Sunday with Games

I see that Grammarly is still out of its AI mind. I think I have undone its many “improvements.”

I rose earlier than usual, around 8, which has been my start time for the last few days, because I had to write the blog, dress for church, and be there by just after ten: time-boxed. While I wrote, I had three very juicy (more like a water balloon!) plums that Scott gave me on Friday (he has more than he needs from a tree in his lawn) with a slice of bread from a bakery in Forest Grove with butter and a tiny bit of sea salt (I use unsalted butter). With this, I got coffee from my French Press. The drink was the last of the Kenya beans roasted and ground here in Hillsboro. I had little time for interruptions and stayed focused on my writing. I updated the Quicken transactions, but there were also very few interruptions.

Somehow, I had time for more than 1200 words! Saturday was packed full of activities, almost a weekend in a single day. I even had to update the published account later with something I forgot. I cleaned up, dressed, and was ready to board Air Volvo before ten. I picked my green sweater vest to go with the pride tie I usually wear to church. My tan pants were clean and not too badly wrinkled. I wore my black leather shoes with this. All this topped off with my summer hat.

It was a cool morning (62F/16C), with air from the ocean. The skies were a mix of clouds and blue. Smoke and its pine smell were gone. It was a lovely morning.

Aside: I had to check the style guides to see if it is a “Pride tie” or is the correct form “pride tie.” According to the AP and other sources I located on the Internet, the ‘P’ is capitalized if it is a part of a name; otherwise, it is not. Thus, “Beaverton Pride Parade 2024” and “I went to the pride event and had a good time.” The latter is correct. For my writing, I like to be the most correct and polite.

I arrived at the church on time, and the Progress Pride flag (it has a check to include more colors) was looking great by the side entrance. It had eyelets and clips, which let it flap nicely in even a light wind. I was soon inside and happy to see that the coffee was made before the service now that the lack-of-filters crisis was resolved. Pastor Ken arrived, and I told him the coffee was already done. He was much relieved and rushed over to get a cup!

Dondrea (church staff and leader of worship) asked me if I could take Z home after the service as Dondrea had church meetings afterward. I suggested pizza and some board games for lunch for Z in Beaverton and was given a time of 1:30 to deliver Z home. We, including Z, agreed to a plan.

During this summer, the church’s music has been retooled. I can sing and recognize the songs, and many are in the regular hymnal. Dondrea and Mary Beth did a piano and Cello duet of “Be Thou My Vision,” and you could hear some singing along. I did not know “Be Still My Soul,” but the tune is Finlandia (Methodist #534), my favorite, and it was lovely (and easy to sing). The others were all familiar and easy to sing.

Z was a liturgist today. She managed the task with the usual teenager: “I can’t believe I am doing this.” It was a rushed-through reading for the introductory items. But, her reading of the New Testament epistle James 5:1-12 was near perfect and slow, with pauses in the right places. Z seemed to underline the call that “your gold and silver have rusted” and other failures for the rich. The next section of the passages is a call for patience and kindness to each other. Z made them sound heartfelt.

Pastor Ken, now loaded with coffee, tried to shock us with his title, “Why Bernie Sanders is a Better Christian Than Christians,” but we are Methodists and are used to the pastor trying to shake us. We play the game by looking the same and not reacting. We listened more than usual, and I saw nobody nodding off today. Ken even called out for a response and had to repeat that with Dondrea (in the back standing near the sound system and making sure everything is running perfectly, or as perfect as she can keep things) called out back.

Ken’s message, which was heard, was that historically, the rich being called out in this passage were actually collaborators with the Roman occupiers who were extracting labor and pay from the poor for themselves and their Roman masters. There was no middle class in ancient Israel. James was focused on the poor and the working people and had no time for the wealthy traitors other than to call for God’s justice upon them, much like Bernie Sanders’s call to help the working and middle class and to stop giving help to the folks who do not need more help. Ken said he could not see much difference between the words of James of ancient Israel and Bernie’s calls for change.

