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Just a brief story for today, going backward, I was just reading until 9PM (21:00) the newest Charles Stross Laundry Files book: Season of Skulls. Another modern take on the horrors of H.P. Lovecraft with computer and computational mathematics identical to casting spells. A favorite setting and even an RPG that I have borrowed material from and even played. The book is a brain cookie and always a treat to get the next installment. 

Before reading in bed and ignoring the world, I was at dinner with Rev. Anne and Rev.Dr. Wayne Weld-Martin at Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant in the Aloha strip mall, only a minute from the Volvo Cave. I was forty-five minutes late as the shoe company had an emergency meeting on a crisis of the moment at 5:30 that over-ran to 6:20. Anne and Wayne were still happy when I finally showed up (Anne had left her phone home, so my text and calls did not reach her). We had a nice but truncated dinner together. Anne was sitting on my left, and she noticed how much I struggled to hear her. I had to turn and face her and then turn away from her so my right ear could hear her. I am not shy about this anymore. I can hear the lower frequency sound better; Wayne’s voice carried better. But I made an effort to hear them both.

I had a margarita and my usual tamale and chili relleno. Anne ordered Flan and Wayne a second beer while I ate.

Before this, I drove home early and followed along until 4PM. Work was quiet for me; we started the go-live this weekend. The emergencies were on transactional data, which I am not responsible for now.

I got Susie’s bill from the pharmacy, including two hundred dollars in Ensure (OTC). I pay them with a physical check when I get the bill. I want them to react to Susie’s needs, being local, so they get their money ASAP, but using a completely auditable paper record.

I got a call from my doctor discussing my hearing. The damage is loss of nerves and will not get better. The loss suggests a virus or other cause in the left ear, so an MRI is warranted to check for a physical cause, but the loss is irreversible (my hope for a chance to get better is dashed), and it is likely nothing serious wrong. I will get an MRI in the next week or so.

Next, Susie’s cardiac doctor’s office called. Susie’s lab show an issue with her liver. The doc is removing the anti-cholesterol drug from Susie’s daily pills. Susie’s cholesterol numbers were good, so this should not be an issue. Next month, four weeks from now, we will do another visit to a lab to recheck Susie’s liver function. The doc will send an order to the hummingbird house as they need clear paperwork (That was done by the end of the day).

I had lunch at Chipotle, having chips, a rice bowl, and a Diet Coke. I ate this while reading news items on my phone. Before this, I had visited Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was in her recliner in the shared living room when I got there and was happy to leave for a spin around the park. Jennifer got Susie popped into her wheelchair, and I applied sunblock to Susie’s hands and exposed legs. Susie is allergic to the sun, and her meds require limited exposure.

(I did not notice Susie’s glasses were on her ear until later)

We did the usual stopping at benches and enjoyed the park. There were dogs and folks everywhere. We called Leta, Susie’s mother, from a bench, and she enjoyed the chat and used her phone to show us her new deck, which was almost finished.

Before this, I was at work at 8AM after getting up at 6AM, starting my exercise and stretches again, and then doing coffee and a yogurt cup with fruit for breakfast. I watered the stressed roses, the new tree I planted this week, and the yet-to-be-planted rose bush from Dondrea and Z for my birthday.

Moving to roses, the pink moss rose bloomed (a one-time blooming rose), and Mister Lincoln has a bud ready to open. The other roses will likely bloom in the next few days. It should be a riot of color and scents!

(Pink Moss, an old rose)

(Mister Lincoln, hybrid tea rose–1964)

Thanks for reading!

A setback in my health. I have been having hearing issues, but with all the events and pandemic, I have ignored the problems for years. Now my hearing is gone, mostly in my left ear, and I am bringing to detect hearing issues with my right. Today I finally visited an Ear, nose, and throat clinic (ENT), and after cleaning out my ears, they defined my loss. So the loss is someways profound, and I am likely having, even with my better hearing ear, issues understanding the letters F and G as those sounds are in a range I have moderate hearing loss in my good ear. This has disappointed me as I had hoped for something better, but I believe I have experienced what was detected. Further, the loss on my left side is inexplicable as it starts as a severe loss and is even profound for some sounds. The left side may have a medical condition (and that gives me some hope for relief).

