Author: alohawild

I rose while still in the 7s but close to 8 for another sunny day here in the Greater Portland Area. I rose and remembered I have a morning appointment in Vancouver, Washington State (not Canada), and jumped in the shower like I was working for a living. Got dressed and all that, remembered my meds, and headed out the door. I did bring my laptop as I would likely connect with Barb, Gordon, and Emma, who were in Portland, but I might have some dead time.

No coffee or breakfast, and I joined the crowd inbound to Portland connecting to Highway 26 on the Sylvan Hill and soon found the traffic slow but moving. I was headed towards Seattle and soon was moving and near Delta Park, flying towards Washington in Air VW the Gray.

Amber, from Orange Nebula, the company that makes the game and is based in Vancouver, arranged for my pickup on Thursday morning. I reached the usual streets, found a parking spot, and called Amber. She shared the address with me, a minute away, as their offices had not moved, and soon I parked in a Parking Kitty monitored space, ignored that, and walked the block to the storefront. Amber, whom I had not met before, greeted me, exchanged my signature for a game, Vestige, from some universe as their Vindication game, and introduced me to Eric, one of their designers, to talk about games, but I was intruding; I could see a meeting was starting in a conference room, and I thanked everyone and left.

I boarded the EV, with no penalty for ignoring the Parking Kitty, and soon cruised Vancouver for a breakfast location. Compass Coffee Roasters’ ‘Coffee is Culinary’ storefront was conveniently near a paid parking spot. I fed the Parking Kitty $3.60 for two hours, and joined the line. There, I got their recommended breakfast burrito and very strong, dark coffee. The spoon did not stand in the coffee or dissolve, but I was impressed. No beans were spared in the making of that cup!

I regretted, again, that my earbuds were still in my red bag and not in my pocket. Hmmm. The clashing of plates always wakes me from my attention. I found a chair and began to write the blog. I did unwrap the board game and left it beside me. A few folks asked me about it, and I opened the box for them and showed them the contents. Everyone was happy to hear that it was a locally designed product.

My weight has fallen to 228 pounds, and there is some hope to keep it under 230. I am hopeful.

I managed to get the blog done, and I also talked to Pastor Ken about some church paperwork. I read various feedback on some of the paperwork. I put off answering, and folks found their answers or shared them. Sometimes it is best to just let things flow and then ‘check & adjust’ after everyone has had some time to understand the items. It is more natural to try to jump in and fix everything, but I have found that sometimes the currents of the universe are better at bringing resolution, and you need not push against them.

With my blog done, Parking Kitty was meowing that my time was nearly done (yes, it does that), I noticed a vintage clothing store, and they had men’s stuff too. I thought, “maybe they would have a tie or something that would fit a look for my Call of Cthulu game coming up on Tuesday,” and stopped in. They had a clip-on tie with a swirling pattern, perfect, and gray suspenders, excellent. Another tie with animals fell off when I was looking at them, and I added that to my purchase. With only risking a few minutes after the Parking Kitty’s notice of my limit to legal parking to enjoy the Vintage shop, I reboarded Air VW the Gray and connected with Barb. Yes, I could meet them in the Pearl District.

At this point, there were moments when I needed to use the restroom. I am unsure if it was my colon or Metformin reacting to the hot fudge Sundae and milk products, but I needed to stop once to enjoy more removal. While this may be oversharing, many of my readers have or might face colon cancer or use Metformin and want to share the impact of both. It is part of who I am; you are your body.

I have noticed that Grammarly, an aside, does not correct my mistake of missing a letter in ‘It’ or ‘now’ or ‘not,’ and the blog gets published with these mistakes. I will be careful, as I spotted this in a blog from over a year ago and yesterday’s blog. I believe I am simply typing so fast that I do not hit the key or not hard enough.

I arrived and parked in the ridiculously expensive underground parking in the Pearl District near Powell’s City of Books. I sat in the Starbucks across from the bookstore and waited. I was also ready to use their facilities if there was a sudden need; nope. Text followed, and Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House was selected for lunch. One of my go-tos when in the Pearl District.

