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Going backward, I have some sausage and crackers for a snack after reaching the Volvo Cave from First United Methodist Church of Beaverton. There, it was Wednesday, choir practice, and I played Zophia (Z) board games while Z’s mother practiced with the choir. Today Z, who turned twelve on Tuesday, picked the board game Architects of the West Kingdom to play; we had not played it for a while and managed two games.

Z won the first game by six points but was a bit hyper or out-of-focus, and I had to slow her down a few times and explain a few things to her. But she seemed to enjoy the game, and once she got in the groove, Z started to crush me. I did a last grasp for points building the cathedral to prevent a washout!

In the second game, I built a few higher-point buildings that gave me some advantages. I played very efficiently and managed to pull ahead and stay there. Again, I rushed to build the cathedral at the end, my usual play, but I was trying to end the game before Z caught me. I managed an eight-point win. We both had fun, and Z built two great works in each game–something I have seldom seen.

We are playing all the add-ons and promo cards with the Princess and Pirate impacts (costing me -4 points in the last game to Z’s glee). I won’t summarize the game as I have covered it in many blogs. Feel free to google it and look at it on Board Game Geek.

Before this, I enjoyed a slice of pizza at Sizzle Pie and a lager plus salad. One of my favs is pizza and salad. I parked Air Volvo at the church and walked over. They were not busy, and I asked them for recommendations. I would not usually order a jalapeño pepper chicken and broccoli pizza, but it was good. The salad was just greens with freshly made croutons and not enough dressing. The beer is a bit plain but perfect for my mood. I wanted to just relax for a while, and it worked for me. The place filled up while I was there.

Before that, I was taking Air Volvo from work and had Slack channel updates even though I was flying. Work was busy or nothing. It switched about every hour from boring to crises and back again.

I went to Chipotle for lunch. I was having a chicken bowl with a lot of guac and eating it with chips. Right after I ordered, I got a meeting at noon that was another crisis of the moment (with a call of over forty people). Again the day was bouncing to eating without any concerns and then swallowing and rushing back.

I did the call parked in my car at our building for the project: Clubhouse. It was a political meeting masquerading as a technical discussion. I deleted my words and will just say that beer was a good idea. I did buy a nice mocha and drank it slowly in the afternoon to get my focus back.

Before the troubled meeting and various discussions that were brought forward, I was visiting Susie at the hummingbird house. I reached her via the highways, and the going was fast without incident or slowness, a surprise. Susie was happy to see me but was having tummy issues. I called after 5PM, and she was better. Susie had just finished her breakfast and was resting in her recliner in the living room and was uncomfortable.

Susie can be found in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

We managed to reach Leta, her mother, in Lansing. Leta was having her lunch. Leta and Susie chatted for twenty minutes or so; at that moment, I was thinking I was clear of crises, so I stayed a bit longer. Susie did not want me to leave, but she was going to rest some more, so it was OK for me to go.

Before all of this, I was in the office in time for two hours of Zoom meetings and various ad hoc in-person meetings and discussions, mostly on the same issue in different versions or viewpoints.

I woke at 6 and did my exercises, and made liberal coffee to go with the banana and yogurt. I had the last 1/2 off expired yogurt (how can it expire?). I did my usual reading and preparation for the day.

Returning to the previous day, after finishing the blog, I had trouble paying my bill at McMenimens. My waiter apparently left, and no waiter was now assigned to me. No more service. I had to go to the bar and wait for someone to finally conceded that I might be a customer and let me pay my bill. It is always strange to experience passive-aggressive service at our local chain–some things never change here.

I also stopped by Barnes and Noble and picked up an electronic and modeling magazine before heading home and going to bed early and reading about Tesla coils and a simple circuit to generate millions of volts. Yes!

Today I got a new volt meter and other tools from AdaFruit in NYC. It is also a Bluetooth speaker. I just had to have it. They said they only stocked it because it was so cool. It arrived today and I will set it up on my bench in the office.

Well, that is all, and it is late. The series The Mandalorian started again today. I watched the first episode while writing. It was excellent. Recommended.

