Author: alohawild

Today is another less-than-interesting day, where I get ready to travel and finish up the last things for 2025. The mail hold and new insurance are in place. I started to pack and clean.

I rose late, a new thing, and slept well. I woke about 4 and rolled over, and next I knew it was 8ish. I rose, started on the blog, and wrote most of the early morning away. I did watch the hummingbirds and other locals searching the backyard for food. Their Winter Solstice gifts from the land.

I wrote about Monday all morning and also the usual things, including collecting coffee from the coffee pot, which I again remembered to assemble the night before. I had plans for Tuesday, but Richard and I agreed to pass on the morning game; it would just be us, and the travel in and out of Portland would take almost as much time as the gaming. I did have an appointment south to get my glasses (which I am struggling to use while typing this). The Smiths also invited me to their home on Bald Peak (I call their home Smith’s Mountain) on Tuesday night.

I enjoyed bringing order to chaos — something that you don’t get much in the news or politics — as I cleaned the toilets and finished up the bathrooms (though I might clean the shower I missed). All the carpets are vacuumed, though I did not move the furniture to get every spot. Things you can control are nice to complete.

I had slices of babka I made the night before with my coffee and a banana.

Somewhere in the day between cleaning and finding order out of the chaos, I took a break and started season 2 of Halo, and I still like it, but the new storyline is not making me that happy. We will see.

On the way back, I stopped by the state-controlled liquor store, and they were not too busy, a surprise. I found a gift, and then the staff told me to take the gift set instead for the same price. Excellent. They also had Pusser’s Rum Blue, which is the original Nelson’s Blood rum. My favorite (there are other products now that claim to be original, but this one has been around a long time).

Soon I was sleepy. It may be connected to the rum in my eggnog (with two pinches of nutmeg, stirred) and lunch (see below). I woke in the living room with a start after an hour, and with all the travel, I am not sure where I am when I wake in a chair in the dark. For a moment, I thought I was in a hotel or a plane.

It is not the longest night, but still, it was dark soon. I continued cleaning and organizing. I wrapped up the babka and boarded Air VW the Gray at 80% charge. The uphill travel would cost me about 10%.

Navigation seemed worried, and I got many notes about sharp turns. It is a mountain-paved road, more than 1,200 feet up. Clouds or mist were near the top. I crossed over and started down the otherside, but only a short distance. I made the sharp turn and enjoyed the steep driveway to Smith’s Mountains. I got the smaller EV turned around and out of the way without complexity (David would turn the old XC-60 Volvo around for me, as it is longer and there are places where it gets close to an edge).

David was not there when I arrived; he was off getting a pizza and doing other chores. I talked with Michelle and Cat for a while. I brought the board game Fate of the Fellowship of the Ring, and later we would play a few rounds of turns until it got late. I think everyone liked this new style of a cooperative Pandemic or Forbidden Island-like board game.

We also looked at the weather forecast, as a massive low was near California, and it may move up the coast, bringing 50+MPH winds (80+KPH). Noon could be exciting.

A gift of some cooking and food items was kindly provided to me (thanks, Smiths). I managed the mountain and soon returned home. Soon, I was in bed as the clock turned to Christmas Eve. I soon slept.

Thanks for reading!

Update: I missed that I went for Italian-style food for lunch. Pastrini was not too busy, and I had a good lunch, but with so much to do, I skipped the wine.

Sorry, dear reader, Monday was boring. I was feeling better, but there is so much to do before I leave for the holiday. I started on much of that on Monday.

I rose around 8 after some disturbed sleep. I kept waking up all night. Still, Monday is not a busy day, much like Saturday without cartoons when I was young. Coffee was waiting for me.

I spent the morning assembling my memories into a narrative describing my experience on Sunday. These blogs are about my voyage through life and how I experience that trip. I am careful to tell only my story and may leave some things out — I try to be a good storyteller and cover what makes the story important.

I remember, and often have to remind myself, that I do not have control of the voyage, that it is how I react and what I do that I can control. The events are not mine to change or make. Cancer, death of a loved one, brain tumors, loss of a vehicle to ridiculous bad engineering, and the usual daily grind of living in 2025 in the USA are not mine to control, but to experience.

I watch my unrealized losses reverse in a few days. The churn on Wall Street reminds me of the start of the Internet. It is hard to understand. I called Sam at US Bank Wealth Management, and we talked. I said I had decided not to withdraw anything this December from my IRA, but instead ‘let h’r ride.’ I see some losses in mid-cap funds (likely the churn impact). I believe the mix is conservative, as Sam told me (15% cash), and will likely gain over the months. It is essential to not look at my balances every day (but I do anyway).

