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I slept poorly, finally stopped getting up at 6AM, and then slept soundly until 9AM. My ears were stuffed, as was my nose, and I coughed for a while. My left ear is having some issues that are likely caused by the brain tumor and is even draining a bit. Ugh.

Despite the challenges, I rose and started on the Boxing Day blog. I write slowly as I had no plans for the day other than playing board games in the evening with Z during choir practice–we are returning to our regular schedule. I also surfed the Internet and read the news. As a liberal, I shook my head often, and I read the year-end essays recasting history and current events suggesting that liberalism is the source of all evil in the USA and history. I drank my fairly traded Rwanda coffee and did not finish many essays (Thank Kramers for the coffee).

I slowly wrote while drinking my coffee and reheated the eggs, sausage, and veggie scramble I had made the day before, and it was still good. I saw that Mariah texted and suggested meeting for lunch at Golden Valley Brewery in less than an hour–I noticed later in the morning. So, I finished the last few paragraphs and then rushed to publish them with a few pictures.

I showered with speed, and so on, and was soon aboard Air Volvo with fifteen minutes to cross northern Beaverton. Traffic was light, and extra-legal driving was at a minimum. One car was in the fast lane and then through construction at ten miles an hour below the speed limit. My close approach finally got them to change lanes. I was only a few minutes late.

Mariah informed me she had spent a few minutes hitting on the good-looking waiter. We both tried to be extra nice to the waiter and smiled often. I managed to get him to know my name. I am not gay, but I felt I should try too and see who got his phone number. A contest. Mariah was amused and told me she might return to the GVB without me next time. Next time, I will try to be a Wingman. All in good humor; even the waiter seemed to get it.

I ate half of an avocado BLT, and Mariah also had a sandwich, sliced beef, and cheese. We both had beers to wash it down. It was a nice chat.

After being silly for lunch, I headed to our local Barnes and Noble. There are so many new books and even some more Sherlock Holmes books! Instead, I found Dreyer’s English and got a trade paperback version (the larger paperback); I buy physical books on style and grammar. The book states on its cover, “An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style,” how could I resist that? I also have my account with the chain and got a slight discount, so I bought it. I am often tempted to head to Powell’s on more technical writing books and find a used copy, often a hardcover, at a reduced price, with the hardcover often priced below the new trade paperback’s price.

I headed home and soon arranged to meet The Smiths on the coast at their beach house on Thursday afternoon. I read the rules, The Law of Root, for the board game Root. I have not played the game since before the pandemic, and each player gets a faction with its own rules. In fact, each player is playing a different game, all placed in a shared framework and board. Quite amazing. The Smiths want to try it. It is a lot of rules!

I also reviewed Brass rules, as the two versions have slight differences that could easily be mixed up. I did see that we have not enforced the closest coal rule–matching in the games, but there were seldom choices in our usual play; I suspect we never broke that rule. The more loved version, Birmingham, rated number 1 for all games in Board Game Geeks, is easier and kinder. I like the slightly less loved version, Lancashire (ranked 20th best game).

I headed to the Shake Shack in Beaverton for dinner before playing games with Z and Andrew during choir practice. I had an avocado, bacon, and cheese single burger with fries and a Diet Coke. Just wonderful there. I read my Star Trek book, Wounded Sky, on my Kindle app on my phone. The app and my device can track what page I am on. I don’t carry the Kindle as I can read on my phone now. I cried through the words (I cried a few times today as I missed Susie) as it addressed death and creation–an excellent story.

Air Volvo got me to the church on time, and soon, Z selected Concordia as today’s game. We picked the map of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which I have had for years, but I don’t remember playing it. The map is designed to play with the Salsa rules, so we had to make an easy adjustment of pulling some random extra cities from the ‘D’ bag (I have to draw bags as an improvement to the game from Board Game Geek)–We don’t play with salt.

I think I won the first game by just a few points; Z has this game down cold and even stacks out her cards and plans her turns four deep or more. I am just a bit more flexible. I captured the Weaver Card and built all the cloth trading posts worth twenty points at the end of the game. I was not sure I would win the whole game.

