Story 25Sept2022

The morning started with slight pain in my right leg and me sleeping into 7ish. I had slept well and started writing the blog with cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast. I also made liberal coffee via French Press. As this was the Saturday blog, it is long, and I was writing until just after 10.

I rushed a shower, dressed quickly, skipped shaving, and got to the online church service on time. Then the sound was not turned on, and I soon wandered to writing my Dungeons and Dragon adventure I will need in late October. I got a text from Dondrea, and the sound was back, and our new preacher was giving a sermon (with sound) about the temptation of Christ. I listened to the sermon while I worked.

Next, I got a note from Mariah to meet her in Forest Grove for lunch. I headed over and then waited for a while. I miscommunicated and had to wait for her to get ready. We had wings at the Black Dog, a local place in Forest Grove, with smoked chicken wings. While great, I think Von Ebert (replacing Fat Heads) in the Pearl District in Portland still has the most incredible wings I have ever found.

Aside: I just learned there is a Von Ebert in Beaverton. I will have to make a pilgrimage and check that the wings are still so good that chickens ask to be included in today’s wings.

Mariah and I chatted about her housing purchase and the complexity. We headed out at nearly 2PM, and I drove back to find Susie in Tigard. It is a fourteen-mile drive, and I redirected the navigation into the hills and to circle around Cooper’s Mountain. I drove the twisty two-lane Tile Flats Road that was apparently popular with bicycles on Sunday. It was a lovely drive in the hills and farms.

Soon I reached Susie’s place, the hummingbird house. Vanessa, the nurse aide for today, had Susie in her chair, and Susie was ready to enjoy the park outside. It was warm, about 85F (29.4C), and the park was busy. Susie was sleepy in the afternoons and soon was nodding off in the warm comfy sun, even after we called Leta, Susie’s mother.

We also opened the door to Air Volvo, and I demonstrated how I thought she could get into the back seat. I am hopeful we can make a go of that in the next couple of weeks. It would be great to take Susie on short trips.

We set up a recliner to watch the next Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power episode. Susie was falling asleep soon and leaning to the left. Vanessa said Susie was leaning today; something to watch for. She can fall out of the chair or wheelchair when this starts. Susie woke a few times, and I finished the episode; Susie saw some of it. She was ready for a nap. I left Susie to take a nap with a kiss.

Next, I drove across Beaverton, taking a risk, and headed to Cory’s house to play Dungeons and Dragons. I started at 5:30 on Sunday, about every two weeks or twice a month. This adventure is a campaign, and one of the monsters is lifted from a Lewis Carrol poem: Jabberwocky. We finally faced it, and for those who know Dungeons and Dragons or the poem, “Why yes did have a vorpal blade and it did go snicker-snack!” Also, we faced the burble from the Jabberwocky, which was terrible. Matt, our DM, had bought all the monsters in painted 28mm scale. The Jabberwocky figure was eight inches tall. Impressive.

We also faced one of my favorite monsters earlier in the night, animated stained glass windows. Matt had made little transparent stained glass figures. It was wonderful.

We played characters tonight that are less combat efficient, and that makes us cautious (cowardly?), and we managed to avoid getting crushed tonight. We jump in and out and force the bad guys to bunch up so we can make our attacks more effective. We also deliver many attacks, which makes it possible to roll more critical attacks. More efficient combat characters often have a few great attacks. We just attack more.

It was a fun night with the DM having a great time and nearly overwhelming us with the stained glass monsters and a wizard. We had fun getting a legendary sword in Dungeons and Dragons and taking on the Jabberwocky, “Beware of the Jabberwocky.”

I returned home, chatted with a friend in India, and texted others that I could not call tonight as it was late when I got home.

I finally wrote the blog.