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Tuesday started out without much back pain at about 7ish. I had an appointment with a CPA today to better understand my tax situation. If there were tax efficiencies, I could incorporate into my paying all of the medical bills totaling over $8,000 a month. So it was a leisurely morning with me writing the blog and working on a project for a gift. The project is mainly done and just needs a few treatments of decal solvent to finish the look.

Breakfast was liberal Fare Trade coffee made in a French press as it is just for me. Next, I had cereal with a sliced banana. I wrote the blog while eating. Next, I showered and dressed. Lastly, I collected the notes, expenses summaries, copies of bills, all my statements, a copy of my 2021 tax return, and questions I wrote last night. I had arranged all of this in a notebook punching the paper to stay on the three rings.

Air Volvo had me in Hillsboro twenty minutes early, and I spent the extra time walking the streets looking at the changes. A building was lost to fire and is now just an empty hole; another building is gutted–the former food joint. Also, the old bank building is gone and is being replaced by an apartment building–urban living. It appears that food joints are not that well as Subway closed and the other food places are missing. A group of food carts shows that Hillsboro is following the new food trend.

The CPA, Darren, had me stand behind a glass shield after I arrived on time. I felt it was more of a bank transaction than sharing what I was looking for, but I went with it. We discussed tax issues, and Darren clarified that he was not licensed for financial planning, so I left the retirement questions unasked.

He discovered missed local 2021 taxes, after looking at my 2021 forms, that I had missed paying the Tri-Met tax. He could file a correction for me for $55, and the tax would be about $1,000 with penalties, ugh. He will do that for me, and I will pick it up next week. Darren also checked my pay stubs (I had those too for the last three months) and saw that Nike was withholding the Tri-Met tax, so there is no issue for 2022.

We also went over the main issue, and he said I could make some changes to write off my medical expenses after excluding those I paid with the 125 before tax saving program at Nike and after excluding 7.5% of my income worth of expenses. I was unsure if this was possible as there are strange limits now in place after the Trump tax cut (which increased my annual taxes by $3,000 after I reached the new limits for writing off local taxes called SALT). Darren was sure there were no limits and that I could improve my tax efficiency. He agreed that I have to be careful selling stock and options to pay for medical expenses as this increases my income, which moves the amount excluded higher.

I have a burden of record keeping for the medical expenses that I had already taken on. Therefore, I must carefully document the expenses and those paid by the 125 programs. Previously, I covered over $15,000 a month in medical expenses with Susie in a nursing home and me in cancer treatments; I will have to get documentation for those expenses when I was down with chemotherapy in the first part of 2022. Busy. Busy.

I thank Darren for his help. We also discussed and dismissed the idea of renting the house, and he will check if the electric car tax rebate is really extended–nobody is sure, he told me. No rush for me as I am still only dreaming of replacing the gas-using Air Volvo with the VW Van Electric in 2023-2024. I will have Darren do my taxes next year as we enjoy this new set of deductions together.

After that, I was tempted to have lunch in Hillsboro at their carts but instead headed home. Zorida was not available for lunch or dinner, so my plans were dinner in. I had the last of the Mediterranean pizza for lunch. It was still good.

While eating on the deck, I spotted yellow jacket wasps flying in and out of the ivy patch near the deck. I have a nest near the deck, yikes! I had bought a wasp trap earlier for when the wasps became an issue and followed the directions and hung it up on the pine tree in the far corner of the backyard. I also threw a sizeable spare tile over the ivy, and the yellow jackets swarmed- definitely a nest. I then watered the nest for ten minutes. Spraying when any of the venom-carrying nasties got close. I will continue to water them and hope to make them go away.

I am not allergic, but I managed to walk over a nest as a little kid and have disliked them ever since. So I will try not to go Ahab on them, but I do not want them near the deck!

