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Today, like most days, I have too many things to do. The addition of stretching and exercises, while not a lot of time, requires focus. So I felt a bit rushed and pressured yesterday, and I am pressed for time this Sunday morning while writing the story for Saturday.

Today I will write by events and then explore before and after.

The first event was writing my Dungeons and Dragons Adventure. I finally finished most of the editing of the entry text and started on the encounters. The first text describes the adventure and what is happening, and I needed to realign it to what I wrote in the encounters. Some of my ideas changed, and earlier ideas were best forgotten.

I started editing, revising, making it harder, and better connecting the themes of the adventure. Encounters are the part we play in Role Playing Games. Imaging your adventurers walking down a hallway in some lost complex is interesting, and we used to map all this out, often spending hours of time mapping and drawing. But the encounters are where the action happens and are most of the adventure. For the in-between events, I minimize as they use the time that is better used on encounters. We only get so much time to play games, so we should use the time for fun things.

The encounters are primarily rooms in last tombs with horrid traps and undead protectors, trying to convince a librarian at an arcane fantasy library to let you “borrow” an ancient tomb in exchange for a pile of gold, or sneaking in to rob a sleeping dragons favorite cup. It is the part we play and usually involves a conflict and often combat with all the sword swinging and blasting magic one comes to expect in Dungeons and Dragons.

I managed to finish all the encounters I needed on Sunday. I also started on a special figure I need. I used my Dremel to make a few adjustments and glued the McDonald’s Happy Meal figure to a Dungeons and Dragons large creature base. I also got some cloth glued to the new figure to see if that would work. I think it will be good. Just have to finish it on Sunday (this Sunday morning, I finished the rest of the application, and the work is drying now).

The adventure is 33 pages long, over 21,000 words and about 1/3 done and edited. Another 1/3 needs to be edited more, and the last third remains to be written. However, it writes faster now that I have much of the story finished and aligned.

The next event is seeing Susie. I dressed and was ready in the mid-morning. I had cereal with milk and liberal coffee from my French Press. I got into Air Volvo, adding the board game Brass: Lancashire to the collection already in the car. I planned to play games Saturday evening at Richard’s house, and he might want to try the other Brass.

I reached the hummingbird house without incident, avoiding the traffic in Old Town Beaverton; today is the tree lighting and Christmas Festival. It was still morning, so the traffic was not building yet, and I was quickly and without losing any paint at Susie’s place.

Susie was comfortable in her recliner in the shared living room. Susie had already had breakfast. Susie decided that she would stay inside today. I got out the Advent Calendar, and we opened day three. Inside the small door was some small hard candy–not safe for Susie. I had one and decided I could not give one to Susie–perfect for choking!

Next, we moved to the social room, and I set up the screen and plugged my Mac into the screen. Then, we watched two Christmas shows: Rudolf and The Year Without a Santa Claus. Susie stayed awake for all the shows and sang along to some of the songs.

Susie was feeling better but still having some tummy issues. Likely that was breakfast settling now that Susie is eating more. Evan, who joined us in the second show, told me he thought Susie was more awake, and her speech seemed better.

I paused one show, and we called Leta, Susie’s mother, on my iPhone using FaceTime. We all chatted for a while. I try to connect Susie and her mother daily using FaceTime so they can see each other.

Soon the shows were over, and Susie was looking tired also; it was time for lunch (we did two fifty minutes shows). So I kissed Susie goodbye, and Anassa took over, the nurse aide for the weekends, and was getting Susie ready for lunch when I left.

The next event was getting a birthday dinner for my mother, Barb Wild, in East Lansing. Unfortunately, my sister is ill with the stuff going around, so she could not take mama to dinner at her favorite, Bravo. Linda sent me a text with mom’s usual selections and suggested that Uber Eats could handle this. Thus, I ordered dinner for Barb Wild while with Susie (Susie got to wish Barb a happy birthday) between movies.

Evan and I had food and drinks and played a board game, Architects of the West Kingdom, at the taphouse, The 649, one of our usual haunts on Saturday. I connected to their WiFi and watched the status of the food on my Mac. The driver got lost.

Chris, the Uber driver in East Lansing, called me. I then proceeded to give directions to the unit in East Lansing. I managed to remember the way; it has been years since I have been there. Success! The food was delivered. More surprisingly, I ordered the right stuff. Excellent. Mom has a nice dinner.

After playing two games of Architects (I have described the game in the last few blogs, so I will forgo covering the game here) and beating Evan both times (just lucky in the first one), I headed to Portland.