A tiny hummingbird zipped here and there on the dry moments and seemed to find lunch in my roses and various pine trees. I try to avoid using poisons on my plants, as I don’t need perfect roses to enjoy them, and so many animals and bugs enjoy the bushes (some of the bugs are most unwelcome).

I wrote and finally published my story, the next blog, and found that I had two new readers (welcome!) from WordPress. I sliced cold steak for a late breakfast and early lunch while I finished up. I went through all the bills, the mail came in (and some emails), and I paid all the outstanding medical bills now, so they count towards 2025. I believe, and that is what CPAs are for, that my employer-paid, cash-insured payments, not before taxes, count towards my health care total for tax purposes. I believe I can itemize this year and get pay nothing to the state and Federal. Which is quite a change from last year!

Aside: I could have withdrawn more money from my IRA to cause more tax events to consume all my write-offs. But I prefer that US Bank Wealth Management keep the before-tax cash invested. I will miss out on some of the tax benefits, but I think staying invested is better.

I did some light housework, getting the laundry going on Monday, stripping the bed, and then found I was shaky, like I needed more food, and decided, though it was late, to try Happy Panda. In the mail, I finally received my new solo board game, Plague of Dracula. I brought it to read the rules during lunch.

The food was nothing to remember; the Orange Chicken tasted plain to me, but I know that my tastes are not good, and so I would not recommend listening to me. I did read the rules, and the staff remembered me. I try to get there once a week for lunch. I have many happy work lunches there with Michelle S and Michael G, and I still get a warm feeling, even alone, when I eat there. I will be back.

I returned home, and never made dinner, and swept and mopped, and watched more of the Halo episodes. The show is getting better. I finished up Monday’s laundry on Monday (instead of Wednesday or worse): Towel, clothing, and bedding. Bathroom floors got swept and mopped. More rules of Plague of Dracula were read (and some confusion as I began to get the structure).

I baked Babka too (from King Arthur Flour). I used the bread machine to mix and rise the dough. I then rolled it out, ‘chocolated’ it, braided it, and put it in a pan to rise. I used a larger loaf pan and thought the rise was slow. The pan was too tall. Finally, I baked it and tried a slice. Good!

And soon I was nodding off while reading the rules (reading about vampire attacks is not a time to nod off!). I turned off the light and was happy to sleep without any impacts, that I remember, from reading about vampires. I do remember a flash of a dream or two about traveling with friends in my dream world, and Amsterdam might have been in one of them. It was easy travel in this dream.

And that was my not-that-interesting Monday. Thanks for reading.

I rose late again and was happy to find the coffee (from Steve and AJ; thanks!) waiting for me. I was up a bit early to write the blog before church, but with the service now at 11 for Beaverton’s First United Methodist Church, it was not a hardship. I wrote and had a banana for breakfast with the coffee. Deborah and I spoke a few times. I did my usual doom scrolling. I sense that President Trump is looking to control the news cycle with all sorts of outrageous behavior; anything to coverover Epstein and affordability reporting; Wallpapering President.

Here in the local area, and across Northern California, it is a mess of rivers overflowing their banks and roads breaking up. I am not headed to the Oregon Coast anytime soon in Air VW the Gray (and I try to find a working charging station there). I am staying home of late.

With the blog done, I showered and all of that, and dressed in a tie and my newest hat from the UK. It is more my usual look and fits well. I put Pastor Ken’s gift in the car and headed to my church.

(my new hat after church)

I checked out the new counter and saw that the sink and dishwasher were installed, but not ready for use. I did receive, and I knew this time would come, complaints and statements that the work made the church feel more like a Funeral Home than a church. That we should redesign the cabinets, I heard questions like why were the windows not redone, and other lesser complaints. Why do I avoid doing projects and teaching at churches? There was no wonder in my mind about that again.

Still, most folks loved the refreshed spaces, and I was happy with the work. The work incorporated everything I covered in the plan and matched the drawings. Just a few items and I am free!

I ushered and was not too busy with various folks who walked in from the street. We had our usual folks getting coffee and some donut holes. I welcome them.

Dondrea gave a marvelous sermon about it being the shortest day of the year and that we should seek light and those things that bring light into our lives. That, despite all the terrible news and events, both nationally and personally, we need to seek the light, and it will be better for the search.

