Today is another less-than-interesting day, where I get ready to travel and finish up the last things for 2025. The mail hold and new insurance are in place. I started to pack and clean.
I rose late, a new thing, and slept well. I woke about 4 and rolled over, and next I knew it was 8ish. I rose, started on the blog, and wrote most of the early morning away. I did watch the hummingbirds and other locals searching the backyard for food. Their Winter Solstice gifts from the land.
I wrote about Monday all morning and also the usual things, including collecting coffee from the coffee pot, which I again remembered to assemble the night before. I had plans for Tuesday, but Richard and I agreed to pass on the morning game; it would just be us, and the travel in and out of Portland would take almost as much time as the gaming. I did have an appointment south to get my glasses (which I am struggling to use while typing this). The Smiths also invited me to their home on Bald Peak (I call their home Smith’s Mountain) on Tuesday night.
I enjoyed bringing order to chaos — something that you don’t get much in the news or politics — as I cleaned the toilets and finished up the bathrooms (though I might clean the shower I missed). All the carpets are vacuumed, though I did not move the furniture to get every spot. Things you can control are nice to complete.
I had slices of babka I made the night before with my coffee and a banana.
Somewhere in the day between cleaning and finding order out of the chaos, I took a break and started season 2 of Halo, and I still like it, but the new storyline is not making me that happy. We will see.
On the way back, I stopped by the state-controlled liquor store, and they were not too busy, a surprise. I found a gift, and then the staff told me to take the gift set instead for the same price. Excellent. They also had Pusser’s Rum Blue, which is the original Nelson’s Blood rum. My favorite (there are other products now that claim to be original, but this one has been around a long time).
Soon I was sleepy. It may be connected to the rum in my eggnog (with two pinches of nutmeg, stirred) and lunch (see below). I woke in the living room with a start after an hour, and with all the travel, I am not sure where I am when I wake in a chair in the dark. For a moment, I thought I was in a hotel or a plane.
It is not the longest night, but still, it was dark soon. I continued cleaning and organizing. I wrapped up the babka and boarded Air VW the Gray at 80% charge. The uphill travel would cost me about 10%.
Navigation seemed worried, and I got many notes about sharp turns. It is a mountain-paved road, more than 1,200 feet up. Clouds or mist were near the top. I crossed over and started down the otherside, but only a short distance. I made the sharp turn and enjoyed the steep driveway to Smith’s Mountains. I got the smaller EV turned around and out of the way without complexity (David would turn the old XC-60 Volvo around for me, as it is longer and there are places where it gets close to an edge).
David was not there when I arrived; he was off getting a pizza and doing other chores. I talked with Michelle and Cat for a while. I brought the board game Fate of the Fellowship of the Ring, and later we would play a few rounds of turns until it got late. I think everyone liked this new style of a cooperative Pandemic or Forbidden Island-like board game.
We also looked at the weather forecast, as a massive low was near California, and it may move up the coast, bringing 50+MPH winds (80+KPH). Noon could be exciting.
A gift of some cooking and food items was kindly provided to me (thanks, Smiths). I managed the mountain and soon returned home. Soon, I was in bed as the clock turned to Christmas Eve. I soon slept.
Thanks for reading!
Update: I missed that I went for Italian-style food for lunch. Pastrini was not too busy, and I had a good lunch, but with so much to do, I skipped the wine.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 