Day 4980

Nothing out of the ordinary today. We got up a little later this morning. Getting up early to avoid the heat doesn't accomplish much any more. It always seems a little warmer every time I step outside of the house in the morning, but our sunrise walks are still tolerable. Dawn still enjoys these early walks, but has little interest in going outdoors later in the day. She's a smart dog. Nobody enjoys being outdoors when the temperature is 105.

We had a big weekend breakfast and then I went mall walking. I probably should have skipped walking entirely today. My foot pain has returned with a vengeance. I don't know what I did yesterday, but I could barely walk today. This happens from time to time and I don't think there's a good solution. I've seen the x-rays of my feet. Most of the cartilage is gone and if I walk the wrong way the bone on bone contact can cause inflammation. It's hard for me to give up walking though. In the absence of anything else, the walks provide a structure to my day.

Even though I went earlier than usual, the mall was full of walkers today. I think the heat has driven everyone indoors. There were tons of young families with small children this morning. This seems to be a popular place to take your kids. I'm amazed at how many stores have either changed locations or are planning to change locations. I wonder why? I doubt that a move to the other side of the mall will lower the rent. If the stores aren't moving, they are remodeling. This place is full of activity.

I had my slowest time ever today. I probably looked like a cripple limping around the mall. I did finish my five laps though. Oh, well. At least it's nice and cool inside and the terrain is completely flat. Fall clothing is already on display in the store windows. Why do they continue to sell heavy Fall clothing in Dallas. It's not going to be cold. We don't really have four seasons here. Winter is short, but it can get cold ocassionally. Spring and Fall are just an illusion. These transition seasons only seem to last a few weeks.

Dawn got her Sunday outing today, but she didn't get much of a walk. We let her out in the Sunday park for about five minutes so she could pee and smell a few things. Then we headed straight to the ice cream store. We were the only customers at the drive-up window. It's so hot that people aren't even venturing out for ice cream anymore.

 I didn't do much this afternoon, but that's not surprising. I never seem to do much in the afternoon. I watched a show on PBS about great excursion railroads. There was a time when I would have wanted to ride on all of these trains. My interest in trains seems to have wained. I've been selling my model train collection and I haven't ridden on a train in decades. I have ridden passenger trains cross-country though. I've taken the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago and I've ridden the Super Chief as well. That was a long time ago though. The memories are getting fuzzy.

Tomorrow I begin a new week that will look a lot like the previous week. There's a dental appointment on my calendar, but I doubt that anything's wrong with my teeth. My left foot is the only thing that is bothering me at the moment.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4979

I had a long list of things to get today and most of them weren't groceries. I needed bug spray, WD-40, dishwasher detergent, Swiffer dusters, and blue shop towels. There were food items too, but it seemed like I visited way too many stores this morning. When I returned home with the groceries Dawn didn't get excited at all. She didn't even get off the bed this morning.

They are still tearing up the streets in the neighborhood to put in new water mains. Inevitably when the city paves a street, some other department tears it up again within six months. I'm not sure why we need new water mains in the neighborhood, but it seems like a major undertaking. 

The weather hasn't gotten any better. When we took our early walk this morning the temperature was almost 90 degrees. This was before sunrise too. I keep looking every day to see if there is any rain in the forecast. Nothing so far. It's kind of ironic that after we got a brand new roof, we haven't really needed it. It's been hot and dry ever since the roof was installed.

I went to the gym after I finished my errands this morning. The place is usually fairly empty on weekends, but I didn't get to shoot baskets today because there were other people using the court. I did my three miles on the indoor track, lifted a few weights, and came home again. I was slow again today. I still have no idea why some days are better than others.

I treated the western side of the house for spiders when I returned from the gym. Hopefully this will keep the webs from returning. It's so hot outside that I've given up on mowing the grass or doing other yard work. The grass isn't growing a lot anyway. It's all starting to turn yellow. Leaves are starting to drop from the trees way earlier than they should as well. This heat is bad for plants and animals alike. I keep wondering what happened to the rabbits we used to see every morning. We haven't seen any bunnies in almost a month.

Dawn's lab results came back today and she appears to be in good health. Her blood work actually looks better than mine. Although Dawn was already an older dog when we adopted her, she seems to be quite healthy. If she has any problems they all appear to be mental. To be fair, Dawn has actually adapted quite well to her new life. She was born in a puppy mill and spent her first ten years as a breeding dog. Life with us is probably still pretty new to her.

I'm still having trouble getting excited about anything. It's probably the weather. I'm not even sure I want to go to the OSIRIS-REx event at Johnson Space Center now. I'm probably getting ahead of myself though. I haven't even been approved yet. Until then I'll keep following my regular routine. I'll go mall walking tomorrow morning and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. It will probably be too hot for a walk, but at least we'll get ice cream cones.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4978

Today was busier than usual. As always we started with a sunrise walk with Dawn. The temperature was in the high 80's and it felt muggy outside, but this was still the nicest part of the day. We walked earlier than usual because Janet had plans. The days are getting shorter and it was still kind of dark outside. If we continue walking this early, we're going to have to bring out the flashlights again soon.

