Author: alohawild

The morning started with me trying to sleep in. With the bright morning sun, I just want to get going at 5AM. Going to bed early for me, before eleven (23:00), just means I wake up early. So I stayed in bed until 7:30 and finally started. This weekend I am on call, but I was told to skip the status calls–so I did. I made liberal coffee with my French Press. I have been drinking fair trade, and like coffee since the election of President Trump, I like the reminding taste of what I believe and that the little things matter (and often the splashy ones are just the death throes of outmoded ideas). Liberal tastes so good in the morning.

Breakfast on Saturday was a what-the-hell moment that has happened so much more after the pandemic; I decided to have lasagna, left over from Friday’s cooking, as I left one piece in the frig and froze the rest for dinners of the future. It was good but not as good as it could have been, and I will have to consider other recipes in the future. The no-boil pasta was still crunchy on the top in a few places. More sauce on top next time.

Carmile Longley (CM), one of the two creators of the Lamp Black comic and solo role-playing game (RPG) by the same name, had sent me my missing copy of the RPG rules. This is a comic where the ink comes to life and, depending on the artist’s art and emotions, maybe a cute ink cat or a nearly unstoppable inkblot of death (a psychologist’s nightmare). It is like they made it for me! I ordered doubles of everything (causing multiple packages for me as CM uses the arcane shipping rules to find the least costly shipping). I then put one complete set into the most oversized mailer CM used (with her logo on the tape!), resealed the box with transparent tape, and addressed it to Kat Smith in NYC. I sent Kat the comics from Christmas and thought she would love to see the RPG.

I was unwell on Friday, so I had to write the blog on Saturday morning; the blog was short. After that, I dressed, boarded Air Volvo, and loaded the package into the cargo hold. I also reloaded Air Volvo with several games (I had taken them out for Susie’s trip to the doctor on Thursday). I stopped by the post office and mailed the package using the postage-generating box to do this. This time it wanted my address, too, and I put that on the generated label. The machine could not auto-scan the small package, so I had to put in the dimensions. I was surprised by how long the process now takes (something to remember for Christmas) and was happy to get away with less than $20 shipping.

With the package now dropped off in a machine, I headed to see Susie. It was sunny and hot. Before I left the Volvo Cave, I watered the new redwood 2″ tree I planted yesterday (nothing is more optimistic than planting a redwood tree–you will never see it tall). It is planted in the depression in my backyard and is the only redwood with leaves (they sort of look like needles), and the exotic tree sheds them in the fall. It is also recommended to plant where nothing lives, and the wetness and parchedness of this spot are supposed to be perfect for a redwood. I hope it makes it!

I have a gift from Dondrea and Z of a rose bush I have not planted yet. I watered it too. I have found a place for it and just have to install a hole. Soon. The other plants are happy, and even the stressed ones (I also gave them some water) look better.

The traffic on Saturday was light except where the City of Beaverton installed new holes. I made my usual 25-minute trip at that time. It was slightly cooler in Tigard as it is a higher altitude than Aloha, Oregon (my mailing address is Beaverton, but I actually reside in the forgotten unincorporated down of Reedville). Soon Air Volvo pulled into Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was in her chair but ready for an adventure. She was delighted to have me visit. Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, moved Susie with aplomb into her wheelchair (how do they do that? Even when I watch, it still is a mystery for me). Off to outside, now over 80F (26.7C), with a light dry, warm breeze (desert heat today). The park was full of folks and dogs (many freely chasing balls). We headed to the shady bench near the redwoods or cedars (I think I have misidentified the redwoods as cedars) and looked at a full-sized version of my 2″ sapling at the Volvo Cave.

