park as well. We have an entire nation of people who've become addicted to their phones. The young people are the worst. Very rarely l'll see an older couple actually talking to each other without a phone in sight.

Since Dawn was feeling better we took her on a Sunday outing this morning. She seems to enjoy new places now, so we drove her to the other side of the lake. We didn't take a long walk because we didn't want to push our luck, but Dawn had a good time smelling new things and looking for critters. As always we ended our outing with a trip to the ice cream store. The ice cream cones are no bargain, but it's a nice little Sunday treat. Even though Dawn rides terribly in the car, the ice cream seems to calm her. On the way home from the ice cream store she appears almost normal.

I thought about going up on the roof this afternoon and looking for the remaining leak, but quickly changed my mind when I realized what was involved. Chances of failure were very high and I really didn't want to deal with the messy silicon coating again. Even though I keep a roller on the roof to spread the stuff around, I always seem to get some of the Armor Flex on my hands and clothing. I still need to try this before the next rain though. My last attempt slowed down the leaks considerably. If I can just find where the remaining water is getting through, I may be able to stop the leaks entirely. I'm probably being too optimistic, but I need to give it a try.

Instead of going up on the roof, I vacuumed the carpets instead. I need to do this more often because the carpets were really dirty today. Dawn used to sit on the bed and stare at me while I cleaned the bedroom. Not anymore. She left the room and wouldn't come back until I was finished and put the vacuum cleaner away. She wouldn't stay in the room when I took a short nap after I finished my chores either. It's kind of sad. If Janet isn't around to keep her safe, Dawn wants nothing to do with me.

I'm going to have to call the roofers tomorrow because they seem to have disappeared. Several weeks ago I couldn't get rid of the guys. Now it's crickets. I need to get this job scheduled so we can get on with our lives. A new roof won't solve all my problems, but it will certainly help.

Hopefully tomorrow is an uneventful day with no surprises. A day where nothing happens is always a good day as far as I'm concerned.

Rory is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4818

I got a lot done today. Well, I got something done anyway. In addition to grocery shopping and my perpetual walks, I washed the car and defrosted the little refrigerator. The little refrigerator was a spur-of-the-moment purchase when we were having problems with the big refrigerator. I can't remember whether there was a power outage or a mechanical problem, but we needed a temporary way to keep things cold. It was never meant to be permanent, but here we are. Now the little refrigerator is essential. We need both. This small dorm room refrigerator doesn't have an automatic defrost cycle, so every once in a while I have to unplug it and let all the ice melt. I transfer the food to the big refrigerator, stuff some old towels in the empty refrigerator to soak up the melting water, and wait a few hours for all the ice in the freezer section to disappear. Usually I only have to do this about every three months.

Usually I only wash the car about every three months as well. It doesn't get very dirty because I don't drive much. The car definitely needed some attention today. West Texas dust and Spring tree pollen were making it hard to see out the front window. It takes longer to clean the wheel rims than the rest of the car. The front wheels get dirty quickly and I have to clean them with soapy water and a rag. Like just about everything else these days, this chore is hard on my knees.

The stores were crowded again today. I guess this is the new normal. I got what I needed and headed home without going to the gym. I would have had to go to the gym first so food wouldn't spoil sitting in the car. It just didn't seem like it was worth the trouble since I can always take a walk in the park. I know I'd been planning on working on my upper body strength, but I think climbing up on the roof and sweeping all the standing water away with the big push broom is all the upper body exercise I need. I know I'm getting a good workout because my muscles feel the same way they do when I'm lifting weights at the gym.

The park was really busy today. I guess that makes sense because was a warm, beautiful day. People of all ages were jogging, roller skating, cycling, and walking their dogs. So much for solitude and communing with nature. Today's walk felt more like I was at the State Fair. I still had an enjoyable walk, even though I was quite slow. Foot pain was pretty bad today. I still can't figure out why some days are better than others. I walk the same route every day, wear the same shoes, and am walking using he same pair of feet. I guess I should just be glad that there are still good days.

Dawn seemed a little painful in her rear end today. She wasn't limping, but was definitely moving slower and seeming to have trouble lying down and getting up on the bed. I hope there's nothing wrong. I don't think she's torn an ACL or has hip dysplasia, but something isn't normal. We gave her a Rimadyl and will take things easy tomorrow. Maybe we'll skip the Sunday outing walk and just go for ice cream.

I'll probably still go mall walking tomorrow. Why not? Even though the weather forecast looks good for Sunday, I've done enough walking in the park this week. It looks like next month might be a good time to go back to the space center. There are several interesting launches scheduled for April. Dark Sky week is also in April out at the observatory, so I ought to start making plans to go somewhere. With my luck April will be when the roofers want to put on the new roof. 

In other news, we've started seeing ants around the house again and the Crane Flies are back. Even though these are both signs of Spring, they are not welcome. I'll try spraying around the exterior of the house to control the ants. There isn't much I can do about the Crane Flies. Whenever I open the back door they fly inside.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4817

There was very little evidence that we'd had a huge storm last night. The sky was clear this morning and the ground was even relatively dry. We noticed a few downed trees in the park when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning and a new leak appeared in the office, but that was about it.

