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I could sleep last night and started this morning, not coughing and stumbling into the morning like last week. Today I felt like at least I walked into the morning. I felt much better, but I knew not to set my hopes too high, and by 9ish, the cough and wheezing started to resurface.

It is Sunday, and I planned to get Susie to church today and then quickly leave the church and get back for the Allegiance Christmas party. I first wrote the blog for Saturday, which took most of my spare time; while not an extensive piece, it was still a thousand words. Producing 1K words that are reasonably correct and at least readable is about a two-hour job for me.

Writing could be three or even four hours when I was on chemo and telling the story of my long, slow days while enjoying cancer treatments. But then, the clock seemed to spin forward like a horror or sci-fi movie. I have completed it in less than two hours on most days.

Breakfast was Karen’s (from church) breakfast bread with raisins and cinnamon swirls, buttered, with liberal coffee made in the French Press. And then I was headed out. I remembered the little collections of gold, frankincense, and myrrh I got from Esty as gifts.

The trip to the hummingbird house was easy in light traffic on Sunday morning in Beaverton. When I got there, we had a little traffic jam with various folks wanting to park near the house. We arranged that, and I hopped out of Air Volvo and set up for boarding Susie. Anassa, the nursing aide on for the weekends, had Susie ready and in her coat. After putting a belt on her, I wheeled Susie out and lifted her into the car. I am not as good as the nursing aides and need the belt to have something to hold on to. I loaded the wheelchair, which is heavy, and got in the car to start some coughing and nose blowing. Susie was concerned, but I recovered, and Air Volvo reached First United Methodist in Beaverton without any scrapped paint or breaking any laws (I think).

We disembarked from Air Volvo, but I managed to kick the stool under the car (!?), but I recovered it after crawling on the ground. Susie was more concerned now. We managed to reach the church service as it was starting.

The music was traditional Christmas music, and Susie sang along. The sermon was about the passage in Mathew about the fruit of good works. Pastor Ken Wytsma traced the Golden Rule and covered that it was not about not doing harm but actively doing what is right for people. It was not evangelizing and forgetting about love and caring, counting the number of saved souls instead of feeding the poor.

Susie was still wrapped up in a coat, and it was warm in the church, highly unusual, and when Ken started to preach, she began to lean forward and fall asleep. I had to wake her a few times and ask her to lean back in her wheelchair. This was not that Ken’s words were not interesting; Susie now sleeps easily–it is a new thing.

When the sermon was done, I rolled Susie back to the coffee area and got her some coffee. She was safe as she held on to the table and stopped falling asleep. Bill got her some hot spiced cider, and she was happy there.

I managed to give the gifts to Dondrea and Howard. I told them the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were from the wiseguy.

Dondrea with flowers for Susie. I also got a basket of goodies. Thanks!

After a short time, I moved Susie back to Air Volvo and managed to perform the boarding procedure without severe incidents or having to crawl under the vehicle. We found the Sunday mall traffic but arrived at the hummingbird house as the party was getting going. Michelle, who runs the Alliegenece, and all her staff were there.

I called Leta, Susie’s mother, during the party. She was happy to see everyone, and Michelle chatted with Leta on FaceTime for a moment. Santa came by, and we ensured that Santa knew we had been good that day. We also called Cat as she had Covid and is isolated in her room, staying with her parents, and hopes to pass a Covid test and be released for Christmas activities. So it was good to FaceTime with her for a few moments.

There was plenty of food, and we played a fill-in-the-blank for Christmas song lyrics (Susie got 17/20). Also, they gave you a jingle bell, and if you said ‘Christmas,’ they took it. One person managed to gain two more bells. Susie was looking tired by the time the party was ending. I headed out with a kiss after the party. I was tired too.

The cough was back, but the wheezing was much reduced. Due to my terrible cough, Dungeons and Dragons was canceled today to prevent anyone (we have at least two people with reduced immune systems) from getting my cold. So I was free for the rest of the day.

I read more of the Poppie Wars and tried to slow the cough by resting a bit. Repeating lifting the wheelchair and poping Susie in and out is a workout for me. Returning to the book, I was surprised when the girl in the story took a drug to destroy her womb so she would not have month cycles–not writing, I was expecting. But, with that exception, so far, I have liked it. The story is a bit of a predictable pattern–but it is a good brain cookie.

