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The morning started with me fighting to get going. I was tired and couldn’t sleep before 2AM. That will suck on Monday night as I am up at 6:15 to travel to the office on Tuesdays. I will try to reverse that soon by getting up at 7ish.

I was a bit rushed in the morning as we had an all-Hill Family (Susan’s mother, Leta, maiden name is Hill) at 11 to celebrate Gene and Glenda’s wedding anniversary. With Joyce’s exception, all the kids and East Coast folks were in New Hamshire at Clint’s and Anika’s place.

I wrote the blog and had breakfast of an NYC bagel with a banana and liberal coffee, the Equal Exchange brand. I remembered all the pieces of my Apple and stuff to use the larger screen I keep in the hummingbird house. In light traffic, I crossed Beaverton without an issue. Susie was already done with breakfast (I had called ahead to ensure that Susie would be ready and completed her breakfast) and happy to see me.

We returned to the social activity room, and I got out my iPad, a gift from the big project I am working on–not a company device but actually mine (taxes had to be paid as it is a form of compensation)–so we could use a bigger screen and camera than my iPhone. Soon the call was active, and I set the iPad against my screen, so it showed Susie and me and required no hands.

The family meeting was pleasant and the first in about a year. Before the pandemic, the family would usually meet somewhere, usually in the Eastern Time Zone, and have a party (birthday, anniversary, and so on) and see the local sights. The pandemic has stopped that for years, so this was the best substitute. No Covid-19 surfaced for the travelers to New Hamshire, a relief. Everyone was now a floating bubble on a FaceTime multi-person call.

Susie was happy to see everyone, and the conversation included some planning for the next parties–with the hope that Covid-19 can be avoided. Maybe July and maybe Virginia near Williamsburg. Everyone wished Gene and Glenda a happy anniversary. Various folks in New Hampshire walked in and out of the camera. It was a good time. We all thought we should do this more often. I will try to remember to set it up.

Once the call was over, Anassa (the nurse aide for the weekends) put Susie in her recliner, and we watched John Wick 2 in the social activity room. Lots of shooting and chase scenes. Susie stayed awake for the whole film–there was a lot of action.

Next, Susie had her usual late lunch. I headed out for ninety minutes to get lunch for myself. The gals that are residents there asked me to get them coffee; apparently, I have been there enough to be considered staff. I did not know the routine for coffee, so I demurred but did learn what to do next time. I don’t mind helping with coffee.

I returned after enjoying a Spicy East Coast Italian sub at Jimmy Johns. I eat it in the car and listen to stories on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). This story was about the attempt to widen the appeal of the Mummer Parade in Philadelphia by removing racist and anti-gay material from the parade. Unfortunately, the report on the radio told the failure of the attempt. I did not know the story of the parade or the racist and anti-gay content, and the tale disappointed and saddened me.

I stopped by Kitchen Kaboodle (it is in the same strip mall as Jimmy Johns), a fav, and found a smaller whisk I needed while tempted by the 50% off good French cookware, the $250 price (!) after the discount was still too much for me. It is a good deal, but I only cook for myself now, and the French stuff, while tempting, was not something I really needed. So I settled for a whisk ($15).

After resisting so much at the kitchen store, I returned to the hummingbird house, and Susie was in her bed resting. I sat in Susie’s rocking chair, tried to be quiet with my laptop, and even slept for a few moments. Then, at 5ish, I pushed in the crash pad, turned on the light, and we watched a new show.

Susie’s TV is an extension of the cable at the house. Susie has Disney+, HBOMax, and Prime available to her. We put on Prime and found the new Glass Onion murder mystery show. Daniel Craig (of 007 fame) continued his role as a detective in the movie Knives Out. At first, the show was strange and slow-moving, but then it took off and was fun and a bit insane, much like the Hollywood movie. Susie watched from her bed with her all comfy–but she did not sleep as it was a fascinating episode. Edward Norton joined the cast this time, and he and Janelle Monáe, also new, almost eclipsed Daniel Craig. Recommended! 

