I am sorry, but it has been a busy weekend, and I am just now free to write. But, unfortunately, I had to rest a few times and could not just write.

Saturday 14May2022

So Saturday started at 7ish with me getting ready to have a movie day for Susie. So I quickly took my pills, read my emails, and then packed up my computer, a C-to-C USB cable, my portable 16″ Screen, and some popcorn.

I purchased a four-movie set on Apple that morning. This included Sing In The Rain and today’s movie Gigi from 1958. This is Susie’s favorite, and she knows all the words and all the songs. I have lost track of the number of times I have seen it–primarily bits and pieces while I sat with Susie for some of the good parts.

So on Saturday, I headed to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center found at 3900 Pacific Highway, but this time I had to turn around in the parking lot. I took the back entrance, and an ambulance was parked in the driveway, blocking my parking lot access. I was relieved after re-entering the parking lot via Pacific Highway and discovering Susie in room 44A.

I got out the laptop and connected the larger screen. I connected to the Bluetooth-accessible speakers I brought and set them in Susie’s bed. I got popcorn and got some for Susie and her roommate, Terry. We spent the next few hours watching the movie. Gigi was fun, and Susie sang along and once or twice explained the story to me.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, at the halfway point on my iPhone using FaceTime. Susie was pleased to chat with her mother and had a friendly chat, then we returned to the movie.

Susie also had some popcorn, one kernel at a time. Susie loved the popcorn but was careful and had only a few bites. It is a bit risky, but it added to the special moment.

The movie finished just as lunch was ready, and I headed out. I had sat on a hard chair for almost three hours. I needed a break and my own lunch.

I returned home and had a roast beef and cheese sandwich, and started on my balloon model. I managed to finish some of the riggings and start the basket. I also ordered some clear acrylic rods as I decided that it would look better support from below and not hung from a string. This is for Dungeons and Dragons, and I hope it is finished in time to be of some use.

I also started a new book; yes, I am reading three books simultaneously–this happens when I get tired of one book or, in this case, I get some new, well-written book. I am reading a newly published book on the shipwreck of the American Civil War (I learned from the Brits that I need to put the American as there were other civil wars), the Sultana. The book is, for me, a page-turner as there is so little known or published on the Sultana, and the book is a real treat from the US Naval Institute Press (I am a member of USNI). Sadly, we have only a few pictures and no detailed drawings of the ship. While a terrible story, I enjoy learning so much from this book. Excellent.

While I was reading, Mariah texted me, and I agreed to have a rushed early dinner with her at BJ’s Brewhouse. I was there at 4:20 and ordered a beer and food. Mariah got there about 4:45, and we had a nice quick dinner and drinks. The bar staff asked me about Susie. They remembered her, even after the pandemic, and I told the bartender that Susie was in a facility, and they asked me to take Susie their best wishes (I told her about that on Sunday, and she smiled that BJ’s folks still ask about her).

I had just the California bread appetizer and some chips with cheese with a red ale.

Next, I was almost late to Richard’s house in Portland to play board games at 6PM. James was there to play on Saturday night. It was Arc Nova again. This is an engine-building resource management game with cards driving the play. The theme is that you are building the most fantastic zoo by creating interest and doing real work to help animals and the world. Each gets a score, and when the scores of one player cross on the board, the game ends. Arc Nova is complex but fun to play, and I like it.

I started in the first place and finished last. My score was minus 20, which was worse than my first game. Next time!

Next, we played, James having to leave, my copy of Unsettled. Another board game, but a different style. This is a “dude on a board” with cooperative exploration. And, like all good cooperative games, the game builds fast, and soon, you are immersed and trying to make it to the last task and survive.

Richard and I got lucky and got all the insight that gave us the advantages we needed to win and escape. It was nice to beat the game.

I returned home after that. It was so nice to play games until late, but that meant the blog would have to wait. I was soon reading and falling asleep. I dream I was trapped in a cooperative game, and I am not sure I won.

Sunday 15May2022 (Today)

The morning started today at 7ish, and I was tired and moving slowly. I decided that the blog would wait, and I would head to church at 10ish. I just went slow reading and having breakfast. I made it to church, and we had a guest speaker from the Hillsboro Fire Department chaplains. It was a good talk. We also got to sing a Hank Williams song.

Yes, that is a banjo!

Next, I headed home and had another sandwich and some leftovers for lunch. Next, I went to see Susie by taking Air Volvo to Forest Grove. She was resting in bed. Terry sold me that Susie had been up all morning and was just now resting in bed.

We called Susie’s mom and then Susie’s sister, Barb, on my iPhone. We did FaceTime so everyone could see each other. Barb and I chatted too for a bit. I had a short visit and left with a kiss.

I returned home only for a short time. I head out in Air Volvo to Cory’s house to play Dungeons and Dragons. We finally got a chance to try out our characters in a significant heist. We raided a small base. Our characters are not built for combat but for hidden movement and a grab and run. This time we got to use this to our full capability. Matt was surprised by our tactics (or lack of them) and how we stole everything we could get and escaped with our goal fulfilled and even more loot. This fits the older model of D&D, where you avoid the battle but grab the loot.

Our characters are two monks (I play the drunken style while Scott plays the mysterious shadow monk), a ranger, a bard, and a rogue (and hobbit and arcane trickers–filling in for being our wizard too). Every player character has stealth as a skill!

That is where I will stop the story. I am tired, but it was a lovely weekend.

My china rose, Old Blush, flowers are out now.

The bloom is beaten down by the heavy rains. Yes, it has been a damp spring–even by Oregon standards!