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The day started at 6:30, with me ignoring the alarm at 6AM. I got moving and made breakfast and liberal coffee. I had peanut butter toast and a cup of yogurt with fruit. Today I was off and was helping Susie with her cardiologist appointment. I read some emails and news and pointedly did not do more than set my out-of-office response on my Nike email. I paid a few bills, including a medical bill for over-the-counter (OTC) medical supplies for Susie and Mom Wild’s lawn service in Michigan. I have to account for OTC to show that I am not mixing OTC and medical items like doctor payments and medical prescriptions. OTC seldom can be written off from taxes, and thus I need to identify it (therefore, I can prove to an IRS audit I did not mix these expenses). In Susie’s case (but not for everyone), the OTC, food, and room are tax deductible when used for her basic care as she is disabled and cannot care for herself. Thus, Susie accumulates over $7,000 in monthly medical bills that are tax deductible and an additional varying amount of OTC expenses (like disposable briefs) that are NOT tax-deductible (it is obscure logic). All I have to keep correct in Quicken, have paper records, and ensure I have complete records of medical expenses without regard to tax-deductible status.

The new software updates to Quicken broke my connection to US Bank, my primary checking and target for my direct deposit from the shoe company, and I untangled that. I was now running a few minutes late. It takes on average 25 minutes from the Volvo Cave to reach 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. I was sure I would have plenty of time.

Well, I do not know who the folks are on the road as it was after 8AM, as all large local employers start work at 8AM, but the streets were packed with folks who have a 9AM start time. My trip had three lights that I did not have to stop for (i.e., the light stayed green long enough for Air Volvo to get through the intersection without stopping), and many intersections took two to three lights to get through. One of my most extended trips at 35 minutes.

Susie was ready when I got there, and I loaded her into Air Volvo using the moving belt. Susie and humans generally do not come with convenient handles, so I use the belt. I also place a stool on the ground, and Susie stands on that stool; next, I pivot her and put her in the seat in Air Volvo. Susie is not standing now, so I do it more as a fluid movement. Susie is not heavy; loading the wheelchair into Air Volvo’s cargo hold is more of a workout.

With twenty minutes for a ten-minute trip, I was not concerned. But, the road was closed; The City of Beaverton needed to install more holes, and I drove through the mall parking lot to reach the main road to the highway. Susie apologized for the mess; she feels responsible for having to rush, but I told her not to take responsibility for Beaverton’s newest holes. Highway 217 was full of cars in the construction area (Susie apologized for Beaverton’s construction, too), but this soon cleared into lighter traffic. Soon we were at Doc C’s office with me unloading Susie from Air Volvo, reversing the process, and using the belt.

The first appointment was for an echocardiograph, and this took forty-five minutes. First, I had to lift Susie and help undress her. I was filling in for nurse aides today. They had trouble imagining Susie’s heart; she is tiny, but the tech managed to find an angle that got them most of what they needed. I then helped dress Susie and lifted her back into the wheelchair.

Susie was rolled to a standard small room, and we had to undress her again for the EKG. Once that was done, we got Susie dressed again. Next, we met the Doc. Doc C was happy to report that Susie’s tests were good. Doc C told us that the fluid around Susie’s heart is gone, and Susie’s heart is working well. Doc C told us that Susie will continue with her meds as is—no changes. Doc C did share that Susie is showing some heart value problems, calcification, but it is moderate, so we will monitor it every year with a new echocardiogram.

Next, Susie and I headed to the lab to do some blood tests to check for functions that could be negatively impacted by the heart meds. The phlebotomist got everything on the first poke on the side of Susie’s arm. Perfect. Off to Air Volvo. I loaded Susie again (my fifth lift today) without incident and a bit better this time. The wheelchair did not get lighter. Breathing hard, I boarded Air Volvo and took the highways back to the hummingbird house. Susie (and I) was tired, and Susie was looking for a nap. I kissed her goodbye after we made a short call to Leta, Susie’s mother, and gave her the report on the visit (all good).

US Bank is on my way back. I parked in Beaverton, walked into the bank, and waited for a teller. The checks I had were from the City of Portland (tax refund–don’t ask about how Portland gets a tax in Washinton County and then needs to refund it) and a check for $1.00 that will not scan and load into any non-human deposit. Done after waiting fifteen minutes.

Aside: There were four tellers at the bank, but if you are at the bank now, it is for something you can’t do online. So everyone takes a while.

