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It is another busy day, and I can only cover the essential parts of the day. A reminder that I will close this blog with one last entry on Friday. Thank you all for reading and for all the kind words.

The morning started with my alarm forcing me awake. My sleep was troubled, and it was challenging to start the day. I was worried about ending the blog and losing all the connections to people; I was not sure I was doing the right thing. Sleep came with difficulty last night, and the morning seemed early. I found the kitchen (it still has not moved), made coffee, climbed aboard the non-moving bike, and managed to not travel 2 miles in ten minutes. I am trying to reach thirty minutes; I was sweating and will continue to build up to thirty minutes. I have slowed my beer intake and plan to eat more salads and lose ten pounds in six months (or sooner).

Work was usual, and I will skip most of those details. We learned today that we will be on the third floor of the new building against the windows. Thursday, tomorrow, is our last day in our office building, Clubhouse, and Nike will no longer lease it–so it will go away for us. We were packing up the last bits these days.

I was not feeling well; I had only liberal coffee, a banana, and yogurt for breakfast. I stopped at Happy Panda off 185th, near the office, to have lunch. They brought me Sweet and Sour Chicken (not a fav) instead of Cashew Chicken. Ugh, but I kept it and saw it had no veggies or pineapple (sad), but I tried to make the best of it instead of sending it back. I read the news on my iPhone and ate. I was nervous and even shaking. I realized how scared I am to stop the blog and try to return to my previous life before Covid-19, Susie’s terrible strokes, and my cancer. My hand shook a bit; no wonder I needed to eat. I eat when I am upset. I was also exhausted from the stress and lack of sleep.

Fortified with overly sugared deep-fried chicken, I took Air Volvo to 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. While the traffic was heavy, there was no sign of Beaverton’s Finest, and I arrived safe and without an opportunity to help fund Beaverton’s courts. Susie was waiting in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer was busy with lots of lunches, but she quickly got Susie in her wheelchair, making me envious of Jennifer’s nonchalance when she moves Susie.

Susie and I traveled to the Metzger Park next door, busy with kids and dogs walking humans. The sky was overcast, but the sun would slip out and bake us. We called Dr. Peter Koper, an old friend from college, and talked for a while. He may fly out to see Susie in the next couple of months. He was relieved that Susie’s health had stabilized (Susie is at 70.5 pounds).

After Pete rang off, we did a three-way call on FaceTime using my iPhone. We reached Leta, Susie’s mother, and Barb, Susie’s sister, and connected a video call to everyone. Barb was outside walking her dog Sophia and had to leave the call. Leta stayed on longer, and we chatted for a while, but my time was running out. I had to return to work, as I had a 2PM meeting I could not miss; we returned to the hummingbird house. I left with a kiss and a promise to return on Thursday. Friday is our 33rd wedding anniversary.

Work went on, and I had hours of meetings to attend. I was done at about 4PM and left. I headed to Powell’s to get a copy of Analog Magazine to read some fresh SciFi. I am thinking more seriously about writing after being published in 2600 Magazine. I took that to Panera and had 1/2 a sandwich and soup I could not finish. The over-sugared lunch was still staying with me. I read a good story.

After some food and a break, I headed to First United Methodist Church, and soon Z and I were playing a rematch of the new board game Expeditions. This is what I call WingScythe as it comes from the company that makes the Engine building and card-playing Wingspan and the light 4X (i.e., Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate game) Scythe. The game uses the Scythe theme and retains a few Xs (explore and exploit) with engine building via card play, reminding me of Wingpan. So far, we like it.

Z played well, scored 49 with only two refreshes, and pulled off three stars, while I panicked with just one. I started to vanquish to get the points and for a star and did many quests. I was playing the same faction and leaders that Richard had last weekend, and I was using his tactics. I soon managed three more stars to end the game and was relieved to have 62. We corrected a few mistakes from the last game and enjoyed the combinations once we learned the cards better.

So an excellent game. Z and I then walked into the park and put the game away. Next time I will put Furance or Azule in Air Volvo so we have a filler game.

Thanks for reading.