I am depressed as I have already noticed the loss in listening to music (I cannot hear the higher tones, so the music seems hollow), and I cannot understand some conversations unless I am close to the speaker. In addition, I have started to struggle with accents that were once clear to me. I am ready to just hide in my home office and text everyone. I may feel better about this in a few days–but I had hoped (prayed) that this infirmity would pass me by, but I have to face it; another thing. I really just want to hide. I am sure I can look into hearing aids, but I am worried that will conceal the worsening condition.

For dinner, I did manage to eat a tamale from the tamale lady at Wildwood Taphouse. I see her there maybe every year, and she sells tamales from her truck (hot and spicy), and I purchased a set from her yesterday. So good!

Yesterday I also saw JR at the Taphouse, and we chatted briefly. Then, he headed out on his bike. JR retired from Nike some time ago. We met there, working in what was then called Global Information Technology (GIT). It is always lovely to drink a beer with him. First, I spend some time at the bar and then find a corner to write. I go there to write as I don’t always like to be alone when I write.

Starting from the beginning of Monday, I was up early and made instant low-sugar oatmeal adding walnuts and dried cranberries. This is with liberal coffee, of course. I then headed out, after showering and dressing, to the ENT clinic for an early morning appointment. I put on the Air Volvo nav but then skipped its suggestions to use the highways during rush hour. Nav was correct, but I don’t have kids, so I did not know about the near shutdown of roads in front of schools (kids getting dropped off). I was only a few minutes late!

The first hearing test attempt failed because my ears had too much wax. I had to wait until my 9AM appointment, and the doc then cleaned up my ears. I was then told my hearing test was rescheduled to 10AM; I got some coffee while I waited, plus a slice of lemon cake.

The test is quite difficult because I have to concentrate on hearing anything. The sounds in my left ear are not just 1/2 volume but garbled, like underwater listening. I have lost my ability to quickly hear high tones. I am happy to know what is wrong (I have a physical copy of the report) and wondered if I could reverse filter the sound with a program and feed the sounds from a headphone and play mono, but adjusted into my right ear. I could then use headphones again (I have not been able to use headphones for some time as the sound is garbled). It may be time for a Python program on my Apple. I could also do something with hardware for a personalized speaker (microcontrollers are too slow to handle this). I could increase the volume in a separate high-frequency speaker to match my hearing range (it would sound good to me) by adding ten to twenty decibels to high-frequency sounds. Just my mad scientist wanting to build my own hearing aid.

While enjoying the tests, my phone buzzed too (making it even harder to hear for the test), and that was Jennifer at hummingbird house letting me know that Susie’s shipment of strawberry Ensure was late and asked if I could get some and bring it to Susie. So I head from the ENT clinic directly to Susie using those same highways I had avoided and make a quick trip and soon reach Target near Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I wanted some flowers too, but it was Mother’s Day on Sunday, and Target was out of flowers, having not restocked yet. So I soon had the Ensure and headed to the hummingbird house.

Susie was delighted to have me there, and Jennifer was happy to get the Ensure for Susie. Jennifer put Susie in the wheelchair (covered Susie’s arms and exposed ankles with sunscreen) from her recliner in the shared living room space, and we headed out into the morning/early afternoon hot air. The park was busy, but I got us to the shaded bench by the cedars. I checked with the park staff, and they pointed out the redwoods (which look more like huge perfect cone Christmas trees); I now know which is which; excellent. We then called Leta, Susie’s mother, and talked briefly.

Susie and I sped around the park as I had to return to work. Susie was happy to enjoy the sun and see all the folks in the park. The locals and the park manager are beginning to recognize us–we are regulars!

I kissed Susie goodbye and headed home. I was still depressed and just returned to the house and started working after making lunch. I boiled cheese-stuffed pasta and spicy locally made marinara sauce from a bottle. Something simple, pasta with sauce. I had more bowls than I should have, but it tasted good, and I eat when I am sad.

I then tried to follow along at work but felt inadequate to the challenge after the hearing report. I tried to keep up. I stopped at about 4:30 and decided to finish a movie I found on YouTube: Space Battleship Yamato. This is a live-action film with some incredible model work, with the actors voiced in English. Quite terrible and predictable. It is nearly impossible to get the 1:500 matching SciFi model of the Yamato, and I have seen the lighting kit to make the effect of firing its super cannon for sale. Nevertheless, I wanted to see the movie. It was a good distraction.