With that and all the ‘input’ I received, I left a bit early after church ended. I went home, talked to Deborah for a while, and then had a late lunch or early dinner. I fried a steak in a cast-iron pan and then baked it in the oven until it was medium (I was aiming for medium-rare, but I didn’t time it right). While I liked grilled better, my grill needs to be replaced (it is rusting away now), and it was interesting to try this method. Just salt and pepper. This method is also reported to work for frozen steaks.

I baked and microwaved a potato and chopped veggies for a nice dinner salad. The steak was huge, as was the potato, and I cut them in half when done and put them away for another meal (the cold steak was good for breakfast). Deborah and I reached the current Matlock episode and enjoyed it together, making comments on the phone while we watched a nearly synced play in Oregon and Michigan.

I planned to clean and pack, but my colon and its contents had other plans. I spent most of the day reading and going slow (and never far from the bathroom). And while I would prefer a more normal process, the choices were few with colon cancer, and my truncated colon most of the time works as expected. And it could be my diabetic meds reacting to the heavy dinner and wine with gaming, and my lack of sleep.

I watched more Halo and liked it better as the story started to make more sense and the characters became more sympathetic. I did the sweeping and mopping in the kitchen. I got the Friday Laundry finally done (just in time for Monday’s).

I had some cheese (I have an excellent selection from the Cheesemonger at Market of Choice) for a snack. I paid my Delta Dental bill. On Monday, I have the last of the year requirements, as I am booked for the rest of the days of the week and then I am in Detroit. I returned to my polite British murders and read until I nodded off (imagine me wandering through the British village where the murder is set).

I turned off the light and slept most of the night. No dreams are remembered.

Thanks for reading!

I rose on Saturday to a dry and sometimes sunny day, but one of the shortest as the Winter Solstice is here. My decorative jars hung from the deck rain shelter, filled with solar-powered ‘firefly’ lights, some never lit and others lasting only an hour or less. The gray and short days make them short-lived. Yes, as was said in a Doctor Who Christmas Special with Matt Smith years ago, “We are halfway through the dark.”

I washed three of the jars’ lids with the solar panels, as dust and mold can block charging. I left them in the house to charge, but forgot that the kitchen light is a motion detector, and they soon were discharged. I will move the solar-powered lights to the eight-hour light system for the plants to ensure they get a full charge. Hopefully, they will recover (or their inexpensive light system failed).

I had not bought any liquid softener yet, so laundry was delayed.

I wrote the blog and chatted with Deborah, sharing some of our morning. We would connect here and there all day. We are counting down to seeing each other on Christmas; there are five days left.

I took the leftover chopped veggies from making jambalaya and froze them. We will make gumbo next month for 2026. With the blog done, dressed, and all of that, I headed to Beaverton in Air VW the Gray. The puddles are still there, and everything is shiny and recently washed by the river-of-rain. More roads are washing out, and rivers are high. I was surprised to see how high the Willamette River was in Portland when I drove through Portland later.

I stopped by the framing store to pick up Pastor Ken’s gift, which was not that expensive until I had it framed. Next, I decided on lunch out and stopped by Red Robin to discover that the bartenders had quit, and ‘Shy’ was my new twenty-something bartender. She informed me that “my name is Shy, but I am not shy.” That left me with no guy-over-60 appropriate comeback. Refusing to be trapped or shocked by those words, I ordered lunch without looking at the menu, which earned me a smile, having thus avoided any comeback she is sure she has heard before. Toche!

I learned that she was hired last month, that four bartenders had left, and that she was immediately promoted from server to morning bartender. I have been visiting the bar since before the pandemic, and it has undergone two remodels since I first sat at the bar. She shared that she hated the shake machine; it sucks to clean and breaks all the time. I have heard this from her predecessors before.

Turning to my food, my chicken breast lunch and salad were good and spiced up (perfect), but I spoiled its reasonable calorie count with a side of fries, but I did not get a refill. They had a beer I had not had since Von Ebert’s had closed in the Pearl District in Portland: Volatile Substance IPA. I am not usually an IPA guy, but this one is interesting.

I checked out with Shy’s help (the table machines were not correctly set at the bar, I was told), who was busy with about six tables, good for a Saturday, but she said they were slammed at night this week with all the holiday shoppers buying dinner.  I was happy to hear that the economy in Beaverton was moving for the holidays.

I stopped at Market of Choice, bought paper products, softner, and a reasonably priced, for what it was, steak for a later dinner. I returned home, read for a while, and nodded off a few times. I am not above sliding in a nap here and there.