We're getting better at putting on Dawn's head wrap in the morning after we get up, but so far it doesn't seem to be helping much. The hematoma on her left ear actually seems to be getting larger. Hopefully the No Flap Ear Wrap will help over time because the only other option is surgery. The hematoma doesn't appear to be liquid enough to just drain it.

My morning routine now includes turning on the roof pumps before I start breakfast. I thought I had cleared most of the water away before I went to bed last night, but there was lots more this morning. Did it start raining again during the early morning hours or was standing water on the roof just migrating to the low spots where the pumps are located? It didn't really matter. I knew that I was going to have to crawl up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water if I wanted the leaks to stop.

Construction is finished on the service road through the park and I've gone back to my old walking route. Even though this walk has become monotonous and a little too familiar, I still find it enjoyable. I always do great on the first two miles, start to slow down a little on the third mile, and am really starting to drag by the time I've finished my fourth mile. I guess I could make my walk a little shorter, but I've gotten used to this. I see the same ducks and geese every day along with a lot of familiar people walking their dogs or cycling. It's too bad that Dawn doesn't feel comfortable walking with me. She could use the exercise.

After lunch I went up on the roof and removed the rest of the standing water. The weather looks nice for the rest of the week, so I won't have to worry about leaks for a little while. I had really hoped to end these frequent trips up on the roof, but necessity prevails. It always rains a lot during the Spring and I'm going to have to continue sweeping away the standing water until we get a new roof installed. I'll try to be careful. I've investigated getting landscapers and yard crews to do this job for me, but nobody seems interested. It's probably best that I continue doing this myself. The Armor Flex coating is fragile and if you don't know what you are doing you could easily make the situation worse. I've resigned myself to paying for a new roof, but I'm going to be really mad if these leaks continue after it is installed.

Today is Janet's grocery day and Dawn spent over an hour before she arrived barking at the front door. Grocery day seems very exciting for Dawn. My own grocery day is tomorrow and Dawn could care less. I guess the things I buy aren't as interesting for a dog. Janet and I have both gotten tired of grocery shopping because the stores and roads are so crowded now. I don't know where all these extra people came from but the city doesn't feel the same as it did several years ago. It would be nice to live in a small town.

The leaks have stopped and I need to put all the buckets away. I've made my grocery list and I guess I'm ready for the weekend. We will have a big breakfast tomorrow instead of my usual shredded wheat and fruit. Everything else will be the same. It's no surprise that I need a trip to Florida every once and a while. This routine can become pretty monotonous. 

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4816

The squall line with severe winds just passed through our area and I'm happy to report that we survived without any damage. I was expecting the worst because of all the media hype about this storm. We were told to expect hurricane strength winds and tornados. I don't think any tornados touched down nearby but there were some strong winds. Love Field had gusts of over 75 miles and hour but I don't think the wind in our neighborhood ever got above 35 miles an hour. We've still got power and there are no downed trees, so all is good. Luckily Dawn is not frightened by bad weather. Some of our previous Dalmatians went nuts during bad storms. Dawn was cool as a cucumber. All she was concerned about was getting her dinner on time.

Amazingly, the pumps on the roof didn't get blown over by the wind and are still working. I'm going to wait a while to take the trash out to the curb though. There's still quite a bit of wind and I'm afraid the trash can will get blown away. We're going to get more rain this evening, but I think there are clear skies in the forecast for tomorrow. Clear skies couldn't come soon enough for me. I hate severe weather warnings because we don't really have a safe space in our house. There are no interior rooms in the entire house and there is floor to ceiling glass everywhere. It's not a great place to be during a tornado.

The day started normally enough. We had a pleasant sunrise walk with Dawn before breakfast and then I took my long walk earlier than usual in case the weather forecast was wrong. For the most part this morning was just a normal overcast day. Maybe it wasn't that normal though. It was still very warm for early March this morning. Of course all that's changed now. When the squall line blew through town about an hour ago the temperature dropped by at least twenty degrees.

I had a tele-visit with my gastrointestinal doctor this afternoon. I don't know why doctors love these things, because they seem next to worthless to me. I got a text message on my phone with a link to the doctor's tele-visit app. My cell phone gets terrible coverage inside the house and I didn't feel like doing the entire tele-visit sitting out in the back yard, so the app kept crashing. I finally convinced the doctor to just call me on the land line phone. We mostly talked about the meds she prescribed for me several years ago. They work great, but you are not supposed to take this medication long term. The doctor says I'm on a low dose and it's completely safe. I'm not so sure.

The heavy rain will ensure that the roof keeps leaking for the next several days. If the weather is nice tomorrow I'll go up on the roof and sweep the remaining standing water away. I don't expect to hear from the roofers anytime soon. With severe winds throughout the metroplex today, I suspect that they will be busy with emergency work for a while. Quite a few roofs got damaged today. I'm glad that ours wasn't one of them. I can deal with a leak, but losing your roof in a storm is another matter entirely.

