Last Day Of May

Decided to take a sleep aid last night before I went to bed even though I had been dozing while watching TV in the living room. Fell asleep around 10 pm. I remember getting up at least once to go to the bathroom. Still didn't have a good sleep because I was having the crazy, strange dreams all night again. I only remember a little about one of them. I was in an office somewhere and I needed to call someone (don't know who) to let them know that I would be home later than I had expected. I found sever telephone on desks, but there was no one around to tell me how to get an “outside” line on the office phones. I remembered it used to be “dial 9 first” and I tried that and I couldn't get a dial tone. Hiker woke me out of that dream as she wanted to go outside around 6 am. We got out of bed around 8 am and I had a bowl of cereal and then took Hiker for a 1.5 mile walk. It was already getting warm and when we got back home, I was drenched in sweat. By noon it was in the 80's and by 2 pm, it was about 90°. Hiker and I stayed cool inside the house. I watched a TV movie and some shows on Investigation Discovery while Hiker stretched out on the sofa. Tomorrow, my neighbor Jean wants me to go up to Montrose, CA with her for a craft fair. Hope it's not too hot. My older brother Ron called me from Paradise, CA this afternoon. Said he will be working a few extra days at the Ace Hardware he works at up there. He knows that on his “normal” days off, I hear from him now and then, so he didn't want me to worry if I didn't hear from him on those days. The house smells like stewed chicken. I have a chicken breast in my crock pot and I'll be adding some egg noodles later for dinner. Yum.

Friday Again

Really did not want to get out of bed this morning. Lately I have been having trouble falling asleep at night again. I doze off on the sofa while watching TV so I go to bed and then I'm wide awake again, so I turn the TV on in the bedroom and then if I'm lucky, I start getting sleepy around midnight. Then I don't really sleep that good. I'm up a couple of times during the night to go to the bathroom and then I also have all kinds of weird dreams every night, so I'm tossing and turning. I know I can take a sleeping aid, but I would rather try to fall asleep naturally. I have not had a good night's sleep in months. It's like right after Ben passed away all over again. I remember having trouble sleeping back then. Went on a dog walk with Jean this morning and then we let the dogs run around in my back yard. After Jean went home, Hiker and I had some poached eggs and then I headed up to the grocery store to pick up a few things. By the time I got home, it was already starting to get hot outside. Got up to about 95° by 2 pm. I'm really afraid that this is a preview of how our summer is going to be. Each year for the past 3 years, our summers have gotten hotter and hotter and we've gotten less rain each winter.

Relaxing Thursday

Actually forced myself to get up a little after 7 am this morning and by 7:30 am, Hiker and I were out on a walk. It was already getting warm at that time. We did about a mile and a half and then came home and had some breakfast. Hiker and I then got in the car and headed over to buy my lottery tickets for this Saturday. When we got home, I put Hiker outside and then mopped all of my “hard” floors. They really needed it. The water was “black” when I was done. Funny, you cannot see the dirt on them, but when you clean them the water sure gets dirty. Got up to about 85° on my patio today so I made a jug of sun tea. Even though I bought the Keurig and some tea k-cups, I still have a bunch of tea bags so I need to use them up. I'm a “happy camper”. I found out that Ion TV is showing “The Ghost Whisperer” again in the afternoon. One of my favorite shows.

Hot Day, Lazy Day

Slept in this morning. Made some breakfast, checked my email and Facebook page and then headed over to Sam's Club to fill the car up with gasoline and to pick up a few things I needed. On my way back home from shopping, I noticed that the thermometer at the middle school said it was already 86° and it wasn't even 10:30 am yet. Needless to say, Hiker and I did not get to walk today. I don't like the heat plus I don't want her to burn her paw pads on the hot pavement. So we spent a lazy afternoon on the sofa together. We need to get out of bed earlier tomorrow morning and get out for a walk before it gets hot.

