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Bad air continues in the area; winds came yesterday and helped for a while, but then the winds stopped, and the smoke, pollen, and smog all resettled in the valley. I could not slow down on Saturday as I tried to push a whole weekend into a few hours on Saturday.

Going backward, I went to bed at about 12:45 after putting the sheets in the drier. It could have been sooner, but I forgot to dry them before I left for the day. I got a snack of potato salad and red cabbage salad with a pickle to take my pills–they are unpleasant on an empty stomach and watched 1/3 of the new Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power final episode but grew tired, made the bed with dry sheets, and then went to sleep.

All night and the day, I followed along and sometimes sent out suggestions for the software upgrade that was running. There were no issues, and, as often happens on heavily orchestrated computer events, it ran twelve hours faster than planned, and all the work was done on Saturday instead of being spread out over the weekend. I will not narrate that I was constantly checking and interacting with folks on my iPhone.

The morning started at about 7:30, with my breakfast which consisted of a scone, a banana, and liberal coffee. I wrote the blog for Friday in the morning. After that, I started laundry and then showered and dressed. The pain in my leg and feet was mild, and my breathing was not labored.

I took Air Volvo over Coopers Mountain, and the mist and smog were still heavy, but nothing like yesterday. Today, I was earlier, so there was less mist. The mist burns off by the afternoon, so the air is better if fewer clouds cover the hills. I avoided any police entanglements during my thirty-minute journey and seldom traveled above the speed limit, and I have to admit I slammed a few times to prevent a slightly warm yellow.

I arrived there, and Susie was ready to travel, and I managed to get Susie in the car. She was not helping much, so I had to lift her back inside the car to get her properly in the seat. More practice. We traveled the very short distance to Washington Square Mall and successfully unloaded the wheelchair (heavy) and Susie (light). The parking lot, I don’t have a handicap sign yet, is aging, and Susie bounced a bit in her chair as we crossed over the less-than-perfect surface.

Once inside, we toured the mall, and I walked most of it, pushing Susie. Susie enjoyed all the sights and seeing so many people. It is my first time there since the pandemic, and I noticed that the dress styles were comfortable but expensive jeans and pull over, showing as much skin as possible–mostly younger gals, or expensive soccer wear–primarily men. This trend was also for the clerks in the store. Few masks, but I did notice nobody was close to each other as the habits of social distancing appeared still to be in place.

At noonish, I headed to the Cheese Cake Factory and put in for a table. Evan joined us, waiting a minimum of fifteen minutes (usually thirty) for a table there. Once at the table, we ordered a diet coke for Susie, her request, and some pretzel bites with cheese–some food that tiny bits Susie can manage, just a taste. Evan and I shared an egg roll sampler (not recommended).

I shared a tiramisu cheesecake with Susie. It is a lighter cake with ladyfingers instead of the graham cracker crust and a hint of chocolate. Recommended if you want to avoid the cheese heaviness of the usual cake. Evan had a Boston (!?) version with fruit. We then waited ten minutes for a to-go order for Evan and me for lunch.

Susie enjoyed some tastes of cheesecake and Diet Coke. I took Susie back to the car, had to pull out the car a bit, and then loaded her back into the front seat of Air Volvo with more success this time. I brought her back to hummingbird house without incident, but the traffic was much worse. Apparently, President Biden’s visit had snarled traffic in the wider area, with people flooding the backroads to reach their destinations.

Susie was always sad when it was time for me to go, it had been the longest travel for Susie in months, three hours out and about, and she looked done in. I certainly had my workout. I left with a kiss, and Susie was headed for some more lunch and likely a nap.

I drove, with care, but not traffic, across old-town Beaverton to Central Taps near the Max station and City Hall Beaverton. Evan had trouble finding his car in the parking lot and was there after me. He brought me the famous Cheese Cake Factory’s Oriental Chicken Salad (lunch sized and highly recommended) and had a spicy tuna appetizer for himself.