I have a tamale for dinner and an apple and watch the show on my Apple. I rested briefly and fell unexpectedly asleep but woke only after thirty minutes. I then made some popcorn and watched a science series, Shock and Aw, the Story of Electricity, which I recommend.

I then wrote this blog.

I am still depressed and overreacting; I will see how I feel in the morning. No decisions tonight and nothing until I am back in focus. Ugh!

Here is my first rose in my garden. The plant is always the first and last bloom and is an old rose often called Old Blush or China Rose.

I forgot that I went out and fixed a loose board in the old fence. While I was drilling in some new screws and adding a piece of wood to hold the board better, I met the new folks moving into the house behind mine. We could only reach over the fence as there was no gate to shake hands. I decided to do something not depressing and fix the board.

The morning started with me rolling over from 5 until 7:30AM, falling back into unremembered vivid dreams. The kind you don’t know you are dreaming but wonder why things are missing or illogical but keep going anyway. I woke up a few times and thought, “Oh my, I am still in bed, and it is still Sunday morning.” I thought I was at work a few times or needed to head to work. But, finally, the alarm rang, and I decided to stop the somniac experiment.

Sunday mornings mean making something for breakfast besides the usual. So I got out an NYC sesame seed bagel and some good Black Forest-styled ham, shaved. And piled it on. Before the ham, I toasted the sliced bagel and slightly covered it with cream cheese. This adds flavor and stops the ham’s juices from making the bagel soggy. Next, I added a slice of Swiss cheese. Before this, I heated the broiler in the oven and moved the rack to the second position. I broiled the bagels for six minutes on aluminum foil (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) until the cheese was melted and ran off with a few browned spots. Excellent.

So with liberal coffee and a broiled bagel with cheese and ham, I read my emails and wrote a long blog for Saturday. That took most of the morning. I also put my newest stamps in my album, including an expensive acquisition of a USA Graf Zeppelin stamp, finishing my collection of early airmail stamps. While my latest stamp is on a slightly beat-up flown cover, the $2.60 stamp is expensive, and I was lucky to find one under $600 on eBay. I also had some Nebraska overprints and a $1 Washington from the 1930s I found for a reasonable price. I wanted to get these in my albums before I bid on any more. I also put some revenue stamps in my albums; I have started to collect beer stamps, and I have a new album for them. Lastly, I replaced a wrongly placed special delivery and revenue document stamp; I was embarrassed I had put the wrong stamps in my album (of course, only I know) and bought replacements for a reasonable price.

I made chicken soup, from a can, for lunch. I ate it while watching YouTube videos on shipwrecks and naval history. It was already getting hot, but I did not enable the AC at the house.

After that, I finally cleaned up and got dressed. I watered the new tree (2″ tall) and the stressed-looking roses. I noticed my neighbor was pushing, mowing her lawn, and looking none too happy. I remembered later that it was Mother’s Day and realized I had not seen her husband. Likely a sad story.

I arrived late, about 1PM, at Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was asleep in her room when I arrived but was thrilled to have me there. She was cold (I turned off the fan). It was 92F (33.3C) outside and sunny–Susie was comfortable and sleepy. I got her sitting up, and we watched the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I forgot what a chaotic mess the movie was. I was laughing, and the explosions and actions sometimes woke Susie up. She was happily resting now that she had someone to sit with her.

I have an Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) doctor appointment, and I did the paperwork for that visit at 8AM Monday. I had to manually copy my prescriptions from one system to their system. They don’t use MyChart, ugh.

Once the movie was over, I started to get ready to leave, but Susie decided we should head outside into the park (cooled down to 89F), so Louis, the evening nurse aide on Sundays, got Susie ready. Pushing her in the wheelchair, we made it to the park. The crushed stone in the parking lot is hard going in the wheelchair now that it has dried out. I pushed her through Metzger Park, it was busy, and all the benches were used, so I turned around instead of making a long loop on the sweltering streets. The general-use building in the park (which you can rent) was busy with a party. I took Susie off the trail, as the grass was dry, and we toured some of the other areas and then finished in the basketball courts, which were not in use.

I returned to hummingbird house, stalling once in the crushed stone, but I managed to get going again without dumping Susie. Physics still works on wheelchairs, and if you suddenly stop, the person in the wheelchair, like any body in motion, will continue to go forward. I go slow so Susie does not develop too much independent momentum!

