On Tuesday, I felt the most normal I had in a week. The tummy issues are less painful and more gassy now. Whatever that was, it seems to be fading away. Yay!
My alarm woke me at 6:30, then I rolled over and rose just before 7. Next, I tried to find some motivation (it was in short supply), climbed out of bed, located my slippers, and wandered to the kitchen. It was cold, so I grabbed my robe. I made instant coffee as I was ready for more than a cup or two after the tummy issues. I made toast by grabbing a frozen slice of my bread-machine product, which I slice and freeze; I do not use bread fast enough to prevent it from turning furry before I am out. I freeze it now. The toasting was followed by adding some orange marmalade on top. This was enjoyed with a banana.
Thus robed and breakfasting, I started in my office, still being visited by my small ant invaders. I treat them all as spies and execute them. The office is mine!
I start the blog, but get a video call from Linda, my sister, and soon I am hair standing up, robed, and mostly awake, having a phone conference with Linda and Mom Wild. Mom Wild has graduated from rehab and is back at Haslett Pointe Senior Living. I called her when she returned, and she was happy to be sleeping in the familiar place with her stuff.
Mom Wild sounds happy, and she and Linda are having lunch together. Later sends me a video of a Vet filing her horse’s teeth. Yup, can’t tell you how much I would not be involved with horses. There is no limit to the list of updates, repairs, illness, tack, mucking, and one kick to the head, and you’re dead. Horses are not for me.
Note: I have only one near-death experience with horses. A horse (not a pony) tripped with me riding it in a full canter in an arena, rolled, and just missed crushing me. I did get on again, and yes, the horse tripped again and nearly fell again, and I was done for the day.
Still, it was nice to chat. I was glad Mom Wild was feeling better. We rang off, and I then returned to writing and updating my transactions. I was soon out of time as I was time-boxed. I quickly showered, applied all the layers of anti-rash stuff (three different products), and then dressed. I boarded Air VW the Gray and was soon headed to Portland and Richard’s place at about a 50% charge (about 160 miles). I try not to panic when the car is not fully charged. Traffic was slow again in Beaverton. Speed limits were seldom approached, and I witnessed some extra-legal lane changes as the frustration of slowness showed.
I skipped 217 and instead stayed on the old Canyon Road route, connecting to Highway 26 at the top of the hill. It is a more interesting trip and avoids sitting on 26 for the initial hill climb, but saves no real time. I reached the tunnel, and the traffic, now no longer connected to the inbound Beaverton-based Flow, accelerates. I then err and take I-84 instead of 405 and have to circle back to Richard’s house, but again it was the same time and also a more interesting drive. I arrive on time, and James follows a few minutes later at Richard’s place.
Despite our characters being maxed out, we took a punishing in Tainted Grail. This is a role-playing-style cooperative board game with a mix of Arthurian, SciFi, and Lovecraftian storytelling. We are now in chapter 10 of 15 chapters. The material is copyrigted and I should not flash a spoiler too. We recovered and have been upgrading our characters, especially the cards we play in combat and diplomacy challenges. We are surprised that the processes of making the board available and lighting menhirs have driven us into an area we had not meant to cover (my mistake, as I suggested the route), and we find that we have completed chapter 10. We then follow the physical save process and will play next week. We stopped about 1 and started at 9:30.
I did not stop in Portland for lunch, but instead headed home. There, I found that my AppleTV device had been delivered. I happily disconnected the Amazon Fire Stick, which, since I got a note that I should buy the new version, had suddenly started having issues and was often spinning while it “Adjusted.” It had worked until I got the note. My theory is that Amazon needs more cash to pay for all that AI, causing a sudden update and slowness that I did not witness until the last three weeks. I managed to install it. I had to install apps for all my connections (except Apple, of course) and services. I then canceled all of Amazon (again). I still have my AWS account for bringing up servers.
The interface is better on AppleTV, the picture and sound are better, and there are no delays. I put on the movie Minority Report to see how the screen looks. Better!
Lunch was fish sticks (fish fingers to Doctor Who fans in the US) and potato pancakes. I used the air fryer feature of my oven. I think simple baking would have been better.
I did connect with Deborah before she slept to get a “good night” in. We had talked and texted, as usual, here and there all day.
I checked for car rentals for our Utah trip in just over two weeks. Hertz has the best setup, and I can get a car for $1400 for about two weeks, just walk in and take it, but for less convenience, Alamo offered the same car with a visit to the rental desk for $750. You can’t ignore that kind of savings (I used Costco to book it). I booked a car pick-up and return at the airport.
I looked at Arches National Park, a 3 1/2-hour drive from Salt Lake City (SLC), and hotels are expensive (it is Spring Break), and even the IHG is $300 a night. I will talk to Deborah about all of this soon. I would suggest a Sunday drive south, spending Sunday through Tuesday nights in the park area. Returning to Park City near SLC and spending a night there, and enjoying the area for an afternoon, evening, and morning, and then heading to the airport to return the car and head home on Thursday (Deborah back to Michigan, and I to Oregon). But if we have had enough of SLC, we could start on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, south, and add a few more days.
We reach Utah on Friday and have two weekends on this trip. We can do SLC and near-day trips on the first weekend, and travel south and start at the National Park the next weekend. All in pencil.
Just wanted to share my thinking, and it gives Deborah a chance to read this and see how it matches her thoughts. Comments and suggestions are welcome. More to come.
Dinner was at BJs Brewhouse, and Eric was my waiter. I did have my first beer in a week and with no side effects except satisfaction. Heavy (and at $27 to $35 a plate) dinner was not for me. Instead, I ordered the flat bread, which Eric and I agree is one of the best items on the menu. Coffee and ice cream followed. I read news and items on my phone and ignore my book, Moss Gathers. It was nice to feel more normal.
I returned home and did a few chores, and soon was in bed. I did not read and soon fell asleep. I did not wake until the morning.
Thanks for reading!
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