Thursday with Ice Cream

I felt better on Thursday and finished the day by driving over to Salt & Straw in Beaverton and had a scoop in a nice sugar cone. I ate my cone with all the folks who were there for late ice cream. One little person was less interested in the ice cream (seeing how far she can throw a mostly finished cone, at one point — quite far). The little person ran around saying hello to folks, all excited, with her father running after her a few times. Observing the hijinks added flavor to the ice cream. It was a multi-ethnic late ice cream party of strangers! Nice to see this in times of ICE and the sweet with complex flavors (some I cannot spell or pronounce), Jasmine Milk Tea Almond Stracciatella, reminds me that there can be Peace on Earth, and it is food that brings us together. Or as Bilbo said, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

I returned home in Air VW the Gray, did the dishes (the kitchen looked like it exploded), and soon was in my bed, enjoying more stores of financial crises. I finished a chapter and continued to enjoy the basic premise that loose credit, low interest rates, and something to buy, usually two, create the mania and result in the panic and crash after some event triggers the fall. Does this remind you of anything, dear reader? BYW: US Government debt broke $39 trillion and, for the first time since WW2, surpassed the US total economy’s annual output; the last trillion of debt was this year! And for those who do not know, the largest holder of this debt is the Social Security Pension Fund. Yup, that is how we pay our retirees (including me) with interest payments on the national debt. Hmmm.

Thursday morning started with me not getting up for the sunrise, or even near it. Instead, I rolled over and rose before 8. I felt better and reheated yesterday’s coffee. I am able to run a microwave, though it takes a moment without coffee inside me. I slice a bit of raisen bread, a gift from Karen W, and toast and butter it. I add a banana to the mix and consume it while writing the blog and doing my usual tasks. My US Bank online daily balances for my IRA have been missing since April 22. Hmmm. Still.

A scrub jay has moved into my pine tree, and I suspect there are two, as I think they have a nest. Male and female scrub jays are identical in color and size, an unusual trait among birds. More on them here. I thought the local murder of crows, who are quite aggressive, had driven away the larger birds, and I am happy to have them here.

I wrote the blog, got a text from Brad J that he could meet for lunch — Scott is still in the islands — and I agreed to join him at the usual place: McMenamin’s Cedar Hills. I spoke to Deborah here and there in the morning and while driving. She was on a drive back to Detroit from Kalamazoo and got to enjoy an hour in standstill traffic while an accident was cleared. The EV soon arrived, and I rang off.

Brad J appeared a little after I did, and we chatted and had an excellent lunch. I was going to go for an iced tea, but my usual was offered, a Hammerhead, and I went with that. Brad J had an excellent alcohol free IPA. Brad J told me they are quite nice, and I might try these 0% beers. Brad J and I talked about travel, houses, investments (Intel is 3x in a short period), and retirement plans. Our discussion also covered quantum mechanics and other esoteric topics. It was fun to talk for about 90 minutes.

I returned in time to make the SPRC church Zoom meeting at 2 (the SPRC committee, for those who do not speak Methodist, is the HR committee). We were short as we covered mostly easy paperwork items. We put off other items. The contents of the meeting are private and cannot be covered here.

I rested for a while and talked to Deborah for a while. I was disconcerted by the meeting. I am also noticing that I am too busy with church things to get back to my other items. There is electronic hardware that I would love to explore (including algorithmic improvements, AI model compression, and vastly reduced processing requirements) in AI-controlled robotics. A hummingbird tracking system? Watch the hiding of nuts in the lawn and record what treasures are there. And what walks in the yard at night? Can I track the bats at night? Soooo muccch.

I have made no progress on my writing for months. I am contemplating running away with Deborah to an island (with good power and WIFI with free drinks) and just writing and being with Deborah, but for the moment, I will slog through my commitments to my church. If not an island, there is a bar in Portland or Detroit or LA or NOLA or …

It is sunny and warm, and I walk to the little creek about 1/2 a half mile on the local streets. I am amazed that I am not tired or in pain to make the walk and back. Not even breathing heavy. So much better than last year’s spring, when it took me two days to work up to the same walk. The travel, Deborah’s outdoor exploring, and moving more have made a difference. I also think that having the chemotherapy now in the rear-view mirror by years helps. Also, a long walk is now a choice, not an exercise or a strain, better!

BTW: an Old Fashioned has fewer calories and sugar than beer…and is too expensive to have more than two. I drink those more often now.

Returning to my narration (my mind was lost in the previous fantasy), I read for a while and tried some more Star Trek: DS9, but thought it was not very well-written and overly predictable. I defrosted some raw chicken and chopped up some veggies. I used a simmer sauce from a jar, Maya Kaimal: Spicy Vindaloo, once the chicken was browning, and the veggies were softening. I cheated on the fresh carrots and microwaved them first.

I made rice to go with it and talked to Deborah while I did my usual chaos that some people may call cooking (Deborah once commented when there was some crashing, just getting a lid). More like a summoning ritual to me, as I was using a jar. Follow the procedure, take care to prepare everything according to this hard-to-read print, and then combine it into a hopefully non-explosive or burning ending. The rice, this time, was perfect; I made it at the same time. The food, while spicy, was excellent and full of veggies.

With dinner inside me and the rest for leftovers, and my scale showing 228 pounds (yay!), I was not gaining weight; I headed out to get ice cream as I described, which means I have covered the full circle of Thursday.

With images of the Apocalypse of John and crashes and panics, I sleep well. This is nothing compared to just watching the news online! Hmmm.

Aside: Deborah sent me beeswax bread bags with an e-book that describes how to use them to prevent stale and moldy bread. I will have to make a loaf and see how it goes. Excellent! Thanks, Deborah.

Thanks for reading.