After my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit, I checked my messages and started a load of laundry. Since it was a little cooler today I decided to cross a few outdoor chores off my list. I've been trying to avoid removing the spiderwebs from the house for a long time, but it really had to be done. The spiders make big webs under our eaves and on the West facing windows. It's really a mess removing the spiders and their webs using a big broom. I wear a hat and a long sleeve shirt because spiders are falling everywhere. After you've had a few spiders in your hair, you learn to take precautions.

It took quite a while to clean everything up, but the windows look much better now. Maybe I'll clean them all with Windex tomorrow. I need to go to Home Depot and get some spider spray as well.  If I don't spray under the eaves, the spiders will all return soon. There are a ton of spiders and wasps in our yard. It's kind of amazing that more don't find their way inside.

After I cleaned up all the spiderwebs, I watered the plants in the atrium. This used to be easy, but is much harder now that the sliding glass door won't open properly. There is a water faucet inside the atrium but I haven't used it for years. The faucet is in a brick bearing wall that is also the wall to our bedroom on the other side. Once a long time ago this faucet broke and caused a plumbing emergency. I was really afraid that the house was going to flood. A talented plumber managed to fix the leak without tearing down the brick wall and I haven't used the faucet since. I water the plants from the outside now through the screened in western wall of the atrium.

After I folded the laundry and put it away, I went to the gym. I wondered if it was some kind of holiday because there wasn't a lot of traffic on the roads and the gym wasn't full at all. There were lots of parking spots in the garage. Getting rid of the spiders must have tired me out because I did terrible on my three mile walk today. I had the slowest time I've had all month. Oddly, I did much better on the basketball court. I completed my ten free throws in seven minutes today. It used to take me eleven or twelve minutes to do this. I'm adding additional weights on my upper body exercises now. I'm only adding a few pounds at a time, but any kind of progress is a good thing.

Friday is Dawn's favorite day of the week because that's when Janet does her grocery shopping. Dawn starts listening for the car at least an hour before Janet returns. I have to gate her in the bedroom while we bring the grocery bags inside and then as soon as I open the gate, Dawn races to the kitchen. She seems to love being Janet's kitchen helper. It probably helps that she get a little sliced turkey and a bit of cheese for her efforts.

This heat wave seems like it will never end. Each weeks feels a little hotter than the last. I think the temperature is supposed to reach 110 degrees sometime next week. I've kind of resigned myself to a miserable summer and keep hoping that the air conditioner doesn't break.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4977

The schedule was a little different today. We got up and took our sunrise walk at the regular time, but there was no breakfast for anyone. Dawn had an early vet appointment and she needed to fast for blood work, so we postponed eating until we got home. Dawn was excited to get in the car, but seemed very disappointed when we arrived at the vet. I think she thought we were going for ice cream.

We didn't learn anything today because it will be several days before they get the test results back from the lab. We did mention Dawn's strange behavior to the vet. No answers on that either. Janet and I think it is more likely that Dawn is having panic attacks rather than seizures, but we have no idea what is causing this. Usually the house is quiet and nothing is going on when Dawn becomes fearful and starts acting weird. Luckily Dawn seems to recover quickly, but it is still alarming to see her shivering and shaking for no reason at all.

When we returned home Dawn got her breakfast and so did we. By the time I finished my breakfast it just seemed like an ordinary day again. Hopefully all is well with Dawn. When her test results come back we'll schedule her annual teeth cleaning. Actually my teeth cleaning is coming up soon as well. I have a dental appointment next week.

I'm getting bored with going to the gym every day, but it's way too hot to even think about walking in the park. Even our sunrise walks with Dawn are feeling too warm now. I guess this is what happens when you get hooked on having a certain number of steps every day. I'm certainly not going to get my steps sitting at this computer.

I found a spot in the parking garage today, but my performance at the gym was nothing to brag about. I still can't bring myself to do anything different. I walked three miles around the indoor track again. This is between 40 and 45 laps, depending on which lane I'm in. I'm not the fastest person on the track, but I'm not the slowest either. I shot free throws until I completed ten. This took 9 minutes today. I finished by working with weights for a while and trying to build up my upper body strength. This is going to take a while, but I certainly don't have anything better to do.

The house up the street is gone and all that is left is an empty lot. There are two empty lots on the street now where people I knew well used to live. They both had nice houses that they were proud of. I think it's a shame that the neighborhood is changing, but it's probably inevitable. Living near the lake has become very desirable. The regular people who greeted us when we arrived years ago have all died by now. The folks who replaced them are much richer. Pretty soon the street will be nothing but lawyers and anesthesiologists.

I've finished taking this week's trash out to the curb and the temperature was still over 100 degrees an hour after sunset. I always think that things are bad until I turn on the news. It's hot an dry here, but wildfires haven't burned the place to the ground like is happening on Maui right now. We aren't being flooded like a lot of places in New England either. Even the tornados are developing elsewhere this year. I still wish it would get cooler though. We are setting the wrong kind of records this summer.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4976

I'm starting to forget what day it is. If the day and date weren't on my watch, I wouldn't have a clue. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. August is almost always this way. By this time of year the rainy season is over and the days just blend together. It's a time where I've grown tired of Summer but realize that Fall is still a long way away.

