It is Thursday when I try to write this. The infusion has given me impossible extreme cold sensitivity. Anything under 98.6F (body temp) is burning cold to me.

Susie on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday: 16Feb

Working backward for Wednesday, I went to bed a bit late as I had mistimed my meds, so I waited until midnight to take them. A mistake that will not happen once I am back on chemo. While waiting, I managed to finish the initial layer of “skins” on my ballon model–I am building a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) scale ballon for the next campaign. I also used some wood strips to make a tiny deck put on the very top of the model to attach all the ropes. I also tied some rope around the cork in the gas bag. I think that will add some drama. I also sewed the edge of some light-brown felt. I will glue these on to add little patches. Again, it increases the drama of the look.

Before this, I rested and chatted with some folks. I plan to return to Roll20 and play StarFinder Role Playing Game (RPG) with some folks. StarFinder is a space opera RPG. The RPG is a neat rework of the Pathfinder RPG, a rework of D&D earlier 3.5 version. Famous for giving the players insanely complex powers and combat sessions that could last all night. And replaced with 4E, which is now considered a failure. Most of my 4E books went to GoodWill. StarFinder can be complex with rules to fly space ships and all the expected gadgets plus magic. Oh yes, a crazy game. Roll20 has a free trial adventure online with video chat and the rules built into 2D maps!

Corwin and Evan had dinner with us. I ordered from GrubHub. I want to thank Osman Eygu, Jim Sherwin, Michelle Vondenkemp, SEC leadership, for the last couple of dinner nights. It is very kind, and it helped!

Before this, Evan remained in the Air Volvo; I was in RiteAid getting snacks for Thursday’s beginning of Cycle 2 Day 1. It starts with me taking the pills and then showing for the infusion. More on that later in this two-day blog. I also got a prescription before it ran out.

I had to leave The 649 bar at 6ish to pick up stuff at RiteAid. Evan and I had a snack of Fondue with sausage and bread and green apples. I did have one pilsner there, and the bartender mis-poured and gave me 1/4 of a hoppy beer that was quite good.

We had come to The 649 after seeing Susie, and there we played Unsettled, my newest game from Kickstarter. I am still loving the game. Evan just liked it as it was his first play and did not watch the video, which left me to cover all the mechanics. I think once he gets it, he will enjoy it. I think it will play better with three (or more) players too. Unfortunately, we died within sight of the ship.

We set up the game, take the whole table, and order drinks. I wanted to see how it was set up out of the box as I had followed all the teardown instructions. Unsettled set up faster than I expected.

We drove from Forest Grove before this. We found Susie in bed at the Forest Grove Retirement and Care Center after being up for breakfast. Her speech was even more precise, and she was trying to chat with us. She was happy to see Evan with me, and I called her mother, and they talked on FaceTime. Leta was pleased to see Susie. We called Peter Koper next and Susie, and he spoke for a few minutes. He also asked about my status, and this let Susie again her what was happening to me. She struggles to keep it as she cannot retain new information very well, so hearing a repeat helps.

Soon it was time for Susie to get up for lunch. So Evan and I left for a bit and had lunch at the Grand Lodge just down the road. I had a diet drink and an Eastern Star Dip (a French dip but renamed in honor to the Masons that built the place). Evan had an Old Fashion, a 1/2 sandwich, and mushroom soup. All the food for this place was more than above average. McMenamins, a local chain, in my experience, can be hit or miss, but the pandemic seems to have improved its quality.

Susie was nearly overwhelmed when she saw us return again. We spent another hour or so with her. I got various old rock videos on my Apple, and we did some singing. I tried not to sing as nobody deserves to hear me sing rock, but it is hard to resist these songs. Susie enjoyed the singing and the music. Finally, I had to leave as I wanted to hit The 648 bar before it filled up. Susie knows I will not make it on Thursday.

Susie FaceTime with mom on Apple.

The morning was a blur of getting ready and racing. Evan was coming over and would get to use the new shower as he was playing Pickle Ball all morning. So I was rushing to use it first. I just managed to finish the blog and pop in before he got there. Just a challenge to make the morning more interesting. The plan was to get to Susie before her lunch and then play a board game at The 649.

Time seemed to fly away for me on Wednesday, and I was up before 8, but I read email and news for a while and soon was running late.

