Thursday

I was up too early because I could not sleep, so I started the blog and breakfast early. I had an NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce) and liberal coffee made in my French Press. I ordered more a few days ago, and it arrived on time. I wrote until about 9 and started my laundry after putting Corwin’s laundry, still in The Machine, in a chair.

I forgot to include in Wednesday’s blog that Subha called me and visited. She was calling and texting my old number (503 277-3705 is not my number anymore–that was Nike’s phone), and she contacted Brad Jones and got my new number. We had a nice chat, and I again offered to take her daughter driving when she was ready.

Returning to Thursday, I dressed and was happy to discover that my bandage showed just one spot of blood and not much of that. The weeping has stopped. My antibiotics run out on Friday, so the timing is good. I should be healed soon. My Bell’s palsy is still freezing part of my face, but it is hard to spot. My left eye still does not close well, and I must take eye drops often. I use a night gel for sleeping as my left eye likely does not stay closed all the way when sleeping. I wear eye protection (when I remember) outdoors and in facilities as my blinking to avoid dust is also not working as well as it should. The pain in my legs and lower back requires some painkillers. I assume this is from more activity and will pass soon. My weight went up four pounds to 234 again.

While Bell’s palsy and bleeding are annoying, I am doing well and gaining strength. I can drive, and I drove Air Volvo to Portland and back. I should be able to walk and start at a gym next month (that is next week).

Lunch was reheating the gnocchi from Wednesday’s dinner. I could only eat about half of it. My stomach has been all acid lately, and eating something like gnocchi in a tomato meat sauce has not improved things. Eventually, I had a bit of bicarbonate in water to cool things off. This is likely the impact of almost two weeks of heavy antibiotics. I felt better after the bicarbonate. I am sneezing and coughing from allergies; it has not rained for a week, and the tree pollen is harsh. My eyes are burning.

I decided to get some supplies from the local hobby store and then buy groceries at Trader Joe’s nearby in Beaverton Town Center. I talked to the train guy (also the model guy), but they did not have the brass parts I was looking for, so I left empty-handed.

But I did not leave Trader Joe’s empty-handed. As Corwin moved out on July 1st, I restocked my fresh veggies and various frozen food items, albeit at a slightly lower rate. Five bags and $150 later, I had to unload from the cargo hold of Air Volvo on my return to the Volvo Cave. For me, this is a major exercise as it includes lifting and moving items (my weight limit is 25 pounds at the moment). Trader Joe’s sells nothing plastic (I asked), so zip-lock storage bags and plastic wrap will have to wait until a trip to Safeway.

After unloading, I found the five chicken quarters frozen and started to defrost them. I prepared garlic bread from some bread machine made white bread by cooking garlic in butter with salt (I use unsalted butter). I let that cool as I waited for the chicken. I finally got the chicken defrosted enough to bake, covered it in salt and pepper with some paprika, and baked it in The Oven number 2 oven. When it was almost done, I baked the bread slices with garlic butter and a little cheese in The Oven number 1 oven. I cooked fresh green beans (with the ends broken off and broke, not cut, in half) on the burner and added more butter, almond slices, and, yes, more garlic. Everything was done at about the same time and was good. The chicken tastes mostly like chicken and not spices. Sometimes, I just like chicken to be chicken.

I watched the last episode of the Acolyte available on Disney+ and thought it was good. Again, it was entertaining, surprising, and very dark. Again, I’m not sure about all the complaints about not following Cannon, the poor ratings, or that it ruins Star Wars somehow; I thought it was interesting and shocking. Again, it was like Star Wars meets John Wick and The Expanse. With the warning that it is harsh, I recommend it.

I returned to reading and not working on any projects. Piper Kerman’s Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison was hard to put down. I am now in the Prison part after her wild life of crime and her surprising turn to having a boyfriend, which then follows with her guilty plea and eventual imprisonment. I learned that letters, money in an account, and sending books to someone in prison were excellent support for people in prison. Of course, visits are the most important, but there is a limit to visitors, and they must be on a list.

I learned that there is a NetFlix version of the book. I think I will just read it. Lately, I have been able to watch only fantasy items.

Aside: I watched a few minutes of the debates. It appeared to me that Biden was mostly lost, and Trump was his usual self, making up one-liners. Not what I hoped for.

I haven’t done rose pictures in a while, and after the debate, here are some nice flower pictures.

This is Heaven’s Scent from Dondrea and Z to remember Susie.

This is a painted rose that is no longer available from Heritage Roses, Picasso.

This is David Austin’s Wedgwood from the plant that was poisoned by the floods. It is coming back this summer.

This is an impossible-to-find David Austin Rose, The Herbalist.

I went to bed, changed my bandage with just a spot of blood, and fell asleep after 11. Thanks for reading.