Satuday Games

(Me driving thru the Hell of Portland)

Saturday ended after I returned from Richard’s house in Portland, not a burning hell-hole, but pleasant on this warm September evening. Air VW the Gray passed over bridges and highways without incident. Home, I cut off some more meat from the Costco chicken I had acquired that day for a snack, I did the dishes, most going into the dishwasher, though I did wash a pan, assembled the coffee for the next morning (and remembered to push the button unlike last night), and headed to the bedroom. There, I put on my PJs and read more Chinatown stories from the 1920s-30s. I got a chapter and then turned off the light, and soon was asleep. I woke up at 4 and felt quite off. I proved hydration and suffered night sweats for twenty minutes, something new, and then drifted back to sleep. I slept until my alarm.

I talk to Deborah all day by text and calls when I am driving. We try to share our day on the weekend when we are apart.

I read and discuss the impending federal invasion in Portland with others. From my informal poll, it appears that we are universally opposed to that here in Oregon. Nobody sees a good outcome. For those who need to recall a typical reaction to police actions in Portland, please refer to the Naked Athena article here.

Moving the story back further on Saturday, I started for Richard’s at 4:50, and although there were a few slowdowns, the pace was quick for the inbound to Portland. We set up the board game Luthier for four, with the same four players from last Saturday: Richard, Laura, Kathleen, and me. Which is also the rank of points. I managed to score 68 (my best score is 70), while Kathleen achieved an impressive score of 100+. Richard’s and Laura’s points were more than twenty points above that. And while I had no misplays, I felt I played too conservatively, which ultimately cost me.

(one of the few times that Yellow, my color, was ahead in the game)

I enjoyed the game, but it did seem to drag to me. We managed to play for about three hours. And while I like the game, I would not own it (it’s too expensive, a table hog, and too complex, except for expert board gamers). It seemed repetitive to me tonight. Kathleen likes engine building, and Luthier does not go in that direction. She prefers Terrforming Mars or Wingspan (or its various versions).

Moving on to the morning, I rose at 7:30 and discovered that the coffee had not been made, as I mentioned earlier. The blog would be a whopping 1600+ words. I also applied the newest update, Tahoe 26.0, which had me enjoying my coffee (after pushing a button) and looking out the window for thirty minutes. The new look and change of clicks and security were startling. I am usually unhappy with the look and feel changes; it requires me to relearn everything (i.e., mail is now a blue up arrow to ‘send’).

The update includes encrypting the data on the hard drive. I received a complaint that my Time Machine backups are going to an unencrypted device. I ignored that. This means the system is now consuming more power and reducing the processing power available to the user as data is written to the drive and requires encryption now, making the system ‘safer’ but also slower and reducing battery life. This was the reason I did not do this before. Ugh!

Lunch was reheated India-style chicken with grits I made a few days ago. Breakfast was just coffee. I watched reruns of the initial Lost in Space pilot, which is terrible. I remember being scared of the show when I was small and the antics of Doctor Smith. I was curious, as I saw it on Hulu.

Next, I headed off to Costco. I also sent a card to Mom Wild before the mail arrived. Costco, I was amazed, was busier than it had been on my last visit. I found my premade sandwiches for Sunday, a few items for church, and headed out. I found a short checkout line and was soon out for less than $100 from Costco, which is unusual, and my first cheap chicken at Costco.

I returned to the house in the EV, unloaded except for the non-perishable items for church (cups and some treats that can be used in backpacks filled by the church for hungry kids in Beaverton — 20% of the children in our schools, I have heard, are hungry). Next, I stop at Market of Choice. There, I visited again with Amanda, their cheese munger, and we selected some new cheeses for me this week to accompany my cheese and cracker dinners and lunch. I find a cheap red wine for cooking. I chose some high-quality meats, including an NY Strip, as I need the iron after donating blood. I find the rest of my shopping list (but forgetting the herring in cream sauce) and soon have two expensive bags in Air VW the Gray.

Time seems to run away from me after I return home and put away my belongings. I am soon saying good night to Deborah while I reach Richard’s in the EV. And that takes us full circle.

Thanks for reading!