Our sunrise walks are hot now. The good news is that I can tell the days are already starting to get shorter. Sooner or later it will rain again. Until then we keep getting up early to avoid the heat. Dawn still enjoys her sunrise walks. Even though it is way too hot, it is still the nicest part of the day.

There's a lot of construction going on in the neighborhood and I wonder how the workers can stand the heat. One of the neighbors is adding an addition to their house. The city is putting in new water lines and has made a mess of several nearby streets. The demolition crew still hasn't finished knocking down the house up the street either. Most tear downs only take a day or two. This one has taken over a week.

Watching the progress on this construction keeps the days from seeming identical. As soon as we return home, I forget what day it is again. I make the bed, eat my shredded wheat and fruit, check my messages, and head for the gym. It's always the same. I don't think I'm missing much though. At least from what I see on my Facebook feed, nobody else is doing anything interesting either.

I found a spot in the parking garage when I arrived at the gym this morning. That's always a good sign. When I start walking around the indoor track I always think I'm going home as soon as I finish my three miles. By the end of mile two I usually change my mind. I thought I wasn't going to shoot baskets today because people were playing pickleball on the court, but they finished just before I finished my third mile. I completed my ten free throws in record time today. I've started adding additional weights to the upper body exercises I do after I finish on the court. It's not much, but it's enough to make me feel like I'm making progress. I don't feel like I'm getting a lot stronger. My daily trip to the gym is just a way to pass the time and make a long summer feel a little shorter.

I fix lunch when I get home to pass the time as well. I think eating lunch again is making me gain weight but it's nothing to worry about. I never weighed much to begin with. It's amazing that the afternoons go so quickly because I never do much in the afternoon. Before you know it, it's time to fix Dawn's dinner and then eat my own.

Tomorrow morning Dawn has a vet appointment to get blood work done. She always needs new blood work before we get her teeth cleaned. Maybe we'll ask the vet about her weird behavior. This morning it seemed like she might have had another mini seizure. I'm just guessing though. She was acting normally and then all the sudden ran back to the bedroom and started shivering on the bed. Five minutes later she was fine. Was this a panic attack, a seizure, or something else? It's really hard to tell with Dawn.

I'm glad the week is going quickly, but it's still a long time until October. I'm done with Summer.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4975

I keep looking for a break in the weather, but there is nothing on the horizon. Next Monday the temperature is supposed to reach 109 degrees. This is not good. It will probably be September before the temperature is in the 90's again and we won't have nice weather until mid October. I still wish I could hibernate like a bear until it got cool again, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards. To make matters worse, I heard that we are expected to have an unusually cold Winter this year. Jeez. We'll just go from one extreme to the other with maybe two weeks of Fall in between.

I've started seeing reports from the Orion Media Day that I didn't get invited to. Most of the launch photographers I know were there. So why didn't my application get accepted? Who knows. I'm just not down at Kennedy Space Center enough to be remembered or recognized. I write for a little British magazine that's nobody's heard of as well. I guess I should be glad I get invited at all. Truthfully, it's for the best that I haven't been traveling lately. I've had too many expenses this summer and I'm still trying to get all my bills paid. I'm just hoping that the air conditioner keeps working. That's all I need now is another big appliance repair bill.

We're still getting up very early so we can walk Dawn before it gets too hot. It should have been cool today. The sky was overcast and there was a nice breeze. I think some people to the north of us might have gotten a little rain, but unfortunately none of it reached Dallas. It wasn't even very humid this morning. It was just hot and very dry. The park department has mowed all the native prairie meadows because they present a fire hazard. Mowing the native prairie grasses is very rare. I've only seen it happen a few times before.

Every day is a repeat of the previous day. The temperature is the same. The sunrise walk is the same. My breakfast is the same and so is my daily trip to the gym. I don't know what I'd do differently though. My limited routine seems like a good way to fill up a day and very few things have captured my interest lately.  I lost interest in music years ago after the band broke up. I lost interest in making fine art prints after I'd had a few gallery shows. I wonder if my interest in astronomy was even real. I have absolutely no interest in looking at the stars here in Dallas. Going out at night is just a good way to get eaten alive by mosquitos and with all the light pollution you can't see anything anyway. Maybe it's a good thing I still like chasing rockets. Too bad it's so expensive.

The gym was crowded today. I think this heat wave is driving people indoors. I've never seen so many people at the gym around lunchtime. Usually this is when the place is empty. I still kept up a pretty good pace on the indoor track even though there were quite a few people walking and running. I did well on the basketball court as well. Unfortunately I didn't do so well finding a parking place. The parking garage was full today. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

I didn't accomplish much today. I got the inspection sticker placed on my windshield. This simple task took way too long because I'm hopelessly OCD and I wanted the sticker to be perfectly level. Hard to do on a curved windshield. I tried to find a better sprinkler to water a dry patch of grass in the back yard. We have lots of sprinklers but none of them work properly. I didn't do any laundry today because I did that to kill time yesterday. Tomorrow will be more of the same. It definitely won't be any cooler.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4974

I can cross one more thing off my to-do list. I got the car safety inspected today and picked up my new window sticker. It doesn't seem like a year since I've done this, but time goes by quickly now. Safety inspections are much faster than they used to be. Probably the process is smoother now because I take my car to a little neighborhood garage instead of going to the Land Rover dealer. It used to take forever to get the car inspected at the dealership.

