Author: alohawild

I rose at 6:30 to finish the blog before the 8:30 appointment to install the ChargePoint EV charger in the garage. I wrote the blog and published it as the EV Charge PDX arrived. I had left the garage open with the EV pulled out so they would have plenty of room. I had already had a NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce) and started to use the rest of the IKEA coffee. I found it in the pantry when I went to get more coffee. There were two folks to install the connection in my house’s electrical panel (updated a few years ago), and Rob, the official who sent me the emails and took the payment, helped me understand the workings of the charger. It is an Internet device, which surprised me a bit. I need an Internet connection to charge the car, which is interesting. Once again, I am happy I updated my connection to be faster. I was surprised that the main was not pulled to install (my laptop battery is usually charged to max), and I have a UPS for the Internet access point via ZippyFly. I get about 90 minutes once there is an outage. Instead, the breakers are slid into the still-hot box and set off, and the wiring is completed. As standard, the exposed cable is in a metal conduit.

Rob and I spent an hour trying to add the charger to the ChargePoint app. This failed, and Rob left as I knew how to do it. About an hour later, the app managed to add the charger (and their help desk also called), and I could charge Air VW the Gray. I checked it often as I did not want to find a fault in the new equipment or wiring (fire, explosion, and simply not working). Everything worked for a short charge. I could later charge 100%; in total, I spent six hours charging. All good.

I sanded and did some more work on the boxes to contain the giveaway costume jewelry from Susie’s (my late wife’s) vast collection. I also have a special box for Barb, Susie’s sister, for the gold and other lovely items. I will mail the family there next week. Part of the process.

I looked at many of the pieces and remember Susie wearing them and how excited she was for some more unusual pieces. For example, the ivory from the mammoth bones in Alaska from Native Americans was one I remember and saw again. The Looney Tunes earrings she would wear when she was feeling off or facing a hard day at work will now head out to family members and maybe get a smile for them. The gold hoops for more formal days when hosting a dinner or other event when she was a manager for Marriot. Time for these to go and find another life, but it is a treasured memory to see them one last time.

I decided on PF Chang’s for lunch and had their Hot and Sour soup, a glass of 14-hands Merlot, and their broccoli beef with lo mein noodles. I am unsure if it was the noodles, but I thought it was not as good as last time. I will try it again with fried rice and see if I still like it.

The wine, cough, and cleaning have worn me out, and I will admit I went slow and cleaned only a bit. It is not depression from all the items for Susie; somehow, while sad, the plan to send them on had been good. I go slow.

I am short any fresh veggies, out of paper towel rolls, have no Kleenex (see previous), and have no toilet cleaner. Time to take Air VW the Gray out. I stopped first at the local gaming store and found a copy of the expansion for Pandemic (this is a game Deborah and I played in Michigan), On the Brink. I am painting figures for Pandemic from Kickstarter, and I wanted to get the role cards with the person’s picture so I can match them to my painting. My original copy, which I gave away to my regret, had the expansion. My copy of Pandemic is the second edition without the expansion, which I found used at a considerable discount. I bought the expansion, including the Petri dishes for the cubes, another set of cubes, dish, and outbreak in purple, more roles (what I was looking for), and interesting expansions, including a terrorist play (including the unique role card for a terrorist). Interestingly, the expansion is designed to replace the original box with all of the items fitting in the box. I am not ready to recycle the boxes until I have played it once. I punched and combined the games later (the original game is still playable after the expansion).

Next, I stopped at 185th Market and was happy to spend only $20 on fresh veggies and bananas. They were happy to see me, and we talked about all the places I went to during my absence. I pay cash to reduce their cost (about 3% for using a credit card). Finally, I stop by Safeway and get cleaning supplies and some steaks, chuck NY strips (a bit tough), and paper products. Aws is my checker, and we are happy to see each other. We shake hands and smile. Good to see him. He is here legally; his family left Iraq during the war.