I headed to the hummingbird house have checked that one wasp, a dreaded yellow jacket, was in the trap. It was working. The swarm was still a buzz after their washing. The traffic was not as bad as yesterday, and I was soon at the facility, parking in the seldom used parking for the basketball and tennis courts of Metzger Park.

Susie was still in bed. Jennifer said that Susie was not feeling well and went to bed after eating breakfast, and Susie also skipped lunch. Susie had a hectic day yesterday and seemed worn out.

Susie was thrilled to see me and woke up for me. She talked to her mother on my iPhone for a while, and I also covered the tax plan with Leta. Susie repeatedly apologized for the expenses–I reassured her that it was OK.

Susie decided to get out of bed, hop into the wheelchair, and go for a spin the Metzger Park and the local area. Jennifer, the live-in nurse aide, got Susie arranged, and we headed out. Susie loves getting out.

I took Susie down the street and through Metzger Park from the rear entrance. We soon reached the cedars that Susie loves. There is full shade and the peaceful. We watched an Oregon swallowtail butterfly fly through the area. This is not the same insect in the east, but a special Oregon-only one–likely somehow weird. However, it does feed on dragon wormwood in caterpillar form, suggesting it fits here.

We spent about an hour outside and then returned to the hummingbird house. Susie decided to still skip lunch and rest some more. So I left with a few kisses.

My back was beginning to hurt. I usually don’t have these problems. I suspect the strain of moving the grill did something, and I have not slowed down all week, and I may have been stressing my back more than I know. I stopped by Rite Aide, now the one miles away from my house as our local one closed, to pick up a prescription.

I tried the new Basics grocery store next door to the Rite Aide. I picked up frozen shrimp, some locally made sausage, and some Malbec wine on special. I returned home with the pain growing. I could just cook the sausage and some thawed sausage on the grill–the yellow jackets stayed away from the smoke and heat. I then painfully cut up the sausage and made jambalaya from a box. I added the shrimp and green beans (from the freezer) and let it all cook while I rested, trying to get my back to stop hurting.

While eating dinner, I watched most of the newest Matrix movie on my Apple. It was good. When I started to cook, the wine was opened, and I had a few more glasses, and between the light painkillers, the excellent food, and the wine–time for a nap.

The pain faded as I did, and I was not back awake until 9:30, having rested for a few hours. I could work now and did some writing and a few items on the project that needed a minor fix. I went to bed after midnight.

 

 

Monday started with me sleeping to 7:30ish. My first appointment with Susie’s physical therapy was 1PM, so I was not in the least rushed. I had yogurt and banana with liberal coffee that I have been drinking since President Trump’s election. I tried to not be too depressed from the news, but I am reading about people wanting to kill people after the search of the former’s president home. That politicians are threatening revenge if their political party rules. It all sounds so 1930s to me. Ugly.

Putting aside the politics of frightening words, I continued with my leisurely morning by writing some more on my Dungeons and Dragons 5E adventure. I am over 6,000 words and have about six encounters done. I have started the second level.

The theme for this part of the adventure is Egyptian mummies–the 1920s movie version. I have remembered the KV5 tomb while building my imaginary complex found in real Egypt, and I recommend The Lost Tomb and various Internet sources on KV5 by Kent R. Weeks.

Time, on your day off, just flies by, and soon I was rushing. As I was leaving, I met one of the new neighbors next door, Lauren. They moved last week and told me they wanted a single-level house, I understand, and that her husband, Jason, will be home most days; he is a partially disabled veteran.

Of course, construction slows my travels to a forty-five-minute trip instead of my usual twenty to get to the hummingbird house. Susie is already with the new PT person, Tracy, and Tracy comments that Susie’s legs are strong and was surprised that she is not doing more standing. Tracy and Susie do six stands, and Susie can carry her weight on her legs. Susie is unstable standing, but she can do it. Tracy suggests a small standing frame (I have seen these at the gym for PT and OT) and a peddle for Susie to work her legs and also to better connect her brain to her movements. Tracy thinks Susie can get better with lots of work and time. All excellent news.