I moved there and got an update that Barb and family were at least 30 minutes out. I then got a seat in the bar area over a large block of wood and had a tiny beer and some devil’d eggs as I needed some more food with all the coffee and now beer. A beefy bartender, sporting one of the bar’s shirts and surely making some sales for the shirts, let me pay, and I told him I always consider this my first choice, and he replied: “Hell yes!” Yes, Portland is a strange yet wonderful town. Hell yes, indeed!

Gordon parked; we later learned that we were in the same garage as the rental, and we had an excellent lunch, but with the jet lag and heat, everyone went for water or iced tea. I tried the rice bowl with BBQ pork, cooked for 17 hours, as it said on the menu, and it was excellent.

We decamped, after paying the bill, to Powell’s City of Books, and I managed to resist buying anything. But there were two cookbooks and a SciFi novel with the Hugo award (that is a deal closer for me), but I have three or more feet of to-read stacks in the bedroom. And how many feet of cookbooks are required? But I may be back…

The lack of sales tax and the vast collection had everyone else find something. Barb and I retired to the Starbucks while these treasures were deposited in the car. We saw Gordon and Emma circle back as they discovered that the Pearl District looked the same in every direction. Old brick, mostly former brewery buildings. When I moved here in 1996, the area was industrial and smelled of brewing beer. Now it is full of overpriced retail stores, a mix of higher-end restaurants, and even a Keen Footwear store.

We took a walk to Keen’s and stopped by the Armory to show how it had been rebuilt into a Theater and event center. The 1800s structure has been rebuilt and made earthquake-resistant, but some of the original iron supports are retained and now are part of the aesthetics with the fresh cement and original bricks fully repointed.

Barb found a new pair of shoes at Keen, and we then decided to skip dinner in Portland, as we were all tired and lunch was still a fresh memory. We walked back to the garage, paid the $21 each (f**k!), and they headed back while I headed into the later afternoon traffic to Cosmic Monkey to get the #3 of Dr Doom comic, Doomquest. It was slow, and I took an onramp to I-84 that is about four stories above the river and has a lovely view (and likely no fun in cold weather, where it would be more of a toboggan run). The short trip was twenty-five minutes.

An older man, whom I saw wandering as I was driving, asked me for the location of a church and then unloaded on me a story of a lost chance to get important meds for his dying wife because of an issue with a credit card. He seemed not in the least credible, and I wished him well.

I entered the store, told the person working the cash-wrap that I read the sign, and suggested that I would not want a public restroom, but instead a private one. I do not do that in public. That got a smile and a laugh. Old jokes sometimes are the best.

I then had four walls of comics to study, all newish. I soon learned that there is a hierarchy with DC and Marvel and other publishers arranged in that order. After that, it was a strange sort of alphabetical order. It reminded me of Powell’s City of Books’ unique arrangement (which seems to change every three years). As I learned the system, I found my comic and another one, a #1, so no need to read a story in the middle or find more in the series to purchase. With my two purchases of less than $10, I reboarded the EV, enjoyed more traffic, arrived at the house around 7, quickly grabbed the mail, opened a package, and soon was ready to leave again.

I got some digital candles for the CoC game. I tried out one. Prefect. I drove back to Pepita’s for dinner. They were waiting a few minutes (the chips were only partially gone). Dinner was excellent, and Gordon approved the Pork Verde, and Emma enjoyed the Colorado beef. One tostada for Barb (who was still full from lunch), and there were leftovers for Emma’s fridge, I was told.

We hugged, and I wished them well. They are headed to Seattle for a day trip, and I might not see them before Barb and Gordon fly back on Saturday morning.

I returned home, read, and watched more Ted Lasso (still in season one) and started an American Civil War book, unimaginably named The Civil War by Bruce Catton, as I need to read it for my trip in September. I soon nodded off, turned off the light, and slept. I woke early, rolled over, and found it 5 to 8; yikes! All dreams forgotten, but I knew there were some.

Thanks for reading!