Here's hoping that tomorrow is a completely uneventful day. I'm tired of dealing with severe weather and am ready to go back to talking about roof leaks and foot pain.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4815

This weather is driving me nuts. As soon as the leaks stop the rain starts again. Once water gets under the Armor Flex coating on the roof there is a time delay before it reaches the inside of the house. What this means is that it can be sunny outside while the roof is leaking inside. The leaks aren't nearly as bad after my attempt to patch the roof, but even a small leak is still annoying. It's not raining right now, but we have tornado warnings starting tomorrow evening. I'm wondering if this will ever end.

There was nothing important on the agenda today. I ate my breakfast and tried to time my long walk so I wouldn't get wet. We were lucky again on Dawn's sunrise walk, making it home a few minutes before a heavy shower began. My luck ran out later this morning. Everything looked good on the weather radar, so I headed out. The weather was fine for the first mile or so and then a sudden shower appeared out of nowhere. I got wet, but it was quite warm so it wasn't a big deal. The shower didn't last long and I was almost dry again by the time I returned home.

I am so hooked on getting my steps these days that very little stops me. It's been a long time since I failed to get at least 10,000 steps. When I make the drive to West Texas it's almost impossible to reach my goal since I'm spending all day in the car. I missed my goal when I had gall bladder surgery too. There's not much you can do when you are hooked up to IV tubes in the hospital.

My feet were in bad shape today. I could barely walk when I got out of bed this morning. The odd thing is that the pain is worse when I first wake up. After I put on shoes and start walking around it usually gets a lot better. Aches and pains are the story of my life these days. Between bad knees, a bad shoulder and the persistent foot pain, something always seems to hurt. Most of this can just be attributed to growing older. Like many people my age I probably have a moderate case of osteoarthritis.

It's hard to believe that it is already March. Where does the time go? I did make it down to Florida in January for a Falcon Heavy launch, but most of this year has just been dealing with rain and roof leaks. It would be a nice break from this frustration to make another trip out to the observatory in April for their annual Dark Sky Festival, but I'm not sure that I'm up for the long drive anymore. When I made the trip last year it was really tiring. I definitely don't want to fall asleep at the wheel and my left hand tends to go numb if I grip the steering wheel for too long. Unfortunately there is no way to fly to this destination. It's a long drive to West Texas or nothing.

We're on the edge of the tornado warned area, so hopefully we won't get any severe weather tomorrow. I actually worry more about high winds than tornados. High winds have already brought down several large trees in our yard and there are several more that are just waiting for the right storm to take them out. These old mature Oak trees really don't hold up that well to high winds. I wonder if there are still places where the weather is nice all the time. Florida has frequent hurricanes and my favorite place in West Texas is dealing with a huge range fire right now. I wouldn't even consider living up North. How do people deal with all that snow? Who knows? Maybe it will be nice tomorrow. Our weather forecast is often wrong.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4814

I canceled today's appliance repair appointment because the dryer seems to be working fine again. I've done several loads of laundry and the problem seems to have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but that's not surprising. A lot of things in life are a mystery to me. The roofers were a no show again today. They said they might be able to come over this afternoon, but didn't. They did send me a PDF file with their estimate though. Yes, it's quite expensive.

It was very warm again today. The temperature got up to over eighty degrees. This was another one of those days where the furnace was on when we woke up and the air conditioner was on most of the afternoon. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still a bit hot by the time I returned home. No complaints though. I hope this is a sign of an early Spring.

I had to go up on the roof and sweep away the remaining standing water to get the leak in the office to stop. Most of the roof was dry, but there is a stubborn low spot right over the office where water lingers long after the rain has gone. The problem with this time of year is that I have to clear away this water over and over again. Sadly, there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

I had to pick up a prescription today and the pharmacy staff were all in a bad mood. Usually these guys are very friendly. I ended up paying a higher price for my pills because they said it would take an extra thirty minutes if I wanted to compare prices using GoodRx. Strange. I always do this and it doesn't take any extra time at all. There was a big sign advertising free Covid test kits, but when I asked for some they said I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to see if I qualified. Never mind. We've got a boatload of those test kits lying around the house already. This was all very disorientating because these guys are usually very helpful.

The construction crews are almost finished paving the service road through the park. I'll miss them because it gave me something interesting to look at while I walked. Pretty soon there will be lots to look at. I noticed today that daffodils are already blooming. This means that the Spring wildflowers will start to appear soon. I hope that there isn't a late March freeze that kills everything off. So far, it looks like we are headed for an early Spring.

There's been lots of activity down at Kennedy Space Center lately. It makes me wish I was down there. I wouldn't mind being one of the regular launch photographers who seem to be out covering every single launch. It's a somewhat silly activity, but strangely satisfying. Titusville is a nice town too. It's not too big and not too small. I could easily imagine living there. We're not going anywhere though. Moving is for younger people. I've lived several places over the years and basically one place is the same as the next. It makes more sense to settle down and learn to love where you're at. I'm glad I left Seattle though. Seattle has really gone downhill.