Jennifer, the nurse aide, also listened to some of the suggestions. We all agree to do what is best and safe for Susie. Tracy left, and Rick will be by this week to re-evaluate Susie after the Covid. I was unhappy with the non-visit with Rick as we have only so many visits as I would prefer them to focus on PT and not paperwork. Medical paperwork stuff is always frustrating.

Susie was ready to visit the park, Metzger Park, next door. The park was not that busy, with only one picnic on a Monday morning; back-to-school was getting going. The usual runners and dogs on leashes were out.

I believe the kids are out getting supplies and clothing for school. I hated it when I was a kid, except I would get a new notebook and often a new briefcase (I was never a backpack kid) with all sorts of pockets and interesting separators. Then, towards the end of my school years, I would start turning in my assignments printed off a dot matrix printer using a new thing called a Word Processor program. It had a spell checker, which was close to a miracle to me, but I soon learned (the hard way) that you really need to know that a word is correct before adding it to the dictionary!

Returning to my story, Susie and I enjoyed the park for nearly an hour. There, we called her mother, Leta, and chatted. We also connected with Zorida and talked to her for a short time. We will try to connect with Zorida, who is moving to Texas soon before she heads to the Lone Star state.

Evan, who left work early, showed up at the park and kept us company for the trip around the park.

Susie was tired after the PT and the trip to the park, and I said my goodbyes with a kiss. Then, Jennifer took Susie to her room to nap.

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

Evan found himself volunteering to help me return my grill to the house. It was still at First United Methodist Church in Beaverton, and we stopped there and loaded it up. Unfortunately, I got caught in a traffic jam, and a train blocked progress on my way back. Evan waited twenty minutes for me. We then managed to unload the grill and get it back on the deck without injury or scratching the paint on Air Volvo.

We headed to The 649 Taphouse in Aloha. We had not been back in months. It was unchanged. I had a BLT and shared some chips and guacamole dip with Evan. We had a few drinks as it was still early, and Evan did not want to face rush hour traffic on his return to Portland. Evan resides in Portland.

I needed to start back on my project for Natasha’s graduation present at the house, so we headed there. Evan watched NetFlix while I worked with decals; my new decal paper was delivered today, as expected. I failed on my first attempt as the design was too light against the wood background. I reprinted the map, and this time I was more successful. It looks nice.

Decal paper is a coated paper that an inkjet printer, like what I have, can print an image on it. You must then spray a sealer on the surface to lock in the color as the ink is water soluble. If you over-manipulate the decal or do not use enough sealer, the broken coating or decal material will let the water reach the ink. Your design will literally begin to float away. I had a bit of that, but it seemed to make the decal look older, which worked for me.

Also, there are two types of decal paper: clear and white. I use clear, but you must remember that my inkjet does not print white; that is the lack of ink. Thus, I paint a small dot of white on figures and other items and cover that with the decal–you don’t even know there is paint. White decal paper requires a white background, careful trimming to just show the design, or some paint to cover the unneeded white. As I am always doing tiny work, I generally use transparent.

Next, and I know I am going on and on, is the solvent. There is a decal setting fluid that you carefully apply according to instructions. This will cause the decal to resolve into the surface and follow contours; it looks like it is painted and not a film. Lastly, you need to coat the surface with a clear protective spray. When done well, it takes a look to a new level.

Besides all of this insanely detailed work, I was organizing my paper and questions for the CPA I am visiting on Tuesday. So a detailed evening for me. Evan headed out after it got later. I grabbed a chicken sandwich from Popeyes later in the evening as I had forgotten to eat, and my pills are not friendly on an empty stomach.

I got to bed about 11ish; where did the time go? I rolled over maybe once and was dead asleep. I dreamed a lot.

Thanks for reading.