Each day seems a little hotter than the previous day. We take our sunrise walk earlier now, but it doesn't help much. The temperature never really cools down anymore. At least there's a breeze on these early morning walks. Even the breeze disappears later in the day. Dawn still enjoys these early morning walks. I do too. Pre dawn is about the only time when it feels comfortable outdoors anymore.

It's back to shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast again. There's a new restaurant in the neighborhood that I'm vaguely curious about, but I'm just not very hungry anymore. I think my restaurant breakfast days are over. It doesn't matter. I like my boring meals. A bowl of mini-shredded wheat with strawberries is pretty good. I always use half and half instead of regular milk and have a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of coffee. How did I drink those huge breakfast smoothies for so many years? Things change, I guess. What I eat for breakfast has changed radically over the years. It will probably change again one of these days.

I didn't want to go to the gym too early so I did a load of laundry after breakfast to kill time. I ended up being early anyway because getting my safety inspection didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I've decided that I like going to they gym during the lunch hour because there are fewer people on the floor and I can almost always find a place in the parking garage. The car is much cooler on the way home when it's been inside the garage. 

I still complete the same unambitious routine every day. I try to walk three miles on the indoor track in under an hour. Yes, I know this is pretty slow. I then try to complete ten free throws on the basketball court in less than ten minutes. I still miss a lot more shots than I complete, but I'm getting better. I've added a few upper body exercise to improve my arm strength, but I really ought to do more. I usually leave the gym when I'm bored instead of when I'm tired.

Janet cleans the house on Monday afternoons, so I vacuumed the carpets so I wouldn't feel guilty just lying around while she was working. The house never stays clean long when you've got dogs. Dalmatians shed a lot and there's always dog hair everywhere. My standards are a lot lower than they should be. It seems like I was a lot neater when I was right out of architecture school. These days it's hard to care. Janet doesn't even like to come in the office because it is much messier than the rest of the house.

I'll put the new inspection sticker on my windshield tomorrow morning. I'll think about fixing the cracks in the living room ceiling, but I probably won't do anything. I've been staring at the mess for months now. I'm not even sure I can do these repairs myself, but I need to try. If I hire a tape and bed guy to do the job it will be a huge production and there will be dust everywhere. 

We'll still be under a heat advisory tomorrow. There's lots of rain in the Northeast but it's bone dry here. I wonder how long this can continue? We're setting records for triple digit temperatures now. This too will pass I guess. I just hope our air conditioner keeps working.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4973

No surprises today. Since it was the weekend, we got up later than usual and then took Dawn on her morning walk. The heat has really reduced the number of people in the park. It's pretty empty even early in the mornings now. There aren't as many joggers and cyclists, but people are still walking their dogs.

After another big breakfast I checked my messages and went mall walking. The mall was having their annual auto show this week and the concourse was filled with new cars. Oddly there were almost no domestic cars on display. Other than an occasional Cadillac, all the cars were imports. I like cars so I had to look in the windows as I walked by. It didn't take long to notice that almost nobody uses in-dash GPS displays anymore. It seems like everyone just bolts an iPad to the dash. To my eye, this doesn't look very good, but what do I know. The car companies have probably done a lot of research and discovered that customers actually like having an iPad bolted to their dash.

The mall is constantly changing. The new two-story Nike store was finally open and the Longchamp store that sells expensive purses closed. Most of the stores had new window displays as well. I don't know why all this interest me, but it beats listening to people tell their physical therapists about their ailments while I'm walking around the indoor track at the gym. The mall was noticeably warmer today. I guess air conditioning units everywhere are struggling to keep ahead of this heat.

When I returned from the mall, Dawn was ready to go on her Sunday outing. She definitely remembers when it's time to do something for her. It was too hot for much of a walk, but we let her outside at the Sunday park so she could pee and then took her for ice cream. We never know whether we are going to get small cones or large ones. It seems to vary a lot depending on who's serving. It's too bad that the cones aren't as large as the picture on their logo, but they are still tasty. Dawn loves ice cream. I think she would be real disappointed if we ever dropped this ritual from our Sunday schedule.

There still isn't much that interests me this summer. I have a bad case of been there, done that. I don't even feel like going back to the observatory this year. In pervious years I would have been eager to spend some quality time out in West Texas. I'm still interested in space but it's way to expensive to hop on a plane every time there's a launch in Florida. I guess that leaves naps. I'm always up for an afternoon nap.

It's time to get my car safety inspected again. Maybe I'll do this tomorrow on my way to the gym, although I'll probably forget. One by one, all these chores eventually get taken care of. All I've really got on my calendar now are upcoming doctor's appointments. I hope I get selected to go to the OSIRIS-REx event at Johnson Space Center. It will give me something to do this Fall.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4972

Just a normal Saturday, doing my Saturday things. We're taking our sunrise walks earlier now to avoid the heat but it doesn't really help. It's already uncomfortably warm even before the sun comes up. At least there was a breeze this morning. A breeze always helps.