While sitting in the park, is not much to write about, it was a lovely day, and Susie and I both were feeling good, and Susie was smiling while watching the activities in the park. We are blessed to have Metzger Park so close to Susie’s facility. There are some areas in the park closed with hazard tape. A new bike rack and some new play area for kids is going up. Seeing that the park is so well maintained and even improved is so lovely.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and then Barb, Susie’s sister (who might visit next month), on my iPhone and used FaceTime so we could see each other. Leta was thrilled to see Susie outside and me feeling better. Barb was happy to chat about family and how Susie was feeling. It was hot, and Susie, who had not recovered from the exhausting trip to the doctor on Thursday, was sleepy. So we returned to the hummingbird house and returned Susie to Anassa’s care with a kiss. Susie was headed for a long summer nap.

Evan, who met us in the park, and I headed to Rogue Brewery via Highway 5. This twisty road follows the rivers and is built into the cliff along the Willamette River, an extension of the Columbia River, with head-turning views of Mount Hood and the river. This is, of course, a terrible feature of a highway with dangerous curves and mysterious lane losses that must have been designed on an off day for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Still, it is a lovely drive, and I get to take a bridge with a panoramic view of Portland and the mountains, including the truncated Mount St. Hellens visible in a slightly hazy sky (with a four-lane merge in the air and then spits off to two highways, making you really wonder what ODOT was thinking). Popping off these collections of cement-in-the-sky traffic solutions, I soon parked next to Rogue. It was slightly humid, and the hot air from the Columbia Gorge was blowing and collecting water from the river to be somewhat thick: Desert with a hint of oasis.

Rogue was not that busy, and Evan soon appeared; I passed him on the highway–Air Volvo loves hot, dry drives on high-placed cement. I ordered a salad; there is no AC, so a salad with salmon (it is delicious here in the Pacific Northwest). I had Dead Guy Ale to go with it, their best product, I think.

While I ate, Evan read the board game Scythe’s campaign introduction (a steampunk rewrite of Europe’s 1900s history and the game starting in a fictional 1921). Next, Evan began setting up the standard start for a two-person game. He got Russia (red), called Rusviet Union, and I was Prussia (Black), called Saxony Empire. The first game went fast, with me suddenly ending the game (this often happened in Scythe as the winning conditions are challenging at first and then get easier and more manageable when you get more resources and options). Evan scored low, and I did not do much better. As this campaign contains secret content, my description of the game will be reduced. I took a highly military approach to the first game and aggressively grabbed stars and completed objectives (Saxony can do unlimited objectives as its superpower), which worked.

We agreed to play the next game. I still had time, which required us to vote on War or Peace (with no explanation), and while I had the majority, I went with Peace as it would be more interesting, I thought. We set up a usual setup with us getting randomly assigned boards but retaining our factions; Evan thought Rusviet was not as cool as he thought before (it allows you to repeat an action which I, as the black color, cannot). Alliances were rebuffed (a new thing), and the Peace scoring track was used (no credit for battles or military power). My new board and the new peace-in-our-time direction made me do a 180 on tactics, and I went with an expansion approach and tried to play highly efficiently to get the most out of each resource. I have played Saxony before in my first play of the campaign and have played it so many times I have lost track. I know it very well. Also, Evan’s red base was on the opposite side of the board, so I had a free hand. Prussians loose on Europe without opposition; oh my, that was fun! I ate up the encounters and landed star after star, and worked through my objectives again. Evan, who took the Factory hex early with Rusviet‘s teleport power, left only one mech on the factory. I ended the game by taking the Factory as that gave me (holding the Factory was a Peace goal) my last star. I thought I had enough and managed to win by holding so many hexes (a lesson from Z in my previous game and loss with her), and I was right, collecting 69 points at the end. Next time we play, we will be allowed some exciting add-ons to buy.

After that, I played at Richard’s place with Richard, Shawn, and Claudia. We selected Anachrony to play. I had painted the figures and wanted to see them again. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how to play, as I think I have not played for over a year. This is a spooky-looking SciFi board game, but it is really, at first, a simple resource management and worker placement game with your own tableau and some engine building. But, there is time travel, with you borrowing from your future self and having to return to the past and paying back the stuff or to purchase technology offered in the past. Crazy! It is a competitive game, but not mean (mean is the board game concept that your actions reduce the options for other players–for example, the board game Brass, both versions, is mean as resources and opportunities reduce each play). Claudia struggled with the game, and I had moments of making mistakes and ended up about ten points below Shawn and only ten points ahead of Claudia (her first score was better than my previous scores). Richard, taking advantage of my misplays, scored 30+ above Shawn! Next time!

