Got My Flu Shot!

Since Jean and I are going to the annual Harvest Festival in Ventura this Friday, we will not be doing a dog walk that morning, so we decided to take the dogs out for a walk today before my appointment at Kaiser.

Jean picked me up around 10 am and we stopped by The Dollar Tree on our way to Kaiser.

I had to go to Kaiser to have my eye measured for my cataract surgery that will happen after I consult with the surgeon next week. My appointment was at 11 am and we got there just after 10:30. They called me in around 10:45. They measured both eyes so they would have the left eye measurements for the future. It only took about 5 minutes as they use laser to do the measuring. The technician told me that they now have a retinal specialist who comes to Santa Clarita twice a week. He said if I’d like to not have to go down to Panorama City for my retinal appointments, I could ask to be transferred to the doctor in Santa Clarita. I love Dr. Khodadadi who is my specialist in Panorama City, but it would be nice to not have to fight the freeway traffic every time I have an appointment. I’m supposed to see Dr. Khodadadi in December, so maybe I’ll talk to him about this other doctor and see if he could have me transferred. I’m going to check the Santa Clarita doctor out online to see what his rating is.

While we were at Kaiser, Jean and I were “swooning” over a gorgeous young man who was at the check-in desk. He was probably in his mid-30s and he looked like a movie star. Very handsome. Also, Jean wanted to get her flu shot while we were there. Now I have never gotten a flu shot in my entire life because when I worked at Lockheed, they gave flu shots to employees for free and everyone in my office who got the shot would still catch the flu. I never got the flu and I never caught it from any of them. But….I decided since I am getting older and I know that there is more risk of dying from the flu as we age, that I’d better get the shot, so I did.

Was 103° today.

Another Great Lunch With My Friends

Got out of bed around 7 am, had a little breakfast and then started working on my Shutterfly websites. Since I’m new to Shutterfly, I’m still learning how it works.

Was nice a cool this morning and I sat on the patio for a while watching Hiker eat grass and sniff the air.

Went to meet the ladies in my widows group for lunch at Chili’s over in Valencia.

When I got home, I noticed that Hiker kept acting like she was gagging a little bit. She was making that noise and action like she might throw up. I gave her some small pieces of bread in case she had a piece of food stuck in her throat and she seemed to be better after I did that. It scares me when she acts like something is wrong, especially since she cannot tell me what the problem is.

Tomorrow we are going to do a morning dog walk with Jean before Jean drives me over to Kaiser in Valencia to have the measurement done on my right eye to prepare for my cataract surgery…whenever that will be. Won’t know until after I see the surgeon next week. I’m looking forward to getting the surgery done because my eyesight in my right eye is getting really bad.

Was 98° here again today.

Just A Tad Cooler

Up early for our Monday dog walk with Jean. She had 2 extra dogs with her this morning.

After the walk I went over to the grocery store and did my shopping. Spent about $20 more than usual as I bought a nice roast and a few other things I don’t normally buy.

Came home, put all of the groceries away and then went outside to check my sprinklers in the front yard. Today is my day to water, so I figured it was the best day to check them. I had noticed that it is taking them a long time to pop up, like there isn’t much pressure, so I need to have someone look at them for me. I also changed a couple of the sprinkler heads that were not working correctly.

Just before the “Young & The Restless” came on, I sent my weather report and one of my moon photos from last night into to CBS/KCAL9 Weather Watchers and at 12:30, Josh Rubinstein, the head meteorologist there used my report, plus he showed my photo, not once, but twice.

Had to contact Amazon via live chat because an order I placed that was supposed to be delivered last Friday never came. Amazon is always so helpful and they reps are so polite.

Actually stayed below the triple digit temps today. It got up to 98° but that is still too hot for autumn.

More iPhone Problems

Got up at 7 am this morning and did a couple of loads of laundry, mostly sheets and towel and my summer comforter.

Sat outside on the patio for a little while and watched Hiker playing in the yard. Checked some of my sprinklers to make sure they were working correctly and noticed that one of the syphon valves doesn’t seem to be working right so I’m going to have to talk to my mower about it and see if he knows how to fix it.

Then my iPhone screwed up on me. The screen went black and I couldn’t get it to turn off or turn on. I had made a call to my neighbor Jean and got her voicemail, so I left her a message. When I went to hang up, my screen froze up. Then Jean tried to call me back and my phone was ringing, but I could not answer it because it was frozen.