Next, we played a special version of the board game Concordia, Solitaria, which lets you play two players and an automated opponent. This was a learning game, as we had never tried it before. I messed up the setting using the wrong III cards, but that did not influence the game much. Evan and the machine called Contrarius soon had most of the specialist cards. So I was busy building and filling the Mediterranean (we played the original map of the southern European landmass and the Mediterranean Sea). I then changed tactics and started purchasing cards, combined with running provinces to pay for the cards. I got the 7-point card for buying the last card and ended the game. Evan was disappointed as I had stopped the game before he had built to score better on his specialists, and I had also picked options that would not trip Contrarius from building. I ran away with the game as I had the most cards I have ever had in a game. The larger map, as usual, let me build in a little corner away from everyone else. It was an interesting way to play a two-person version of Concordia. There is a cooperative version closer to Venus Concordia‘s re-creation of Concordia, where the players work together to defeat Contrarius.

After that, and paying for my one low-alcohol beer at Central Taps (more and I would need a nap), I headed to Portland. Richard had scheduled a game at 6PM, but all but me had backed out–so off to play two-person in Portland. I stopped by McDonald’s after passing through light traffic (there are some events in Portland besides the President’s visit) and tried, for the first time in years, chicken McNuggests–on a lark. Chicken bacon was what I thought with BBQ sauce–I had six. Excellent finger food and not a bad appetizer, but on my is that fat infused. I could not finish the french fries I ordered with it. While interesting, I am not likely to return to this chicken product.

A Richards, we looked at Cthulhu Wars that I brought, but it requires three players. We picked Endless Winters, a new game in Richard’s collection. It is another well-made Kickstarter game, with Richard with more premium parts. I had not played the game before and tried to focus on just a few strategies and see if I could make that work. Unlike the board games Scythe and Architects of the West Kingdoms, this game needed you to run a balance of strategies, oops. Interestingly, my focus caused Richard to try some different ideas, and he found them highly successful–he played differently than any other play. I was crushed by a score below 100.

I would recommend Endless Winters; it balances work placement and resource management well. It has three systems running simultaneously: a map, an investment board (monoliths in the game), and deck building. All of this runs smoothly, the play is easy to understand, and the rules were only reviewed for scoring during eclipse turns (a type of intermediate scoring turn). An excellent game that reminded me of Arc Nova in its smooth execution and thematic solid play.

We chatted for a bit, and soon the time had run to 11PM, and I headed back and returned home without issue.

Thank you for reading.

 

The morning started with a slow start as it is Friday, and I can sleep in as I do not need to be in the office for an 8AM meeting. We are also installing an upgrade over the weekend, and I will be working all weekend–likely just monitoring and a few texts. So I was ready early and waiting. The status meetings went as usual, and soon I was showered and dressed. Breakfast was coffee, Fare Exchange liberal, and cereal with milk. I checked in a few more times and tried to install some software on my laptop. Nike has the machine locked down, so simple things are usually hard to do.

I put aside the installation for another day; I made lunch. Another ham and cheese sandwich appealed to me. This time with cheddar cheese.

The afternoon arrived, and I boarded Air Volvo and headed across Coopers Mountain. The mountains were covered with morning mist and smoke, mostly smoke. The air smells like a campfire, and my throat is always irritated. The coughing and breathing issues return here and there. I am trying not to focus on it, as worrying about it makes it seem worse. Unfortunately, the maps show it getting worse in the valley. Smog and smoke.

I reached the hummingbird house and spotted Beaverton’s Finest had moved to a small section of my travel through their jurisdiction. A motorcycle cop with the cutest radar gun hidden at the base of a hill. This seemed hardly fair play, and he did cause a traffic jam. I ignored him and drove the speed limit at +/- 5 mph.

I reached the hummingbird house without any police entanglements, and Susie was waiting in her recliner. Jennifer, the nurse aide for today, popped Susie in her wheelchair, and we headed outside. We traveled through the park and called Leta, and after some re-calling, we managed to chat with Susan’s mother on FaceTime for a while.