When I return home, I unload my bounty, plug in the EV, and charge it until 100%. I do this not late, as I want to be awake when I first charge the VW. I will set the charging to later and consider the hourly usage variation program from PGE. As I am retired, much of my limited electrical usage is during the day and peak hours, but I am trying to be reasonable about this.

I make dinner by blackening some Brussels Sprouts, sliced in half, and steaming them in a frying pan with some water and a lid. I like to ensure my veggies are cooked. I bake and then microwave a yam. I will eat it with just butter and Vietnamese cinnamon. I get out my cast iron fry pan and fry my NY strip-style steak. It is chuck beef; it will be tough. It might have been better if I had salted it over the day. Still, I fry it and then bake it to finish it. It is more roast than steak but still good.

I have moved on to season 2 of Babylon 5. I found the story was a bit confused with the cast change, and some themes that were only hinted at in the first season are now rising. I still enjoyed it, but please don’t start there!

 

Most of Tuesday was spent at the house getting things more ordered. I cannot say I cleaned that much, but the bedroom looks more organized. I need to add some more bookshelves to the house. I try not to keep books, but there are some nice ones that I will not send on to Goodwill; now I have piles of them. I need more shelves.

I started the day rising at 7, waiting for a repair person for The Machine, the LG washer/dryer I got in May 2024. It has developed an unwanted feature of pouring the rinse water through the front of the machine via the dispenser drawer. I had already tried the cleaning and care rituals but to no avail of removing the extra waterfall new process. I dressed early and was ready.

At 9, the repair person came, studied The Machine, made it run a rinse, and covered the floor with water. Also, extra water will be needed to shop vacuum the water in the pedestal drawer. The repair person agreed that it was broken. He ordered parts to rebuild the whole water rinse in The Machine and will return on Sunday to install them. It was 9:20. I used towels to stop the mess and cleaned up the water in The Machine on Wednesday, letting it all drip out of The Machine first. Ugh!

I wrote the blog while the repair person made a mess. I continued to write until about 11, as I was not in a hurry. I published the blog. I took the next box of items for Goodwill, some memories from years ago, but now just more clutter. They accepted the items as no oil in the lamps included in the box.

I then stopped by and drove through Carl’s Jr for a Western Burger and onion rings with a Diet Coke. Yes, I ate in the Air VF the Gray. It was a heavy lunch, but good. Well, maybe the onion rings could have been better (no reason to order them again). I stopped by Michael’s Arts and Crafts Supply for wooden boxes. I plan to put random piles of Susie’s costume jewelry in the boxes and send them to family members. I returned to the house, got the mail, and returned to bringing order to the house. I sorted Susie’s remaining jewelry into four piles of costume items and cute earrings. Another pile for Barb, Susie’s sister, for the gold chains, gold and gems, and rings. I got a larger box for Barb.

I stained the boxes in the garage and let them dry. Because it is cold, it will take a day or longer to dry. I used the same board and sawhorses I set up to do the patching work. There is now enough room in the garage for the EV and the temporary work table.

I spent hours separating Susie’s endless earrings, a nearly uncounted number of pins, some necklaces, bracelets, and even two-dollar bills (Susie always kept the $2 bills she found). I untangled most of the necklaces, but a few were tiny gold chains and would not come apart, including the first item I gave Susie (I cried when I saw it). It was cheap but gold; it was all I could afford in college. I had forgotten that the chain became hopelessly tangled, and Susie put it away. It was still there after forty years. I put the two items that are hopeless with her ashes. We will send the chains with her someday.

The lamps in the bedroom have not been plugged in for years. Reading lamps worked better. I moved the lamps out to be sent to Goodwill. I cleaned off all the books and sorted them. I only found two, which I would send to Goodwill. I located a place for another bookshelf I need to install later and moved the books there that I am not expecting to read soon.

(Looking like the Mad Hatter’s book collection or a stack of items from a Dr. Seuss drawing!)