I panicked, thinking I’d have to run over to the Verizon store and see if they could help me or maybe the iPhone store.

I went online and Googled “iPhone 5C screen froze and then went black” and I came across this program called Tenorshare ReiBoot and it said it was freeware, so I downloaded it and followed the instructions. You plug your phone up to your computer and go into iTunes and follow the instructions there and it somehow fixes the problem and reboots your phone. Sure was glad it worked.

It was not a good “technical device” week for me as I had computer and iPhone problems on Friday too.

So I’ll be out in my driveway this evening to see if I can get some photos of the Super Moon Eclipse and then later I’m going to watch the final episode of “CSI-Crime Scene Investigation”.

Was a little cooler here today “only” got up to 102°

Phones And Computers - Pain In The Butt At Times

I was having computer AND cell phone problems last yesterday and last night. First I got an iOS update on my cell phone and also an iTunes update and after I installed them, my iPhone would not show up on my iTunes and I use that to upload photos sometimes and to back up my iPhone to my computer. Finally got it working after messing with it for about 2 hours.

Next I kept getting messages every time I went into my email telling me that my Office program was not working properly. I have Microsoft Office installed on my computer hard drive, so I have Outlook email (not the online one). Then I found out that I was using Office 2013 and that Office 2016 had just come out. Well since I pay $99 a year to have Microsoft Office on my hard drive, I get it as a “perk”, so I downloaded it, which took about an hour to do and then everything seemed to be working OK.

I’m the kind of person who has to fix anything that is not working and not stop until it does work. I don’t give up.

By the time I got into bed, it was midnight and I was wide awake from messing with my computer, so I didn’t get to sleep for about another hour. When Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Set my alarm for 8 am and went right back to sleep. Still felt drowsy when I did get up.

Was already too hot to go out for a morning walk, but Hiker went out into the yard and kept looking through the slider. She kept barking me. She was wanting me to come out to play with her, but it was already in the mid-90’s. I told her it was too hot to come out and that she should come inside where it was cool, so she finally did.

I can’t wait until it finally cools down so she and I can start getting out on walks and hikes again.

So it was a very lazy day for both me and Hiker today. Got up to 105° today.

Sleepy Doggy

Didn’t do our normal Friday dog walk with Jean as she had 3 dogs that she had to groom this morning. I slept in a little while, but forced myself to get up and do some housework that needed to be done.

Started getting warm right off the bat. They keep “promising” us that the hot weather will start to go away soon, but I don’t know if I believe them or not. It was 101° by 12:30 pm.

Hiker stayed inside where it was cool and took an afternoon nap while I watched TV.

Will These Hot Days Ever End?

Some mornings the bed just feels way too good to get out of it and this was one of those mornings. It was even cool enough that I was able to pull the comforter up and tuck myself way in. Hiker was up and somewhere in the house while I was snoozing until 8 am.

After we got up and I had a small breakfast, Hiker and I went out to pick up my Lottery Tickets and then when we got home, I decided to take her for a short walk.

Just as we were going out the door, I noticed that my Fitbit was not working. I like to use it to track my walks. I had just given it a full charge yesterday, so I didn’t know what was wrong with it. I plugged it in and it showed nothing and when I went online to my Fitbit dashboard, it told me that the battery was completely empty. Decided to leave it plugged in while Hiker and I went ahead and went for our walk.

When we got back home about 30 minutes later, I saw that it was charging and that the battery was about halfway charged, so I just left it for about another hour to make sure it was totally charged. Seems to be OK now, but I don’t know how it lost all of the charge I gave it yesterday.

Was another hot day here…not fall weather at all. By 2 pm it was 108°. They keep saying our weekend is going to stay in the triple digits and then we should start cooling down, but I’ve heard that before.

I just wish we’d get down into the high 70’s low 80’s and just stay there.

Don’t have a dog walk with Jean tomorrow morning as she is grooming three dogs so she wanted to get started on them early. If I can drag myself out of bed, maybe Hiker and I will get out for a walk before it gets too hot.

Hiker The Fly Catcher

Hiker woke me up around 5:00 this morning. I told her to go back to sleep for an hour, but I didn’t wake up until an hour and half later.

