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I took the day off from work as I was feeling strange and tired all the time. I managed to sleep in just an hour to 8something. I had just a banana for breakfast with liberal coffee made in my French Press. I was still out of sorts and could not decide what to do. I read a lot of news and looked at polls for the next presidential election. This is a non-political blog, so I will comment only on a few things. First, someone ran a poll on VP Harris as a replacement for Biden, which got some interesting results (but not happy for us liberals). I also saw that Biden still seems to have Michigan locked in–someone ran a Michigan-only poll, which I am sure will not be believed by my friends in Michigan, but it was interesting. It is too early to look at these except to see how things change as we get closer to the election.

After reading, getting my Quicken updated (I track every buck), and not logging on to work, I showered, dressed, and headed out. I took Air Volvo to the dry cleaners and picked up my suit. I planned to wear my new suits for the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and had the one I took to Michigan cleaned. I am also having some of my dress shirts pressed, and I have a new Homburg hat.

But, before I could head out, the Volvo fob was failing. Thus, I have to take it apart and replace the battery. I do one at a time and ensure that the fixed one works before taking the second one apart. I have two, and they fail at about the same time.

Next, which is unusual for me, I stopped by Beaverton’s Stranger Things comic book store and bought two issues. I got one Sandman special issue–which looked interesting. I enjoyed it and might get the next one. I also got Murder by Mail, which looks like a solve the murder file presented in comic book form. I will get to that soon.

I was going to get Teriyaki to go, but Aloha Teriyaki was gone. I hope they retired, and it was a happy ending as they were here as long as we have been. It was one of Susie’s favs. Instead, I stopped by the Chinese place and had Almond Chicken (average–but I saw everyone else was eating the noodles–hmmm) and read my Sandman comic (it was really good, as I said). I got a text that Susie was ready, and I paid and rushed home.

I got to the office and called Susie on Alexa using the video device. This is plan ‘B’ when I shouldn’t or could not visit. The hummingbird house is partially locked down for flu and colds. As I was not feeling myself, it was best to respect the lockdown today. Thus, Susie and I saw each other on a video call that Jennifer, the nurse aide for the weekdays, arranged. We had a lovely short chat. Later, Leta, Susie’s mother, could also do a video call. I carried an Alexa to Michigan, and Barb (her daughter) and I got it working. I used it to call Leta later on Thursday. Leta likes it as it shows Oregon time and weather.

After that, I read the rest of The Shortest History of the Soviet Union, concluding with a description of Putin with some of Putin’s interesting quotes and the author’s thoughts on Putin. An excellent book.

Next, I cleaned up the deck and recycled metal items from Corwin’s metalworking. They were rusted and abandoned, and I was tired of the mess. I found a few things, not ruined; I put them back in the garage and emptied a huge glass jug. I will put that in the garage when it dries out. I was happy to see things back to usable again.

Aside: That feeling of being out of control or trying to find my way in my nightmares is related to these messes. I feel much better now. One more thing is done.

I made tacos for dinner and watched more LOTR extended version, The Return of the King. There are a few good lines in this movie and book. The hobbits eating and drinking after the cleansing of Saruman’s fortress is one of my favorite in the book and the movie. The book version is better, but it is still great in the film.

I try to fix a mason jar with blinking lights–like fireflies at night, but it is gone. I ordered replacements.

I did some more junk tossing and then headed to Wildwood Taphouse to write. It was almost too loud tonight, and I could only find a spot on the bar to write, but it was the break I wanted. I wrote there.

Violet Blue, an Intenet personality and a friend, sent me back thanks for the birthday gift.

I ordered my stuff from the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and hope my 500 words made it to at least the publication this year. I won two years ago and hoped this one was good. We will not remember last year’s failures.

I plan to work from home tomorrow, as usual, for a Friday; I will visit Susie in the afternoon, visit the park, and then return to the Volvo Cave (I will not stay as they are still locked down). BYW, Linda, and Jessi are back in Michigan after an enjoyable visit to the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks for reading.