 

Sorry, I forgot to take photos of Susie today.

The day started with me suddenly realizing I did not write a blog on Monday. So So, I popped out of bed before my alarm and wrote a short blog with just the highlights of Monday, a briefing. I did wonder what that meant. Is it time to rethink the blog? Has the lack of days off broken my mind? Is the stress getting to me? Am I OK? Yes, I am OK. I wrote the briefing in an hour, showered, dressed, and rushed to work. I was early, and the weather was just Oregon mist. I missed the school buses picking up the kids. One did pull over and let us all pass it.

I did make liberal coffee and had a banana while rushing. I poured my coffee into my thermal cup, and, physics works, it was too hot to drink for an hour. Ugh!

I was in the office, and we were lightly staffed. Nike sent a WTF on the weather and said everyone could work from home. There was a party, and our boss was presenting at the pre-party meeting. All of this was canceled later in the day, and the food was distributed to anyone who showed up (I ate lunch before the free food was provided). Thus we were there to cheer on our boss and department giving the pre-party talk.

I did my usual morning Zoom meetings. Sitting alone in a small conference room, calling into five meetings, all ending early, and multi-tasking to get approvals and reading done during the calls. But, of course, there were issues, and I had to read about them, and I sent out some, let’s call them, observations–none of which can be written here.

Snow started on and off. I headed out to hummingbird house using highways (26 to 217) without incident, but folks driving slow on local roads (they are just wet). I arrived safe and without events in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

I was running early and arrived just as Susie sat in her chair. She was grumpy, sitting in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer thought her stretching exercises and breakfast (a lot of food for Susie) had made Susie uncomfortable.

Ignoring the grumpy Susie, I called Leta, Susie’s mother, who was having a late lunch with Barb, Susie’s sister, in Lansing, Michigan, at Panera’s Bread. We talked for a while. Leta learned the estimates to repair her house (she has an invasion of mice and raccoons) will be more than initially thought. Hopefully, her house insurance may cover some of the raccoon damage. We also learned that Susie’s Aunt Joyce has some health challenges (we wish you the best, Joyce). We waved at Barb (Leta had the phone connected to her hearing aides, so Barb couldn’t hear us when we called Leta’s phone).

Soon the call was over. I stayed a few more minutes and held Susie’s hand. I had to get back to work, and it was snowing again–time to hit the road. Susie was disappointed that my short visit was at an end. She told me she wished I could stay longer and apologized as if it was her fault. I told her it was not her fault and kissed her goodbye. She was sad but OK with me leaving.

I returned to work, and many more folks went home to finish working from home. I had a few ad hoc meetings and more Zoom. I approved a few items and sent more back from proper paperwork. People are not dishonest; our project has folks now working on two different go-lives (and designing a third), running 7/24 data conversions, and trying to enjoy a return of Covid-19 and other Spring Break colds and flu. They are now missing the easy stuff. It makes it hard on everyone to do some things, often on some critical path, over and over until it is correct. I read and check everything–it is my job as Architect to read it. Folks are burning out, but I point out the corrections without emotion, so folks are not embarrassed or react.

My last meeting was fast, the current data conversion will take until Friday, and everything is waiting for it. I left before 5 and reached home after filling Air Volvo for $4.09 a gallon (remember we have no sales tax), but that is still higher than last week. Snow was coming down. Portland and the hills are getting some accumulation tonight. We received another Nike WHQ weather WTF note saying to work from home if you feel safer staying home for Wednesday. My boss knows I drive an SUV Volvo, and I am not scared–I will be back at the office.

More was happening at work, but I never put those details in the blog. I was busy most of the day.

I was delighted when I arrived at the Volvo Cave and found three packages waiting for me; four more pairs of pants arrived (two from LL Bean and two from Lands End), plus my book. I ordered a book made in India for too much money. It is a huge copy of the 1927 (published in 1926) Export Regulations Encyclopedia. I have a 1918 copy and discovered that the 1927 version was only available printed and bound (in leather) from India. Leta gave me money to buy something for myself for Christmas. Yes, I had them make me one.

