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Today was a bit stressful as I had a busy schedule and was stressed about being late. So just everyday stress for me. No pain that I noticed in my right leg. No other health surprises. So a good day, if busy.

I started by sleeping just a bit until 7something and writing the blog. I don’t write the blog on Friday and Saturday nights, but I have to write twice on Sunday. So I was busy Saturday morning writing. I had cereal with milk and liberal coffee to drink for breakfast–I am out of bananas (is that not a song?).

The blog did not take that long as Friday was a work day, so it did not have much to write about–work details are not included in the blog. First, IT work on German software will not seem that exciting to many folks, and second, sharing the details of the function of Nike’s main accounting software and the process would require Nike to approve the blog, which is not likely. So just the outline of my work day, at most, dear readers.

I was dressed, and the blog was written and sent out with an hour to spare. I put a blanket in Air Volvo for Susie and headed through Beaverton in the Oregon mist (it was a gray day with low clouds), skipping, as usual, Old Town with its 20 mph parts. The traffic was slow and thick for a Saturday morning. I saw folks suddenly change lanes and then slam their brakes on the wet roads when the traffic just stalled. There is no fast today in Beaverton.

On the way, I got some gas for Air Volvo at $5.29, which is the lowest local price. I saw 4.99 in Troutdale and regretted not filling up there. I bought Halloween candy and other items at the Rite Aide; the Halloween items were 50% off. Excellent. I got Susie a New Orleans-style witch hat, a soft Snoopy that plays the Peanuts theme with a bit of scary added, and a Woodstock stuffed animal that matched. I got a smaller bag of different candies to give to Jennifer and Humminbird house’s use.

Aside: I opened the big bag of Halloween candy I got for the Volvo Cave and had the gas jockeys grab what they wanted. They are the first customers I told them. Happy Halloween, early.

I reached the hummingbird house without issue or increasing the crime rate in Beaverton. I saw the photo ticket system flash for some of my fellow drivers who just ran the lights. I avoided that, I think. Susie was already ready in her wheelchair, and Jennifer followed me to Air Volvo with Susie to ensure we were safe. With some encouragement from Jennifer, Susie managed to stand today and help me. Better. I managed to get Susie in the leather seat without rearranging it after the lift. The fine Volvo leather seats help as Susie just slides into place. I then folded the wheelchair, which I managed to lift without starting new pains in my back and legs. It is pretty heavy.

I then went to Vista House in the Columbia Gorge. This means traveling through Portland, and I got my directions wrong in my head and drove to Vancouver, Washington, which is not on the way to the Columbia Gorge. But, there, the traffic was less, and it is a pleasant drive when the traffic is light. Once we started back to Oregon, we hit heavy and slow traffic by the airport, PDX. Again, I was surprised by the high traffic volumes for a Saturday early afternoon.

We stop at the truck stop at Troutdale before the gorge to get some water for Susie. It is hard for her to get water from a bottle. I will put a cup in Air Volvo next time. I already have a roll of paper towels and a very sharp jackknife in the glove compartment never leaves the car for cutting things.

Fog. There is no wind, and my cough tells us that the air has not been freshened by a breeze, and the mist, fog, and some smog are thick. Air Volvo climbs the 10% grade to reach Vista House. The climb is extra slow as I can only see a hundred feet or less in the clouds–the low clouds are not swallowing the top of the gorge. The drive is indirect and has many tricky turns and curves with even a speed limit as you pass through a village to reach the tourist stop.

Vista House was a ghost in the fog. The vista was missing, as all you could see was gray. Susie decided it was cold and wet, and there was nothing to see stayed in the car while I took pictures of the missing vista. Yes, Vista House with no vista. We decided on ice cream in Beaverton and drove a more direct way back.

I watched, astounded, when folks would make four-lane lane changes to reach an exit that they missed. Some would abort a lane change and then swing back into the fast lane, more lane changes, and then back out again like a dragonfly or a Star Wars pod racier. All of this on rain-slickened roads, headlights on, and fog and mist everywhere.

We arrived safely at a traffic-stalled Beaverton. It took me twenty minutes to reach Salt and Straw in Beaverton. I got Susie their bubblegum-flavored coconut cream ice cream, one scoop in a cup. I got the same size but coffee and praline flavored.

As I had deliveries spun around, we then flew in traffic to the Volvo Cave. Susie was a bit overwhelmed by being at the house for the first time in under a year (the devastating strokes started on 6Nov2022, to my memory). However, we were there just long enough for me to put the packages away. Next, we traveled in slightly improving traffic to the hummingbird house.