I returned to the Volvo Cave, still amazed by the traffic in the late morning/early afternoon. I reheated some goulash I had made a few days ago–last time for it. I ate it while watching YouTube videos on emergency electrical cabling procedures on Battleship New Jersey and a Sit Down and Shut Up video on the board game Frosthaven (I don’t have the $250 game).

I boarded Air Volvo after chatting with my neighbor across the street; he is a great painter (he did the house a few years ago) and has his own business. Oddly, he saw my pith helmet and said I needed a rifle. I said all I had was an 1898 Springfield bolt-action that was Susie’s father’s gun, which he wondered what it sounded like (he was not surprised that his liberal neighbor had guns), and we agreed it was a very precise shooter. Somehow, I fit into this strange pro-gun pro-Trump group on our street–the token Progressive Democrat.

Aside: Rifles and hunting guns are open to talk about. Hunting is a sport. Handguns are for protection and are not discussed except to share preferences. To that end, I used to like the SIG Sauer P320, but the reported discharge issues have me looking for a new recommendation. I learned of the SIG when I was a member of the NRA. My membership has since lapsed, and my interest in target shooting has faded.

Returning to my story, I stopped by the post office, acquired Nancy Regan memorial stamps, and mailed my bills. I was in Washington when she was First Lady. Next, I headed to Lowes to get some plant food (for the stressed roses) and some brass screws for the radio project. I am building a faceplate to hold the new buttons and volume nob. I could make my purchases without issue, but they had only self-check available, and a woman in a motorized cart was struggling to do the checkout. I followed her out and loaded her plants into her van.

Next, I stopped at Hillsboro to do some shopping. First, I tried the antique mall, and they had jewelers’ shelves for sale that had pulled-out shelves and lots of tiny drawers, all in wood. Very tempting to hold wargame items, but I am not ready for more furniture. Next, I stopped by the coffee shop, a local one, and got coffee, a cookie, filberts (shelled), and locally made pasta sauce. Next (nearly 80F–26C), I stopped by the gaming store Rune and Bone, but they did not have anything that interested me. I walked by Frostgave and learned of the $250 retail price. It is huge!

After that, I stopped by Jim’s Ice Cream and got a more usual ice cream (Rocky Road), and Air Volvo got me home. A package from Zabar’s in NYC was waiting for me (and junk mail). Joyce, Susie’s Aunt, sent me more bagels from NYC. Excellent. Thanks, Joyce!

I was tired and slept a bit until after 6PM. Next, I made an Everything Bagel with roast beef and cheddar in the broiler. It was great. I rested for a bit more. Got a request for dinner after I had started my dinner with Mariah in Portland, which I had to reject. Next, I called into a church Zoom meeting.

It was the second Thursday, so it was Theology Pub, and the topic was Toxic Christianity. How to avoid it and why it exists was the discussion. Mostly we agreed that folks believe they are right and thus have the right, in their minds, to demand folks align to their beliefs. We decided that it was often connected to privilege. It is easy to fall into it, and we, as Christain leaders, must identify it and try to defuse it when we can. This is the usual inclusive and exclusive conflict in some Christain groups’ messages. Saying you must believe this or that to be a good person is the typical exclusion statement pointed out as toxic.

After that, I wrote this blog. I am tired. Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

The day started strangely, with me oversleeping until after 6:15. I was not exercising today, and I was soon in the kitchen getting my pill taken and breakfast arranged, yogurt and peanut butter toast. Time flies, and I quickly go through all my emails, work email, Slack channel updates, and news to be ready to start my day. Next, I boarded Air Volvo after cleaning up and grabbing my Nike laptop, but not the charger.

I was at work by 8 but then spent time searching Air Volvo’s cargo holds for the charger and left it at home. I returned and did the first meeting with a USB C from a monitor charging my laptop. I skipped the status meeting as Rajani was there, and we finished our tasks. I did part of another status meeting, which was not very interesting, so I left the Zoom meeting early. I wrote up my thoughts on some design changes and followed along. Next, I grabbed a turkey and cheddar from the coffee place (having a coffee between meetings–coffee acquired before 10AM is covered by the project leadership) and wrote some more. Finally, I discussed the design with the technical leads and reviewed my notes.

I got a text from Humminbird House, but then we understood that Susie’s appointment was Thursday and not today. So they let Susie rest after getting up early. She was then up late for lunch/breakfast.