The blog started on 15March2020 with the Title, Day 0: Virus.

I will just cover a few events. I am considering ending the blog this Friday. So there are just a few posts left now.

The main event for today, a work day, was my visit to Susie. I left work at about 10:45 and then took Air Volvo to see 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 arrived without incident, and Susie was still eating. I waited a bit for Susie to finish, and we headed out. Susie was happy to tour Metzger Park today. The skies were clear and the sky deep blue, showing little or no air pollution. The park was not busy except for many dogs walking their humans.

The butterflies seem to be gone as summer starts to be replaced by fall. The grasshoppers are more numerous now, but the bumble bees seem more lost. The temperature was below 80F today (27C). We stopped at my favorite bench, the shady one in the cedars and redwoods, and called Leta and Barb (Susie’s mother and sister, respectively). We spoke to them for twenty minutes until my time ran out. It was a work day, and only a short visit was possible. So, I was back at the hummingbird house and gave Susie a kiss goodbye and a promise to return on Wednesday.

I returned sooner as when I stopped for lunch, I discovered I still had the flowers I bought at Safeway for Susie still in the car. Air Volvo returned to the hummingbird house, and I presented Susie with the flowers. The flowers in Susie’s room had faded, so I bought some new ones yesterday. Suse was happy to get a second short visit with flowers.

I returned to work, and then Air Volvo took me home to the Volvo Cave after 3ish. I r sted there and was about to cook dinner when Mariah suggested dinner in Van Eberts. Sel cting to risk the traffic, I headed there, and Mariah and I had a good meal with the chicken wings that are so good, the chicken volunteer (at least that is what I have heard).

Thanks for reading, and I hope I am not disappointing many folks.

Going backward, it is after 9PM, and the sun is now down, showing we are getting shorter days. I have just done the dishes (I took the clean dishes out, put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and turned on the dishwasher). I did an 8PM meeting (I was a few minutes late) for work scheduled on India time. Dondrea got the book I sent her, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, the best book, I think, on the subject. I got a cheaper, used copy sent from Ohio. Dondread was happy to have Richard Rhodes’s book. Recommended.

Next, I got the laundry from the dryer and put most away. Before that, I watched the Joker collection of animated Batman shows while eating dinner. The Joker’s is voiced by Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame. They are actually quite good. I was eating Quick Ragu With Ricotta and Lemon. This is a recipe from the NYT, and I made it for the first time today. It uses broken lasagna noodles. The lemon with the roasted and then cracked fennel seeds on the Ricotta is an excellent taste with the ragu. I have to admit I have more than one bowl. My dessert was the Joker episodes and nectarines I bought today at Trader Joe’s–I have a small case of them.

Before cooking dinner, I had to buy it. I was out of almost everything, squeezing the last drop of toothpaste out this morning. So I left Susie at 4PM, the end of my shift, and headed to Safeway off of 185th to buy the basics. I filled five bags! I again have fruit and various meats to make dinner; I also got fixing for salads. Next, I went to Trader Joe’s and got different frozen and snack items. Yesterday I ordered almonds and dried mango for munching from Equal Exchange (plus more liberal coffee). I got three bags from Trader Joe’s. I am set for a month or more.

Moving back in the day, I spent the afternoon sitting beside Susie in her room. Susie binged on M.A.S.H. while I read emails, replied to Slack channel messages, and generally tried to be helpful and work on my new project while online and sitting next to Susie. Susie put up with a meeting at 2PM that I had to attend. Susie was happy to have someone with her today and finished an Ensure with me. Susie is eating her breakfast and often has an Ensure for lunch (instead of the offered blender-processed pizza–I would have picked the Ensure).

When I arrived via Air Volvo at 12:30, Susie was in her recliner in the shared living room. Susie decided that a trip to the park was good. Jeniffer then popped Susie into her wheelchair with ease, and we headed out. It was warm and a bit humid. The skies were dark blue, without air pollution or smoke. The clouds were cotton candy white clouds, and thus no rain today. There is no rain in the ten-day forecast, with us facing 100F+ (38C) temperatures mid-next week if the forecast holds. We often break 100F in mid-August, so it is not a surprise. In PDX, some areas will burn hot as there is too much black paving and no air movement.