 

Wednesday starts with me waking a few times at night to ensure all the water I drank during the day did not stay with me, and I was in bed early, still jet-lagged, and started the return process surprisingly early. I woke after sunrise, a surprise to me, and managed to rise closer to 7 than 8. I usually roll over after acknowledging the sun rose, and I might have, but I have no memory of that. I make a whole pot of coffee about every other morning and then microwave the leftovers the next day. It is not improved with time, but it is a form of economy (previously I made half a pot of coffee each day). With my reheated coffee and later a banana, I returned to my office (once Corwin’s bedroom) and continued writing a two-day blog. I had spaced writing the blog on a busy Tuesday.

I finished the first day by 10ish but then had another day to recall. I also buzzed by the coffee pot and microwave for another cup of reheated California-roasted coffee (from San Juan Capistrano’s historic Los Rios District and requiring grinding), and at the same time I picked up and cleaned (just a tiny bit) the house. I went on and wrote the next day, texted and talked to Deborah, and tried to stay focused. The hummingbirds and a huge woodpecker appeared in the backyard. I did not hear the bang-bang of the woodpecker later. Some of the pine trees show the line of holes that the woodpeckers start to have the sap drip and cling to ants and other delicious (for a woodpecker) insects. Their efforts are mostly in vain as the hummingbirds are on constant patrol for lunchable insects.

It is nearing fall, and the larger insects are not appearing. I love to see them quickly crossing the sky. A large wasp-thing got in the house (no, not a dreaded Murder Hornet!); it was something local. I later captured it in a glass, covered it with a plate, and managed to restore it to the outdoors without harm to it or me. Yellow jackets need not apply for mercy, but I know better than to kill them by force.

I reheated my less-than-stellar attempt at cooking salmon. Cheap frozen salmon was my first mistake. I also overcooked it. I told Deborah the correct choice was to chop it up, add cream cheese, and spread it on bread. She suggested that adding calories and especially carbohydrates was missing the point. I thought a dark beer with that and the bread toasted would be best, with maybe some capers added to the mix. Deborah was sure I missed the point altogether. I agreed; I had missed. I will try again for the delicious high-protein, low-carb meal.

I watched more of Ted Lasso’s first season and find the show more and more enchanting. And the show is even trying a few sad moments too. I liked what they are doing.

Gordon, Emma, and Barb C showed up at the house after getting the house address wrong and enjoying many of the unexpected places that Clartion Street appears in Beaverton. We got out the Grace Knox prints (and a painting I forgot until later), and Barb will take them as framed and mail them back to Michigan. Gordon looked at the rifle that was Barb’s and my late wife’s (Susie) father’s gun when he was young. Gordon will arrange for its transfer, following the arcane processes of using a gun dealer to ship it. Next was the huge (insanely huge) flintlock. We talked about it, and Susie wanted to shoot it (nothing I would recommend, as the kick could resemble a bone-breaking blow). It is destined for a mantlepiece in Michigan, I believe. It will be mailed, Gordon explained, as it is not an official weapon. The guns have cases. We managed to wedge them in their rental, and they were off.

Dinner for me was reheated delicious tamales and more Ted Lasso. I then collected my laptop, Raiders of Scythia board game, and headed to the church. Dondrea and Z, plus the usual praise band folks, and soon Z and I were intensely focused in a not-that-close game. Z crushed me. At the end, Z was ahead on raid and one goal. I had lots of gold, extra points, and goals, but not enough to stop a ten-plus loss. My errors were manifold, and I am not sure which ones got me. But next time I will catch Z!

Dondrea and I then went over Visa processes for Brazil and what is needed for Z, a minor, and for the adults. I did not finish my application, but I will soon (and they are sending me updates to offer help—very nice). With that gone over and more to-dos for Dondrea for Z (sorry about that), I headed home.

Dessert was calling me, and a McDonald’s hot fudge sundae answered the call ($4.50 now). More Ted Lasso, more reading, and just a bit more paperwork, and I was ready to sleep. Sadly, at 3ish my colon decided it wanted attention and my morning was more or less than I wanted, depending on how you want to spin it (so many jokes, but I ‘went’ this way). I did manage to sleep.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Dear reader, it has been a long time since I simply forgot to write a blog…but Tuesday was filled up with overruns and unplanned events. It was a nice day, but never got to tell Monday’s story. It is already fading as a memory; let me start…

Monday

Happy Birthday to Leta, now 98!