After that, it was approaching 8ish, and Susie had a dinner of potato and cheese soup, something Susie likes. Susie needed help eating tonight. Anassa said that Susie has trouble feeding herself when she is tired. Her hands just don’t work right–I could see that. Susie finished dinner quickly and decided it was time to head to bed.

We celebrated New Year in Bahama time (8PM local time), and I left with a kiss. Louis met me on the way to my car. I returned to the house, and we had a drink of Wild Turkey and some rum, just a small amount for me, to celebrate the New Year in NYC (9PM local time). We chatted for a while, and I told the story of how rum is made and its crazy history. I also covered how bourbon and whiskey are made and the difference. I worked in the liquor biz in the 1990s, so I learned all of this. Louis thought it interesting, I hope. It is good to know what you are drinking!

I said good night, not staying for another three hours for the local New Year. I was tired, and Susie was worn-out and needed to sleep. The drive home was well covered by police, including three emergency vehicles charging down the street with lights and sirens, bringing in the New Year with some disasters for some endangered folks.

I arrived safely home, found some Pork Vindaloo I made a few days ago and microwaved that into a small snack dinner after putting away the dishes in the dishwasher. I soon went to bed, but sleep did not come. I read a lot in bed, got up, and bid on some stamps (primarily cheap ones missing from my album that I have followed up on) and a few more expensive USA Revenue stamps, with one I have wanted deeply discounted and free shipping. I managed to purchase another one and was shocked at the $10 shipping after I bid (usually price of shipping is one or two dollars and charged only on one order). Feedback for that purchase, once it arrives, will be less than favorable. I checked, and there was no cost warning until after I purchased it–not very friendly (the stamp is a damaged $90 retail-priced stamp and was at my cost limit, 20% retail, for that type of stamp–space filler–before postage; growl).

The locals set off loud fireworks for the New Year.

I finally got tired at 2AM after reading more in bed. I eventually fell asleep.

Thanks for reading.

I did hear from Rev. Anne Weld-Martin, and Wayne, her husband, is still at St. V hospital, room 663.

I was up late as I had trouble sleeping. I am starting to get my nights and days mixed up. Again, I wrote a long blog. This time I included some thoughts and many asides in the blog. I had a bagel, an NYC bagel, plus a banana for breakfast. To this, I added liberal coffee, the Equal Exchange brand. I also wrote a bunch of medical bills–I write medical bills using a physical check in case I have to prove the expenses to the IRS. I plan to write off medical bills for my 2022 taxes, which could attract an audit. I closed the morning with a lunch of ham (there seems to be an infinite supply of ham) and a cup of yogurt with fruit.

I plan on Sunday to file all the papers for 2022 and start on my taxes for 2022. I am hopeful to have a pile of money returned to me. The tax efficiency will be determined by my income, which unfortunately increased considerably by all the stock I sold to cover the unplanned medical expenses. I have thus paid massive withholdings already and will have to exclude a significant amount of my medical spending from the write-off, as 20% of your income is the exclusion now from write-offs. Plus, President Trump’s SALT changes limit, part of his so-called tax cuts, limit my tax write-off for local taxes to $10,000, which means I may still not be able to write off my medical expenses–it will be close.

I have revised withholding and started to borrow money, which I could quickly pay off by selling stock, against my 401K to prevent a repeat of the inefficiencies. I have maxed out my medical reimbursement account at Nike. I have increased my deferred compensation and my 401K payments. I can reduce the 401K number if I find I pulled too much money away. I have reduced my expenses by focusing on repeated costs.

After this tax thinking and paying bills, I head out to see Susie. I stopped by the post office and mailed Cat’s Lamp Black comics for Christmas. Cat will not have to pack this in her luggage. Traffic was not heavy for a Sunday, and I had no issues and saw no extra-legal driving.

Susie was “so happy” to see me (her words), and we moved to the social room to watch a movie. Susie picked the violent John Wick 1 movie (John Wick 4 will be out in early 2023). We got settled in the chairs, and Susie was moved to a recliner by Jennifer (she is the live-in nurse aide). We called Leta, Susie’s mother, before the movie. Leta was home, and we chatted about a few things before ringing off.