Went To Support Group Today

Went to my grief support group today. It is so strange, a few months ago we had so many people showing up at our group that we were packed in the small room like sardines. Now for the past few weeks, there has only been about 8 people showing up at each session. We had a surprise today. Our therapist Judy loves dogs and has always had Bearded Collies. A little over a year ago, she lost her beloved dog Mulligan due to a heart problem. She finally decided awhile back that it was time for her to get a new dog. She had been hesitant because she wasn't sure she wanted to fall in love with another dog and then have to go through losing it again in the future. Well, she found another Bearded Collie who needed a home. His name is Billy and he is almost 7 years old. She just picked him up over the weekend and today she brought him to group. He is such a beautiful dog and he is so well behaved. At first he didn't know what to make of all of us but he finally settled down and went to sleep. I keep threatening to bring Hiker to group one of these days. Went to lunch after with a couple of the ladies and then headed home to Hiker. It got up to 95° on my patio this afternoon.

Memorial Day 2014

Cannot believe it was already Memorial Day today and almost summer. Seems like the year just started. Ben and I used to have a tradition on Memorial Day. We would always go over to our local cemetery for their memorial service. There would always be a squad of old war planes flying overhead. I remember years when they also flew fighter jets and even the C-17 cargo plane over, but that was back before 9/11. I remember the year when Ben was in the hospital, just a couple of weeks before he died, he asked me if I was going to go to the service on Memorial Day. I told him no, that I was going to spend the day with him and that we'd go together the next year. That never happened. I no longer go to the event. I would want to take Hiker and they do not allow dogs in the cemetery. Got up early this morning for our Monday dog walk with Jean. After the walk, had some breakfast and then did some vacuuming. Sat on the patio for awhile with Hiker. Got up to 90° here today. Watched a movie on Amazon Prime. Waste of time. It was a stupid movie.

Remember

Pleasant Sunday

I made Hiker sleep in again today. I am always so sleepy these days. We got up around 8 am and had a quick breakfast, then went to get my lottery tickets. Decided while we were out, we'd head over to Whitney Canyon for a morning hike. We had not been in that canyon for awhile. We hiked a little over 2 miles. There were finally some wild flowers in the hills, but everything is already turning brown from the heat and lack of water. Hiker got to say hi to a few dogs along the trail. Came back home and I tossed my bed sheets and bathroom towels into the washer. Glad we had gone out for a hike early because by noon it was over 80° here. It was a nice Sunday.

The "selfie" of me and Hiker while on our hike this morning

The "Mighty" Hiker Dog

Hang Out At Home Day

Slept in this morning...after all, it is a holiday weekend, plus we were lazy today, after all, it is a holiday weekend (LOL). Was overcast this morning. The sun came out around 11 am. I did some laundry and then just vegged out on the sofa. Hiker and I headed out for a very short walk in the late afternoon. Did less than a mile, but a short walk is better than no walk. Hopefully we will get up earlier tomorrow morning and head out before we do anything else. I received my new summons for the jury duty I postponed back in November. I sure hope I won't have to report.

The Start Of A Holiday Weekend

Had our Friday dog walk with Jean today so we were up at 6 am. After the walk, Jean and I headed over to the irrigation company to pick up our free sprinkler heads. I don't know why the water district people made such a big deal about doing a sketch of the yard and where the sprinkler heads would go. The guy only wanted the list of what kinds of heads we needed (spraying distance and pattern). Stopped by PetCo on our way home because I wanted to buy a new chew antler for Hiker. She had chewed the one I bought her last year down to a nub and I was worried that she might get it stuck in her throat. I don't know why they charge so much for the antlers. They cost even more than Nyla Bones and those are pretty expensive. So I decided to switch out the sprinkler heads and I find that they lied to us about what kind they are. The claimed they were the ones that “stream” instead of “spray” but they still spray. I've seen the “stream” ones at the park and they are totally different. But I got a bunch of sprinkler heads for free, so it's not all bad. It had started out all “May Gray” here this morning but by late afternoon, it had reached 80° and it is supposed to be even warmer of the holiday weekend. Hiker and I have no plans for the weekend, so we'll stay in the cool house if it gets too hot.

