Day 51: Busy Saturday

Susie’s service is on 23 March 2024, at 4 PM, at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton.

Susie’s Michigan service is on 18 May 2024 ** at Grace United Methodist Church, Lansing, at 2PM.

**Not May 4

I started Saturday at 7ish and found a clear, cold morning. It’s not our usual weather in February in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). It should be gray, warm, and rainy, but we are cold and dry because of climate change. I never saw the sky in February for my first twenty or more years in PNW. The rains return on Monday, according to the forecast; yet-another-river of rain is coming for us and California.

I wrote the blog, a few hours of work as it was for Friday, and then published it. I use WordPress and Grammarly to keep this easy and, according to the algorithms of Grammarly, correct. Proof still that the world is safe from Artificial Intelligence! I must reread everything to ensure that Grammarly did not over-improve my words.

Air Volvo was showing a lack of care with bird poo and cat prints on it. I had a pile of things I set aside for Good Will that needed to go, and I needed paper for the printer. Or, in other words, chores needed to be completed.

So I put the recycling in the recycling bin, which was stacking up inside the Volvo Cave, loaded up a few items (mostly Susie’s various items that can go like her ankle weights) for Goodwill, put some board games in the cargo hold, and boarded Air Volvo after cleaning myself up and getting dressed.

Air Volvo, after the treatment, while looking better, is still showing some cat prints and bird poo, but I will keep washing at the facility to see if it will clear. Otherwise, I will have to invest in the detailing and polishing of the vehicle. It is cheaper than buying a new one! But tires, alignments, tune-ups, and other items are approaching, so it will feel soon like I am putting down a downpayment at the next repair/maintenance. Volvos are not cheap, and I am not interested in becoming my own mechanic (a lot of the work and repairs for Volvos can be found on YouTube now), as the investment in tools might be more than the repairs!

Aside: Susie would tell you it would also be more expensive to have the Volvo refixed after I did the work.

I drove to a now-former Office Depot and headed to Target in the same area instead. I found the paper in the office supplies, but not at the cheap price I am used to at Office Depot. I was also surprised that the DIY checkout is closed in the morning and you must employ a checker. Some strange corporate logic closed the stations on Saturday morning as it appears to be planned. So I waited in line with ten other people to get a checker to sell me just a few items–there was nobody there with more than a few items.

The stop at Goodwill took no time. I forgot to get into the U-turn lane and had to turn around. No surprise to anyone that I went an alternative way.

I put in Nav for Hoyt Arboretum in the hills near Portland. It is a lovely hilly section filled with trails through a managed forest of different plants and trees. I like the bamboo garden. I was last there with Glenda Hill when she came out to help, and together, we found the hummingbird house for Susie, Adult Foster Care. Glenda loves walking, and she enjoyed the arboretum as a special treat. I wanted to increase my steps and thought it a good choice on a sunny, cool Saturday.

I arrived there in Air Volvo without issue or much traffic. It took me a few minutes to work out the trails, and after going the wrong way twice, I got a map at the visitor center. I headed to the bamboo and was happy to find it without issue. It is a bit stressed from the winter and rains, and I was surprised to see some bamboo replanting. The stuff is usually impossible to kill. I looked and did not see any growth in the ground. It was still lovely and peaceful.

I then headed to the ginkgos but got lost twice and found myself headed back each time. Deciding that I should just go for a short visit, I returned to the area near the visitor center and looked at the oaks and pines. I tried to tell them apart before I read the tags. I am not very good at tree identification and have not improved! As I tired from the ups and downs, my balance issues returned. I took the outdoor stairs and nearly fell. I will have to stay on level ground and avoid stairs without railings! Bouncing down a steep hill into some water would not improve my health. If there is a next time, I will not do it alone and with a cane. I saw others with walking sticks. Hmm. And maybe I will come with a GPS.

I had only coffee and a banana, and the walk (and its moments of terror) left me hungry. I headed into downtown Portland in heavier traffic, but it took no time. I noticed that the graffiti is worse and more obscene. Sad. The county and the city received huge funding to help, but the officials seem to be losing the battle against folks with spray cans.