The movie is one of our favorites and is a crime-spy kind of movie. It has the assassin hotel, The Continental, in NYC and establishes all the themes that become the movie’s background for the following films in the series. In addition, I read a new spin-off movie with a new assassin, the ballerina, starting to film soon with the same theme and support cast.

Susie stayed awake for most of the film. After that, I found a playlist of old 80s and earlier rock videos and played those for Susie. She sang along for some. More than two hours of sitting is enough, and Susie was looking to lie down for a bit before her dinner at hummingbird house. So I headed out at 4:30ish with a kiss.

I stopped by Beaverton for dinner. I went to the cart lot near city hall and got a waffle sandwich and fries from the fry people. I took my bounty of freshly made cart food to Central Taps and had my feast with a beer. I brought my computer and the solo board game Nemo’s War with me. Unfortunately, the lighting was low, making it impossible to play a game.

I purchased some small kits of laser-cut thin plywood on Esty to make some spelljammer ships (swords and sorcery in space!). I plan to build my own ship, but these small ones were not expensive and would be interesting to assemble.

I was tired and took Air Volvo home. I did the dishes, rested for a bit, and had some trouble with my knees after working on them in physical therapy–stiff and painful now. I slept too long again in the evening, having nodded off reading. I got up and watched the new movie on HBOMax, Black Adam. The Rock is the star, and he tries to do the DC superhero routine, but, as often happens in DC movies, disbelief is never entirely dispelled, and I just saw The Rock trying to be DC. The movie was good for DC, but as usual, it was not as good as a Marvel TV show.

I went to bed just after midnight. However, I could not sleep and was back up at 2AM, took some pain killer to help me sleep, and finally fell asleep.

I am enjoying the book Nameless Serenade (The Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries). The series is recommended. When I could not sleep, I just read more. Each book is long, 408 pages for this one, so the story lasts for days or a week for me.

Thanks for reading.

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Today, Thursday, I was going earlier in the morning with me writing the blog before 7:30 and having a breakfast of ham and banana plus liberal coffee freshly made by French Press. I did my stretches and rode Susie’s bike for five minutes. My legs got tired, which surprised me. The lifts I did for Susie on Wednesday were more impactful than I realized. I got dressed and found I was tired, which was unexpected.

I forgot to take any photos today, sorry.

I had a Physical Therapy appointment at 11:45. I stopped by the post office and mailed Cat her Christmas present to her NYC address. I shared my copy of Lamp Black with her, so she knows what it is. Now running close to the time, I drove with some efficiency.

The road is closed by police and emergency equipment. I had to drive through a local neighborhood of McMansions–we are adjacent to the golf course with the expensive houses surrounding the course. I arrive only five minutes late and meet with Colin.

He diagnoses a leg weakness and agrees with my assessment that we are just under 50% of the best I could be. The pain is no longer harsh in my right leg, but now less and centralized in my back. Stretching, going very slowly, and light exercise should remove the rest of the issues. Four more sessions are booked. Colin is happy with my progress.

I have chili at Bethany Public House–not far from where I get PT. The food is better this time, and I have a diet Pepsi (no beer when headed to see Susie). I rush as Michelle and Cat Smith will meet me at the hummingbird house to see Susie. The incident with the emergency equipment is still blocking Bethany Road. I retrace and reverse my track, and the backup of vehicles is now massive in the other direction, but I make good time as, apparently, few cars are leaving the area. I am soon on 26 to 217 with the usual slowing for a workday. I am on Paid Time Off for Thursday and Friday.

I arrive at Susie’s place without any more issues. I park in the additional parking slot to allow Michelle to easily park. Susie is in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer moves Susie to her wheelchair, and we move to the social room to meet with Cat and Michelle. While waiting, we call Leta, Susie’s mother, and Susie and she have a good talk on my iPhone using FaceTime.