Thursday 17Feb

The infusion and other meds are making this very difficult. I have much worse extreme cold sensitivity. The 50F choked me and blinded me. I am now using a cane as the muscles are not working in the correct order (worse than before). Thus my movements are unstable. Any muscle group not used for a bit is hard to control. Talking is almost slurred at first. Eating, walking, or picking up something might not work at first.

Going forward for today, the day started at 6:30, the starting time for the first five days of Cycle 2. I don’t write the blog in the morning as I have to get to OSHU in Portland on the Legacy campus off of 22nd. I have all my snacks, laptops, Kindle, and magazines in my bag.

I take Air Volvo, just me solo, to OHSU Knight Cancer folks to Portland. A black new buy gas-powered Ford Mustang drives all over the lanes trying to find a way through the slow Oregonian drivers. The driver manages to improve his position by two car lengths at significant risk to the excellent paint on the muscle car. But, I do cheer the drive on. I make it to the parking garage for Legacy with twenty minutes to spare, 30 minutes trip.

They are ready for me, and we follow the rituals. No International travel, but I did look before Putin made it a less likely choice, at Odesa on the Black Sea. I tell them. I think the gal taking my info nearly sighed; everyone wants a break.

It takes two tries to get an IV with the long needle. Finally, it ends up in my left arm in the joint, the most accessible place to put it. My labs are good enough, and the doc, Eric, walks me to the infusions seats. I pick the corner one.

This time, the process seems much faster; I am reading a book on my Kindle, Americana, recommended by Jack Cone, and time just seems to run fast as I am reading. The book is an essay on American History and its impact on the lives of Americans. It is primarily a story of economics as told by the author (who was once an Economic Immigrant to the USA from India). The story of slavery it tells is hard to read as you wish for a different answer about the founding fathers. I agree with Jack: recommended!

Aside: I finished The Bright Ages. The book is highly recommended by me as a new look at the Medieval period and to expose the false narrative used by fascists and white supremacists referring to this period.

All the side effects are there and worse. The cold sensitivity is far worse, and the bees are back in my bloodstream from the steroids. I am a wreck, but I manage to get free and drive Air Volvo home; no issues there.

Getting out of the car is hard. The cold, 50F, is harsh. Even my legs are impacted and burning, and I can barely get my legs to bend and work. I have my hand on the car, using a glove as the cold metal burns like fire to me. I manage to get inside with everything. I grab the cane as I am unstable.

I order food delivered on Grubhub for some falafel, which seems safe with some hummus. My fingers are burning with cold, my breathing is troubled as the house is cold, 70F, so I set it up to 73F, which helped last time, and get under the electric blanket from Uncle Marting and Aunt Cathy, who lives in Wolverine, Michigan.

The food helps. I take a nap. Corwin makes a Blue Apron meal, I get them as a way for him to help, and he likes to cook. I am under three blankets, fully dressed, and a robe.

When I woke, Beethoven’s 9th symphony was just reaching the good parts. I turned it up. I had put on to help me get going, but I slept through most of the first two movements, which helped. Corwin loves it too. He thought it would work for ‘V’ for Vendetta, which used 1812.

And it worked; I am up and writing the blog for two days, had a steak dinner from Corwin (excellent), and trying to not hurt myself with cold, and using a cane. So cycle 2 sucks, but I am marching through to Beethoven.

Thanks to everyone for reading, praying, being supportive, and just being there.

Going backward describing Tuesday, the pain in my incisions was quite bad as I tried to sleep. Pain killers were taken earlier, and the pain drifted away as I did into sleep before midnight. It was not a lot of pain. I think I just had enjoyed too much dinner, and/or my sneezing from the pollen from the last few days of good weather in Oregon might have stressed my incisions. It is terrible to have pressure from the inside!

Before the pain grew, I was working on my balloon model; as the chemotherapy starts on Thursday, I wanted to get some more done before I likely will have to wait. I tore up more of a paper sack and glued the pieces on a 6″ craft ball to make it look like a make-shift airbag from various skins sewn together. Like many cool modeling ideas, it takes time and careful repeated steps to get the look right. I also cut and carved a bit on a cork making the sides more angled for the well cork for the balloon. I plan to wrap it later with little bits of paper and then finish with ropes, heavy to scale anchor rope, to make it look more finished. I will be sewing some pieces of cloth to put here and there on the model to get a bit more drama. Oddly, I have a bunch of heavy sewing needles for my wearable work from AdaFruit. The last time I had hand sewing, it was with metallic thread.

