The morning started with waking early, proving hydration, crawling back into my blankets, and being woken by my alarm a few hours later. Coffee was assembled, and the timer was set. With my slippers on, I walked the short distance to the kitchen and found a pot of liberal joy (coffee) waiting for me. I sliced the last croissant and included a banana on my plate.
I did remember to put out the recycling and trash. I hear the trucks picking it up. Yay!
I doom scrolled the latest financial and political disaster launched from the White House. Now, it is more like watching a demolition derby but with the cars from the spectators. Nobody is happy.
I also watch the tariffs with wonder as I see my Air VW the Gray likely to be worth 30% more in two years than anyone expected. What strange times we live in. Pass the popcorn.
I am considering starting the ‘Western Greenland’ movement to give Denmark the Pacific Coast of the US. We can be Danes! This is part of Denmark’s encirclement plan to limit US aggression.
But I digress…
Like most, I spent the morning enjoying the sunrise, chatting with Deborah, and writing the blog. It was a cloudy day with some sky visible, but this would improve all day to blue skies. This is unusual for the Greater Portland Area in April. But there were rain, tornados, and messy weather in the center and midwest USA.
I had dinner plans with Dondrea and Z, but other than that, I had little planned for Friday. Since the pandemic, when the shoe company had us working from home on Mondays and Fridays, those days have been my laundry days. I stripped the bed and loaded the sheets into The Machine. Staff meetings were held on Friday mornings and often set at 6:30 (after our time change) to include our Indian-based staff. I would frequently stuff the laundry into the machines while listening. It is still my habit to do laundry on these days.
After the blog was done, and after enjoying some fresh air outside, I showered, shaved, etc. I finished the salad I had made a few days ago and opened and heated a can of baked beans for dinner. I was surprised to see my weight increase to nearly 240. It is a relief, as I thought that I should see an increase after all the food and lack of activity (driving). I will be more careful with meals and get more exercise now. But I am headed to Michigan next week and often walk 10,000 steps a day on the trip (and eat lots of good food, too).
After lunch, I loaded the dishes in the dishwasher and ran them. The sheets were not dry (bunched together), and I put them in for another hour. I headed to Big River Coffee with my laptop to write. There was no parking, so I slipped into the chicken sandwich place’s parking and walked over to the coffee place. I got a coffee and a cookie and then returned to my story. I use Scrivener to organize my story and chapters and use Grammarly to check things, but I do not let either tool push me into sentence structures I don’t want. In the second chapter, I introduce the central conflict of the story. I managed to add another five hundred words.
I ordered some Easter flowers, a bulb arrangement, to be sent to Mom Wild and some Easter stuff to Linda and family. Most of it should arrive before Easter and maybe before Palm Sunday.
I took the EV home, read about Jutland, and continued laundry. I pulled the board game Scythe from the VW cargo hold. I got some glue and found all the loose laser-cut wood part holders, emptied them, and reglued the bits. I went to the website for the maker of the inserts to see if I could replace a broken part. Games with so many tiny parts need organizers or at least bags. I was in the original Kickstarter for the game (2016) and checked some of the cards and other parts for wear; it is the oldest of my new games. There are some eBay folks selling replacement parts. I also check that I have all the extras. I only miss a roll-out mat and the $99 large box to hold everything in one box (I don’t need that; the game is currently spread out into four boxes, most of which I don’t need for basic games). I read the solo and auto rules. You can play the game with auto-controlled factions; I have wanted to try that.
Soon, I met Dondrea and Z for dinner at the local Mexican place, and we had good food. Dondrea and I stick to Diet Cokes. We talk about travel, politics, and Z’s math homework. I helped, but I was later told my answer was wrong. F**k, nasty exponent simplification I have not done since college pre-calculus (1983).
After dinner, we say our goodnights. I return home and do more writing, laundry, dishes, and bed-making. It is not a very exciting Friday night. I get to talk to Deborah before she falls asleep. It is always nice to start and finish with Deborah. I watched last year’s Doctor Who about war (it was excellent), “Boom,” read Scythe rules (and checked some game iconography online I was not following), baked some muffins, and put Scythe away with all its pieces back in place with the repairs done (though a replacement piece would help keep one item from spilling). I put on my PJs and soon fall into a deep sleep. I wake cold a few times, but it is only 45F (7.2C) outside, and I should not be cold. This is a leftover from chemo. I feel cold sometimes when I am fine. I return to sleep and dream, now just a vague mist of a memory, about my story and Scythe.
Thanks for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 