I felt exhausted and did not understand how bad the air was until I could see the smoke in the light in the park. You cannot usually see the light in the trees. I needed to stay indoors!

Susie had a pleasant visit in Metzger Park, next door to her house and adult foster care, and saw some of the usual suspects. We also saw a few more vans that were gypsies stopped at the park between driving trips–not Roma but folks who seem now to just work where their laptops are. They travel from park to park and rest in their vans.

I returned Susie to Jennifer’s care, and with a kiss, I headed out in Air Volvo. I turned the wrong way and decided that the German place needed a visit downtown, if you can call it that, Metzger. There is a German-style deli, and I got some sliced ham, potato salad, port chops–smoked, and some sausage for dinner. It was my first time there, and the prices matched Whole Foods–not cheap. I put my new acquisitions in Air Volvo cargo area (the floor in the backseat) and started on my way back.

Ignoring Beaverton’s finest, trying to increase compliance with hill management, I drove on to the pharmacy. Only to find a long line, and the wait made my right leg hurt again, and when I reached the cashier, I learned that they still had not filled my prescription after two days–they were eight days behind. The corporate decision to close the nearby Rite Aide and move us to the smaller facility on Farmington has not improved service. I picked up some other items, including toothpaste, and headed, limping, to BASICs, the new grocery store next door.

I picked up some bananas and items I had run out of, such as milk and some scones. I then drove the rest of the way back to the Volvo Cave without issue. I remembered to take the back way as 209th is in construction.

Work continued, and I fought with the installation on my laptop a bit more and then rested a bit. The travel, standing, pain, and bad air required me to slow down. I made a few suggestions at work that we agreed upon, and soon it was time to consider dinner.

Mariah was busy unpacking, so I was free on Friday and happy to stay home and make dinner. I had collected the ingredients for a sausage, not seafood-based, Paella dish. I had the pan. Never made it before. So I chopped onions, the crying seemed to clear my head and green papers. I found fresh garlic and chopped that. I opened cans of tomatoes and artichoke hearts, and that, too, was chopped (and unneeded, I think).

I baked three types of spice sausage in the oven. I would stop and check work here and there. I heated two boxes of chicken broth with saffron in a deep pan with a ladle at the ready. I cooked the onions in the Paella pan. I had trouble controlling the heat level (more practice was needed) and had to be careful not to burn anything. Next, I added the green peppers. I followed the instructions on the bag of rice and added the artichokes. The garlic was added to the can of tomatoes, but I think it should have been cooked with the onions and its green flavor was in the final product instead of being in the background. The grain was next, and the pan was nearly overflowing. This I ladled with the broth, hot and seasoned with saffron. The pan started to burn or stick, so I had to drag the ladle over the pan, and this spilled a bit, but not too bad.

I pulled out the hot sausages, let them cool a bit (temperature of 170F+), and went back to the work laptop a few times to check and follow along. I had my iPhone, and it would report on any messages in Slack channels I follow. I cut the sausage, put them in, and let everything cook more.

I added some fancy peppers as garnish (also on the recipe on the bag) and removed the Paella pan from the heat. I covered it, again as instructed, with foil for 15 minutes.

It was mainly cooked. The rice was not entirely done, but that changed in about fifteen minutes as the rest of the chicken broth was absorbed. The flavors were not quite balanced, and the salt level was too low for most tastes (unless you have high blood pressure like me and refer to salt as white death), but the sausage was good, and the flavors were more balanced as the rice finished cooking.

Next time, some salt–maybe, and no artichokes but green beans, the garlic cooked more, and two cups (not 2 1/2 cups) of rice. Maybe more saffron. The heating will have to be better watched, but with less rice, I think that will be less of an issue.