We had our big weekend breakfast this morning and then I got started on my grocery shopping. I had to get gas today and it was even more expensive than it was last week. It seems weird that the price has shot up so suddenly. Gas prices were a lot lower earlier this summer.

I'm still trying to find a replacement for my favorite beer. I try something new every week. Maybe I'll get lucky with this week's selection. I did get lucky in the seafood department at Central Market. Maryland Crabcakes were on sale. Yum. Janet and I both love these. I discovered that the hydroponically grown strawberries I got last week were exactly twice as expensive as Sam's Club strawberries. Oh, well. It's back to the regular strawberries.

After I put the groceries away I went to the gym. I like the gym on weekends because it is virtually empty. It's easy to find a spot in the parking garage and there are no trainers on the floor. I still go through my regular routine on weekends, but it seems more peaceful. I was slower on the indoor track today,  but oddly I was much better on the basketball court. I completed my ten free throws in record time today.

Dawn loves to sit out in the sun even on hot days like we've been having lately. I let her out when I returned from the gym and kept an eye on her so she wouldn't get overheated. Five or ten minutes outside is plenty of time in this weather. When I start to get hot, I know she's getting hot as well and we come back inside. Our air conditioner is still working well. Knock on wood. I really hope it doesn't break down this summer.

I read an article yesterday that said that short naps were good for the brain and could actually cause it to grow. Just what I wanted to hear. I usually take a short nap in the afternoon and today was no exception. Dawn doesn't run away as frequently now when I take a nap in the bedroom. I think that's a good sign. I'm not typically an optimistic person, but I do think that she'll eventually learn to trust me.

These weeks go so quickly now. It doesn't seem like a week since I've been mall walking, but it's almost time to go again. Mall walking is a nice change of pace from going to the gym. Both places are indoors and the air conditioning works well. We'll take Dawn for ice cream cones tomorrow, but it's way too hot for a mid-day walk during our Sunday outing. I think Dawn is fine with just getting ice cream.

I wish I could hibernate like a bear until Fall arrived. I keep looking at the weather forecast and all I see is an endless string of triple digit days.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4971

The heat wave continues. It's easy to see the changes the heat has brought on our sunrise walks. The grass in the meadows has turned dry and yellow. Some of the trees that aren't heat resistant are turning yellow and losing their leaves. Giant cracks are appearing in the soil as well. I've seen this before during hot summers and am always worried that a dog will step in one of these cracks and break a leg. It's going to take a lot of rain to reverse this damage. Unfortunately the rainy season doesn't return until October. It always seems to rain a lot during the State Fair.

Today was a bit different. After breakfast this morning I went to get a haircut. I guess I ought to be glad that I still have hair at my age. It's slowing turning white but it's still all there. I always feel better after a haircut and don't understand men who like beards and longer hair. I wore my hair a lot longer during my college years and early thirties but that was another universe. I can't even remember why I liked the things I did back then.

My stylist likes to chat, so I talk more during haircuts than I do for the rest of the month. Janet and I talk during our morning walks, but I'm usually silent for most of the day. This is a big change from my ad agency days, or even the early days of my company. I like it this way though. I find silence peaceful.

I went to the gym on the way home from my hair appointment. The gym is not very silent. It seems to be a social occasion for most people. Other people on the floor always seems to be chatting with each other. I think some of the older people hire a personal trainer just to have someone to talk to. To each his own I guess. I doubt that I will ever be a chatty person again. Janet and I are both quiet people.

The demolition crew is still causing a big racket down the street. I don't think this house wanted to be removed. They even took out the pool today. If the original owners were still alive they would have been horrified to see what happened to their home. The street is definitely changing. I hate to even think what it will look like twenty years from now.

Dogs are easy to please. Dawn remains excited when Janet comes home with groceries on Friday. She won't get excited at all when I do my own grocery shopping tomorrow. I'm sure Dawn knows that Janet always brings home the good stuff like cheese and sliced turkey. I tend to bring home garbage bags, Swiffer dusters, and beer. Maybe I can find something interesting for Dawn when I go to the store. 

Pebbles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4970

I think this heat has fried my brain. I can't think of anything I want to do. Basically I just get up every morning and repeat the previous day. Our sunrise walks are getting warmer and warmer. It was almost 90 degrees when we left the house this morning. These early walks are still the only time it makes any sense to go outside. I spend the rest of the day inside, hoping that the air conditioner keeps working.

I applied for the OSIRIS-REx astroid sample return event at Johnson Space Center this morning. Hopefully my application will be accepted. The astroid sample hasn't even returned to earth yet, so I guess everyone is being optimistic. I've been to Johnson Space Center before and the place is amazing. It doesn't cost much to fly to Houston either. We'll see what happens. I won't be returning to Titusville very soon anyway. The launches I am interested in attending have all been delayed.

