Author: alohawild

At the end of the evening, in my PJs, I went around and changed the few clocks that were not automatic. Air VW the Gray surprised me by changing in the late afternoon and confusing me for a while. I had missed dinner, and I stopped by Popeye’s and got some spicy fried chicken for a late dinner. I had about 1/2 of it. I ate that and watched the last episode of Slow Horses again. I watch them twice to see what I missed. I find I like spy shows, and when set in the present, they are fascinating. This one involves mistakes in computer access and security, and I find it interesting. Social hacking combined with some old school honeypots and trojans.

Before this, I managed to score lower than my best and last of four in another try at the board game Grand Hotel Austria at Richard’s house. Laura led the whole time, but then Ricard broke out, finding a new engine in the game. Kathleen was distant from my score. I still like the game, but the wait for turns can be long, and there is no reason to look at the board, as it changes all the time, until it is your turn. Richard and Laura think the game is a bit random with the staff cards and relies on dice rolls for part of turn control.

Before taking the EV to Portland, I was at the house getting ready for next week’s trip. I was not making that much progress. I had two more reservations (completed Sunday morning) that are needed for the journey. Deborah and I found time to finish the season of Murders Only in the Building, watching together—Deborah in Michigan—and I thought it was an excellent conclusion. Of course, there was a new murder for the next season, already approved to go forward.

I called Joan S; she was free, so I picked up for a sort of lunch. I ate a salad while she had a Diet Rite at the McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Imbrie Hall. We chatted and just enjoyed some time together. Joan S cannot drive yet, and so I try to help here and there. I figured she needed to get out, and it was fun. We also stopped by Kohl’s to return something.

Before this, I had some chores. I picked up travel-sized toothpaste and other like items at Walgreens. I mailed a card to Mom Wild and a set of Eastern Oregon Tourist magazines to Deborah. On her visit in February, we might, if the weather works, head to Bend and places east in Oregon.

(Should I take gum, Jesus, or Swift?)

Before all of this, I did paperwork. I successfully applied for insurance options on HealthCare.gov. I was approved! I have to pick an insurer by December 15th. This is contingent on my existing doctors taking the new insurance. I am surprised to find that I will miss UnitedHealthcare (not available to be extended), which, despite its iron-handed corporate approach to providers and customers, seems to be widely accepted (back to that iron-handed comment) and, despite often having to appeal (yes, more iron), does finally cover things I need. Regency (Old Blue Cross/Shield), Providence (very local), and Kaiser are all on the list, and I am looking, just for me, about $1200 a month to enjoy their lesser coverage (with dental). While packing, I will also select a few and call my Legacy-based primary, my Providence-based brain surgeon, and my OHSU-based oncologist to find out what they accept.

I hope there is a Venn diagram of coverage, price, and docs that means I can make this work with me only paying more (again, who would think I would miss $780 a month for UHC). But at least I have options. I remember what it was like before ObamaCare, and how someone like me—61 and retired—could not get any insurance at any price. Yes, dear readers, that was what it was like. I spent a few years with no coverage when I was young, with untreated migraine headaches for years (it was primarily caused by high blood pressure).

I also cleared the password and got access to my Social Security Administration Account with the US Government. I saw my 2024 wages, my last, are finally recorded. I checked with the software, and I should apply for my early retirement ($2700+ a month starting in May or June 2026) after December 2025.

I printed out my eligibility notice. Best to have a hard copy, I think. I would prefer a name I know for insurance, to pay less per month, and pay more for services. I do have to do an MRI and a CT Scan in 2026, and those will likely cost me thousands instead of hundreds now, even with the new insurance (again, I can’t believe I will miss UHC).

Moving backward in the story, I started packing by moving luggage to the spare room to get organized. I had showered, all that, and dressed. I did not put on my slippers, and I did slam my foot into the bed supports. I fell onto the bed. “Broke a rule,” I called out. No walking without shoes or slippers! My feet are partially numb from the chemo and diabetes. I was lucky, I had not hurt my foot.

As usual, I did the morning things after rising in the dark at 7ish. The coffee was made, and I finished the cottage cheese for breakfast.