I stopped by Panda Express and got some below-average, overly-sweet food that suggests Asia (or maybe an Asian food nightmare). I had to get gas at $4.39. Gas now increasing slowly in price. I will resist any commentary. Remember, we have no sales tax when comparing prices, and all gas is full service.

I was home, ate my dinner, which was not terrible, and then headed to Wildwood Taps to write this blog. I wanted a beer and to write in a place filled with people.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

The morning started with me trying to sleep in. With the bright morning sun, I just want to get going at 5AM. Going to bed early for me, before eleven (23:00), just means I wake up early. So I stayed in bed until 7:30 and finally started. This weekend I am on call, but I was told to skip the status calls–so I did. I made liberal coffee with my French Press. I have been drinking fair trade, and like coffee since the election of President Trump, I like the reminding taste of what I believe and that the little things matter (and often the splashy ones are just the death throes of outmoded ideas). Liberal tastes so good in the morning.

Breakfast on Saturday was a what-the-hell moment that has happened so much more after the pandemic; I decided to have lasagna, left over from Friday’s cooking, as I left one piece in the frig and froze the rest for dinners of the future. It was good but not as good as it could have been, and I will have to consider other recipes in the future. The no-boil pasta was still crunchy on the top in a few places. More sauce on top next time.

Carmile Longley (CM), one of the two creators of the Lamp Black comic and solo role-playing game (RPG) by the same name, had sent me my missing copy of the RPG rules. This is a comic where the ink comes to life and, depending on the artist’s art and emotions, maybe a cute ink cat or a nearly unstoppable inkblot of death (a psychologist’s nightmare). It is like they made it for me! I ordered doubles of everything (causing multiple packages for me as CM uses the arcane shipping rules to find the least costly shipping). I then put one complete set into the most oversized mailer CM used (with her logo on the tape!), resealed the box with transparent tape, and addressed it to Kat Smith in NYC. I sent Kat the comics from Christmas and thought she would love to see the RPG.

I was unwell on Friday, so I had to write the blog on Saturday morning; the blog was short. After that, I dressed, boarded Air Volvo, and loaded the package into the cargo hold. I also reloaded Air Volvo with several games (I had taken them out for Susie’s trip to the doctor on Thursday). I stopped by the post office and mailed the package using the postage-generating box to do this. This time it wanted my address, too, and I put that on the generated label. The machine could not auto-scan the small package, so I had to put in the dimensions. I was surprised by how long the process now takes (something to remember for Christmas) and was happy to get away with less than $20 shipping.

With the package now dropped off in a machine, I headed to see Susie. It was sunny and hot. Before I left the Volvo Cave, I watered the new redwood 2″ tree I planted yesterday (nothing is more optimistic than planting a redwood tree–you will never see it tall). It is planted in the depression in my backyard and is the only redwood with leaves (they sort of look like needles), and the exotic tree sheds them in the fall. It is also recommended to plant where nothing lives, and the wetness and parchedness of this spot are supposed to be perfect for a redwood. I hope it makes it!

I have a gift from Dondrea and Z of a rose bush I have not planted yet. I watered it too. I have found a place for it and just have to install a hole. Soon. The other plants are happy, and even the stressed ones (I also gave them some water) look better.

The traffic on Saturday was light except where the City of Beaverton installed new holes. I made my usual 25-minute trip at that time. It was slightly cooler in Tigard as it is a higher altitude than Aloha, Oregon (my mailing address is Beaverton, but I actually reside in the forgotten unincorporated down of Reedville). Soon Air Volvo pulled into Susie’s place at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was in her chair but ready for an adventure. She was delighted to have me visit. Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, moved Susie with aplomb into her wheelchair (how do they do that? Even when I watch, it still is a mystery for me). Off to outside, now over 80F (26.7C), with a light dry, warm breeze (desert heat today). The park was full of folks and dogs (many freely chasing balls). We headed to the shady bench near the redwoods or cedars (I think I have misidentified the redwoods as cedars) and looked at a full-sized version of my 2″ sapling at the Volvo Cave.

While sitting in the park, is not much to write about, it was a lovely day, and Susie and I both were feeling good, and Susie was smiling while watching the activities in the park. We are blessed to have Metzger Park so close to Susie’s facility. There are some areas in the park closed with hazard tape. A new bike rack and some new play area for kids is going up. Seeing that the park is so well maintained and even improved is so lovely.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and then Barb, Susie’s sister (who might visit next month), on my iPhone and used FaceTime so we could see each other. Leta was thrilled to see Susie outside and me feeling better. Barb was happy to chat about family and how Susie was feeling. It was hot, and Susie, who had not recovered from the exhausting trip to the doctor on Thursday, was sleepy. So we returned to the hummingbird house and returned Susie to Anassa’s care with a kiss. Susie was headed for a long summer nap.