I left Susie with Jennifer with a kiss and then headed to meet Evan in Portland. Back into the traffic mess, but Air Volvo navigation sent me not to the parking lot, formally known as Highway 26 and 217, but to Highway 5, which was not that busy. Soon I was across bridges in SE Portland and driving local roads to Threshold Brewery. Evan thought they had food.

They had a boiled peanut special food today, and Evan wanted to try that and their Polish specials. I like peanuts, but boiled ones are just messy, and I did understand the attraction to this Southern American food. I had a sample and did not return for more. Instead, I had an overpriced charcuterie board and a delicious dark beer. Evan had a sandwich that he said they were well-rated for and thought it was good; I demurred after the other items did not impress.

We played the board game Vindication, and I did not bother with the score; Evan crushed me as the game went on long. He picked up quite a few masteries and kept ahead of me on those. I was running late, another reason to not score it, and rushed off to pick up Casey and his girlfriend (whose name I do not know how to spell) on the other side of Portland. So I traveled again across Portland and picked them up at work.

Off to Richard’s for games; while I brought Cthulhu Wars, Casey’s girlfriend is a newbie to gaming, so Richard picked lighter games. First, we played Modern Art, a bidding game, and Casey gave me a good deal on some art, too good, and I won with the most money. Modern Art is a fast board game and easy to learn, but the strategy is cut-throat, and hate drawing is possible. The game design is flawed as a mistake or overbidding can just hand the game to a player. Next, we played an excellent put-together game, new to me, Cellphone, where you sell phones. The game is a worker-placement and resource-managing game. Casey’s girlfriend figured this out and won, with Richard just sliding in front of me in the last of the scoring to take second. While the subject sounds uninteresting, the game was interesting, and I want to play it again. Lastly, we played a cinematic game, Horrified, where you are working together to stop some Hollywood black-and-white monsters. We were chased by Dracula, Wolfman, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon and barely managed to “cure” them. It was cute and had plastic monster figures that matched the old movie creatures I admired, but I was not happy with it. Just OK–but a light game, and it fits a Halloween weekend. I will have to play it again and see if I like it better. I never judge a game until I have played it a few times if I don’t like it the first time.

Aside: I found Halloween pretzels in little gift bags. We had that while playing. They are cute. I bought a big bag, like the candy, that you open to get smaller bags, perfect.

I drove Casey and his girlfriend back to their part of Portland, popped on the now-clear Highway 26, and reached home without incident. I stopped by Popeyes and finally had dinner and lunch–fried chicken with mashed. I ordered coleslaw as a second side and was shocked to pay $3.99 for a cup of slaw! I tried to watch the new show The Devil’s Hour while eating, but scary shows alone in my house and late–nope.

I had more packages at the Volvo Cave. John Company, the board game, finally did arrive today. I punched it and tried to read some of the small print rules. I will try to play it solo soon to learn how to set it up. This is a mad game with a play time of a few hours and teaching videos that are four hours long!

I went to bed after midnight and slept well.

Thanks for reading.

At 12:30AM, I could not fall asleep and deactivated my Twitter account. There is a significant exodus from Twitter for all the obvious reasons, and I found an invitation to join a new friend’s Discord server, so I did. I will be on Discord now, which I believe is the future. Not necessarily the company but the idea you can put up your own server and connect with friends on various shared servers. I like that idea, and thus, I will leave Twitter and start a more vital server and service-based identity in social media. Exciting.

The morning started with me not rushing as Friday is a work-from-home day at the shoe company, with the corporate folks wanting folks at WHQ Tues-Thursday. I spent much of my interactions in Zoom in the office which I think is quite strange, but I do get to talk to folks in my immediate groups as they are all physically present Tues-Thur in the office. Free coffee is available until 10AM, and there are many parties with food and drink to help us better reconnect. Using an older term, our project manager was visiting from Bend this week (it is the first time meeting her in person), so we had our first in-person meetings with her. We may see her in November, unless the snow comes early, and then again in the Spring. All strange to me.

I had only a few meetings on Friday, but our messages on Slack were non-stop, as was the email traffic. There were a few breaks and a spectacular production mistake that cannot be discussed here. Folks were busy, and emotions were starting to run a bit high. A Friday like I used to have in the old days. Most of this, while annoying, will likely clear in a few hours. An After Action Review will be slightly unpleasant for such avoidable mistakes, but that is how some folks learn. I deleted the folksy saying here as it seemed disingenuous about learning the hard way.