The morning started with me waking at about 6:15, finally being able to sleep through the sunrise. Also, we are on the other side of the solstice, so dawn is moving later in the morning. The alarm woke me, and I started on a rushed, if not crazy, morning. I started writing the blog as I was not home, as usual, on Saturday night until late. I also had to be at the church, First United Methodist in Beaverton, at 9ish to help set up the barbeque today to celebrate our new pastor, Pastor Ken, joining as the new 1/2-time pastor. So I was rushing through the writing, breakfast of yogurt with liberal coffee, and getting ready. I was at the church in Air Volvo without incident, carrying a propane tank.

I am brittle from the chemotherapy, so I must be careful what I carry and do. It was strange to have folks over 70+ telling me to sit down while they moved things, but it was the right thing to do. I did carry chairs and opened doors. I recruited some more help here and there, and Zophia helped me with the cooking.

Ben came with another grill, and we got that out of his pick-up. He had a new propane tank, and I had brought one that was at least 1/2 full. It was enough. We tested both grills after moving them (I moved mine to the church on Friday). Everything was working. I had replaced the grill plates on mine, and that helped.

The usual put the table there, no put it there, no back to over there, and put table cloths (plastic). We put up two tents that unfolded with a few lightly pinched fingers and hands. Tables were set up inside too.

We returned to our regular pews and enjoyed the church service. Pastor Ken and family were there, as were many folks I have not seen since the pandemic; over fifty folks came. Again, more than we have seen since the pandemic lockdown. Most folks, as is the habit at our church, wore masks.

Ken is a bible historian and has visited the Holy Land. He includes photos he has of the Holy Land when he presents. He shared his belief that Jesus’s stay in the desert and the temptations increased Jesus’s compassion for us. Pastor Ken sees suffering as making you harder or kinder. He also noticed that in Jesus’s quote from Isaiah, he left out the punishment phrase. Jesus, in Pastor Ken’s thinking, only focused on kindness and forgiveness.

After all the preparation, we left the service after the sermon and started the grill (which lit without incident) and began to grill. Ben did the hamburgers while I did the hot dogs. My cooking is just rolling the dogs over a hot grill to prevent them from burning on one side and being less cooked on the other side (these were already cooked all-beef dogs). The hamburgers were still frozen, so they took longer to cook (and did not fall apart or need to be pressed on the grill); I got to cook about six of those too when I finished the dogs. I had minor burns on the dogs, but nothing charred. Zophia showed up at the end, did a couple of flips of the burgers for practice, and then helped me unload the grill.

I got another friend to help with the logistics; he brought out lots of the food and helped fill in here and there. Once you get going, there is lots of help.

Pastor Ken with Anne & Wayne’s cake.

I had a test dog, good, and then later a burger and another dog with a bun this time. The sides were pot luck and a nice mix. Later a cake appeared with ice cream, thanking Rev. Anne and Dr. WayneWeld-Martin for filling in as pastors during the pandemic. Finally, as usual with Methodist things, we began the teardown, which went easier and faster with all the folks than the setup. I got some younger folk to help Ben reload his truck with his grill.

After most of the work was done, I left and drove the propane tank directly home; nothing I wanted in Air Volvo for very long. After pulling it out of the back seat–wedged between seats to prevent the tank (I have put them in the back and then open the gate and have the tank roll out and bounce on the ground–seeing a propane tank bounce, while very scary, is better than not see it).

I then drove Air Volvo to hummingbird house to see Susie, but it was the mid-afternoon, Susie’s usual nap time. So I called ahead; Rachel was the nurse aide on Sunday morning and said Susie was lying down. When I got there, Susie was relaxing and decided it was a good idea to just rest today. However, I was worn out, so I was going to object to a simple visit today.

I stayed long enough to call Leta, Susie’s mother, on FaceTime and to listen to some music. Then, I explained to Rachel how to run our setup for Alexa (you use the keyword ‘Echo’ to get its attention).