I'm hoping that we don't get a lot of rain tomorrow. I'm really tired of climbing up on the roof to sweep away the standing water. It makes me feel like Sisyphus, pushing that boulder eternally up the hill.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4813

Things did not go smoothly today. The roof has started leaking again in the office. Enough already. Dawn's hematoma seems to be getting worse, even though she's been wearing her head wrap. I couldn't renew my prescription this morning because the pharmacy said it had expired and I wasn't able to reach my doctor. Why did the bottle say I still had refills left? 

The roofers made an appointment to come over this afternoon and then never showed up. I guess all roofing companies are the same. I made an appointment with the appliance repairman and then did a load of laundry and everything worked fine. Should I cancel the appointment? Who knows. Even my long walk was strange. There was an air quality alert on my phone and when I went outside there was such a thick haze that I couldn't even see the city buildings on the horizon. Probably another dust storm.

It wasn't just my own little world that was haywire either. The Crew-6 launch got scrubbed last night with two minutes left on the countdown clock. Something was wrong with the engine ignition system. I don't think there's been a problem with a crewed Space X launch before. Things are even worse out at the observatory. There is currently a big uncontrolled forest fire near Mount Locke and the entire facility has been without power for several days. Residents living on the mountain were under an evacuation warning for a while. I'm sure other things have gone wrong in the world as well, but these are the only things I follow.

At least the severe weather that was predicted for last night never materialized. It never even rained. There were high winds though and the wind probably brought along all the dust from West Texas. I took my long walk early today because of my appointment with the roofers. I should have known better. I've done something to my shoulder so both my shoulder and my foot hurt today. I still completed my six mile walk, but I think I probably aggravated my old shoulder injury by climbing up on the roof too frequently this week. I didn't make that mistake today. I'm tired of messing with these roof leaks.

I shouldn't complain too much though. If you could ignore all the dust on the horizon it was a very nice day. It was certainly warm enough. I was able to wear shorts and a t-shirt on my walk again. It felt like we were having an early Spring this afternoon. The trees are even starting to bud. This is seldom a good sign because an early Spring usually insures that there will be a late freeze in March that kills everything. We'll see what happens. I'd be happy enough if Winter were over, but March is usually full of surprises.

Hopefully tomorrow is uneventful. No surprises please. I should probably be more flexible, but that's not going to happen. I'm happy enough with my rigid little routine, punctuated with a few trips to Florida and West Texas. Sometimes I wish I were working again, but then I remember what clients are like. It's probably best that I learn to enjoy my retirement.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4812

Today was a nice combination of mall walking and dog walking. It was overcast, but there was no rain and it was quite warm. Sadly, that is about to change since we are under a severe weather warning for later tonight. I'm glad now that I didn't go to Florida for the Crew-6 launch. I would be worried about Janet and Dawn.

The mall was crowded with walkers today. I have no idea why the place is almost empty one week and busy the next. Mall walking seems popular with families that have young children. There are always lots of strollers and little kids. I guess this is inexpensive entertainment for some. The kids all seem to be having fun. There are also a fair amount of older people like me. I'm probably not the only one who has discovered that this is a good way to stay active. I'm a lot more active than some of these geezers. A few of them can barely move. There was nothing new in the windows this week. This seems to be an in-between time for retailers. All the window displays were the same as they were last week.

Since the ground was muddy at the park where we normally take Dawn on Sunday, we thought we'd try someplace new. Janet and I had no idea how Dawn would react. We weren't sure she would even get out of the car since new routines often frighten her. Much to our surprise Dawn was really excited to visit this new location. She had a great time smelling things and probably would have walked further. We were a little nervous about walking too far though. We both had memories of taking Dawn on walks where she was walking just fine and then would suddenly freeze and refuse to walk any further. The freezing in place behavior disappeared quite a while ago and I hope it never returns. Dawn does seem a lot more relaxed and well adjusted now. It took a while but I think she finally knows she has a home.

Even though we went to a different place this week, we still ended our outing with ice cream cones. Dawn loves getting ice cream. Occasionally, we've wondered if this little indulgence was bad for her health, but all her vital signs came back normal after her annual exam last week. Dawn is a good dog and she deserves a special treat every now and then.

The leak in the office has finally stopped but I won't be surprised if it starts leaking again after the storm passes through town later this evening. It's good to know that the leak finally stopped on its own. I didn't even bother getting up on the roof and sweeping away the standing water this time. Why bother if more rain is on the way.

My big project for today was cleaning out the dryer hose. I was convinced that a clogged or dirty hose was causing the dryer to overheat. What a messy job. I never should have attempted this right after taking a shower because I got dirty all over again. I had to move the dryer so I could squeeze behind it and unhook the dryer hose. It was a tight squeeze since the utility room is very small. I thought I could vacuum the lint out of the dryer hose, but the vacuum cleaner clogged up immediately. I had to reach into the hose and pull the caked on lint out of the tube with my hands. By compressing the flexible hose at either end, I was able to reach a lot further than I thought. There is still an area where the hose runs behind the furnace that I couldn't reach, but I did what I could. I thought I had fixed the problem, but when we ran a test load of wash through the dryer, it shut down just like it did before. The cycle finished and the clothes got dry but the machine wouldn't run another cycle until it cooled off. Oh, well. I tried. The thermostat has probably gone bad and I will have to call the appliance repairmen tomorrow.