I crossed the hills of Portland to reach Elephants Delicatessen and parked Air Volvo in their lot–there is not always room. This is Portland’s version of an East Coast delicatessen (as we are in the PNW, there is a full bar with a bartender, and the coffee is excellent and comes in various forms and blends). The company opened one in Beaverton and enjoyed it a few times. The Portland one has more of a feel of a NYC place. I had a pint of Mama Leone’s Chicken Soup, an Italian version with cream, a piece of bread, and an S.Pellegrino sparkling water (it tastes like fresh snow). I sat at the bar and ate. The bartender gave me a glass of ice for my drink. I read on my Kindle app on my iPhone, but I also chatted with the bartender and watched the show. Coffee and soft drinks for lunch. They had Pusser’s Rum, a blue version, on the shelf (Nelson’s blood), but I stuck to water.

MyFitnessPal is tracking me, and I update it with my food. I picked the highest-calorie version of chicken soup. I was almost 50% of my walking goal (the goal set by the app’s mysteries). I thought I should have got more credit for those steps.

I headed to Guardian Games and discovered the Morrison Bridge, a draw bridge, was closed for work, and I had to drive back to Burnside and take its bridge, also a draw bridge. Traffic was backed up on the bridge. There are three other working bridges, so I was surprised to see the slowness. Soon, I parked on the street as Guardian was busy. I did not buy anything but was tempted by the board game Arc Nova and its add-on, Marine.

I met Evan at Rogue in SE, a usual place for us but darker and more expensive than the places in the Hawthorn area. It had been repainted in white, and the lighting was better. It had a new menu, and like most places, the prices were a few bucks higher. I ordered a beer: Dead Guy Ale. I was surprised that the exact beer is in the app- well, maybe not that surprised. I stayed under my calorie count goal!

Evan and I played The Lost Ruins of Arnak with the Leaders add-on. We did not use the extra hard boards in the Lost Expedition add-on this time. We both know this game well, and we played cut-throat. I did update the game with the new cards and replacement items from Lost Expedition. Many cards were unknown to us, making the game full of surprises. Evan pulled off the win with a score of 90, and I just breath away with 82. I agree with Evan that I should have stopped advancing my book and instead used those resources for the final score items. Evan beat me by purchasing one 11-point item at the end of the game.

We next played a two-person Furnace game with the new add-on and were crushed by the artificial player. I beat Evan by more than ten points. I could find some efficiencies, but I had to buy some cards to prevent the artificial player from getting them. I later learned that I should only score the cards once that the artificial player gets. This would have made it a close match. Next time!

Both games I would recommend. Furnace has a tiny footprint and plays fast; if you can find someone to teach you, it is an excellent game (it would be challenging to learn on your own). Arnak is a friendly-themed deck-building, worker placement, and resource management game. It can be harsh, and you often will know you are losing, but the theme (1920s movie-like South American archeology setting–very Indiana Jones) makes it more fun. I love it when I buy The Hat.

Arnak.

Next, after paying the bill and saying goodbye to Evan, I went to more games. Saturday is my gaming day. Richard was assembling, to my delight, the Marine add-on into his copy of Arc Nova. This is a monster card and resource management with light worker placement. The teach, Chris, had not played before, and getting me updated (I have not played this game for about a year) and incorporating the add-on took more than an hour. We played until about 10:30, with Richard pulling off a win by just passing Shawn’s score and me managing to be ahead of Chris. I had misstepped in the last quarter of play and did not have the animals for my zoo and money. Richard said I played well this time (I have been crushed many times in Arc Nova). I did pull my score up on my last move, surprising everyone. Chris and I agreed that we were just two turns from scoring many points.

The drive home after the game was easy, with clear skies and no rain. The bridges I needed were working!

I found some more baked chicken, just a few ounces of breast, to go with my pills. I recorded that in the app. After a shower, I went right to bed.

Thanks for reading.