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The day started with me waking late after ignoring my alarm at 8:30, writing the blog, and having breakfast. The ants are everywhere, and I will get traps on Tuesday (at least, that is the plan). I have ham and yogurt with liberal coffee. The time seems to run away from me, and soon I am rushing to make it to Susie’s, at least in the morning.

The rain is light (Later, I have minor flooding at the house, with the garage floor showing some flooding as the rains turn heavy later), and I have no trouble reaching the hummingbird house. However, I do witness some creative lane changes and sudden stops.

Susie had just finished breakfast, and we headed to her room to watch TV. First, we put on Willow, the new show on Disney+, and we watch the next two episodes. We are now at the last available one. The episode seems to focus on the young people’s love interests, and just as that is about to resolve, the bad guy attack. Next, we put on Winnie the Pooh’s new animated series. Susie, now in bed, fell asleep, and soon I left with a kiss. Susie was sad to have me go.

I headed to Ebert’s in Portland’s Pearl District, and they had no wings left. I did manage to order dinner instead with a 1/2 chicken with sides. More food than I wanted, but I came for smoked chicken, and I got some. This was the last time I used my laptop before I lost it.

I walked over to Powell’s Bookstore, the giant one in Portland, and it was so busy I put on a mask. I looked for something and then saw that the cash-out lines were so long that they had a gal with a sign on the post saying this was “The End of the Line.” I found another gal with a like sign, and she laughed when I told her she could tell folks, “The End is Near.” I found the other gal later, her line was shorter, and I said I found a different “ending”; she ignored me. She was straightening books and other tasks as cash-wrap and pointed out that “The End” was superfluous as the lines were shorter now.

After getting a mint mocha and a slice of lemon cake, I went to Starbucks across from Powells and left my laptop in a bag. I remember now walking out with just my coffee. Damn it!

Next, oblivious to my missing laptop, I went to Guardian Games across the river. A train went for twenty minutes blocking traffic. I pulled off the road as the intersection was already full. I watched as folks drove up and were confused about what to do. Some found a place like mine and pulled over so traffic could flow. A wrecker pulled up and just sat blocking traffic, and cars then drove around it, going the wrong way on the part of the road. It being Portland, it was all done slowly and politely. Finally, the trains were done, and traffic flowed.

At the gaming store, I looked for something I needed. I found a fun rule book for $25 on flying battleships. I read that for a while in the car. I crossed Portland to Richard’s house.

Shana, Richard’s partner, Richard, and I tried The Halls of the Mountain King board game. The game has you play a clan of trolls rebuilding the halls after a raid by gnomes ruined the halls. The game uses resource management and a worker placement system with a unique pyramid building of workers. While I scored in the basement, I enjoyed the game.

Shana left us, and Richard and I tried my new board game Ostia. This is also a resource management and worker placement using a circular device you find in many Euro games. This game has you manage a port, Ostia, being ancient Rome’s port to generate resources and to select your action. This can be a brain-burner as you have to mange the action is moving stuff around to determine you action. Tricky. There is also a larger map where you travel and collect rewards for exploring trade routes. You also can buy victory conditions to fill (something I forgot) and also you should select the trade routes that will pay off the most for your resourcing (something I forgot). Richard understood the things I forgot and crushed me. We played the game in an hour and it played well for a short game. I think we like it.

I headed home after that. The rain was heavy and local flooding was surprising drivers. The four-story ramp unto Freemont Bridge had standing water as it connected to the bridge proper! The water around the Volvo Cave is the most I have seen.

I then discovered that I had lost my laptop and could not sleep at all.

I read and finished The Red Scholar’s Wake and really loved this short novel. I recommend it. I used it as a distraction.

I stayed up all night worrying and hoping to get my laptop back in the morning.

Thanks for reading.

I am challenged to use a Window machine and Grammarly does not work well in the new editor for WordPress. I have managed to activate much on the Dell Laptop. So not all is lost. Sorry if I missed any typos.

I have lost my Apple laptop, and I am using my Dell backup laptop.

I can’t sleep as this is a disaster for me. I do have a current backup and have experience restoring a crashed system. So I have not a total loss.

I left the laptop in a bag on a seat in the Starbucks near Powell’s Books. They may have it. They open at 5:30 and so I will head there this early morning and see if I can retrieve it.

If that fails, I will send a signal to destroy it, call insurance, and buy a replacement at Best Buy. They have some good ones in stock. An order from Apple will have to be shipped from China and takes more than a week.

I will try to a blog somehow. It is hard to use this and I am very upset.