After the meeting and another lunchtime meeting moving out (I bought the sandwich as I thought I would not have time for lunch), I headed to 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. Air Volvo arrived without issues, with only the glare of a nearly perfect dry and sunny being the only risk. Oregonians are the only people I know that break for glare and sunlight. The rest of the country (world?) knows you clean your windshield and wear sunglasses when driving on a sunny day. Here it is a shock (with us getting gray for three months straight, maybe it is not such a surprise we have trouble with sun breaks).

I arrived safely, and Susie was just finishing her lunch/breakfast when I walked in. Susie was ready for a trip to the park. It was already 75F (24C), clear and dry. The park was busy and perfectly maintained. The benches were all dry.

Susie and I found one in the sun and called Leta, Susie’s mother, and chatted on the iPhone using FaceTime to see Leta, and she could see us. Leta was inside her house as it was hot in Michigan, but she planned to enjoy her new deck in the hot sun. We were enjoying the sun in the park. Dogs chasing balls were running everywhere. Leta would see a flash of a dog while talking to us! Soon Leta was done, and we rang off. Next, we moved to different benches and looked for the butterflies- none out yet. We reached the end of the park, turned around, and were surprised to see the park clearing out–it was after lunch. We toured the streets and looked at the trees and flowers (the trees are mostly now late-flowering cherries and other flower fruit trees). Soon I brought Susie in and left with a kiss to return to work.

Work was more Zoom meetings and discussions on design issues. I was headed out after doing one status meeting for the team. The drive was full of traffic and glare. I stopped at Shake Shack and had a Shack Burger, fries, and a Diet Coke. It was beautiful to sit outside and have the food delivered. The burger was everything Wendy’s or Burger King should be–excellent. The fries were freshly cut and perfectly fried with a hint of salt. Recommended.

I met Dondrea and Z at the church after 6PM. I read some rules for Scythe: The Rise of Fenris, a campaign add-on for the already over-the-top Scythe board game. The campaign plays 8 games back-to-back with new superpowers, rules to carry over stuff across games, and crazy new items. Everything is hidden in boxes; you open them to discover the following new things. Today Z even beat me at Scythe with the new rules to start the campaign’s story. We will do the next episode next week.

Z was playing Polandia, white color, and was not gaining many awards or stars. I was collecting them fast and aggressively, too aggressively. Z calming scattered across the board and collected more and more cash. She held the Factory. I pushed hard to get the stars and collected my forces into a few hexes, thus missing points. I ended the game and found us tied at 58, and Z won the tiebreaker and won the game. Next time!

We will play again next week and can spend our money on superpowers, and we recorded who won (Z) and the stars achieved. Once we have spent our cash, we play again, following the next episode: Peace. We voted for Peace (Z was for War, but I had collected more influence, so I got to decide–I have never played Peace). I played a campaign before the pandemic but missed the middle. I am happy to share this crazy extra game added to Scythe with Z and try it again.

We packed up the game with Dondrea having to wait for us; it took a while to close it up tonight. I then drove home and started on this blog.

Thanks for reading.

 

It is approaching 9PM, the sun is down, and the sky is darkening tonight. It was a cool day with the clouds clearing, meaning a cold, clear sky night. The clear sky will let the heat escape, so it will be very cold tonight, low 50sF (10C to 14C). Wednesday will be warm in the afternoon and start warming up. We will likely be in the 90F (32C) by the end of the week. No chance of frost now here at 210′ altitude.

I started the morning planning exercises at 6AM and managed to get going in a few minutes. No water. The shutdown had been extended, so I went outside in my robe and slippers and found a Water District guy; they had just finished replacing the main and were turning on the water to each house. By 6:30, water was running in the place. I had reserved some water for coffee and drinking, just in case, and was able to have coffee. My plans for morning laundry and exercises were ruined, so I headed to the home office with toast with low-sugar jelly and a cup of yogurt with fruit. I need to complete making breakfast and my exercises by 6:35; I am time-boxed.

I read emails, Slack channel updates, and the news to prepare for my day. I next showered with the shower head making strange noises as it blew air out of the water lines. The hot water in this house uses a conventional natural gas water heater with a huge tank which would not have the air issues. Thus my shower is comfortable.