I headed to BJ’s Brewhouse house. Katie was bartending; she is from Philly but was from South Carolina, so her accent is Philly with just a tiny hint of the south. She remembered my name, but I failed to get hers–she was not offended. She pointed out that it was prime rib Sunday, and so far, everyone at the bar had ordered that, so I joined in and ordered that. It was huge and came with a loaded potato, asparagus, and a caesar salad. I had that with my usual red ale, coffee, and a scoop of ice cream.

Dinner was excellent, and I exchanged a few words here and there with Katie while I was slinging out prime rib dinners and various drinks. A pleasant dinner, as usual, at BJ’s.

Stuffed, I headed home in Air Volvo and arrived without any issues. I stopped by Anne Weld-Martin’s house and picked up some music. No, I am not singing (I sing so bad folks move away from me at church), and I scanned it and sent an electronic version back to Anne and others. Scanning and emailing are the best I can do with music.

Next, I read for a bit, the coughing jags started, I fell asleep, and work an hour later to get up and write this blog.

Thanks for reading.

While not a happy song, it is one of my favorite Dean Martin Christmas songs, sung back in 1959. It shows his skills, and he gets help from well-done trumpet work. So for the 18th day of Advent, we will have a melancholy song: The Christmas Blue.

Feel free to call or send cards. 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 managed some sleep, so the day started at 7ish, and I first felt I had beat the coughing and wheezing. Next, I finished the text of the revisions of my Dungeons and Dragons adventure, 24 pages and 15,000 words in its shortened form. I was planning to play this Sunday, so I had to finish up the changes and some model building. I started on the blog next, and slowly while I was writing, I began to wheeze and cough. Well, puke! While fading at first, the cough and wheezing were still going strong.

I wrote an email canceling the Sunday game, so I would not give the cold to anyone else as I was still coughing and sneezing. The coughing got worse as I showered and cleaned up. I took more cold/flu meds and knew now I would be sleepy all day–the meds make me tired and makes my thinking sloppy.

I headed to Susie’s place and arrived near 11. Evan showed up a little later. Susie and I decided we could do the park as it was sunny without wind (which seldom happens in November in Oregon). It was frosty still, and we had the park primarily to ourselves. Only a few dog walkers were out in the cold. The path of the sun could be seen on the ground as anywhere the sun had not been was still covered with a light frost.

Susie was bundled in her heavy leather coat, hat, scarf, and mittens. We passed through the tennis courts as the only paving into the park was a handicapped parking spot to the tennis courts. I opened the court’s door, with Susie’s wheelchair hitting me in the ankles as it rolled forward, and I kept on my feet (the PT is helping, I think). I will need to put the brakes on her wheelchair next time!

We skipped the benches (I was not interested in sitting on a frost-covered bench) and called Leta, Susie’s mother, from a sunny spot just off the paved track (we got off the path to let the dog walkers by). Folks still do social distancing in the park. We talk to folks from six feet. Everyone is happy to see each other, but we all have this now built-in six feet space requirement. Leta could not talk long as she was at a party with the new Methodist Bishop–a friend of hers. Yes, Leta was partying with the Bish!

We did the whole park and even took a short trip to the Magnolia tree, which was not flowering, but the bright red seeds were showing now. We were getting cold. So we returned to the hummingbird house. I took Susie into her room, got her coat off, and put it away. Anassa, the nursing aide on weekends, moved Susie to her bed and put her head up. We then found The Mask of Zoro to watch. We watched the movie, and my coughing got worst. Susie fell asleep for some of the films but was awake for all the good parts.

The sword fights and some of the jokes were good. The movie is dated with its treatment of women and race–but not terribly so, and it is still fun. So it might be a good choice if you find a dull moment over the holidays.

Susie was unhappy when we started to leave. “I need you,” were her words. After a while, she decided she would be alright, and I could go. With all my coughing, I have had to keep my distance and keep my visits short–Susie is getting lonely. I will (hopefully, this cough will fade) spend more time with her once I am on paid time off (PTO) next week.

Evan and I got lunch and played my new board game Ostia at The 649 taphouse in Aloha, Oregon. This is my newest Kickstarter-based game, and I have punched it, read the rules, and even played a bit using the solo system. This was my first time teaching it and playing it with two people.