Halloween opened with me rising in the dark. To my surprise, the sound of rain in my gutters was absent, and the skies slowly changed from black to blue—a lovely morning sunrise! I had placed a pumpkin-shaped bucket of candy outside the day before, and when I mailed the cards this morning, it was still packed with small candy bars. I would not be home for the trick-and-treating, but at least any little spooks would be resupplied should they be passing by, and anyone else. Of the 29 Halloweens, I can remember only the last two as not part of our six-month rain festival, often with pouring cold wet, and those were 2023-2024. I remember the pandemic ones were clear too, but those were putting out the candy with hand sanitizer and paper towels. This time it was candy in a bucket.

I wrote the blog and did a small amount of laundry for Friday. It is just me, and I keep the loads small, allowing The Machine to complete the work in just a few hours. I watched the run rise and the squirrels enjoy the apples on the ground.  The roses are in slow mode, and blooms grow and fade in slow motion now that sunlight is much reduced. Wet, messy leaves are everywhere. My lawn service cleaned up the first of the onslaught, but after a few days, it looks like they were never here. Yes, welcome to late fall in the Pacific Northwest!

I located my ‘V’ mask and my tophat, put on a red vest and a white shirt, and said, “We are ANONYMOUS.” I passed on the tie as rain was forecast, and water spots do not improve a silk tie. I was ready for Halloween.

I talked and texted Deborah all morning. We both followed each other’s day. We were both busy.

I had cold pizza and leftover salad, added a hard-boiled egg and some olives, and caught up on YouTube. I watched ShipHappens and more of Drachinifel and his breakdown of engine designs for 1900s-1945 naval ships. I then scooped the laundry onto Monday’s pile of yet-to-be-folded clothing, hung up shirts and pants, and tried to get a bit more organized. Failed. Boarded Air VW the Gray and headed to New Cascadia Traditional, a pizza and bakery for gluten-free goodies.

Traffic was not heavy, but the skies were no longer blue. Rain was coming! I parked the EV in what would later become a damp adventure to recover the vehicle. I was early and had a kombucha (no booze) while I wrote a status report for the church—all good news—for the refresh. The reports are one page and presented as memos. This is the 11th report, styled as the Halloween report, with nothing scary.

I returned to my adventure writing (Dungeons & Dragons 5E), putting aside my fantasy novel for now, and started to make real progress. My thoughts began to coalesce into actual rules, creatures, encounters, and text. This is a one-shot adventure for a single play, but it needs to create a strong memory. I asked about the 2012 version, and my players still remember it. I make some features harsher for higher-level adventurers. It needs to be scary! And writing on Halloween 2025 adds a certain je ne sais quoi to my writing today. Evil and darkness seem to come to me with ease as I write. Portland, in the rain, dark, and goblin-free glutan-free* baked goods, seems steeped in necromantic energy today (evil laugh here).

*I had to keep that mistake from Grammarly visible for this writing!

Kathleen appeared in full elf ears, make-up, and rings. Only her smile has me recognizing her. We get personal pizzas and drinks (tea with milk for me). My pizza was cheese-free and topped with roasted veggies. It is light, and the crust was more cracker than bread—excellent! We mostly chat and enjoy the busy store, where folks are often dressed as their favorite friendly creatures or undead. We finally find some focus, and I make more additions and start to get two encounters done and rules for the surprise set.

I miss my glasses as I travel out of Portland in the dark. Once again, the traffic lights are doubled, but control of the car is shared between me and the EV’s AI, keeping us both between the lines and safe. I arrived with a few warnings but stopped the VW in time (it was threatening to brake for me — sometimes it is so controlling).

I collected my laptop, my hat, and my mask, put them away for another day, then got the wet, floating candy and put it out to dry. The packaging is waterproof, but I sampled some to ensure quality. No issues.

I wrote more and finished another watching of Grayhound on Apple+; one of the best WW2 movies (the new version of Midway being the other). I have four more encounters to write and then the ending. I will be adding an environment challenge, too. I am thinking of deleting the bonus encounter, but we will see.

My usual approach is to vary the encounters with different creatures and attacks. This allows me to ignore one that gets crushed, as player groups are often good at one or two types of encounters. If I vary them, I should hit a couple of harsh ones. DMs, and I include myself in this, often get unhappy when the encounter they spent all this time on and writing is crushed, and are tempted to add to it or cheat a bit, but I have learned (thanks M@) to just move on and let the next one be different. I will scare the players with a couple of them!

