I am up early, 7AM, on Sunday morning, and a time change with the Spring Forward is causing us to lose an hour. I have to write the blog before church, and it is best to start early. It is pouring rain outside, and I can hear the water in the gutters. Likely, when the light is stronger, I will see the small lake in the corner of the backyard as the water collects again.
Saturday started with me rising about 8ish and finding my slippers and robe. I went directly to the office and began the long blog on Friday. I was not rushed, as Evan was out of town, and I had no plans other than to cough less and rest a bit. I wrote for an hour, before I noticed. I paused, made liberal coffee, and then made a NYC bagel (thank you, Joyce). I held the bagel and looked down; my thumb was in the wrong place. Instead of moving my thumb, I moved the knife in error. Snicker-snack went the Vorpal blade bread knife, and I sliced my thumb tip well. After the bleeding did not slow, I found a bandaid and let it hold the wound together while I typed the blog and ate my breakfast.
Even with the new handicap, I finished the 1300+-word blog at about 11AM. I forgot to mention the new Panda movie that I went to on Friday night. It was slightly less funny than the first three, but I was still laughing, and there was a lot of commentary from some of the bad guys that was really funny. It is its own movie, and I liked it. Recommended: Kung Fu Panda 4.
I was coughing again and doing light housework. I washed my bedding and dirty clothes and put away most of the laundry. When he moved in, Corwin brought some giant white towels with him, and I have no space for them, so they are set in a chair for the moment. The towels, my clothing, and the dishes are put away. That reduced the clutter, and I put out some of the recycling, making even more space.
I headed to Walgreens and found two USB-A 32G memory sticks to store Susie’s photos and skating videos. To my surprise, they were expensive, and a USB-C was locked down, and twice as expensive, I passed. The Aloha Food Carts are there, and I went to Bombay Chaat House for an Indian-style veggie lunch. Harvey was running the truck again and happy to see me again. I got cha masala tea and their three curry specials. It is not too spicy, but delicious. They supply hot spices if you want to take it to another level; I demurred today.
I ate outside, and soon, the cold wind rose. The sky was blue and sunny at first, but soon, clouds filled it, and the rains returned. This is more usual for us in the winter, with ten-minute micro weather systems and the cold wind blasting from the desert, blowing east-to-west against the earth’s rotation. Here, the heavier cold air flows down the thousand-foot cliffs into the Columbia Gorge from the high desert and then pours to Portland and over the west hills to Beaverton. The wind can be ten degrees colder than the air and blast off your best cowboy hat, kill your tender plants and trees, and freeze mist on bridges. Black ice is very real here, and some bridges are so slippery when iced that you can’t stand on them, let alone drive over them. Oregon will take your life or at least smash your car if you are not respectful to the American West.
I returned home and located the China photos. There were only a few with Susie in them. I tossed most of the images as they were not that good. I kept the good ones. I found some photo albums. Found Susie’s fans from China trips, one handpainted of a tiger and another cloth of a phoenix, Susie’s favorite images. I also located the bill for Susie’s new skates, $980, and threw that away. I will scan the photos on Sunday.
I was coughing often, but I finished remaking the bed and decided to use it. I read for a few hours, resting on the covers. I am reading the Dark Tower adventure that I just received. My reading reminds me why it was famous; most encounters and events are unique, with no boilerplate boring “five orcs attack” like writing; there is even a note in the text if the bad guys will run after being overwhelmed. I can also see that the 5E rewrite was done with care; in AD&D, poison was deadly (it does damage or disables in 5E), and treasure was experience points. There are lots of treasure and magic items (in AD&D, you get the choice of keeping a magic item or selling it for more treasure, which means more experience points as treasure was experience points), something missing in Wizard of the Coast material (the owners now of Dungeons and Dragons and the publishers of 5E). I carefully follow the 5E rules when I write adventures, but I try to write more in the older style found in this adventure.
I make a sandwich. Corwin has bought some bread and will soon head out. I have a plastic glass with me. The water helps to put out the coughing, so I sip it often. Traffic is messy in Beaverton, but light in Portland, and my trip takes about forty minutes. It was Kathleen, Richard, and I for The Fox Experiment tonight. This dice-rolling game focused on breeding gentler foxes, something still done in Russia. A fast-paced five-round game where you collect dice based on the pair you select to breed. You then roll the dice and see how your new pup did. It is always fun to collect and roll your own dice–it is a satisfying feeling to roll all those dice. We managed to be taught and played a game in 45 minutes. We played a second game as we liked it. Richard won both games, which was not unexpected, but I outscored Kathleen both times. I missed playing the last turn and gave Richard one of my best pups. Until then, I had a chance against Richard. Next time!
The Fox Experiment is by the same game designer as Wing Span. I would recommend this game as it is elegant, fast, and easy to learn. It has no connection other than a well-designed game to Wing Span.
To finish, we played one of my least favorite games, Project L. It is an excellent game where you apply plastic geometric pieces to a card. You score the card and its reward when you complete it. Richard loved this one so much that he helped us. He crushed us. Kathleen was excellent at it. I managed not to embarrass myself.
It was a time change night, and Kathleen was not feeling well, so we decided to stop early at 9ish. I drove Kathleen home to the other side of Portland and into Milwaukee. I returned to the highways, ignoring NAV’s wish to take a slightly faster Portland street path. I didn’t want to learn about the latest drag racing or other legally questionable events in Portland. My trip was uneventful, and I was soon home.
Corwin was out, and I made a bagel sandwich to go with my pills. If I eat something, I have a better experience with them. I took the cough suppressant, too. I wandered through the house and set all the clocks that don’t change on their own to an hour later. Puff, it is after 11, and I take a late shower, climb into the clean sheets, read, and sleep. I only wake up a few times.
Thanks for reading.
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