I recycled the magazines I was holding back on ship model building. I do not see myself returning to that at the moment. And if I do, I have plenty of books on the subject. Those are expensive and hard to replace; I will keep them.

I stacked the books on the nightstands, removed the old clock radio, ordered an Echo Display to replace it, dusted and vacuumed, and got out the broom to chase away some cobwebs that had built up while I was not paying attention. The room looks a bit stark now, but I will move a few personal items in once I get it cleaned and sorted.

I did the dishes and took out the trash. The trash bin and recycling are full already. I managed to get some more in. I read for a while, showered, and slept. I missed my clock to tell me what time it was and my music (I will likely relent and turn back on music at Amazon). I woke once to prove hydration and slept again.

Thanks for reading.

Monday is my Saturday, as I have no plans (usually) on Mondays, and everyone is back to work, so I have no appointments to meet anyone. This week is exciting as it is when I have three events: Fix The Machine (Laundry), Install the EV charger, and replace the mattress in the master bedroom.  M@ (i.e., Matt V) came over and helped with the garage, and now the EV fits in it, and the location for the charger is ready. I patched the walls in the garage (going back to before I owned the house) and the hole for the new drains for The Machine. Once the machine is fixed, I can push it against the wall and be done with it. I am not traveling for January, and Deborah is coming for a week. I decided to clean and update the house in these two months. I had not planned to buy a new car or to repair the laundry, but all provided opportunities to grow and learn.

I rose at about 8:30 and found the coffee and the last Costco pastry. I started on the blog and updated the transactions in Quicken. I also updated my 401K balance, which is not automatically tracked with the end of January value. Since October 2024, I have seen no significant change as the markets swing in a narrow range from various stories (i.e., Elon good/bad, AI sells chips, AI now cheap and Chinese, Tariffs Yes/No, and so on ). From my reading, there is no more talk about EVs being the go-to, green energy, or repairing failing infrastructure.

I wrote the morning away. I am taking high blood pressure (HBP) cold meds because my nose will not stop running. Today, I plan to take no trips and clean and organize the house. I made beef and veggie soup from a can for lunch. I wanted something good for a runny nose and cheap. I finished and published the blog.

A load of bagels showed (thanks, Joyce).

I looked up what USAID did on the US government websites (here, the websites were shut down for the agency) and found that it spent $43 Billion last year, or 0.004% of the US budget, with most of it in Afghanistan. I learned that it was the US government agency you would use to ship items free on ships and military aircraft (finding unused space in both). The agency was created in 1961 by the Republican Eisenhower administration to consolidate all the programs done during and after WW2 to help Europe and other countries affected by the war. Its mission was to prevent suffering by building hospitals, funding maternity care, and providing access to US military and government services for free (like space on a military flight). It was independent of the US State Department and was closely linked to Congress and the US military. Thus, if you have farming equipment you want to ship to Africa, this is the agency you use to get the transport done using US government ships and aircraft for free. I disagree with the actions taken against this agency, though I believe they have been sloppy with some programs, and some reform is always good.

After cleaning up and shaving, I dressed and started removing things from the top of the Hunter cabinet; some had been there since Susie’s last Christmas at the house. I found many glass items with memories from our lives together. Some I photographed, but all were carried one at a time to the glass recycling. I will keep the memories, but the things are part of the clutter now and make me sad. It is time for them to be recycled.

I tossed most of the candles but lit one to scent the house. I also moved many items to a box to be taken to Goodwill. I was able to put away a few items. I cleaned the photo frames and cabinet top from a thick cover of dust. The space is now back to looking well, with photos back up and the top mostly empty and uncluttered.