The pain got worse, and the model needed the glue to dry, so I took some painkillers. I hate to do it as my ability to stop bleeding is likely already impacted by the chemo meds, but it hurt.

Before this, with the pain just starting, I had a few more bits of Chinese-styled dinner paid for by my friend and long-term co-worker at Nike, Don Eytel. Don is one of the few folks left who will tell you he worked on AS/400 computers from IBM and might even admit that he once knew the unique (insanity causing?) language RPG II (not RPG2, but as IBM made it RPG II). Don, like me, has worn many hats at Nike over the years. Thanks, Don!

Before this, I reset the table in the dining room and played another game, just me playing both sides of a two-person game of Unsettled. This time following the rules and the planet effects on the distress cards (which we were less than disciplined following in the previous game). As this is a cooperative game, me playing with me was highly collaborative–but the focus was less on playing than to get the rules and process right: Meaning I died. I then tried to put the game away.

Newish designed games contain trays that allow you to reset the game and be ready to use next time. But, this requires following a process again with discipline. It took me a while to figure out how to do it–yes, the set-up instructions are pretty detailed, but you do not expect the same intensity for tear down. Nevertheless, I managed to get Unsettled correctly in its box, find the planet components, and get those back into their respective boxes. Unsettled comes into main parts, the base game, and, in its own box, a planet that is the scenario of play.

Aside: The game has a strong following on Facebook and I put some details there, including this photo, and then answered questions about the game from all over the world.

Before, this I had dinner ordered from Happy Panda. More Americanized food than ethnic, but I used to go there for years with Michael Giessner and Michelle Smith, so it is kind of comfort food. I ordered noodles, too, as that is Corwin’s fav.

Before all of this, I was reading and trying to relax. Usually, I would go somewhere to ramp down and write in a coffee place or something like that, but with Covid-19 newest versions out there and masking wearing being shut down, that is clearly unwise. I also start chemotherapy on Thursday for cycle 2 and do not want to mess that up. Thus, I read and tried to rest. I did not sleep as I wanted to sleep better that evening.

Before this, I reached Susie’s facility just before 1ish. Susie was having lunch at the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, but not in her room but out with the nursing station. The aid was feeding her, I took over from her. Susie was having trouble with the blender-ed food. She could not swallow it, and It was a bit dried out. One of the puddles was a dinner roll and was Susie’s fav (I saw the ticket for dinner that listed what was on the tray included a blender-ed dinner roll). But, again, one has to put the strangeness of the food out of your head and just help Susie. Next, she had trouble swallowing it. I got her to drink honey-thick water between bites, and that worked. Susie completed about 1/4 of the food, which was good with the swallowing problem and the dry nature of the food.

We then traveled through the facility and called Barb, Susie’s sister, in the large hall. Leta, getting worried, called in the middle of Barb’s call. I called Leta, Susie’s mother, a few minutes later. Cathy Thoma called also. We talked about Cathy’s recent loss (I will not explore her recent loss as that is her story and would not feel right to express it for her) and my everyday adventures with colon cancer, and she got to chat with Susie too.

Susie seemed to melt into the wheelchair, and her hands were very close to the spokes of her wheelchair. I asked the nurses to be careful, and they said to leave her near the nurse station; Niche, the RN, will keep an eye on her. I left Susie with a kiss as she fell asleep in her wheelchair. Lunch and all the talking had tired her out.

Driving to and from Forest Grove allowed me to explore the unique relationship that many Oregon have with space, time, and roads. The most impressive moment was an older man near the prison, stop all the traffic by just stepping out and waving. Being polite and many overly-relaxed drivers, he stopped (Aside: Grammarly suggested the word “Exterminate” for “stopped”–their last software changes seem to be a bit aggressive), and he then reached his bus, and traffic resumed. When pushing Susie in Portland on her walker with a seat (a rollator), I have stopped all the traffic too, and the PDX folks would smile and stop for me. But, I was not expecting that in Hillsboro next to the county lock-up. Every trip comes with new learnings.

Before this, I wrote a 1,800-word blog entry, which delayed me. Editing is a long process; Grammarly found nearly a hundred mistakes. It was fun to write so much, but it slowed me.

The morning started without issue and the usual processes. All followed with discipline as the chemo begins on Thursday.