I watched the final episode of the season of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The reveals were finally done, and I was surprised and happy, crying and laughing with the main characters. I expect the next season will skip forward in time. I recommend the last four episodes, or if you really love LotR, you can do the whole season.

After that, I finished the laundry I had started: Friday is laundry day. I then wrote more of my adventure, drinking some tea to keep going, but at 11ish, I was falling asleep while trying to write even with the tea. The day with the air and the pain was hard on me. But I remember my friend telling me to slow down, so I stopped instead of drinking more tea and pushing on to the early morning. I took my pills, including some painkillers, and went to bed. I then got up and got out Cthulhu Wars rules, the Omega Book–yes, there are so many add-ons there is a 1/2 think hardcover rule book now and reviewed how to play. I hope to play at least one game in October–while the stars may not be right, the calendar is for spooky board games.

Well, thank you for reading. I am trying not to overdo it now and let my strength return on its own. I cannot make myself better.

 

 

The morning started in a rush, with me not sleeping after 4AM. I had pain in my left foot (not my right !?), and the application of painkillers let me maybe sleep an hour, if at all. However, the pain throbbed and, while not great, was enough to prevent sleep. I was up before my alarm and started staggering through my usual morning. I managed to find breakfast and had a cup of coffee. I was running late as I was slow this morning and found myself just beating the school buses and being on time at Clubhouse at the shoe company.

And then, and this would be a theme all day, my laptop refused to connect to Nike’s network as it had to perform an update. So I rebooted the laptop and then watched as the laptop slowly reconnected to the Nike network. Finally, after four tries, I managed to get Zoom to start the meeting for me and enjoyed the last minute of the status meeting. Just frustrating.

The next status meeting was the usual, but I needed coffee. I forgot to bring any coffee with me; I still have a French Press full of today’s coffee. So I got some free Star Bucks coffee after the meeting finished. For the program I am on, we get free coffee until 10AM–leadership pays for the coffee. So I got my usual, just coffee with cream–I stopped using sugar in my coffee when I started on diabetes meds years ago.

Next was another meeting, which was in a conference room with a Zoom meeting for more distant folks. I updated my status in Jira, which finally worked on my laptop. After that, I headed out.

I reached Susie in record time, as 217 (usually a mess) was running well. Susie was feeling better and was even a bit talkative. I always struggle to understand her, but today I got the general sense of what she was saying–a hopeful sign. I pushed Susie to the nearby bench in the park–there was sun and no wind, thus warm. Susie was already commenting on it being cold, but the sun worked.

We called Susie’s mom, Leta, on my iPhone and used, after a few tries, FaceTime to see each other. Leta had apparently unplugged something on her TV and was unhappy. She might have unplugged her network as her phone connection was initially troubled. Leta told us she had put away her music boxes and was decorating for Halloween.

Leta, during the pandemic, decided not to take her tree down and has redecorated for each holiday instead. She then shares pictures on Facebook with the family of the tree decorated for the season. It was a way to connect during the pandemic, but now she just likes it, and she has stuff for every season and gets a few new things each time to add. It is fun to see each season. She is a fan of the Dollar Store.

I had to return to work, I had a lunch meeting at noon, so I returned Susie to hummingbird house and Jennifer’s care and headed out in Air Volvo. I got to lunch and found that my lunch meeting was canceled. I then saw an acquaintance I had seldom seen in years, and we agreed to have lunch together. So that worked out.

Next, I took Air Volvo to the newish campus and sat at a shared deck in the Nike building Victory with the group that runs my old system, which is still running much of Nike’s supply chain and financial reporting. Always nice to be back and see friends, and I had a meeting about an application I worked on before. So it was great to be back for a bit.

I continued to install more stuff on my laptop and drove home. At home in my office, the Nike network started having issues again, and I could not schedule meetings. Growl. I followed along for a bit and rebooted my laptop multiple times.

I made dinner after closing my laptop and taking a rest. I was going to cook something, but the ham and cheese looked good and made a perfect sandwich.

