Author: alohawild

Sunday started with me rising early, as I had trouble sleeping, and stumbling out of bed to the kitchen to get the coffee after starting the machine early (it starts at 7, meaning if I oversleep, the coffee will be cold — I get up). I invest the morning in getting the blog done, and just coffee and my morning meds. I am teaching after church, and food has no appeal. A lovely 1980s Structures tie (older than many of my students) goes with a dress shirt, a sweater vest, and dress shoes. Again, staying with old school lessons, you buy respect from older folks with an unremarkable tie knot and the more formal dress. But by skipping the suit, I look more like an educator. And while it may be trite, like some of my best card tricks, they often work surprisingly well. And I need all the help I can get!

I get the blog, over 1,400 words, finished, partially re-read, and edited, posted, and realize I am out of time. I rush to get dressed as I described after a quick shower, shave, and all that. I had put copies of my notes (which I hand out at the start of the class), the posters (mounted for about $50 each), and the sandwiches from Costco on them in Air VW in First Class seats. I regret that the airlines no longer print their logos on the discomfort bags (i.e., barf bags); I used to collect them and have various airline products sticking out of the back seats, only the finest service!

Surprisingly relaxed, I head to church and take on my usual duty as usher. I usually recount at this point on the Sunday blog the sermon, Ken’s in this case, but I had a homeless guy come in during the sermon. I got him coffee, water, and a sandwich; I had plenty for the class. He asked if we had any clothing, and I checked that we have food, but no clothing. Later, Jack helps him in the men’s room to clean up (his head shows a slightly healed cut). And during the service with the food, water, warm coffee, a chair, and out of the rain, he falls asleep.

I also helped here and there and missed most of Ken’s words. I did hear his words as he did point out that John Wesley was often persecuted and that Christians are susceptible to denominational sins. That we churchgoers can use the structure and institutional authority to stop and hurt folks, believing we are doing right. Ken, in many ways a refugee from more conservative churches and a newly minted Methodist elder, says he is preparing himself to be oppressed by fellow Christians. Ken shares that he his shocked to discover this and it is new to him.

I gathered the folks for my class and shared sandwiches with the group (and anyone else), and soon started my short lecture on Denominational History for the New Members Class (and anyone else). Rev. Anne joined us and interjected with some valuable comments. I got a few questions, too. Being Methodists at church, folks sit and listen politely, but they started to ask some questions. This is not a sermon, but a class. I received positive feedback, and people seemed to enjoy my fast-and-furious presentation (though no one confused me with Vin Diesel). The sandwiches helped too.

I brought my cake, too, and it is served up. Technically, it is not an acceptable item as it is made with an alcohol-based flavor, Grand Marnier, but I would argue that I baked out the alcohol. The cake was well-received, too.

I packed up and was soon home, tired and moving slowly. I reheated the chili I made a few days ago, but I’m concerned that, after seeing 17 pounds above my lowest weight, I should stick to carrots and celery. But I made it and should finish it. I also, knowing that I will need to keep the portion sizes under control, get Italian-style sweet sausage from the freezer for a pasta meal (with sauce from a jar). I will have one bowl and freeze some of it, then put it back in small bags. I plan to get some lettuce to make a nice salad to go with it. Beer is out. I also have the beef to take a second chance at the French-style cooking I tried before. It was close, but not close enough for me. Again, I will pack it away in smaller servings.

I paid for a Lost Ruins of Arnak board game boxing solution from the game publisher that Richard ordered for me (we shared the postage cost). I repacked my three boxes into one, but discovered that the new materials I got from Board Game Geek did not support the additional add-ons, growl. I returned to cardboard pieces and put the cool parts in a bag that would not quite fit in the new box, ugh! I did not punch the latest material, and that made the box not quite close. Still, it was a marvelous update that got the whole game into one box (though it is about the same size as the others together). It was a good distraction after the class.

