Wednesday No Games

The rains are back; it was dark and gray here in the Greater Portland Area, and I had to use lights in the house. I try to ensure I work in bright white light. It is rain clouds, not smoke from the war, in Portland, which is primarily words. There was, I read, a scuffle on Tuesday night, and a few people were taken in for being overly rude. The troops are inbound but stopped for a few days for additional training, I also read. No tear gas, fires, or arms were used. I was suggesting to my liberal friend that we have a parade for the troops and ask Portlanders to take-a-marine-out, like we do for Fleet Week during the Rose Festival.

I rose after 7 and soon enjoyed Mexican coffee roasted and ground in Hillsboro. I had no plans on Wednesday as Z had soccer. I already have the heat on. Winter is colder this year as the ducks and geese have returned. I understand that they were staying further north as it was warmer the last couple of years, but they are back this year. I suspect that means a cold, wet winter.

I returned to my transactions and updated Quicken with all of that, making a few corrections. I also saw a $31 payment from the Treasury, as my short-term $ 5,000 Treasury Bill rolled over using their automatic process. This is my first time doing this, my first rollover. And while it rolled over to 4%, this has a zero expense, and none of the interest is taxable in Oregon. I have parked $50K in short-term Treasuries. I also parked $10,000 in SGOV shares, which pay about the same and are also Oregon tax-free, but come with a slight expense. It is easier to get in and out of SGOV as it is just shares. A recommendation from Scott.

I started working on the blog and managed to finish it by 10, decorating it with a few pictures. I received a note from the Nixon Library that they are having a sale and discovered that signed copies of Trump Jr.’s books are on giveaway prices, as is William Barr’s book. I could not resist taking a screenshot and sharing it on Facebook.

I wrote a card for Mom Wild using my new Notorious RBG cards and stamps. I did not get it out in time and did not take Air VW the Gray out yesterday. It went in the mailbox for Thursday. I did remember to put out the trash and lawn waste.

As often happens, the days seemed to slip away in little tasks and conversations with people about church matters. I did watch some more of this season’s Wednesday. I have mixed feelings about this one. The plot is good, the special effects are excellent, but the character of Wednesday seems somewhat blunted due to her anger and foot-stomping. Still a fantastic show. I will start the next season of Foundation later this year. I am on season 2; there are three seasons so far.

I ordered the cake for Deborah’s birthday in consultation with her son, Donovan. I have corrected my hotel stay in Detroit to cover all my time there (oops); I leave 10 October for two weekends in Michigan. I called the hotel, and since I used their website (getting a reasonable price), they could update the reservation.

I was also slowed down by my vaccines, as my arm hurt and I experienced a slight feeling of exhaustion and flu-like symptoms. I avoid the fever and chills this time. It is undoubtedly better than my last flu, which went on for three weeks. I have found that as I age, it takes me longer and longer to recover from the flu.

The sun appeared, and the clouds returned to high, clear skies. I took a full walk and reached three thousand steps. Again, good for a day after a vax adventure. I punched my newly purchased wargame, Guns of August (named after the famous book), and read the rules. It is a low-complexity war game that covers only three months of the start of World War I, and I will try to play it against myself to see how it works and check the setup. There are also mini-scenarios in the rules. I have the massively complex and monster games that cover the war, but I never found the will to invest that much in the games. I have also read reviews that say the games fail to reach realism. I have learned that what a game should simulate are the decisions and their results. Many board games do this, but wargames often dive too deep into the details to do this. But that also makes them interesting as you struggle running a couple of hundred counters on a front.

Dinner, spent talking to Deborah as she ends her day, and then with others, consists of more cheese from Market of Choice, crackers, and some battered shrimp from the freezer, processed through the Air Fryer setting on my double oven stove. I do more episodes of Wednesday and then read Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie. This one is told from Mrs. Ariadne Oliver’s point of view. Christie said Mrs. Oliver is written with a strong dash of herself. I enjoy seeing the author as a character within the story. I recall the plot from the BBC version, and I appreciate Christie’s concise writing; I will try to remember a few things for my own writing.

I remember to take my pills and read in bed in my PJs. It is 11:45 when I start to nod off. I turn off the light; this is a physical book. I dream.

I recall being asked in my dream to explain the math behind a collectible card game I was learning, which involved a lot of bits and cards. I seemed to have played this before in other dreams, and I discovered that we were being interviewed for some kind of dream broadcasting system. I try to explain the game after the others I played with got all the easy questions about playability and art. While talking, I remembered another game I had played and enjoyed, but I stayed focused on this new card game. I now remember that I have been playing some interesting games in my dreams. I often start in the game where I left off when I dream.

The rest is faded and in shadows. I slept well beyond 6 today.

Thanks for reading.