I rose after 7, but not too far after. Monday is laundry day (as is Friday), and I grabbed all the towels and got them started in the washer. The kitchen floor is wet. A puddle is on my new flooring! Two different streams from the sink are on the floor, and I see that I did not shut off the water in the kitchen sink, and it dripped all night. But it did not overflow. I have suspected there is a light leak, more of a drip, under the sink, but this time there is a puddle among the cleaning supplies and other whatnot that has accumulated under the sink. Puke!

I open the kitchen sink doors, and there is water, but it appears to be new. Strange. I am thinking a seal dried out while I was away and the house was over 100ºF. There was no AC while I was traveling. The sink has a window, and the hot sun would have baked it. Later, I tightened the collar for the garbage disposer I installed back in 1996 when I moved in. It was my first house repair here at Clarion Street. The original had spectacularly broken into pieces while running and was left at the bottom of the cabinet spinning back in 1996.

A few years ago, the faucet, the second one that Dad Wild and I installed on one of his earlier visits, broke off, and I replaced it. I remember I used all the putty and tape, and maybe that was leaking under pressure, I thought. I turned on the water full, and there was no flood. I ran the garbage disposal; no detectable dampness.

In frustration, I went back to write Sunday’s blog and left the door open to the sink and dried the floor. I checked, and there was no flood. The water was just a puddle under the sink. I would ignore it for a while. I would notice, as I said before, that the garbage disposal, after 29-ish years, was slightly loose. This fit with my thinking that the sink was hot during my trip to Michigan and things had taken some thermal damage. I have found houses are funny when nobody is there for weeks. Things break and change when there is no use. I had a slow leak in the bathroom when Susie had her stroke in NYC, and I was an accidental tourist (though I have never read the book by the same name). Jeff A got the job to rebuild the bathroom, which insurance did not cover as it was a slow leak.

I was glad it was small and likely a drippy leak and did not flood the kitchen while I was away!

I wrote the blog (remember, dear reader, this is Sunday’s as I skipped writing Monday’s blog until this writing), put in my prescriptions that are running out, and sorted my material for playing the Table Top (TT) role-playing game (RPG or TTRPG) Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition (CoC). My name can be found in the books, as I and many friends, including M@ supported the new edition many years ago. I pulled down old boxes that I have not looked into for years and found all of my CoC stuff. I dug through my figures and was surprised at how few I had, but soon discovered little bags of figures I used for campaigns from years ago and added them to my 1920s store. M@ gave me an organizational box years ago with stickers still there in his handwriting, and then organized my figures. M@ loves to organize things.

(I thought of Deborah when I opened this fortune; our path together has been wonderful).

With the blog published, I shower, find new towels, and get ready to find what Monday will bring me. I have to prep for a three-hour CoC game, and I head to Happy Panda for my usual Americanized Chinese-style lunch. Matty is my usual waiter, and we are happy to see each other. I have the usual chicken with cashews, with extra water chestnuts and less celery. My order means that they have to make mine from scratch; it will take longer and comes out wickedly warm from the recent cooking. It is also a huge heap. Mushrooms have joined this order (excellent), and cabbage is missing, as is celery (great). I have time to reread the adventure I plan to play on Tuesday night, and to assemble in my mind how to play the adventure and to keep it sandboxed.

Disappointedly, M@ contacted me and Rune & Board had not advertised or even placed the game on their website. Sad. I called and, with M@’s advice, I asked Nick, the owner of Rune & Board, to skip Tuesday, as we can’t get any players, and hopefully they can get this advertised and so on. Nick agrees (it is Wednesday now and there are still no updates on Rune & Board, and I will likely pull the next date).

I had ordered a rush on some items that now could have waited. I ordered more packs of candy cigarettes since we are playing the 1920s, and while I am against smoking, it was a thing in the 1920s, and the candy, I think, helps set the 1920s mood. The candy did arrive on Monday.