The last event was playing with Richard and Shawn. Shawn and Richard are good game players; I would be crushed–as usual. We played again, the third time in a row, Weather Maker, a new game from a Kickstarter (again, I have described this game in last Saturday’s blogs and will pass on explaining it here). I made a few mistakes and could not find my grove, and I did not improve my best score. This time we played semi-cooperative, and Richard got the Nobel Prize and ended the game. I felt we had found the heart of the game, and everyone had a lovely time. Shawn, his first time, had a great score.

We did not take up the board game Brass this time.

I headed home and was back at the Volvo Cave without incident, except for me passing a semi on an on-ramp to a bridge on the tallest ramp in Portland! The ramp was two lanes, then reduced to one land; the semi started to pass me on the ramp! I was going fast after that and got in front of him instead of being crushed or knocked off the bridge! I don’t like bridges, and the ramp, I call it the Space Shuttle Launch Ramp, is higher than the bridge and is tilted. So a bit exciting trip home.

At the Volvo Cave, I had a bagel-like product with cream cheese and some capers I added. I need to take food with my pills. So I turned on the next episode of Wednesday on Netflix, did my stretching, and then took six minutes on the stationary bike. The next episode was fun; the teenager angst is something I don’t need but fits the show (and the audience). I still recommend it.

I went to bed after that and fell asleep. I had a terrible nightmare and was awake at 1AM–I can’t remember what was in the dream. After that, I managed to sleep again. I woke at 4AM and was about to get up and write this blog when I woke at 5:45. I was about to get up, and then it was 6:45, and I did get up.

Thank you for reading.

For the third day of Advent, I will pick these silly songs: Miser Songs.

I started Friday as usual with me, sleeping in a bit and doing all my meetings, hours of Zoom meetings, in my robe. I woke at 5AM and had trouble falling back to sleep a few times. I had vivid non-scaring dreams that I can not remember and started before 7AM.

I finished the cottage cheese for breakfast with some peaches from a can. I made French Press liberal coffee, Equal Exchange Organic Breakfast Blend. I had ordered another case, but I now have found four more bags in the pantry–I am supplied for 2023, I think. Oops.

Friday focuses less on the status and more on getting things done to get to our weekend. I helped with some technical issues. I also helped with some crises of the moment. It was nice to get back to designing some software.

I did my stretching exercises and showered and dressed. I then walked for twenty minutes to get my exercises done. I walked past Reedville Elementary and a few blocks and then turned around. I saw a gal putting up a wreath, and we exchanged pleasantries. This year, as the pandemic’s impact on the economy wains, folks are using more holiday decorations, almost like we are demanding it to be a good holiday. A bit manic, but it looks nice.

Next, I drove to Beaverton to Top Burmese in Old Town. I had the veggy-only lunch with okra–it was beautiful. I have had it before, and with the okra sliced, it is more like green beans than slimy veggies. There is strange parking in Beaverton, and I had to park three blocks away. Top Burmese uses robots to deliver drinks and food, but the bar is still manual. I did have to avoid one of the robots getting into a seat on the bar–they track just behind the bar seats to the kitchen.

After leaving Beaverton, I headed to see Susie at the hummingbird house. Susie was in her recliner in the living room, not really watching the reruns of Friends. Jennifer planned to have the residents help her decorate their Christmas tree later in the day. I got out Susie’s Micky and Mini Mouse Advent calendar, and we together opened day two. Susie had a bit of chocolate, and as there were two chocolates, I had one too.

Next, we called Leta, and Susie and her mother chatted on my iPhone using FaceTime. Leta had decorated her tree and shared a view of it. Susie was happy that I could come by, and I stayed a bit, but it was a work day, and I needed to get back to the house and connect back to work. So Susie gave me a kiss goodbye.

I reached the house and reconnected to work on my Nike laptop. Next, I contacted the service that supplies cigarettes in East Lansing, yes, there is one, and I then paid their fees and had them take some smokes to Barb Wild. Next, my sister sent me a place to order chicken wings. I connected with that place in Lansing and sent plain chicken wings and a chef salad to Mrs. Wild, Sr.

I continued following along at work, but it soon quieted down. The food and smokes arrived, and mama was quite pleased.

Now for dinner for me, I cooked hamburger meat from the freezer, defrosted it in the microwave, and made tacos. I found all the packets of spices and shells in the pantry. I had cheese slices that I cut into thin pieces. I put the cheese in the shells and added the cooked meat and spices. I did add a 1/2 a sliced onion to the beef and a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes to the meat and spice pack. I baked the shells until crunchy with the meat and cheese in them so they would not break apart when stuffed. Next, I cut some lettuce and added sour cream. It was good, and I had too many.