It is over four inches thick and looks more like a newly rebound altar bible than a copy of export instructions. I was thrilled. Yes, do you want to know who held a package for you in Romania until you got there in the 1920s? How about what shipping lines were available in 1926 in Portland, Oregon (yes, PDX gets a few pages)? What is the approximate exchange rate for Abyssinia currency in 1927 (now Ethiopia)? This and the 1920s travel guides, science summaries, and archaeological publications (on Stonehenge) all create a picture of adventuring in the 1920s. Maybe not your thing, but the more I know, the more fun it is for me to write stories related to these times. I also have an 1890s guide (very small print) for Paris that is just wonderful for those who want to head back a bit further.

Aside: I have an India-produced copy of the 1919 published communications during the Battle of Jutland. Again, in a nice leather binding. The maps are a bit incomplete, but the text is perfect. Someday I will find an original copy in a library and copy the maps and just fold them and put them in my copy. Yes, the British published all of this right after the war.

I got a call from Dondrea and Zophia (Z), as it was Z’s birthday. Z was thrilled to open the gift from Susie and me, the board game Wingspan. I also promised the Easter Bunny would supply various upgrades and add-ons (and also on other holidays and excuses for giving) to improve Z’s acquisition. Z picked Architects of the Western Kingdom to play on Wednesday.

I headed to dinner with Mariah, but she turned me away (PDX is a snowy mess), and I instead found myself at McMinnemen’s for dinner. I had a burger, the Captain Neon (bacon and Oregon blue cheese), and a Ruby beer (strawberry without the sweet). This is one of Susie’s favorite places, and I missed her tonight. So I have a drink and think of the days before Covid-19, strokes, and depression when she and I would just hang out and have a good time. To us!

I wrote the blog while eating and drinking. Finishing with a cup of coffee tonight.

Thank you for reading.

Yesterday I forgot to write a blog. That has never happened before. With me working for three weekends, the days all seem to run together, and I am not sure what I should be doing each anymore. So I will just cover the important things that happened on Monday.

Susie was better today. She was no longer confused and exhausted. The black circles near her eyes have faded. Susie was having a good day.

When I headed to see Susie after the usual Monday morning with hours of Zoom meetings, a few crises of the moment, and breakfast (liberal coffee and a banana), I called and spoke to Jennifer, the nurse aide for today (who lives there). Susie’s shipment of Ensure (strawberry flavor) had not arrived, and she was out, I was told. So I stopped at Target near the hummingbird house, bought four six-packs, and found some flowers. Thus I brought supplies and a bouquet of flowers to Susie on Monday morning.

Susie was delighted with the flower, and Jennifer was happy she could provide Ensure Plus for Susie–the protein version was not recommended for Susie–too much protein. Susie was in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer reported that Susie had eaten her breakfast and handled eating better–a perfect day.

I was rushed; I had chores on Monday, picking up my new pants (four pairs) from the cleaners who shortened them and getting Air Volvo washed (the car was filthy from the salt and sand from the snow event). My phone was sounding message after message on Slack! So I quickly called Leta, Susie’s mother, and Leta and Susie chatted on FaceTime using my iPhone. But, soon, I had to rush out, and Susie, disappointed by a short visit, but understanding, gave me a kiss goodbye.

Lucky for me, all the driving was better on Monday in Air Volvo was easy. The weather, still predicting snow, was just rain. A few times, it rained hard, the gutters gurgling loudly at the Volvo Cave, but no snow or ice.

The next event was I made dinner after work ramped down, and the data conversions were running on other systems and doing long-running jobs, so it was a point where our team was less needed. I had defrosted two pounds of pork and made Goan Pork Vindaloo, a recipe from Cook’s Magazine. I add potatoes and carrots instead of serving them with rice. I messed up on the spicing, and it was hotter flavored than it should have been–still good; I packed away at least two meals in the frig as leftovers.