I lost track of time, but I did manage to cut some roses to take to Niki, M@’s wife, and I brought them to Dungeons & Dragons at M@’s house at 5:30. M@ this time was ready; he had prepared two adventures for us, as we tend to skip or hide or run away from combat. This means we absorb more story than the other groups he has playing the same adventures; M@ has three groups, last time I counted.

(We did have to violently disable the clockwork device; we left a sign that it was out of order.)

In our group, Scott is playing a no-damage attack monk character, and this means our tactics are complex and, for D&D, peaceful. We do have to fight undead and terrible horrors like trolls, but usually we try to negotiate our way out of a battle. We do manage that a few times, but M@ got to use a more classic monster, and it only recharged its main attack twice, which is about average. We lived and had to kill the classic monster, and another one we met on the way back. It was a fun time.

In the game, our patron provided us with some magic items as a reward for completing our challenge. We had shared our wishes with the powerful entity, and now some items appeared, or in the case of Mackers, an important hook into his character’s background that connects to our next adventure (a reworking of the old UK Crystal Cave adventure, which I have never done).

In the new rules, there are rules of Bastions. A form of a home base for a character that becomes available at the 5th level (this idea goes back to older versions of D&D). We are now 6th, and according to the rules, we can now consider setting up these bastions for our characters. M@ found a free PDF of an early version of the regulations that he shared, which closely resembles the final rules. We will make it work.

It will be fun to do some D&D accounting and create the story of these bastions.

Scott and I talked for a while outside about the game and life. I then headed home, did dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and got the coffee ready.  I took my meds, some painkillers, and sipped Amaretto while doing all of this. I was soon in my bed and asleep. A good day!

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

First, I have seen my weight fly up 17 pounds from a low delightful 228, and is now disappointing 245. Ugh! Beer is out now. Back to salads, iced tea, and trying to get more exercise. Why did it increase? Well, I have been more tired of late and a bit stressed from church stuff, both a refresh project and teaching Sunday School. I have been drinking too much coffee, and that always makes me hungry. I also think some of the pain and slowing down is from carrying around nearly twenty pounds.

Richard, when I asked, said he thought I had put on some weight. I was noticing my pants were not falling off. I was seeing the bathroom scale kept tilting the wrong way, but I did nothing. I did cook some lovely meals and will be more careful with the portion sizes. But it was soooooo gooood.

Yes, dear reader, I know there are various drugs, expensive, and I qualify for them due to various health issues, but I will try to get back to 235 by October on my own. The heat is soon over, too, and the smoke is no longer nearby; I can go outside and walk without risk. I am relieved also that my weight is changing in more predictable ways; that means the usual things should fix this. I was stuck at 234 for a year with various fluctuations that were followed by a return to the same number.

Getting back to my day on Saturday, the day started with me rising around 7, as I woke around 4 and had trouble returning to sleep. Cold, pain, and proof of hydration all made the night end early. I had to get to Costco to get sandwiches for my Sunday School Class and play games at Richard’s in Portland in the evening. It was another sunny, but cooler than the previous day, Oregon end-of-summer day. Fall is endless rain. The hot days will be back, but the extremes are over.

I wrote the blog and finished the pound cake (see previous note on weight gain) with a banana and some coffee. I planned to read more Methodist theology, structure, and history for my class preparation, but never got back to it. I was stiff and uncomfortable. Even my fingers were stiff and sore. Ugh!

I found my focus and my voice and wrote the blog. I wanted to get back to my SciFi writing, too, but did not find time for that. I updated my transactions in Quicken, noting that the next payment for the Civil Rights trip in the USA South has cleared. All my travel costs for the previous trips have now been paid. My checking account seems relieved to not be burning through money at my usual rate from travel. I did buy a few books for my class and food, but nothing close to my burn rate in NYC or Iceland!

I headed, with the emails read, too, and the blog posted, to Costco. I picked the larger one off of Cornell near the Hillsboro Airport, and it was busy. Deborah, mostly heads down in starting her English as a Second Language Classes in Michigan, laughed at me for expecting Costco to be quiet on Saturday morning. We talked while I drove there and while she had a break between work issues. Deborah is the coordinator for the classes and placement. All the annoying issues happen now.