Aside: Anachrony is an overly built Kickstarter game (like many Kickstarter games) with components that are oversized for the play, I think (particularly having had to paint them) and is now expensive to buy into at $300 or so for a used set. I would love to learn it better, but will not buy in at that price.

Exhausted from relearning and fighting for every point, we broke up the gaming at 10:30, and I was delighted to return home before midnight. However, I was tired and do not recall shooting up the cement-in-the-sky ramps to the bridges across the Willamette River. The on-ramp is taller than the bridge roadway!

After Air Volvo landed at the Volvo Cave, I managed to have a bit of ham from Olympic Provision to go with my pills (best with some food). The mail contained more medical bills (a mystery $19 for my Physical Therapy that I believe I have already paid) and my stamp purchases for my stamp collection. There is nothing to share, dear reader unless you are a hardcore USA stamp collector of the classic period (1840s to 1940s). Thank you for reading. I was quickly asleep after that busy day.

I was not feeling well yesterday, so I passed on writing the Friday blog on Friday. I was sitting in Susie’s room in the afternoon; on Fridays and Mondays, work-from-home days, I try to work from Susie’s room to keep her company. I was stricken with some of the worst nausea I have felt and nearly threw up in her bathroom. Susie was greatly concerned; I recovered in about thirty minutes without any spillage. I then headed home in Air Volvo, stopping at McDonald’s for some fried and a shake. I added chicken nuggets. The other food helped. I think I had constipation as I had the other end quite active when I returned directly to the Volvo Cave. I rested and slept for a bit. I was back up at 5ish without nausea. Better.

Going backward, I went to bed early after reading a bit. Before that, I sat in the kitchen, after packing the lasagna I made into one serving-sized slices, and watched music videos to relax. I also got everything into the dishwasher while watching mostly old-school rock videos.

Favorites: Candyman and Neutron Dance.

As suggested, I got up and made a lasagna. I used no-boil lasagna pasta. I flow the recipe on the box, except I add chopped fresh parsley and chopped olives to the ricotta cheese and some generic Italian spices. I used Ragu’s chunky pasta sauce from a jar. I make my layers too thick and so have pasta left over. It baked for 30 minutes, and I had a few pieces. I did this while watching Nova’s newest show: Hidden Volvano Abyss. It covered the terrible, the largest explosion ever recorded, Togo volcano blast. It appears to be a steam explosion from seawater pouring into the magma chamber; yikes! The deadly tsunami, twice the size of the one that hit Japan, was likely caused by the collapse of the same chamber. The show ends with the scientists exploring another (!) volcano in the area that now, with closer examination, is quite active.

Moving our narrative to just before lunch, I was working from home on Friday (currently, Nike WHQ Covid work plan is in the office Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) and made a fateful lunch of two reheated bratwursts and the remains of the potato chips and a pickle slice. I was fine after eating this and watching a few videos on board games.

My street was more of a challenge. The sewer folks were opening the road as my neighbor had sewer backing into her house again. She had paid a pile of money (over $20,000) to have the sewer line replaced, and her yard still looks like a war zone. It took all morning, but the sewer folks replaced the connection at the street, but the new expensive sewer line was improperly installed and would need to be redone. Very sad.

One of the guys working, who was very angry with the contractor, told me that this area was horses and farms when he grew up. He comes from one of the pioneer families who initially farmed in this area. I could see in his eyes that when he looked at the site, he saw two things, what was here, but over it was a hazy image of an idyllic farm long lost to housing and strip malls. I told him we still have the original apple trees from the farm, and that got a smile.

Before all this, I slept into 7ish and then made a bagel, an NYC bagel, for breakfast and liberal coffee. After that, I started with our group’s weekly meeting. After that, I skipped the status meeting and instead read emails, followed along on Slack channels, and read the news to be caught up with the day. I was out on PTO yesterday, so there was a lot to consume today.