Concordia is a favorite game and is supplied with extra boards, so you can buy as much as you want after getting the game’s base. The more compressed boards are best for lower player counts, while the Mediterranean Sea base board suits any player count. The game has very simple turns, and end-of-game scoring is based on your play–my favorite instead of collecting strange goals from a random process. The game uses deck-building and resource-management mechanics, which are also favorites. Every play increases your resources and capabilities, making the game bright. Player interaction is not weak with purchasing personality cards from a shared market (get that Weaver Card before it is gone!), and building on an already built location is more expensive but possible.

Andrew joined us for a second three-person game on the same map, and we did a little resetting. It’s fun to try the same exact map again! Andrew had not played before, so we walked him through his turns, and soon, F**K, he was far ahead. Z had her turns and now planned five cards ahead with the same map, helping her to plot everything. Andrew sang in the choir practice, and we played while the Praise Band practiced. We managed to get about 1/2 way, and Andrew still was leading. We scored the game just to show Andrew how it is done. Next Wednesday, I hope to play a complete game with Andrew and not have him win in a partial game. Z scooted by my score, too. Yes, last place for me this time. But I had such plans! Ugh, foiled by an early ending. Next time!

I stopped by Safeway in Air Volvo after wishing everyone a good night and a Happy New Year while boarding at the church. Aw was checking; an Iraqi who has been making it work in the USA was happy to see me. We have talked for years about our family and are always happy to see each other. I got a pizza and a few crackers for a snack.

At the house, I cooked the pizza in the oven and watched more episodes of The Sandman. An excellent series on NetFlix that I wanted to rewatch before the new season is published. I ate most of the pizza but left one slice for breakfast.

I had trouble sleeping again, as I wanted to do much more. A problem I get on vacation. I want to do everything at once, even when sleeping. I finished my book, The Wounded Sky, and started back on Sherlock Holmes and read another story. I finally slept but was up a few times.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

I stayed in bed until 9ish, and I have nested in my bed until 10. The rains have stopped but we did keep the gray skies, usual in winter for the Pacific Northwest (PNW), and my lawn service is now out twice a week a month as the leaves are done and the pruning is completed. Time for the garden that is my lawn to sleep in the gray winter.

Aside: The lack of sun often causes a vitamin D deficiency in folks (I have had it once) and can cause or worsen depression. PNW has a high suicide rate in the winter. It is also why I look funny at people who talk about solar panels here–and I am a liberal.

I found my home office and saw on my Apple that the world was still running. Sadly, the Incarnations, being very Piers Anthony today, of War, Starvation, Plague, and Cruelty, were still on their horses and riding through the world. The latest version of COVID-19 is raging. Ignorance and stupidly unimaginative conspiracy theories are running rampant.

Yes, but I put on my comfortable slippers and robe, find NYC Zabar’s grind coffee (thank you, Smiths), start my day ignoring the terrors, and listen to music while surfing the Internet. Yes, a nice dose of liberal NYC coffee makes all the difference–I am centered now. There is hope. The gray is nice. The dark greens are lovely–even the moss.

Thus, revived, I start my day.

I cook some russet potatoes in boiling water. I cut up some sausage left over from making jambalaya spicy by cutting the sausage lengthwise into quarter strips and then cupping that into little chunks. I don’t do coin cuts of sausage. I find a small onion still in good form and chop half of it (Susie does not like onions, so I am used to only a hint of onions). I chop a green pepper, too. All that goes in a non-stick pan (thanks, Steve) to heat with a lid to help it cook. I am watching the other half of the movie, Midway (the new version), while cooking. I nearly burn my breakfast when the main attacks happen; the computer graphics and special effects make you feel like you are both with the American pilots and the Japanese on the ships. I pause the battle, rescue my breakfast, and add three scrambled eggs to my sausage, sliced and pre-cooked potatoes, and veggies. I managed not to burn that as the battle ended. This movie incorporates much of And I Was There by Admiral Layton, published in the 1980s, and changed our understanding of the early years of WW2 in the Pacific. In this movie, the character of Layton is a hero–an excellent improvement.