Dear reader, a year ago, she took the train to Chicago, and we met for our first date. We walked around Chicago and looked at the sights. It is the first anniversary of us connecting. I could not be happier.

I found sandwiches ready, all chicken, and got a few items I also needed. I checked out. I felt much better pushing the cart and walking. All the pain faded, and I was moving better soon.

Yes, I know, dear reader, I should do more of this. And I did. I saw in check out that I forgot the dishwasher soap (someone else had a box), finished what I had, put it in Air VW the Gray, and then returned. The soap is at the extreme of the store, and I walked quickly there and then out. Being polite and avoiding getting hit by carts pushed by stressed-out families that are late for something after picking up just a few things at Costco. I do not see many smiles at Costco. I checked out with my two items. I do not use the DIY checking as that looks even more stressed. I politely wait for humans.

I did notice something at Costco. All the cases were full of organic and higher-priced items. My pack of ground beef was more by the pound than what I bought at Market of Choice! I will have to look for the regular items, but for those who think prices are higher, some of this is due to the selection of higher-priced items in the cases at Costco. Interesting.

Back at the house, I unloaded the goodies and tossed the box from Costco. These boxes can carry various bugs and eggs for bugs. It is essential to get them out of the house. Don’t reuse boxes from food items.

I watch (again see above) more of The Rings of Power, which I am rewatching as I liked a dose of Tolkien (this is my fourth time). I have wanted to make Grand Marnier Cake in the cookbook The Cake Bible for years. I have all the materials. This is an orange-chocolate-almond cake that features a generous amount of dairy (butter and sour cream) and a complex recipe. I spent the next hour in the kitchen assembling the cake. I made only one mistake (I did not put the orange-flavored glaze into the cake when it was still in the pan), but I made many close calls as I missed some ingredients here and there, and got them in just in time. Unlike muffins, this cake you beat air into it. I scooped into a prepared (buttered and floured) fluted bake pan, a new one I got when my old one seemed impossible to clean. The oven was ready and set on Convection Air Bake, which makes an excellent cake.

An hour later, I tried, sorry to cut the cake, which looked excellent, and I tried it. It was bright and intense. It would fade to more cake and subtle flavors as it cooled. I had two small slices (see above) and cut two larger pieces to take to Richard and Laura. I wrapped those slices in a wrap and placed them on a paper plate.

Much of the mess was put in the dishwasher, but not all. I got in EV and soon was enjoying the Beaverton and then Portland traffic. And while it seemed heavy, I arrived at Richard’s thirty minutes early and helped Richard set up the game. I get a glass of water instead of coffee or any snacks. Chris joined us for the game, Luthier, my second play. I made three mistakes, at least, and Chris, who has a few more plays than I do, beat me by about ten points, and my score was less than my previous one. Richard lapped us, and we talked after the game to better understand what we did differently from his fifty more points.

Luthier is a resource management and worker placement efficiency race with reduced scoring opportunities as the game progresses (I described a week ago and will not repeat that; however, you can find the blog here). I learned I missed two sets of options in the game and will have to use them next time I play. Richard invested heavily in buying and increasing the various skill tracks, and this made the skill better and earned more points. I think that was the main difference; he scored two to five more points for the same tasks we were doing. I would say that my misplays cost me second place, and neither Chris nor I advanced those tracks enough, leaving us with a final score under 100. Next time! While expensive, it is an excellent game, and I am tempted. It is a fantastic alternative to Weather Machine and other costly and complex games.

I returned home and was tired and soon was in bed and trying to sleep. I have to teach on Sunday, and my weight issues were on my mind. It was hard to find sleep, but I did not see 11 on the clock.

I am now using the legacy Alexa as the new version, which was offered to me and some customers, stopped working, and the new Alexa could not find Kink.FM to play. I disabled the new Alexa and returned the familiar voicing and working features. I listened to Kink.FM while reading for a while.

Thanks for reading.

