Sunday

Sunday is always early as I want to write the blog before church, and often, Saturday is a busy day, but this week, it was quiet, so I was finished with the blog early. I rose after 6, made liberal coffee in my French press, put a piece of meatball and olive pizza in the microwave, and had pizza and coffee for breakfast. I wrote until about 8ish, dressed in a sweater vest, dress shirt, and pride tie for church, and returned to my work table. I had plenty of time, so I decided to do the casement guns on SMS Derfflinger 1916. The plastic out-of-scale barrels for the guns are replaced with brass machined barrels that are corrected for the scale (tiny!). I managed to use the smelly jewelry cement to lock in the barrels. It takes 24 hours for it to harden, so there is time for minor adjustments.

Next, I used plastic cement, which dissolves the surface of the plastic and welds the plastic parts together. It is safer than CA glue, which dries solid and can leak and overflow, ruining parts of a model. With this 1/700 scale, I try to use more conservative techniques.

With that done, I headed to First United Methodist Church in Beaverton. I arrived soon as there was only light traffic and with no entanglements with Beaverton’s Finest. Our church has agreed to share its sanctuary with a non-denominational church, Emmaus Church, and its head pastor, Matt Bowen, gave the sermon today. It was a get-to-know-us wrapped in a Sunday service.

Today’s message was based on Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 16, the last of the letter. While certainly not a Methodist-style sermon with eschatology (end-of-the-world) elements you seldom hear at a Methodist church and the use of Satan as a foil, the message was that after all the teachings, try not to lose unity by letting dissension take over. The title, “Avoiding Community Catastrophe,” stated the goal simply. Pastor Matt boiled it down to two things, Jesus has already won, and for people to get good at being good and be dumb about how to do evil things. The Greek word he was focusing on in his message can mean mixing, and I would translate this part of Romans as “no mixing in wrong things.” I would revise Pastor Bowen’s words to be more friendly: “Be a connoisseur of good and never attend evil.”

The hymns were easy, and our visitors from Emmaus seemed to like to sing some oldies (but less than 500 years old). They were clapping to some. After church, I had coffee and chatted with folks. I headed out to Barnes and Noble to look for my usual periodicals. Air Volvo arrived there in light traffic.

All the water from yesterday’s thunderstorms was gone, showing how dry we were. The rains are back, and more are coming in a few days. The days can still be hot and humid, but there are now clouds in the skies, and we Oregonians are excited as we get to see one of our few season changes, often happening in days, not a month like in the rest of the USA. Our only mixed rain and clear days, Fall, is here on the Pacific Northwest Coast.

I found Cook’s and Make at Barnes and Noble. Both are bi-monthly, and I resisted Strategy and Tactics Magazine’s new issue on Stalingrad–an interesting topic to me. I was able to remember my membership info and got even $5 off, plus my usual discount. I was also tempted by the board game Earth, which I am sure Z and the gaming group at church would like. It is a card and engine-building game with the useful feature that players are often given actions by other players.

Lunch was with Mariah, who was only a few minutes late. We had sushi rolls and sake. I usually have a beer, but they were having issues with the beer. We chatted about writing, and Mariah said she checks the blog once in a while to ensure that Grammarly has not taken me over. Now, I sound like a chatbot–I think that was a joke. Mariah strongly suggested I should be traveling, and I will take that to heart. She also reminded me that she likes the series “Midnight Mass,” a horror and psychological thriller.

I assembled my rack for my orchids and added the lights. It was delivered from Amazon yesterday, and while not an IKEA kit—Basics from Amazon—this thing seemed to channel the strange pieces and impossible-to-align parts you often find in IKEA. I checked, and it seemed level, but I learned my floors were not. Done–I hope.

I had purchased and Amazon delivered the recommended lights for orchids—two sets of three—but I only needed three. I used cable ties to hang the lights inside the rack, one pinkish light per row. The rack is four inches too tall for my preferred location, and I will need to move games. I need to clear space in the garage for games anyway; I will plan the work soon. I also want to get Air Volvo inside before the winter.

While my phone credited me no steps for that workout, I was tired and tried to read more of The Orchid Thief. The writer, Susan Orlean, uses lots of false bluster I have not seen before in a popular book–I like it. I nodded off and slept. I woke at around 5 and started laundry in The Machine. I found the Trader Joe’s fish sticks and tater tots and put them in the oven. I watched the first episode of “Midnight Mass” and thought it was very well done and creepy, but you could not figure out where the creepy was coming from. I watched the second episode and finished it after a call in the dark, and that one went for some cheap false-jump scares–I still like it, but not in the dark. I ate fish sticks while watching a show set on an island of fishermen.

I finished the laundry—two loads—and put them away. I did the dishes. After the ant people were here, I saw lots of ants in the house. Hmmm. “What does not kill you, makes you stronger,” is the message I think I am getting from the ants. I will have to reconnect with the ant folks and ask them to bring this under control (again).

I took a shower, put on my newly washed PJs, and went back to reading The Orchid Thief. The author’s story about orchids got me interested again in the plants I ordered, which will be delivered on Monday. I will resist becoming an orchid-crazy and building greenhouses! Resist!

I soon was nodding off and found I was dreaming about Florida swamps full of orchids, turned off the light, and slept. I did wake to prove hydration.

Thanks for reading!