Breakfast is good, and there is enough left for tomorrow (it will microwave, OK). I finally get dressed, and board Air Volvo with the cargo hold full of board games. Next stop Guardian Games (formally, Rainy Day Games) to see if there are any excellent specials for Boxing Day.

No sales and prices are higher. I find a game on the buy when you see it list, and it is full price. At least there is no sales tax in Oregon to make this extra painful. Brass: Birmingham is the highest-rated board game as scored by Board Game Geek, and I have not been able to get a copy with all the extras, so I have ignored it. Today, I have more realistic barrels to replace the wooden ones and poker chips for these purchased games. The $79 price is eye-water (there are other cheaper sellers, but with the shipping cost now, they are not that cheap, and return policies are complex by mail). So I decided to take it.

I see something that I do manage to resist. Doctor Who Role Playing Game (DW RPG)has published a 5E version. Yes, that uses the current Dungeons and Dragons system to play Adventures in Time and Space. The DW RPG 5E is marvelously decorated with color photos from the show. Previously published, there are sourcebooks for every doctor full of pictures. I am surprised to see two books in 5E–A player’s book and a 1/4-inch adventure book. Finally, somebody produced an RPG version with something to play–my usual complaint is that a rule system is printed without anything to use (Wizard of OZ RPG was released without supporting material). This makes it both tempting and expensive–I managed to walk past it. But Adventures in Time and Space sounds so fun. Resist!

I’m off to Wildwood Taphouse to punch, read Brass, and maybe play a solo game. JR is there, and we share a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year over drinks. He asks about my health, and I tell him about the benign brain tumor my left ear is unintentionally hosting. I am waiting for the doctors (4 Jan and 29 Jan) to update me on the process to evict the squatter.

I enjoyed a lighter beer and managed to copy the rest of the Amsterdam Trip (2019) into MSWord on my Apple laptop. This is harder and messier than I hoped, and with 1430 entries in my blog, an interesting task to take on–copying the blog to transform it into a book. But it is still a process, and if done every day or so, it should not take forever.

I then go out to the car and get Brass and another game. A young couple next to me asked me about the games, and I showed them the still unpunched Brass and the solo game. We talk for a while; I have a second beer, and so do they. I got the board game Azule from the Air Volvo’s cargo hold and taught them how to play. We are now sharing a table. We play three games, and I return to my usual cut-throat play now that they understand the game. I win the next two games, but not by much. They start to see that you need to play your card and block the other players to win. It was fun, and as dinner time approaches, we share phone numbers and will likely meet again. They want to learn Scythe next time (oh my, that is 4X).

Meeting would-be gamers and playing with them while enjoying a beer was a surprise. A most pleasant afternoon and early evening!

I return home and grill another ribeye (I had three when I started) with corn again. I watch Sandman episodes while cooking and eating. I managed not to incinerate the steak.

Time disappears fast, and soon, I am headed to bed. I cannot sleep tonight. I roll over and over. I manage a few hours of sleep. I just could not get comfortable, and the dreams were unpleasant.

 

 

 

Our plans went awry. The restaurant for dinner tonight had a fire (?!) and was not open on Christmas. The movie theaters are packed, and we will not risk COVID-19 if we can get seats. So Joan and I agree to try “Jewish Christmas” on another day and in a less packed theater.

Starting from the morning, I slept until just about 9AM and then started slow and stayed that way. I found the one roll I saved myself, puffy, sweet (Grammary insisted this is sweaty–No), and filled with dried fruit and pecans. It was good. It went with the end of my liberal coffee from this previous purchase. Tomorrow, it will be NYC Zabar’s ground. Thank you, Smiths. I ate that with a banana. Even though it was Christmas, it was Monday, and so I put in a load of laundry.