While cooking, I finished watching The Man from UNCLE movie that I liked so much but is not likely to get a second film. It was a zany film, and I wish they would make another.

After this, I went back to writing my Dungeons and Dragons adventure. I also worked on the figures for the adventure. I need some specially made items. I was working with my Dremel on one gigantic item I hope to use later. I took a last minutes trip to Rainy Day Games before they closed and purchased some figures I needed. I will not have time to 3D print them. I sometimes close a bar, but today I closed the gaming store!

Aside: I also received today a set of Feather microcontrollers from AdaFruit in New York City. I tried to connect one to my Apple. I could not make it work. The new M1 is not as flexible as my previous Intel-based Apple. I have a Windows machine for this work, and I will try it on the weekend.

Returning home, I set Susie’s exercise bike to fit me and used it for six minutes. This is more exercise for me. I am to walk and/or bike. I have decided to do both.

I decided it was time to slow down, and I watched the new show Wednesday on Netflicks. It was kooky and a bit spooky–yes, an Addams show. I watched the first episode and loved it. The actress, Jenna Ortega, who plays Wednesday, is perfect–a morose teenager Wednesday. Recommended.

I then wrote the blog tonight to give me more time for writing and watching the USA soccer game on Saturday morning. I am headed to Susie in the late morning and taking her to the mall. After that, I plan to play games at Richard’s in Portland at 6PM. A busy Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

Today’s Advent song is Mary, Did You Know?

 

The snowstorm and snowmageddon did not happen this Thursday morning. It was a letdown as that would have been an excellent way to start December, but I did not miss the messy commute. We also have the Nike Emergency contact system to keep us informed. It did not send out a message last night, so I know it was unlikely we would be facing snow.

My rushed morning includes exercises to stretch my lower back and help me be more flexible. So I was on the floor this morning trying that out. Afterward, I read my emails, texts, and messages for work and from my personal accounts. I got showered and dressed after a breakfast of a bagel-like bread product with cream cheese and a banana with liberal coffee.

Another case of coffee was delivered today, liberal equal exchange coffee. I sent Barb, Susie’s sister, some for Christmas–not much more expensive than sending some myself.

I arrived at work before 8 and then embarked on a voyage in Zoom of hours of status meetings. I asked some questions here and there, and unfortunately, I just made the meetings longer without helping much. But I have been told that folks like my questions, so I carry on.

I slipped out after the meetings and headed off to see Susie at the hummingbird house. I had no meetings left in the early afternoon; I would not have to rush off. Traffic for a Thursday was lighter than I expected. The thought of snow had apparently driven people to work from home and stay off the roads. The road electronic status sign threatened an $880 fine for not having chains–Beaverton Finest was ready to enforce the law. I put the socks in the cargo area, the only traction devices allowed on my SUV XC60 Volvo 2018. It is against the law to travel without traction devices, at least in a vehicle in light snow. If the state announces a snow emergency, the Volvo must wear socks; they cost $220 to cover all four wheels.

Without wearing socks, I arrived safely at the hummingbird house in Air Volvo (that is, none on the Volvo). Susie was in her chair and festive with a Christmas sweatshirt keeping her warm. We got her Micky and Mini Mouse advent calendar and opened the first door, a chocolate star. I broke off a tiny piece and let her eat that. Susie complained that her tummy hurt–Jennifer told me Susie ate her oatmeal, fried potatoes, and Ensure. Susie was full!

On my iPhone, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, on FaceTime and had a lovely chat. Leta was starting to decorate the inside of her house with Christmas stuff. I stayed for forty-five minutes and then left with a kiss. Susie was happy I was able to stay longer.

I headed to Bethany, not far, for lunch and then my Physical Therapy appointment. I went to the Bethany Public House, sat in the bar, and connected to Nike’s network. I had lunch, choosing their cowboy chili and a diet coke (beer is for after work and weekends) while watching the second half of the World Cup games. Japan pulled off an impossible task, I thought, of beating Spain. Germany won its game but failed to make the knock-out 16. It was a good lunch, and I followed along at work and answered some questions.

Off to PT. I had a new guy, Michael, and also Leo. They worked me over and are working on making me more flexible. They recommended a go-slow plan as I had trouble with pain after the exercises, and some of their stretching of my back was uncomfortable. I did ride their bike for five minutes. I had more pain later, so I decided to go slow and not do any more exercises today. It is not supposed to hurt.

I drove home from Bethany without incident or the need for socks (but I have them). I reconnected with Nike and followed along for a while. I rested a few times to bring the pain, which got worse an hour after the exercises (sneaky pain is what Michael called that).