I still copied, cut out, and prepared a box of materials for the game. It took much of the afternoon, and I assembled a few props (I selected one of the newer magic books to fill in for a book listed in the material I am using). All ready for next week (I hope).

I found that the frig still contained frozen and most excellent talmes and reheated two of them for dinner. They reheated well and still tasted fresh. I watched more Ted Lasso (I am in the first season). I then returned to my office and wrote memos for church paperwork that I have been tasked with and other adjustments now that I am Finance Chair for First United Methodist Church again, despite saying I would never do Finance again. Times change.

While not getting enough walking or other exercise, I was tired from jet lag still (now that I am 60+, it hangs on longer, or maybe it always did) and tried to read more Rex Stout, and I did laugh a few times as I enjoy the high jinx of the detectives in this early Nero Wolfe story. I finished the laundry, discovering I had forgotten about it.

Aside: Rex Stout’s characters, including Nero Wolfe, are not in the public domain until 2030, at least.

I soon slept.

Tuesday

I had only plans to play ISS Vanguard at Richard’s house in Portland on Tuesday, but my day started to get complex.

I rose after 7, closer to 8, and started my day and not the blog, as I knew I would need to leave at 8:45, and I did not get up at 6ish to write it before leaving. I usually write it at Broadway Grill in the late afternoon with a late lunch and a beer or iced tea (depending on how I am feeling about weight loss or if I had my limit of about two a week when not traveling). I checked my funding and was happy that US Bank Wealth Management, after a week, discovered what went wrong and deposited my IRA withdrawal in my checking, and I paid my bills for the start of the month (my Social Security payment is mid-month on the second Wednesday for reasons I do not know).

I downloaded my transactions into Quicken, made adjustments, and then was reading the news (depressing), and my email  (mostly deleting), and before I knew it, I was running late. I did manage to talk to Deborah, who got her car back (after getting a new alternator and other related bits) before I hit the shower, dressed, and all that (including adding those creams, as psoriasis is still resisting in some areas the Kung Foo of Skyrizi). I soon, running about ten minutes late, got to enjoy Air VW the Gray again (trying to not confuse driving Air Chevy, which had a more conventional set-up, with the VW controls) in Portland Tuesday morning rush. The usual thirty-minute trip was extended to forty-five, but I arrived as James (who owns the game) and Richard started the setup.

ISS Vanguard is a simulation of being part of the crew of a starship with elements of running the ship and then exploring as a classic Star Trek away-party. There is a strong storyline and apps to run to avoid endless reading from a logbook (though it is helpful to have a backup to the app). We followed the procedure to start a new mission, and we carefully (it took us about 90 minutes to get going) read through and assembled our crew (I play the engineering section, Scotty if you like). We have one section, Recon, we pass around each play, and Richard had it this time (Richard is Science and James is Security).

(This is the setup for an away mission; Richard had awoken a huge machine)

It took us a while to remember the flow, and there were lots of rechecks until we selected a mission. We then simulated our flight down (it was rough) and then landed on a planet. As Engineering, I had mining equipment and ran mining and planet-related choices in mostly one location. While not exciting, it was very immersive as I ensured we completed our tasks. Richard went exploring, and James then followed.

While the details cannot be written here, ISS Vanguard is all copyrighted stuff; it was immersive, interesting, and exciting. James’ character did not survive the wounds received on the planet and was our first loss in the game.

The game ran very long, with me leaving at 3:30 and Richard and James still following the “save” process. Barb C and Emma C contacted me while I was playing, and we were to connect at 4 in Beaverton at the Carts near City Hall. I was late after enjoying late-afternoon traffic and getting stuck on the Bridge for a while.

While I am not terrified of bridges, I do not enjoy them. The fire truck on the bridge did not improve my mood. It crossed the bridge (there was no issue on the bridge), and its heavy weight flexed the bridge a few inches. An experience I do not care for.

I also heard from the church that they had an issue with the safe. The thing uses a battery, and after years, it has finally died. You must use a key to open it. There was a lot of back-and-forth, and I called. Finally, the next day, the safe was back and running with new batteries and locked again.