After breakfast, I went over to Sam’s Club to do some shopping. I was also going to get some gas for the car, but they were calibrating the pumps, so the station was closed. I’ll have to go up there another day.

I thought about taking Hiker for a walk after I got back home, but I just didn’t feel like getting out. My stomach was bothering me a little and I was feeling tired. I think the tiredness is from the hot weather we’ve been having. Wasn’t very hot this morning so went out and sat on the patio for a little while. Hiker was chasing all of the flying insects again. It’s good for her because she runs around and jumps, so she gets her exercise.

After lunch I put Hiker in the car and we drove back up to Sam’s Club Gas Station and they were open. Was really crowded as they (and Costco) are the lowest prices in town. Everyone was getting gas on their lunch break.

It was in the 90’s so we did not go for a walk anywhere, but she was happy that she got to go for a ride in the car with her mama.

Hiker the fly catcher:

Doctor Appointments

Hiker didn’t wake me up at 6 am like she usually does. I was in a deep sleep and dreaming, but suddenly, something woke me up and I looked at the clock and it was 6:19 am.

It was such a nice morning. Around 10 am, Hiker and I went outside to sit on the patio for a while. I had my iPad with me and I was playing Bubble Witch Saga while watching Hiker chasing flying insects around the yard.

I heard the phone ringing and when I came in, I saw that it was Kaiser called. They called to make two appointments in preparation for me for my cataract surgery. The first one will be Wednesday, September 30th at 11 am to do eye measurements. The second is to consult with the doctor. It will be on Wednesday, October 7th at 8:30 am. At lease both of these appointments are here in Santa Clarita.

Went over to the mall to the Red Robin to meet my widowed girlfriends for lunch today. Fun as always.

Hiker did not want me to go again. When I got ready to leave, I went to go out the door that goes from the house into the garage. Hiker was sitting right in front of the door just glaring at me, and she did NOT want to move so I could go past her. She even made a little growl noise when I went out the door. She absolutely does not like me to leave her alone. If she had her way, she would go everywhere with me.

Weather wasn’t too bad today. It was in the low 90’s with a stiff breeze. I think the breeze kept it from feeling as hot.

Relaxing Monday

We got up early for our Monday dog walk. Was a little more humid this morning. They say we have a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow even though there is not a cloud in the sky.

When we got back home, I checked my email and there was an email from my retinal specialist in Panorama City telling me that he has put in a referral to a Dr. Chun here in Santa Clarita for my cataract surgery. So I should be hearing from Dr. Chun’s office about an appointment soon. Dr. Khodadadi (my retinal specialist) still needs to see me in December because he is the one who watches the swelling and leakage in my eye and he said I will hear from his scheduler soon.

I did some research on Dr. Chun and found he has a 5 star rating from his patients.

Hiker and I drove down to the liquor store to pick up my lottery tickets. It was already 87° by 9 am.

In the afternoon, we had high thin clouds and it was 95°, all due to a storm that came up through Baja California and then turned east.

Yucky, Hot, Sunday

It was another lazy day here. We didn’t get out of bed until 8 am. Had some breakfast and did a little housework.

It was another hot day here too. I’m starting to wonder if fall weather will ever get here and stay. By noon it was already 102°, so once again, Hiker and I stayed inside and watched TV all day.

At 2 pm it was 110°. I am so sick of this hot weather. It takes my breath away and makes me so tired all of the time.

“Normal” week ahead…nothing special going on.

Hot Day - Good To Stay Inside

Hiker and I got up around 7 am and I made us a couple of poached eggs.

Sorted my pills for next week and did some laundry and a little housework while Hiker spent some time out in the yard, sniffing and wandering around.

Made he come in when I heard the mowers. They were here a lot earlier this morning. They usually do not arrive until between 11:00 and 12 noon, but there were here just before 10:00 this morning. Guess they knew it was going to get hot.

By 12:30 it was already 107° according to my personal weather station. We are supposed to be hot today and tomorrow and then it is supposed to cool down but be a little more humid as another storm is coming up from Baja California. We have a chance for some rain early next week.

There was a “Hart To Hart” marathon on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel, so I was watching TV most of the day.