 

It has been a hard day, but my luck has held, and I have a negative COVID-19 test. Yay!

But, at Susie’s place, the Alliegence hummingbird house, they are partially locked down as the residents are coughing and showing cold or flu symptoms. Susie, specifically, is exhausted and sneezing all the time. I am having muscle aches, exhaustion, and sneezing too. Pooh! Today has been a struggle to focus and do the usual stuff while working from home.

The day started with me climbing out of bed, which took five minutes; oh my! I filled the electric kettle with water and turned it on. I boarded the Immobile Schwinn bike and could only do fifteen minutes and 3.3 miles. I am trying to get back to thirty minutes. All day, I was struggling–likely a cold or light flu.

I composed a breakfast of a cinnamon roll I made last night. I used the hot water to make coffee in my French Press: Liberal Coffee. I consumed this bounty while reading my emails, Slack channel updates from work, and the news. I started my usual battery of hours of Zoom status meetings that paused at 9ish. I then slipped out of the home office and got a shower. I am still trying to get used to the new shower head and only once washed the bathroom floor! After being presentable, I had more Zoom meetings and even used the camera.

I made lunch early as the sugar high, not a good thing for a diabetic, faded, and I was hungry. I reheated the Swedish meatball I made yesterday, got an apple (store-bought), and cottage cheese (small curd) with pepper, sea salt, and smoked paprika. I added a spoonful of the lingenberry jam to go with the meatballs. Quite nice and soon gone as I was hungry.

While eating, I watched some YouTube stuff on board games and shipwrecks and tried to wake up. I was drinking a lot of hot tea, and I was just dragging. Next, I called Susie on Alexa and talked for a bit. They are partially locked down, not from COVID-19, but from flu and cold–everyone is coughing or sneezing.

I read some more work stuff and sent out some questions and requests. I finally stopped about 4PM but checked in a few times (and have a 10PM meeting tonight).

For dinner, I boiled some gnocchi that was starting to age and heated a jar of pasta sauce. While inexpensive, the product is qulovelynice (I left that in as it was funny–Grammarly sometimes gets mixed up with the WordPress editor), more like freshly made. I drained the gnocchi and just mixed the two. I then got some Parmigiano–Reggiano cheese and broke off bits with a knife (I occasionally buy a piece at Whole Foods). That was dinner with buttered bread. It was excellent, and I was very hungry (also a sign that I was ill). I continued my rewatching of the extended version of the LOTR movies. Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers has the nearly perfect mix of tension and laughs. Peter is even in the film at Helm’s Deep throwing a javelin.

I decided to finally write this blog and take tomorrow off to try to eliminate this exhaustion.

I also have been reading The Shortest History of the Soviet Union, and I strongly recommend this book. It is so condensed it never feels boring or slow going. It is good to review all of this to get my memories checked.

I also had a snack of, yes, more cinnamon rolls.

Thanks for reading.

Today was my first day isolating as I was exposed by a friend who did not know he had COVID-19. I started the day at 7AM and was up and moving–still tired and, I must admit, totally stressed out when thinking about catching the virus–I have never had it. I put in 16 minutes on the Immobile Schwinn bikes–it was tough to make it even that far. I am again starting over and trying to get back to thirty minutes. I listened to CNN news on Alexa while peddling. Next, I made a bagel with cream cheese and had an apple (purchased) for breakfast. I had that while reading emails, Slack channel updates, and Internet news. I like to be ready for the day.

I spent the morning in status meetings and updates. I also had to make some medical calls for Susie–her cardiologist needs to see her. Susie is on difficult blood thinners, and we have to do labs and check every six months. Time again. I also order groceries to be delivered in the evening. I am running out of paper products and some other useful things. So the morning was chaotic, and again, I was tired and not running on all my cylinders anyway. “Is that COVID-19 or allergies,” with every sneeze and cough. So far, yes, no real symptoms. I test again in the late afternoon on Wednesday.

