Story 26Sept2022

All day I have been tired and could just nod off. So I have decided to take off Tuesday from the shoe company and see if a lazier day can help. The pain is still going in my leg but has moved to the hip; progress?

The morning started with me sleeping until 7:30ish. It was Monday, and I did not have to drive into the office, so I could start slower. I had a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast with liberal coffee made in a French Press.

I spent the morning in status meetings and some planning meetings. I also create a server for a co-worker with some example Python code in my Amazon AWS account. The tiny RedHat Linux system is free on AWS, and I installed NumPy for their use.

I use IAM in AWS to give them their own access and ownership of the server. I never share my own access, and I even have an IAM for myself for everyday use. I seldom use the account level user and password.

I made a nice salad for lunch. I boiled some eggs in their shells during some of the meetings. I had a nice pair of hard-boiled eggs for my salad, but alas, no eggs slicer. I tried the pastry cutter, which was unsuccessful (slightly explosive). I vowed to get the correct tool, shocked that I did not have that one gadget.

I finished Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’s newest episode while eating and then started on the 10-year later episode of the House of Dragons. I only finished 1/2 of the dragons.

I then drove over Cooper’s Mountain and the farm area to reach Susie at the hummingbird house. It is near perfect day with a cold morning at about 55F (12.78C) and finishing in the later afternoon with a sunny 85F (29.4C). The sky is nearly cloud-free with just a misty smoke visible when looking at distance hills. The Cedar Creek fire is filling the valley with smoke–it is north of Crater Lake in the Cascade Mountains, not quite to California.

Susie was happy to see me, and we rushed out to the Park and called Susie’s mother, Leta, on my iPhone using FaceTime. Leta had been busy with the local food giveaway programs in the morning. She was home now. Susie and Leta spoke for a while. It was warm in the sun, and I could see Susie getting sleepy in the sun. Susie loves the warm sun.

I returned Susie, I could only stay a short time on a working day, to Jennifer, the nurse aide for today, and then kissed Susie goodbye. Jennifer had a snack of apple sauce and some water for Susie. Jennifer knows that Susie gets easily dehydrated. After that, I was back in Air Volvo.

I have not been back to Kitchen Kaboodle since the pandemic. I was looking for an overpriced egg slicer, and yes, they had one (maybe you, dear reader, think I should look for a cheap one–but you might as well look for an expensive one if in this store). I also found a paella pan at a not-high markup. I bought some beautiful chocolates at the desk and cupcake cups. I should keep out of kitchen stores–There were cookbooks I don’t have!

The trip back included beautiful views of the valley, even with the misty smoke covering the coastal mountains. I did watch one construction vehicle miss part of a turn on a steep climb, and one of the double tires travel without road. However, it had enough tires on the road to pull the load up the hill without incident. It is always fun to live in the Pacific Northwest–unexpected risks. Finally, I reached home in Air Volvo, and my tires all stayed on the road the whole way.

Back to work and some rest. I am still tired and feel the stress eating away at my mind. I am pushing back tears often that surface for no reason. But, I did follow along at work and tried to stay focused.

I made a pork roast from Schwann’s that has been in the freezer for a long time. It is a long process. I made Caribbean coconut rice to go with it from a box. I added chopped green pepper and raises to kick it up a bit.

I watched the rest of the House of Dragons and a few more episodes of Lucifer’s second season, and I still like both.

I paid the medical and supplies for Susie today, over $8000 a month, plus other bills, including paying for Mom Wild’s grass mowing (something I picked up after we found a service that would take a remote payment). Most are physical checks with stamps and all that.

The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival 2022 Kickstarter was completed today. I am looking forward to that in a few weekends.

Dondrea got her own copy of World War Two by Anthony Beevor and was excited to start it. I am about 1/2 done now, on page 357, and in 1942. I love the style and narration that somehow covers so much in so few words. I recommend this huge book to anyone that wants to understand WW2 better.

Thank you for reading!