Barb, Gordon, and Emma were running late, and I, now at the carts, had plenty of time to finish my church paperwork and spent the hour enjoying the outdoors under an umbrella and the energy of the crowds to get my paperwork going. With a new time, I went to find a beer to celebrate the paperwork, and waited. It was a glorious day to be outside (the partially cloudy weather cut the blazing sun) and, being the Pacific Northwest, the clouds did spit some drops. Never trust a cloud here! You will get soaked!

Barb, Gordon, and Emma appeared, and we had a great meal with brewed products to help enjoy the delicious food. Nothing was repeated, and everything was good (and not too overpriced, but never cheap). We missed a great time for a photograph. We talked about travel and gaming, and enjoyed our chat. We will connect again on Wednesday.

I returned home, watched more Ted Lasso, and then went to bed still feeling the jet lag. I totally spaced writing the blog and went to bed.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

I woke without the need to write a blog. I had written a two-day blog the night before and found myself enjoying a quiet morning. I made grits and fried eggs to celebrate my return to the house. I made 1/2 a portion and still had leftover grits. I managed to flip the eggs without disaster, but my plating left much to be desired — figure-eight. That and a tiny bowl of grits (with just a hint of butter) was lovely. I ate this while I watched a video by Nick Zentner about the Oregon Cascade volcanoes, which he released a few hours ago (here).

I puttered around the house, ignoring the laundry that needed to be folded and put away, and added to the mess. I talked to Deborah, and we started my morning together. We miss being together and in the same time zone.

I showered, happy to be back in my shower and not yet-another-hotel mystery of how the nobs work to produce water pressure at a temperature that will be comfortable,  shave using a good razor (not a cheap but tossable one I buy for travel), and add some of those creams to my head where psoriasis is holding on despite the Skyrizi treatments. I collected a dress shirt, tan slacks, and other items needed for dressing from the laundry before the shower. I assembled my outfit, adding a gray sweater vest, black leather shoes, and a Pride tie.

I found my pencils I got at all the museums and the gifts for Z, Dondrea, and Donna: petals and flower parts from the lavender garden, plus my computer for church. The drive, with me trying to remember where all the controls are on the EV, as they are not in the same places as in the Air Chevy, soon passes through Beaverton to First United Methodist Church without issue. I gave away some pencils, including the Gerald Ford Library one to many, and the gifts for Z, Dondrea, and Donna. I ushered, and Dondrea gave the sermon, and the music kind of flowed well, and Z, Seth, and I were, in the back, dancing to it. It is always more fun in the back of the church than in the pews; an usher secret.

Dondrea’s sermon, The Gavel We Were Never Handed, reminded us that if we judge, we indict ourselves (my words). That it is our love, not our adherence to laws and regulations (or wearing the right clothing or singing well), that makes us great, but our acceptance and memory not to judge others. Paul (not my favorite guy, as he seems to be quoted out of context a lot) says in Romans 14:12-13, “So then, each one of us will be held accountable,” but he goes on (the part that folks leave out), “to no longer pass judgment on one another.” Dondrea started by citing an influencer who said kids are not becoming socialists (despite their conservative parents’ objections) but are instead reading what Jesus said and applying it. The kids are saying to help the poor, not to exclude people, and never to judge.

Church was followed by a meeting at McMenamins Cedar Hills. I was the first there and helped the McMenamins staff get organized. It was a sleepy Sunday start for them. Ulysses was our waiter again, and soon folks arrived. We had about seven. We talked about planning a Revival program for the church. As Finance Chairperson, I need to establish a budget for the new work. We are also talking about reestablishing childcare at the service. It was a good meeting, and we have many to-dos.

After that, and getting a BBQ chicken salad there, I headed home. I changed out of the tie and switched to more comfortable shoes. I collected my Call of Cthulhu role-playing materials and headed to Rune & Board to share them and to check if they had done anything for my game at 6 on Tuesday. Nope. But they did ask for an electronic copy of the flyer later.

I talked about the game and tried to see if any of the staff wanted to play, but I suspect not. Trying to get a new gaming group going is always difficult. M@ is planning to be there, and maybe I can drum up some more.

