Tuesday Rushing

The morning came with me rising not too early, having some coffee, cleaning up, dressing, and rushing to Portland. Air Ford got me there before the storm hit. It would be windy and wet today, with sideways rain that soaked and destroyed umbrellas. The local schools have not finished for the year, and the words I hear over and over this year are, “I am not ready!” The panic can be seen in the driving.

My drive into Portland is slow and crawls across Beaverton. Air Ford (Escape) is heavy and is not pushed by the wind, and the tires grip the now more than just wet roads. The All Wheel Drive is automatic, but I do not feel it take over while driving today in the flooded streets. The air is warm, and it is what we often call a Pineapple Express from the tropical Pacific.

I arrived at Richards in northern Portland five minutes late. James and Richard are still setting up. We are again playing a scenario in the older Mansions of Madness, Second Edition board game. This is one of the role-playing games (RPG) styled board games and uses an app to avoid assigning one player the keeper’s role. I still find it slow, and board gamers want to win; it is their nature, and they have some trouble with cooperative games. But still, it is interesting, and the Lovecraft theme is my favorite. This play, the third scenario, is more complex, and the story fits the theme better.

No spoilers, but I enjoyed the game this time as there was a good story that fit the Lovecraft theme, and I felt we had choices to make with many options and consequences. James did go insane, but Richard and I managed to keep our characters sane, though mine was wounded. We finally worked out what we needed to do and soon saw the ending, but we still had choices. We finished about an hour early, near 1. I would say that scenario three was the first time the game fulfilled all its promises. It was excellent.

I made my goodbyes as I am traveling soon and won’t be back until 2025 begins. The traffic was light, but the storm had picked up, and the waves of wet, hot Air Ford (Escape) and the high ramps onto the bridge were damp, but there was, thankfully, no flooding. I do not like coming down the ramp onto the roadbed through puddles, but that was not there today.

I arrived home and made a salad for lunch. I chopped carrots and celery and found the beets and little corn cans still in the frig from the Thursday party. It’s best to use them up, though I did toss some of the beets as they would not keep over the next three weeks! I organized a few things and wrote Christmas cards with gifts. I drive the cards to the post office, which is slammed, and I cannot even use the driveby boxes. I took Air Ford (Escape) in a circle, questing for a postal mailbox, and found the box near the Federal Express Office. Done! I return to the house, and Corwin stops by. He gets in Air Ford.

We tried to reach Reedville Cafe, but the roads were blocked, and other roads were choking with traffic. There was a nasty crash on the TV Highway, and it was shut down. Yikes, someone’s holidays are ruined. With some backtracking, we reached the Cafe. I bought Corwin a late lunch and early dinner while I shared some onion rings. We chatted, had a nice time, and didn’t hurry, as the traffic mess was ongoing.

The flashing lights disappear, and we head back. Corwin was happy to get the chicken fried steak, but no mashed, more veggies. Corwin avoids carbs and alcohol now. I had an iced tea.

I rested for a moment, and Deborah and I texted (having started the morning by exchanging ‘good morning’ texts). I sent Deborah and the household a new cookbook, “Does This Taste Funny?” by Stephen and Evie Colbert. They tried a new recipe for brisket (with a few changes), and it was a good dinner.

I grab Z’s gift, a large wrapped package, and board Air Ford (Escape). The traffic and rain do not make the trip fun. It is dark, and the road markings are difficult to see, so I mainly drive by memory. However, I get to talk to Deborah as I travel, making the trip more pleasant. Soon, I will arrive, and we will say goodnight as I park.

Dondrea and Z were delayed a few minutes because they needed to cross Beaverton, but soon, we were at Pastini in Cedar Mills Cross, just a few shops away from Beaverton Powell’s. While Pastini is a chain, I find the food at their Beaverton location good and their wines excellent. This is not cheap dining!

The pinot is superb, and Dondrea and I both have large glasses. Z found the seafood pasta excellent, and Dondrea and I tried the noodle-based Stroganov, which was excellent. The garlic bread makes you want to see how they make it. So simple and so good! We demurred when offered desserts. Instead, we headed to Powell’s, a less caloric dessert but likely not cheap.

Dondrea and I look at books and share our favorite history books with Dondrea in recent history while I am pointing out ancient and American Civil War (ACW) titles. We both wish we had more time for more reading.

Dear reader, here are my ACW titles:

Gettysburg: The Last Invasion. The best complete story of Gettysburg I have read with footnotes and covers all the questions you have about what we know and don’t. Read this, and you will see the battle in your mind, and here are the researched answers. I have read many books on this one battle, and I think this one is the best for the history and accuracy of what we know.

Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 by Shelby Foote. This is the poetic version of the battle and ignores some of the questions answered in the previous one. But this one, you can almost hear the rebel yell and smell the sulfur from the burning gunpowder. I read his larger three books of narrative history, but I think he is best in smaller bites. 

These books are recommended for reading. The first is a keeper; the footnotes are excellent if you want to learn more. The second is dreamy and an example of how to tell a story, but one I would seldom reread, but it is fun to quote from. My copies were loaned out and never returned, so I will repurchase them.

Dondrea and Z presented me with most of my Christmas gifts, a date kit that can wait until Deborah arrives in February. Yay! When I return, an urban fire kit will be added to the mix (arriving late). Deborah and I can light a fire on the deck, sip champagne, and eat salmon paté with crackers and cheese. It’s most excellent!

We hug and will see each other on Wednesday. The wet and dark drive was messy in Air Ford (Escape). I arrive home soon, doing the dishes and trying to bring some order to the chaos. While I have not vacuumed or mopped, I still am tired and fall asleep (wine, food, books, friends, and chosen family) as I marvel at all the goodness I have been blessed with this year. I rise one last time, check a few things, and then shower and read in bed until I fall asleep.

I put the background music, ‘Music to Sleep By,’ station on Amazon’s Echo and have to make it louder as the storm startles me awake. I did not know that the wind blew the front door open. I had not closed it properly, and it was open all night, but the house was dark. It shocked me to find that this morning and checked, nothing was taken. All safe. Goodness!

Thanks for reading.