In lieu of traveling I guess I'll just keep going to the gym every day. It's not very exciting, but it beats doing nothing. I'm getting a little faster going around the indoor track and I actually did pretty well shooting baskets today. I've added a few upper body exercises to my routine, but I could do a lot more if I had any motivation. These trips to the gym are still just a substitute for my walks in the park. The way the summer is going, it may be October before I can resume my long walks though. This has been a very hot summer. It could be worse though, although I'm not exactly sure how.

They are still knocking down the house up the street. There is not much value placed on older homes here in Dallas. I've seen some really nice places disappear in our neighborhood over the years. Our house will probably be knocked down when we're gone as well. The place is supposed to be architecturally significant, but that's not going to stop anyone. The house is small and people want big these days.

As usual, the afternoon was uneventful. I'm beginning to understand why Dawn spends so much time napping. What else do you do on a hot day? I took the trash out to the curb this evening, but that was about it. I wonder what I'm going to do with myself when I finish this blog? I've only got about a month left before I reach my goal.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4969

Not a lot happened today. At least Dawn acted normally all day. I'm trying to decide whether to apply to go see the OSIRIS-REx astroid sample return at Johnson Space Center this Fall. Ordinarily this would be a no brainer, but it's a two day event and I've never liked spending time in Houston. What have I got to lose though. I may not even get accepted for this event and I did really enjoy the last time I went to Johnson Space Center.

It never really cools down anymore. It's already hot outside when we take our sunrise walk with Dawn. It seems weird when the temperature is already in the high 80's before the sun comes up, but that's the way it is this summer. We see a lot more people when we take these early walks these days. Everyone realizes that this is the only sensible time to run, ride a bicycle, or walk your dog. 

The air conditioner runs nonstop now. During the hottest part of the day the system can't even maintain the temperature we set. I keep hoping that nothing breaks. Even a few days without AC in this heat would be miserable. So far, so good. The house is reasonably cool, but the electric bill is very high.

I wish the wrecking crew would hurry up and finish knocking down the house up the street. The demolition noise is getting on my nerves. The noise didn't seem to bother Dawn today though. Maybe Dawn did have a mild seizure yesterday. We'll probably never know for sure. It still bothers me that this nice house is coming down. What is wrong with people that a house that would have been considered luxurious in the 1950's or 60's isn't good enough for them now. When people buy a house in the neighborhood now, they are basically just buying the lot and the location.

After I finished breakfast today, I waited a while before going to the gym. I keep thinking that the place is less crowded around lunchtime, but I may be fooling myself. This heat wave is driving people indoors. There seems to be a lot more people using the gym this week. I guess it makes sense. The management keeps the place really cold. I have to wear a long sleeved shirt when I work out.

UPS delivered a package addressed to an obviously different address to our door this morning. I had to take it to the nearest UPS store because that was a lot easier than calling UPS to pick the package up again. I don't know what is wrong with UPS and Fedex these days. I used to depend on them when my business was active, but Amazon Prime seems much more reliable these days. I try to avoid ordering by mail now because the delivery drivers don't seem to care anymore. I often know a package has arrived when I hear it being thrown on the front porch.

I made an appointment to get a haircut on Friday. Usually haircuts are timed to coincide with a trip, but I have no travel plans for the foreseeable future. I'm just starting to look a bit ratty. I also called the music store to see whether they'd found my missing mixer. Nope. I thought giving them a month to look would be plenty of time, but apparently not. I'll never use this heavy, multi-channel mixing board again, but it was a nice piece of gear. I should have just left it in the storage warehouse instead of consigning it, because it I ever get it back again, it's going right back to storage.

106 degrees today. I wish tomorrow was going to be cooler, but it's going to be like this for the next several weeks.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4968

Today was a little weird, although it started normally enough. Like always, we took our sunrise walk with Dawn during the coolest part of the day. Unfortunately, it was already 85 degrees when we got up. It was still cool enough for a pleasant walk though. When we got home I made the bed and ate my breakfast. I was about ready to go to the gym when I heard a strange noise in the living room. When I went to investigate I saw Dawn perched on the edge of one of the chairs in the living room and her dog bed in the kitchen had been torn up. I don't like her sitting on that chair because it is near a glass coffee table and I'm always afraid she might cut herself if she tries to jump off the chair. This has happened before, but not very frequently.

I led her back to the bedroom on a leash and gated her in the back of the house where it was safer. Unfortunately this didn't solve the problem. A few minutes later I found her cowering under the sink in Janet's bathroom. I led her back to the bed again and this time she calmed down. I don't know whether noises from the machines tearing down the nearby house scared her or whether she might have had a mild seizure. It's hard to tell with Dawn. She's scared of all sorts or things, but she has also had a seizure once before.

I didn't want to leave her alone, so I stayed at the house until Janet returned home. I actually got quite a bit done. I did a load of laundry, paid some bills, took care of my August bookkeeping, and wrote a letter to my sister. Dawn was calm and mostly sleeping during this time. Whatever was bothering her only lasted about ten minutes.

I think she was bothered by the demolition noises. They are bothering me too. It has taken two days to tear down this house. Probably because it was very well made in the first place. It still seems odd to me that this is the house that is coming down. I always thought it was one of the nicest houses on the street. There are shabbier houses nearby, but they are all currently occupied by renters. I really miss the days when the people who built these homes in the 1950's actually lived in them.