I then punched the wargame, Franklin, recreating the second (and terrible) Battle of Franklin in the American Civil War. This is in a lot of tiny pieces-of-paper style, but far from the old style (and a mix of historical and non-historical flow) Avalon Hill game. This is a new game that incorporates all the latest research and experience from playing ACW games. The number of pieces is much reduced compared to older versions of ACW wargames, removing endless focus on minutiae and allowing a focus on decisions and the placement of total forces. I managed to figure out how to set it up and play one turn. The game allows players some latitude in setup, which is not very helpful when I do not know the battle that well. But I think I was able to get it organized into a useful, close-enough start.

(The pink Wilson paper square with the two stars represents the famous general, Wilson, who will soon defeat the Confederates at Selma and create the shipwreck in the museum I visited last year there by ordering the unfinished Confederate ironclad be burned).

I then put it all away — they close at 7 on Sundays; I think I need about four hours to play a full game by myself, learn the rules, and simulate the battle.

I next stopped at Safeway and got some cheese, lemon, and a few other items, including baked potato chips that I could not stop eating. Hmmm. I then baked the salmon using Deborah’s process, and it came out OK. But it was cheap frozen salmon. I had it with steamed broccoli and then some canned peaches (no extra sugar) for dessert.

I read for a while, folded the laundry, and put most of it away. I said good night to Deborah. By 10:30, I was falling asleep (time change!). I managed to sleep most of the night and I remember no dreams, but know there were some.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

It has been a while since I did two days in one blog…but it seems the right thing for today.

Friday, I rose by myself at the hotel and soon was showered, shaved, and all that and headed to the lobby. There is no in-room coffee makers in this Holiday Inn Express. I objected, but I was told that the decision to remove coffee from the rooms was local, and I found myself no more drawn to other chains. Also, I still do not have enough points for a free room, even after staying 35 days this year at Holiday Inn facilities.  Other ‘H’s are attracting me: Hilton and Hyatt. They have in-room coffee, and their staff seemed happier and better skilled. I feel I am paying more for less.

I ate my industrial same-as-always breakfast with a banana still available (rare at Holiday Inns). I wrote the blog and talked and texted Deborah. She had another doctor appointment and other morning details. I stayed at the hotel and wrote. Deborah picked me up in her cool, blue Mini about lunchtime, and we headed to Recipes in Rochester Hills downtown. There we had an excellent breakfast, and we both could only finish about 1/2; the rest became another meal. We spent the afternoon together at Deborah’s house, which did include lots of petting and playing with her dogs Zelda and Trixie. At 5:15, we headed to my hotel again. There, I took Air Chevy to refuel (just a top-off to return it to the airport rental office) while Deborah carried some items to my room, including a tragic wine glass to take home, and my aforementioned leftovers.

Deborah also carried a box of items for her adopted father, Dani, and placed them in the Mini. Not a detail usually worthy of note, but adventures have punctuated this trip, and there were a few more to come. The box was just a bit heavy.

The trip to Buddy’s Pizza in Livonia, Michigan, was irregular, as there was no easy highway path, and the trip was a mix of local roads and highways. It was going well, but Deborah knew only some of the paths. At one point, a truck tried to pass her instead of letting her merge, and she hit the gas. Nothing really happened, and there was a slight acidic smell and then a code. We were only then a few minutes from Buddy’s, and Deborah parked the Mini so it could be easily hauled on a wrecker.

It was Jim W’s partner’s second birthday party, and Detroit-style Pizza with dreaded salad was served, and I had a few beers. There was cake, both vanilla and chocolate. It was good to see many of the same people as I saw at the Wagner Christmas.

With the party ending, Deborah called AAA for a wrecker, which appeared in less than 15 minutes. I headed to the men’s room and tripped on the stairs leading to it, fell, scraped my knee like a little kid, and would have to put ice on my knee later. It was sore and scraped, but I was not injured other than embarrassed. Lots of people rushed to help me. I was at first worried that I would be in trouble going home the next day on an early flight, but nope, I was OK, but a little uncomfortable.

The alternator no longer charging means the car will stop working soon. Nothing drivable. After a forty-minute slow ride, we packed into the cab of the wrecker with the box for Danni; the Mini was dropped off. Deborah called an Uber, and we were soon back at the hotel.