Another Cool And Cloudy Day

Another day of sleeping in. I stayed up last night watching a full length video on YouTube that my brother Ron had suggested. I was called “Supervolcano”. Ron knows that I sometimes worry about the caldera at Yellowstone erupting. Then one of the dogs that lives behind me barked all night long. I went and did my grocery shopping this morning then came home and did some house work. Picked one of the tomatoes from my Topsy Turvy planter on my patio today and had it in my salad at lunchtime. Yummy. Hiker and I went for a short afternoon hike up at Vasquez Rocks. It was cloudy and cool. The yucca plants were blooming and so were several of the bushes. The Pacific Crest Hiking Trail runs through Vasquez Rocks and this was the first time I've actually seen people actually hiking the trail. Most of the time I see visitors walking along the trail, but I could tell that these were “hard-core” hikers because they had the huge backpacks and all of the equipment. I counted about eight hikers spread out along the trail.

Nice, Cool, Cloudy Day

Slept in this morning for the first time in over a week. Felt really good. Decided to make myself a big breakfast. Had a fried egg, hash browns and toast. I was so full from all that food that I skipped lunch today. Got a call from the community office telling me that they got the vouchers so I could get the free water saving sprinkler heads for my yard. The water people sure don't make it easy for you. They naturally need to know how many of each kind of heads you need. At the water open house the other day, they made it appear the all of the sprinkler heads were adjustable, but they are not. They also want you to draw a grid of your yard so they can see how your irrigation is set up. Well I am not a landscaping architect. I did my best, but it looks like a second grader drew it. My neighbor Jean and I will head over to the irrigation store on Friday to see if they will accept our childish drawings and give us the sprinkler heads. This afternoon, Hiker and I drove over to Bridgeport Lake and walked around. It had gotten very cloudy. Hiker kept trying to catch the ducks along the edge of the lake.

Hiker "duck hunting"

Cloudy Tuesday

Another night of crazy dreams. Got up at 7 am and at 9 am I headed over to the senior center for my support group. For the past few weeks, we have been having a very small group. The first hour, only about 6 people and then a few of the newer people come in for the second hour. Only my friend Jane and I went for lunch after group. She is such a sweet lady. It was very cloudy here all day and nice and cool. Didn't even get up to 70° here. Really a change from the weather we were having last week. My brother Ron emailed this morning and said that up in Paradise, CA where he lives, they had a huge thunderstorm last night. There were also a few fires but they have not determined if they were caused by lightning strikes yet.

Nice Cool Day

Up at 6 am this morning and out for a dog walk with Jean at 7 am. Keith is having a little bit of pain. He has the same back problems I do and he has been going for physical therapy. The therapist showed him how to do some stretching to help his back and now he seems to have pulled a muscle in his chest area from doing the stretching last evening. It's hell getting old. After our walk with Jean, I made some breakfast and then Keith and I headed over to Wal-Mart. Was so much cooler here today. Even clouded up some. We went to Topper's Pizza for lunch. They have a great lunch deal...an individual pizza and a salad for about $6 and add a bottomless soda for another $2. Best pizza in town. In the afternoon we took Hiker over to Hart Park and she spotted the American Bison that they have there. I think she wanted to herd them. Keith will be heading home later this evening.

Hiker spots the bison. Maybe she wanted to herd them.

Another Fun Day

Got up around 8 am. Had some waffles for breakfast and then Keith and I headed over to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Also stopped by Kohl's and a few other stores. By the time we stopped back by home, it was time for lunch so we went over to Der Wienerschnitzel. Came back home and got Hiker and went over to Central Park to let Hiker enjoy the nice day. She wanted to go into the dog park, so we took her in and let her run around for awhile. She still never lets me get much farther than about 20 or 30 feet away from her. She is constantly looking back to see where I am. We walked around the park some and then came back home. Got up to around 83° on my patio today. Much nicer than it has been the past few days and supposed to be cooler tomorrow.

Saturday With Brother Keith And Hiker

We slept in a little bit this morning. Hiker usually runs to wake Keith up but this morning he was up before she was. We hung out at home during the morning hours and then Keith and I headed over to Sam's Club since I had a few items I needed to pick up. We came back by home to drop of my items, then he and I headed over to Everest for lunch. Hiker was a little upset because she didn't get to go with us. It was about 90° by noon. We decided to go over to the park with Hiker and walk along the shaded path. It was hot, but under the trees there was a nice breeze and it was tolerable. There were a lot of people having picnics I the park. Hiker was so happy to be with us. She got all excited when we pulled into the lot at the park. She started “crying” to get out and sniff everything.