Hopefully tonight's tornado warnings won't amount to anything. The storm front will be here soon. I'll probably watch the Crew-6 launch later on the Space X live stream. Wish I was there, but you can't have everything.

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4811

It must have rained last night because the roof started leaking again. It wasn't a bad leak, but a leak is a leak. I didn't even bother to go up on the roof and remove the standing water. Every time I do, it just starts raining again. These leaks are frustrating. There's little I can do about them. It's going to continue raining and I can't find the source of the leak. Eventually we'll have a new roof but I can't find a lot of joy in that. Putting a new roof on our house is way too expensive and when everything is said and done, the house will still looks the same.

Roof leaks weren't my only problem today. The dryer quit working as well. Luckily the load in the dryer was almost dry when the machine quit. Who knows what the problem is this time? I've already replaced a lot of things on the washer and dryer, but there's obviously still a lot of stuff left that can break. I'm hoping that the dryer just overheated and threw some kind of circuit breaker. That is doubtful though since the machine has cooled down and still is  not working. I can't call the appliance repairman until Monday either. Did I mention that I hate going to the laundromat.

I had a lot of things on my grocery list today, so shopping took a while. I'm still having trouble dealing with the continual price increases. Enough is enough. Almost every week I notice that something I buy regularly has gotten more expensive. This trend has been going on for a long time and shows no signs of ending soon. You'd think at some point customers would revolt. I'm not sure there's a lot we could do. Nobody's forcing us to go to the grocery store.

My walk was slower today. I probably walk slower when I'm discouraged. It's not surprising that I like going to launches so much. These trips take me to an imaginary world that is largely free of day-to-day problems. Broken appliances and roof leaks aren't the end of the world, but they are irritating. As soon as you take care of one thing, something else needs attention. I enjoy my walks, but even a walk in the woods doesn't eliminate day-to-day problems. My feet still hurt and I never know when it's going to start raining.

Janet has gone to a charity event tonight and this always puts Dawn in a bad mood. This dog has grown way too dependent on her and neither of us know what to do about it. Dawn just doesn't trust men. She's fine with me feeding and walking her, but she's always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's a shame that Dawn doesn't trust me since I'm the one who's here at the house the most. I understand though. Dawn was mistreated by men for most of her life and I'm a man. It's pretty simple.

I guess I'll go mall walking in the morning. If I'd been selected for Crew-6 coverage I'd be leaving for the space center tomorrow. I shouldn't dwell on that though. I get accepted for some launches and rejected for others and never know why. There are plenty of other launches later in the year. 

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4810

Another cold, cloudy day. No rain though, so that's good. Lately I've been having trouble thinking of something to write about. Time passes quickly, but every day is almost exactly the same. I reluctantly get out of bed when Janet tells me that we'll be walking in twenty minutes. The one mile walk wakes me up. Dawn loves to smell things and always enjoys herself no matter what the weather is like. I usually overdress for this walk because I'd rather be too warm than too cold. When we get back home I change back into my indoor clothes and make the bed.

When I go out to the kitchen to fix my breakfast, Dawn is usually waiting for her shredded wheat. She knows she gets two shredded wheat squares every morning now. As soon as she's had her treat, she goes back to the bedroom to nap. I fix some coffee, take my morning meds and eat my breakfast while watching one of the business channels on TV. I find the business channels less annoying than watching the news. I use half and half with my cereal instead of regular milk and Janet usually leaves me a small bowl of cut up strawberries to put on top. Even though we have a perfectly good dishwasher, I always wash and dry my breakfast dishes by hand and put them away before going back to the office and turning on the computer for the day. Rituals are important.

I always have tons of spam in my inbox. Even more spam is caught by my hosting company before it ever gets to me. Why are there so many spammers? Are people really stupid enough to respond to these messages? People send you fake invoices and shipping notices, hoping that you will reply and say you never ordered anything. They are just trying to extract personal information from you. I've thought about canceling my land line phone because the calls are all spam now. Most even show up as "suspected spam" on the caller ID. Why does the phone company even put these calls through if they know they are spam? Sadly, I think I know the answer. The spammers are probably their best customers.

Modern life is just one small irritation after another. Nothing works smoothly anymore. It's almost impossible to talk with a real person if you need technical help with something. If you do reach a real person they're usually in a call center in Indonesia and you can't understand what they're saying. Grocery shelves are frequently out of whatever you went to the store to get. I couldn't find real whipping cream this week. City traffic is impossible now. Where did all these people come from? I'd like to live in a small town except I'd also like to have easy access to the best doctors and veterinarians. I've got no complaints about health care and veterinarians. Pretty much everything else sucks.

The construction crews are making good progress on the access road they are replacing in the park. These guys start their day early. They were already hard at work when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning. Parts of the road are already finished but I'm hesitant to walk on it yet. I don't want to get tar on my Hoka shoes. The new route I'm taking now to avoid the construction is about a half mile shorter than my regular route. Even something as minor as this throws me off. I like consistency and continuity. 

Dawn seems to be getting tired of wearing the No Flap Ear Wrap. I can't say that I blame her. I usually take it off when she's in the house, but you never know when she's going to vigorously shake her head. So far the hematoma on her left ear hasn't gotten any smaller. Hopefully by this time next month we'll be able to see some improvement. 