I made a ham and cheese sandwich with a pickle and coleslaw leftover from Popeyes (I got the large amount as it is not more expensive than their small size). I then worked on my Dungeons and Dragons adventure, finishing the start-up text and working on encounters. I am improving the text, making it a bit harder, and using all those tricks I used before.

The way to write good encounters for Dungeons and Dragons and role-playing games is to break the rules–not what you would do in a board game! In this case, I have created my own version of creatures, and some are actually puzzles for the players to work out–nothing standard. Just how do you get rid of this horror is their challenge. Some don’t go away easily. Next, I create great adventurers by using themes, usually three themes. They guide the way I assemble the monsters, traps, and treasures to be found. The players typically work out a few of these patterns and enjoy decoding what is happening.

Previously, I wrote an adventure that broke the rules by having the whole adventure be a dream and that characters could not die, but when they would have, they started over at the start with all their equipment. This was an advantage–it created strange dynamics. I could use overpowered traps and monsters, and they would get multiple tries (deaths) to find the best way to beat the trap or monster.

I decided at 8ish to head to Wildwood to write the blog. I wanted a beer and some social interaction after all the writing. So I had a dark beer and wrote this blog. I also put out the recycling and trash. My back hurt. Yes, time to go slow.

Thanks for reading.

For Advent, I will pick out a song as an Advent Calendar:

Christine McVie, the singer and songwriter, passed away–so it seems fitting to give her the first slot. Happy Holidays!

The morning started with waking just before my alarm and falling deeply asleep. I was then shocked to awake only ten minutes later. No way to start a morning! I then did my stretching exercises and discovered I would need to do them on the floor. It is a learning process.

I had cottage cheese and the rest of 1/2 can of peaches for breakfast with some liberal coffee. Then, I read my email and some work stuff before showering and dressing. It is a work-from-office day, so it is a rush to be ready in time to be in the office for the 8AM meetings. But I managed it and was back in the office for my first meeting.

I helped with a few ideas today and a few crises of the moment. The Zoom meetings were still frustrating, but things were moving and making the meetings more useful. It is always strange to be in the office in Zoom meetings.

I headed to see Susie and arrived at the hummingbird house around 11AM. Susie was in her recliner and looked a bit tired. We called her mother, Leta, and chatted for a while. Susie is starting today on her iron supplements to see if we can improve her labs. Susie’s immediate risks are weight loss, low iron, and low red blood cell counts. I sat with her for a while and held her hand. But, it is a work day, so I could only stay for a short time. I left Susie, looking sad, with a kiss. Another hard day.

On the way back to the office, I grab a burger king whopper with terrible onion rings. The drive-through was flooded–a drain was likely full of leaves, and there were six inches or more of water in the driveway. So I went in and got my burger to-go. The BK team was singing 80s rock and Christmas songs–not something I expected. I took my burger with me and sat in Air Volvo, eating and listening, as usual, to Oregon Public Radio news shows.

I returned to the office and helped with some ideas for a performance fix. I left after 4PM and headed to Old Town Beaverton. The traffic had not gotten bad yet, and I was soon parked at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton. I walked to the Ava Roasteria to get my walking done for my back exercises. There I ordered a sandwich–they wanted to know which one. I asked them to make their favorite. I answered the other questions with suggestions that they pick the bread and all of that to match how they like it. The Turkey and cheddar sandwich was terrific. I did walk it back to get more walking and ate the sandwich in my car.

I bumped into Venky at Ava while waiting for my food and coffee, who I last saw at Ernest’s Hillsboro Python meetings before the pandemic. It was great to see him, and he is still finding work for folks. He offered to find me some good work if I ever wanted to give up the shoe company! Not every day do I get a job offer; I demurred. Venky and I both agree that we miss Ernest’s group and hope we can return to those exciting meetings.

Aside: I am working on my Dungeons and Dragons adventure now. But I plan to do some exciting Python work in late December. Maybe I will have to start a meet-up at First United Methodist Church with me ordering Pizza and bringing water next year. Python again in 2023! Thinking of you Ernest!

Choir practice and band rehearsal are today (Wednesday), so I brought the Architects of the West Kingdoms board game. Zophia quickly learned the game and was playing well. I won the first game, but Zophia and I played fast, and there was plenty of time to play again, and Zophia beat me in the second game. She had never played the game before, but she really enjoyed the game. It is my favorite type of board game, with very simple turns and complex strategies, some multidimensional.

We put Architects away after two games and started on Azul, and we both won a game. We play cutthroat and use the blank board, which is more challenging. We love to play this against each other.

I gave a wrapped present similar in size to my copy of Azul for Christmas to Zophia. The card says it may be open before Christmas.

