Monday Tummy Troubles Back

All day, my tummy was sore; undoubtedly caused by a medication I take. It took almost a week to go away last time. Lucky there is only one more dose of the anti-fungal med. There are also eleven days until my trip to Salt Lake City. I rose before sunrise, and it was cold and frosty outside. The rains have faded again, and we have blue skies intermixed with white cotton-candy clouds; the sun makes it a glorious and warming morning. No gray, at first, but the sky later will fill and return to the Pacific Northwest winter, gray and cold.

I invest my morning in writing another blog. Some days, the words just flow, and others, they are extracted with multiple passes as the details suddenly fill my mind. The morning was a mix of this. While some feel this is a problem that increases with age, I have always had trouble remembering the previous day.

I wrote while I sipped coffee (thanks, Dondrea, for the brew), read my email (mostly deleting), and updated my Quicken transactions to keep on top of my money and expenses. I read the news from the New York Times, the Jerusalem Post, and BBC News. Later, President Trump would say the war was over (it is not, and he, according to the press, started to walk that statement back), and there would be a minor improvement on the stock market. My IRA did not improve.

In the morning, I called Sam at US Bank Wealth Management, and we discussed my tax return and the market. On taxes, I informed Sam that my contrivance to withdraw from my IRA and donate the same money worked to my plans (I am never sure until the CPA runs my taxes), and I will likely repeat that (at some future point when the market has recovered). He was happy to hear that it worked out (I am not required to make mandatory withdrawals yet in my IRA, for those wondering, and after 70+, from what I have read, the giving counts for those). Sam reminded me that we were not even in correction territory on the declines, and he suspects it will be a blip. My IRA now contains little cash; I am nearly fully invested now, and Sam thinks I am running a moderately aggressive portfolio. I agreed with him, said I wished I had some more cash to buy some indexes at a discount, but we will leave things as is (he did offer to sell off some bonds to double-down, but that is moving into a more aggressive position, which sounded more brave than I should be). We agreed to watch from the bleachers for a while.

Later (to cover money things), I also spoke with my local Allstate agent. She had found a better earthquake insurance plan for me at about 1/2 the price, with the same coverage, and it was more traditional-looking. Each part of the insurance is broken out like my homeowners’ insurance. I gave my credit card number, and poof, it was done, and the house, contents, and other intangibles were covered.

I finished the blog, started the Monday laundry, drank lots of coffee, had toast with marmalade, and put out the remaining shredded bread to dry for croutons. I showered, scrubbed all the rash-impacted areas, and after the shower, I applied only a few creams. I dressed, grabbed my laptop, and sat down for a Zoom meeting on Skyrizi, my new treatment for rashes. I was wrong about the time, but we still got the meeting done. Just put in 10:30 in my calendar, not 10, and next headed to Cedar Mills McMinimans for lunch and to get a room for Theology Pub on Thursday at 7.

After a short ride in Air VW the Gray, I arrived and discovered Scott W and Ken (not my pastor Ken, but a former co-worker from Nike), and they asked me to join them. We talked about Nike, the war, and even insurance. I had iced tea for that meal. It was nice to see Ken (he still works at Nike). He did, and this got a wry smile from him, convincing Scott W and me that our retirement timing was good (via layoff).

I then sat at the bar after they left, had a dark beer, their Terminator, and arranged for the room for Thursday. One of my usual waiters was bartending. Instead of sitting at the bar and editing Dungeons & Dragons adventures, I had a nice ad hoc lunch with friends.

I returned home and watched more of Down Cemetery Road, and I really enjoyed the story. The acting is great, and you believe these people are real, as it quickly dispels any disbelief with good storytelling and camera work. The lead actresses, Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson, hold the story together, and I have enjoyed them in other movies and TV series. Recommended, though it starts a bit rough.

I defrosted some Mount Angel kielbasa for dinner. I made sourkraut from a jar, left over from a previous meal, and opened and heated a can of baked beans to go with it. I heated the kielbasa in a hot pan.

I also toasted the remains of my bread, just some end pieces and some poorly sliced off bits, in the oven with olive oil, sea salt, and generic Italian-style spices. I then sliced it up into croutons. I should have let it dry out for a few days — next time. Still, it was good.

I finished the laundry, but did not fold and put it away. I also assembled, with much more care, and followed the recipe with precision. The bread was good, and I finished my evening with a slice of toast with marmalade. I sliced all the bread, still warm, and reassembled the loaf in a bag. I froze it once it cooled. I do not eat bread fast enough to prevent it from turning furry (milk bread will last for me).

With that, I wrapped up Monday and went to bed. I did not read and soon slept.

Thanks for reading!