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4809

I can't get used to this roller coaster weather. Yesterday I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Today I was wearing my down parka again. We've gone back and forth like this for weeks. It's weird to say the least. Even though it was chilly this morning, we had a nice early walk with Dawn. She doesn't seem to mind the cold nearly as much as I do. I can tell the days are gettig longer now. A few months ago we would have been walking in the dark at this time of day. Today is was quite light out and we watched the sun rise as we headed back to the house.

It looks like I failed at stopping the roof leaks. I thought I had dodged a bullet yesterday, but right after breakfast I noticed a small wet spot in the office carpet. The roof was leaking again. My patching efforts must have helped because there was only one small leak instead of multiple leaks all over the house. It was still disappointing to see a leak though. I was forced to climb up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water from yesterday's rain. I wasn't surprised to find that the leak was directly under the biggest duck pond on the roof.  The roof was largely dry, but this one large puddle of standing water was evidently enough to cause a leak. My patches seemed to have held up fairly well during the rain, but I must have missed something. If there is a lot of standing water, it doesn't take much of a hole in the elastomer coating to cause a leak.

I've given up on going to the Crew-6 launch. My application must have gotten lost because I still haven't heard anything one way or the other. NASA is usually pretty good about notification even if your request is rejected. I don't know what happened this time. Truthfully this is a blessing in disguise. I wasn't planning on returning to Kennedy Space Center until April or May and couldn't really afford this trip anyway. I do like to go to most of the important launches, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything to miss this one.

I had to change my route through the park again today. There is some major construction taking place on one of the park's main service roads. I still can't figure out how the park seems to get better roads than the rest of the city. In our neighborhood we get those cheap spray on roads. This was a proper road. They had one of those huge machines that scraped away the old road and then they started from scratch applying completely new pavement. Personally I would prefer no roads through the park, but the place has become a recreation destination. Not everyone can get to this place by walking out their back door like I can.

The roofing company wants to come over and meet with me next week to go over their bid. I don't know what this is going to prove. It's certainly not going to soften the blow of whatever expensive price they put on the job. I've dealt with roofing bids before. They are always more expensive than you expect. I can think of lots of ways I'd rather spend the money, but we can't go on living like this. We need a new roof.

I haven't really accomplished much this week. There are still leaves to rake and it appears that I failed to stop the leaks yesterday. It doesn't look like I'm going to the Crew-6 launch either. I did get this weeks trash taken out to the curb this evening and the roof has finally stopped leaking. More importantly, there is no longer any rain in the forecast for next week. Hey, I'll take what I can get. Dawn is still being good about wearing the No Flap Ear Wrap. It will probably take a while, but I hope this will help eliminate the hematoma in her left ear.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4808

Our timing was perfect this morning. There was a light mist when we took Dawn on her early morning walk, but we decided to walk anyway. Literally in less than a minute after we returned home the skies opened up and there was a downpour. If we'd started our walk five minutes later we would have gotten soaked. The rain was over in an hour, but it was certainly enough to put yesterday's roof repairs to the test. So far there have been no leaks. I'm not going to declare victory yet though. Sometimes it takes a while for water to start leaking.

It was certainly warm today. Our air conditioner has been running for the second day in a row. This is definitely not your normal February, but I've got no complaints. Life is easier when it's warm outside. The weather was the only surprise today. Everything else was exactly like yesterday. I had my shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast, checked my messages for a non-existent credentialing notice from NASA, and took my long walk in the park.

I had to change my route a bit today because a construction crew was repaving a road I normally walk on. The park department seems very efficient about getting things done, while other city departments like water and public works seem exactly the opposite. I wonder how this works since the park department is part of the city? Even though the park is well managed, I liked it better when it was largely undiscovered. When we first moved here it was rare to see anyone in the park. Now it's become a recreation destination for the entire Metroplex.

Dawn's lab reports came back today and everything looks good. It's nice to have a healthy dog again. Dot and Dash had many good years, but they had lots of problems as well. Both dogs had cancer in their later years. Dot went through a complicated spinal surgery and Dash had a long recovery after being attacked by another dog. Petey and Greta had their share of problems as well. I really hope that Dawn stays healthy for a long time. It's sad watching a dog decline.

I don't know why I'm still fretting about the Crew-6 launch since I'm not even sure I want to go. I should have heard something by now. I always worry that I might have fallen out of favor and will lose access to the space center. It wasn't easy getting press credentials or even finding a magazine that would be interesting in publishing my stories. Attending launches makes me feel like I'm still working and have something to contribute. My problem is that it's hard to get noticed when you can only afford to make several trips to the space center each year. The local launch photographers are down there all the time and have gotten to know the credentialing people personally. It makes a difference.