We found the shady bench and called Leta and Barb (Susie’s mother and sister, respectively) on FaceTime so everyone could see each other. Leta was home (Lansing, Michigan) and about to head outside as the rain had stopped. Barb is at her house in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and the rains have not quite stopped yet. We talked about various items, including my possible attendance of Linda Wild’s wedding (my sister) in Laingsburg, Michigan, on 11 Sept 2023. I have flights that get me there in Lansing on 9 Sept 2023, but if something happens to Susie, I will cancel everything. Susie and I made the rest of our tour of the parking after the call.

Jennifer set Susie up in her bed while I set up my laptops to work and sit in the overstuffed chair. Susie was happy to have me there today.

Before this, I was at the house rising at 7AM after waking at 5, 6, 6:30, and with my alarm. I kept waking up, trying to remember what day it was; it just did not feel like Monday. I was dead asleep after 6:30 and was blasted awake. It was not a moment to share. I found pizza, cold, for breakfast, and liberal coffee from the French Press seemed to go well together on Monday morning. I did my usual reading of emails, Slack channel updates, and News (less about Trump today). I attended two hours of status meetings.

After dressing, I had lunch with two pieces of pizza, heated this time, and watched some YouTube videos. Battleship New Jersey has announced it is finally going to drydock. ShipHappens did more repairs on their ship. All interesting. After that, I boarded Air Volvo with my laptops and headed to 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.

And that completes the story for today; thanks for reading!

I am writing, eating, and drinking red ales at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza. I tried the cajun calamari, which was an insult to Cajun folk and cephalopods. I am now going with another beer to remove the taste of the travesty and ordered my favorite, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy pizza.

The morning started with me waking with my shoulder throbbing and me not wanting to start my day. Painkillers work, and soon I was up making liberal coffee and an NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce–I still have a supply of Zabar bagels). I attended the first two meetings in the morning for the shoe company. I did help a bit, but generally, there is little I can do as we are responsible for master data, and that is mainly loaded and pronounced as good by the project.

After that, I returned to some hobby work. I contacted Stonemieer Games and asked them to include some plastic covers for my recently ordered plastic figures from the Expeditions board game. I learned that the metal figures and the plastic figures have different-sized bases and are not interchangeable, so I will need both sets if I want to mix and match. How strange. I also mixed up some epoxy (I use 15-minute epoxy) and reattached a metal mech to its base. This is the second time I have had to repair this on two different mechs. This time I pulled on all the bases to check that no more would fall off. I installed a switch on the radio project to power off the radio (while leaving the battery to charge as needed). I also stained some of the wood for the face plate and then cracked it (puke!). I am letting every dry before I try to fix it. Looks like I will be cutting thin plywood for the faceplate!

After doing good work on the radio project and my games, I headed to the bike. I rode (it does not move) 1.3 miles in six minutes. That is over twice my average pace, and I was winded at the end. Next, I showered and dressed. I then made lunch, beef barley soup from a can and a salad left over yesterday. Sticking with my Doc suggestion to lose ten pounds every six months as part of my retirement planning.

I boarded Air Volvo, leaving behind all laptops, and headed to see Susie. Traffic was light, but I had to slam the breaks when a family of three decided to cross Hall Boulevard (five lanes), not at an intersection. I also avoided rear-ending a pickup truck that stalled out when the owner did not know how to shift it. I arrived at Susie’s place without scratching the paint 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 ready, and Anassa loaded Susie into the co-pilot seat of Air Volvo. We then drove to Woodburn and back in just over an hour. We stopped at the southbound rest area, took a picture to share, and called Barb and Leta. Leta (Susie’s mom) and Barn (Susie’s sister) chatted for a while on my iPhone, using a three-way call on FaceTime to see each other. Everyone was doing dine, with Barb having Sophia, her dog, filling in for her on the camera. We soon rang off and continued on the short tour. We did not stop anywhere and soon returned to the hummingbird house to see Anassa’s shift end, allowing Ansassa to wish Susie a lovely week (Anassa usually works weekends). Louis took over, allowing Ansassa to wish Susie a lovely week.