I headed home and rested a bit. I also started on my revisions of an old item for Natasha’s graduation present–now Doctor Natasha. I did some cleaning and repairs. I plan a few updates too. But no details until it is in the doctor’s hands.

I wrote until midnight on my Dungeons and Dragon 5E adventure. I had to let the glue harden on the upgrades I had made to the item for Tasha. I finally headed to bed and fell immediately fell asleep. I ordered one more thing that, luckily, is a next-day delivery from Amazon.

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

Aside: I was listening to the stage version of Moulin Rogue! while writing the blog, I am always amazed by the singing by Tony-nominated Karen Olivio (she is no longer on Broadway after a dispute with the allegations against a producer was not addressed). Last October, I saw her replacement, Natalie Mendoza, and she was excellent and owned it too. Here is the song where you can hear Katen own the piece from the original Boardway recording: Sparkling Diamond.

Going backward, I was home about 11:30 from Portland, was in bed before midnight, and fell asleep without much tossing and turning. Before turning in, I made a bagel with cream cheese when I got home as I had skipped dinner, and my night meds are best with food.

I had taken Air Volvo from Portland after dropping Kathleen at her house just outside of Portland. We had played together at Richard’s house not far from Lloyd Center Mall in Portland with Shawn. We played two four-person games tonight–we had the old group of four back.

We first played Vindication, my copy, and Rickard managed to win over Kathleen by a few honor points, with Shawn outpacing me on honor (victory points). I was teaching, so I was not always focused on winning, but I enjoyed the game, and it was nice to play with four people again. Vindication was designed in the greater Portland area, and I had some input into the design years ago. It is a worker placement and resource management game. It is a fav of mine.

We played Edo next, a worker placement and resources management with some competition and engine building. This was new for most of us, and Richard had some relearning. This was one of the hundreds of games that Richard owns, and he had replaced the paper coins with real currency; we got to use real metal coins–always an improvement. Richard is trying to play every game in his collection, so old favs are now hitting the table. Edo reminded me of a faster version of Concordia. This game has you pick three actions from cards you have and apply a certain amount of support for the action. You then move meeples, Samari, on a map to collect resources. You receive a payout for where your buildings are built and must pay rice (a white wooden marker) for workers, stone and wood for facilities, and so on. Edo was a fast game once you got the rules down and used interesting mechanics that were quickly learned. I scored at the bottom, but it was closer than I expected.

Before taking Air Volvo without events in light traffic to Portland, I was with Evan in Beaverton. We had a quick lunch at Pepita’s, a Mexican joint off Cedar Hills. Sadly, my food was just average today. But, on the other hand, my beer was cold and fresh.

From there, we drove over to central Beaverton, parked Air Volvo in the Beaverton parking garage, and took a few games to Central Taps, where Evan and I had another beer while playing the board game Pax Pamir with Evan. We used the automated player as a third player and then lost to it. I have tried to play this a few times, and this was the first time with three with the automata. I did not enjoy the play and just can’t find any love for this game. I will Pax Pamir to other games in my garage that are not played much. Unforently we did not have time for another game.

On the way back to the car, I said hello to the Beaverton officer who gave me a ticket for using my phone while driving. That surprised him, but I told the group of Beaverton’s finest that I never again touched my phone in the car again, and we all laughed. It was nice to see the police smile–the pandemic and protests have been hard on them.

Before Evan and I were in Beaverton, we were at Hummingbird House to be with Susie. I arrived there first in Air Volvo. The trip across Beaverton was uneventful. Susie was thrilled to see me, and we were soon outside, touring the park and the local area. Susie seemed to have recovered more from Covid-19 and was sitting up in her wheelchair and more responsive. We passed the magnolia tree we love and looked at all the repairs to fences.

We then headed into Metzger park, which was not as busy as yesterday, but there was more serious cooking with smoke rising from a BBQ that would have loved to have joined. We went all the way to the end and circled back. Susie likes the cedars.

We did not go four-wheeling on the path to the ravine with the salamanders and other protected dampish small critters.