I need to find something I'm interested in doing here in Dallas. It would be easier if I didn't have to think about airfare and hotels every time I wanted to do something. I'm not a joiner though. I can't think of a single organization or club that I'd like to be a part of. It's probably a good thing that I still like blogging. It gives me something to do everyday.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4807

I'm tired. I did a lot of chores today that I've been trying to avoid. I knew that bulky trash pickup was this week, so I raked leaves right after breakfast. It's a good thing I started early because the trash trucks came today. I thought they were coming tomorrow. I hadn't finished by the time the trucks arrived but at least three big bags of leaves got hauled away. I guess I'll get the rest of the leaves next month.

Dawn wore her No Flap Ear Wrap on our early walk this morning. We hope this helps the hematoma on her ear to heal. I wasn't aware of how often she shakes her head. She does this a lot when she's outside. The device really does a good job of keeping her ears in place and Dawn doesn't seem to mind wearing it. Lets hope it works.

It was really warm today. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still hot. By mid-afternoon it got up to over 80 degrees. This isn't like February at all. Even though the weather was nice, I was fairly slow this morning. This was probably because I had already been raking leaves for over an hour. I just don't have as much energy as I used to. I still managed to walk six miles. It just took me a little longer. I always try to convince myself that it's better to go slow than to quit, even though on many days I'd much rather just take a long nap.

With 80 degree weather I knew the roof would be dry, so I managed to lug the big bucket of Armor Flex silicon up on the roof and used it to patch the holes where the coating had torn. There was only about one gallon of liquid silicon left in the bucket, but it was enough to fill most of the bare areas. This stuff is so old now that I'm not even sure if it is good anymore. It's got to help though. I'll try to go up on the roof again tomorrow and see if the coating I applied dried properly. I hope this works because it's supposed to start raining again tomorrow. The roofing company still hasn't called me with their bid, but I'm not in any particular hurry to get started. I know the job is going to be expensive and the rainy season isn't over yet. I guess I can keep setting buckets under the leaks until Spring.

The Crew-6 launch got postponed until Monday. I doubt that this matters much to me, since I still haven't heard whether I've been credentialed or not. It's odd that I haven't been either accepted or rejected yet with the launch so close. Usually I would have heard something by now. Maybe this is a sign that I should just plan to skip this launch. There's a good chance that it's going to rain this weekend anyway and I don't want to leave Janet with a bunch of leak buckets to manage.

It's weird to have the air conditioner running in February, but at least the air conditioner is working fine. I've just about given up trying to predict this weather. I wouldn't be surprised if we're freezing again soon. I know we've still got a lot more rain to look forward to, but I hope it stays dry long enough for the silicon patches I applied today to dry. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I probably didn't fix the roof, but at least I got rid of some leaves today.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4806

Dawn had her annual exam today. The lab results haven't come back yet, but it looks like she is in good shape. Dawn, like many Dalmatians, has had problems with crystals in her urine, but hopefully changes in her diet have helped eliminate that problem. The only other problem was her ear. About a month ago we noticed that she had developed a hematoma on her left ear. She shakes her head a lot, which either caused or aggravated the problem. 

The vet recommended a special pet headwrap called the No Flap Ear Wrap that will help the hematoma heal without the need for surgery. The device actually seems to work, although she looks like a little babushka now. Dawn is still shaking her head, but her ears don't flap around any more. Hopefully this will help. I'm not sure how long she will have to wear this contraption, but she seems to tolerate it well. We're not sure why she shakes her head so much. Dash did this too and developed a hematoma as well. It's definitely not an ear infection. Her ears look good..

It took me a while to realize that today was a holiday. I kept wondering why we didn't get any mail and why the park was so full of people. President's Day is kind of a weird holiday, but if you're working and get the day off, I guess you'll take what you can get. Other than Dawn's vet appointment, the day was exactly the same for me. We took Dawn on a sunrise walk, I had my shredded wheat for breakfast, and then I took my long walk.

There was a pretty sunrise and sunset today. I should have taken more pictures. I've spent so many years documenting things in the park a that I'm not very interested anymore. I didn't even take a picture of Dawn at the vet today. I used to do that with Dot and Dash a lot. There's always a phone in my pocket, but I rarely carry a camera with me these days. I used to always carry a little Lumix DMC ZS40 with me. It was about the size of a pack of cigarettes and had a long Leica telephoto lens that collapsed flat when the camera was off. This was the perfect camera to carry while taking long walks in the woods but I can't be bothered anymore. I just spend my walking time daydreaming these days.

I was expecting to hear from the roofer today and was hoping to learn whether I'd been credentialed for the Crew-6 launch as well. I guess nothing happens on holidays. We'll see if anything happens tomorrow. I won't be that disappointed if I don't get credentialed for this launch. Life will be simpler without having to arrange a last minute trip to Florida. Life would be simpler if the roof didn't leak too, but you can't have everything.

I need to remember that it's time for bulky trash pickup this week. There are still leaves that need to be raked in the side yard. Raking leaves is not my favorite activity, but these leaves don't seem to be going anywhere on their own. There have been several really windy days and I was hoping that they would just blow away. No luck there. If anything, more leaves seems to be blowing into the side yard.

It was unseasonably warm today and almost got up to 80 degrees. I think it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. That's fine by me. As long as it doesn't rain, the weather can do what it wants.

