It is another Tuesday, which means getting up in the dark to my alarm, reheating some coffee, and trying to get all my morning tasks done. I could hear the rain before I saw it. It was constant, but the ground was not yet saturated, so my backyard did not fill, and I planted grass in the spot that fills and let the grass drink some of the water. Leaf fall has created some local problems, as I have noticed a lack of diligence in clearing leaves from drains. This means huge puddles on roads and various low spots in Beaverton, Portland, and places with more cement than grass. The water can quickly swell to four inches in places. The extra pressure then sends large rafts of leaves into piles that dam up the drains. Like the spice on the desert planet in sci-fi, the water must flow!
I wrote until 8:30 and downloaded my transactions to centralize them in Quicken, so I have a view of my finances in one place (I still have to look at US Bank, as the IRA balance isn’t sent to Quicken, and the car loan is booked only as a debt and asset of matching value). It is helpful. I have been slipping of late and not updating the transactions; I fixed a group of them Wednesday morning. Better. Discipline is important, and I will check everything again in the next couple of days.
I did not finish the blog, showered and all that; I grabbed my laptop and Kindle and boarded Air VW the Gray, having forgotten to charge it. But 34% is good for more than 100 miles. Navigation gave me the disappointing news (I am using Apple’s) that traffic was heavy and slow. And it was. I arrived, splashing through some swollen puddles, one on an on-ramp to the Marquam Bridge. I arrived and parked on the street by Richard’s house. The street was full of mushy crushed leaves. I was fifteen minutes late; the trip took an hour.
Before leaving (backtracking a bit), my lawn service was parked across my driveway. The leaves in my yard looked like a tree had declared war and used a leaf bazooka on my house and yard. I apologized to the yard guys, as they would be spending quite some time collecting the yellow and red proof of the season. I usually see an extra $20 on my bill. I agreed to this because my lawn service at first refused to remove the leaves. It is an excellent deal.
(Ricard in blue is recording our success in the Board Game Geek app. James is in Gray).
Returning to being Portland, Robin could not make the game at the last minute; ISS Vanguard, a story-based board game, was out. I suggested Return to the Dark Tower, a game I had only read about, and one of Jame’s games stored at Richard. James did the teach for the game while Richard did the setup, but I did get in trouble and got a pass for a mistake (losing the game on the second turn seemed a bit extreme). It took until almost 11 to get the game going.
This is a cooperative board game but not a role-playing game. More like a combined solo play with shared objectives. There is some limited interaction. An app runs the game, and a huge electronic black tower rotates and spits out skulls, which are a form of corruption marker. It is quite clever and reminds me of The Lord of the Rings Pandemic version with a dice tower. It is based on an old board game, not a movie, and revised to be cooperative. It is its own IP.
Despite my initial mistake, I enjoyed the game and quickly learned I was playing a different type of character than James and Richard, who were reveling in battles. I was clearing corruption and pushing toward the final battle. By 1ish, we had moved to the endgame, and Richard was able to, thanks to his massively built-up character. The price is about $350 for the complete version. Basic ones are less. I cannot recommend it at that price, but play someone else’s version and remember it takes three AA batteries and an app.
After that, I found a parking spot on Broadway and would leave my hat there at the Broadway Grill. The rain had stopped for a moment, and I walked out thinking I had it on. I called later, and yes, they have it, and I will see them on Wednesday to get it back.
I had a bowl of chili and a Caesar salad, but was surprised that Mr. Toad’s Wild Red Ale, something I have ordered there for more than a decade, was no longer offered. Wow! I had some rice beer and wrapped my coat tighter as the wet cold seemed to get into my core. I finished the blog there. The salad didn’t get finished, but the hot, spicy chili helped.
The water was nearly flowing over the sidewalk as the leaf dams rose, increasing the pressure in the street. I nearly cleared the mess, but I didn’t want to get soaked. It is Portland; if the water runs on the sidewalks, it could flood basements, but folks know what to do here.
Puddles by the house weren’t an issue; the water was already receding, and leaf dams were being broken. My lawn was now just sprinkled with leaves: bright yellows and reds against the bright green grass. My roses’ blooms are rotting before they can open. The roses are growing slower now and will soon just sit and sleep until the days get longer after December 21st, the winter solstice this year.
I napped the rest of the afternoon away. My sleep has been short lately. I found a text from Mariah and learned that Emma was available for dinner too. We picked the not-cheap Golden Valley Brewery as I had a coupon (but still it is about $60 each). It was new to Emma who I picked up.
We stopped next at Powell’s. I had a copy of a book I did not have from my Kickstarter for the Caverns of Tracia. There were bonus maps, but I had no material that matched them. I remembered I cut my order at the last minute from all-in to just 5E stuff. I do not play DCC, an alternative to Dungeons & Dragons, which is the bread and butter for Goodman Games, which did the Kickstarter to convert the AD&D Guilds’ Guild adventure to newer tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). They did not do a 5E conversion for the maps, since it was all new material. Hmmm. I ordered the DCC guide for $10 from Powell’s.
A quick look, and yes, it was what I needed if I ever wanted to use the maps (not this time, but maybe some day). I would have to convert it to 5.5E D&D if I used it, but that is not too difficult (I do have their 5E monster and magic guide and one 1st-level stand-alone 5E adventure). I did read many comments criticizing Goodman Games for not producing all the work in 5E, but I remember it was clear, and I did, on purpose, not get this guide. But now I decided to acquire it.
Mariah was waiting for us, and we soon were buried in excellent food. I did not like my salmon, as it had a strong flavor; my mistake. We chatted about D&D, books, and writing. It was an excellent dinner.
I returned home and put away the solo board game, Plague of Dracula; I had left it out because I finished late, and I had no time in the morning to put it away. I did the dishes. I did not fold the laundry.
I finished Louise Penny’s A World of Curiosities, the 18th novel in the Canadian Crime series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. I had stopped reading them as I did not want to run out and, while well written and full of life lessons, poetry, and, well, Canada, the author covered terrible crimes too. I cannot recommend it more, but I understand they are dark, and one ended with a funeral for a major character. I cried all through that.
I slept after that, just before midnight. I had dreams of filling out visa forms and then being back at work, and I woke with a start at 5:30 and had trouble returning to sleep, as if I needed to code something or fill out papers or something like that (the dreams/nightmares fade from my memory).