Evan, who met us in the park, and I headed to Rogue Brewery via Highway 5. This twisty road follows the rivers and is built into the cliff along the Willamette River, an extension of the Columbia River, with head-turning views of Mount Hood and the river. This is, of course, a terrible feature of a highway with dangerous curves and mysterious lane losses that must have been designed on an off day for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Still, it is a lovely drive, and I get to take a bridge with a panoramic view of Portland and the mountains, including the truncated Mount St. Hellens visible in a slightly hazy sky (with a four-lane merge in the air and then spits off to two highways, making you really wonder what ODOT was thinking). Popping off these collections of cement-in-the-sky traffic solutions, I soon parked next to Rogue. It was slightly humid, and the hot air from the Columbia Gorge was blowing and collecting water from the river to be somewhat thick: Desert with a hint of oasis.

Rogue was not that busy, and Evan soon appeared; I passed him on the highway–Air Volvo loves hot, dry drives on high-placed cement. I ordered a salad; there is no AC, so a salad with salmon (it is delicious here in the Pacific Northwest). I had Dead Guy Ale to go with it, their best product, I think.

While I ate, Evan read the board game Scythe’s campaign introduction (a steampunk rewrite of Europe’s 1900s history and the game starting in a fictional 1921). Next, Evan began setting up the standard start for a two-person game. He got Russia (red), called Rusviet Union, and I was Prussia (Black), called Saxony Empire. The first game went fast, with me suddenly ending the game (this often happened in Scythe as the winning conditions are challenging at first and then get easier and more manageable when you get more resources and options). Evan scored low, and I did not do much better. As this campaign contains secret content, my description of the game will be reduced. I took a highly military approach to the first game and aggressively grabbed stars and completed objectives (Saxony can do unlimited objectives as its superpower), which worked.

We agreed to play the next game. I still had time, which required us to vote on War or Peace (with no explanation), and while I had the majority, I went with Peace as it would be more interesting, I thought. We set up a usual setup with us getting randomly assigned boards but retaining our factions; Evan thought Rusviet was not as cool as he thought before (it allows you to repeat an action which I, as the black color, cannot). Alliances were rebuffed (a new thing), and the Peace scoring track was used (no credit for battles or military power). My new board and the new peace-in-our-time direction made me do a 180 on tactics, and I went with an expansion approach and tried to play highly efficiently to get the most out of each resource. I have played Saxony before in my first play of the campaign and have played it so many times I have lost track. I know it very well. Also, Evan’s red base was on the opposite side of the board, so I had a free hand. Prussians loose on Europe without opposition; oh my, that was fun! I ate up the encounters and landed star after star, and worked through my objectives again. Evan, who took the Factory hex early with Rusviet‘s teleport power, left only one mech on the factory. I ended the game by taking the Factory as that gave me (holding the Factory was a Peace goal) my last star. I thought I had enough and managed to win by holding so many hexes (a lesson from Z in my previous game and loss with her), and I was right, collecting 69 points at the end. Next time we play, we will be allowed some exciting add-ons to buy.

After that, I played at Richard’s place with Richard, Shawn, and Claudia. We selected Anachrony to play. I had painted the figures and wanted to see them again. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how to play, as I think I have not played for over a year. This is a spooky-looking SciFi board game, but it is really, at first, a simple resource management and worker placement game with your own tableau and some engine building. But, there is time travel, with you borrowing from your future self and having to return to the past and paying back the stuff or to purchase technology offered in the past. Crazy! It is a competitive game, but not mean (mean is the board game concept that your actions reduce the options for other players–for example, the board game Brass, both versions, is mean as resources and opportunities reduce each play). Claudia struggled with the game, and I had moments of making mistakes and ended up about ten points below Shawn and only ten points ahead of Claudia (her first score was better than my previous scores). Richard, taking advantage of my misplays, scored 30+ above Shawn! Next time!

Aside: Anachrony is an overly built Kickstarter game (like many Kickstarter games) with components that are oversized for the play, I think (particularly having had to paint them) and is now expensive to buy into at $300 or so for a used set. I would love to learn it better, but will not buy in at that price.