I also organized and dusted my chess table space. I spent the whole day loading updates for my Millennium Mephisto Phoenix M Chess Computer to the current version, an expensive birthday present for myself from two years ago. This consists of a few touches and then waiting. It can now connect through the Internet. I still have to buy the interface ($99) if I start to play online, as nothing is free in chess! I can also buy ($99) engine updates to get the best engines. Rated at 2400 as is, I do not need the engines. With the software updates and Raspberry 4 2G running, the LINUX-based device is now always cutting edge. I bought an early release and got a discount. Without a discount, it is expensive ($1,199 for the computer and another $1,099 for the board).

Corwin stopped by to get his mail, and then Deborah called. Corwin found a snack for 90 minutes and enjoyed my fine cable shows. Deborah and I talked on the phone for a while. After, Corwin and I headed out to the Barnes and Noble bookstore. I bought a magazine. I went through the ritual of what is connected to my old account, alohawild@me.com, which was my last choice, and it worked. Next, we went to McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse for an early dinner. We had a curious spice-Italian-styled beef dip sandwich with fries and beer for me. Corwin no longer drinks alcohol and is trying to eat healthier.

By the way, my weight is down to 230 pounds now. Slowly but surely, I am headed to 220, my goal; I credit the drug MetFormin, my doctor’s persistence with lab results, and my desire to live until 120. As I have recorded in my blogs previously, my labs are good, with an A1C down to 5.1! My doctor said, “Retirement has been good for you!”

Air VW the Gray gets us home, and Corwin and I clean up the bedroom. Corwin lifts the mattresses for me, and I vacuum and remove all the stuff under the bed. We move the bed close to the wall. With Susie falling out of bed, I moved it out to make it safer. We put it back to get more room back.

Corwin takes a few of Susie’s candles home (some are duplicates). I put on Babylon 5, the old sci-fi show, and enjoy one of their two-part episodes, which moves the underlying story forward; it’s more of a Space Opera than a recurring TV show. This episode is the framework for the later animated movie from 2023 and includes some of the comedy that I found a bit surprising in the film; yes, the show got silly a few times. While I loved the movie, it is an acquired taste and cannot stand alone.

I removed the layers of dust from the stand, pulled out all the Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs, wiped the dust from them, and put them back. I was at first thinking of sending the disks to Goodwill, but I might watch some of them, and they are free in a world where corporations want you to rebuy things you have purchased before. So I think I will hold on to them longer. I vacuumed the area in front where all the dust went.

I read, showered, put the sheets and blankets back on the bed, and climbed in wearing my PJs. I soon, after talking a shot of night cough and cold meds, slept until 7ish. No dreams that I remember, but I woke happy so it must have been a good night.

Thanks for reading and dreaming with me.

 

 

 

 

I rose a bit later as the cough and a runny nose had me run down. I also did much work at the house and may have overdone it. I wrote the blog, and Deborah and I talked briefly in the morning. We often speak on Sunday mornings while I am trying to write the blog. At 9, Deborah rang off so I could focus on delivering the blog. I got the blog out after 10, cleaned up, shaved, dressed, and headed in Air VW the Gray to First United Methodist Church in Beaverton, Oregon, near the fountain and park. I was wearing LL Bean gray slacks, a gray dress shirt with a button-down collar also from LL Bean, an LL Bean navy blue sweater vest, pride tie, and Cole Hann black plain shoes.

I was uncomfortable backing up the EV between two cars with only four inches on each side. I parked front-in, and the power cable at the library charging stations near the church had just reached. I was only a few minutes before church and would leave after service. I paid $1.81 and would get 33 miles of driving from the charge, which took 1 hour and 49 minutes to charge.

Church included communion, and I noticed there were no ushers, so I took over. I am the senior usher, but I have not been in rotation for years. When Susie was ill, the ushers asked me to ‘sit down’ and let them handle it. In the sometimes strange church logic, I have been an usher longer than anyone left alive, but I am not the head usher (we don’t have one now). I got Z to help me carry the food given for missions to the altar, and I then did the offering process and later directed communion.