Michelle and Cat visit and Susie is thrilled to have visitors. We talk for a while, and Cat and Michelle give Susie some plants, an Orchid (Susie’s fav), and an amaryllis bulb that is already starting to grow. Susie has one from my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Martin that is almost ready to flower. Susie loves flowers, and the two bulbs should follow each other, perfectly timed.

Susie is fatigued from yesterday’s trip to the movies and soon is forcing herself to stay awake. We bring the joyful visit to an end, and Susie goes to get some rest; Jennifer (the live-in nurse aide) takes over as we leave. It is essential to leave quickly as Susie gets sad when her visitors leave. Jennifer steps in and asks Susie questions to distract her as we leave.

Aside: Susie had a rough night and got little sleep. I was not called in, but it is why I am always ready to take a call or travel to the hummingbird house. I limit my night activities and travels so I can easily and quickly come to Susie if she panics.

I head home, stop by the local Safeway, and buy groceries, including the supplies to make a huge batch of Goan Vindaloo Pork from scratch. This is a recipe from the American Test Kitchen (sorry, this one is behind a pay-for requirement), but I have the physical book. The recipe is not complicated, except my blender is too old school (more designed to make drinks and break ice cubes than grind spice to paste), and I cannot make a paste out of the herbs. So the sauce has a few rough parts, literally, and the flavors are a bit muted–but still have two hours; I have a decent huge pot of Vindaloo. Next time I will use the food processors (somewhere in the pantry) and increase the spices a bit.

I cook basmati rice from India in the usual manner to go with it. I had a few bowls. I pack the rest in the glassware from Gene and Glenda in the frig. I have a pile of dirty dishes. Except for the large pans, I managed to put everything in the dishwasher and run it.

While I cook and clean and eat, I watch the newest Dr. Strange movie–I really like this one. It is a good mix of goofy action and hard emotional choices, and despite it being over-the-top with special effects and action scenes, it seems to properly dispel disbelief for me. I recommend Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (PG-13 2022 ‧ Action/Adventure ‧ 2h 6m). 

I am reading and enjoying the book Nameless Serenade (The Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries), which is nine in the series. I recommend the series as it checks my list for crime-mystery novels: Set in the past (1930-40), set in an exotic place (Italy), includes some supernatural (the inspector is haunted), has repeating secondary characters that are lovable or fun, makes me laugh, and has emotional depth. Lastly, you don’t have to start with the first one as each book stands on its own, but it would be better to start with the first one–it is delicious. Recommended. I read them on my Kindle as I can increase the font, and the books are hard to find in bookstores and libraries. 

I went online and spent my Christmas gift on a unique book that only the kind gift of Leta would let me buy. I ordered the reprinting of the 800+ page Exporter’s Encyclopedia 1927 on Amazon–it will be reprinted from a scan in India, bound in leather, and shipped here. I searched the Internet, and only the reprinting was available. While most people would not want to know every last import regulation in the world in 1927 (and I have the 1918 version, an original copy), that is a treasure trove for a writer like me. I can use it to build real shipping scenarios for the role-playing game Call of Cthulhu and for any writing I want to do set in the 1920s. Yes, I have the original 1920 archaeological reports on Stone Henge. I have a copy of the summary of science produced in 1925 by Scientific America. I have a catalog from Sears from that time. Thanks, Leta, for the perfect present.

I also purchased some stamps for my collection. There is nothing interesting to share unless you collect stamps; other than that, I bought the proof of USA 164 for a discounted price in an auction (the auctions are wholesale pricing and require some knowledge to avoid buying poor stuff at high prices). There is only one known regular USA 164, and the sale was over 1/3 million dollars for it (a recent deal)–here is the best information (repeating from a few blogs ago): Swedish Tiger 164. The proof can be expensive, but I got to fill that slot in my album for not much cash, which is excellent.