 

 

 

The day started with me waking without pain and lollygagging until about 8:20 again. Monday has no plans as I am still in the chemo-free days and just take my regular meds. These are also not required to wait until 10s, so I can take them early. Also, I have pizza from our small two-person (Mariah and me) Superbowl party, which is a great breakfast. I can’t do cold pizza and warm it in the microwave.

I manage to get ready and am on my way to Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. I dropped off Corwin at work on the way. Also, Air Volvo did not need to warn me about the other drivers on the trip; Air Volvo makes a cute trolley car sound when it starts to prepare for collision avoidance. One driver did cross all the lanes, four lanes and a turning lane, with very little room for error, but that was more of an LA aggressive move than our usual overly relaxed Oregon drivers, almost deserved golf claps.

I stopped by a stand by the road in the rain, the first one with flowers, and a friendly group of young gals with Spanish accents had created baskets with rose arrangements. I picked one out and paid more than the asking price, and left with them smiling. It is St. Valentine’s day, after all.

Susie was out of bed, dressed, and watching the Olympics on TV in the nursing area. Susie was thrilled to see the flowers. There is a little frog in the middle with a heart.

Aside: Years ago, when Susie was ill, I found a frog stuffed animal at FedEx, which joined her in bed, and since then, “froggy” has been there to help Susie by her pillow. So this will be another one but at the facility. In addition, Susie has a little menagerie by her pillow at home (including three owls) of various helpful stuffed animals.

While we were hanging out, lunch came. Blender-ed spaghetti and meat sauce is not something I would recommend, but I stepped in and fed Susie. Her hands are not strong enough to feed herself. The cooks made one puddle of sauce, and one of something by color must have been pasta. So a little sauce and a little pasta puddle on the spoon. Susie managed to eat about 1/3 of it, and I did manage to be supportive the whole time.

Susie is not having a choking problem, and if one keeps to small bites and brings in the honey-thick water every couple of bites, she can keep going. Susie drinks from a cup now, instead of spooning the water too. And, to my surprise, she helped me lift the cup higher so she could get a drink.

I helped with the feeding as I had watched the day before and knew how we were doing it now, and the nurses and aids were just overwhelmed at lunch. I saw the ward RN actually running between rooms to keep up. The head nurse, Pre, was running too. I saw Julie doing one room; she is the nursing director. The weekday, Monday, is always busy as the insurance companies “wake up,” the Covid-19 tests are done on Monday and Thursday, and all the admin folks are there catching up on the weekend.

I then took Susie for the usual facility tour in her wheelchair, giving the nurses more breaks as they were literally running around. We wave to the smokers outside and various other more permanent residents. Most are missing legs or have leg issues that are disabling. They now live in the facility, many have decorated their rooms, and some are in private rooms.

Susie chats with her mother, Leta, via FaceTime in the big hall. We then call Joyce in North Carolina (NC) using FactTime, Susie’s aunt. Next, we call Glenda, also in NC, another aunt. We all celebrate St. Valentine’s via iPhone!

After being there for about 180 minutes, I leave Susie, not yet getting tired but having missed lunch; I needed to get something. Susie was happy to get her flowers, and I left her at the nurse station watching the bobsledding on the Olympics. She did ask about when she could go home, and I told her that would wait until I finished chemotherapy, and she nodded understanding. Susie has short-term memory issues, so I know I will have to explain this each day I see her, and that is hard in so many ways, but it is just like the lunch today, one bite at a time of a lunch we would not order if given a choice. So we just keep going, and as Leta tells Susie and Susie agrees:  We leave the details to God.

As I feel better and nausea is something of the past (and soon the future), I decided that a foot-long Coney Island is what I need. So I head to Sonics in Beaverton. Air Volvo finds its way, and I am shocked to see that only the drive-through is working. Apparently, there are not enough folks to service the usual park and eat system that Sonics is known for–The Red Button is down. Also, they take only credit cards and cash; no electronic payments or Internet orders can be accepted. A sign warns that they cannot source some eatables, so you may not get your fav.

Soon the long drive-thru line processes through, and my turn comes. I hear an older but friendly voice, a manager, and I ask if they can do a number 7, a foot-long Coney Island, and they are happy to do that. I also get onion rings and a Canda Ginger Ale (yes, it has sugar, but I don’t get them that often). I thank him for making it work, and his voice fills with a smile, even though the speaker and says they are always happy to serve. My food is perfect.