When I remodeled the bathroom after the water leak while we were in NYC, I did not change to a small electric water heater in the room–the new green design (and in use in Europe). I am not sure I have electrical service for that (220 and a few amps are needed), and I was already into redoing the floor, shower, toilet, sink, and flooring–I decided to stop there. Now, were I to take that up, I would get tax credits for all of the work (currently endangered by the cuts demanded by certain congressional members for a deal on the debt ceiling–yes, congress is thinking about removing tax credits, ugh). Currently, our medical bills are too much, over $8,000 a month, to start remodeling again. Someday. Hopefully, the tax credits for making my house more energy efficient will remain in place so I can make the improvements in the future!

Returning to the story, I took Air Volvo to the office without issue and saw that most local flooding had receded. Work was the usual Zoom meetings, but with most of our work completed, I was a tourist for most of the meetings. I left about 11AM to see 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 deeply asleep in her room when I got there. I had to shake her to wake her, and she had trouble staying awake. Today she was exhausted. The cold seems gone, but Susie is worn out by it.

We called her mother, and they briefly chatted while Leta was getting her lunch/dinner at Panera Bread. Susie could wake up enough to talk to Leta for a few minutes. Soon, after ringing off, Susie was sleeping while M.A.S.H. played on her TV in her room. I stayed until noon as she likes to sleep with me there–it makes her comfortable not to be alone.

Susie was sad when I woke her again to say goodbye, and she got a kiss (risking the cold), and I left. I headed to Panera Bread and had the Strawberry and chicken salad there while reading the news. President Trump had been found responsible for assault and defamation, and I was reading the details to understand what all this meant. No comments here.

I returned to work and continued to help here and there and do some more Zoom meetings. I was able to answer some design questions and present some options informally. After one more status meeting, the afternoon was over, and I headed home.

The water still works; I checked. Then, I turned on the oven and baked the bratwurst. I had the sausages with the leftover couscous. I found 1/2 a can of peaches also leftovers, put them in a bowl, and had them instead of making a veggie. I missed the charcoal taste from grilling the bratwurst, but I could read and rest while they baked, and they came out perfect after about an hour at 350F. So easy!

I wrote the blog after reading some more. I also did two loads of laundry and did the dishes.

Thanks for reading.

 

I am in Portland after a thunderstorm that flooded areas with the sudden hose down. Highways are covered in sand and stones from the sudden inundation of the storm. It was loud, full of thunder and flashes. Excellent storm. I was at Susie’s for the storm. Susie resides 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 had joined her after eating lunch, a cold roast beef and cheddar sandwich with a pickle and potato chips (I love potato chips–I figure heaven is where you can eat potato chips forever). I spent the afternoon in a chair beside Susie with my Nike laptop and my Apple and worked the afternoon keeping her company. I have dinner plans with Mariah here at Von Eberts in Portland’s Pearl District at 6:30, so I stayed with Susie until after 5PM. I then traveled to Portland through the damp.

Susie was happy to see me at 1:30ish when I got there. As my new habit on Mondays and Fridays, I then set up my office in a chair in her room while she rested in her bed. Today, there is no movie, just music from Alexia (we have the music everywhere service); Susie’s has an Alexia (and cable) on the house accounts. Susie can listen to music and watch Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, HBOMAX, Peacock, and a few other cable services from her room. Before I left, I started M.A.S.H. for Susie, set up the crash pad, and kissed her goodbye.

I was online and even did one Zoom meeting with Susie resting next to me. This time I did not have her say hello during the Zoom meeting. Instead, Iread and approved one design document while Susie chatted with her mother, Leta, on FaceTime on my cell phone. Leta was happy to see Susie feeling better. I heard only a few minor coughs.

Susie has bleeding in her right arm again. The huge bruise is back but on the bottom of her lower arm this time, just past the elbow. I took a photo of it and attached it to a message to her doc. It does not appear to be life-threatening; we will monitor it.

Before this, the weather turned sunny with another nonsensical forecast of 59-63F with a current temperature of 69F. It was in the 70sF (21C) when I left for Susie. A thunderstorm, as mentioned above, came through and created local flooding, and knocked the temperatures down. There is no more rain in the forecast except for a thunderstorm next week–summer has come early this year!

Back to the start, Monday is a work-from-home day, so I slept in after 7AM. I dragged myself out of bed, having read too late last night. I am enjoying the brain cookie Raven Stratagem (Machineries of Empire Book 2) on my Kindle. This is space opera, and I like the suggestion of high mathematics changing the universe’s rules. I could not stop reading and even read it while eating my sandwich for lunch.