Aside: With the collapse, as I was expecting, of cryptocurrencies, the prices of old USA stamps have also slid. The Cryptos (those folks who use and support these instruments) bought investment-grade USA stamps at high prices (at least, I think it was them). From what I could detect, some of the values of the so-called stable cryptocurrencies were in hard assets, which I suspect included USA investment-grade stamps (coin prices were high for the same reason). For the valuation to be straightforward, often a certificate or slab (a plastic container that held the stamp with a rating of its quality) would prove the basics for the stamp. I stayed away from this market as it was high and running straight-up like cryptocurrencies, which now appear to be failing. Returning to my purchases, that proof went cheap (it did not have a certificate, but proofs are easy to value and understand). My latest auction successes were all at 50% market value or better–yup, some money is missing from the market. Also, the really crazy folks that put 401K money into their collections (!?) appear to be missing as the stock market is down more than 20%. There is less cash out there. I buy the stamps at good prices for those missing spots in my album.

I got up and ordered a solo board game, 414 BC Siege of Syracuse, after seeing a review of it. A short solo game sounds interesting. I purchased, not on Amazon, from a game seller on Board Game Geek for less than the Amazon price, including the extra for shipping. This is from a series and a favorite game designer, and various versions exist. I am excited to try it.

I had trouble sleeping and finally slept at about 2ish.

Thanks for reading.

Going backward, I was at the house after Air Volvo crossed the small mountains of Bald Peek and Chehalem range just before midnight. I crossed by connecting Bald Peak Road to 210, a longer but safer trip. Next, I wrote the bill for Susie’s expenses at the hummingbird house and got that in the mailbox. I was soon in bed and fell into a deep sleep; I woke only once and then slept the rest of the night.

I crossed the low mountains from the Smiths plus Jason at Michelle’s and David’s house on Bald Peek on the Newberg side. There David made a dinner of grilled sandwiches on pumpkin bread. I played the board game The Architects of the West Kingdom with Michelle, Cat, Tasha, and Jason (Tasha’s husband) after covering the rules and the new rules for Tasha, Jason, and Cat, who played before but not with all the add-ons. I had the latest incarnation of the game from the publisher in New Zealand. We did not finish the game as we ate dinner, and Tasha and Jason needed to head to their hotel to prepare for an early flight. Tasha and Jason were victims of canceled flights (not Southwest which melted down this holiday) and had a crazy flight back to the San Francisco area via Seattle from Portland (!) at 6ish (!).

Back to gameplay, Tasha did build one of the great works in the game, and it was the first time I saw the gold statue on the game board.

The revised game is now higher rated–the add-ons are recommended as they improve the game instead of just adding more rules and complexity (a failure often seen in follow-up Kickstarters of an existing game). This is a resource management and worker placement game. This game is my favorite type, where the turns are simple, but the strategy is challenging. Vindication and Concordia are also built using the same simple turn structure. These games often play well for any player count, and we did five players for Architects without too much hardship. I would recommend this game for higher player counts.

Also, we exchanged some simple gifts for Christmas. A book for me and candy for the Smiths. I also brought a comic book, Lamp Black, for folks to see. I am mailing Cat a copy to her NYC address. It was a lovely time and the first time, I think, we were together since the Pandemic. I sent gifts directly to Jason and Tasha in California, where Dr. Tasha is in a residency program.

Before this, I had to reach the Smith home on Bald Peek. Unfortunately, the recent wind storm (which, according to the press, killed five people who hit fallen trees while driving) had closed Bald Peek Road and the top of the mountain by the same name. I had to take an alternative longer drive. I connected to Mountain Top Road, not blocked, and let navigation help me. Nav sent me to the end of Bald Peek road. I called and got corrections from David and headed back up Bald Peek from the Newberg side, where the road was usable.

The clouds were resting on the mountain, so my visibility was ten to twenty feet at best. I found myself on a dirt road; the lack of visibility had me take the wrong turn (I could not find the paved road!), and I asked for help from another driver. I got turned around. I then found my way and arrived at the Smiths. I parked on their steep driveway (later, David turned Air Volvo around for me).

Before this, I was at Susie’s place. I took Susie to a movie in the nearby Tigard Regal Theater for Puss in Boots. This is a short animated feature by the same folks who created Shrek. Antonio Banderas was the cat, and the movie was fun but not fabulous. It also made many swipes at Disney that I thought did not improve the show. But, again, it was fun.