Dondrea gave the sermon. It was a short but sharply focused sermon, “Widows, Orphans, and Aliens.” She mostly recalled that the Hebrew Scriptures often call out that the treatment of these disadvantaged groups (using a modern term) is the only measure of the success of a city, ruler, and Kingdom–this appears over and over. In the Greek Scriptures in the New Testament, the letter of James calls this out, too. Dondread points out that this is a fundamental  Judeo-Christian belief.

Our response was to carry the food items donated today to help kids have food over the weekends when school is out. Often, the only food they get that they can count on is at the school, which is not running during the weekends–this is food for their weekends. We don’t ask for papers. We don’t ask why. We don’t just help people like us. We just collect and distribute. Just like it says in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures: “(Give to) the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.”

I returned home after church in my charged EV. Before that, I helped put the offering away, and then again, as often folks miss the offering. At home, I went slow as I wanted the cough to stop, and I was tired from the cough and the cold meds. I made just baked beans from a can for lunch. I was hungry but wanted something simple (and cheap). Corwin stopped by and traded the motorbike for a smaller item he could take home (yay!), and that was the end of the bike sitting outside. I thought if I parked it outside, someone would want it, and that happened. I got him a bill of sale off the Internet. Done. No longer my problem. Excellent.

Next, after emptying the bag of items from the once Air Volvo and putting some safety items and tools in Air VW the Gray, I reboarded the EV and headed to Dungeons and Dragons 5E (D&D) at M@ (i.e., Matt V) house. I had worked out a copy of my character as we have a spell that creates a duplicate with half-hit points and low-level replacement gear. A spare cleric, what M@ called a ‘spare-ic.’

M@ made us burgers for dinner at his house. We soon were back to the adventure of preparing for the final mission of a long campaign. I mispronounced the bad guy’s name, Vecna, and received appropriate razzing. I can’t include the details. We fought two tough battles. The ‘spare-ic’ did not make it through the struggle–we can make another. The night had us break as we faced the next challenge. It was a fun D&D session.

I returned home, read for a while, and batched some more Babylon 5, “TKO” being one of my favorite season one episodes (you don’t often have a story of a Rabbi and a celebration of a life ceremony, shiva minyan, in SciFi). After finishing the popcorn and the show, I showered, got in my PJs, and started to read “Ottoman Empire,” the Spring 2025 issue of Strategy and Tactics Quarterly, which takes a military/gaming view of history; theirs is always an interesting perspective on history. I enjoyed their recent deep dive into Gen. Grants final campaign in the American Civil War. It is one of the few subscriptions I have kept. I put it down as I started to nod off.

I soon slept.

Thanks for reading.

There were only a few things to cover on Saturday. I patched the wall behind The Machine made in May when they had to redo the drains. A 2×4-foot hole in the wall is big enough to be hard to fix. I also had a cough and a runny nose, which slowed me down. These activities colored the day.

I rose with my head full of stuff and coughed and sneezed all morning. I wrote the blog for the start of the morning and then measured the hold and discovered to my dismay, that my screws were too short (so many jokes), and I went to Ace Hardware to get bigger screws. I use screws for drywall, as it just makes sense to me. I also discovered that my hole is 1/4 inch too small for my drywall pieces. The universe always does this; your hole never works for the material you have acquired to fill the whole.

At Ace, I asked the younger man for joint compound and got a blank look. We found it, and he did not know what it was. I am afraid I might have man-splained what it was for, but I felt a hardware person should know what it was. With my new acquisition, I took Air VW the Gray home. But was nearly hit by a car spinning through the parking at high speed (!?). I also saw folks passing and sliding between vehicles on TV Highway at high speed–almost, gasp, the speed limit. All were out-of-state plates, which made me smile. I saw a Borg-like moment: “You too will be assimilated into the slow driving; we will reduce your driving skills until you brake for green traffic lights. You will become part of the collective Oregonian, overly polite slow drivers.”

