Author: alohawild

We thought it would be fun to just hang out rather than rush to do things. Additionally, the local area is emptied as people rush to cabins ‘up north’ and other vacation destinations for one last long weekend of 2025. The Mackinaw Bridge is closed on Monday for the annual bridge walk.

I rose at 6:30, but I didn’t manage to make more than a cup of coffee in the first thirty minutes. I finally found some focus and started writing and recalling the events of Friday (now I am recalling Saturday). It was the month-end, and I updated my balances for my IRA now at US Bank’s Wealth Management folks. And I know that you do not always get a positive return, but goodness, it is nice to book increases that were higher than my expenses, by far. I have just a few dividends and interest, besides this IRA, for my retirement (plus the value of my house, which is also appreciating, but I expect that bubble to burst sooner or later).

I believe I have enough, though you are never really sure, and I will apply for Social Security next year. My biggest challenge over the next four years will be healthcare, which the Trump administration has not made easier. Also, the DOGE cuts to the Social Security Administration could mean that the SSA will be unable to accept my application. Next year could be exciting (and expensive).

But putting aside all the money, I was able to dress, have breakfast in the lobby, and publish the blog. Deborah joined me for breakfast at the hotel, and then we spent the morning together. We decided to pick up Deborah’s car (she was still using the loaner) and then try The Corner, a gaming and food place in Ferndale.

After gassing up the borrowed Mini Cooper, washing off some bugs and bird incidents, we dropped off the car and got Deborah’s hot blue Mini Cooper. We parked it and put two hours on the virtual meter, and walked into The Corner. Deborah’s order of a breakfast pizza went sideways; they replaced it and did not charge her for it. I had chicken with a biscuit that was excellent.

Trekking: The National Parks was a game that Deborah was considering, and we found it in their collection (they have a convenient list accessible by QR code). We looked at another game, and although highly rated, it seemed like a game with layers of rules, and I thought we could learn and finish Trekking in the time.

As it was our first play, we had a few misplays, but soon Deborah’s and my meeple were trekking all over the map of the USA. We enjoyed the map and the rules, and the gameplay flowed smoothly. It was a fun race-style game, and Deborah crushed me by ten points! Next time!

Deborah had a few things to take care of, and I was fading with the time change. I got a nap at the hotel, and Deborah and I reconnected a few hours later. We decided to try the new movie Nobody 2, although neither of us had seen the first one. We bought tickets and then headed to dinner. It was awful with us not getting the dim sum menu, which looked excellent. I will not, as it is unfair in this setting, name the place. But next time, we will get the dumplings and like them.

The movie was enjoyable and had the right balance of comic book-like violence and humor. We laughed through it. In the story, they did ‘build memories’; it was some unusual vacation memories, including grandpa blowing up the water park. Setting your expectations to just fun, the movie is recommended.

I was fading again, my body and mind confused at the time, and I was ready to sleep. Deborah dropped me off. I was asleep, just lying on the bed, soon. I rose, put on my PJs, and soon could not sleep. I seemed to fade in and out, and then sleep overtook me. Morning came too soon!

My first full day in Michigan was nice, but my sleep was incomplete as I had trouble falling asleep in yet another time zone. I would be tired when I hit my pillow early around 9:30 at night. I would wake at midnight, and have some trouble returning to sleep, but I would drift off, and my dreams, now forgotten, were kind, and I remember a friendly darkness, and I slept well.

I rose at about 7:30, having slept through my 6:00 alarm. I started my day feeling sleepy. I dragged through my usual process of reading email, updating Quicken (including the purchase of $40K in Treasury Bills for a short-term interest rate), and doomscrolling as Trump and his folks continue to try to grab headlines. It appears that inflation has cooled, and an interest rate cut may be in the cards. I was against raising rates (the most blunt of tools for slowing an economy, in my opinion, and should seldom be used), and now I am opposed to lowering them (again, to stimulate a slowed economy by increasing borrowing and stock market investments); I am against financial chaos. Having rolled my eyes so many times, I now just say ‘Hmmm.’

Coffee starts from the Keurig pods; I am granted only two regular pods. I have one, and then I have the other while writing. Deborah will be over in the mid-morning, so I’ve time-boxed, but not rushed — I have plenty of time to write the blog and get dressed. Soon, I am dressed in a dress shirt and sweater vest, and have breakfast in the lobby.

I write and complete the blog, and then grab a spare coffee for Deborah, and she shows up in a borrowed Mini Cooper. Her’s was getting its brakes updated. We spend the rest of the morning together and then head to Lansing in her loaner car.

We met Leta there for lunch at Panera Bread at the Lansing Mall, or what remains of that now-sad structure. We talked about travel and Deborah and Leta about teaching, both retired teachers, and had a good time connecting. After seeing Leta off, we headed to Horrocks Farm Market.

It is a wonderful place and I had been there once before; it was Deborah’s first time. We got some coffee and wandered the place. We found flowers and a baked good for Mom Wild. We got some scones for the hotel room (I like to have food in the room in case something happens), and extra coffee pods. It was fun walking through the whole place.