Exhausted from relearning and fighting for every point, we broke up the gaming at 10:30, and I was delighted to return home before midnight. However, I was tired and do not recall shooting up the cement-in-the-sky ramps to the bridges across the Willamette River. The on-ramp is taller than the bridge roadway!

After Air Volvo landed at the Volvo Cave, I managed to have a bit of ham from Olympic Provision to go with my pills (best with some food). The mail contained more medical bills (a mystery $19 for my Physical Therapy that I believe I have already paid) and my stamp purchases for my stamp collection. There is nothing to share, dear reader unless you are a hardcore USA stamp collector of the classic period (1840s to 1940s). Thank you for reading. I was quickly asleep after that busy day.

I was not feeling well yesterday, so I passed on writing the Friday blog on Friday. I was sitting in Susie’s room in the afternoon; on Fridays and Mondays, work-from-home days, I try to work from Susie’s room to keep her company. I was stricken with some of the worst nausea I have felt and nearly threw up in her bathroom. Susie was greatly concerned; I recovered in about thirty minutes without any spillage. I then headed home in Air Volvo, stopping at McDonald’s for some fried and a shake. I added chicken nuggets. The other food helped. I think I had constipation as I had the other end quite active when I returned directly to the Volvo Cave. I rested and slept for a bit. I was back up at 5ish without nausea. Better.

Going backward, I went to bed early after reading a bit. Before that, I sat in the kitchen, after packing the lasagna I made into one serving-sized slices, and watched music videos to relax. I also got everything into the dishwasher while watching mostly old-school rock videos.

Favorites: Candyman and Neutron Dance.

As suggested, I got up and made a lasagna. I used no-boil lasagna pasta. I flow the recipe on the box, except I add chopped fresh parsley and chopped olives to the ricotta cheese and some generic Italian spices. I used Ragu’s chunky pasta sauce from a jar. I make my layers too thick and so have pasta left over. It baked for 30 minutes, and I had a few pieces. I did this while watching Nova’s newest show: Hidden Volvano Abyss. It covered the terrible, the largest explosion ever recorded, Togo volcano blast. It appears to be a steam explosion from seawater pouring into the magma chamber; yikes! The deadly tsunami, twice the size of the one that hit Japan, was likely caused by the collapse of the same chamber. The show ends with the scientists exploring another (!) volcano in the area that now, with closer examination, is quite active.

Moving our narrative to just before lunch, I was working from home on Friday (currently, Nike WHQ Covid work plan is in the office Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) and made a fateful lunch of two reheated bratwursts and the remains of the potato chips and a pickle slice. I was fine after eating this and watching a few videos on board games.

My street was more of a challenge. The sewer folks were opening the road as my neighbor had sewer backing into her house again. She had paid a pile of money (over $20,000) to have the sewer line replaced, and her yard still looks like a war zone. It took all morning, but the sewer folks replaced the connection at the street, but the new expensive sewer line was improperly installed and would need to be redone. Very sad.

One of the guys working, who was very angry with the contractor, told me that this area was horses and farms when he grew up. He comes from one of the pioneer families who initially farmed in this area. I could see in his eyes that when he looked at the site, he saw two things, what was here, but over it was a hazy image of an idyllic farm long lost to housing and strip malls. I told him we still have the original apple trees from the farm, and that got a smile.

Before all this, I slept into 7ish and then made a bagel, an NYC bagel, for breakfast and liberal coffee. After that, I started with our group’s weekly meeting. After that, I skipped the status meeting and instead read emails, followed along on Slack channels, and read the news to be caught up with the day. I was out on PTO yesterday, so there was a lot to consume today.

A quick check of Quicken appears I have enough money to make Susie’s costs for the year. I must avoid any trips or house repairs this year to make it work. With the nearly 30% increase in restaurants, I have reduced my eating out. I often make a sandwich and then hit a tap house for a beer while writing instead. I have $30,000 in liquid assets I can use for an emergency. I have three times in less liquid assets, which would be a tax headache if I had to use it. Retirement money is somewhat available but is a procedural and tax headache, but it is there too. So I am safe covering all known expenses. My 401K is now 80% in stable value as I cannot afford a sudden loss and can accept the loss of good returns (already at 6% for the year before the rebalancing to remove most event risk).

Well, that is about it. Thanks for reading.