I read the rules for the Let’s Waltz add-on to the Grand Hotel Austria board game. I learn how most of the other options work. I have already added the More option (number 5), which adds a few more cards and options to the base game. We included Ballrooms (number 1) in our last play and decided to keep it. I looked at the Celebrities (number 2), and there is a warning that it may add too many rules when included with the Ballroom option. Hmmm. I looked at the New Hotel entrance way (number 4), and that looks good for folks who want to vary something. Maybe not for our second play of Ballrooms, but I liked it. I will present the choices and let the group decide.

I was too tired to read when I crawled into bed. I soon fell deeply asleep, and I think I wandered in my sleep-dream world, waving my hands like a dark sorcerer and creating evil catacombs, dungeons, and creatures to stop adventurers. This Saturday morning, I feel like some ideas are floating in the back of my mind, waiting to find their way into my Word document.

Thanks for reading.

 

Just as I had given up hope of seeing the blue sky or the sun, it appeared late Thursday morning. It was a busy day, unexpectedly, but not very interesting. It will be a short blog today.

I was up later, which was a good thing, as I finally switched back to this time zone (though I leave next week for New Orleans). I find that at this age, I bounce back more slowly, but I suspect it is just retirement mode, and I can notice it now. Before, I was busy and there was much to be about, and there was no time for being tired. I remember three+ shot coffee drinks with sugar to keep going. I do not miss the all-nighters, weekend work, often with limited sleep, or reaching 40+ hours worked by Wednesday morning! Those 100-hour workweeks were harsh!

I write the blog, explore my email, unsubscribe from right-wing stuff that mostly wants money, and one Republican congressman offering to let me pay him for a newsletter. No.

I enjoy my cup of coffee with more peanut butter toast, write the blog, and update the Quicken transaction flow. Ensuring they are correct and meaningful. It is easy for you to do it every day and check them about every month.

With that done, I focus —or try to find focus —for writing the blog. The sun rises, the dark moves to gray, to white, and a hint of blue suggests the sky will show later (and it does), and the squirrels, fearless in my backyard, are bouncing all over and investing the lawn with their bounty to be used later. The slightly fermented apples of my old apple tree are enjoyed, and the furry treasure planters seem even more careless after that. The birds also come for the apples, and their flying seems more complex afterward.

The spinners from the trees are flying all over, rising and falling as the wind creates updrafts over the fence walls. It is marvelous to watch. I sip my coffee and try to write, but the fall show is hard to ignore.

I call Peak Vision (you can see Mount Hood’s top just over the trees there) and they agree to a 3:45 appointment. I need to resolve my glasses issue. I want to wear them all the time, which is different. I can see well at over 10 feet, but I cannot wear them to use my computer or talk to people. I need something different. Deborah makes many suggestions, having more experience with this than I do (this is my first pair of glasses for aging eyes).

Deborah and I connect by phone and text all day. Later, we will watch another episode of Murders Only in the Building together. We miss each other, but we stay in contact most days.

I get a few cards out before the mail comes, and when the mail comes, it is mostly stuff I toss.

I managed to book the rest of the hotels for our trip, and later I booked an IHG near the airport for myself. I have an insanely early flight, so it is best to just use the hotel shuttle rather than risk an expensive Uber and a traffic mess. I looked first at Aloft, but they wanted an extra $100 for a night ($300 should be a nice hotel).

I call Leta to say, “Hello.” Her mouse on her Apple computer has failed. A new one was acquired, but it too does not connect. One of the reasons I keep a wired mouse for my Linux systems. You never know when something will update an interface or when the batteries will fail. I tried to help, but even restarting and alternating between the mice got no response. Ugh! It is nearly impossible to diagnose over the phone, even with the video, and I called Leta’s daughter, Barb C, to see if she could help or had any ideas. I could not help.

(I am trying)

Next, I board Air VW the Gray and stop first at Happy Panada for lunch. I had the usual American version of Chinese-style lunch. A group behind me was loud and opinionated, so I put on music on my laptop to drown them out a bit (with the waiter’s permission). I was trying to work on the hotels and other stuff, but it was too loud even for me. I paid my bill, enjoyed a fortune, and headed to the glasses place in the EV.

The traffic was typical, but 217 is somehow not under reconstruction (for most of my nearly 29 years here, it has been being reconstructed for various reasons), and traffic was only slow in a few places. Wow! I arrive an hour early, slip into a nearby Starbucks, and avoid buying anything, as the line seems long each time I look.