I wrote the blog for Christmas Eve, and there I went slow; there was no reason to rush, and I tried to capture this year’s feelings. I wrote slowly with care, trying to find the words I wanted. It is not a complex Emerson-like piece but a telling of my experiences.

Once Joan and I rescheduled, I decided (it was nearing 1PM) to cook a steak for myself. I picked up some ribeyes from Safeway yesterday. They’re not as thick as I like, but they’re still good. I pulled one out, salted it on both sides and let it sit out while preparing. I found that the gas grill needed to be heated to clean it up and then found a kitchen towel I was tossing (it was stained), and I used it, dampened, to clean the firey hot metal. That got the grill ready for reuse this winter–it was a three-pack of steaks, and I have some chicken too that I would like to grill, given a chance. I am good with the broiler, but the gas grill is better.

I got out some frozen corn and started that steaming–I love corn with pepper and butter. I made a salad. It was nearing 2 when I was ready. I had turned down the grill, put the steak on the hot metal, and then turned the steak to get those cross grill marks. I went in and set a timer for three minutes.

I returned, and the thin ribeye steak was an inferno. I was laughing and also trying not to burn the hair off my arms or my eyebrows, for that matter. I put out the steak. I flipped it, and it looked good with only a bit of char. I pulled it and took it inside; it was perfect–just luck and the discipline never to put anything on the grill or in the oven without a timer. The corn was ready, and I finished off the salad makings.

I watch another DC Batman animation with the best voices for Joker and Batman again. My Christmas dinner was excellent and a bit early, but I was hungry. The steak was salted just perfectly, and I had sprinkled just a tiny amount of ground coffee that was good.

Next, it is Christmas Day, and Doctor Who Special 4 2023 is now available on Disnery+. I thought the previous three were a bit sappy and contrived. This one, while having two dance numbers (apparently something we will see more of instead of chase scenes), and the new Doctor sang. I liked the episode and thought it was just a bit scary. I felt much better about the series’ future after today’s show. I recommend it.

I did the dishes, finished the laundry, and opened a present. I was sad but not upset. It is the first Christmas I have been alone in a house for. I went back (while writing) to remember the previous Christmas Days and the previous Christmas. There were some wet eyes when seeing pictures of Susie I had forgotten.

Please enjoy these good memories, some sad.

Story 25Dec2022: Christmas 2022

Story 25Dec2021: Christmas 2021

Day 287: Christmas 2020

Day 4: Van Gogh

I took a short nap, started to watch the new Midway movie, and made eggs over easy for a light dinner. I was nervous and sad–something that happens when I am not busy. But I am OK. I will write some more and write this blog.

Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas.

The day started with me enjoying my bed until 9ish. I got going and found a banana for breakfast with my French Press-made liberal coffee. I am still working through my last bag of Equal Exchange from my previous purchase. I have a Christmas gift of coffee from the Smiths from NYC’s Zabar’s on 79 Street to use soon. I also have a subscription to coffee from the Kramers and have my Rwanda coffee waiting, too. These, too, are fairly traded, so exotic and liberal coffee (so perfect for a Democrat). Thanks, everyone!

It was the first Christmas Eve without Susie, but there were only a few wet eyes. We are also missing others, so Christmas seems like an exotic dark chocolate that you are not sure you like as it is so bitter. Yes, it’s still good, and I am happy to be here again in Oregon in the rain doing Christmas.

It is gray again and wet, but no flooding (so far), and it is cold (down to the high thirties, 3C).

I finally got started and made my puffy roll recipe. I cook the flour in milk and then add the cool milk, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and butter, and get a sticky dough, not the stiff dough I got the previous time! I use the KitchenAid’s kneed hook (I don’t kneed). Soon, the sticky dough will be proofed for 90 minutes.

I watch a DC Joker animated show with the best voice work and some jokes; I recommend Joker’s Favor. I decided on something boring for lunch, Beef soup from Cambell’s, which seems perfect for a rainy morning. I drained the rum from the dried fruit and pecans, and that made an ideal holiday spiced rum I enjoyed while assembling the rolls, this time stuffed with rum-soaked items.