 

I slept in until 8 and found the coffee waiting for me. I had shopped at Market of Choice and got some bananas, and I had that with a few slices of the pound cake I made a few days ago. I started the blog, and by the time I finished it, about 10, it had nearly 900 words. The day before had been filled with paperwork, and I had had three beers; everything hurt. Yes, less beer, I think.

I did a load of laundry and made a charcuterie plate for lunch from the fine cheese and some items I already had. I ate that while watching ShipHappens updates and some Battleship New Jersey videos on YouTube. The story from the Battleship is about using a retired barrel from New Jersey, extending it, and using it to fire projectiles into space. If something, say water and food, can withstand the 10K Gs, it will fly 1/2 to the Space Station. The joke was that Americans love guns anyway, so why not use them? Need basic building, water, and food in space? Use a big gun to send it up and capture it in space. I like that it was a Canadian Scientist who thought it.

Laundry done, dishes done, and I started to read material for my next Sunday School Class: Methodists — Grace, the Quadrilateral, and J&C Wesley. Later, I ordered little books, just a few pages, on “Being a United Methodist” to give out to folks who took the class. They will arrive before the last session.

Whatever it was (beer, paperwork, fall weather, etc.), I was sleepy. To make my drive to Portland less of a drag, I stopped by Coffee Rush and got a European mocha; I forgot to ask for mint. It tasted less sweet than what I remember. My tongue has not been the same since my surgery after a bad mouth infection, and I am never sure of my tastes. It is slowly improving. It is also, I am aware, a side effect of COVID-19, but I do not think that was it. To my knowledge, I have never had it and took ALL the shots (and will try to get the RJK Challenge shot too).

The Friday mid-afternoon traffic was slow, though I was not in a hurry as Kathleen would meet me later in Portland. I reached the Rogue Taphouse in SE Portland in Air VW the Gray without issue (their Pearl District location is closing this month), and they provide off-street parking. Score! I found a table and waited only a few moments for Kathleen to appear. She first parked on the street, saw the two-hour limit sign, and then moved her car into the supplied parking area.

We had an early dinner there; Kathleen loved the fish and chips, but with halibut (they also offer salmon, my favorite). I tried the brat and the sort of sweet roll, but sweet mustard over sourkraut did not work for me. I was thinking bitter and spicy. Next time, I will try something else or order it with no bun and spicy mustard on the side. We talked often, as we had a few weeks to catch up on, and both managed to write. This is our writing meet-up. We both just write and chat. We both read a few words to each other to see how it was working. I had two beers, one before and one as it got dark.

We then walked to a coffee house, Honey Latte Cafe, and I got a tea and a cookie. Kathleen got hot chocolate and an almond cake. We found a comfy leather sectional couch and wrote more. We made more progress, but it was near 9 and I had to get back across Portland and Beaverton. We walked back to our cars, said goodbye, and headed in opposite directions. Navigation took me over the tall Fremont Bridge using the on-ramp higher than the highest part of the roadbed on the bridge. I call it the space shuttle launch ramp. Traffic was slow, and a car was stalled just outside the tunnel. No accidents happened while I was there; traffic in the tunnel was slow tonight (In Baltimore, I remember going 90+ and being passed in the tunnel).

I arrived about 9:30 at home, and I read, as I said above, Methodist-centered items to prepare for the class a week from Sunday. I finished the first chapter of Why I am A Methodist which is out of print, but not much has changed in the fundamental theology and structure of the church. I found my notes from twenty years ago stuck in the book. I used the book in my Maryland and Beaverton Sunday School Classes, which I taught long ago.

I found the newest like book at Cokesbury (the Methodist publishing company that remained with the UMC when it split in 2022) and ordered it. I will see if it fits my style, and maybe there will be a follow-up class if folks desire it.

With the lives of John and Charles Wesley spinning in my head and three times of grace, I closed my eyes, and after a while, I slept.

Thanks for reading.