I drive my lunch home and eat it while reading my email. It was still messy out of the car. In my family, we used to drive to a Coney place in Flint, 90 min drive, as we all loved them. I remember my father taking me on a trip to Saginaw and getting a dog there at an A&W. “The best I have found,” my father told me. He was saddened when it finally closed back in the days of 18% inflation in the late 1970s. So lunch brought back days and memories of the past.

My church called, and they had leftover groceries from the food services provided on Monday. As I have cancer, they decided I would be a good target audience, and a box of canned goods and pasta was dropped off. It is always hard for an independent person like myself to accept help, but I am learning to be accepting of help. Thanks, First United Methodist Church, Beaverton.

Corwin finished work, walked home, and decided to make dinner. Nobody was on the Meal Train today, so Corwin was up. I purchased Blue Apron before the Meal Train was set up to give Corwin a means to help. He cooked a brilliant One-Pan Greek Chicken Thighs for two. Also, the food is delicious and has better choices.

Corwin also did the dishes, and we watched from the beginning The Legend of Vox Mechana and Corwin’s favorite animated Invincible. Both are Kickstarter-created series and have a different feel than more commercial-based animations. I did not enjoy Invincible as I can’t do super-powered heroes as it is just too ridiculous to me. But I would recommend the series to younger folks that love this stuff. It is well done with good writing and voices getting some feeling into the old-school animation.

Corwin and I then both watched the 40+ min “How to Play” video for Unsettled, my newest and long-waited-for board game. I know the creator, Marc, and love their previous creation, Vindication. I did not, in this case, have much input to Unsettled (some of my ideas did make it into Vindication) as I was busy working on the shoe company’s software and just surviving the pandemic with Susie having strokes. But, this is a crazy cooperative game with the sole goal of “Space is Hard. Don’t Die.” I had tried to read the rules and play, and Corwin and I aborted that mission. The video covered the flow of the game and made it playable. If you want to play this game, like many newer games I have played with Richard, you must watch a video to have a chance of getting it right and not blowing it.

We gave it a whirl once we both were refreshed on the rules. After watching the video twice and attempting the rule book, I could follow the process and play. I had to help Corwin here and there as it is a lot to take in, and I play many games like this with Richard’s group in Portland, so I am used to this kind of flow. It is essential to follow the mechanics with discipline while the order of play is up to the players.

The game was wild, with Corwin investing in science (breakthroughs in game terms) and soon having all sorts of new abilities thanks to better living through chemistry. I developed my science slower and mixed it up, getting resources and opening up the map and options for Corwin. The science I selected allowed for the use of Power to short-cut production and movement. We soon had a lab in place and about 1/2 across the board.

The game is cooperative. You all live or fail working together. The breakthroughs can be played on another person’s turn. Players work together on each player’s turn; no reading texts while waiting for your turn! Also, keeping two players’ figures on the same node was a good plan (don’t split up like in a horror movie).

You are slowly and then faster in the game, running out of options as the game pace changes as you complete objectives for the unique planet. Soon we were buried in distress and having hallucinations (a special rule for the first planet). We goofed the distress rules for the planet and retro’d that a few turns later–next time, we will be more careful with the distress cards. Finally, we managed to escape and have enough food to survive the return trip to earth even with all the learning and missteps. Yeah!

Unsettled is a new take on cooperative and space board games. Usually, you face Alien-the-movie experience in most cooperative and semi-cooperative (Richard has let me die so many times in another game–I went mad and wanted to destroy us all). Still, this game is cooperative, and the ability to play on another person’s turn creates a friendlier and more desperate feel. So I am happy with it, not typical for me, after the first game.

I went to bed after this and reread the rules to see if we goofed any more rules and was happy to find that we were running according to the rules. The one goof was a planet-only effect and was not in the rules or the video–that explains how we missed it.

I finally slept around midnight. I managed to sleep until the morning.

I stayed in bed until about 8:20ish. I was a bit rushed as I had an invitation to sit in the pew and be the audience for the church at 10:30. Nevertheless, I managed to do all the required steps, to be ready with a gay-pride tie on under a sweater. Discovering my Oxford white button-down collar shirt now fits better and maybe a bit large.

An aside: Years ago, I did just the heavy material white shirts for work and had them pressed and put on hangers. My shirts back then had that perfect flat pocket and slight stark that in the 1990s said this is a serious professional. Now, A dark t-shirt with some dragon or cheap logo says this is the right kind of computer guy to talk to. Hollywood made all geeks wear t-shirts. So at Nike, Inc. I wear t-shirts with logos and pictures. Star Wars and Doctor Who shirts getting the most compliments.