Ken points out that James asks the poor not to attack each other but to be united. God is on their side, and they are to endure and let Job be their example. When answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ let that be true, and no oaths should be taken. Or, as I would say, “Just Do It.”

After church, I found Z reading in the back, and we headed out to Air Volvo. We picked out the board games Azule and Furnace from the cargo hold (which is full of board games). We then walked to Sizzle Pie in Beaverton. I had a Rabbit salad (huge), and Z had a white pizza with whole garlic backed onto it. I asked if we could play some games, and the guy agreed. We played Azule and used our simplified scoring process (put on all the tiles and then count the score with pairs counted as one and add it in each time minus any reductions for dropped tiles or taking the first player tile). We had time to play four games, with me winning three and being crushed 31 to zero in the one I lost. I was lucky the first few games, and Z had to remember to block me. She nearly caught me a few times.

Soon, 1 approached, and we packed up and thanked the folks for the food and the table. We reloaded Air Volvo, and Z took first class (and co-pilot) chair in Air Volvo. We arrived a few minutes early and scanned Red Tail Golf near Dondrea and Z’s house. I later learned that Dondrea and Z are south-paws, and finding a few cheap clubs for them (Dondrea is tall) would be a challenge, if not impossible. So, my idea of the driving range and other golf things faded.

I dropped off Z, who had a nice time and headed home in an Air Volvo. I arrived home without issue, but I did notice police everywhere. It is near month-end, and apparently, the locals are behind in their tickets. Beware!

I picked up my laptop, headed back out, and soon arrived at The 649, where Stephen served me an excellent Pilsner and some chips. I wrote for a while and surfed on the Internet. I watched some of the Olympics, as it was the finals for Women’s Archery. My cousin, Joe, was on the para-Olympic team for archery in 2008 in Beijing. I am always ready to watch archery (I never was serious but have been shooting a few times and always enjoyed it). Korea beat China for the gold.

Stephen made me coffee, and I started on a solo board game, Nemo’s War, which I acquired on a Kickstarter and enjoy playing. I had to recall some of the rules as I had not played them in about a year (time seems to speed by and then run slowly), and I made a mistake on the setup. I played to the very edge of failing (there are two goals, avoid sudden loss, and then score high enough that Nemo will be happy–yes, there is text for each scoring range) and saw I had a stack of cards left and lost. I did not know that the stack was a mistake, and I had one last move left–just one card, so I would have made it to scoring had I sunk one extra ship. Puke!

It was now beyond 7, and Crystal had replaced Stephen. It was time to head home, and I paid the bill. Air Volvo had me at the house. I did some late laundry and discovered another House of Dragon episode had dropped. I watched it and was surprised by the theme and special effects. Being on the receiving end of this dragon’s breath is not good. Our anti-hero, Daemon, played by the former Doctor Matt Smith, has to accept some justice. I think this and the previous episodes are excellent. Less sex, more acting, and a storyline with plenty of dragons.

The sun had just set, and I felt I needed to do something. I headed out under darkening skies with my Air Force Ones and a T-shirt and enjoyed a near-perfect windless night. I walked to the creek and was happy that I did not find it that difficult; I was breathing only a bit hard on the way back and near the house. I reached 4,700 steps for Sunday. Excellent.

(I think I may need to make them a letter. And this looks ready for some dramatic music and strange lights)

I always find the perfect cool, windless twilight spooky. It just gives me the creeps. It seems perfect for summoning something or being hunted by some arcane horror. Somehow, it is Lovecraft’s time (see this).

Without horrific accidents or findings of lost arcane magic, best forgotten, I reached the Volvo Cave and returned to less frightening tasks. I put away the laundry, loaded dishes into the dishwasher, and wrote a few more words for my Holmes and Watson story. Next, I showered and headed to bed; seeing it was late, I read for only a short time. I took my meds, applied eye grease to my still-troubled left eye, and soon fell asleep. The house was too warm for me, and I woke late, made adjustments, and slept until sunrise.

Thanks for reading.