My Latest Appointment With My Retinal Specialist

Had my appointment with my retinal specialist this morning. Once again the injection I had last time did what it was supposed to do…removed the swelling and the liquid that seeps from the back of my eye. However, I will be needing cataract surgery in my bad eye in the next 6 months or so.

My doctor told me that this is not an “old person cataract” (that’s exactly what he said). He told me it was caused from the steroid injections. I knew that I already had “baby” cataracts and I knew of the risks from the injections (cataracts being one of the risks).

Now the problem with this is that normally you get cataract surgery in both eyes, but I only need it in one eye. This will cause a vision problem as once you have the surgery, you no longer need to wear glasses, so instead I will have to start wearing a contact lens in my left eye after having the surgery in my right eye. I used to wear contact lenses about 18 years ago, but quit because they were such a bother, having to remove them every night and put them in every morning, but now they do have the ones you can wear for up to a week and they don’t cost as much as they used too. I’ll also have to get the kind that has the “bifocal/trifocal” built in or I’ll still have to use reading glasses, which might be the cheapest way to go because I’ve heard that Medicare does not pay for cataract surgery or contact lenses. Don’t know how true that is.

So he wants to see me again in 3 months to see if the injection is still working and at that time, he will refer me to a Kaiser Cataract surgeon. He said there is one here in Santa Clarita and he thinks they can do the surgery right here in town instead of me having to go down to the hospital in Panorama City, but he’s not sure. I would be better if I could have it down right here in the valley.

I hate to have to go through it, even though I know it’s “no big deal” but I look forward to it so I’ll have some improvement in my vision.

After my appointment, Jean and I came back over to Santa Clarita and hit a few of the stores around town and we had lunch at the Fire House Subs.

No walk for today because my eyes are still dilated and also it got up to 101° here today and Saturday and Sunday are also supposed to be in the triple digits.

Walked Around Placerita Nature Center

I was so sleepy this morning and the bed felt so good that I didn’t get up until 8 am. I had gone to bed last night at 9 pm and fell asleep immediately. I think I got up once during the night or in the early morning, and then Hiker woke me up at 6 am to go outside. But as I said, we went back to bed. Hiker stayed for about 30 minutes and then she went out to the living room for a while. She came back just before 8 am, got up on my pillow and started kissing me.

It was warmer outside today. No clouds this morning. I had some house work to do so we didn’t get out for a morning walk.

After lunch it was in the mid 80’s so Hiker and I went over to Placerita Canyon and just walked around near the Nature Center. I have not hiked the Canyon Trail for a long time because my legs and feet just don’t seem to want me to do so. But eventually I will, when it gets much cooler.

It is supposed to be over 100° tomorrow and Saturday, but then it is supposed to cool back down again and we might get more rain next week according to the TV weather.

Tomorrow my neighbor Jean is driving me to my retinal specialist. I have an office visit to see how my eye did after the last injection, but I never know if he is going to dilate my eyes or give me another injection so its best that I have someone drive me.

After my appointment, we will head back here to Santa Clarita and do a little shopping before going to lunch.

Today Really Felt Like Fall

It must have rained a little more last night as the street was wet this morning when I looked outside while Hiker was in the back yard going potty. Also showed .08” of rainfall on my weather station. It was very cloudy too. Fed Hiker her kibble early this morning like I always do. She came back to bed and stayed a little while then she got up and went into the living room. She was so quiet I went to check on her and she had thrown-up her kibble.
She always thinks she’s in trouble when that happens and she cowers in the corner, but I always tell her it’s OK because I know that she cannot help it if she throws-up.
She ate a poached egg a few hours later and kept it down, so I think she is OK. Sometimes they just throw-up even though they are not sick. I’ll keep my eye on her.
Had to run my scans on my laptops and had to pay some bills online, then I went up to Dick’s Sporting Goods and bought a new pair of hiking shoes. I have 2 pair of hiking boots, but they are so heavy and bulky that I thought low-cut hiking shoes would be better for me feet and my knees
. The sun was trying to peek out by 10:30 am but it was still nice and cool, right around 71°. After lunch, it was still mostly cloudy. Hiker and I went over to Central Park for a walk. While there, the sun came out, but was still mostly cloudy.
Hiker seemed OK after “tossing her kibble” this morning. She had her normal mid-day treats and was able to keep them down.