I took Air Volvo to Beaverton. I made it to church at 10:30, and the door was locked. But, I was right on time. So I knocked, and the door opened, and Dan Gray said I was just in time. As you can imagine, the church service was more familiar in-person than by YouTube, and I had one side of the pews to myself; I was the audience. The event went off without any serious issues. Dan joined me in the pews as we stood, while masked, sang Lift Every Voice And Sing. I am not sure adding my talentless singing improved the video experience online, but I tried to sing at least with feeling.

The transitions are hard. One mic failed, but that was quickly replaced by walking a working pic back and forth. Dondrea gave the sermon, and she, being a master of video, made it look easy. Her address was about love, and she described how the late John Lewis handled hate by facing it, often being seriously beaten, and trying to overcome it by provoking it. John Lewis taught us a love that requires action. Not to hate an enemy but to face an enemy’s hate with the simple resistance of protest.

Leaving Beaverton, I headed directly to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, from the church to see Susie. The home has the doors better covered on Sunday, and Pre, Susie’s head nurse for her part of the facility, was at the door and passed me through the rituals. Later the Sunday crew were at the station at the door.

As is now usual for her, Susie was at the nurses’ table in an open area watching TV. Her lunch had been delivered. The aid was feeding Susie; Susie’s hands are too weak after the last strokes and not accurate enough to feed herself. I have not fed Susie for about a month, and the aid was, I saw, hoping I would feed Susie as a family member. But, I did not offer as I wanted to see how Susie was doing (she also choked a lot last time I did it). Susie has finely blender-ed food and thickened (to honey thickness) drinks. Often drinking water by a spoonful. Susie swallowed easily and had no pauses or failed to swallow. This is much of an improvement. Susie ate about 1/4 of the food. The aid says that sometimes she eats it all (even unusual for Susie before the strokes) and other days, like Sunday, just a bit.

After eating, I took Susie for a tour of the facilities, but it being Sunday, there were people everywhere. Also, Covid-19 is loose in the place, so we need to have Susie masked, and we need to avoid being close to any staff or residents unless medically necessary. So Susie and I went outside and toured the little rose garden, including the smokers’ hut. It was 65F with a hot sun and blue skies, definitely not the typical Oregon February weather. We sat in the sun for a bit, but Susie got cold fast, so just a few minutes in the sun. The daffodils, Susie’s fav, are nearly ready, and the rose bushes are waking up. Soon it will be lovely out there.

As is the norm here in the Greater Portland area, the smell was not just tobacco in the courtyard.

We then called Susie’s mother, Leta, using FaceTime in the main dining room. Susie and Leta chatted for some time until the noise of the Super Bowl Sunday party set-up started.

I started to tire as I had rushed all morning and driven Air Volvo to Beaverton and then to Forest Grove. So a short visit. I asked the nurses to let Susie join the party and watch the game.

I stopped by RiteAid and got a bottle of red wine and chips and then returned to the Volvo Cave home. I put on the pregame show and changed into a t-shirt with Cthulhu cult symbols–not a statement but just a clean shirt. Pizza arrived, ordered by Mariah while I was visiting with Susie, which was supposed to be delayed until mid-game but showed now.

Corwin was home as his stuff was thrown all over the living room. I had to move it all to the dining room and then fold a few blankets to feel safe walking through the area.

Mariah experienced the insane slow driving that I had enjoyed on my way to see Susie. This comes with the road-raging pickups that suddenly pass the slow-moving but undoubtedly relaxed Oregonians behind the wheel. If one likes one’s paint to stay on your mode of transport, discipline and watchfulness are required. Mariah makes it minutes before kick-off.

My observation of the teams was that they both contained a select set of highly talented and robust players (it being American Football, you need to be both). When these folks could work together, the team did extraordinary things. But, failures were also notable, with sacks of the quarterback being constant, meaning the ball gets kicked away over and over in the game.

Mariah left after the game with me, with me insisting that she take a pizza-sized bag of leftover pizza. Corwin had woke, had some pizza, and went. Next, I watched the last episodes of The Legends of Vox Machina, a new fav. Unfortunately, I now have to wait for the weekly new episode. It surprised me how dark the animated series had become and that I am used to hearing F**K now. I still like it but recommend it only as a guilty pleasure.