I tossed all the Army Painter paint bottles with older-styled labels or from sets. All of those are over five years old. I have apparently bought more new paints and never tossed the old ones. I have reduced my collection of paints by 50%. I ordered more paints and a few new brushes (free shipping) from the Army Painter website. The local gaming store was out of these supplies. I also tossed a few paints that were nearly done.

I was feeling OK and did my exercises and stretches, and then my knee started to complain, as did my back. So I will skip the exercises on Tuesday.

I felt overwhelmed on Monday after working about twenty days straight and just wanted to rest for a while and get some things done (cooking dinner, picking up around the house, doing laundry, and getting new clothes).

Thanks for reading!

I am starting the blog early on Sunday. Susie is resting in her bed, and I am sitting in her rocking chair, typing the blog. We had big flakes of snow at 2ish. There is more snow possible in the next couple of days. If the warmer air stays, then we get our usual rain; otherwise, it is back to Snowmaggeden.

The day started with me waking before my alarm and finally getting up around 7. I then made coffee, the liberal Equal Exchange brand, in my French Press. I cut a bagel in half, one from the bakery in Hillsboro, but this one tasted more like bread. My dream of possible NYC bagels in Hillsboro is gone! I had that with some reduced-cost yogurt. Not sure I understand how you can have expired yogurt, but I was willing to pay 50% less for it. It tasted just like yogurt (with fruit).

Next, I logged into my Apple and Nike laptop; I reviewed all the emails, Slack channel updates, and news to be ready for my new day. Starting on the day after 9/11, I review the international news every morning. I did not know about 9/11 until I heard the news on my car radio while driving to work.

I did not do the Saturday blog on Saturday. I started to write it while listening to an hour of Zoom status and update meetings. Multi-tasking. I managed not to be the guy who said, “Could you repeat that,” when a question was addressed to me from the status meeting. I am already paying attention.

Once the hour of meetings ended, I was able to focus more on the blog. It is the Saturday one, and so is it often long–it was. I finished it at about 10:15, about two hours of work with interruptions. I put away the folding table in the dining room, another space cleared, and planned to toss most of the paints I used to paint figures. Most are pre-pandemic and too thick. Time to start again, and this lets me resync my painting area with new paints (only one bottle per color).

I ran out of time for exercises and stretching, which often happens on Sunday, and showered and dressed. I then packed up the Apple and Nike laptop to put in the cargo hold of Air Volvo. I planned to stop by the gaming store to buy replacement paints, but the store, Rainy Day Games, apparently does not open before noon on Friday. It will have to wait until Monday.

The roads were wet with some sloppy snow on them. The Beaverton crossover I due on Allen Street was still covered in frozen snow, and cars were slipping on it. I had to slow down and be aware of my fellow drivers in less capable vehicles than Air Volvo (XC60 SUV with automatic four-wheel drive, anti-lock breaks, and computer-controlled crash avoidance). I arrived safe and without events in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was sleeping in her recliner in the shared living room. Anassa moved Susie to her rocking chair in her room. Susie was exhausted and apparently took a long time to eat her breakfast. I put on Cruella, the newish Disney film. It is a musical, and Emma Stone shows her skill at handling a complex musical story again (I loved her in La La Land) and owns the part.

Susie watching the unexpected big snowflakes in Tigard today.

Susie started to lean to the right (from the stroke) and fell asleep, leaning out of her chair. I had to awaken her to get her back to a safer stance. For the first thirty minutes, Susie was confused, sleepy, and leaning too much. For the rest, Susie seemed to find her focus and seemed to enjoy the movie and was even singing along to a few of the rock songs.

We called Susie’s mother, Leta, after the first song, and Susie was not very responsive. I think she was asleep or spacing a bit. Leta was disappointed that Susie was not responding, but Susie came back, and they were able to chat for just a bit.

After the end of Curella, I headed out to Red Robin for lunch/dinner. Susie got a snack, and shift change happened with Louis taking over; he is another live-in Nurse Aide and Jennifer’s husband.