I had yogurt for dinner after a large lunch. I boarded the EV and took it through the drying streets of Beaverton and Portland, but soon the Oregon Mist returned, and we were cold and damp. The VW does not have a heated steering wheel, and my hands were missing that warm caress of Volvo warmth I used to get.

I brought Chateâu Greysac 2015, a Médoc, to share. Chris, Laura, Richard, and I met at Richard’s basement to play Ada’s Dream, a new Kickstarter board game. This is a dice rondel-style game and engine-building (including ‘gears’ and ‘cards’ to program your engine). I liked this one because it avoided illogical goals, secret objectives, and grabbing super-powered cards (that a new player cannot know), which I find so frustrating with some engine-building games. The dice and programming were fun. And while I scored at the bottom (with Richard and Laura fifty points ahead of me), I learned that I did need to upgrade my cards (there is a light deck punning pruning mechanism) and that I need to program more. Still, I missed third place by two points. It is a heavy game with more iconography and rules than most, and is definitely a hard-core gamer option. We played for about three hours (with the ‘teach’ for me adding thirty minutes).

With that game done, we played a rushed (it was getting late, and we ended after midnight) Fate of the Fellowship LOTR Pandemic-style new game. We lost, and there was a bit of nervousness from that, but everyone enjoyed the game. We had lost Helm’s Deep and could not retake it, and we focused too much on fighting and taking strongholds rather than on objectives. Still, it was fun.

I drove home in no traffic, but Beaverton’s Finest was on patrol, and I passed at least two of them. I drove ‘casual,’ and they left me be (and stayed under the speed limit — looking very law-abiding). I made a grilled cheese and had half of it with my pills. I find I sleep better, and the pills are less impactful with food. I woke up often and slept for only a few hours. I did dream of other choices and programming in Ada’s Dream.

Thanks for reading.

Going backwards, I got home around 10 at night in Air VF the Gray from Lake Oswego and the Lake Theater. Dondrea bought us tickets to John Nilsen‘s Christmas Concerts there. Donna (Dondrea’s mother), Z, Dondrea, and I met there and enjoyed John’s solo concert. I recommend his concerts (see the link) and his appearances as a guest piano soloist at local churches.

I had a few drinks and some popcorn for our table as we watched John. We got one of the last four-person tables that was not already reserved and could see through the crowd. It felt like a very personal concert and an intimate space. Again, recommended!

I had picked up Donna, and we got there in the EV early to grab a table. Parking near the site was hopeless; I found a spot in a neighborhood behind an electrician’s truck (figuring it must be legally parked). Donna, I had walked her to the theater before finding acceptable parking, waited inside, and she was ready to grab us a 4-person table. I did climb up and down a hill in the wet and dark. My dress shoes are rubber-soled and work well for the Pacific Northwest.

After I got there, I got to talk to John a few times. We agreed we needed to get a drink together, but the bar closed after the show, so we’ll do it another time. But yes, we need to do that!

Before this, I was at the house and watching the waters recede in the backyard. The rivers, receiving the waters, are now high, and some are flooding. There are local evacuations near many rivers. The storm dropped two inches in less than twelve hours (not quite like a Florida Hurricane, but pretty destructive here in the Pacific Northwest). The storm game with wind and that, and the volume has mudslides and trees down all over the coast (they had dangerous winds and more rain), and to a lesser degree, inland. Tillamook, on the coast, I heard, has only one road left for access, and that is over a large hill.

Moving the story to earlier and home, I sent out an update on the Church Refresh project, which is winding down, and everyone seems pleased with the changes. We are about down to punch-list items as the last appliances and sink are installed. The space will be available for Christmas Eve.

Corwin stopped by, but I was headed out to John’s Concert.

Before this, I made my lunch. I enjoy the choice of cooking for myself while I am home. I defrosted a porkchop, an inch-thick one, and fried it with just a hint of butter (I also added some water when the pan was very hot to steam it and ensure it was fully defrosted). It had a nice flavor (just salt and pepper this time).

I chopped carrots and celery for a large salad I had with the chop (hmm, that is a lot of ‘chop’). I did not need a starch (still holding at 240 pounds)! I finished the salad as I also finished the awful James Bond movie Moonraker, which I bought instead of renting. Not worth the $15 by any imagination. I remembered it being better.

I also finished Judge Dee’s book and liked some of the stories, and I will have to put some of that in my Dungeons and Dragons adventures.

Before this, I skipped the laundry (I am out of softener and keep forgetting to get some) and wrote the blog. I had risen late, and this made time seem to disappear.

And while it seems I should write more, just making my 500+ words usual for a simple day, thanks for reading!