I parked the EV outside and started back on my hole-filling process. I wrote all the measurements out and then made small wood strips to attach to the inside to help hold the new piece, as it has only one 2×4 to connect to. I used my German-made new saw to do this. All of my work was done with hand tools; I like to cut wood by hand, have sharp saws, and oil them. I cut the drywall with a knife (I bought that yesterday with extra blades). I did all the work on a full sheet of 1/2 ” plywood sheet I keep at the house in the garage balanced on two plastic folding saw horses (highly recommended).

I cannot make this exciting. I carefully measured everything. I totaled my inner measurements where the hole goes for the drain and found them off. I remeasured and corrected a 1/4-inch error. I cut off the 1/4-inch on one side. Carried the piece and checked the fit and match. The hole is 1/4 too large on the bottom, but it will do as it is covered by a cover. Perfect, in other words, as the top was uneven, and I cut some of the corners to get it to better fit. I screwed it in, and it looked good. Put the plate on, and it was excellent.

I had Trader Joe’s Chicken Vindalo, and it was spicy. I added almost a cup of sour cream to rescue my dinner as it was too spicy. That seldom happens for frozen food. It was good, but I am unsure if I will get it again. Excellent, but yikes!

The patch comes in 2×2 feet, meaning I used two pieces. I cut that and discovered that the whole was not square after cutting another 1/4 inch on the side. With the knife making adjustments, I finally got it to just fit. I needed another arm as it took two hands to hold it, and another had to use the drill to drive the screws. Finally, I managed it and then pushed it in, and it stayed. I missed the 2×4 in the wall twice! I should have marked it on the patch. Next time!

Corwin stopped by in mid-construction and brought by the keys for the motor scooter. My neighbor covered $300 for the scooter. I will exchange the keys for $300 next Friday. I am happy to get Corwin some cash and be rid of that unused item (Corwin bought it and then found it not a suitable replacement for a truck for food deliveries; he has an old beater truck now).

I rested for a while. Working in the cold and doing physical labor did not improve my coughing. I often said to myself, “This is why I went into computer programming.” I am out of practice for this kind of work. I don’t do it enough to get good at it, but I still know what to do.

I am enjoying Babalyon 5 as my new binging show. I am in season 1, around episode 10, and I forgot how fun this show was. It also seems current, and the special effects are excellent and once cutting-edge. If you don’t know it and love SciFi and Space Opera, give it a chance.

I got out the joint compound from Ace after finishing my previous supply from Home Depot, which was old, and I tossed it after I used it. I filled the cracks and evened up the pieces the best I could. It is not a perfect match you see on all the YouTube videos. I managed to tape it, too. It is done and close enough. The hole is closed and will be behind the laundry in a closet. I will sand it next week. That will likely be an electric tool if I can find mine.

After resting and changing my clothing, I headed off to the local Mexican place and found Dondrea and Z at another. We realign, and soon, Z and Dondrea appear here in Aloha (mailing address Beaverton and originally Reedville) at Mazatlan Restaurant. Z had a booze-less Piña colada while Dondrea and I had each the house mid-sized Margarita with salt and on the rocks. The food was good and, for me, familiar, as this is minutes from the house. We caught up as we have been meeting at events but have not had time to chat in about a month. Z finished two chances at the Long John Silver’s role in the middle school play. Dondrea was still writing her sermon for Sunday. I was patching and organizing the house this month.

After dinner, we said our goodbyes, and I returned home in Air VW the Gray and parked it in the garage. It fits even with the saw horses and board up. I will let all the work dry for a few days and then clean up the mess. I watched Babylon 5, showered, and went to bed early. I read until I started to nod off.

I dreamed about traveling and finding my way on trains without my ID. Yikes! I woke at 4, proved hydration, and my lungs and head were uncomfortable. I got up, took a shot of cough stuff, and sat in my comfy chair and an electric blanket. I slept until my alarm at 7 and then reset it to 8. I slept again in the chair, and I am sure it was a minute later when the 8 alarm rang. I rose.

Thanks for reading.