Story 28May2022: Saturday with Movie and Games

This is the 28May2022 story not 29May2022 when I wrote it.

Going backward and writing this the following day, Saturday ended with me going to bed after midnight. I had driven from Portland after dropping off Kathleen at her house just outside of Portland. This means I travel, luckily without issue or any traffic, all the way back across Portland and across Beaverton to get to the Volvo Cave. It was more challenging this time as I was tired from a busy day, and the rain made it harder to see and control Air Volvo, but it all was fine.

I fell right to sleep after reading a few pages.

Continuing with the narrative backward, we had met at Richard’s house in Portland across the river and not far from Lloyd Center at our usual time of 6:30. Kathleen wanted to play Arc Nova again. I started out well and fought Kathleen for the lead when I stalled. I could not get the normal animals for my zoo, this is a Euro resource management and worker placement game, and I spent quite a few turns searching for better animals, but none showed for me. I was obviously doing something wrong. It appears that I had not upgraded my animal abilities soon enough, and also, Richard was grabbing a lot of the easy animals.

Richard played a fantastic game and ended the game before Kathleen or I could even get close to a positive score. I did not enjoy Arc Nova as much as I was stalled for some of the game. But that was me and some misplays. I would still say this is the best game of its type. Next time!

We next played a short game, The Quacks of Quedlinburg. This is a quick game where you draw potion ingredients from a bag, and if the mix does not explode, you can draw more. It is a push-your-luck game. Richard had fully blinged his copy and has bags and potion component tokens made from plastic. It is fun, and I had terrible luck with the drawing today, which was very funny. I did lose, but I liked the game. Recommended.

I reached the games with Richard and Kathleen by Air Volvo without any events or increasing the crime rate in Beaverton or Portland. The rain was heavy at times.

Still going backward, I was at home for the afternoon reading and working on my balloon model. Many parts from eBay showed up in the mail today, and I was finally figuring out how I wanted the basket to look. This is a Dungeons and Dragon gaming model, and so it uses D&D physics; thus, the balloon can be smaller and able to fit on the gaming table better.

I stopped by the hardware and got some glue and a 1/2″ drill bit. I have decided to use a transparent rod to hold up the model and then try to suspend it from a hook. I drilled a hole into the balloon, and it was covered in styrofoam snow! Suddenly, as often happens with the DIY models, or kitbashing as it is often called, it is started to come together.

Before this, I had a late lunch and early dinner at Abhiruchi Indian Cusine in Beaverton. Since they reopened, I have not been there due to the pandemic making eating out a challenging life experience. Today, being Sunday and late, there was no buffet styled lunch. Instead, I ordered a plate with a little of everything, which was fine for me. The food is a bit spicy but tame by any standard. I enjoyed a quiet lunch-dinner and was happy to see the same owner working the cash register and their endless refilling of your water glass; I had forgotten about that. It seems that they can’t stand to see an empty water glass in the place.

I had come from the Hummingbird House where Susie is living now. She seems happy in her new Adult Foster Care digs. I got there as she was finishing breakfast. Jennifer was caring for everyone. About 1/2 of the residents are late risers taking some of the stress off of Jenifer. Today, the nurse was present, doing the new month’s paperwork, and closing the previous month. I answered a few questions about Susie’s health; they are still getting to understand her. I was glad they were asking me questions.

Next, Susie and I called Leta, Susie’s mom. Barb, Susan’s sister, was over at Leta’s house making Leta’s flowers ready for the summer. Using my iPhone and FaceTime, Leta gave us a visual tour of the flower and Barb working. Susie and Leta spoke for about ten minutes or maybe more.

Susie was finished with breakfast; I had my repast before heading over. We headed to the more private activity room, and I set up the screen and watched the second Harry Potter film: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This movie had the same director, and you can see the connection to the previous film (which we watched on Friday), but the lighting was better, and the kid actors were much better and, well, just barely kids. Overall, it is a better movie, and I have seen it many more times than the first.

Aside: This movie is noteworthy as the director seems to have guessed at the relationships to come in later books. For example, the awkwardness between two of the main characters, Hermione and Ron, hints at the future that has yet to be published. The director got it right.

The movie, about 2 1/2 hours long, seemed to fly by faster, and it was after lunchtime when we finished. I left Susie with a kiss as she would get some lunch and/or take a nap.

To start Saturday, I was up about 7:30ish and not rushing. I read my emails and got ready for the day. Finally, I was feeling a bit more rested.

It rained all day, and there is, again, two more inches of rain in the back corner of the French drain. The plan is to plant the area this year with grass to get rid of the muddy look and well the mud. Mushy grass is better than dark mud. I did buy some more grass seed, but it would have to float today, so maybe another week before I can do that.