There was still some muddy areas in the park and Hiker walked in it and got mud between her toes. She was walking funny, I’m guessing because it felt funny to her. I wiped her feet and then she was walking normally. I ordered some dog vitamins and a dog joint supplement from Amazon to start giving her. I’ll start her on them tomorrow. Her breed gets hip dysplasia a lot, so I thought I should start giving her something now. She is 5 years old which is almost middle-aged for a dog. Was 83° today.

We Got Rain!

Woke up around 5 am to the sound of rain drops. Went back to sleep for a while, then Hiker woke me up around 6:20 to go outside. She came back in all wet, but since she just had a haircut, it was easy to dry her off.

I checked my weather station and it said I had already received 1.26” of rain, so it must have been raining most of the night. They said our normal rainfall for September is less than a quarter inch, so we are breaking records.

Got up around 7 am and had some breakfast. I gathered up all of the trash in the house to put out in the bin for pickup, then I headed over to Food-4-Less to pick up some lunch meats.

I love Italian cold cut sandwiches, but Subway is expensive and very cheap on how much meat they give you. If I want double meat, it costs even more. They average $6 to $8 for one sandwich. I can buy a big bag of sandwich rolls at Sam’s Club for less than $3 and I can buy enough lunch meat and cheese at Food-4-Less for $9 to make up to 7 sandwiches. I freeze the meats and cheese so I can thaw them out anytime I want a good sandwich.

Had lunch with my widowed girlfriends at the Round Table over in Newhall today. We get so crazy and raunchy sometimes. We have become “The Golden Girls”.

Stayed mostly cloudy all day. They sun would peek out every now and then and it would feel really humid. Got up to 81° here today. They say we still may have more rain tonight and then it will move off to the east.

Felt A Little Like Fall Today

Up early for our Monday dog walk. It cloudy and there was a rainbow over our community.

Some of the clouds seemed to go away while we were walking and it was getting warmer, but after breakfast, the clouds were back. In fact, just before I left to go grocery shopping I looked out into the back yard and saw that it had been drizzling. But when I left to go shopping, the drizzle had stopped.

After I got back from the store, I put my fall garage door magnets up and also decorated my front porch for the fall that I hope is coming soon.

Was mostly cloudy all day and they are saying we will get rain tonight and tomorrow morning. Hope so.

After lunch, Hiker and I went over to Todd Longshore Park and walked around a little. It was really pretty out today. It was still around 82° but it was windy, so it felt more like fall all day. Hope this weather stays awhile.

Just Another Sunday

Hiker and I slept in late again this morning. For some reason the bed always feels so good on the weekends and I just hate to get out of it. But then I feel lazy the rest of the day and I don’t feel like doing anything.

Hiker wants to get up earlier than I do. She keeps moving around on the bed. Every now and then, she comes up near my head and she cuddles up next to my pillow. I open my eyes and she’s staring at me. Then she starts kissing me.

Didn’t do too much today. I washed my sheets and towels and vacuumed the carpet.

Too hot to walk outside, so I walked around inside the house some. Have to always try to get my 10,000 steps in each day.

I think Hiker is starting to get cabin fever again because of the hot weather. When it is cooler, we usually do a morning walk and go to a park in the afternoon so we can walk around more. She does go out into the back yard and wander around several times a day, but her breed needs more than that.

Was 101° on my patio at 2:30 pm. Sure hope they are correct about the weather getting cooler this week and that we have a chance of rain during the week.

Sleepy Saturday

Hiker and I slept in late this morning. The bed felt really good and I just didn’t want to get out of it.

It was warm and overcast all day which made it humid. They keep saying that we are going to start cooling down and that we will have some fall weather soon. They are even saying that we may have 2 to 3 days of rain next week.

We were lazy all day, watched a lot of TV. I watched “Pearl Harbor”. Saw it a few years ago, but it was good, so didn’t mind watching it again.

Walked up to the mailbox and noticed that even though it was humid outside, it didn’t feel like it was the 92° that it showed on my weather station. There was a slight wind blowing and it seemed to make it feel cooler.

Hiker's Grooming Day

Remembering September 11, 2001 today. Thinking of all of the people we lost and how our country pulled together.

After our morning dog walk with Jean, I took Hiker over to Jean’s house to get a bath and a haircut. This will be her last short haircut this year. I always have Jean cut it really short during the summer. In the winter we just trim around her butt and her belly.