A quick check of Quicken appears I have enough money to make Susie’s costs for the year. I must avoid any trips or house repairs this year to make it work. With the nearly 30% increase in restaurants, I have reduced my eating out. I often make a sandwich and then hit a tap house for a beer while writing instead. I have $30,000 in liquid assets I can use for an emergency. I have three times in less liquid assets, which would be a tax headache if I had to use it. Retirement money is somewhat available but is a procedural and tax headache, but it is there too. So I am safe covering all known expenses. My 401K is now 80% in stable value as I cannot afford a sudden loss and can accept the loss of good returns (already at 6% for the year before the rebalancing to remove most event risk).

Well, that is about it. Thanks for reading.

The day started at 6:30, with me ignoring the alarm at 6AM. I got moving and made breakfast and liberal coffee. I had peanut butter toast and a cup of yogurt with fruit. Today I was off and was helping Susie with her cardiologist appointment. I read some emails and news and pointedly did not do more than set my out-of-office response on my Nike email. I paid a few bills, including a medical bill for over-the-counter (OTC) medical supplies for Susie and Mom Wild’s lawn service in Michigan. I have to account for OTC to show that I am not mixing OTC and medical items like doctor payments and medical prescriptions. OTC seldom can be written off from taxes, and thus I need to identify it (therefore, I can prove to an IRS audit I did not mix these expenses). In Susie’s case (but not for everyone), the OTC, food, and room are tax deductible when used for her basic care as she is disabled and cannot care for herself. Thus, Susie accumulates over $7,000 in monthly medical bills that are tax deductible and an additional varying amount of OTC expenses (like disposable briefs) that are NOT tax-deductible (it is obscure logic). All I have to keep correct in Quicken, have paper records, and ensure I have complete records of medical expenses without regard to tax-deductible status.

The new software updates to Quicken broke my connection to US Bank, my primary checking and target for my direct deposit from the shoe company, and I untangled that. I was now running a few minutes late. It takes on average 25 minutes from the Volvo Cave to reach Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I was sure I would have plenty of time.

Well, I do not know who the folks are on the road as it was after 8AM, as all large local employers start work at 8AM, but the streets were packed with folks who have a 9AM start time. My trip had three lights that I did not have to stop for (i.e., the light stayed green long enough for Air Volvo to get through the intersection without stopping), and many intersections took two to three lights to get through. One of my most extended trips at 35 minutes.

Susie was ready when I got there, and I loaded her into Air Volvo using the moving belt. Susie and humans generally do not come with convenient handles, so I use the belt. I also place a stool on the ground, and Susie stands on that stool; next, I pivot her and put her in the seat in Air Volvo. Susie is not standing now, so I do it more as a fluid movement. Susie is not heavy; loading the wheelchair into Air Volvo’s cargo hold is more of a workout.

With twenty minutes for a ten-minute trip, I was not concerned. But, the road was closed; The City of Beaverton needed to install more holes, and I drove through the mall parking lot to reach the main road to the highway. Susie apologized for the mess; she feels responsible for having to rush, but I told her not to take responsibility for Beaverton’s newest holes. Highway 217 was full of cars in the construction area (Susie apologized for Beaverton’s construction, too), but this soon cleared into lighter traffic. Soon we were at Doc C’s office with me unloading Susie from Air Volvo, reversing the process, and using the belt.

The first appointment was for an echocardiograph, and this took forty-five minutes. First, I had to lift Susie and help undress her. I was filling in for nurse aides today. They had trouble imagining Susie’s heart; she is tiny, but the tech managed to find an angle that got them most of what they needed. I then helped dress Susie and lifted her back into the wheelchair.

Susie was rolled to a standard small room, and we had to undress her again for the EKG. Once that was done, we got Susie dressed again. Next, we met the Doc. Doc C was happy to report that Susie’s tests were good. Doc C told us that the fluid around Susie’s heart is gone, and Susie’s heart is working well. Doc C told us that Susie will continue with her meds as is—no changes. Doc C did share that Susie is showing some heart value problems, calcification, but it is moderate, so we will monitor it every year with a new echocardiogram.

