Thursday Laundry and Groceries

Some of these blog posts are just about me living my life and doing the usual mundane things you need to do to live in a house in 2026. This is one of those.

I woke early, jetlagged, and could not get back to sleep. I started at 6ish and watched the sunrise. Well, it was more the gray getting brighter, since yesterday was a typical spring day in the Pacific Northwest. It did not rain, but the sun made no appearance except as a halo in the clouds here and there.

I was tired and made a whole pot of coffee, knowing I would need a few cups and then could use it in the late afternoon to avoid a nap. Not good to nap with jetlag!  I also reheated it for Friday morning (while I am writing this). Breakfast was a protein bar and yogurt. I started the laundry and the blog post.

I tried to go slow with the blog as yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) was full of typos, as Grammarly and the back button seemed to make a hash of my thinking. I recalled the travel day and some of the interesting people and events. I was disappointed that the scale read 230 pounds, thinking all the walking might have helped my weight. But all that BBQ, booze, and good food seemed to have balanced the equation, maybe a bit too much. It was fun!

I also read my email and read the news while sipping my dark coffee, liberal coffee, and once again, the bitter flavor, the news, my email, and comments on Facebook from the right reminded me how far we liberals have to go to establish Justice wtih Compassion for all. And while God promises in the Book of Revelation to wipe away every tear (I am teaching the book in Sunday School in May), there will be an ocean of tears until then. I tire of the lies, killings, and acting and hear, again in the same book, the cries of the saints, “How long!” Sorry if that is too religious for you, dear reader, but the book is on my mind.

I finished the blog, got some of the laundry done, and more started. I dressed and all of that. I decided I want to find the Cosmic Monkey Comic Store in Portland, get the second comic that I enjoyed, and finish the story. I also wanted to get out.

I took Air VW the Gray to Portland with about 50% charge and took US 5 into Portland, a longer but prettier trip. I made a few mistakes, but soon found parking and walked to the store. I found the comic, but no other comic appealed to me; there are lots of superhero ones. It is a very nice store, clean and well-organized. I am used to used bookstores with piles of books and graying magazines everywhere.

Next, I parked on the street in Hollywood in Portland and walked over to the Wet Spot, the local aquarium store. I had not been there in years, and they have dropped saltwater from their offering. They have specialized in freshwater fish, many from Africa, and I believe most are now raised in tanks rather than captured from the wild. Instead of heating most of the tanks, the room was heated to the high 70s. My glasses steamed up. I discovered that my interest in aquariums is mostly to look at them rather than have one, but some goldfish tempted me.

I tried Rio’s Ribs for lunch, and after $32, I had a lot of good-but-not-great pulled pork, collard greens, and some fried okra (over salted to my taste, but I suspect good to most). I sat at a bench and ate it off paper and plastic. Not a great dining experience for the Bucks! The Laughing Planet was next door, and I should have picked that. I like their food. I also checked, and brisket is only available on weekends, and they don’t have beef ribs. Hmmm. Hard to recommend, but it was not bad, but not as good as St. Louis tourist places or Slow’s in Detroit (the best so far), by far.

I read my comic, and the second story was not as interesting as the first. The ending was disappointing. I was striking out today. Next, I stopped at the elk in Portland. During the protest during the Trump One, it was taken down as a safety issue (the elk statue is not safe to climb and is naturally unbalanced with the rack on its head). It is back, some sandstone upgraded to granite, and the park (and courthouse) all look great. The road no longer goes both ways around it. All traffic now passes the rear (no chance of hitting the head or bronze rack). I drove by it and was excited to see it again.

Note: It has a fountain, and when the drain gets blocked, it overflows. This got the less-than-flattering name of the “Pissing Elk” statue for years. The proportions are also a bit strange, and until it was missing, nobody really loved it. Now it is the “Elk” statue and was missed (six years to put it back).

I returned home and pushed through the laundry. I put on Star Trek Academy and enjoyed the next two episodes. I had stopped at the 185th Veggie stand and loaded up. I also stopped at The Market of Choice and got some toilet paper (I was down to my last few rolls), meat, a reduced-price ham (past Easter), and some expensive cheese (I would make a ham-and-cheese plate for my breakfast on Friday).

(You can punch out their logo and wear it.)

I continued doing laundry and heated a frozen pizza that disappointed me (Not sure what went wrong), which I had with a salad. Mom Wild called. She is lonely (I saw her last week, but she has forgotten that), and I tried to calm her. I had stopped writing postcards when she was recovering from a fall and moved to another facility for a while, but I promised to return to that now that she was back (I wrote one on Friday).

I read a new murder mystery on my Kindle, and soon it was late. A mundane day, and I did feel sad that my trip was over, and I am not yet ready to start my six weeks of things here at the house in Oregon. This includes medical stuff that has been bouncing around in weird insurance things. Next trip is 6 June 2026 to California  — driving again.

Thanks for reading.