Two folks are working with one woman, using the two-screen setup on her Windows laptop. Another person was clearly doing some kind of call response, using the coffee joint as a temporary base and source of Internet, with headphones too. I have an extra screen too, but I am out of the habit of using it. Hmmm. Maybe I should get it out, return to headphones, and work from coffee joints. I used to do that. All interesting.

Because of the hearing loss from the brain tumor (all my hearing on the left side is gone), I may speak too loudly on a phone, and I do talk to Joan S for a while and walk outside. I see the woman looking happy that I stepped out. Yup!

Glasses were mostly me apologizing for misunderstanding, and the glass folks and my Doc reworking the glasses. I paid $160 more for the improvements and was told my insurance covers a second pair, so I will do that in December (before my COBRA coverage ends) and get to enjoy no eye coverage in ObamaCare. They took back the glasses, and I should get a revision when I return.

I drove home, but stopped at the local store to stock up on candy. Still amazed that 217 is working and has worse traffic than 217 in Beaverton! I get a cheap bucket for the candy. At home, I move the table and put out the candy a day early. I talk to my neighbors and they get some. Excellent! Today is the close of the 28th year at 20625 SW Clarion Street, Aloha (Beaverton), Oregon 97003 (or 97006 and Aloha).

(Free candy to celebrate spookiness on top of an EV that had a ‘free’ EV rebate from the government–as scary as it gets for some folks. Boo! From a liberal.)

I managed to write some more of my Dungeons & Dragons adventure and made my first encounter more fun. Hill giants with a potion of speed and a pile of rocks. Put evil DM laugh here.

Time was somehow already late. The day, like most now, disappears in a poof of unexpected tasks and confused usual tasks, but I will still record them here, and even this quietish day has 1000+ words.

Thanks for reading!

 

Wednesday ended with me home after playing a newish game against Z on a table pushed into the sanctuary at First United Methodist Church. The refresh demolition is done, and the refresh work has now started. It will not be done until before Easter (and likely to end in January, but I am making no promises). We played Raiders of Scythia, a revision of the Viking-themed game, and read that it is better than the Viking-themed version, Raiders of the North Sea (without the final add-on, which, I am told, tips the scale to the Viking game), and I like the art and style better. Z enjoyed the game and lost by one point. Her gamer instincts were good, and she pounced on the easy goals before I could. I instead went on more raids and took more risks, since they involve dice rolls, and I lost most of my crew in one raid. Z built up again, going with good game instinct, and then took on the most brutal and highest-point raids, catching her up on points. It was my purchase of a horse in my last turn—yes, a single two-point horse —that won me the game. Z loved the excitement of the raids, the slow build, and creating a crew with wonderful-looking cards and powers.

I finished the night by finishing TRON, the animated series that seems to end as the latest movie starts, though I think they could fit in another season. I liked it.

I was tired, couldn’t focus, and remembered to assemble the coffee for the next morning. Deborah had explained to me earlier that I need to contact the glasses folks. I need a third section that is as plain as the glasses blur my vision for the first ten feet. The rest works great. Driving at night was much better now!

I went to bed late after surfing the Internet for a while, avoiding the news. I then climbed into my bed, turned off the light, and slept. I woke once around three, then slept until after 6. It was dark; Fall is turning to winter. Time for hot cider.

My day started in a mangled plan. I rushed as I had, from what I saw on my calendar, an 11 with Sam at US Bank Wealth Management, and then lunch with Scott at 12:30. I was happy to find the coffee made with my slightly delayed start at 7:30. I am out of bananas and just had peanut butter toast with my coffee. And, while not especially liberal coffee, I did grieve for the White House magnolia trees that Trump had slain to build his ballroom while sipping my dark, bitter beverage. You can see some of the murdered tree’s branches on the back of a US $20 bill. F**kers! Where is Treebeard when you need him!  Alas!

I will be composing something to send to someone on that. I just cannot figure out who you complain to when the Speaker and the President are the bad guys. From what I read from the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s book, Centennial Crisis: The Disputed Election of 1876, only the Supreme Court can resolve issues between the two branches of government. I am still thinking about it and maybe sending a magnolia tree to Chef Justince Roberts.

With my frustration, for now, pushed in the background, I finished the blog, booked rooms for the upcoming trip for the group in Columbus, Georgia, and sent out an option for Atlanta, too (Buckhead). I had updated my pro forma 2025 tax statement the night before and had that in Air VW the Gray. My newest addiction book, American Battleships 1886-1926, arrived in perfect unused condition and was also the cheapest one available, which seldom happens. I mailed my ballet in, just to anger anti-mail ballet people, and soon I was rushing a shower and dressing (and all that) to make an 11 o’clock.

