Author: alohawild

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!

 

 

I rose early, rolling over at first at 6, but finally moving and having coffee at 6:30. I had to start the coffee I had prepared the night before; the clock is set for 7 on the coffee maker. I then rushed through writing the blog, as I had to be out the door at 8:45 to arrive on time at Richard’s house around 9:30 for our return to the cooperative board game, Tainted Grail. I also did, though rushed, read email, updating transactions in Quicken, and taking a dose of bad news, I read the news. I updated my IRA balance after checking it in detail, a process I perform to ensure everything looks accurate. Soon, I took a quick shower, shaved, and got ready. I was in Air VW the Gray about ten to 9 and soon was going slow in Bearverton.

The traffic on Highway 26 and 405 was not heavy, though it had many stops and starts. I arrived only a few minutes late. I had a breakfast of a bagel-like local bread product with cream cheese and a banana, along with Zabar’s roast from NYC for my coffee. The game took another thirty minutes to set up and to remember the previous plan, a month ago. James and I were traveling. We start to explore the world that is Tainted Grail, and we are on chapter 2 (there are 15), and it seems to be wrapping up this story. We learned that there are three or more story lines flowing at the same time, and you connect with one and take it to completion. We had been sampling more than focusing.

We finally understood the maps and board and located Kamlot, one of the possible goals. I was excited to finally reach a focus. James and I managed to complete some diplomatic quests, and Richard fought some more monsters. We were then offered details that cannot be shared as this is protected content, to move to the next chapter. We agreed, though Richard wanted to explore more in chapter 2 and get more stuff. That ended the game for this session. Next week, we will start with chapter 3A.

I headed back and picked up Michael R at the church, and we both had no lunch, and stopped at the Oswego Grill for lunch. I wanted to try a few more items. I had the Chicken Marsala while Michael R had the stuffed salmon. It was not a cheap bill, as I had a glass of wine, $15 alone, but I wanted to try a few items. I was not that happy with my lunch; the chicken did not cut with a fork, and it was plain, not covered with flour or breading. The flavorful sauce and the mashed potatoes brought it back, and I would be challenged to match those.

We next headed to The 649, where Kiley was bartending. We had coffee and then decided on the board game Concordia, as Burning Banners was not punched yet and was complex. I did the teach of the game, remember the points I missed when I did this with Deborah. I then helped Michael R play for the first third of the game, and then gave advice after that as requested or to help him when stuck. Michael R began to understand that in Concordia, the turns are easy, but they must be done in a sequence that produces an efficient result. For example, if you want to use your Architect card to build outposts, you need the money and resources. Unless you have more colonists, your placement will be restricted to areas near your previous build. Often, you need to build up. I often see Z, when playing the same game, create a collection of cards with resources and money stacked on the cards as Z plans the turn sequence. I got a red ale (excellent!) as we reached the last part of the game. Michael R stayed with coffee.

Michael R missed winning by eight points. I held the Weaver Card, but he had the Farmer and Vinter Cards, and I ended the game (gaining seven points) by building my last three outposts in one move. We were done as they were setting up for trivia night. Time to go!

I dropped Michael R off at his home, with him interested in playing again. I headed home. I took out frozen raw chicken (Costco) and thawed it by running water. That took a while. I watched the new episode of Murders Only in the Building and enjoyed it, but there was a lack of chemistry between the leads of the show. I hope that improves. I cut up the chicken, once mostly thawed, and fried it in a large metal pan. The pan developed a brown crust; I was careful not to burn it. I spooned out the excessive drippings, added Maya Kaimal’s Coconut Curry Mild Indian Simmer Sauce, and scraped off the brown bits that dissolved into the sauce. I managed to slip once and splatter my shirt with delicious coconut curry sauce.

I washed a 1/2 cup of basmati rice and cooked it with only one over-boil, making a small mess. I found some frozen naan, and I heated that too. It was a grand feast, but I managed to pack most of it away for another dinner, including a spare naan.

I did the dishes and put away the laundry from Monday that was out. I assembled the coffee and was stumbling, tired. Hmmm.

Ignoring my body, I went to my office and did some more research on Christian denominational history. I made a list of significant events I need to cover for my class. I get only 45 minutes on Sunday; my talk needs to be focused.

It was getting late, and I changed into my PJs, took my meds, took more inhaler, and some painkillers (various things hurt), and soon drifted off to sleep. The images of Tuesday night’s dreams have faded this Wednesday morning, but I remember being in a dream-lecture on Christian history and trying to take notes and remember all the facts (it is all gone now). Somehow, a horse riding arena was involved (Linda and I talked about her riding in a show recently), and somehow the history lesson became mixed into reading a dressage test and execution (sorry if the intricacies of horse riding and dressage are a mystery to you, dear reader). I, in the dream, was desperately trying to take notes, read the test, and get my lesson for Sunday together with all these facts. Linda was off course. I woke with my alarm. I rolled over.

Thanks for reading!