I packed, managing to get everything in my bag (and some in my carry-on). The wine glass would go in my carry-on, and it broke. I did have one in my bag I forgot about, and so there is one glass here from the trip. That makes us happy. I was packed and resting after 11.

I woke a few minutes before 5 and started my travel day with a shower and the last-minute items into my carry-on. Deborah went down to the lobby after throwing some clothing on to get coffee. Excellent! After 6, I drove Deborah again in Air Chevy to her house. She took the box and a few items back with her, including some other wine glasses I did not want to risk. We reluctantly said goodbye. A tough hug and no tears there, but I might have had some later.

I retraced my route from more than a week ago and, at 2ish in the morning, enjoyed a second cup of coffee while driving. I picked up in the lobby after checking out. Traffic was blessedly light on Saturday morning. I managed to make no mistakes and was not in the least surprised when Air Chevy developed a tire issue, the same one as before, low by 5 pounds of pressure, which then reduced to 4 pounds as the tire warmed. We had put air in the tire twice before.

I found Budget Car Rental and returned the car. The person was upset and spilling her heart to another person. Apparently, someone chewed her out for not directing their car into a lane better. I remembered to leave the car keys, get everything, and left the Chevy for the next person (it was still coding with a tire issue). I took a picture of the back and front of the vehicle, just in case someone hit it while dropping off their car.

I found the bus to Delta, and then another employee of Budget shared her troubles with her passengers. We made supportive comments. It was tough in the corporate world of customer service and automobile rentals. I found my way after tipping the bus driver.

Delta was slammed, but I found a machine to print my baggage tag, and everything went easily, and I managed to not forget my phone in the scanner or forget to put my ID away. I kept hearing Deborah’s voice: “Do you have your phone? Do you have the keys? Do you have your wallet?” I entered the huge line for dropping off a bag, and a Delta person saw my Silver Medallion metal tag and walked me to First Class to check my bag. I did not get any upgrades, but it was a short and fast lane. I was about forty minutes away from boarding now. Security took me 10 minutes (no special medallion line breaking this time), and my red bag passed. Yay!

My gate was a five-minute walk. Boarding was twenty minutes later, and soon I was in Comfort, having missed an upgrade to First Class by one. I was soon on the plane, and the middle seat was not taken; I had the window. There was an issue with my bag after someone slid a bag against it. I had to unpack and repack on a plane seat. I suspect that is what broke the glass, as it was now moved around and was now against another bag.

I watched the movie Sirāt, and I cannot recommend it. It is intense and heartbreaking, and terrible things befall the characters, all of whom are sympathetic and interesting. I cried a lot and was deeply affected. I then watched the upbeat Moana to unwind. It was much more fun. And then the Goat 2026 animated film started, and I did not finish it as we landed in Portland. It was good too.

When I rose that Saturday morning (remembering back), I finished my leftovers from Recipe, an omelet, and I also bought a croissant sandwich on the plane. I tried not to be hungry today, as you never know when you will eat while traveling.

I arrived without issue, got a bag of OPBean coffee from Portland Coffee Roasters, received a complimentary cup to go with my beans, got out of the security area, and found my bag on the other baggage belt (?!). I then rolled on to MAX, and after a while, the train left for Beaverton. About an hour later, having texted Joan S that I was on my way and that when I was close, I would get off MAX, Joan S took me the short trip to my house. There, I unloaded, checked the house, turned on the AC and hot water, and grabbed the mail.

Joan S and I then went to BJ’s Brewhouse for appetizers, splitting some sliders, and I got some flatbread (most of which I took home and had for dinner). We talked about retirement, health issues, and trips. It was pleasant.

Joan S returned me to the house, and we said goodbye. I went through the mail, washed most of my dirty clothes from the trip, unpacked (finding the broken glass still in the bubble wrap in my carry-on, and then another I had packed in my bag intact). I finally started the blog and talked to Deborah as she went to bed. We miss each other.

And that takes me to now. Thanks for reading. I can barely stay away, and it is only 8 (local time).