Next, I wrote a bit about my Dungeons and Dragons adventure. This was followed by Theology Pub, a monthly church event. Tonight we talked about groupthink and the blind following of charismatic leaders. We agreed that things become dangerous once a leader calls out another and claims to be repressed by this other. Then, a call to action for violence often follows. We drew the obvious parallels to Hitler and the cautions of Mark Twain (if you are in the majority, you should reconsider). A group that harms others to protect something is something to fear and avoid.

After about an hour, we wrapped that meeting up. I wrote this blog. I am hoping tonight to sleep better and that the pain will stop.

A friend of mine, Michelle, admonished me when I said I was getting old at work today. Do not call yourself old, she said, as others will then do that too. Be young instead.

Mariah will take many of the tulips and plant them at her new home in Portland. I have about a hundred bulbs. I will keep a few and hope to plant them on Friday. I have decided to plant the bulbs between the new climbing roses, creating a lovely little flower garden. I ordered them when Glenda was here, and we visited the tulip fields.

So be young, like me! Thanks for reading!

 

 

I started this day by waking at 5AM and then waking every five to ten minutes, thinking it was time to get up. The only thing that broke this terrible loop was it being 6:15 and the alarm going off. I was unprepared for the day to start, and while my lungs were back after suffering poor air, my legs thought it was a holiday and tried to go in different directions for a while. Later that morning, my revised colon, being less than a year out from colon cancer surgery, decided to empty completely–a process one neither enjoys nor should try to rush. However, I managed to finish breakfast of nectarine and some croissant bread slices before the exiting. This was improved with liberal coffee created using a French Press.

I was now late, but my first status meeting was at 8:30, so I was not technically missing anything. I managed to play connect-the-school-buses and their resultant traffic jams in Air Volvo. I did not witness extra-legal driving, as all of us overly polite Oregon drivers know better than to harass a school bus.

Finally, arriving at the shoe company Clubhouse building and reaching my usual location. We have open seating, but we always sit in exactly the same spots. I was busy in the morning with some of the status meetings and some crises of the moment.

I slipped out at 11:30 to get lunch, a burger at Burger King that caused me to need a nap or a stomach pump (my colon was not impressed with lunch, and then I was tired). Last time for that, I think. Next, I headed to see Susie, Mrs. Wild, at hummingbird house.

I took 217, and the traffic was light on a Wednesday near noon, a surprise. Susie was in her recliner and was happy to see me. She decided that going outside was a good idea, and Jennifer, the nurse aide today, gave me a blanket for Susie to throw over her in the wheelchair (Jennifer popped Susie into the wheelchair with ease–I am always impressed as when I lift Susie it is with trepidation).

Metzger Park, just outside the Adult Foster home, was busy with folks with dogs. Some were barking, the dogs, that is, at other dogs. A tiny dog, we saw, lunged at another small dog and then jumped back–second thoughts? Both were on leads, so they could not reach each other. We found an unused bench, and I sat down. My legs were still not sure they wanted to work today.

As usual, we called Susie’s mother, Leta, and she was at home waiting for the call. While talking to her, everyone called her; she was popular. Today is Susie’s Aunt Joyce’s birthday, and Joyce called Leta back. Susan’s sister, Barbara, was also calling Leta with some news. So we let Leta go and talk to the other family.

Aside: Happy Birthday, Joyce!

After that, I returned Susie to hummingbird house and Jennifer’s care. Lunch would soon be ready for Susie. Then, I returned by Air Volvo, without issue, to Nike.

I spent the afternoon bouncing between tasks and the helpdesk installing some software. I did not get out until after 5PM. I returned home without events. I learned that Zophia had homework to do and young kids to play with at church, so there were no games tonight during choir and band practice. Next month we will start up again. No more losing the board game Azul to an 11-year-old for a while.

I made dinner of chicken Cordon Blu (frozen) from Schwann’s and corn (also frozen and from Schwann’s), plus some Texas toast (frozen). It was not hot today in the house; the oven’s warmth was welcome. I add some butter, salt, and pepper to corn niblets.