I managed to visit Susie in the hummingbird house in the late morning. To get there, I took Air Volvo through Beaverton in the rain, skipping Old Town. I had to avoid splashing folks waiting for the bus–there was a lot of standing water.

It has been raining for days, and we have showers until June or July. I am looking for a break in the rain to plant my tulips. It is 50F (10C) and wet most of the time now.

Susie was happy to see me; I brought her her “Boo” sweatshirt. I also brought a talking spooky candy dish with an animated eye for the hummingbird house to use. We chatted for a bit, and Susie was disappointed not to go out to the park, but it was nasty out there. We did call Susie’s mother, Leta, and chatted for a while.

I left with a kiss and headed back to the Volvo Cave. Despite the rain and construction, the slow driving did not include any overly imaginative driving from my fellow Oregonians. I took the less construction-filled Division back and crossed through Aloha, an unincorporated city–just a name on a map–without issue.

I continued with work until 5PM with a few breaks as my colon decided to demand attention, and the drive home included more concentration than usual, but all was well. I rested for a bit as I tried to slow down.

Next, I made dinner after learning that Mariah was too tired for a visit from me in Portland. First, a pork chop from the freezer fried in butter and coated with Five-Spice Powder and some salt. Wonderful. Next, green beans (frozen) wilted in more butter with almond slices and garlic (powder was all I had)–a fav. Lastly, I boiled dry Geman noodles from the German Deli, but they were just average with butter and Herbs de Provence.

I tried the highly-rated show, The White Lotus, on HBOMAX. Nope. The only thing I liked was when the gal that married a spoiled rich guy always looked plain, took off her bathing covers, and was a perfect thin model walking into a pool, and the mean girls were left with mouths open–that was a good moment. But I won’t be back.

I headed out and reached Wildwood Taphouse in the early evening. There, I reorganized the solo board game Nemo’s War which got partially dumped in the car. It was just mixed up inside, and nothing was lost. I then worked on getting my Discord accounts working. I seem to have two accounts and learned that my @me.com and @mac.com are on two different accounts, one two-years-old and one going back to 2017. I have them defined now in one instance of Discord. Finally, I had a few beers, wrote more Dungeons and Dragons adventure text, and posted here and there on Discord, my new home. I never got to playing Nemo’s War which I wanted to try again.

Aside: The new chess computer, a Raspberry Pi 4G based machine, is now available to replace the controlling unit for my chess machine. So tempting to spend money on that, but chess is on the back burner for now. Resist! It is just under a thousand dollars–good is not cheap.

I went home and read and had trouble sleeping. Too much tea, I think. Thanks for reading.

The cold is still bothering me. The pain in my right leg is not as bad as yesterday, but it still makes standing difficult. I can not find the right word sometimes–a leftover from being 59 and the infusion drug–the drug sort of makes your thoughts and muscle control go down different paths than you expect. I find words that sound like the word I want.

For example, I have been trying to remember Taylor Swift’s song Cardigan, and all I could get out was corduroy–not the same thing. Going deeper, she has a new album, but I liked the previous one better–Swift is better, I think, in a pandemic. But the pre-Covid song Shake it Off was fun, and I saw a marching band do it on the Thanksgiving parade show–it is really fun to see tuba players doing this song. So, yes, finding words and getting all the muscles to fire in a useful way is still a fascinating experiment.

For those worried, I liked some of Taylor Swift’s music before the chemo and Covid-19; it is not brain damage. I also like, gasp, Katy Perry too. I like her beat. I like clear song lyrics and a fascinating rhythm, not over-mastered (Ms. Perry is often over-mastered). The best newish song for me is Train’s Drops of Jupiter.

Wednesday night, I also wrote more of my Dungeons and Dragons adventure until about 11PM. I am trying to get enough done so we can play it in a few weeks. I like some of the ideas I have come up with, and I think it will be fun to play. I write by creating a set of themes and seeing where these ideas take me. For example, I wrote a previous adventure on alien mind control in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. Another one was a dream, and if you die, you just re-spawn. Interesting when you can just kill player characters without worry. It is 25 pages long, with more than 17,000 words so far.

