Tuesday Better But Tired

I was surprised to roll over and discover it was already 8. I rose and found the coffee was already cooling. It would be another warm day, reaching into the 80°F+ range. The end of August is our usual worst month here in the Tualatin Valley, as I experienced a smoke-choked 113°F heat dome many years ago.

Makes you want to move to a mountain!

Breakfast was Zabar’s coffee, which I carried from Manhattan, thinking of Joyce, whom we all miss. I found her published study on Brazil for the United Methodist Church yesterday. Joyce came to our church in Beaverton and spoke, delivering the sermon on the challenges faced by the poor. I had hosted the study for Sunday School.

I did the usual, but I still found myself feeling tired and went at a slow pace. Finishing the blog late. I headed off to see Michael R for lunch. I also brought a board game, Raiders of Scythia, which is a reskinning of the Viking raiding game, but this time it covers the raids on Greece, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia. More biblical, if you like. I love the art, and the system is a resource management (i.e., raiding and plundering) and worker management. The game includes some push-your-luck as dice are rolled and damage assigned. Michael R and I did not find time in our discussions to play this.

We went to Happy Panda, one of my favorite places, and spent a couple of hours talking. The place was not too busy, so they didn’t mind the extended visit. We discussed my class; I will be teaching the New Members Class in September. We discussed the lessons I have taught over the years. We discussed the current state of Christianity, as well as less philosophical topics such as church budgets, pledge campaigns, and the reduction of funding to local food agencies.

We moved to Wildwood and had a beer. I picked a lighter one, and Michael R took one “dark as my soul,” as I described the usual three dark taps. These are heavy, dark, and flavorful beers and barley wines. We talked, at least on my side, less formally and enjoyed the beer.

I took Michael R home in Air VW the Gray and returned to the house and made dinner. I soaked some chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce for an hour, then baked them. I made couscous to go with it. I ate this while watching the old Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I have forgotten most of them and wanted to try them again. I finished number two and started three.

I managed to get my new computer, Raspberry Pi 5, working. The screen is small text, but I have found the fix for most of that, and worked out how to build a Python virtural enviroment using the Thorny editor, something I have not used before, and managed to load Chess into the virtual enviroment. I managed to get a few programs to run. My Python is rusty and I need more practice.

I finished my book by Tom Mead and I guessed right and also on another death. I thought the initial solutions were too complex and when the story teller retells them I find that I was thinking in the correct direction. After finishing the book, I could barely keep my eyes open. I did wake at midnight again and then at four, but after that I slept the night.

Thanks for reading!