Evan quickly picked up the easy rules, and we were soon generating resources and placing ships. The game theme is the Roman port of Ostia, and you run a trading business in ancient Rome. You have a board for running your port and a larger board to explore and establish trade routes across the ancient world. Every ancient city has benefits you can acquire by building a building from the city in your port. You get honor by exploring and other events that increase your potential scoring (the same system is used in the board game Scythe).

Instead of cards or available choices, you pick a section of your port, do an action there (usually gaining resources) and then redistribute the ships in your port, and the last place you place a ship is your regular action. This unique way to select actions can be quite a brain burner.

We completed the game and scored wrong, and I am not sure who won, but I gave it to Evan. He managed to complete two trade routes which increased his scoring. Next time I will read the scoring rules more!

I had the chicken rice bowl there, and Evan had the soup. We then shared a charcuterie board. I had a Spanish Coffee when I got there, which warmed me and stopped the cough for a bit. I had a few beers as I had no game on Saturday night.

As Evan and I were wrapping up, Mariah texted me about meeting up–but I was done for the night. So I demurred and headed home. I curled up with my now much worse cough and wheezing and read Violet Blue’s book, published through Kickstarter. The ebook is here for pre-order on Amazon.

That was about all I did. Then, I put away my serious reading for a while, The Song of the Cell, and got a brain cookie: The Poppy War. I have this on my Kindle and spent the evening sitting up in bed reading, ignoring the coughing. The book is fun.

I went to bed at about 10ish, after I fell asleep while reading and finally slept around midnight. I managed to wake at 6AM–a first night’s rest.

It is day 17 of Advent, and I thought Dean Martin would work for today: Baby, it’s Cold Outside.

Thanks for reading.

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

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116

 

My cough is slowly improving and fading. I agreed with Richard to skip board games tonight in Portland to give me more rest and recovery. I took some advice and slept mostly sitting up, significantly improving my sleep and reducing my wheezing.

The day started with me working from home on Fridays, and at about 7:30AM, I had already made coffee and an NYC bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. After that, I enjoyed two hours of status meetings and planning meetings for the shoe company. I then replied by email and slack channel on various issues and got all my timesheets in for the rest of the year–I can easily estimate the two days left working in 2022.

I got the laundry washed but not put away yet. I did the dishes (to get them away from the pests-ants).

I was following along and trying to help where I could. The data conversions are ramping down, finally, for the holidays. So for us, the weekend has no more meetings. Excellent!

Next, I drove to Portland and to the colonoscopy clinic. Like last time, I had to talk to the folks as I was an exception being heavier than their usual easy patients. They are concerned that they could not incubate me if needed. I have been through this before. So I drove to Legacy and was weighed and measured. Apparently, my height which is 5’6″, was on the chart as 5’5″, which meant I was too heavy. Now with my correct heights, I was fine (put an eye-roll here). Also, as I had survived previously without issues at the same clinic, there was no reason for concern. As I expected, a waste of my time.

Instead of being annoyed, I parked next to Swagat’s India Food and set Parking Kitty (the excellent parking app we use in Portland) for two hours of parking (the app ‘meows’ at you when you need to pay more or move your car). I figured some spicy food was what my cold needed. So I enjoyed a fine mixed plate of items.

I then drove from Portland to Tigard to see Susie at the hummingbird house. Susie was asleep in her recliner when I got there. I woke her, and we called her mother to chat more about cookies. It is a big production for Leta, and Susie’s bounty is on-it-way in the USPS system.

I left after a short visit, with no contact still, and headed home. I followed along at work, and then after 4PM, I started to read Violet Blue’s new book. This is her story of becoming homeless in San Fransico and what happened to her. These were the times of the AIDS disaster and the demonization of gay people and homeless kids–I was in college during these years and remember it mainly through the lens of trying to find my way in Computer Science and Mathematics. It is hard to put down!

The ebook is here for pre-order on Amazon.

I decided to rest more and ordered dinner and a snack delivered. I ordered Pho and ate hot broth with meat and noodles. I could not finish it! I also had donuts delivered. The ants found them last night–ugh! But I did get two before the donuts were lost to the pests. I will call ant man to come for them when I am not running so hard.