I decided on a nice lunch. I got the IKEA Swedish meatballs out, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen green beans. I got every made and watched the new videos from Battleship New Jersey’s YouTube channel. I did not know that another more scientific group has dived on the Battle of Midway Wrecks. I watched footage on the famous ships and leaved from the Battleship New Jersey channel what surprises they had. The spotted last minutes changes in Yorktown that were not known, “All the models you built are wrong,” said the curator for USS New Jersey. He was excited to explain all the new findings. I then watched some of it and it was a science based expedition and they were trying to scan the whole wrecks to help historians and scientist study the wrecks in detail later. Excellent. Also the IJN Akagi has never been been seen on the bottom before, so that was even more exicitn for us warship geeks!

I called Susie on Alexa video so we could see each other. She was happy we could at least talk and see each other.

After that, I continued on working from home. It was a bit of a quiet day. I was able to get some more information on my project and my boss sent out some items.

After work, still waiting for my groceries to arrive, I made special cinimon rolls from a King Arthur Flour recipe. It uses an Asian technique to soften the dough, a Tangzhong. This is flour cooked in milk. I made the dough and let it rise for 90 minutes, assemble the rolls, cut with dental floss (it works perfect), and then let rise again, before baking. I glaze them when warm. So good.

Dinner was a salad I put together with some ham and cheese. After the large lunch and the rolls coming, I thought a salad would be best.

Well it is a short blog of mostly waiting and listening. Thanks for reading.

 

I am tired and a bit stressed tonight. I received an update from my Dungeons and Dragons group: Covid-19 has hit one of the players–we have been exposed. I took a test, and it is negative.

I missed an 8PM meeting with India because I was so distracted by the COVID-19 exposure and am very tired today.

But, I did see my roses are back.

Mister Lincoln decided to bloom again in the fall–a smaller flower this time.

China Rose, while never that pretty, is always blooming.

The Painted Rose, Picasso, is showing black-spot and has been chewed a bit–it is also sending out some more flowers. It often fails to bloom as the sun will fade once the skies are full of clouds.

Going backward from this evening, I am still reading The Shortest History of the Soviet Union and have just reached Lenin’s death in 1924. Before this, I made dinner: corn on the cob (a few pieces frozen and from Schwann’s), Trader Joe’s potato pancakes (also frozen and cooked in the oven), and a New York Strip (also from Schwann’s). I broiled the Strip after soaking it in teriyaki sauce. I sliced it across gain and ate it by the slice. It was a wonderful dinner.

I watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Husbands of River Song. It’s one of the best Doctor Who shows, I think. Recommended. Before this, I was rushing home, stopping at the pharmacy, and testing for Covid-19. Negative, like I said.

Before this, I was sitting next to Susie in Susie’s room. I had M.A.S.H. on Hulu, and we had just restarted from episode 2 of season 1 (the first episode was the pilot and shows some cast change, and the start is different). To get to Hulu, I had to change the payment method by using my laptop to reach their website and re-authorize the TV in Susie’s room. I am glad I was there today to fix that.

I was reading emails and attending a few meetings. I was working on my new work when I saw the message that I was exposed to Covid-19. I stood up and explained to Susie I was exposed and must leave for three days. I walked out, grabbed my computers, and from across the room, explained that to Jennifer, the nursing aide for today, I needed to leave as I was exposed. She would take care of Susie, and I went.

Before this event, I arrived before 2PM and found Susie in her recliner in the shared living room. She was delighted to see me and liked the idea of traveling to Metzger Park. Jennifer popped Susie into her wheelchair, and we briefly visited the park next door.

According to the ten-day forecast, it is the last sunny, dry, and warm day this week. We found a bench in the sun and reached Leta, Susie’s mother, and Barb, Susie’s sister, on a three-way call on FaceTime. The wasps ignored us as they searched the grass for wasp lunch. Barb was back from Canada, and Leta had put up a new bird feeder, which only saw a few birds use today. I ended the call just before 2PM and rushed back to make my 2PM Zoom call.