I wrapped some presents, showered, dressed plain, and threw the now puffy rolls into the oven. I make the glaze and use it to glue the fruit, almonds, and cherry I added to each roll. One roll had no fruit; I got that one. I also take on a normal one. Excellent. I put the rest on a platter and will leave it with Dondrea, Z, and family. While I like them, they are not good for me.

Next, I pop over to Karyn’s house and deliver her gift. I get the Dungeons and Dragons crew something every Christmas. Karyn is in with her husband, and we chat for a bit. I show her how to use her new potion-styled d20 die roller.  Next, I head to Safeway. I get something to make for dinner in the next couple of days: ribeye steaks and salad makings. I also replenished my supply of powdered sugar, and I hoped to have time to make more rolls–nope.

I am out of time. I shave again and dress in a suit with suspenders, a golden vest, a pocket watch, etc. This takes a while. I load the goodies and gifts into Air Volvo’s cargo hold (already stuffed with board games) and find a seat in First Class. The traffic is light, but the extra-legal driving has reached a holiday-induced pitch; I am braking and weaving. People are rushing for that last bobble or ingredient with the intensity of fighter pilots. Snoopy’s Red Baron was out there today!

I reach the church fifteen minutes or more early, and surprisingly, the church is filling. Candles are passed out–the better version with a plastic cup instead of the paper circle that lets you enjoy dripping hot wax on your hand, clothing, and the floor. I noticed that with the hand sanitizer (flammable), there are squirt bottles full of water. I made a joke to that pastor that it is vital to not confuse the bottle in case of fire. He and his daughters thought that was quite funny. Church humor.

The service was one of the longest ones I have attended at First United Methodist Church of Beaverton, going over an hour. Ken, our lead pastor, in his sandals and come-as-you-are Oregon look, gave an excellent sermon and managed to be political without being divisive–quite a trick in the USA. He points out that kings and leaders are often not with the people and that often they order, like the Czar in 1905, to have troops fire on peaceful protests. They are not the king or leaders with us, the folks. But, the name given to Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, and we were thankful that God is not distant like royalty or a leader, but with us. This is political in that God eschewed the distance like political leaders demanded; instead, God stands with us and attends to us. I thought it was an excellent message for a holiday with two wars ongoing.

We sang often, there were some excellent solos, and the church choir sang the best I have heard in years. A pleasant service.

Note: I often have trouble remembering the details of a church service, so I take the bulletin, which helps me bring the service back to my mind. I use memory tricks to recall a day after sleeping. I start with a framework: wake up, travel, lunch, travel, dinner, and after-dinner tasks. I try to remember what those framework events were for the previous day. I look for items I carried that day or recipes. Seeing these items brings memories barraging forward in my mind–often making me forget something else (it is best to write and then look for them when I get stuck). There is often something I miss that I remember a few hours later, but I have learned to forgive myself for that.

After that, I headed to a boisterous party at Dondrea’s house. I brought the wine Richard and Shawna gave me for Christmas. Wine always tastes better with friends and a party. The wine was great (we opened it and drank the bottle between the four wine drinkers). Dondrea serves Italian-style pasta and salad for post-church dinner. Dondrea has been working on reproducing a bolognese sauce she had in NYC, and she thinks it is close. It is pretty good–better than most restaurant versions I have had–more subtle. It was cooking all day and had even been reheated. I find the cool-down and reheat balances spices in Italian-style dishes.

Donna, Dondrea’s mother, and I talked about our losses at the party. We both lost our partner this winter. It was good to talk to someone affected the same way. Again, holidays come with wet eyes, often at unexpected times. Today, I could not sing some of the songs at the service as I missed singing them with Susie (though with my terrible voice, lack of pitch, and inability to follow along, I am sure my singing was never missed). I could not sing the first ones, but the rest I could–well, if you can call my attempt singing.