I did set up my new game for solo play, Ostia. I was going to play, but I started to get tired–the side effect of the cold/flu meds. It looks lovely!

I went to bed early and just read Violet’s book. It plays in my mind like a movie, and I wish I could jump in and just give them ten bucks to have some decent food and a nice space blanket. The truth of poverty is hard to see playing on your mind!

I had a few coughing jags, but the inhaler and some hot ginger tea slowed that, and soon I fell asleep and did not wake until 6ish. The most sleep I have had in a night in about a week

Thanks for reading.

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

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116

Good and bad news today. I am much better and was getting less good in the evening. I was hoping for this illness to pass from me today, but it is lingering. This is really disappointing to me–it is hard to deal with everything, the holidays, and now a lingering illness. I was hoping for a break. Instead, I trudge on.

The morning started with me being very tired when I woke at 6:15, sent out an email that I would work from home today, and then slept until 7:45AM. I managed to get going and make a toasted NYC bagel with cream cheese (thanks, Joyce) and some hard-boiled eggs I made yesterday. I made coffee using the French Press, liberal coffee as usual. The status meetings started for ninety minutes. I was tired and dizzy, but the wheezing and coughing had stopped. Yay!

I discovered last night that my inhaler was empty. Yup, using an empty one, and the results were as expected. Once I could breathe better, I fell deeply asleep at 1ish in the morning.

I followed along online at work and then showered and got dressed.

I canceled my lunch meeting on campus as walking across Nike WHQ, while a beautiful walk, might be overdoing it. Thus, I withdrew from a lovely lunch at Serena William’s building and cafe.

I had a Physical Therapy appointment in Bethany and reached that without issue in Air Volvo. I managed to park, call into a meeting, and then complete that meeting on my iPhone. I then drove the rest of the way. PT was just a chat as I did not feel up to doing anything, and I did not want the PT person near me–they can’t afford to get this cold. We agreed on some more exercises.

I stopped at a place for lunch, and my colon decided it wanted attention. I needed the men’s room, but the lack of toilet paper did not make me happy with my choice. I will not mention the name here. The food was OK, but overpriced for what it was. When I miss sleep, other things begin to act up.

Next, I headed to the hummingbird house to see Susie. When I arrived, Susie was asleep in her recliner in the shared living room. I woke her, and she was delighted to see me. We then called Leta, her mother, who was in the middle of making cookies for the holidays. Leta showed us her green fingers on FaceTime, and there was a hint of green on her teeth and tongue–she had sampled the Christmas wreath cookies (made with cereal, green dye, and something to glue them together–maybe melted marshmallow). Susie was happy to chat and talk cookies. Next, we talked to Barb, Susie’s sister, for a while. Barb was at a Holiday Party at work. Susie was happy to speak with her sister for a bit. Susie was sad when I had to leave so soon; back to work.

I returned home and followed along for a bit at work. I went to rest as I was getting exhausted now. No rest; the banshees were back–ugh! The new inhaler (full) helped, but not for long. I did put all the trash and recycling. I am trying to just do the needful today.

I put on the cable and watched more episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix. Not sure I like it.

I am also reading Violet Blue’s new book. I like it and her poetic style of telling a story. I wish I could write that well. The ebook is here for pre-order on Amazon.

So I took more cold/flu meds and tried to rest, write this blog, and resist coughing.

The Christmas party at Hummingbird House is at noon on Sunday–we will be there after church. It is open to visitors.

Advent day 15 song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

Thanks for reading.

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

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116

Today I tried to work from home, and for a while, the coughing and wheezing gave me a break, but at 3PM, it was screaming banshees in my chest, and no means to stop the noise. But I then took my inhaler and some cold/flu meds and was better. So this is primarily a game of managing symptoms until the nose running and wheezing halts.

I started at 6:15 and sent an email that I would work from home as I was still coughing, and nobody wants at work for me to gift this cold to them–definitely a white elephant. I attended the usual ninety minutes of status meetings. I tried not to ask questions in the Zoom meetings as I have been out for the last four days and am still trying to get back into things. No reason to waste everyone’s time on an obvious question.

