Year 1 Day 65: Change Coming

I did feel that the seasons and the world are changing this week. It is the beginning of the end of the pandemic and the start of reconnecting.

Susie had her appointment with Zerida today. She was ready and left with her driver at 9ish.

The morning started with a challenge. Susie woke me at 5ish, and I had some caregiving. Susie is better now, but I lost an hour of sleep. This made 7ish a difficult start. I had tried to get an hour of sleep, but it did not improve things.

My first status meetings were at 8AM, so I was able to get dressed in time and rally Susie. I had many crises of the moment today—typical on a Monday; leftovers from the previous week.

My two groups are starting to see their work come together and bear fruit. It has been four or more years for some of us. I nearly cry in relief in the status meetings when the reports are that the software and systems are beginning to gel.

I am exhausted by the afternoon from a Monday with a hard start.

About 4:30ish, I agree with Corwin to make dinner and rest a bit more. I like to lay down and read to change gears.

I cook orecchiette pasta with vodka sauce (from a jar). I bake some Johnson’s sweat Italian sausage to about half cooked. I carefully slice the hot sausage into 1/2 slices and finish them in a frypan. I brown them good, almost too good. I spoon the sausage into the sauce and then pour it over the drained pasta (I finished it a bit early, so I rinsed the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking–otherwise, it will turn to glue-mass). That was dinner, and it was not bad.

Johnson’s sausage is not too spicy for Susie. Olympia Provisions sausage is too sharp for her.

Today was Monday, and it is a bit of nervous gaming for me. I have some off-the-cuff adventures to offer today online for our Roll20 Dungeons and Dragon campaign. Another change. I managed to get the adventure started with polite railroading of the players into reading a book that sort of curses their characters. A cheap plot element. They had to role play traveling to the fictional city of Bard’s Gate to learn a cure for their affliction. They manage to find some of the story and a path forward.

They are ambushed by three dark fey vampires. They defeat them and capture one. They learn more of their challenge from the vampire, and they cut a deal to stop the attacks if they bring the adventure to a conclusion that they and the vampire’s mistress will find profitable.

The adventurers reached the complex where the mysterious curse can be lifted, and there we will start next Monday again. Matt will be leaving us after that as he is restarting in-person play for Dungeons and Dragons 5E–He has three groups. Some of us are one group. We agreed, seeing that in-person gaming is possible, that we will suspend online gaming for a bit after Memorial Day. Bill is the only remote guy, but he plays local games in Minnesota and has a new plane to fly. He will be fine for now.

Another change. Today was a day of changes and moving forward into the future. It felt good.

Yesterday I took this photo of a manhole cover. In Oregon, they have the image of a fish on them to remind you not to pour crap into our sewers and rainwater systems.

369 people in the USA died of Covid-19 today.

I selected It Is Well With My Soul. I like singing it in Methodist Church. There seems to be something about the hymn that wakes up everyone, and it always sounds great.