It was a quiet Christmas, and I started very slowly. I spent much of the morning writing a blog; I did some paperwork, finally showered, dressed, and headed to hummingbird house. Breakfast was an NYC bagel (one of the bagels sent from NYC from the Smiths), a banana, and liberal coffee. I later had ham for a snack for an early lunch.

I was running later than planned, and Susie’s sister called her while I was on my way as folks had other plans and needed to connect soon. So I was soon there, and we connected to Barb, Susie’s sister, to do a FaceTime call while Barb was rushing to get on her way for the next Christmas party. Susie was in her wheelchair; Anassa was on today and got Susie in her chair–Anassa makes those transfers look easy.

We opened Susie’s presents, including a lighted skater with her name on it from Joan Goldhammer, a painting of an owl, and glass owls to put on Susie’s window both from Barb and family, and I got Susie four miniature bottles of Wild Turkey.

Susie and I then watched more episodes of the Disney+ show Willow, and this show was scarier and more complex than the previous ones. An improvement over the last, with all the relationship stuff put aside for danger and scary stuff. Special effects were over the top, with scenes from the movie reworked into ghostly projects. Spooky and fun.

Susie was getting uncomfortable and sleepy. Jenifer had taken over for Anassa, who went home early for Christmas with her family and took over. I kissed Susie goodbye and returned to the Volvo Cave. There was little traffic, and the ice and snow were mostly a memory after a night of warm rains.

I quickly made a pumpkin set of pies. I had the requirements to make two pies, and so I did. I had called Rev. Anne Weld-Martin and would carry over my leftovers from Friday (I made an early Christmas dinner that could have fed six and packed in a way in the frig) and have Christmas dinner with Anne. Her husband, Dr.Rev. Wayne Weld-Martin, was in the hospital and could use a break and dinner.

The pies were done and still warm when I packed one away. Next, I baked smallish potatoes as they don’t microwave well. I put them, just washed, in the oven with the pies. When cooked about an hour later, I retrieved them, put them in tin foil, added some butter, and put them back in the oven. I was trying to recreate Dad’s way of cooking. They were good. I used my insulated Zabar bag from NYC.

I did some electronics as I was trying to remember how to light up strips of lights with Express Python for AdaFruit in NYC. I managed to get a test to work.

I packed up everything and headed to Anne’s house, a few minutes away. We unpacked it and warmed up some in Anne’s microwave. We then enjoyed a fine repast for Christmas. Anne supplied a great salad and the plates we used, Anne’s mother’s mother’s china, to remember the past.

After dinner and dessert of my still-warm pie, I taught Anne the game Skull, a simple bluffing game that I will recommend. I learned the game from Will, who said always to keep the small box in the car as it is fun and easy to understand. It plays better with more than two people, but I thought she would like it, and she did.

Anne was headed back to the hospital, room 663 at St. V, to see Wayne. So I packed up and headed home. I quickly put everything away in the excellent glass containers that Glenda and Gene got me. Glenda should be smiling somewhere.

I did more electronic work, got out the new hardware I purchased from AdaFruit, and got the strips of lights to work. I am using my micro-clips and jumper wires to make this all work until I decide to solder it into something more permanent.

Aside: I discovered that my Apple M1 Laptop has a problem in the Finder and cannot copy files to the boot to update the software on some of the hardware. Apparently, it is a known issue in Apples and Raspberry Pis. You must copy at the command line and skip all the lovely screens. Ventura (13.0.1) has the same problem for mac OS.

Time just slipped away, and soon it was late, and I went to bed.

Thanks for reading. And, while Advent is done, here is a song that fits the current conditions: Olaf’s Summer.

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

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116

I write this on Christmas morning, having slept in until 8ish and not rushing. The Christmas gift for today is that we are here; Susie (at hummingbird house) and I are both still here. That is good a gift as I could ask for. I also revel in the technology that lets me write (WordPress) and be reasonably correct (Grammarly), and I can take this with me (Apple laptop). While there seems to be a lot wrong in the world, technology and science (including medicine) seem to be saying that it could be so good if you folks would agree to take care of each other. So my Christmas wish is that folks actively care for others (not just words but actions) and let us find the future that technology and science promise us. It could be so good!

Returning to the narrative of Christmas Eve, I started in a rush, not for work, but because I had a lot to do. Breakfast was liberal coffee from Equal Exchange with ham and well more ham and finally some yogurt. I wrote a longish blog. Time started to run away, which often happens on vacations and weekend days. I had three loads of stuff to load into the cargo hold of Air Volvo. I was dressed (already for church) in a shirt, tie, and sweater, as I would not have time to return to the Volvo Cave and change.