My brother Keith, Hiker and Me

Another Hot Day

Up at 6 am and it was already getting hot outside. Hiker and I did a short dog walk with Jean and her dogs before leaving for my appointment for my eye injection. They did not dilate my eyes this time, so that was a good thing. I hate how long it takes for the effects of the dilation to go away. I was under the impression and I thought the nurse told me that today was my final eye injection. I have an appointment for a tech to take photos of the inside of my eye on June 11th and then I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor on June 13th. I noticed on my paperwork on the way home that it said I have another eye injection appointment in July. Also they made it during the 2 weeks that I am on call for jury duty down in Los Angeles at the Federal Court House. When I got home, I called the appointment scheduler and asked her about the appointment and she said it was for an injection. I told her I thought I was done with the injections after today and I also had to change the date because of being on call for the jury so she changed the date. After speaking with her, I sent an email to my doctor to see if I really do have to have another eye injection. I'm waiting for his reply which may not come until next week but that's OK since I'll see him in June I can ask him then if I don't hear from him before. A good thing was that the nurse told me my vision in my right eye had improved. Even though I still have the distortion from the Macular Pucker, my right eye is now 20/30 with my glasses and my left eye is 20/20 with my glasses. Before my right eye was 20/50. Jean and I stopped by the Sizzler for lunch on our way home. Was hot here again. Got up to 103°. Keith we be here this evening for his visit.

Is It Summer Already?

Up at 7 am. Had breakfast and headed over to get my lottery tickets. When we got back, Hiker and I went out for a walk. It was already getting hot...80° at 8:30 am. We only did a mile and a half. When we got back home, I drove up to Kohl's. They had their patriotic t-shirts on sale for $4.99 each. I bought three of them and basically got one for free because I got an addition 30% off on my purchase using my Kohl's credit card. By the time I got home around 9:30 am, it was already in the 90's outside. Keith called me. He was planning on coming up this weekend to visit and he was only going to visit for two days, but he wanted to tell me that he is going to stay for three days because he is taking Monday off work. Since he is working as a contractor now, he can pretty much make his own working hours. Was watching the local news after “Y&R” was over and they said it was 108°at their station down in Glendale. It was actually cooler at my house than it was there which is strange because we are usually hotter than Glendale. Tomorrow I have to have Jean drive me down to Kaiser for my final eye injection. Hopefully I won't' have to have more injections in the future. Went up to the mail box and it felt really hot. When I came back, noticed that the temp on my patio had gotten up to 105°...hottest day of the week so far. Hiker and I are “cool as a cucumber” here in the house with the A/C.

A Day At The Movies

Had a bunch of strange dreams last night. Hiker and I got out of bed around 7 am. Had some breakfast and then went out and sat on the patio for awhile. It was warm and windy. When it started to get too warm, we came back into the cool house. Jean came by around 11:45 am and we headed over to the movie theater. Someone gave Jean 2 free tickets for a movie so we decided to see “Heave Is For Real”. Thought it was a pretty good movie. The little boy who played in it was so cute and he was a very good little actor. Don't know about anyone else, but I thought when they showed the picture of Jesus that little Colton said was who he met in Heaven, I thought the picture looked like Kenny Loggins. Today was the first time I've been in a movie theater since 1999. Ben and I very rarely went to the movies and now days they cost too much. I usually wait until a movie comes to Time Warner On Demand or until it comes to Amazon. I enjoy watching movies in my own home because I can stop the movie and go to the bathroom anytime I need too. I can stretch out on my couch and get really comfortable, plus I don't have to put up with rude people talking or making noises with their candy wrappers or whatever. After the movie, Jean and I went over to Cupid's Hot Dogs and got a couple of chili dogs, fries and diet Cokes. Was 92° on my patio when I got home, but it was nice and cool in the house.