Louis set Susie in her bed, and we watched M.A.S.H. for the rest of the afternoon in Susie’s room on Hulu. Susie only nodded off once. At 5PM, with me starting to nod off, I decided to head out and kissed Susie goodbye after pulling out the crash pad. Susie is prone to falling out of bed. Lousi promised to check on Susie after I left so she did not feel abandoned or ignored.

I was deeply saddened as I drove home. I was feeling lonely too. I know it is a reaction to all of this, but that knowledge does not lighten the sudden darkness that sweeps in and engulfs your soul. The world turns black and white with few greys. I reached home, and suddenly the colors started to return, and the world was no longer a place of sadness–yes, that fast.

I collected my laptop and headed to The Rock and felt better. Soon I was sitting in the bar and ordering seafood failures with beer and good pizza. I started the blog there and looked out the same window I always use. The world was a kind place again, and I had things to do.

Excellent!

Thanks for reading.

Here is Heaven Scent, a birthday present to me from Dondrea and Z:

I will forgo the narrative and cover the interesting items from Saturday.

The morning was uneventful, with me having an NYC bagel and liberal coffee while I wrote the blog and read the news. Legal maneuvers, in Trump’s case, were most of the news. Once I had the blog written, I showered, dressed, and cleaned dishes; I boarded Air Volvo but put the Nike laptop in the cargo hold in case I needed to cover something. Facing light traffic without witnessing any unique application of physics and law in vehicles, I soon arrived 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 already waiting in her wheelchair for me. It was a warm morning with overcast skies and some night lights still on due to the grey skies. More like are usual winter-spring weather; the forecast was wrong again. Susie, in a sweater, headed out with me into Mezger Park, which was still lightly peopled, but each moment more cars and families were coming to enjoy the facilities. There was the usual large count of dogs walking their humans; some dogs even shared a human. We found a bench, and Evan joined us.

Using FaceTime, we called Leta, Susie’s mother, and Barb, Susie’s sister, on my iPhone so everyone could be seen. Leta was in her chair in her living room, and Barb was preparing for her dog to walk her after a short drive to a dog-friendly park. Susie was delighted to see everyone. Barb and Leta were happy to hear that Susie ate her breakfast and seemed in good spirits on Saturday.

After the call, I pushed Susie in her wheelchair to the rest of the circle to reach the hummingbird house again. I was sticky as it was a humid morning, unusual in Oregon. Anassa, the weekend nursing aide, moved Susie into her bed, and then we put on Snow White, the original animated Disney movie, at Evan’s request. He had never seen it before. I managed to stay awake, and Susie drank a small glass of water while we watched the movie. It is a new record that I stayed awake for the whole film–Evan was surprised by how slow-paced the movie was. Susie loved it and sang along to all the songs.

I left with a kiss for lunch and gaming. Susie decided she, too, should have lunch, and I arranged for Anassa to arrange that.

Next, Evan and I met at the 649 Taphouse in Aloha, Oregon, and there I had a salad (I changed locations at the last minute to allow us more time to learn a new game) and a small red ale. I set up and taught the board game Expeditions, which I learned from a play later in the evening that I missed two things. We then played, and it took two hours with me winning, but it was just a learning game, and I still had some rules wrong. I enjoyed the game again, it being my second play, while Evan was unsure about it.

After heading out and arriving at Richard’s place without incident or traffic, we played a four-person Expedition. I learned my mistakes on the rules quickly, but still could not quite get my groove and scored third, with Kathleen finding more of her groove as the game went on. Richard crushed us with a strategy to keep to the base hexes and build up groups of cards and workers into a card-based engine. Kathleen could have caught him, so I am unsure if it is an effective plan. We agreed we want to play again next Saturday!

After the game, we all headed out, and I had a salad for a late dinner and went to bed. I watched the last episode of Good Omens 2 and was surprised by the show’s direction. After that, I went to bed and slept without waking up.

Thanks for reading.