Next, Susie and I headed to the lab to do some blood tests to check for functions that could be negatively impacted by the heart meds. The phlebotomist got everything on the first poke on the side of Susie’s arm. Perfect. Off to Air Volvo. I loaded Susie again (my fifth lift today) without incident and a bit better this time. The wheelchair did not get lighter. Breathing hard, I boarded Air Volvo and took the highways back to the hummingbird house. Susie (and I) was tired, and Susie was looking for a nap. I kissed her goodbye after we made a short call to Leta, Susie’s mother, and gave her the report on the visit (all good).

US Bank is on my way back. I parked in Beaverton, walked into the bank, and waited for a teller. The checks I had were from the City of Portland (tax refund–don’t ask about how Portland gets a tax in Washinton County and then needs to refund it) and a check for $1.00 that will not scan and load into any non-human deposit. Done after waiting fifteen minutes.

Aside: There were four tellers at the bank, but if you are at the bank now, it is for something you can’t do online. So everyone takes a while.

I returned to the Volvo Cave, still amazed by the traffic in the late morning/early afternoon. I reheated some goulash I had made a few days ago–last time for it. I ate it while watching YouTube videos on emergency electrical cabling procedures on Battleship New Jersey and a Sit Down and Shut Up video on the board game Frosthaven (I don’t have the $250 game).

I boarded Air Volvo after chatting with my neighbor across the street; he is a great painter (he did the house a few years ago) and has his own business. Oddly, he saw my pith helmet and said I needed a rifle. I said all I had was an 1898 Springfield bolt-action that was Susie’s father’s gun, which he wondered what it sounded like (he was not surprised that his liberal neighbor had guns), and we agreed it was a very precise shooter. Somehow, I fit into this strange pro-gun pro-Trump group on our street–the token Progressive Democrat.

Aside: Rifles and hunting guns are open to talk about. Hunting is a sport. Handguns are for protection and are not discussed except to share preferences. To that end, I used to like the SIG Sauer P320, but the reported discharge issues have me looking for a new recommendation. I learned of the SIG when I was a member of the NRA. My membership has since lapsed, and my interest in target shooting has faded.

Returning to my story, I stopped by the post office, acquired Nancy Regan memorial stamps, and mailed my bills. I was in Washington when she was First Lady. Next, I headed to Lowes to get some plant food (for the stressed roses) and some brass screws for the radio project. I am building a faceplate to hold the new buttons and volume nob. I could make my purchases without issue, but they had only self-check available, and a woman in a motorized cart was struggling to do the checkout. I followed her out and loaded her plants into her van.

Next, I stopped at Hillsboro to do some shopping. First, I tried the antique mall, and they had jewelers’ shelves for sale that had pulled-out shelves and lots of tiny drawers, all in wood. Very tempting to hold wargame items, but I am not ready for more furniture. Next, I stopped by the coffee shop, a local one, and got coffee, a cookie, filberts (shelled), and locally made pasta sauce. Next (nearly 80F–26C), I stopped by the gaming store Rune and Bone, but they did not have anything that interested me. I walked by Frostgave and learned of the $250 retail price. It is huge!

After that, I stopped by Jim’s Ice Cream and got a more usual ice cream (Rocky Road), and Air Volvo got me home. A package from Zabar’s in NYC was waiting for me (and junk mail). Joyce, Susie’s Aunt, sent me more bagels from NYC. Excellent. Thanks, Joyce!

I was tired and slept a bit until after 6PM. Next, I made an Everything Bagel with roast beef and cheddar in the broiler. It was great. I rested for a bit more. Got a request for dinner after I had started my dinner with Mariah in Portland, which I had to reject. Next, I called into a church Zoom meeting.