We stopped for a photo that we sent out to folks.

Next, we started the old 1956 musical, High Society, after returning to the hummingbird house and got set up in the activity room. While a nice musical for its time, it has aged poorly in my mind, but Susie was singing along, and this is Grace Kelly’s last film, so it is always good. Grace Kelly even wears in the movie the jewelry from her engagement to the Prince of Monaco. She leaves Hollywood to be a princess.

We paused the movie about 1/2 way and talked to Susie’s mother, Leta, for a bit.

After the movie finished with a sudden resolution you often see in musicals of the 50s-60s, Susie was tired and was going to have lunch, so I and now Evan, who showed about 1/3 of the way into the movie, headed out. I got a kiss goodbye as Vanessa, the nurse aide for today, took over. Vanessa helps to make the transition easier by asking Susie questions about lunch and a nap when I leave. This stops Susie from getting sad and gets Susie back into the routines of the hummingbird house.

I started about 7:30ish and had breakfast, a bagel, and a banana with liberal coffee. I had managed to sleep until my alarm woke me. Better.

Thanks for reading. I have to make hot dogs and burgers at church this morning, so I am a bit rushed–sorry if I was not verbose enough.

Another morning on paid time off (PTO) started with me getting up at 6ish as I could not sleep through the morning. I did roll over a few times, but sleep would not return. I was up and made corned beef hash (from a can) and scrambled some eggs to go with it. Today the IKEA office furniture was coming between noon and 4PM, so I was stuck at the house for the morning.

I then wrote the blog for the previous day but completely spaced our Theology Pub Zoom church meeting.

At Thursday’s Pub, we discussed the great commission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. We discussed how we are uncomfortable with how many have used this over the years to excuse cruelty and even genocide. The group talked about it, and some of our move creative speakers went with the direct message of Christ was for folks to not be douchebags–not a word you would use at church, I am sure (if you are familiar with this slang, I have linked to the definition). Generally, the group agreed that the great commission comes with the additional requirement that true Christians are not going to do harm and need to be an excellent example before trying to spread the gospel. Also, we concluded that the creation story where God turns over domination of the earth to mankind was not meant as a license to exploit but to care for the world. We should be using science and technology, for example, to improve the air for us and the animals and plants of the world. We need to do the job that God started with, the creation and care for the world and become good stewards. This would mean mankind finally grew up and became the adults God expected. Finally, the great commission is not just about spreading the Word: Don’t be a douchebag, don’t exploit people or the world, and be a good steward; then spread the words of Jesus Christ.

Moving back to the narrative for Friday, I did some more creative writing for my new Dungeon and Dragons 5E adventure. I built another custom monster and made some corrections on the previous encounters. For those interested in adventure building, I started another encounter and decided that each level would have only a few rooms (I often make the map last as most of the work is the writing, and I don’t like the change your writing takes when you are just filling rooms on a map–instead make some good encounters and skip the time-wasting mapping in play).

I still had the salad from the pizza and salad I ordered on Thursday. I had a large salad plus a bit of cottage cheese later for lunch. I stacked the dishes and went on to the next thing while waiting for the IKEA items’ delivery.

I started to clean up the deck and repair the gas grill. I had ordered replacement parts and pulled out the ruined grill plates, and put new ones in their place. Unfortunately, someone left the grill on for a day and a half, and the heat ruined the grill plates (the oxidized and rusted to pieces–getting metal into food), so I finally paid for replacements. I have another part to replace as the bottom of the grill is falling out.

I moved the cooler back into the garage and took everything out of Air Volvo. The cooler was at the entrance, so when folks brought food over when I was ill with chemotherapy, they good put it in the cooler. Time to move on, and I was sort of proud that I got this far that the cooler could go back into the garage.

I checked my roses and trees.

I don’t know the name of this rose which is washed out by the heat but is still nice.

This is a rugosa rose originally from Japan and is often found on the coast as it is salt resistant.