Picking up the narrative for Thursday, I woke with my alarm at 6:15 and started into the usual Thursday rush. After finishing the blog on Wednesday night, I made corn muffins for the potluck lunch today at work. After getting dressed and having breakfast, I ensured I brought those with me. I managed all the usual things, including my pills.

I hit the road just as the school buses started knotting up the traffic, but I still managed to make it before 8AM. I did a few meetings and prepared for a meeting at 1:30ish. Today was the last regular working day before Halloween, so there were mimosas and donuts, costumes, and the joint lunch. I did not wear a costume this year. I usually wear a hacker mask with a top hat.

Next, Michael G collects my wine at Purple Cow, and he had a whole case for me. So we moved the wine from his car to mine. Purple Cow’s Tempranillo is some of the finest in the world.

After that, my meeting went well, and then my 2PM was canceled, so I headed to the hummingbird house. Susie was awake and in her recliner drinking her Ensure (that is why she has the bib). She was thrilled to see me–I was late.

There, we called Leta, Susan’s mother, who was concerned about me being late. Work just kept me busy all morning. Leta and Susie chatted for a while using FaceTime on my iPhone. They talked for a while.

The doc has written an order for Ensure, so it will now be delivered from the pharmacy–I still have to buy it, but it will be on a medical bill. I might be able to include that in my write-offs next year (now that there is an order and it is part of a medical bill). It is also just good to get it on a bill, so there is independent documentation that it is getting purchased and used.

I had to get back, so I kissed Susie goodbye, and Air Volvo took me home. I decided to cross Coopers Mountain, and I was dodging dump trucks the whole way. I even went an extra bit west to avoid the usual 15 mph curves. I had cars behind me riding my bumper, with me having a slow dump truck before me.

I finally reached home and checked back into the shoe company. Nobody needed me, and I rested a bit and checked in again. I can fall asleep in minutes now–an interesting change–and then wake in fifteen minutes (sometimes thirty).

I made dinner at 5:30. I heated a North African Couscous sauce and boiled mini gnocchi until hot. I made couscous by heating butter and cooking almond slices and spices like cinnamon and cardamon in the hot liquid. I put the tomato sauce with olives and spicy with the gnocchi. I just pour the sauce and gnocchi over the couscous–it is wonderful.

I watched Beatlejuice, the old movie, as I could not remember it. It was cornier than I remembered and I think I liked the town model too much. I want one!

I then put out the trash and wrote the blog. Thank you for reading.

 

 

I am catching up as I was not okay yesterday, and the blog was a bit short.

Just finished watching a very chaotic Doctor Who special. This was the end of Jodie Whittaker’s run as the Doctor, and the showrunner brought in many of the surviving cast members for a final send-off, including the former actors who played the doctor. So it was quite a send-off for Jodie.

I cried, as always, when the current doctor gave her last speech. The episode was terrible in the same way that many new episodes seem awful to me, but at least they stuck with it. I look forward to the next season, and we will see where it goes, and I will rewatch the last season or so and see if maybe my judgment is too harsh.

I still suffer from being cold all the time, maybe a leftover from the cancer treatments, and I had to rest for a bit this afternoon after coming home from the office early. I am trying to make this work, but you cannot make yourself better–you have to find it. So I rest and search some more for better.

I finished The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner last night and liked the second half or even the previous quarter better than the start. The primary character starts to become someone you want to know, and the story changes from victimhood to taking control and directing. I would say I am pretty happy to have read it, and I would recommend it with the warning that the storyteller has to find her way–that is part of the exciting development of the character. Also, instead of having recipes for drinks or food found in the story (like in an old Rex Stout book), there are recipes for poisons at the end of the book–somewhat disconcerting.

Unrelated, I resisted buying a translated cooking book from 10th-century Bagdad. Instead, I was reading and found information about old-styled food: Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens (Islamic History and Civilization). I might still order it.

Beginning the narrative, I started at 6:15 with my alarm waking me. I had awoken in pain, and my right leg ached. I was up at 5ish, taking some painkillers. I managed to sleep and then wake for the alarm. The pain in the morning is new.

I began the usual rush to be at work before 8AM. I managed a bowl of cereal with sliced fresh banana and some liberal coffee. Most of the coffee ended up in my Yeti cup to take to work. I beat the school buses and was at the office on time and without experiencing interesting driving.