Once I dragged myself to the kitchen, I made coffee and toast. After taking my pills and reading so late, I had microwave popcorn as a snack and was not hungry. I then started my day with two hours of Zoom meetings. I also did the basic exercises and stretches between meetings. Afterward, I showered, dressed (in a dress shirt), and got ready to face the day. First, I read emails, Slack channel updates, and news reports to keep up with work, my personal stuff, and the world. Next, I downloaded the Quicken updates and got them squared away. I have completed April 2023 and have it in a folder already.

I received an email tonight from the Lampblack RPGzine that they agree I am missing a copy of the RPGzine and will send it to me soon. CM Anderson, the lead for the project, sent me an email apologizing. I am happy to get a spare copy. I plan to box up the game bits; I have two copies (once the zine shows) and will mail one to Cat Smith in NYC.

Thank you for reading!

I was not happy to awaken early to prove hydration but managed to sleep until my alarm at 7:30 which I turned off, and managed to sleep, sort of, until 8:30. I staggered. This morning I was not hung over from too many board games or other excitements, and soon everything started to work again. After stopping in the office to check my email, I head to the kitchen–nothing pressing.

I found a can of corned beef and soon was poaching two eggs, frying up the hash, spooning out some peaches from another can into a small bowl, and toasting some toast. All of this matched with liberal coffee made in my French Press while I sat at my office, read the news, and started on the blog. I made enough hash for some on Monday morning.

Saturday was a busy day, and I felt good about writing, so the blog was extra long, unlike this one. It took me hours to write it, and I have to admit I did some exploring on the Internet a few times while writing and also unmolded the acrylic casting I made for the radio.

On the casting, I had to destroy the clay mold, and sadly the clay pieces allowed leaks meaning I will have to use the Dremel on the casting to clean it up, but it looks fabulous even with the flaws. I think my liquid rubber molding works better but is far messier and slower. Using that process, the rubber captures the tiny details better. But for larger items, this clay works if applied to the original with speed.

By noonish, I was ready for lunch, finished the long blog, and reheated the pasta I made last week. It was still good, and I ate it watching YouTube videos on the exciting findings on the wreck of the Titanic from Ocean Liner Designs. I was soon fed, showered, dressed (in a dress shirt–my new look), and aboard Air Volvo, headed to see 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. It was still damp and cloudy, but there was blue in the sky with a unique forecast of 68F current and a high of 63F (?!). Later, I would see a topless gal walking her dog headed to Metzger Park–the rain stopped, and it was a lovely day. Remember, nudity is not illegal in Oregon, only lewd behavior (this goes back to the Old West when the cowboys cleaned up outdoors).

I reached Susie after 1PM nearing 2PM, and spent the afternoon (until 5PM) with her. Her coughing has stopped, and we are all hopeful she is better. She looked and sounded better. I put on Will Smith’s version of Aladin, I like the music, and we watched that for the afternoon. We paused to call Leta, Susie’s mom, and talked to Leta while she sat on her new deck attached to the back of her home. It was hot and sunny in Michigan. Leta enjoyed relaxing outdoors and seemed to love her new outdoor space. We talked for a while, there being no reason to hurry. Finally, we rang off and started the show again. I got Susie to sing along to a few songs. While the original one is nice, I like the changes to this one, and the music is better.

After the movie, I put on M.A.S.H., starting with the pilot (which I barely remember)–which was interesting as the start, the familiar song Suicide is Painless and video, and the cast changed after the pilot. I watched it with Susie. It was now after 5PM, and I talked to Louis (he is on duty for the Sunday evening meal). He was getting Susie a snack before dinner–she had skipped lunch (as usual).

Susie nearly cried when it was time for me to leave. She has been alone most of the time this week due to the cold and did not want me to go. Finally, she relented with a promise to return and a kiss.

I find my emotions very close to the surface these days. I cry easily. With Susie getting better, I should feel better.

After leaving, I headed to McMenamins’ Cedar Hills Pub for a burger (Captain Neon Burger–bacon and blue cheese), a beer (Ruby–made with raspberries but not sweet), and a cup of coffee. There I wrote this blog.

Thanks for reading. I will try to get some rest, and Monday should not be a challenge. I may work from Susie’s room in the afternoon to keep her company. It appears that the rains are stopping early this year on Tuesday. We may have a week or more of the sun with temperatures increasing to over 90F (32C). I might have to take off some time, leaving my clothing on, and take Susie to the park more often!