Deciding to read for a while, I found my Kindle lost in the bedding and started on my book Bright Ages. While reading, I managed to tie my muscles into a knot. The pain was incredible. I managed to stand and walk it off. I had already triggered a shock result, and soon I was shaking and freezing. I got into bed and let the warmth slow the shock. This had not happened for about six months. I quickly go into shock from severe pain. In ten minutes, I am back to normal.

Later, about 4:30 Monday morning, my left arm hurt, and I got up and took my usual pain killers, which stopped the discomfiture. The last doses of chemo seemed to have lighted-up some lymph nodes in my upper left arm–it is working. However, I need to manage some pain to avoid shock and sleep through the night.

Going backward, the night ended after 10:30 with me quickly falling asleep. I had been moving more than I had for a month, so I was tired, but there were no rips, leaks, or failures. No chemotherapy drugs again as I am in the seven-day recovery period.

I have a recommendation for the animated series from Cory: The Legend of Vox Machina. I finished the first, gasp, twenty-two, episodes of the first season of the Clone Wars and decided I was not ready for a new season. So I found this animation a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Apparently, $11 million was raised in Kickstarter, and the series is now appearing on Amazon Prime. I thought it quite good and also almost R-rated. You can see some of the Dungeons and Dragons mechanics even. I would recommend it if you can stand the word F**K being said as a descriptor and you like fantasy.

I also managed to start following my sister’s direction on buying a craft ball instead of making one. I began work to see how this would work on the balloon model. I am first trying to make the airbag look like its skins sewn together. I also have some scale rope to see the colors and look. So far, it is working out.

Dinner was Indian Food delivered by Rekha and Shyam from work. It was a lovely Indian chicken meal. Thanks!

Before dinner, I managed to get out while the mask and socially distancing were still in place for the next few weeks. Once the mask mandate drops, as I am facing a reduced immune system, I will be hiding out here at the Volvo Cave.

My last stop was the hobby store, where I managed to find some miniature wood items for building wooden ships. I also bought the rigging (rope) and other things I might use. This is all for the balloon model.

Everyone was masked at Tammie’s this time, and careful adherence to socially distancing seems now to be followed. Better. I talked to their Train guy, he has the best toys, and I found a miniature neon sign of Portland’s reworked white stag sign. I had to have it. It is done by Light Works USA that makes the best miniature lights. Again, the train folks have all the best stuff, and if you need to figure out lighting, painting, terrain issue for making a model, ask a train guy.

I found my fav mag there too.

Before this, I wanted to get out and move a bit off to a nursery. So I went to the Cornell Farms on the edge of Beaverton-Portland in the high hills above Beaverton. I walked all over their plantings and offerings. I managed to not buy anything other than a coffee mocha and a scone. All too much sugar for me usually, but I have found that without the bleeding issue, my sugar levels are working better. And it was wonderful.

I found a chair under the colossal Monkey Puzzle tree and enjoyed my products there. Yes, we can grow this insane tree here. It is hard to get started, but once you get it above ten feet tall, lookout as it takes over.

Before this, I stopped at the house for a bit; the ADT guy, David, showed and went over the requirements to secure my home. I want four cameras and various other neat stuff. All of which cannot be done without power in those locations. It also must use, to my surprise, internal wall plug power–no direct connect. So I will need to have some electrical rework done. It is good, I guess, that I invested in replacing the power panel (the previous one had a safety recall!) a few years ago. I am resisting upgrading the service to the house, but if I switch to charging a car, I might need that extra amps for the super-fast chargers. Returning to the security system, my plans to spend the whole afternoon getting the security system are on hold until I make the changes. Also, the area near the windows needs to be cleared of stuff for the work to continue. I will reschedule the installation once I have made the corrections. Of course, all the cameras were not included in the original price, and it will cost a few grand to get the coverage I want. Thus, I ended up with a free afternoon.

In the morning, I managed to reach Susie about 10ish. She was happy to see me in the morning. Unfortunately, I was on a busy schedule and could stay only an hour. We called Leta, her mother, on FaceTime. They had a nice chat. We then played with some coasters from a fav bar. Susie could slide them a bit, but neither of us could manage to flip them into the air and catch them like the bartender does.

The morning was up at 8:20ish and rushing. I felt better. I still use the Utterly Smooth skin cream as it reportedly prevents some feeling of loss in fingers and toes. It has been so successful that the pharmacy for my chemotherapy emailed me the picture of the product. It contains urea (cow pee).