Story 17Jan2022: MLK

I started MLK at 6:30ish and got going doing the usual things. I read the news and believe I heard the noise from the volcano in the South Pacific. As you can imagine, I am always, even now, listening for Susie falling. There was a strange sound like a bang that had no explanation in the morning of the tsunami. After all that, I decided to get breakfast out this morning, so I left about 9:45 after taking all my pills.

Before I leave, I watch MLK’s I have a dream video. It is important to remember the struggle of MLK on his day.

I stopped by McDonald’s and had their breakfast while traveling in light traffic to Forest Grove. It was not very good. I am a bit spoiled by all the excellent food I have had for breakfast (I ordered more bagels and smear delivered this morning). I will not be returning to McDonald’s breakfast.

All morning I am conscience not to get worn-out again like the day before. I am also having new pains in my incisions, likely caused by moving more and stretching the area more. I even had a sharp pain after a sneeze and have been sore since. I am trying to be careful, but sneezes come uninvited.

I have not covered this for a while; my stock holdings are troubled by the Nike stock drop from $171 to $148. I am pleased to sell some options last year at $171 and use that money to cover Susie’s care and all of my medical bills; I do not often time the market so well. I also have a pretax 125 program I will use too. My 401K totals have not moved up or down much for the past three months showing a balanced portfolio resisting the strange slides of the market and the growling at inflation by various experts. I am showing a -3.78% growth in 2022, but it is too early in the year to even look at that. It does appear that my 401K has given back all the last quarter of 2021’s fast growth. I have no concerns.

I reach Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center Room 44A without incident and carry my McDonald’s coffee (the only thing good from breakfast) with me, and slip a few sips here and there. I always wear a KN95 (supplied from Amazon), having switched to them six months ago.

Susie is dressed in a clean t-shirt and asleep. It takes her a while to wake up enough, and she falls back to sleep a few times. She is tired now and sleeps most of the time. Susie’s mother, Leta, has supplied a Saint Valentine bear and chocolates-filled heart for her. Susie wakes up enough to hold and smile a bit before drifting off again.

Dr. Kulkarni is Susie’s retired doctor who cared for her first cancer. We managed to connect to her and FaceTime with the doc. Susie cannot get out too many words, but she wakes up to chat with the doc. They are both delighted to see each other.

Susie falls back to sleep while I sit there and read the news on my phone. I have BBC, CNN, and the New York Times app. I read the NYT as the editing and writing are superb, believing that your own writing and reading improve when you read well-written English. But, on the other hand, my friends in InfoSec dismiss the NYT; the paper’s poor and inaccurate reporting on computer issues is hard to excuse. NYT also had quite a few bad moments in the political sphere and was forced to retract many things. Still, their reporting about life events, cooking, and just living get high marks from me. All in excellent perfect English.

It is always hard to leave. Susie is awake again as her somewhat troublesome roommate moved home today. The staff is now cleaning the room, and Susie is awoken by bangs and bumps. I can see in her eyes that she is sad to see me go. I promise to be back tomorrow and kiss her goodbye.

I meet Mariah at BJ’s Brewhouse. There I have a small beer, Jeremiah Red, and a salad. I find I cannot eat the whole salad and leave behind lettuce and cheese. This is the first salad I have had since the surgery. I like my Southwest-styled salads with salsa and a lighter and more spicy dressing. Mariah has a tri-tip roast with the kitchen slicing it (we learned this trick). We chat about Mariah’s house-buying adventures. She has an open bid on a house in Portland and is on pins and needles, waiting for the results of her final offer.

Mariah and I meet at the Volvo Cave, and Mariah has me sit, no repeat of yesterday being tired out, and she moves the books out of the bedroom and sorts them into keepers (mostly history, poetry, and math) and ones that Mariah can sell at Powell’s. We have a few boxes, and Mariah moves four stacks of books out of the bedroom (!) and manages to collect quite a few good books. I also sent some signed copies with Mariah. I remember getting them signed, but they have been collecting dust for years. Time to give them up.

Back years ago and when we lived in Maryland, Leta would visit us, and Susie, Leta, and I would head to the Dick Frances book signing events. We found a small mystery bookstore in Washington DC, and there we were able to chat with the author and his wife at the book signing. Some of the books I let go are from those days. It is a happy memory.

I did move the gamebooks and some magazines from the bedroom. After that, I rested and slept. But, yes, I still need to take breaks.

I watch some videos on YouTube. Cody Carlson, The Discriminating Gamer, reviews a new gangster game which is a “buy-it” recommendation. I also found his new history channel (Cody recently minted Ph.D. in WW2 history) and enjoyed his book recommendations. I leave a few words, which he replies to. I have never met him, but I appreciate his works on YouTube.

Later, I chatted with Kat in NYC, and we will see if maybe some of Susie’s dresses and things can find a new home in NYC. Kat is about the same size as Susie of years ago. I will chat with Susie on Tuesday and see if she is OK with this. I think she will be happy to see the stuff on its way to NYC. If it is not a match, Kat can send it to a vintage clothing store in NYC and pick out something with the credit. Kat was making pasta and sauce dinner, which reminded me to make dinner.

I suggested a dinner to Corwin, and he volunteered to cook. I went back to reading and napping. He made pasta with meatballs (sliced) and one of our new jars for North African styled sauce. This is from Les Moulins Mahjoub and is their tibar sauce. This is an artisan product and hard to get without paying a premium. I found it at about $9 a jar and ordered enough to receive free shipping. It is spicy and not sweat like American red sauces and has olives and capers and like. I do not cook the sauce with meat but heat it, pour it over pasta, and add meat. Strongly recommended as a treat and something different.

Dinner was good; I had two bowls and watched some news. But, unfortunately, I had found new pain and decided that reading and resting is best for the remains of the evening.

After my 10PM pills were taken with a slice of German Chocolate cake, I was to bed. Food must be eaten with the pills.

I managed to sleep without issue, even with all the naps today. I was still fatigued.