It was the second Thursday, so it was Theology Pub, and the topic was Toxic Christianity. How to avoid it and why it exists was the discussion. Mostly we agreed that folks believe they are right and thus have the right, in their minds, to demand folks align to their beliefs. We decided that it was often connected to privilege. It is easy to fall into it, and we, as Christain leaders, must identify it and try to defuse it when we can. This is the usual inclusive and exclusive conflict in some Christain groups’ messages. Saying you must believe this or that to be a good person is the typical exclusion statement pointed out as toxic.

After that, I wrote this blog. I am tired. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

The day started strangely, with me oversleeping until after 6:15. I was not exercising today, and I was soon in the kitchen getting my pill taken and breakfast arranged, yogurt and peanut butter toast. Time flies, and I quickly go through all my emails, work email, Slack channel updates, and news to be ready to start my day. Next, I boarded Air Volvo after cleaning up and grabbing my Nike laptop, but not the charger.

I was at work by 8 but then spent time searching Air Volvo’s cargo holds for the charger and left it at home. I returned and did the first meeting with a USB C from a monitor charging my laptop. I skipped the status meeting as Rajani was there, and we finished our tasks. I did part of another status meeting, which was not very interesting, so I left the Zoom meeting early. I wrote up my thoughts on some design changes and followed along. Next, I grabbed a turkey and cheddar from the coffee place (having a coffee between meetings–coffee acquired before 10AM is covered by the project leadership) and wrote some more. Finally, I discussed the design with the technical leads and reviewed my notes.

I got a text from Humminbird House, but then we understood that Susie’s appointment was Thursday and not today. So they let Susie rest after getting up early. She was then up late for lunch/breakfast.

After the meeting and another lunchtime meeting moving out (I bought the sandwich as I thought I would not have time for lunch), I headed to Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Air Volvo arrived without issues, with only the glare of a nearly perfect dry and sunny being the only risk. Oregonians are the only people I know that break for glare and sunlight. The rest of the country (world?) knows you clean your windshield and wear sunglasses when driving on a sunny day. Here it is a shock (with us getting gray for three months straight, maybe it is not such a surprise we have trouble with sun breaks).

I arrived safely, and Susie was just finishing her lunch/breakfast when I walked in. Susie was ready for a trip to the park. It was already 75F (24C), clear and dry. The park was busy and perfectly maintained. The benches were all dry.

Susie and I found one in the sun and called Leta, Susie’s mother, and chatted on the iPhone using FaceTime to see Leta, and she could see us. Leta was inside her house as it was hot in Michigan, but she planned to enjoy her new deck in the hot sun. We were enjoying the sun in the park. Dogs chasing balls were running everywhere. Leta would see a flash of a dog while talking to us! Soon Leta was done, and we rang off. Next, we moved to different benches and looked for the butterflies- none out yet. We reached the end of the park, turned around, and were surprised to see the park clearing out–it was after lunch. We toured the streets and looked at the trees and flowers (the trees are mostly now late-flowering cherries and other flower fruit trees). Soon I brought Susie in and left with a kiss to return to work.

Work was more Zoom meetings and discussions on design issues. I was headed out after doing one status meeting for the team. The drive was full of traffic and glare. I stopped at Shake Shack and had a Shack Burger, fries, and a Diet Coke. It was beautiful to sit outside and have the food delivered. The burger was everything Wendy’s or Burger King should be–excellent. The fries were freshly cut and perfectly fried with a hint of salt. Recommended.

I met Dondrea and Z at the church after 6PM. I read some rules for Scythe: The Rise of Fenris, a campaign add-on for the already over-the-top Scythe board game. The campaign plays 8 games back-to-back with new superpowers, rules to carry over stuff across games, and crazy new items. Everything is hidden in boxes; you open them to discover the following new things. Today Z even beat me at Scythe with the new rules to start the campaign’s story. We will do the next episode next week.

Z was playing Polandia, white color, and was not gaining many awards or stars. I was collecting them fast and aggressively, too aggressively. Z calming scattered across the board and collected more and more cash. She held the Factory. I pushed hard to get the stars and collected my forces into a few hexes, thus missing points. I ended the game and found us tied at 58, and Z won the tiebreaker and won the game. Next time!