The new climbing roses, Wedgwood, and English rose from David Austin are happy.

An unknown rose that came with the house back in 1996 and reportedly was transplanted from another house is doing well. It is grafted rose and likely as old or even older than me.

The Mountain Ash tree is full of berries making the birds very happy.

And a pioneer apple tree from the original farm is happy even after falling and being cut back. These are cider apples from the old days.

I texted Mariah, offering her a steak dinner if she would come over and help me deliver my gas grill to First United Methodist Church, Beaverton. I had told the church I would not wish to go through the hassle of moving my grill. I am more brittle after the cancer treatments, so I avoid straining my muscles again (Last week, I was almost to using a cane after I strained my legs too much). But, the church folks did not get it, so I moved my grill anyway. Mariah knows my condition and is strong too. So, I will be cooking on Sunday morning for the church BBQ. Not sure I even agree with the rate of infection from Covid-19 that this is OK. I would typically avoid something like this.

The IKEA delivery is here and over with. The guy put all the stuff in the new office, once Corwin’s room. I am now free.

Air Volvo reaches Susie without any incident. Susie is happy to see me, and we are soon out in the 85F (29.4C) sun with a cool breeze. The park, it being a Friday without school, is packed with kids and dogs. One little pug plays soccer with his head and runs the soccer ball all over the grass. The park requires leashed dogs. The pug owner lost the hold on the leash and just stood there watching the dog push the ball all around–quite funny.

Susie is feeling much better; last week, she was laid up with Covid-19, one of the new versions. We chat with Susie’s mother, Leta, in the park using the iPhone FaceTime. Susie was more communicative but kept getting distracted by everything in the park, including the soccer play pug that we even let Leta watch via the iPhone!

After we ended an extended call, Susie and I toured the park and got to the cedar trees, Susie’s fav, and even chatted with a few folks. I thanked the trustee of the park for putting gravel by the cement sidewalk. Apparently, he saw me popping the wheelchair onto the sidewalk, and he put down some crushed rock to smooth the way. It is much better now. We went to the exit of the park and then turned around.

We returned to the hummingbird house and sat on the porch for a while. I got Susie a glass of water from Jennifer, the nurse aide working today, and we sat there while Susie drank it. She did choke a lot. Susie forgets to go slow once in a while.

With the water drank and Susie looking sleepy from the warm air and the excitement of the park, it was time for her to have a nap. I left with a kiss and a promise to return on Saturday morning. Another reason I needed to deliver the grill on Friday. I also got a text from Richard about playing board games at his house on Saturday night–more reasons to get the grill moved today.

I went home, did some more organizing, and got the seats of Air Volvo down. Mariah appeared in her purring Challenger. I had her park it in front of my house, adding to my street cred, and we loaded, without incident, the grill into Air Volvo, now set for cargo flights. We delivered it to the church with me only slightly scratching the cargo area.

Dinner was fine New York Strips at Golden Valley Brewery. Jennifer (another one) was our waiter and knew Mariah. We had a great dinner, spending my new bonus money with abandon and enjoying a fine Malbec (red wine) with the steaks. Malbec is a fav of mine as it is excellent from South America and grows in adverse conditions–higher altitude, hot, and dry. I find a good Malbec is better than a good anything else–making it cheaper and still good.

After dinner, Mariah headed out with my extra corn starch–corn starch is used to stop pet birds from bleeding–who knew? I decided to build my chair. I bought a sort of expensive gaming chair from IKEA as I again seem to be more brittle and a good chair is needed for all the writing and computer stuff. I also have floor mats from IKEA for the wheels.

Unlike most IKEA stuff, this went together quickly without me needing two extra arms and five hands to put something together. IKEA is DIY furniture for aliens as far as I am concerned. The chair is comfortable and stiff–I think it is worth the investment.

After surviving my first IKEA build, I went to bed and fell quickly to sleep.

Thanks for reading again!