The morning snow and ice seemed to glow as they melted in the light ran. Air Volvo handles perfectly in this mess, and it is hard to even slip–rather disappointing to have all that safety equipment take the run out of driving in snow and slush.

I went to deliver gifts to my Dungeons and Dragons group–due to my illness, we canceled the last game, so the gifts were not delivered then. This year Cory got a miniature Bag of Holding (dice bag) that matches the image in the game. Karyn got D&D potion models (full-sized) and cards that describe them. Matt, Scott, and Mackers got playing cards made by a local artist at the Portland Saturday Market.

Driving to their houses was not tricky, but the vehicle slipped a few times when crossing a street. Also, the steps to the front door were dangerous! It was more challenging to get out of your car than to drive it!

I stopped by last at Matt’s, and he and his wife, Niki, invited me in for a few minutes. It was nice to see them and Niki, who I only last saw at Matt’s retirement party.

I remembered dad on Christmas Eve, stopped by McDonald’s and ordered a two-cheeseburger meal, dad’s favorite. It took more than 45 minutes to do this version of fast food. As I was pressed for time, it was hard to wait so long, but in a snow mess and pandemic and thus it was not time to take it out on the staff–I was nice.

The fountain at McDonald’s.

I finally, eating while driving, took the highways to reach Susie at hummingbird house in Tigard. The traffic was light, and the main road was just wet. When I got there, Susie had something to eat. So I waited while she ate. Anasa, the nursing aide for today, had most folks at the dinner table eating a late lunch.

Once done and cleaned up, Susie moved to her bedroom, and we opened a present from Linda Wild, a glass with an image of a girl with a cape, “It was never a dress,” is written on the glass. Susie liked it.

We watched an episode of the new Disney+ show, Willow (after the nearly forgotten movie by the same name). It was pretty good but directed toward a younger audience. The girl-to-girl kiss was not a surprise, but another twist surprised me, and I was surprised by the high-quality writing. So far recommended. Evan showed up just towards the end and had only a short visit. We also called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for a while on FaceTime.

Next, I got Susie ready for church at 5PM with Anasa helping me. I had shoveled the snow and slush away from the boarding area for Air Volvo. I managed to get Susie loaded without any incidents. And unloading, while a bit sloppy in the slush, was uneventful.

The church was a long Christmas Eve service with many solos and carols to sing. The short and to-the-point sermon discussed how Jesus’s birth was consistent with our understanding of scripture and our limited understanding of God’s plan. C.S. Lewis was quoted a few times by Pastor Ken. Pastor Ken suggested it is not just a feeling but intellectual consistent, and logical. We finished with the traditional attempt to handle lighted candles without doing harm while singing Silent Night.

I managed to get Susie back to hummingbird house after wishing everyone a Merry Christmas at church. We then cracked open Wild Turkey and had a Christmas Eve drink. Jennifer and her husband were out shopping, so they could not join us, but Susie and I did OK. We watched one more episode of Willow. Susie found her tastes had changed, and she was not interested in Ginger Ale and bourbon tonight.

I said goodbye with a kiss, as it was getting late-ish. I did not know if it would refreeze (it did not), so I wanted to get Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave before it was icy. I reached home without issue.

I heard that my sister and mother were having some issues. So, without details, I helped Linda feel better. Next, I got out the pasta I made a few days ago, microwaved it, and watched Now You See Me 2, which has a different feel than the first and is more of an adventure film with the superpowers being magic tricks. It is a fun film. I nearly fell asleep after having Bailey’s in my coffee. I was tired. It was a rushed and fun day, but it was time to sleep.

The coughing is now asthma and not a cold. My nose runs non-stop, but the wheezing is mainly gone. I could sleep without issue and soon was asleep.

As the last day of Advent 2022, it is the usual Silent Night for our final ‘door,’ and I selected the minimally engineered version from the Pentatonix singers.

And for those who needed just one more day: One More Day.

Plus, for those stuck in snow storms: Frozen: Let it Go!

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

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116

Where to begin? It was a crazy day, good crazy. The snow and freezing rain mainly came as Oregon mist, and despite cold temperatures (22F -5.6C), I did not let that slow me down. The other drivers on the road were confident. Apparently, for the better, one of the social changes from the pandemic is that folks do not travel with risk–they get the day off or work from home. So nobody was out that I saw that was scared or with bad tires, and everyone drove well. I did run one red-hot yellow when I could not stop, but nobody was in the way, so that was OK, and that one did not have cameras.

Pastor Wayne is in the hospital (I will not share the details here), and I spoke to his wife, Rev. Anne, and Wayne was doing well. We wish Wayne and Anne a Happy Christmas while they spend much of it a St. V Hospital!

