Today 28Aug2023

It was an overcast, cool day with light smoke; the air quality stayed in the green measurement. I could smell smoke and pine today, and my eyes burned, and I sneezed often. My allergies are more impacted; some folks report that the light smoke includes irritants. Today, I woke tired as I had slept lightly–too much tea, and I had vivid dreams, all forgotten. The pain in my shoulder and other muscles impacted by my lifts of Susie to and from Air Volvo was controlled by just one Tylenol and two Advil–the recommended combination for my surgery, and it seems to work for me, still.

I woke before my alarm a few times and finally woke just before my alarm for yet-another-Monday tired from my weekend. I dragged myself out of bed, found my slippers, and located the kitchen. I loaded the electric kettle with water and remembered to turn it on. Next, I found the remote for Amazon Fire and brought Bloomberg to the TV. Interest rates and the impact on investing were mainly covered while I peddled (still in my slippers) for thirty minutes on Immoble Schwinn and did not travel 6.2 miles.

Time flies, and soon, I have only fifteen minutes to prepare a NYC bagel with salmon, cream cheese spread, and a banana. I discovered that our test cycle had ended, and some of my status meetings were gone–exciting! I managed a few meetings that I used to always miss–finally, back to the team meetings I usually miss.

Skipping status and boring things I should not share in this story (and they are boring), I decided to visit Susie today as we both are tired. I usually spend the day with her on Monday, but not today–I will just nod off in the plush chair. Thus, Air Volvo got me there as one fellow driver enjoying my attention to driving when the driver changed lanes without warning while turning left on a light signal–yikes!

Susie was still eating, and I watched while I waited for Susie a strangely amusing Judge Judy episode where the usual stoic bailiff lost it a few times when one witness kept outrageously lying. I waited for Susie to start and finish her breakfast; Jennifer, the weekday nurse aide, said Susie was tired and was up late that day. It was cool, so I warned Susie and one of the residents scoffed that 68F was cold–funny.

The park was lightly visited this Monday, and all the kids we saw were in preschool–School starts today with an in-service, no-student day in Beaverton. We found a bench in what sun remained, and the breeze had Susie soon cold. We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and talked to her for a while (Barb, Susie’s sister, was still working and thus missed the call). Leta used the FaceTime video to share her flower gardens with us.

Soon, Susie was cold, and I was not staying, so I needed to return to the Volvo Cave. Susie, while sad to have me leave so soon, appeared to be tired and was soon to be in her recliner in the shared living room, napping. I crossed through Beaverton to return home–the traffic, now with school starting, was worse in Beaverton. Of note was a jeep with the top off and the tire cover in the back painted with a skeleton climbing out of the tire and making an obscene hand gesture at other drivers. It was a clean, neat vehicle driven by a gal in sunglasses and a hat. I got to stare at the skeleton for half my trip, so it became something I remembered for Monday.

Once home, I followed along at work and rested a bit. I read the Sherlock Holmes story in The Strand magazine, the June 2023 issue. This is written by a new writer, and I learned that Mr. Holmes is now in the public domain. I thought the writer, Mike Adamson, did not get the voices of Watson and Holmes right, and I thought some of the characters’ statements included anachronism. The mystery and the format matched Doyle’s stories, so it was worth reading, I thought. I may have to try one of these; I have read an alternative Holmes and Watson set in the horror settings of H.P. Lovecraft before.

I got out a pork roast, cut it into bits (not quite small enough–next time), browned them, added garlic, ginger, and veggies, and got everything cooked. Next, I added turmeric and curry powder from an old British blend, plus some seeded and chopped dried red peppers. After that cooked some, I added a can of coconut milk and got all that hot. I got a piece of naan from the freezer and heated it in the oven with butter. Dinner was lovely, but I could have used more spices–next time. Still, it was terrific, but I made a lot. I added it to my leftover collection in the glassware from Gene and Glenda (yes, you can smile, Glenda).

I watched the conclusion of the three Swedish movies while cooking and eating: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Extended Edition). This storyline is far from the Hollywood version, works for Sweden, and brings all the darkness to a conclusion. I think it is incredible and recommend all three in Swedish and the extended editions (must be in order). But a warning: the movies (all three) do not hold back on the violence or sex, but it all fits and helps to tell the story.

After all that, I did the dishes and watched more Battleship New Jersey videos on the Battleship New Jersey channel. Finally, I returned to writing a blog about today.

Thanks for reading. Hope you found me retracing my day enjoyable or maybe relaxing. Sometimes, it is reassuring to know someone else out there is trying to make a go of it in the crazy that is 2023.

Be well!