Friday More Writing and Rain

I did not dress until after noon on Friday. I started and completed the Friday laundry. I was out in my robe and slippers, looking at the drains from the gutters. Jeff had cleared them and repaired them, and now it was pretty boring; the water just flows out to the street. There is no backup, so there are no fountains where the gutters slide into the pipes now, and waterfalls in the gutters. It just flows.  I called Jeff and thanked him.

The soft girgle in the downspouts and distant pounding on the roof no longer concern me, and I like the sound again. It is strange how much weight this was on me. The new ceiling fans in the bedrooms are also marvelous. The new inset lights are great, too.

I rise later—just being lazy — at about 8, and have to make coffee because I again forgot to assemble it for the morning. The coffee is ground, and I purchased it from Winco, which claims to be a family business. Not certified anything, and I will have to order some more certified Fair Exchange later. I am out again on November 5 for almost two weeks. Back for a week and then out for another ten days. So fitting an order into my schedule is difficult.

I see that Jeff removed the special Michigan map power plate I found on one of my trips to Michigan, as it was for one switch. I moved to an even more prominent place on the hall plate. The tapestry of the grandfather clock is put away now that it covers the switch. I will be framing and putting the Gorey print on that wall.

I wrote for a while, published the blog, finished the laundry, and made lunch. I had baked beans and toast and talked to Deborah, who works from home on Fridays. I wrote the weekly report on the refresh for the church and all of my meetings. I also did some SPRC Committee paperwork (for those who don’t speak Methodist, this is HR work). I replied to some questions and suggestions after folks read my report all day. I also received the first invoice, reviewed it, printed and signed it, wrote a memo requesting payment, and sent it to the church council (I will carry the hard copies to the church).

Somewhere in all of this, I showered, dressed, and remembered to take my meds. I had remembered to charge the EV, and it was happy at 100%. It is best for the world to charge at night, when electricity demand is low. It uses about the same power as a run-of-the-mill American-style electric dryer. Not a heavy drain on the grid, despite calls from the anti-green movement that EVs will crash the electrical system. Nope. But I agree that charging an EV from a coal-powered grid is paying twice the environmental impact for the same charge. Our grid here in Oregon, when not stressed, is primarily wind and water-sourced. I think the effects of lithium and wind need to be understood better. Still, it is clearly less than coal (“Why is the Grand Canyon full of gray clouds? Well, that is from the coal power plant just a few miles away, and the pollution is heavier than the air and literally fills the canyon.”).

Time seems, as often happens to me, to disappear, and soon I was in Air VW the Gray headed in the pouring rain (yet-another-river-of-rain, YARR) to Portland. Yes, Portland. It is lovely in the rain as I put on boots and not my walking shoes for the puddles (I dreamed last night I was walking in foot-deep water to get into my car, just a usual day in Portland).

The National Guard had better bring their rain gear if they are coming here! Only true Oregonians love the outdoors in our wet fall-winter-spring-start-of-summer rain festival! Gardeners are made of tough stuff here (or have a greenhouse). Our protestors love the rain, and it cuts the effectiveness of the tear gas! Welcome, everyone, to rainy and moss-covered Portland!

I parked the car near a park. I later learned there is a sign for only certain vehicles. I will park further next time. Schillings Cidar House opened as I walked, in my boots and coats, with my hat already soaking in the wet, to a short distance to their front door. I was their first customer, and they were still setting up. I told them not to rush for me (happy to have a dry seat).

Soon, Kathleen showed up with a massive umbrella that she had put away before I hugged her. We talked for a bit, got some food (all non-gluten), and some cider. We mostly caught up and talked about gaming and politics after I covered all the fun Deborah and I had together in Michigan.

We managed to write some. I put away my novel and started reworking an old adventure I wrote in 2012 for the now-defunct 4E Dungeons & Dragons version. I wrote two of my best stories, I think, for the start of our 4E campaign back when 4E was newly released (and still being reworked with errata taped into my 4E books). I picked the second one, as it is an old-school dungeon crawl with dragons, undead, and the usual stuff in a tight package. I will revise it to 5E, move it up to about 9th level, and turn it into a one-shot adventure for my New Hampshire trip for Thanksgiving.

We decided to head to the quieter bakery and got more writing done there. Tea and non-gluten baked goods seem more conducive to writing. We got more writing done, and I managed to get the beginning of my text started for “When Stairs Lead Down” for 5E.

We walked back in the dark and wet and found our cars. I was able to leave Portland without incident, following the usual route: Powell Street (not the bookstore), across a bridge into Highway 26, through the tunnel, and then to Beaverton. The wind and rain had yet to cause local flooding, and the puddles were still small.

It is a second wetting and the ground still drinks some of the water. Also, the leaves have yet to block some of the drains. With some luck, the streams of rain rivers will be more spaced out. Otherwise, the poor National Guard, especially Texans, who will find it a new experience, will have to clear drains during heavy rains by removing leaf blocks. The ICE building in Portland is not on the high ground and is only a parking lot or two away from the river.

Hmmm. It may be nice that the Guard is pre-placed to help with flooding! And the frog and shark costumes of the protesters may be a harbinger of what is to come! The wet is here.

Home, I read more polite British murder, and another victim falls in the story. I am completely baffled by who the Cat Among the Pigeons is (and the title of the book). It is a fun story, and I recommend it. I will watch the DVD version of it once I finish the book.

I also write a bit more about the adventure and look in the 5E Monster Manual for appropriate-level bad guys and creatures to spring on the players. I will try to use standard content (SRD for those who speak D&D).

With that and once again forgetting to assemble the coffee, I soon fall asleep and dream about the rain and seem to be enjoying Dream Portland with deep water in its streets on dark fall days. Food and drink are always available at Dream Portland, and you won’t gain weight from enjoying them there! In the dream, at Powell’s Bookstore, I give the story to friends of my adventure, as apparently, you deposit your stories there by reciting them in this dream store.

Thanks for reading. See you in Dream Portland, dear reader. I will be the guy in boots and a wool hat, enjoying the rain, and splashing in the streets.