When Janet returned home I went to the gym. I really wish that my gym hadn't changed management. There are lots of personal trainers now and they must all be on commission. I try not to look at them while I work out because they will inevitably try to engage you in conversation and make their pitch for why they think you need an individualized program. Forget it guys. I just come here to get my Fitbit steps when it's too hot to walk in the park and maybe shoot a few baskets. I've recently added a few upper body exercises to my routine, but I definitely don't need a trainer. As soon as it cools down a bit I'll return to walking in the park.

Since I got a late start today, I arrived home a lot later as well. It wasn't long before Dawn started barking at me for her dinner. She's really bold when Janet is around and seems to like to boss me around. Things change quickly when Janet is away though. I wish I knew what was going on in Dawn's mind. She's a very strange dog. I'm quite fond of her, even though I'm apparently not her favorite person.

It got up to 106 degrees today. Sadly it is going to get even hotter later in the week. I need to remember that this too will pass. Sooner or later I'm going to be complaining about the cold again. The electric bill arrived today and it was even worse than I expected. At least the house is staying cool though.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4967

A neighbor's house went under the wrecking ball today. This was a nice house with an Austin Stone exterior, three bedrooms, a pool, and an updated kitchen. The original owners both passed away several years ago, but I remember them well. They had a big Christmas party every year and invited the entire street. They liked dogs and were always friendly with our first Dalmatian. 

It's a shame that the original residents on our street are all gone now. People buy their properties for exorbitant prices and then just tear down the house. There are a lot of vacant lots in the neighborhood now, all waiting for new mansions to be built. Truthfully, I liked the neighborhood a lot better when houses like the one torn down today were something to be proud of. People built these homes in the 1950's and lived there until they died. Janet and I knew all these people, but don't know any of the newcomers who replaced them. It's the end of an era I guess.

It hasn't gotten any cooler. We had another triple digit day with no rain in sight. It's even hot at night now, although our sunrise walks with Dawn are still tolerable. Were our summers always like this? Maybe. I think it feels worse now because everyone reinforces the bad weather by constantly reminding me about it on social media. I guess it could be worse. We don't have floods or wildfires.

After returning from our sunrise walk, I ate my breakfast and went to the gym. Every day feels more or less the same but I have no complaints. I'm healthy. I'm paying my bills on time and at least for the moment, everything in the house is working. It's easy to forget what day it is. When I'm at the gym it feels like I've never left. The same people are working out at the same machines. I feel like I know some of these people just from overhearing their conversations as I pass them walking around the indoor track. Things are starting to feel a lot like Groundhog Day.

After having my regular ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, I took a nap with Dawn on the bed. She didn't leave the bed this time which was kind of amazing. Maybe she's finally warming up to me. Probably it was just too hot to get bothered about anything. I think Dawn is as tired of our hot weather as I am. She doesn't even want to sit out in the yard now. I can't blame her. I don't want to sit out in the yard either. If I mow the grass again, it's going to have to be very early in the morning.

It's hard to believe it will be August tomorrow. Time to get the car safety inspected again. I'm glad there are no car problems this year. I'm glad the air conditioner is working well too. I'm just going through the motions this summer and definitely don't want any problems. Actually I wish I could just sleep through August and wake up again when it was cooler. I don't think it's going to be any cooler tomorrow. We'll go through this same routine again.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4966

Another insanely hot day. This is getting old. At least our sunrise walks are tolerable. It's never really cool though. Even when we leave before sunrise it already feels like the high for the day in a normal world. Oh, well. At least our air conditioner still works well.

No big weekend breakfast today. Janet had a meeting to go to, so I had my shredded wheat and fruit again. The hydroponically grown strawberries are actually quite good. I'll have to get these again. I'm going mall walking earlier now. The mall opens for walkers at 9 AM and there is no reason to sit around the house. There was nothing new this week, but the place was pleasantly cool and it's still more enjoyable to walk there than at the gym. The hotter is gets outside, the more people I see mall walking. There are very few middle aged people mall walking. It's mostly young couples pushing kids in strollers and old people like me. Some of the restaurants open early for the walkers, but the stores don't open until noon. I'm gone by then. I like going to the mall, but have no interest in doing any real shopping.

Dawn was eager to go on her Sunday outing as soon as I returned home. We let her get outside a bit at her Sunday park, but it is too hot now for much of a walk. After she pees and does a little sniffing, we return to the car and head for the ice cream store. Sometimes our cones are piled high with ice cream and other times we feel cheated.  It just depends on who is serving. Dawn loves ice cream but she is a messy eater. She always seems to spill some of her cone on the back seat.

Afternoons are always slow. I seem to have run out of energy and enthusiasm. There are so many things that I could be doing and probably should be doing, but I do my best to avoid starting something that will be difficult to finish. I'm not going to paint the house and probably won't fix the sheetrock either. I could hire someone to do these things, but I hate having strangers around the house. I used to spend time writing and recording songs but I haven't picked up a guitar in over a year. After several gallery shows I totally lost interest in making fine art prints. What does this all mean? It probably means I should go to Florida more. I still have more than a passing interest in chasing rockets.