We will play again next week and can spend our money on superpowers, and we recorded who won (Z) and the stars achieved. Once we have spent our cash, we play again, following the next episode: Peace. We voted for Peace (Z was for War, but I had collected more influence, so I got to decide–I have never played Peace). I played a campaign before the pandemic but missed the middle. I am happy to share this crazy extra game added to Scythe with Z and try it again.

We packed up the game with Dondrea having to wait for us; it took a while to close it up tonight. I then drove home and started on this blog.

Thanks for reading.

 

It is approaching 9PM, the sun is down, and the sky is darkening tonight. It was a cool day with the clouds clearing, meaning a cold, clear sky night. The clear sky will let the heat escape, so it will be very cold tonight, low 50sF (10C to 14C). Wednesday will be warm in the afternoon and start warming up. We will likely be in the 90F (32C) by the end of the week. No chance of frost now here at 210′ altitude.

I started the morning planning exercises at 6AM and managed to get going in a few minutes. No water. The shutdown had been extended, so I went outside in my robe and slippers and found a Water District guy; they had just finished replacing the main and were turning on the water to each house. By 6:30, water was running in the place. I had reserved some water for coffee and drinking, just in case, and was able to have coffee. My plans for morning laundry and exercises were ruined, so I headed to the home office with toast with low-sugar jelly and a cup of yogurt with fruit. I need to complete making breakfast and my exercises by 6:35; I am time-boxed.

I read emails, Slack channel updates, and the news to prepare for my day. I next showered with the shower head making strange noises as it blew air out of the water lines. The hot water in this house uses a conventional natural gas water heater with a huge tank which would not have the air issues. Thus my shower is comfortable.

When I remodeled the bathroom after the water leak while we were in NYC, I did not change to a small electric water heater in the room–the new green design (and in use in Europe). I am not sure I have electrical service for that (220 and a few amps are needed), and I was already into redoing the floor, shower, toilet, sink, and flooring–I decided to stop there. Now, were I to take that up, I would get tax credits for all of the work (currently endangered by the cuts demanded by certain congressional members for a deal on the debt ceiling–yes, congress is thinking about removing tax credits, ugh). Currently, our medical bills are too much, over $8,000 a month, to start remodeling again. Someday. Hopefully, the tax credits for making my house more energy efficient will remain in place so I can make the improvements in the future!

Returning to the story, I took Air Volvo to the office without issue and saw that most local flooding had receded. Work was the usual Zoom meetings, but with most of our work completed, I was a tourist for most of the meetings. I left about 11AM to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was deeply asleep in her room when I got there. I had to shake her to wake her, and she had trouble staying awake. Today she was exhausted. The cold seems gone, but Susie is worn out by it.

We called her mother, and they briefly chatted while Leta was getting her lunch/dinner at Panera Bread. Susie could wake up enough to talk to Leta for a few minutes. Soon, after ringing off, Susie was sleeping while M.A.S.H. played on her TV in her room. I stayed until noon as she likes to sleep with me there–it makes her comfortable not to be alone.

Susie was sad when I woke her again to say goodbye, and she got a kiss (risking the cold), and I left. I headed to Panera Bread and had the Strawberry and chicken salad there while reading the news. President Trump had been found responsible for assault and defamation, and I was reading the details to understand what all this meant. No comments here.

I returned to work and continued to help here and there and do some more Zoom meetings. I was able to answer some design questions and present some options informally. After one more status meeting, the afternoon was over, and I headed home.

The water still works; I checked. Then, I turned on the oven and baked the bratwurst. I had the sausages with the leftover couscous. I found 1/2 a can of peaches also leftovers, put them in a bowl, and had them instead of making a veggie. I missed the charcoal taste from grilling the bratwurst, but I could read and rest while they baked, and they came out perfect after about an hour at 350F. So easy!

I wrote the blog after reading some more. I also did two loads of laundry and did the dishes.

Thanks for reading.