Susie did fall dead asleep for the slightly dull center of the movie. Susie often falls asleep now, even on the phone. However, Susie woke up, watched the rest of the action, and enjoyed the movie.

Susie shared a diet Pepsi with me after I added three packets of Thick-It to the drink. She also carefully had some popcorn. Overall it was a successful trip. Evan joined us at the movie and had to leave at the end.

Susie was hard to do lifts as she was not standing for me. I had to make the whole move and was surprised and had Susie worried for a moment as I had to reach into Air Volvo and move her fully into her chair. I managed the subsequent lifts better now that I was ready for Susie to return to a wet-noodles type of movement.

Before this, I arrived at the hummingbird house in Air Volvo, dodging all the tree limbs, mostly pine, in the streets. I did have one close call when a pickup decided to change lanes into Air Volvo. It was a close call as I had to hard brake (lucky nobody was behind me), and Air Volvo slammed the seatbelt tight–it thought we would collide. Apparently oblivious to the danger, the pickup driver changed lanes about six inches from Air Volvo. The rest of the driving was safe.

I was up late and wrote the blog in the morning. I had a banana for breakfast with coffee. I had slept well.

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to call, send cards, or even visit. Susie resides at:

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223

Today I have my laptop (my Apple M1 13″) back. A friend told me that we misunderstand Artificial Intelligence (AI) and that it is not the model we see in SciFi, HAL 9000, from the movies. He believed that the incorporation of technology into our lives was what defined us and was the creation of AI. He reasoned, “When you lose your phone, do you not feel more stupid”? I felt broken without my usual laptop, but I soon recovered my abilities on my Dell and actually wrote the blog with Grammarly. The most significant loss was the familiar interfaces. But yes, I agree that AI is the enhancement we get now from technology–we are already there. We are AI.

I use a high-quality solid-state drive connected to my Apple when I plug into the landing station; it backs up all the changes on the machine. It is automatic and uses TimeCapsle from Apple. I had lost hard drives before and restored my laptops without any data loss. It covers me until Dec 2021! I used to also make a manual copy of the working directories and put that in the car monthly–something I will, after this little adventure, return to. Others use services online, but I found nothing as good as Apple’s TimeCapsle for restoring a working system in about twelve hours. It even works when upgrading the laptop.

I have also retrieved an old version of an MS Word document with TimeCapsle. It allows you to retrieve documents, emails, and files without much trouble. You just request it to be brought forward and if you want to replace the existing copy (if there is one).

When the hard drive fails, and it will someday, I buy a replacement at Other World Computer (OWC). It can be delivered in a day, for extra money, and is guaranteed to work in my system. In addition, they have a kit and instructions for taking apart the laptop and tools for a small extra price. OWC supplied my landing station, backup drive, and excellent aluminum case. I usually buy a case for the old failed drive so that I can try to use it–sometimes the failure is partial, and I can still see the data, and I then have a spare copy.

So had I not recovered my laptop, I would have purchased a new system, likely at Best Buy, as they have some stock (unlike the Apple Store, which takes nearly two weeks to get a new system sent directly from the plant in China). I would have followed Apple’s process to rebuild from TimeCapsle, and in twelve hours (or less), I would have my computer back with no data loss. I would buy a new backup drive from OWC and put the old one aside for a year, just in case.

Starting with the narrative, I did not sleep the night before and was up at 4ish, got dressed, and drove to Portland. I was a bit jagged but competent. The off-ramp for 405 was flooded, but I managed (without traffic) to slam a lane change and avoid turning Air Volvo into SS Volvo. Arriving safely, I parked across from the Starbucks (opening at 5:30) and discovered parking is free until 7AM on my app, Parking Kitty. Portland uses Parking Kitty to pay for parking, and it meows when your time is running out.