 

Thursday just disappeared in a mess of paperwork and processes that made me feel like I was back at work. I slept until 8ish and rose and made coffee. I had failed to assemble the coffee the night before, but I had cleaned up the kitchen. I was out of bananas, but I had a pound cake I had made the day before. Two slices went perfectly with the Zabar’s roast I bought in NYC. The bitterness reminded me again that Justice with Compassion is not free nor in place here in the USA, but someday we liberals will get there.

The locals enjoy it when I leave them apples on the ground from the old apple tree.

I received information on the refresh work at the church, and it took most of my morning and early afternoon. I decided to help finish the job, but the price is much higher than expected. I called my Wealth Management Team at US Bank and then later talked to Ken, our pastor. I created a report, a revised memo, and a motion to the church council to finish the job. This took all of the morning and early afternoon.

I also wrote the blog, paid bills, and carefully checked my investments. My holding at US Bank had a surprising increase and reached another numeric milestone that I had not expected (at least not this soon). And while I am grateful to have more money in my IRA, given the Bernie Madoff scandal, I like to verify the logic behind changes. Dinner was reheated Indian-style food I had made earlier in the week.

I headed to Market of Choice and paid too much for many excellent items. All high quality, and I will have to mix up my purchases with Safeway for the usual items and get the special items from there. I did talk to their cheese expert, Amanda, and we selected a blue cheese, locally made: Point Reyes Bay Blue from California. I passed on European versions and went with West Coast items. Amanda approved. For harder cheeses, we agreed on a Dutch Gouda, a three-year-aged cheese, Artikaas. The wine expert, whose name I missed, whom I spoke with before, agreed with me that the $12 screwcap Malbec from Domaine Bousquet was adequate for a glass or two, but with most, unlike W.C. Fields, going in the French dish I plan for next week.

The day seemed to disappear as I said, I opened a few cans and made early chili after frying some grass-fed beef, ground, in the bottom of a Dutch oven. I spooned off the extra fat and then fried the meat until it got more brown. I failed to wash a can of beans I had opened to add to the chili; this seemed to introduce a grainy texture to the chili. Next time.

I let the mix cook until hot for thirty minutes and had too many bowls. I missed corn and green pepper in my chili, but, besides the graininess, it was excellent. I put the remaining in a storage bag and will have it again later this week.

Next, with time seemingly spinning my clocks extra fast, I headed to Wildwood Taphouse to write with my Apple laptop approaching 8. Friday nights are loud and friendly, and I soon was yelling my order in for strange beers to celebrate summer. I am not ready for the dark beers of fall, “Dark as my soul,” as the bartender said to me, my usual line, pointing out the excellent and high alcohol darks. He was surprised I was going bright with sour beers. Later, I had a small dark beer, which got a smile from him.

They have a pay-it-forward option where you can help cover the cost of someone else’s drink, and I saw on the board, ‘Colon Cancer Survivor.’ I used $5 of the total, leaving some for someone else, for my drinks. In the past, I would find my name with an amount next to it. It is always a pleasant surprise.

I edit my SciFi/Fantasy novel and discover that Grammarly is no longer working with Scrivener, ugh! It did restart after I rebooted the Apple on Friday morning. I met a few folks as I wrote, and they were amazed I could write in the chaos of Friday Night.

I managed, even without Grammarly, to do some editing and write a few hundred new words for the next chapter. I managed to update the name of a character that became more important (thus needing a name) in the story. I stopped after 10 and headed out.

I finished the dishes from the chili creation process and assembled my coffee for tomorrow. All day, I had a headache, and I wondered if I had missed my blood pressure medication (although a missed dose is not serious, and my blood pressure does not rise, I do get a headache sometimes). I started logging my day again and medication use. This is less a memory issue than the effect of having less structured days since I retired. No really.

With the writing, beers, social butterflying, and church stuff, it was past 11 before I was ready for it to be. I found my PJs, tried to read a technical article on noise handling in process control, and instead turned off the light and fell asleep.