Hiker modeling her new collar

Relaxing Tuesday

Decided not to attend my support group this morning. Three of the ladies that I go to lunch with after the session emailed me that they were not going to group for various reasons and I mostly go for the camaraderie with them when we go to lunch after group, so since there would be no lunch today, I thought I'd just stay home and spend the time with Hiker. We got out for a 2 mile walk this morning around 9 am before it got too hot. It was a little windy but not too bad. When we got back home, we sat on the patio for awhile enjoying the nice weather but when it started getting too hot, we went into the house. After lunch, I took Hiker up to PetSmart and bought her a new collar and as if she doesn't already have enough toys, I bought her a little plush elephant. So she's been playing with “Ellie” every since we got back home. I was thinking about getting her a new harness also for when we go walking but didn't see any I liked. I don't hook her leash to her collar when we walk because I don't like her choking if she pulls a little. I prefer to hook the leash to a harness, plus the harness she has now also has a strap that hooks her to the seat belt when she is riding in the car. We got up to about 88° here today. It was hotter at the beach. Heard it was 90° there.

Weather Is Warming Up

Had our early morning dog walk with Jean and her dogs this morning. After she went home, Hiker and I walked over to our community office. I wanted to see if I could get the community account number for our water service. We pay the community for all of our utilities and then they forward a lump sum to the actual utility providers. I need the account number so I can get 25 free water saving sprinkler heads for my irrigation system. I can go online and request a voucher to get the sprinkler heads, but they ask for the account number on my monthly statement. My water bill comes on my monthly land lease statement from the community, so I don't have a direct account with Santa Clarita Water. Hiker and I had our poached egg for breakfast and then I vacuumed the carpet. Next time I vacuum, there should not be as much hair in the vacuum cylinder because Hiker's hair is so short now. Keith called me and said the has a monitoring job in Los Angeles Friday and Monday so he wants to come to my house after he's finished Friday, stay the weekend and then go back for the job on Monday before he heads back to Orange County. After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Northbridge in Valencia and walked around on the paseos there. Got up to 90° here today.

Mother's Day With My "Little Girl" Hiker

Got up around 7:15 am. Was going to stay in bed a little longer, but Hiker wanted me to get up. Guess she wanted to spend Mother's Day with her mommy. I made some waffles for breakfast and then Hiker and I went to get my lottery tickets. Came back and went for a nice morning walk. Decided to sit out on the patio some this morning with my computer. It was warm and breezy and I thought I'd get out and enjoy the nice weather. Hiker was wandering around the back yard. She cracked me up. She was eating grass like she always does and she belched and farted at the same time. I think she scared herself because she took off running like something was chasing her. I think she thought she was about to explode (LOL). She is so funny. Watched a few movies and just had a nice restful Sunday with Hiker.

My Mom

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I miss you.

Busy Saturday

Hiker and I got out of bed just before 7 am this morning. She wouldn't let me stay in bed any longer. She kept wanting to play. Had some cereal and did a few other things around the house, then my neighbor Jean came by and picked me up to go over to the Open House at the Castaic Water District facility. They were offering some short classes about water saving irrigation and plants that are more tolerant to our dry weather. We also walked around their experimental gardens. They plant things there to see how well the survive in our kind of clay dirt and with our climate before they decide to plant them around the city. After leaving the open house, we went to AT&T so Jean could get a new cell phone, then we went to lunch at Del Taco and on the way home we stopped by Green Thumb Nursery to look at some ground cover plants. Hiker was excited to see me when I walked in the door. Starting to get warm here again. 80° on my patio today and supposed to get back up into the 100's this coming week. Not happy about that.

Hiker looking very puppy-like with her very short hair

Garden at Castaic Water District Facility

Cool plant in the garden

Orion the Owl

Clean Up Hiker Day

Got up at 6 am to head out at 7 am for our dog walk with Jean. Jean is taking care of one of our neighbor's two dogs while they are away for a few days, so we walked seven dogs this morning and then we picked up our other neighbor's dog who was going back to Jean's house to be groomed. Hiker also got groomed today. She got a bath and I had Jean shave Hiker's hair off because she has been shedding so bad. So now Hiker looks really skinny. While Jean was grooming Hiker, I went back over to Kaiser's pharmacy to pick up my refill of Crestor. Found it very strange that two months ago, when I got my first bottle of Crestor at Kaiser, they charged me $75 for it. My doctor refilled it and gave me three more refills on it and this time they only charged me $25 for it. It's the exact same medication and I got the exact same amount. I was happy to hear it was only $25 this time. Went back over to Jean's to pick up Hiker. Her hair is so short it makes her look so skinny. Also kind of makes her look like a puppy again. Jean said that Hiker had so many layers of under-coat that it took awhile to shave it all off. After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Todd Longshore Park and walked about a mile around the park. My knee has been bothering me so when it started to hurt, we came back home.