Moving to the morning for the story, I was working from home on Monday, as usual. I started at 7AM and did 3.3 miles on the Immobile Schwinn for fifteen minutes, trying to get back to thirty minutes. I had an Apple and a NYC bagel for breakfast, toasted and with cream cheese. I also made liberal coffee in my French Press–today was difficult as I slept poorly again, and I could have made a pot and drank it.

I did the first couple of hours of status and alignment meetings. I then got to try the new showerhead, as the previous one spectacularly broke on the weekend, hosing down me, the bathroom, and even part of the adjoining bedroom. The new handle showerhead worked fine after I got used to a different model. I soon dressed and read more emails and stuff for my recent work.

Aside: I put in a bad rating for the showerhead as it is made of plastic and will likely not last.

I had a meeting for noon. I chopped a salad and was just a minute late for the noon meeting. We over-ran our time by ten minutes, and there will be follow-ups.

Once that was done, I loaded the laptops into Air Volvo and headed to Susie’s place at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I arrived without issue, not knowing I was exposed to COVID-19 and would be walking out soon.

That brings us full circle for Monday.

And that is the story for today; thank you for reading!

 

This Sunday morning, getting started was hard as I slept poorly. I was finally up and moving at 9ish and writing. I again passed by the Immobile Schwinn and got to writing with an NYC bagel; the poppies bags fell out of the freezer when I opened the door–obviously, a sign that I should have a bagel. I grabbed an apple to go with it (store-bought). While eating, I wrote the blog; it was not finished until noon!

My sister, Linda Frankovich (nee Wild), sent me a text about having dinner in Newport tonight, but I had already moved this Dungeons and Dragons game and would like to keep my commitments. So I declined. We did trade a few texts, and Jesse and Linda are enjoying the Pacific Northwest.

I took a shower in the main bathroom, but I ordered, and it was delivered today, a new shower head on a handle. I had lunch, more of the boring veggies and chicken, and then headed out in Air Volvo.

I had no traffic or issues when traveling to Susie’s place at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I was there a bit late, almost 2PM, and I found Susie resting in bed. She was delighted to have me visit, and we soon called Leta, Susie’s mother, on my iPhone using FaceTime–we like to see each other. We had a quick phone visit. After that, Susie signed a birthday card for Barb (Susie’s sister) and Barb’s husband, Gordon.

Next, we watched the newish movie version of Murder on the Orient Express for about two hours. I laugh a lot, and I do like these murder mystery movies. Susie liked it, too. I plan to watch the next one, Murder on the Nile, one of the darkest polite British murder stories. And maybe then take Susie to the new one in the theaters next weekend, A Haunting in Venice.

With the movie’s completion, I was out of time, and Susie looked comfy, so I just left with a kiss after setting up her gate and crash pad. Susie can unexpectedly sleepwalk and get hurt; the gate and place are needed. I left after 4PM and headed to Oak Hill Pub for a quick dinner. The highway travel was without incident, but I saw a car nearly change lanes into another car with only defensive driving stopping a two-car or more pile up–yikes!

I had my usual soup and iced tea at the pub. I then took out my Dungeons and Dragons 5E Player’s Guide and my character sheet and got prepared for my game tonight while eating clam chowder. I was able to read the spell description and was ready to play a ninth-level cleric in our fantasy campaign–a Spell Jammer setting. I had only played this replacement character once before (my original character died when a sun exploded around him–a most spectacular ending worth a song, at least, I think). I was playing a war and evil but lawful character. This requires appropriate role-playing; when the pirate captain offered to surrender–I, staying in character, offered him a quick death, and he fought on (hitting my cleric with two critical hits) but fell to our wizard’s fireball. I think my offer was better.

In the current version of the game, we are mid-powered characters in a spacefaring fantasy setting and hunting space pirates. Yes, we are chasing the bad guys. This is a combat-centric adventure, and tonight, we faced a lot of combat, and my character was knocked out once. A fire giant landed a rock on the cleric as a critical hit–ouch. It was a fun night.

I returned home after that, and I am tired tonight. I unboxed the shower head and installed it. It works, but I am afraid it looks much like the last one–sixteen months and counting!

So, let’s stop there–thanks for reading!