Some days, I have stayed up all night as I sometimes like to have an impossibly long day and wait for sunrise. As the architect for Nike’s SAP central accounting and fulfillment system, I sometimes organized an all-nighter to look for performance issues. I found that if you “sweep” the system on a good night, you can find some problems and solve them before they impact essential deliverables. So staying up all night is fun for me.

At Starbucks, as they unlocked the doors, they found my laptop! It was at security at the Financial M building across the street, and they open at 8ish. I was relieved and had coffee and a breakfast sandwich (puffy and microwaved–awful). I sat there for a bit and read stuff on the tiny screen of my iPhone from Nike.

I moved to my car and tried to sleep in Air Volvo. The city is full of sounds and lights. I love cities and their sounds and felt privileged to experience them in Air Volvo. Two homeless guys were having a loud conversation with Portland. A truck parked behind me and unloaded supplies for the day. A surprisingly large number of folks went to Starbucks before sunrise. My alarm went off at 7AM, and I must have been asleep as it woke me. I did not remember falling asleep to the music of the streets, a strange lullaby.

I stepped out, and the wind blew my hat off, but I caught it in time. The promised “dangerous high winds” were here. I got the location number for parking and followed the ritual of legalizing my parking with money via Parking Kitty. I returned to my car and tried to rest. The trains started to run, and the traffic increased; I did not sleep again. The winds would shake the car, and I had to start it a few times as the wind stole the heat from the vehicle; it was cold!

I walked into the M building, and there was some drama at the front desk. I stood in the background as the construction folks talked to the desk folks and talked about some water damage. The fire alarm was also ongoing and caused by the vibration of the winds or the water leak–it was unclear, but there was no fire. Portland’s Fire Department arrived with all the appropriate loudness. I was ignored and tried to be invisible while the adventure continued. No need to add to the chaos.

Once the construction folks were given access and the Portland Fire Department was waved off, I asked for help. The desk folks gave me a double take as I had been there all that time; apparently, I was invisible or at least well disguised with my worn Carhartt coat, cowboy hat, and blank expression.

They were happy to return my bag with my laptop. I then went to Starbucks and thanked them again. They were all happy and all but cheered. A merry Christmas miracle.

The trip back via Air Volvo was scary. The winds had broken trees all over. At one intersection, I did not see that the lights were out; I have been out-of-practice traveling in Portland since the pandemic. I drove through it and nearly connected with another brave driver. I passed trees completely broken apart on the 26 to 217 ramp. And there was still water everywhere. So Air Volvo dodged deep puddles, and the roads were covered with broken pine branches. It was like Christmas melted and then exploded. A tree was entirely down on 209 within a block of my house.

As I drove in, I could not see my trees. I was worried. But I did not recognize them without leaves. Apparently, all the brown leaves were now somewhere else, and the bare branches were fine. My lawn was mostly leaf free now.

I returned my laptop to power, and it backed up. The wind was now joined with heavy rain and was raining sideways. The water in the back corner, which sits as part of the slightly slow French Drain, was not deep and the most I have ever seen back there. We had over three inches of rain in twenty-four hours. We added another inch with the wind. I was amused to see waves on the water that was now just reaching my roses (roses do not like “wet feet”) and may have dampened the newly planted tulips.

Happy to have my laptop back; I took a shower and started laundry before the power failed, likely in a wind storm. I managed to do the laundry and shower with the power on. The laptop and network all have an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that is good for about 160 minutes. Even the desk light is covered (It is hard to use a computer without light). It measured one event.

I had Physical Therapy (PT) at 11AM, and while getting a bit more jagged, I was able to make it work. I called Leta to know what was happening as if the storm impact increased, I would be out of contact–it did not get worse. So I drove to Bethany, avoided the road Christmas display, and managed four dead lights at intersections. Michael, the PT guy, was happy to see me without the bad cold.

We reviewed the exercises again; I had done some in Air Volvo’s gym facilities (also known as sitting in the front seat). We covered a few complex ones. I could not do one of the new as my knees gave out–this is a new condition and has to be diagnosed by Colin, who I will see on Thursday.

