Sunday

I woke up this Monday with a dream. Susie and I were wandering some huge building, trying to find our way, a usual theme of my dreams. Usually, we get separated, and then I am never able to find my way back to Susie and have to go forward, hoping that Susie will meet me at home. Tonight is different.

In this dream, as I find my way back, Susie has laid down on the bed, wrapped herself in a blanket, gone to sleep, and then wakes to tell me she is tired. I am frustrated and head out to find our way. I turn and look at the building. Susie is walking poorly out of the building in a red silk robe with tiger stripes. She fell flat, and I ran to help, upset that Susie did not wait for me and was likely hurt. But Susie was not hurt. Susie then does various moves you would see in a gymnastic act, smiling and bouncing off the ground, spins, and somehow assembles a wheelchair out of her robe and sits down with a smile. She then makes it all disappear and appears to float over the ground. An audience member appears, laughing and smiling at the act. Susie makes the wheelchair appear again and sits. I reach Susie, hop on the back of the now reappeared wheelchair, and wave to the thrilled crowd. I hear Susie laughing at me and maybe an “I love you, Mikey.” Susie directs us onto the roads, going the wrong way, getting a reaction from me, and the dream ends. I wake, and it is 6ish, and sunrise just lights the room with Susie’s laugh still echoing in my mind.

Before this dream, going backward, at 2ish, all the lights in the bedroom go on (I use Amazon devices to control some of the lights). I ordered the bedroom lights off, “Echo bedroom lights off.” A few minutes go by, and they come back on. And then again. I order the lights to be dim, and that works. Then the lights turn on full power. That never happens. I am slightly creeped out but not scared. I checked with Corwin, and he did not change the lights by accident. The light switch works as it cuts power to the lights. I sleep and then dream of Susie’s show.

Before this, I again did not shower but changed the bandage on my belly incision, and there was some bleeding, but not much. I have a meeting with the surgeon on the 19th, just a few days. I will monitor it and change the bandage regularly.

My head on the left side is a bit sore, too. It stings along the incision sometimes. No bleeding or other issues. I am taking over-the-counter painkillers again to keep comfortable.

Before this, I was reading and eating corn chips with salsa. I had a craving for chips, so I got some on the way home at Safeway. I finished H.P. Lovecraft’s long 140+ page story, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, and while it is too long and uses impossible words, I did like it. It is strange to see short sentences and clear descriptions from Lovecraft.

Before this, I was at Matt V’s house eating one of his delicious meat hamburgers (he corrected me by saying that he serves meat burgers, not plant-based ones, for Keto). Today, he made grilled onions to add to the burgers. We met (Scott, Karyn, Mackers, and I) for another 5E Spell Jaming Dungeons and Dragons game, and this was the big finish as we launched the attack to save the known universe (in a fantasy role-playing game, why would you go for some less). Of course, one of our allies turned on our enormous fleet, and our plans were in tatters. We rush to take out the leader of the bad guys, and soon, we are fighting a long battle with the wizards. It was a harsh fight for us, not because Matt V (our DM) was especially cruel, but because we are not good at stopping wizards (not having any in our group). My evil cleric spends much of his spells dispelling other spells and blasting.

We overcame, and in the next game, in two weeks, we will try to reach the leader and save the known universe. It was fun, and I got to do a few evil deeds that Kayrn put an end to (she plays a good character and our leader). We are also happy to learn that our existing characters will move on to the next challenge, saving (as you likely can guess, dear reader) the multi-verse.

Before this, I had lunch at BJ’s Brewhouse. I had spicy peanut chicken with soba noodles and a beer. There, I sat at the bar and watched some of the US Open with the bartender, Nic. This year, Father’s Day was light, and the staff was bored. I had my laptop and revised another Howard story into my new format. I have two more to get ready. I am waiting for the first approval before adding more (I got approved and published this Monday!).

Before lunch, I was at First United Methodist Church of Beaverton. Jack Cone was giving the sermon, and he said as he started his sermon that he was glad it was so cold, as folks would think he was cold and not shaking from nerves. Jack covered the talent story of the New Testament and called on us to be stewards of the earth. He called out the existential threat of CO2 and the impact it is having on warming the earth. He made a call to action, saying that we Americans are good at fixing and making things. As Jack sees it, God has given us an opportunity to fix the air and to return all the carbon back to the earth, and Americans, with our crazy building and technology creation, can do this; it is what we do. Jack believes that God has let us just use the earth and the air until now, but now we must learn to control it, fix it, and make it work for us. Jack calls it an erector set that God gave us, and we must learn how to use it. Jack proposes that we immediately start pulling CO2 from the air, as that will give us time to adjust and find the best solutions. He does not propose to drop gas engines, for example, but to find the balance while gaining time by slowing, stopping, or reversing the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Jack is a professional voice actor and former radio personality. His voice is smooth and slides with just enough emotion to show that he cares about the subject but is not beating you up. He lands his sermon with the right mix of call and information. It was an excellent Christian call for stewardship of the air: Find our service here.

I rose late, and since I had written the blog the night before, I went slow and had coffee, yogurt, and a banana for breakfast. Sleep was broken by an endless, so it seemed to me, proof of hydration. I showered and changed my bandage and soon was in my sweater vest and pride tie for church.

Aside: It is cold here with some rain, clouds, and temperatures even into the forties at night. More April than June. But usually, June is wet and warm. So, the rest of the country is burning and under heat domes, and we are turning back on the heat!

And that is about it for Sunday; thanks for reading.