My dreams, all forgotten, seemed to involve traveling again, but without me getting lost and trying to find my way back. I was just a tourist in my dreams, like a dream train of visions.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesday was not as packed as Tuesday, but I had to finish my class plans, and I knew I would need to finish that today. Deborah is working on the inbound student evaluations and assembling her area’s classes for “English as a Second Language” in Michigan, and so we chatted here and there all day between our various tasks. We both live to some degree in two time zones with a three-hour change.

I return to Michigan in October, arriving on the 10th and returning to Oregon on the 21st. The church trip, with some extras, is leaving on November 5 and returning late on the 17th.

I find it hard to write this blog this Thursday morning as I am busy with a few items…but let me try to find focus, dear reader.

I managed to write over 1,000 words and drink all the coffee with my last banana (“Yes, we have no bananas,” always comes to mind when I take the last one) and a bagel-like locally made bread product. I may have to make my own. I reheat the French-style beef that I made a few days ago for my lunch (leaving the India-style food I made yesterday for lunch on Thursday). With everything published and lunch inside me, I was tempted to find a nice bar and write some SciFi, but I needed to finish my plans and notes for the Sunday School Class: Denominational History, which I am teaching on Sunday after church.

I spent the afternoon reading multiple Wikipedia searches and trying to create a narrative of the connections of the United Methodist Church to other denominations. Methodists are heavily represented in Wikipedia as the primary source of Arminian influence in American Protest movements of the last three hundred years (for those who do not speak obscure theological terms, including me: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism). I took my notes and plan to use an excellent chart from Useful Charts to help make this more straightforward. Steve Wolff also sent me a drawing of the assembly and disassembly (to use non-church terms) of the Methodist church over time. All good.

I made mac and cheese for dinner (I might have reversed lunch and dinner, but I am not going to re-edit that) with the completion and some final edits for my class. I sent out the notes to church folks and was relieved to be ready for another class. My next one is about Methodists, and I have more reading for that.

I remembered that the new trash pickup day is Thursday and got the recycling out. I saw later that my nearly empty containers are now filled. I had informed my neighbors to enjoy the bounty of my containers to avoid overage charges. Excellent!

I forgot to mention in the blog yesterday that I received some Board Game Geek upgrades for the board games Istanbul and The Lost Ruins of Arnak. The Istanbul QR code for the rules for the new location tiles no longer works, and after some effort, I discovered I was not the first to notice. The rules are obvious; I can use the promo items. For The Lost Ruins of Arnak, the new hard plastic pieces fit one of the add-ons, but not the less popular second. I decided to use it, remembering that the other add-on, The Lost Expedition, has fewer pretty parts. I kept the replaced parts in a bag, as it may be necessary to play with the paper.

I baked a pound cake, nearly misreading the amounts, but managed another excellent one, and enjoyed a slice of pound cake as dessert and a snack. Yes, it has too many calories, but it is still sooooo nice.

I did get more church paperwork and refresh work that I will not share here. I was busy all day.

Next, I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed to First United Methodist Church. Dondrea and Z were there already when I arrived around 6. Z and I took on another game of Concordia using the Roma map. Z, a bit scatter-brained from starting High School and playing soccer, took a while to find focus. I, having played Michael R yesterday, was ready to play and soon pulled ahead and remained there. The scores were high, and they mainly played an independent game. Z had my favorite personality cards and focused on building, while I bought cards and collected money. We were playing each other’s style of game, and Z even commented on this. I won and we put away the game. Ashley and Andrew arrived and introduced us to their newborn child, Ila.

Choir starts now, and we have another hour. We are used to stopping sooner. We got out Flip 7, and I taught it, and soon Z was enjoying this push-your-luck card game. She enjoyed the decision-based game. We got a few looks from the choir director as we had a few reactions to the happy or unhappy results. It is a cheap, $10 game I would recommend to anyone.

After the games and meeting the newest Methodist, I headed home. I paid bills, did the dishes, and read for a while. My head was a whirl of Roman place names from Concordia, daring card play from Flip 7, and Methodist theology. I soon rolled over and did not wake until I had to prove hydration once (better). I forgot to assemble the coffee.

Thanks for reading!