I got to bed after Sunday started. I had taken Air VW the Gray from Kathleen’s house in Milwaukee, a city just outside of Portland (yes, there is one here), and crossed over Portland in the EV. It was my first time in this car, and I discovered that the road felt rougher as the VW’s handling was tighter than the Volvo’s. Air VW the Gray sticks better to the road, even using the ‘green’ regenerative braking setting. I also appreciated the sudden and silent immediate acceleration; the Volvo had a slight delay as gears, and the engine had to react first before the wheels would move faster. Power on demand, even in ‘green’ mode, was excellent.
Kathleen and I headed to her house from Richard’s after a few board games, more on the lighter side at Kathleen’s request. It was Richard and Lauren to do four players. We first played the push-your-luck game, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, with 3D-printed pieceholders and the plastic version of the ingredients from Board Game Geeks (recommended at $42 for any Quacks out there). This silly but sometimes intense play is a favorite, and I played the add-ons in New Hampshire with more 3-printed upgrades. This time, we would play the basic 4-person version (there are a few changes for higher player counts).
In this game, you try to randomly draw from your bag of random ingredients to build the highest-scoring (and thus the best) potion this round. But there are dangerous items in your bag, and if more than seven values of these explosive items are in your cauldron, boom. Thus, it is a push-your-luck game with some elements of resource management. The rules are not all easy, but we had a good time.
Richard pulled ahead as my fellow players risked less or too much. I miscounted and blew up. Richard and Kathleen, as a strategy, blew up in the first play to get more payment—interesting. In the end, I recovered from last place on the final play, a surprise to the other players who had written me off, but I could not catch Richard and settled for second place.
We played Project L, and while I found it interesting, I could not do better than half the leader’s score, Lauren. This beloved game is sort of fun to me, but I am not that good and always lose. It is a physical piece-matching and resource-building game. It was likely one of my worst scores. It was a Kickstarter, and sadly, the trays and other excellent improvements are unavailable for new purchases. Improvements are available as 3-D printed, but Richard’s version is fantastic and includes the expansions built into the trays.
We discussed house improvements and got caught up on each other’s holidays. I got out late.
Before this, I was at the house and painting my M.A.S.H. 28mm (standard Dungeon and Dragons sized) figures. I also primed bases. I will base each figure. Loretta Swit’s figure is not separated but with a patient; I prefer each figure to stand alone. I painted the US Olive Drab and the bases a bright green. I will glue the figures to larger supplied bases, fill in the different heights, and then lightly ‘decorate’ the base.
I found the last of the bread in the freezer (with it just being me, it is best to freeze loaves and toast them back to life). I brushed on some olive oil to stop the bread from getting soaked (in case you wonder why your meatball sub falls apart, toast and oil to fix that). I spread some cheese with leftover sauce and meatballs (now cut in half) from Costco on the bread and roasted. I did not get the mix hot enough. Next time, I will microwave the sauce and meatballs and put them hot on the bread. Still, it was great to have a meatball sandwich for dinner, and the price was right. Even if it was not that hot.
Moving back further, I loaded up the EV’s cargo hold with electronic goodies and headed to the SupplyGizmo store. They were happy to take them, including a robot and a drone in near-new condition. The second 3-D printer I bought but never finished building was accepted, as the parts were at least worth the trouble. It is now out-of-date.
Next, I headed to P.F. Chang’s and learned it was Saturday, meaning lunch specials don’t apply. I ordered beef teriyaki, which was too sweet. It was the regular order size (expensive, too). I had that with soup (another charge) and fried rice (upcharge $2). The food was of lesser quality than I had before and cost me $45 for lunch for one with an iced tea. F**k!
I rose at 7ish, was slow going, and talked to Deborah on and off all day. It is remarkable that even with our long-distance relationship, we can text, talk, and feel connected. This is obvious and likely known information to any high school-aged couple, but executing it still makes it more real. I wrote the blog, texted, read emails, read some news (‘shock and awe’ for us liberals), and even defended comments on the 14th Amendment (which is getting a lot of coverage this week).
Breakfast was liberal coffee, a banana, and a croissant. All my lab results, including the PSA test for prostate issues, were all good.
And that takes me to waking; thanks for reading!
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