Jean is boarding Bailey, a 13 year old Chocolate Lab this weekend and Bailey just loves all the attention he can get and he barks if he is not getting all of the attention. He is so big and so loud, he scares Hiker. But he’s just a big lovable boy.

Saw myself on KCAL9 this afternoon again. I was the only “weather watcher” they showed on the 12:00 to 1:00 pm news. My friend Judy texted me right after she saw it.

We stayed inside all afternoon as it was 104° outside.

More Humidity Than Heat Today

When Hiker and I got up this morning it was almost 70° and already very humid and sticky. We are still getting the remnants of Hurricane Linda.

I had to run over to Sam’s Club to pick up and few things and I was able to use my annual membership rewards cash to pay for most of my purchase, so that was nice.

It was not as hot today temperature-wise, but it felt a lot muggier today than it did yesterday. I was mostly cloudy all day long.

Once again, Hiker and I stayed inside where it was nice and cool. Got up to 98° today and 36% humidity. That is very humid for SoCal.

Hot-Humid-Thunder

Today would have been Ben’s 65th birthday. Wish he had been here for us to celebrate.

When Hiker and I got up this morning, it was already 72° outside. It was already too hot to go out for a walk after breakfast, so we have been in the house most of the day.

Was already over 100° before 10 am.

After lunch I had to go up to our post office. When I walked out the door the heat and humidity just sucked all of the breath out of me. It was 110° by 1 pm.

Big white thunder clouds were heading towards us from the east and I heard that Big Bear, CA and Wrightwood, CA in the San Bernardino Mountains were under a flash flood watch.

As I was driving up to the post office, I saw someone walking a dog. They were on the pavement and I was thinking to myself that the pavement was way too hot for that dog to be walking on it. I just hope the poor pooch didn’t end up with burned paw pads. Some people are so stupid, like the ones who leave their dogs in the car with the windows cracked on a day like this.

I won’t even let Hiker stay outside in the yard. If she has to go potty, I let her out, but make her come back in after about 5 or 10 minutes.

Started thundering around 2:45 pm and Hiker was first barking at it, then she started to hide as it got louder.

Got up to 110° here today.

Getting Hot Again

We slept in a little bit this morning. After breakfast, Keith and I drove over to the Kaiser pharmacy so I could pick up my B/P prescription refills. Stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home.

Keith decided he wanted to head home a little early today, so he left just after 11:30 am which gave me the chance to drive over to Newhall to have lunch with my widowed girlfriends. So much fun as usual. We always say that we are the best therapy for each other.

I got home around 2:30 pm and Hiker was looking for Keith to come in behind me when I walked through the door. She love it when he comes to visit and she misses him when he goes home.

It was very hot here again today. My station said it was 106° last time I looked and we are supposed to stay hot all week. I was hoping that we were finally heading into fall weather, but I guess not.

Labor Day

Hiker and I got up early to go on our Monday dog walk with Jean and her dogs. Keith slept in.

After breakfast, Keith and I went out on a “scavenger” hunt trying to find the things we need to make an “Addam’s Family Cousin It” Halloween figure for my front porch. I could find everything I needed except hula skirts to make his body, but you can only find hula skirts in stores around July 4th. I see them online, but I might just wait and buy all of the supplies next year when they are available and I’ll make one for next Halloween.

We went to Rattler’s BBQ for lunch today.

We are hoping to do a walk this evening, but I have to be home at 7 pm to watch my “Young and Restless” on the POP Channel as I missed it this morning.

Was 101° on my patio this afternoon. They say we are going to stay in the triple digits for the rest of the week. I thought we were done with the heat.

Nice Morning For A Hike At Vasquez Rocks

We got up early this morning and drove up to Vasquez Rocks where we met up with my friend Robyn and we went for a nice hike. I could sure tell that I had not been hiking for a while because I was breathing hard, my calf muscles hurt and my feet were getting numb due to not being used to wearing my hiking boots for several months.

We hiked up onto the ridge south of the big rocks, doing almost one and three quarter miles. Robyn wanted us to follow her to her house so I would know exactly where she lived. She is just a mile or two northeast of the county park.