Kind Of A Busy Day

So I received a reply from my doctor to the email I sent him about my lipid panel (cholesterol) results from the blood work I did yesterday. My total cholesterol is down 30% in the past 8 weeks I've been taking the Crestor twice a week. My doctor now suggests that I try taking it three times a week and see if I can tolerate that dosage since the twice a week didn't cause any side effects. He placed a new prescription of Crestor for me. Had to run some errands this morning. Filled the car up with gasoline and picked up a few things at Sam's Club. After lunch, I drove all the way to the other side of the valley to Kaiser's pharmacy to pick up the refill for Crestor that my doctor sent in for me. I didn't take Hiker with me because it was too warm for her to be in the car while I was inside. I walked in and there was standing room only in the pharmacy. Their computer system was down. They said they could not do any refills, only new prescriptions, which didn't make any sense because all of their prescriptions/refills are done online now. So they were taking everyone's phone number so they could call us when our prescription and/or refill was ready. I drove all the way back home and about 10 minutes later they called and said my refill would be ready in about an hour. I told them I'd come back tomorrow. Didn't feel like driving all the way back over there again and the later it gets, the worse the traffic gets.

My Blood Work Results

Just got my blood work results from Kaiser. Appears that the Crestor twice weekly is helping to lower it some. I emailed my doctor to make sure he wants me to continue taking it and if he wants to change the dosage. He usually gets back to me in a day or so. Even though my numbers are still higher than what they should be, they are better. My total cholesterol is 242 (down 106 points), My HDL (good) is 53 (up 1 point) and my LDL (bad) is 189 (down 107 points).

Blood Work Day

Slept in this morning. I had to go over to Kaiser around 9 am to have some blood drawn for a lipid test to see if the Crestor is helping to lower my cholesterol. I always used to be afraid of shots. I hated needles. When I was a little kid, I hated the Polio shots at school. I even talked my mom out of making me get a vaccination for Small Pox. After having a needle stuck into my eye 3 times and again on May 16th, getting a needle poke in the arm ain't so bad (LOL). After I left Kaiser, I headed over to Stater Brothers and did my grocery shopping. I am getting so bad lately. I've been having a sweet tooth and I want to buy pies and cakes. I found a lemon meringue pie on the “day-old” cart for half price, so into my grocery basket it went. I'm so bad! After lunch, I had to take a package up to the post office to mail and then Hiker and I went over to Canyon Country Park for a walk. It was cool and breezy today. Stayed in the low 60s and was partly cloudy.

Small Grief Group Today

Was much cooler today than it has been, which I am very happy about. I went over to the senior center for my grief support group today. Not very many people showed up today. There were only 7 of us plus our therapist. I like it better when we have a smaller group because it's easier to talk and share. Only Jane and I went to lunch. We went to Round Table Pizza. When I headed home, it was very cloudy and when I got home, I felt some rain drops when Hiker and I walked up to the mailbox, but it wasn't really raining, just a drop or two here and there. No dinner tonight. Had a big lunch, plus tomorrow morning I need to go over to Kaiser for blood work to see if the Crestor the doctor put me on is working to lower my cholesterol.

