Story 14Aug2022

The morning started with me waking at about 6:15, finally being able to sleep through the sunrise. Also, we are on the other side of the solstice, so dawn is moving later in the morning. The alarm woke me, and I started on a rushed, if not crazy, morning. I started writing the blog as I was not home, as usual, on Saturday night until late. I also had to be at the church, First United Methodist in Beaverton, at 9ish to help set up the barbeque today to celebrate our new pastor, Pastor Ken, joining as the new 1/2-time pastor. So I was rushing through the writing, breakfast of yogurt with liberal coffee, and getting ready. I was at the church in Air Volvo without incident, carrying a propane tank.

I am brittle from the chemotherapy, so I must be careful what I carry and do. It was strange to have folks over 70+ telling me to sit down while they moved things, but it was the right thing to do. I did carry chairs and opened doors. I recruited some more help here and there, and Zophia helped me with the cooking.

Ben came with another grill, and we got that out of his pick-up. He had a new propane tank, and I had brought one that was at least 1/2 full. It was enough. We tested both grills after moving them (I moved mine to the church on Friday). Everything was working. I had replaced the grill plates on mine, and that helped.

The usual put the table there, no put it there, no back to over there, and put table cloths (plastic). We put up two tents that unfolded with a few lightly pinched fingers and hands. Tables were set up inside too.

We returned to our regular pews and enjoyed the church service. Pastor Ken and family were there, as were many folks I have not seen since the pandemic; over fifty folks came. Again, more than we have seen since the pandemic lockdown. Most folks, as is the habit at our church, wore masks.

Ken is a bible historian and has visited the Holy Land. He includes photos he has of the Holy Land when he presents. He shared his belief that Jesus’s stay in the desert and the temptations increased Jesus’s compassion for us. Pastor Ken sees suffering as making you harder or kinder. He also noticed that in Jesus’s quote from Isaiah, he left out the punishment phrase. Jesus, in Pastor Ken’s thinking, only focused on kindness and forgiveness.

After all the preparation, we left the service after the sermon and started the grill (which lit without incident) and began to grill. Ben did the hamburgers while I did the hot dogs. My cooking is just rolling the dogs over a hot grill to prevent them from burning on one side and being less cooked on the other side (these were already cooked all-beef dogs). The hamburgers were still frozen, so they took longer to cook (and did not fall apart or need to be pressed on the grill); I got to cook about six of those too when I finished the dogs. I had minor burns on the dogs, but nothing charred. Zophia showed up at the end, did a couple of flips of the burgers for practice, and then helped me unload the grill.

I got another friend to help with the logistics; he brought out lots of the food and helped fill in here and there. Once you get going, there is lots of help.

Pastor Ken with Anne & Wayne’s cake.

I had a test dog, good, and then later a burger and another dog with a bun this time. The sides were pot luck and a nice mix. Later a cake appeared with ice cream, thanking Rev. Anne and Dr. WayneWeld-Martin for filling in as pastors during the pandemic. Finally, as usual with Methodist things, we began the teardown, which went easier and faster with all the folks than the setup. I got some younger folk to help Ben reload his truck with his grill.

After most of the work was done, I left and drove the propane tank directly home; nothing I wanted in Air Volvo for very long. After pulling it out of the back seat–wedged between seats to prevent the tank (I have put them in the back and then open the gate and have the tank roll out and bounce on the ground–seeing a propane tank bounce, while very scary, is better than not see it).

I then drove Air Volvo to hummingbird house to see Susie, but it was the mid-afternoon, Susie’s usual nap time. So I called ahead; Rachel was the nurse aide on Sunday morning and said Susie was lying down. When I got there, Susie was relaxing and decided it was a good idea to just rest today. However, I was worn out, so I was going to object to a simple visit today.

I stayed long enough to call Leta, Susie’s mother, on FaceTime and to listen to some music. Then, I explained to Rachel how to run our setup for Alexa (you use the keyword ‘Echo’ to get its attention).

I headed home and rested a bit. I also started on my revisions of an old item for Natasha’s graduation present–now Doctor Natasha. I did some cleaning and repairs. I plan a few updates too. But no details until it is in the doctor’s hands.

I wrote until midnight on my Dungeons and Dragon 5E adventure. I had to let the glue harden on the upgrades I had made to the item for Tasha. I finally headed to bed and fell immediately fell asleep. I ordered one more thing that, luckily, is a next-day delivery from Amazon.

Feel free to call or send cards. Susie resides at:

Allegiance Senior Care
Adult Foster Care Home
9925 SW 82nd. Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: 503 246-4116

Aside: I was listening to the stage version of Moulin Rogue! while writing the blog, I am always amazed by the singing by Tony-nominated Karen Olivio (she is no longer on Broadway after a dispute with the allegations against a producer was not addressed). Last October, I saw her replacement, Natalie Mendoza, and she was excellent and owned it too. Here is the song where you can hear Katen own the piece from the original Boardway recording: Sparkling Diamond.