When we got home, we decided not to bother with breakfast that we’d just go for an early lunch. We headed over to Topper’s Pizza. Got there right after they opened so they were not crowded. I think they have the best pizza in our valley.

After we left there, we drove over to Sprouts so I could get a bottle of the Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. Stater Brothers carries it now, but they only have the small bottle and I like to get the big bottle.

We then headed over to Office Max. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I should publish some photo books of my photography, but I thought I’d rather make calendars as I can do it myself and make a little extra money without committing to having several books printed that might not even sell. I was looking for a comb-binding machine so I could make the calendars at home. They didn’t have exactly what I wanted, so we headed over to Office Depot. Funny, they are basically the same store and they recently merged, so you would think they would have exactly the same things, but that’s not true. I found the binding machine I wanted and Keith is going to show me how to use it since he uses one where he works once in a while.

I’m thinking about making some with Hiker’s photographs and some with my landscapes and then see if maybe I can sell them to friends and on Facebook.

Got up to 96° here today.

My Brother Keith Is Visiting

Slept in this morning. When we got up, I sorted my medications for next week and realized I needed to refill my B/P meds. Did that and then put the laundry into the washer to get it done before Keith arrived.

I told Hiker that she needed to start watching for her Uncle Keith and she started barking and whimpering. She loves him so much.

Keith got here just before 11 am. We waited for my mowers to finish and then we headed over to the car wash where I had my yearly hand wax done on the car and while they were doing that, we walked over to Everest for lunch.

After the car was done, we stopped by Big Lots and the Dollar Tree and also stopped by Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart.

Hiker didn’t like it because we left her and she was very happy to see us when we got back home.

Was about 90° today but didn’t feel as hot due to a stiff breeze. We are going to try to go out for a walk later this evening.

Ready For A Long Weekend

Did our normal Friday dog walk with Jean this morning. We had a “run-in” with a woman while out on the walk because of Jean’s dogs.

She was walking a cute little Australian Shepherd puppy. Jean’s dogs love to meet and greet new dogs, but they have a very bad habit of getting too excited and they start barking like crazy. When one of her dogs starts barking, the other 2 chime in. When they do this, Hiker always quietly stays back because she’s not “outgoing”. They scared Hiker to death the first time she met them. Also Jean forgets sometimes to ask first if it’s OK for her dogs to meet another dog before she starts approaching the other person with the dog. It is very important to do that because you never know if the other dog gets along with strange dogs, but Jean seems to think that all dogs should meet. So she starts letting her barking dogs go up to this woman and she got within about 5 feet of the dog when the woman yells at Jean “Are you crazy?” Jean replied “My dogs just want to meet your dog.” The woman yelled “NO! I don’t want those vicious dogs anywhere near this dog.” Well Jean’s dogs are noisy and obnoxious, but they are NOT vicious. And I’m sure that others see them as a pack which can be very scary for some people and other dogs. They have never bitten anyone or any other dog. I tried to calm the woman down by explaining to her that the dogs were just excited but that they were not vicious, but she just kept yelling at us and telling us she has been a dog trainer for 20 years and that she knows that dogs who bark like that are always vicious and that Jean should not take her dogs out in public. She just kept yelling, so I just walked away from her.

I do think that Jean should not expect everyone to just let her dogs go up to others without asking first. When I’m walking Hiker by myself, I usually won’t let her approach other dogs unless the other person asks me first if their dog can say hi to Hiker because I know that even though Hiker is the quiet one, she’s the one that would come more biting another person or another dog. So just because dogs bark like crazy doesn’t always mean they are vicious. You have to look out for the quiet ones too.

I remember passing that same woman on the path before when I was alone with Hiker and he little dog stated coming toward Hiker. I asked her if Hiker could meet her dog because her dog acted like it wanted to say hi but she very rudely said “NO!” So I said OK and we moved on. Guess she doesn’t know that her nasty attitude will rub off on her dog.

But as I said, Jean needs to stop thinking that her dogs need to meet every dog in the world

Was very overcast again this morning from a thick marine layer, so it was nice a cool while out on our walk.

Decided to have a lazy day today since Keith is coming for the long holiday weekend and he and I will no doubt be out running around everywhere. Also hoping to get in some walks and maybe a hike with him.

Weather was so nice today. I never even had to turn on my fans. Just had the doors open.