At Red Robin, I had the salad and spiced chicken breasts, the ensalda platter. I had this with a Diet Coke. My waiter plays Dungeons and Dragons, as does another guy, and we talked about gaming while I ate. They both like to DM and write stories.

It always surprises me to find folks so young playing a game that was new in the early 1970s. I am glad it still attracts new players. Everyone seems to like the tabletop version (with various online help).

I returned to Susie’s place after lunch and found her sleeping in her bed. She was glad I came back, and she slept while I typed this blog. Susie was deeply asleep; I think you feel safe when she knows I am there. I stayed another hour, but I had a 4:30 status meeting, so I left with a kiss, and Susie fell back to sleep.

I did the status call while driving home. There was nothing new for me, and things were just clicking along according to plan, finally. It has been three weekends now that we have all worked. I reached home, stopping by the gaming store Rainy Day Games, which did not have the Army Paint Set I wanted. I grabbed the iPad I had forgotten to put in the Volvo cargo bay this morning and headed to Cory’s house.

I reached there 15 minutes before the game, and we played until 9ish. We are playing the new Spell Jammer campaign in 5E Dungeons and Dragons with new characters. I am playing a holy knight of death. I protect the dead and their tombs and ensure the dead are not poisoned by unholy undeath.

We played, and I repeatedly nearly became a customer of myself. I will not share details here as it is purchased material, and I don’t want to do any spoilers. All six of us, Matt DM-ing, had a great time.

I returned home and made a salad for a late dinner with ham, cheese, olives, lettuce, and other goodies.

I am getting tired. Thank you for reading again.

 

Today was a strange mix of hanging out with Susie and Evan and being part of a 7/24 data conversion. I was constantly reading updates and, at the same time paying attention to Susie and then playing board games with Evan. It was a bit expensive as we tried a new grill place near Susie’s place that, while the food was good, was top-priced. Later, I had dinner out too, and Evan and I tried the Mexican place, Si Señor Mexican Restaurant, which was expensive, but this time the food and drinks matched the money. I went home after that and crashed.

Saturday started before 7, with me waking before my alarm and trying to go back to sleep–nope. I was up before the alarm. I padded over to the kitchen in my slippers, the floors are cold, and made liberal coffee with my French Press and a banana–having had a late dinner, I was not feeling the need for more than a banana. Then, I logged into work and my Apple and consumed all the email, texts, headlines, and Slack channel updates, so I would be ready for the status meetings and enjoy my day knowing what was happening in the world.

I participated in an hour of Zoom meetings from my home office. Most of the work was still happen in the evening, and there were no approvals of designs or other items for me. I just followed along. I did the short set of exercises and stretches using the new list–a few more things. These did leave me a bit winded and hungry. I showered, dressed, and packed all the computers to head to hummingbird house.

Aside: From taking my meds and doing my exercises, I was starving. I had a plain bagel in the car while driving.

Our road, Clarion, was a mess of refrozen melted snow with no plowing or treatment–the usual here in the Greater Portland Area. It was fun to take Air Volvo through the crunchy and slippery stuff. The main road, TV Highway, was wet, with part still covered with slushy snow. Folks were driving 30 mph on just wet roads and scared. Air Volvo passed many groups of cars waiting to do a pile-up and help the local economy with more bodywork. On the radio were ads for various body shops–with the unique driving skills in the area, I would expect the repair shops to be busy all year long.

The Beaverton crossover drive was actually scary. The roadways in places were shaded by pine trees, causing now washboard ice, and cars were braking (!) and sliding and having emergency lights on. Air Volvo was sliding, so I pulled more to the left where the slush was and drove past them with two good wheels–All-wheel drive. Unfortunately, there were sections of ice that were water covered and polished to a problematic level. I do not think you could walk across the ice without falling!