Next, we crossed Lansing to Haslett. Mom Wild was happy to see us. We had to give regrets that dinner out was off as Linda (my sister) and her husband, Jesse, were down with food poisoning. Yikes! We discussed our travels and schedules for returning (both in October and Christmas), and Mom got to see pictures, learn Deborah’s sons’ names, and view their photos. One regret was that Mom Wild wanted some vapes, and I was unprepared for that. I contacted Linda, and we got a vape for Mom Wild from a liquor store down the street. I delivered it to her when she was having dinner and got to meet her fellow diners at the table.

Deborah headed back in the borrowed Mini Cooper, and we decided on the Silver Spoon for dinner. It is a top-of-the-line Italian place in Rochester. It took us a while to find the place, as it is tucked near the river behind many buildings. As it was the Labor Day holiday weekend, the place was not busy, and we were able to get a table without a reservation.

Jesse was our waiter, and we had fantastic food with even the salad standing out. Our pastas were terrific, with freshly made pasta in an excellent sauce. The tiramisu was light and bright, and the perfect ending with coffee (though Deborah would regret it, as it was hard for her to sleep).

(notice the spoon shape in the powdered chocolate!)

Deborah dropped me off at the hotel, and I soon crawled into my bed in room 327 and was asleep.

And that takes us full circle! Thanks for reading!

The Grand Tavern is located next to my usual IHG when I stay in the Greater Detroit area, and Deborah and I had a late dinner there, trying out their version of prime rib. While it was okay, Luck’s is better. The bartender was happy to see us, and we shared a bread pudding and ice cream finish. After that, Deborah went home with one more task to complete for work, and I had to unpack and adjust to once again living in the Eastern Time Zone.

Note: I was in NY just over a week ago, and my body and mind are still confused about what time it is; I slept through this Friday morning’s alarm. Six comes relatively too early for me. I managed to rise at 7:30.

I started Thursday by waking up minutes before my 7:00 alarm, and then popping into the shower to get ready. I also remembered to put my coat, swimming trunks, and shorts in my luggage. I had realized I had forgotten them after I was in bed on Wednesday. I switched the AC to vacation mode and the hot water to the same setting. My habit is to leave the network up, still protected by a UPS, and I left the new Raspberry Pi 5 computer in sleep mode.

I forgot to run the dishwasher until it was too late; I unloaded it. I put my laptop and my last few items into my carry-on red Nike gym bag and left. The keys for Air VW the Gray I remembered to put on the hook and not take with me.

I also decided that the rescheduling of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival to September did not work for me. I passed on paying $350 to play an adventure for the Call of Cthulhu game and be a VIP. I will miss this year. The last chance for that was this morning (it is now sold out). I did not want to overload September, as I was planning to focus on housework, teaching classes, writing, and coding during that month.

I rolled my bag and carried my gym bag on top of the luggage to the bus stop. I prefer to use public transit for my trips, save money, and utilize existing transportation. I caught a bus in a few minutes, TriMet’s 57, and then the MAX towards the airport.

I sat in the folding seat, and when a gentleman arrived in a powered wheelchair, I folded up the seat, moved my belongings, and stood for the last few stops. We also got to experience a reboot of the train. We were told via the announcement system that the train was being turned off and back on to fix an issue. I am for fixing issues on trains! Everything worked, and we were on our way. I had time to check, and I could have ordered an Uber for $22+ to get me to PDX from the Gateway station. A group next to me agreed to share the cost of a larger Uber. All good.

I arrived, tagged my bag, walked back to the printing machine, grabbed my phone, which I had left on the machine, and then dropped off my bag. Yikes! It is so easy to do that. It is the third time I have done that.

The usual hawking of Clear and PreCheck was provided and ignored. The wait was short (not much longer than Clear), and I was soon patted down for the sin of wearing suspenders, but this time the machine did not ask to check my junk like in JFK. Just checking two places where my suspenders had metal (I do wonder why it never gets all six locations).

Free coffee with Breakfast (they were wrapping up, and the coffee was near the dregs) was again at Grassa. I was wearing my hat, and they remembered me. I got one of the last breakfasts. At 10, they switch to lunch and start serving pasta. I was tempted to get some meatballs and/or garlic bread for lunch on the plane, but the memory of many spilled and dropped items on planes had me forgo the challenge of keeping a meatball safe in turbulence.

I wrote a quick, rushed blog there while at a table in Grassa. I had less than an hour. I also had some bids on some stamps (I lost all the bids) that would have gone for less than a quarter of the usual price, including one that’s rare to see for sale at all, for under $100.

The rest of the flight is not that interesting. I watched the horror/comedy The Menu, which is a fantasy of foodies getting what they deserve. I loved it and was laughing through it, though I was shocked a few times. I also watched The Big Lebowski, which I had never seen all the way through. It was fun too, another fantasy.

My flight was put in a circle pattern for twenty minutes due to a thunderstorm. I looked at the in-flight map, and it went right over Laingsburg, my old hometown. We arrived the usual way, and soon Deborah and I were hugging and were so happy to be together again.