Returning to the narrative, we chatted, exchanged gifts, and then Air Volvo took me home. I was in bed around 11PM but had trouble sleeping. My hat fell at about 1AM. I put it in a silly place in the bedroom, which scared me right off the bed. F**K!

I finally managed to sleep later.

Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading.

I am very busy baking, delivering presents, and even shopping today. So, the blog is running late. I have about an hour to write it.

Yesterday, we had an unusually large set of gamers at Richard’s in Portland, including Cody, who I only see occasionally. Shawn and his wife Val were there too, so five. Richard picked the board game Battlestar Galactica, a famous game out of print. It is a challenging game that simulates taking the Battlestar to the final location with the Cylons attacking. But it is also a traitor game. In the game, you play characters from the newer show and learn if you are a traitor at the start and 1/2 way. As a traitor, you try to convince the other players to leave you alone and maybe take down another player. You can, as I did, sabotage the play.

I discovered I was a Cylon (a traitor) 1/2 and then saw a chance to do real damage and took it. The other players guessed it was me, but as a revealed Cylon, I was able to do the final damage that ended the game with a failure for the humans. It is difficult to win without the Cylons. I have won once as a human.

I recommend this game in its new, still available reformatting: Unfathomable. It is based on a ship in the Atlantic, on which H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos are the story’s focus. There are cultists and deep ones mixed in with the players. It is a good reworking, and I think it plays better. But playing the original game is fun, and the theme is excellently represented. Recommended if you play someone’s copy (used copies for the base game fun for $150, while the add-ons are usually sold with the game and go for $300+)–I play Richard’s.

If you want this kind of play, a traitor game, Unfathomable is my recommendation. Secret Hitler is a lighter (“light Hitler”–did I actually write that-F**K) traitor game that plays fast, but I miss all the fun of the slow build of other games. House on Haunted Hill, I simply don’t care for as it removes a random player to be the bad guy–not as good a system, I think. The slow build is more fun.

I brought pretzels and some vegan-supportive treats. We have a game I started that Cylons never eat pretzels. So, everyone eats them with gusto to prove they are not a toaster. Richard sent me home with a bottle of wine for the holidays. Thanks, Richard and Shawna.

Before this, I met Evan at The 649 for some games. Our usual Saturday plan worked as I now have the next week free. Evan beat me by ten points or so in Vindication. I made the mistake of letting him capture a few too many masteries. I should have got some to protect my points. That was my mistake, but only one mastery would have made the difference, and I will remember to get two every game. I have done this to Evan, too.

We played Istanbul, and I have the base game down cold for two players. I enjoy the game as the best way to play it is to visit almost every location. I circle around the board through the same area and collect what it offers, steadily building my rubies (you collect rubies to win). I find that you need to visit different areas to improve your play. I like the coffee expansion and have The Big Box, but I never played the third expansion (all the expansions are included in The Big Box, except the promo for the Kebab/Donner Area). I was two rubies ahead at the end; Evan was out of practice on this game.

I find now that when I finish a board game, I become depressed. While playing, enjoying, and concentrating, the grief and troubles are in abeyance, but the guilt of forgetting and having fun seems to crash down on me after the game finishes. This is a new thing that I have noticed.

Before meeting Evan and drinking and eating at The 649 while playing games, I was out in Air Volvo delivering gifts to my long-term Dungeons and Dragons players. I try to get something every year. Some years, it was painted figures, but of late, small gifts from Etsy.com and the Portland Saturday Market. I drove those items all over Beaverton.

Before that, I rose slowly, read emails, did some bill paying and accounting (I do it every day so it does not accumulate–there is still a lot to do), and made poached eggs on toast for breakfast–a favorite and easy. I did watch some YouTube history shows and the always interesting Battleship New Jersey shows.

I put some fruit cake and pecans in rum for another experiment with puffy rolls. I made them on Christmas Eve.

I stopped at Corwin’s house and dropped off his gifts after the games. We wished each other a Merry Christmas.

It was a good day. Thanks for reading.