I had only a few meetings in the morning and could do some research on some software most of the morning. I also chatted with some folks about some issues I am wondering about; I am still doing my computer architect thinking and asking questions. Soon it was time for a team lunch. We headed to Biryani Corner. We were saying goodbye to our director, Mariana, who is taking a different position in the project next week. My boss bought lunch for everyone, and the food was excellent. I had the Lamb Vindaloo.

From there, I headed to the hummingbird house, stopping by Target to get more Ensure for Susie. Jennifer, the nurse aide today, told me they had just run out for Susie. So I supply it; this is new as we want to increase Susie’s caloric and vitamin intake. I get Ensure Plus in strawberry and chocolate flavors as every medical liquid seems to come in an imitiation vanilla flavor, ick. Susie is drinking three bottles a day.

Susie was still resting when I got there, and I sat on her bed and chatted with her. I raised her head in the hospital bed. There is a “crash pad” on the floor next to the bed as Susie has fallen out of bed, which makes me have to stomp like I am in snow. Susie thinks it funny. I talked to Susie about her labs, and she agreed to look into the anemia and liver function. This means more blood draws and an ultrasound test that I will have to schedule and take Susie to.

We called Leta, Susan’s mother, and Susie and Leta chatted. We also discussed the tests with Leta, and she agreed we should do them. I do not want to be the only decider of these things. I am glad that Susie understood, and Leta agreed.

I headed out with a kiss. I drove across Beaverton and headed to the bakery, but alas, they did not have the bread I wanted. I next bought some foam board and liked architecture products. I hope to find time to build a model of the adventure I am writing. I am not sure I will have time for that, but I have always wanted to do that.

Air Volvo then flew back to the house without any incident before the school buses started to tangle up the traffic. Once home, I returned to my at-home office and managed to install more of the software I was researching. Unfortunately, my credentials did not work, but that may just be a password reset request. I will try again on Thursday.

Corwin stopped by to grab some of his hammers and buckets. On many weekends, he and his friends have a beach fire on the coast, and he needs his wedge to split wood. So I gave him some mail that came in too.

After Corwin left, I watched a global corporate meeting until it overran by thirty minutes. I was happy that our project was called out as needed for the future of Nike. I was interested in some of the discussions on Supply Chain as I have been involved in that my whole career at Nike (twenty-six years now).

After that, I made a nice salad with cheese and ham. I also had crackers, and the remains of the maza sauce from Gyro House delivered yesterday by GrubHub. I ate this while watching the latest Doctor Who special I found on Prime without cost. I was in Susie’s chair with a heated blanket while I ate and watched.

Next, I started on the blog. I have been writing with my sweater on drinking hot tea. That seems to work.

Just covering the events of today as I was tired and recovering a bit from the previous day. A short note today.

Aside: After I finished the blog yesterday at Wildwood Taphouse, JR paid my tab–a retired Nike IT person. Thanks!

I was up in the morning with my alarm at 6:15 and was severely chilled. I was also worried that my colon might suddenly try to empty like yesterday, so I decided to work from home and go easy. I tried to go slow and easy all day, wearing a sweater to stop the cold.

I ordered a maza plate from Gyro House via Grubhub for lunch. A veggie lunch with spreads and flatbread, falafel, and stuffed grape leaves. I wanted to go easy on the food. Breakfast was cereal and mile with banana slices added.

I felt up to visiting Susie. I tried to call ahead, but they were busy. Susie was lying down listening to music when I got there at the hummingbird house. I sat on her bead, and we chatted a bit. I called her mother, Leta, on my iPhone using FaceTime, and we all chatted for a while.

I read Susie’s labs to her; she is anemic, and there may be some liver function issues. Later today, the doc’s nurse called and said they want more blood work and a liver scan. I will discuss this with Susie and see if we will do any of these tests.

I left with a kiss and returned home. I rested a bit and followed along on some work issues. I had no repeat of any health issues today.

I got a text from Mariah that we could meet for dinner at Double Mountain, a pizza and beer joint in South East Portland. So I enjoyed Tuesday evening traffic and the Ross Island bridge. Finally, reaching the pizza place twenty minutes late. Mariah got to wait for me.

We had a nice dinner; I had a white pizza with mushrooms and dark Irish beer. Mariah had meat pizza with homemade peppers. Later, I gave Mariah the tulips I bought and realized I was not planting that many. I also had a spare metal rake and brought that to her.

After that, I drove home by way of Guardian Games, managing to resist buying anything.

I wrote the blog and was tired tonight.

Thanks for reading. Sorry, it is a short note today.