It's getting to be where I hate to look at Facebook anymore. There is an endless parade of people trying to re-home their dogs, along with desperate pleas from other people to save dogs that will be euthanized at the pound tomorrow. I don't understand animal control. Why don't they just stop intake until they can find homes for their current dogs. They keep taking in more and just killing them. Jeez. What is wrong with people? Why get a dog if you aren't willing to treat it as a member of the family for as long as it lives. The older I get, the less tolerance I have. I guess there are still good people out there, but there seems to be a huge number of totally worthless people.

It's going to be a long summer. There is no rain in sight and a seemingly endless string of triple digit days. I'm sure I'll be back at the gym tomorrow. It gets me out of the house and it's a lot cheaper than a trip to Florida.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4965

Another Saturday in the books. We see lots more people on our weekend sunrise walks. The park was full of runners this morning. I guess if you like to run, this would be the time to do it. Since we got up later this morning, it was already a bit warmer outside. We still had an enjoyable walk though because there was a nice breeze.

I'm glad we slept in later because I didn't get much sleep last night. Dawn woke me up several times itching and scratching. We don't know what is bothering her, but she's been itching and licking her belly a lot lately. I think she's itchy from sitting out in the grass, but it could be anything. Since she mostly does this at night, maybe she's allergic to the comforter or blankets on the bed.

After our big weekend breakfast I did my weekly grocery shopping. I had to get gas today and was surprised at how much prices at the pump had gone up in just a week. I don't think there are any gas shortages, but I haven't been keeping up with the news. It's weird how volatile prices are these days. At least eggs are a bit more reasonable now.

Strawberries have been in short supply for several weeks. This week I saw something new called hydroponically grown strawberries. They looked a lot fresher than the regular berries. I thought they might be expensive since there was no price listed on the display, but they turned out to be about the same price as strawberries grown in the ground. We'll see what they taste like when I resume eating shredded wheat and fruit on Monday.

It's kid of irritating that stores have quit selling my favorite beer. Maybe the company doesn't brew it anymore. Probably it just wasn't a big seller. If I like something there's always a good chance that nobody else does. At any rate, I finished my shopping fairly quickly this week. It probably helps that I'm starting earlier now.

After I put the groceries away I went back to the gym. I like going to the gym on weekends because it is virtually empty. It's easy to find a spot in the parking garage and there were only five people on the floor when I arrived. The gym is quite large and five people working out are almost invisible. I felt like I had the place to myself. Even though all the machines were available, I just did my same old routine. I briskly walked three miles on the indoor track and then spent ten or fifteen minutes on the basketball court. All I do is shoot free throws. If I ever get really good at this, I may try something else.

When I returned home I took a shower and did a load of laundry. I got some author copies of SpaceFlight in the mail with my article about the AX-2 launch. All in all it was a pretty good day. Tomorrow I'll go mall walking, but it will probably be too hot for Dawn's Sunday outing. We'll take her to get ice cream cones though. She'd be real disappointed if we forgot the ice cream cones.

Tink is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4964

I got a message from my editor asking if I'd be interested in getting a tour of the ship that will be used to retrieve the Orion astronauts after the next Artemis mission. I had to say no. The event is being held at the Navy base in San Diego and I'd have to pay for the trip myself. Jeez. I can barely afford an ocassional trip to Titusville and this would be much more expensive. I'm also a bit superstitious. The last time I went to California on a NASA related event, I had a wreck in my rent car.

Today was another day with triple digit temperatures. We still had a nice sunrise walk with Dawn though. I knew it was going to be a bad day when we walked out the door before sunrise and the temperature was already in the high 80's. We've definitely had hotter days in Texas, but I can't remember this many 100 degree days in a row. I seldom wish for rain but we could definitely use some. Sadly there is no rain on the horizon. My Apple weather app shows triple digit weather and clear skies for the next ten days.

Today was just like yesterday. I had my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit, made the bed, checked my messages, and headed for the gym. I wish there was something that would capture my interest, but there isn't. I'm not even as excited about launch trips anymore. I certainly have no regrets about skipping the EchoStar Jupiter 3 launch. The weather has been stormy in Titusville this week and even if the launch does take place tonight, I would have ended up spending most of my time sitting in a hotel room. 

I've got to start doing something else at the gym. The place is very well equipped, but all I do is walk around the indoor track and shoot a few baskets afterwards. I've been going to the gym for a long time and have used most of the machines, but I'm not very interested. This is just a poor substitute for walking in the park. I've managed to convince myself that it's important to get my steps every day. Somehow it doesn't seems that important to build up my strength.

As usual I did very little this afternoon. It's too hot to take a walk or even take Dawn outside for long. The house needs lots of work but it's discouraging to even think about it. There are no movies I want to watch or books I feel like reading. I must be doing something though, because the afternoons usually go quickly. I guess I'll watch the Falcon Heavy launch on the Space X feed later tonight. Dawn did get excited about grocery day, but even she seemed a bit subdued today. The dogs days of summer have definitely arrived. I'm ready for Fall. Even Winter would seems like an improvement right now.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day