Oops! It was at noon. I quickly sent a note to Scott, and he was OK with a later lunch. Sam from US Bank Wealth Management got me in earlier. We talked about investments and the crazy, unpredictable market with AI chip companies’ stock prices exploding while insanely profitable company stocks tanked. The Fed (growl!) cut rates today, and this, Sam and I agree, has added to the chaos. Sam and I both agree that my current portfolio, with some still in cash, allows Sam to harvest any broken bubbles while still earning some interest.

After sharing my health issues and my long-term plan (to live until 2084, passing away at 119 on April 15), Sam agreed that withdrawing $75K to take advantage of my giving and other tax breaks, and to set up a Roth IRA with minimum value, makes sense for a short-term play. When/if my health stabilizes, we can build towards my 2084 life expectancy. I will meet with Sam in December to lock in this plan. Then we will know more information on Oregon’s Kicker. Sam will also look into providing appropriate short-term cash instruments for the $75K. In Mr Burns’ voice, “Excellent!”

I was not late for lunch with Scott. We talked about my new glasses, changes to travel plans, what we see as investments for next year (yikes), and 2026 travel plans. It was a great lunch as we will meet again on the other side of my next trip.

After lunch with Scott, I stopped by the Guardian gaming store in Aloha. They did not have what I was looking for—Grindhouse—but I did get the figure I needed. I will have to paint it. They noticed I had been missing (mostly traveling, though visits can also be expensive!).

Home, took a nap in the chair, and then talked to Deborah for a while, and we found time to watch another episode of the current season of Murders in the Building. This one was a bit confused, trying to connect various threads of the story, and Meryl Streep stole most of the scenes. Still, we enjoyed it. Season six is planned.

I walked to the local convenience store, got some corn chips, heated some canned chili, and poured it over corn chips, cheese, and sour cream. What we called a haystack, and Deborah shared that the taco meat or chili can be poured into a small bag of corn chips and eaten as a carry-out taco. You eat it with a fork out of the bag and can walk around with it. Wow!

I also read more of the cookbook that Deborah sent me. Just the introduction.

And then I head to the church, and that takes us full circle.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

I rose at 6:30 with my alarm. It is dark and I have to turn on a light to find my way. We have had no sun, stars, or moon for a few days now as the gray takes over the Pacific Northwest. Sunrise is now a color change from black to shades of gray. It is not erotic (like the books), and again, is Trump sure he wants to send young troops here to experience this part of living in endless rain and gray? We are not just crazy here because we live in the vicinity of multiple volcanoes (part of Portland is made up of ash cones and lava flows). The weather requires a certain level of acceptance of challenges and a willingness to let go of control, which can be difficult for some. Portland and Seattle are as wacky as the US gets (though Asheville, NC, manages to be quite weird too, see this video).

Putting aside the weather, the city ‘cleared’ the camps near ICE (here), and there was more tear gas, from what I read from the Feds, and it was pretty upsetting to the local police. For those who wonder, you cannot sue ICE agents and other federal agents protecting ICE (the US Supreme Court rules that they can only be held accountable by ICE leadership). I have read that there have been fights between the usual Portland protesters and counter-protesters. Again, this is one block in Portland.

I wrote my blog in a rush as I had a 9:30 board game at Richard’s in Portland with James. We are still playing the cooperative Tainted Grail board game, and today we reached the 6th Chapter. We recovered the true grail on our third try in a maze with a timer. We fought a few battles, took on diplomatic challenges, and won them, though we took a beating in one.

The blog done, and I running about ten minutes late after a shower, dressing, and all of that, I boarded Air VW the Gray. The traffic was better in Beaverton and less congested in Portland. Why, I do not know. I arrived just as James, who had come from Washington State, arrived. We got into the details of the game. I am finding it increasingly immersive, and some of the dream cycles are starting to help. Jim and Richard comment that I am forcing them more into the story and less to gather goodies and explore every possible combination. This is my natural Dungeons & Dragons play. Get to the story center before the timer runs out. There are also 14+ chapters, and we are only 1/3 of the way. It seems reasonable to jump the story for a while.