Much Cooler Today

Up early for our dog walk with Jean and her 3 dogs. Was much cooler this morning. Was very happy about that. We let the dogs play a little in my backyard and then Jean went home. I made some breakfast and then headed over to Wal-Mart. When I got back home, settled down to watch a little TV and then had lunch. After lunch, Hiker and I headed over to PetCo. I needed to get her some breath mints. Wal-Mart used to carry them, but has not had them for a few months. On our way home from PetCo, we stopped at Central Park in Saugus and did a mile walk. As we walked past the dog park, Hiker wanted to go into the dog park, so we did. There were no other dogs there at the time. I'm guessing that's why Hiker wanted to go in. If there are other dogs there, she usually pulls away from the dog park. I let her run around loose for awhile then 2 people showed up with another dog. The dog came running up to Hiker and the touched noses, then Hiker was ready to leave. When we got home, I paid a few bills and then vacuumed the carpet. The 1 mile walk and doing the vacuuming should have been enough exercise for me today. It stayed in the mid 70's all day and got a little breezy.

Walked in Central Park today.

Cooler Today

Decided to sleep in for a little while this morning and didn't get up until 8 am. Thought since we didn't do a morning walk and it was too hot to walk in the afternoon, I would use my Wii Sports to get some exercise today. When I play the tennis, baseball and golf on the Wii, I can really work up a sweat. The say we are going to cool down some this week, but then possible be back up into the 90's by the end of the week. At least I don't have a busy week like I did the past 2 weeks. I do have to go by Wal-Mart on Monday and then I'll go to my support group on Tuesday. Friday Jean is going to groom Hiker and shave her for the hotter weather. Saturday, Jean, and I are going to go to the open house at the Castaic Water building. But all of these things are right near home and I won't be gone all day like I've been the past 2 weeks. When I got out of bed this morning, I had that nagging feeling that my lower back was going out on me. Last week I purchased a TENS Electronic Pulsating Massager on Amazon so this gave me the chance to try it out. It feels so good when it is pulsating on my back muscle. I ran it for about 30 minutes and it seems to have helped. Had a surprise phone call from my dear friend Mary Lou Voils from Virginia this morning. She and I worked together at Lockheed for many years. She was one of the first people to speak to me when I hired in at age 18. She was 41 at the time. She is now 87 years old. Hiker and I went out into the backyard and I realized it was a lot cooler (10° cooler) than it was the past few days, so Hiker and I took a walk around our community. Only did a mile and it wasn't the full 30 minutes, but it was 22 minutes so that's better than nothing. My lower back started to hurt when we first started out, but by the time we got back home, my back wasn't hurting, so the walking helped relax the muscle.

The walk must have pooped Hiker out because when I came in from the garage, this is what I saw:

Another Hot Day

Dragged myself out of bed at 7 am this morning. I'm trying so hard to get back into walking every day and with the hot weather we've been having, I need to get out early or it's too hot to go outside later in the day. This morning Hiker and I walked just under 2 miles. I'm trying to walk at least 30 minutes each time because that's what my doctor recommended. It was in the 60's when we were walking and it got up to 90° on my patio today. I did a load of laundry while Hiker stretched out on the sofa then I joined her on the sofa and watched some movies. Even though it was hot again today, the sky was very hazy. Almost made it feel humid.

Hot Hot Hot!

Hiker and I only slept in for about 45 minutes this morning. We got up around 6:45 am and by 7 am we were heading out the door for a 2 mile morning walk. Wanted to get out before it got hot. Was already 60° when we left home. When we got home, we had breakfast and I went over to Big Lots and Dollar Tree then headed right back home. By mid afternoon it was 95° here, so we stayed inside the air conditioned house the rest of the day. I was glad we got out for the early morning walk. I need to start doing that more since it is already getting hot here. Don't have any plans for this weekend, so Hiker and I will probably get up early to do more walks and then just stay inside where it will be cool.

House Finch at my hummer feeder

Another Computer Fixing Day

Happy May to everyone! Slept in today for the first time in 2 weeks. Felt so nice. Hiker and I walked down to the community office to pay my land lease and then my friends Karren and Wally were back because Wally was still having problems with his laptop. I hope everything stays in working order now. It works when he has it at my house, but then when he gets home, it doesn't work right. He must have computer demons at home (LOL). We went to lunch at Everest. I had the biggest bacon cheeseburger I've ever seen and I ordered the smallest one. So now I'm not hungry for lunch. Hiker like Wally because he plays with her all of the time. It was windy most of the day here but has pretty much died down now. It has been hot all day…94° on my patio right now at 4:15 pm.