I watched the 11th episode of The Sandman that I had missed while eating. This is a special extra post-season session with an animated story and a story with Morpheus, but not part of the narrative–an independent story. Both stories are reminders of just how good The Sandman show is (Netflix).

Afterward, I headed to Wildwood Taphouse to write the blog and some more of my Dungeons and Dragon adventure. I have thought of a theme for The Poisoner in the plot of my adventure. The beer is good too.

For those wondering, yes, it is a year since Susie had her stroke. Next month it will be a year since the terrible strokes and Susie’s lung collapsing. Terrible days.

We are still here, and Susie and I plan to head to the Mall on Saturday and then church on Sunday.

Thank you for reading.

 

The air has literally cleared today. We are still under a bad air advisory, but my area has a cold breeze, and the air is clear.

The morning started with me coughing and sneezing uncontrollably, to the point that it hurt a few times. I wrote a note that I would work from home and slowed down in the morning. I did the first hour of Zoom calls, showered, and dressed. I also took some allergy meds that made me tired, but the burning eyes, coughing, and sneezing stopped.

I spent the rest of the morning following along at work on the current issues and some crises of the moment. I was busy. Tuesday has a stand-up and team meeting besides the usual meetings.

I made a chili-taco salad by heating a can of chili in the new glassware from Glenda and Gene in the microwave. Next, heated some bread and a few taco shells in the oven, washed some lettuce, and assembled it into a salad. The cheese and sour cream dressed it up.

I did the dishes and ran the dishwasher, which gets run every other day or so.

Next, I got aboard Air Volvo, journeyed over Coopers Mountain, and noticed that the mist was less (it was not mist yesterday). Today the trip was fraught with flaggers stopping and starting traffic, and other construction caused congestion. I returned by Division crossing over the other side of the mountain and avoiding the mess.

The day was a cool October day (without rain) for us. A sun that strikes hot and a cold wind below the ambient temperature. Freeze in the shade and burn in the sun. Usually, our September weather, but we will take it in place of the sideways rain in October.

I arrived at hummingbird house without issue, but Susie decided to hang out inside, and we moved to the activity room and called Susan’s mother, Leta. We next went outside for a bit just to do it. I stayed in the sun, but even that was not enough when the wind hit. So soon, I was kissing Susie goodbye on a short workday visit.

As I said, I reached home by another route, and I was back to work, following along and helping here and there. Evan stopped by to do some work on the Internet between games. It is his day off, so he plays a lot of pickleball.

I continued to work, taking a short break to rest as the allergy meds made me sleepy. Then, I was back online, and everything was done for the day.

I fried a pork chop from the freezer in butter. I cut the flesh off a nectarine into slices and fried that in the butter with the pork chop. When the chop was done, I added a bit of cornstarch and made a pan gravy that tasted slightly of fruit. It was perfect on the chop. I reheated while frying the pork some couscous I had as leftovers, and that went perfectly with the fruit, wilted, and the pork chop with the pan gravy.

I again watched the newest episode of the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and still recommend it. It was better the second time as I caught more.

The oil industry has already raised gas prices even when the production cuts from our ally, Saudi Arabia, will take months to impact the true pricing. I will not quote any left-wing conspiracy theories here–no matter how obvious. I got the car washed too. One day’s rain had caused the dust to collect all over my car–I was hoping for more rain.

I then drove to Wildwood Taphouse to get out of the house, and here I am, drinking a beer and writing. I have a sweater on–it is a cool fall night.

Thank you for reading!

For those who want to remember a year ago, here is Susie’s stroke post in NYC (10Oct2010): https://alohawild.me/2021/10/10/sabbatical-day-8-er-in-nyc/

And here is a happy post in NYC (8Oct2021): https://alohawild.me/2021/10/08/sabbatical-day-6-evening-7-tired-feet/.