Despite sudden and unexpected ice, I reached Susie in Air Volvo without incident or scaring the passengers (me) in Tigard at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. (Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116). Susie was thrilled to see me. Anassa, the weekend nurse aide, moved Susie to her rocking chair. We agreed on the movie Mary Poppins 2, which Susie did not remember and is not well-loved by Disney fans, but we tried it anyway. It is an enjoyable movie and follows close to the canon of the original film, but it has a troubled start with the bowl scene, and Susie did fall asleep during a goofy song and dance routine with Mary Poppins. Susie thought the movie was “fine.” Here is the best song: There is Nowhere to Go But Up.

Susie was showing signs of confusion and started again to falling asleep. She managed to talk to her mother for a bit, Leta, but she still looked sleepy or confused. Susie is safe and stable and seems happy.

After that, we left Susie with Anassa to get a snack and likely a nap. I went with a kiss and no tears in Susie’s eyes today.

Evan and I tried, as I wrote above, a new place for lunch nearby Susie, but it was not a success. So we next moved to Iron Tap Station, also nearby. It was under new management, with a couple brewing beer in their garage taking over. Evan tried their IPA and declared it the best he had had. The new owners also moved around the tables and enabled more lighting. Previously, we could only play during the day and by a window, but now we managed a couple of games even after the sun went down. Excellent.

I had their German-styled dark beer. Good.

We played two games there, and both were a bit long (one because I had to do that status meeting at 4:30 and approve some overtime and processes). We played Architects of the West Kindom, which was again in the car. It had been dumped out in Air Volvo’s cargo hold, and I repacked Architects of the West Kindom (with all add-ons and promos) and put it more carefully in the cargo hold.

I managed to win our two-person game by six points (the value of an easy building) by planning my end-game moves to build the Catherdral (having all the resources ready). It is my usual gameplay to work the Cathedral at the end of the game.

Architect of the West Kingdom is a worker placement game, with each turn being simple, but the options are vast, and the strategy is varied. The new rules from various add-ons make the gameplay less single-pathed. Overall the latest incarnation is enjoyable. But the rules and gameplay match no other game, so learning takes a bit of a while.

Next, we played a basic game of Vindication, adding Pets and Loot for the first time. After that, we decided not to add more rules (the Guild stuff). Evan had a frustrating game as I managed to take all but one proficiency tile (even with the rule you can only buy one a turn), own the best areas, and move around the gameboard, gaining more and more resources and points. Evan did manage to be ahead of my basic score when the game ended, but he was awarded no mastery tiles, and I plucked all but one. It was a crushing score that we did not bother to calculate.

Recalling the play, Evan went after a monster with one companion and no conviction and thus had no easy means to recover if the monster’s die roll was Death, which it was (having Conviction allows the player to save a companion). Adding all the promo items in the game includes more Treachery Cards, which do not count toward Mastery (but do count for some monster rewards–the Monster Card showing the backs of cards). Evan was unhappy to get one of those (he needed one of each type for his monster, which it counted for), as it did not count towards Mastery (meaning to get Mastery, he would need three more Traits, a nearly impossible task). He was frustrated much of the game. I have had luck turn against me, too; in the game, there is more luck in a two-person game.

My play was my usual style; I worked on getting Vindicated by quickly moving my potential to influence, thus avoiding running low on influence. I try to collect valuable companions (owning the first Inn) and use their powers to improve my play. I had two of the best influence-based companions, just blind luck, and explored, looking for more valuable resources. Having the best mix to collect proficiency tiles, I just went after them. My slow movement rate restrained me, but the resources giving tiles were all two steps away, so I just added resources as I moved, using them often to buy another proficiency tile and providing resources for my next turn. I played an enjoyable game of traveling the board three times.

After finishing the game, Evan and I, as I said above, had a fine dinner, and then I headed home. The roads were clear, but Air Volvo shuttered a few times as it slipped on black ice (a thin layer of perfectly smooth ice on a roadway). Nasty! The problem did not get worse, and the black ice was gone once out of Beaverton.

The snow was melting away on Clarion. The trash pickup never happened. Mail did not occur.

Well, that is all for Saturday. I was in bed early reading. But I did wake up a few times at night. A vibration in the house still wakes me from a dead sleep–I am attuned to Susie falling.

Thanks for reading.