We landed with another flight on the other runway. I have not seen that in Detroit before.

The trip out of the airport is always more complex than the rest of the journey. Deborah discovered that the valet is about $12, plus a tip. Perfect.

And that takes me full circle.

Thanks for reading.

 

I am in PDX and have less than an hour until my plane boards. I was too tired to write last night, and now I am rushed.

Events on Wednesday were reduced as everything was canceled. No game with Z and dinner with Dondrea ZZ also did not happen. Instead, I managed to clean the house, getting the kitchen and bathrooms looking cleaner with mopped floors, and generally picked up things.

I finished the blog in the late morning, paid my bills, and even placed bids on stamps on Hipstamps. I showered and ran the laundry. I stripped the beds, washed all my new pants (now shortened and slightly longer to break in more), and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher (I had forgotten to run them until the evening and ended up putting them away in the morning just before heading out).

I charged the car the night before and now boarded it to get a haircut. I also received my books from NYC, and I am now reading my used copy of How the Irish Saved Civilization for my class. It is about an hour, and then I head to Carl’s Jr. for a Western Burger. I take this home and watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Sadly, my insides care not for the burger, and everything leaves quickly, and I am running to the restroom often while trying to clean, pack, and get ready. Ugh!

Happy now to have the extra time and avoid making the same runs elsewhere, I get the house looking better and smelling better. I remake the beds. I fold and put away the clothing. I packed most of the clothing I needed for the trip in my luggage, and remembered the coat and swimming trunks on Thursday morning, so I added them before heading out.

Sorry, boring day inside, primarily working to get the house better. I prefer to return to a clean (or cleanish) home.

My bids fail, and I discover that the same stamps were for sale for less and in better condition than the ones in the auction. I ordered those instead and let my bids go. I do increase some bids on some hard-to-find items. I also notice that many items I listed as-yet-to-be-in-my-album are thousands of dollars. Well, that may explain the open spots, but I have often filled a slot at 1/10 the price if I wait a few years. I just bought an 8A for 1/5 the price.

I finish my day on my new Raspberry Pi 5, doing some basic Python coding and loading additional libraries for my use. I email myself some code and add it to my work. I will post it to GitHub, I think, as an improvement. This is my silly calculation of the value of Pi by one of the more indirect (and slow) means. I include my usual headers and run time calculation. I like my Python well-documented.

I also updated the Python chess example I made. I am not sure I will explore writing chess programs, but I have a start.

And with that, I was too tired to go on. I was soon asleep, but like most travel days, I woke a few times.

Thanks for reading

 

 

 

I was surprised to roll over and discover it was already 8. I rose and found the coffee was already cooling. It would be another warm day, reaching into the 80°F+ range. The end of August is our usual worst month here in the Tualatin Valley, as I experienced a smoke-choked 113°F heat dome many years ago.

Makes you want to move to a mountain!

Breakfast was Zabar’s coffee, which I carried from Manhattan, thinking of Joyce, whom we all miss. I found her published study on Brazil for the United Methodist Church yesterday. Joyce came to our church in Beaverton and spoke, delivering the sermon on the challenges faced by the poor. I had hosted the study for Sunday School.

I did the usual, but I still found myself feeling tired and went at a slow pace. Finishing the blog late. I headed off to see Michael R for lunch. I also brought a board game, Raiders of Scythia, which is a reskinning of the Viking raiding game, but this time it covers the raids on Greece, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia. More biblical, if you like. I love the art, and the system is a resource management (i.e., raiding and plundering) and worker management. The game includes some push-your-luck as dice are rolled and damage assigned. Michael R and I did not find time in our discussions to play this.

We went to Happy Panda, one of my favorite places, and spent a couple of hours talking. The place was not too busy, so they didn’t mind the extended visit. We discussed my class; I will be teaching the New Members Class in September. We discussed the lessons I have taught over the years. We discussed the current state of Christianity, as well as less philosophical topics such as church budgets, pledge campaigns, and the reduction of funding to local food agencies.

We moved to Wildwood and had a beer. I picked a lighter one, and Michael R took one “dark as my soul,” as I described the usual three dark taps. These are heavy, dark, and flavorful beers and barley wines. We talked, at least on my side, less formally and enjoyed the beer.

I took Michael R home in Air VW the Gray and returned to the house and made dinner. I soaked some chicken thighs in teriyaki sauce for an hour, then baked them. I made couscous to go with it. I ate this while watching the old Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I have forgotten most of them and wanted to try them again. I finished number two and started three.

I managed to get my new computer, Raspberry Pi 5, working. The screen is small text, but I have found the fix for most of that, and worked out how to build a Python virtural enviroment using the Thorny editor, something I have not used before, and managed to load Chess into the virtual enviroment. I managed to get a few programs to run. My Python is rusty and I need more practice.

I finished my book by Tom Mead and I guessed right and also on another death. I thought the initial solutions were too complex and when the story teller retells them I find that I was thinking in the correct direction. After finishing the book, I could barely keep my eyes open. I did wake at midnight again and then at four, but after that I slept the night.

Thanks for reading!