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4805

Has it already been a week since the Superbowl? Time flies. The football season may be over, but our Sunday was pretty much the same. I woke up wondering why it was so cold outside, we took Dawn on her sunrise walk, and then we had another big weekend breakfast. After I made the bed and checked my messages, I went mall walking again.

Each time I visit Northpark I notice that things have changed. It's a busy place. All the Valentines Day displays are gone now, but no new theme has emerged. I still see raincoats in a lot of windows. Sunday seems to be a day for staff meetings. You often see groups of people in the yet to be opened stores listening to some sort of presentation. In one store these people were all wearing white jumpsuits like they were at a hazmat scene. What was that all about? You see lots of people dusting things with Swiffer dusters. I never realized that retail stores were such a big market for Swiffer. Several stores used to have off-duty policemen sitting inside the store. They are all gone now. Was this a policy change, or is the mall actually safer these days? 

I have my favorite stores now and often think that I would buy my clothes at these places if I were still working in an office. I'd probably change my mind quickly if I actually went inside the stores and checked on the prices. There are no bargains at this mall. Truthfully, the last thing I need are more clothes. There are still things in my closet that I have never worn. Clothes are never a high priority when you work from home. When you retire, clothes become an even lower priority.

Dawn's priority today was her Sunday outing. We were a little late leaving today and she knew it. That dog has an amazing internal clock. She knows when everything is supposed to happen, right down to the minute. You'd better not be late. Especially when it comes to meals. It had warmed up quite a bit by the time we left the house and we all had an enjoyable walk. The ground is finally drying out from our recent rains and our shoes didn't even get muddy today.

There was a line of cars at the ice cream store today. This place advertises it's product as "frozen custard" even though it tastes exactly like ice cream. I've tasted custard before. This stuff is definitely ice cream.  It is more expensive than Dairy Queen, but is still pretty reasonable. Dawn certainly approves.

I didn't do much this afternoon. There are plenty of things that need attention around the house, but I didn't feel like starting anything new. The Crew-6 launch is next Sunday and I still haven't heard anything. This probably means I'm not going. It's no great loss if I don't get credentialed this time although I would like to go. Oh, well. There are still a few day left and plenty of launches in the future. We'll see what happens.

Dawn has her annual exam at the vet tomorrow. We think she's healthy but you never know what's going to turn up in the lab reports. Hopefully this will just be a routine visit.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4804

Another cold, grey day. It was a fairly typical Saturday. We got up a little later than usual, dressed warmly for our early walk with Dawn, and then returned home for a big weekend breakfast. My grocery list was longer today, so shopping took a while. I also had to get gas and pick up a prescription. As usual, I had to visit several stores to find everything. 

Since Janet was going to a charity event this evening, I stopped at my favorite barbecue place to get some ribs for dinner. I like ribs more than she does. There was a banjo orchestra practicing inside the restaurant. Weird. I'd never seen anything like this before. There was a conductor leading about twenty people playing banjos. Everyone was playing different parts and the result was surprisingly good. The owner told me that the group practiced at the restaurant every Saturday morning and that they had a concert once a month. There are so many things in this city that I am totally unaware of. Who would have thought that Dallas had a banjo orchestra.

Today was a lot like yesterday. It looked like it was going to rain but never did. It also never warmed up very much. I had planned to go to the gym today because of the weather, but all the traffic I encountered while grocery shopping made me change my mind. I just don't like being out on the roads anymore. I put on a warm coat and took my long walk. I wasn't very fast today, but it didn't really matter. Once I finished my errands this morning I had nothing to do for the rest of the day.

Dawn seemed upset that Janet wasn't around for dinner. This dog doesn't like surprises. I wanted to take a nap on the bed after my long walk but every time I sat down on the bed, Dawn would leave the room and go out to the kitchen and whine. Eventually I got tired of this and just took a nap on the couch in the living room. I wish Dawn felt more comfortable around me, but it is what it is. For the most part, our life is very predictable and Dawn is fine. She just doesn't like surprises and will probably never be comfortable alone with me.

There were a lot of things I should have done around the house this afternoon, but I wasn't in the mood. I did a load of laundry and called it quits. I felt tired all day because I haven't been sleeping well. My nasal congestion is so bad now that I have to sleep on my back. If I sleep on my side, my nose drips continually. I know I must have gotten some sleep last night but my Fitbit registered nothing. The Apple watch said I got an hour and a half of sleep. Hopefully I will do better tonight.

I wonder when NASA is going to let me know about the Crew-6 launch. It's getting kind of close and I still haven't heard anything. I imagine that if I'm credentialed at the last minute I'll still go, but it sure would be nice if I could plan ahead. I probably shouldn't have applied for credentials for this launch. I didn't realize until after I sent my application in that the launch takes place at 2 AM. I like daytime launches a lot better. Oh, well. We'll see what happens. It's not like I have a lot on my agenda.

Tomorrow I'll go mall walking and we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. It's going to be warmer so hopefully the walk will be easier than last week. I'm sure we'll get ice cream cones even though it seems strange to do this in the Winter. Janet won't be home until late tonight so Dawn is still moody. I would have shared my ribs with her but she refused to join me in the kitchen. I guess her loss was my gain.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day