Dondrea’s voice has become a whisper. We wish her a speedy recovery. I also heard that Harold, our Music Director at First United Methodist, fell on his way to choir practice, and we also wish him a speedy recovery.

I spent the early afternoon with Susie at the hummingbird house, and Jennifer was on for Friday–she is the live-in nursing aide. Susie seemed a bit confused, and Jennifer was worried as Susie could not feed herself and suddenly seemed to need more care than before. I have noticed a decline, and I will seek more tests in the new year after talking it over with Jennifer.

Susie did improve later, so it might be the confusion that is the Holidays.

Susie and I watched the musical Chicago, the movie version. Susie stayed awake for all of it and sang along to a few songs. We had to watch it on my laptop as I forgot the USB C converter to DVI cables. I picked Chicago because it is colorful and clear, so the laptop’s 13″ screen size was not an issue.

We watched it in the social room with Susie in a recliner and me sitting in the rocking chair. We called Leta, Susie’s mother, after the first songs in the film. Leta and Susie, using FaceTime, talked about Leta’s Christmas plans and the snow.

Susie was uncomfortable at the movie’s end and moved back to her recliner in the shared living room. I, not wanting to discover the Oregon Mist becomes ice (it did not happen), departed at 3ish with a kiss. I arrived at the Volvo Cave with the paint unchanged on Air Volvo–no unexpected stops.

I put the potatoes in the oven and found an old movie for the holidays, Now You See Me. This is a modern fantasy of magicians robbing banks and generally doing the impossible by doing nearly impossible tricks (some are clearly fantasy). It is fun and makes me want to practice again. I have some good stuff, but it fades without practice. I do mostly card tricks, as I never practiced enough to do the slight-of-hand stuff. However, I can do the magician’s patter (lying) and handle cards well.

After the potatoes, I put the sweet potatoes from a can in a glass cooking dish and added them to the 350F (177C) convection oven. Then, I watched more of the movie. After heating the glaze mix and brushing it on the ham, I put the spiral-cut ham in the oven for another 45 minutes. I also stuck the cloves in the already-cut layers and put some pineapple rings on the ham.

Lastly, I microwaved some frozen green beans and left them plain. I could have made other sides, but I wanted to keep the starches down to two. My plate of ham, potato with sour cream, green beans, and simple yam was perfect. Happy early Christmas! I would not have time until Monday to cook, so it was a treat to make dinner.

The movie was fun, but the ending is, I think, a letdown. I purchased it from Amazon’s service at $4.99. I will likely buy the just as magical sequel.

I then wrapped the presents for Christmas, just a few items and many from Barb, Susie’s sister. I also wrapped gifts for my Dungeons and Dragons group. I will drop them off over the next few days.

Next, I went back, later than I had planned, and started working on my radio project. I spliced the wires (not the main brace) and got everything working. I added code to handle changing stations, display the station, and generally do the minimum to be a radio. I got it all working, powered with a 5V 10A power supply (transformer from the wall).

I had the strangest problem when I stood up in the Ikea chair; the microprocessor crashed dead. Even leaning forward caused this. How the f**k does that work. I tried control drop (nice words for bang on it), pulled on all the wires, and nothing. But, if I slowly rose from my chair with no contact with the work table, poof. I was laughing as I tried to sneak out. No good. I rolled the chair and then stood, poof. A compression cylinder in the chair controls the wheels, and somehow it produces a signal. How bizarre. I moved the ground on the Mini Pro 328 Arduino, which did not change this.

I made a mistake; I switched the power, thinking that 9V would be OK. It was not. The blue smoke left the amp. Oops, that is no more than 5.5V for the former amp. The microprocessor worked fine, and the weird crashing stopped. Not the fix I was going for.

I log on to Sparkfun’s website (my spare amp has already pined for testing, and I would rather leave it that way than unsolder all of that), and why yes, I would like that new (slightly cheaper) better amp. Yes, I will get the USB C-to-serial connectors. Those new microprocessors for $35 with built-in LEDs and recharge and LiPo battery handling would be great. Soon, I qualified for free shipping.

The radio will need some work next year.

I put away the ham. I finally unpacked the rest of the glassware from Glenda and Gene and hand-washed some of it. I put most of the ham and other goodies in the new containers. Just some ham on the ham bone was left. I loaded it all into the frig.

I did the dishes (i.e., rinsed and put them in the dishwasher). I cleaned up, had a snack, and took my meds. I head to bed; it is already past midnight and Christmas Eve.

Happy Advent day 23rd! Here is O Little Town of Bethlehem for our next “door” to open.

Shabbat music I found on the Internet, not knowing that much about this area, is here.