I was tasked to review some items, read more technical specifications, provide feedback, and re-reviewed the documents when updated. I did this while the meetings were ongoing or between meetings.

I did my stretching exercises today, now that I was back to work, and while I did cough a few times, it did not set off exhaustion or a coughing jag. Better.

I was running on limited sleep, as I had trouble sleeping last night, and I could quickly nod off for boring stuff. So I spent the boring time reading tech specs and reading some news articles. I kept going the whole morning. Breakfast was an NYC bagel with cream cheese (thanks, Joyce, for sending the Zabar bagels) and some fruit from a can. Coffee, as always, is Equal Exchange brand liberal coffee (fair trade certified) to remind me in each cup that the world still needs work–liberal work. I have been drinking this on most days since President Trump was elected.

I slipped a shower in between meetings and then attended an architect and engineering meeting on how to fix a performance problem. As a result, we have approved a POC on a possible improvement.

Once that was done, I headed to the hummingbird house and arrived without issue. I am still coughing and wearing a mask. I keep my distance and minimize the things I touch. No reason to donate this terrible cough to others.

Susie was in bed on her side, resting. She was having tummy issues and was sleepy. So I made it a short visit (I was getting messages on those tech specs while there–no rest of the wicked). We called Susie’s mother, whom we connected with before she had to head to church. She is helping with the church holiday camp. Susie nodded off a few times, and soon I said my goodbyes.

Susie was not the only person with some issues. I was sleepy, too, and the coughing jags were back. I stopped by Carl Jr. and acquired their western burger (a guilty pleasure) for lunch, which was well made. Excellent.

I did some more items at work and then rested and had a terrible coughing attack, and my breathing issues worsened. So I took a nap, somehow sleeping in this mess for an hour. That helped, as did the inhaler, cold/flu meds, and constantly blowing my nose.

At one point, the messages, texts, and emails from work and friends were coming so fast that my iPhone sounded like R2-D2.

I was cold too. I had reprogrammed the heat to be low on days I work at the office. So I turned the heat back up to normal!

Work finished, and I reviewed the emails, texts, and Slack channels. After that, I made buckwheat pancakes (like we used to have thirty-plus years ago at the Sidewalk Sales Day in Laingsburg). I still remember all the biz men working under Mr. Hurst’s direction singing, “Hot Cakes!” I also got some cooked and frozen bacon and heated it to go with it. Maple Syrup, lightly poured on top, finishes the meal for me. It was sausages back then, but I have bacon.

The coughing continues, my nose is producing an outflow that one wonders how there can be that much stuff up there, and my chest and stomach muscle hurt now when I cough.

This takes me to the other event for today; the Colonoscopy police called me. These folks ensure you are ready for the dreaded deed on 22Dec2022 at 6:35AM–I am the first one. I got my updated directions today, arranged a taxi ride to Portland, and then an additional check on Friday is needed. I will have to slip out to Portland at noon on Friday for a breathing check. I was frustrated that we would be repeating this again and again at the last minute. So I start the fun, assuming I pass the test on Friday, on Wednesday. I will arrange a return trip at 8:15AM to the Volvo Cave. It is forbidden in Oregon to drive on a day when you are knocked out by an anesthetic. So taxis for me.

I received a new set of special gaming poker chips I bought myself for Christmas. These are used in various games, and I needed some good ones. Iron Clays 200 set was delivered, and my 100 set, which I already own, and, when combined, covers any needs.

Another Kickstarter was delivered today. My friend Violet Blue has published her book and delivered it today. I received the ePub file today and other eContent for her. I have sent it to my Kindle to read soon. The book is not her usual erotica (yes, that word) or technology book (yes, she goes both ways), but about her life growing up in San Fransico drug culture and then being homeless. It is authentic, and that is what I like about Violet. I will provide a link to her autobiographical work on Amazon when ready.

Update: The ebook is here for pre-order on Amazon. Please consider it. A printed version will appear soon.

Well, I am tired. It hurts to cough. It is not worse, just not slowing much.

For day 14 of Advent, I picked Happy Christmas (The War is Over).

Thanks for reading.

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

Allegiance Senior Care

Adult Foster Care Home

9925 SW 82nd. Ave.

Portland, Oregon 97223

The house phone number: (503) 246-4116