I then flew Air Volvo home. We are under a storm watch, so I put the traction devices (Volvo socks!) into the cargo area with another first aid kit (I usually carry two). I am ready for Thursday with snow.

 

I started watching the light snow this Tuesday while writing the blog at about 7:30AM. The snow was just a half-melted flake here and there. I wrote at a relaxed speed as I had the day off as it was impossible to mix new physical therapy, work, and seeing Susie on the same day. My appointment was at 10:15 in Bethany, about 30 minutes or less away.

I had cottage cheese and 1/2 a can of peaches (in their own juices) for breakfast with liberal coffee.

I had not seen these folks before, Therapeutic Associates, Bethany office for Physical Therapy. Today was my assessment and determination of goals, and to plan six more sessions, as needed. It took two hours!

They decided that I was having trouble feeling the floor, and my left lower back was stiff, causing many issues. To get better, I need to be more flexible. I suspect some folks at Nike always knew I was inflexible and too stiff, but they did not mean it literally–the irony makes me smile.

I will enjoy two sessions a week and already have exercises as homework. I am also advised to walk or ride the bike (Susie’s) for five or more minutes daily. My next session is on Thursday. I will have to work on this in a while, working and seeing Susie every day.

We scheduled all the sessions through December. I then found lunch at Bethany Public House and watched the must-win USA vs. Iran match. The USA squeaked by the Iranian team that was energized by the substitutions. I ate the chili and then had a mango cobbler once the game was over. The USA had so many saves we all panicked when there were nine minutes of added time. The USA just made it.

After that, I headed out, knowing they made an excellent chili for the next lunch after PT. I drove over to the hummingbird house to see Susie. Susie was in bed resting. I sat in her wheelchair while she stayed in bed, and we talked about Christmas gifts for folks. I told her all my plans, and she thought them good and agreed to send out some more fruit cake. Susie wanted some fruit cake, so I ordered one sent to the Volvo Cave. Next, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, and they chatted on my iPhone via FaceTime. I held the phone for Susie so they could see each other.

Susie was sad when a few hours later, I said I should go; Susie looked exhausted and was resisting sleeping. She told me she missed me and was sad to see me go. It was a hard day. I kissed her goodbye.

I returned to the house, not really remembering the drive as I was sad.

I rested a bit and put the board game Architects of the West Kingdom in Air Volvo. I removed Concordia. Evan wanted to return to Architects, and I think Zophia will like it on Wednesday. Next, I spoke to my neighbor; Chris was on his roof fixing his lights–the water was shorting them and setting off a breaker. On Sunday morning, we will discuss how I want my lights, and he will put them up for me. Excellent!

Aside: The police visited him and asked him to not use the illegal fireworks as the folks in the area were calling the police, reporting gunfire. The shells are pretty loud, and I first thought it was a gun until I heard the other sounds of fireworks.

I headed to the Lucky Labrador Bar in Portland off of Hawthorn. I was in terrible traffic for thirty minutes, and the trip took the usual 45 minutes. I parked on the streets not far from another bar and walked there. The place was busy, and folks were playing games and chatting. There are no screens to watch sporting events, but the WIFI is fast. It reminded me of pre-Covid-19 days. There is better ventilation than I remember and more light.

Aside: I stopped and got gas for Air Volvo tonight. It was $4.79 at the usual places. The price continues to fall.

I met Evan there, and we played a game of Architects of the West Kingdom. We both had to remember how to play, but it was all remembered soon. I also ordered a BLT and a beer. Evan had dinner too. We played between bites. I was hungry as I had a busy day; the bartender recommended the BLT–it was terrific.

The board game is a worker placement and resources management game. This game takes my favorite systems of simple turns and complicated strategy to the max. For example, on some turns, I would get one stick of wood. I would then place another worker in the forest and get two sticks. And, the next turn, I would get another three sticks, and I had a lot of wood. But now, what to do with that? Invest it in the cathedral? Exchange it for honor? Now collected stone or other items to build a building later? All interesting options. I like this game, and I have all the add-ons and bling, so there are many options.

Evan was behind by about two buildings when he ended the game by building the last building. I had been lucky to have plans for some medium-scoring buildings that are easier to build. This is a strong luck factor in the game, but the new add-ons have tamped down the impact of luck on the game. Still, I think I scored well due mainly to chance. Also, we did not use the new features of monuments or prestige. Next time!

I headed back after chatting with Evan for a bit. I needed to write the blog, so I was home by 9PM. I then wrote the blog. The wind picked up, and I had to go outside again and close the gate. I don’t like the sound of the door opening and closing in the wind. The power blinked, but my UPS kept everything running. The wind is loud tonight.

Thanks for reading.