I enjoyed the session, and we started on the new quest with the real grail. We stopped before 2, packed up the game, which has a physical save process, and I headed out to Broadway Grill. We are headed south in the game to explore new areas, as the storyline, which is interesting to me, leads us there to discover new mysteries. Excellent.

I had a Mr. Toad’s Wild Red Ale and a Ruben that likely could increase my cholesterol alone. I ate the whole thing. It was sooooo goooood. And the beer was so smoooooth. And while the Broadway Grill no longer, in our health-conscious and Vegan-centric city, mentions that they make their own award-winning corned beef, it was as good as anything in NYC (gasps, I am sure from some readers).

Well fed, I stop by the Broadway Books (yes, the bookstore is near excellent food, feeling even more like a larger city) and collect more cards, including one that says “Book Banners are never on the side of history” and did mail that one to the so-called Secretary of War, Pete H-something, at the Pentagon. Some of us wear frog inflatables here; others, like me, send things.

I spoke to the bookseller, and we talked about our favorite cookbooks; she saw I had the newest issue of “Cook’s Magazine.” She shared that she owns over a hundred cookbooks; I have only three feet of them. She carried to me something special —a book that looked at earlier but resisted: The Talisman of Happiness: The Most Iconic Italian Cookbook Ever Written. She explained that it is a translation and reworking of, as the title suggests, the most iconic Italian cookbook for Americans. I demurred. She smiled, knowingly, as it is likely I will get it another day. I remember that Deborah gave me Good Things from Samin Nosrat, and I had failed to read it, though I did open the cover. Just been busy since returning home. No time for two new cookbooks! Or at least that is what I told myself, but the checker’s smile was likely more truthful.

The gray was more white now, and I crossed Portland and found some traffic on the bridge (I hate to stop 100 feet above the river), but soon I was flying the EV through the tunnel and reached home without incident. Back to paperwork.

I discovered that my checking account had jumped a reserve line to cover a check. Well, puke, my $4500 transfer that I manually booked into Quicken was missing. I must not have hit save or something like that. Damn. I undo the damage and see, with a smile, that my huge balance has reversed all the fees. My retirement IRA is handled by US Bank, which provides me with all sorts of protections and fee reversals. I often feel terrible as I think I could actually afford these fees, while others with fewer resources would be crushed by them. It takes a while to connect all the transfers and pay off the reserve line.

New lesson, don’t put the transfer in manually! Let them download so that Quicken better represents the balances. I later revised my pro forma 2025 Tax statement, added more transactions, and corrected the property tax numbers. I also guess at a Kicker Check from Oregon (now a tax payment credit). I meet with Sam at US Bank for year-end planning and think I will extract $70K in value to harvest tax benefits for my giving this year (over $40K). And then what to do with the $70K? Shall I put it away in a Roth IRA and lock it up for five years, or do I put it in CDs or treasuries for around 4% or less interest (don’t get me started on Trump and the Fed–interest rates should be 5.25% for a healthy economy, not bouncing them crazy up and down)? I will ask Sam at US Bank for his thoughts.

Deborah and I connect. It is a workday for her. We watched Only Murders In The Building’s new season and enjoyed the new characters—murderous, nuts billionaires—and the show seems to be flowing again. We both were laughing through the episode.

Remember Glenda’s admonitions, I looked at what I had in the fridge, and planned dinner to finish up the leftovers. I made green beans (frozen) with garlic. I made couscous with India-style spices and butter. I reheat the chicken in the microwave until it is hot again, but not rubber chicken! Couscous North African sauce-in-a-jar is heated and liberally used. It is wonderful. I make only 1/2 cup of couscous because I love it too much. I watched the newest Slow Horses episode. I do enjoy this spy show; the opposite of Smiley’s people, set in the present. I recommend the series, but it is hard to start as the characters are reprehensible. The story is about how a bunch of f**k-ups can save the day when the better-looking, approved spies keep failing. I like it, but it may be an acquired taste. I could not read the books.

I sent out some emails on hotels for the upcoming trip. I talked to Deborah about cutting out the Florida visit this time and just flying in on Christmas Day. There is a 7PM arrival flight on Christmas and a Jan 2 flight back for just about $650 with seat selection and all that. This would let me enjoy some Christmas stuff in the Pacific Northwest and New Year’s in Michigan.

I worked some more on the adventure for New Hampshire and am getting much of it in my head now. Less in a Word document still, but it will come in bursts in my experience. I read more about 5E creatures and then sleep.

Thanks for reading!