Aside: Next year is a new set of deductibles for health insurance which is covered by my withholding for medical expenses, which is now maxed out for the new year as advised by my new CPA. Thus, if my PT continues into 2023, I will likely have to pay over $200 a session until I reach the max again. I am ready for more expenses.

Toward the end, I called a halt as I was getting dizzy from a new exercise that involved moving my head down to stretch my back. No time to put my head down. I left feeling a bit more jagged and forgot my scarf; they called me to come and get it, and I retrieved it.

I headed to Bethany Public House for lunch, reasoning that I might be hungry (when I sleep deprived, I am not hungry), and quickly enjoyed a bowl of their chili and two diet sodas. The bubbly cold drinks cleared my head.

Next, I risked 26 and 217 to reach the hummingbird house, the winds were worse, and the wind had been spreading Christmas tree parts all over. Susie was asleep in her chair when I got there, and I woke her. She was delighted to see me, but she could see that something was wrong, and I told her I had not slept but had my laptop back.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for a while. Susie seemed to space out for a bit (maybe sleeping with her eyes open–something I know she does), but Susie could chat with her mother once she got back into it. I soon left after the call with Susie telling me to go home and rest.

I returned by crossing Beaverton and avoided most puddles and unplanned Christmas tree parts on the road. My street was still looking safe when I reached the Volvo Cave. I climbed into bed and blinked, and it was 5:30, and I awoke not sure what 5:30 it was and what happened. I was asleep that fast; I was not aware I was sleeping. It was still Tuesday.

I was feeling quite refreshed; after just a few hours of deep sleep, I recovered and was soon back to normal without any jagged feelings. I had the last Christmas dinner (I still have plenty of ham). I was feeling much better.

Evan wanted to meet as he was nearby–he was going to the enemy’s (Columbia Sports) employee store on a pass but discovered it closed without power. Columbia’s headquarters is also in the Beaverton area, and they have many former Nike IT folks there, including one of my former bosses, and I have to admit we used to share our upgrade notes for SAP systems with them.

I met Evan at Wildwood Taphouse (off of Cornel) for beers and board games. We got some happy beers (a hazy IPA for me) and played the uplifting board game Vindication (Evan’s favorite). This game, with unique resource management, and a light engine building style, was designed here in the greater Portland area. I know the designer and even played an earlier version; according to Marc, the designer, some of my ideas are included in the final version. It is a game where you explore and improve yourself as you get more followers, become vindicated, and fulfill your full potential (literally).

We played a mid-length two-person game, and I could see Evan starting his engine building and causing the game to end. I was too late, and Evan pulled off a one-point victory. Evan had just managed to grab a last-minute resource and cancel my advantage. Evan thought I should have played two more rounds to win. Next time!

I got a small glass of a dark beer tasting of smoke, I thought–nice. This went well with the next game, Brass: Lancashire. Set at the start of the industrial revolution in the UK, where coal is king. Evan was less sure of this game as he had only played it once. I had my new poker chips for the game and wanted to try them out. It made the game much more fun and easier to play (Richard has the kinder version of Brass and poker chips–I wanted to try it with my meaner version). Brass has you balance resources, raising cash by loans (they just lower your income as they represent a stock/bond offering), building networks of boats and then rail, and building, of course, the industry of the 1700s and 1800s kind (iron forges, boats, docks, and coal minds). The game is mean, as each action you take (other than loans) removes options for your opponents. But, on the other hand, it is competitive and a brain burner as you have to plan multiple turns ahead while calculating what your opponent could do.

Evan, still new to the game, struggled a bit and the score differences were high, but I enjoyed the brain stretch and the theme. I like the feeling of building my industrial empire. While rule-heavy and you often undo your turn when you discover that your grand plan is missing some vital resource, I enjoy Brass.

After that, I headed home. I read a new brain cookie: Nameless Serenade (The Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries). I recommend this series. Set in 1930-40s Italy and a police and ghost story. 

I slept a broken dream-filled sleep, often waking as my rest was off.

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to call, send cards, or even visit. Susie resides at:

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223