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I write this Friday morning. Bad dreams, a headache, a stiff neck, and stuffed ears are making me slow this morning. I am at least alone in the house and can turn up the music so I can hear it, like Leta. I am also finding my emotions are close to the surface this holiday, and I miss Dad Wild and Susie. Elric and Joyce no longer comment on my posts. I miss them. But then I see Leta dressing in a Roman helmet and sword for their Christmas play in Michigan, and the laughter returns. It is a fantastic season.

I slept until 7:30 without an alarm, and with the bright light, the sky showed some clearing and even blue, atypical for December in the Pacific Northwest, waking me. I rose and found my way to the kitchen; it had not moved, but it felt like a trek. There I blessed that I had assembled the coffee correctly, made from Fair Trade coffee from Safeway, and liberal coffee was waiting for me. One sip, and the bitterness reminds you how far we have to go to find Justice, Compassion, and Hope, but even fairly traded coffee can make things just a tiny bit better. Yes, black coffee for me with nothing to diminish the bitterness that we have such a long road, but at least we are on the road, like the words of the  song:

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

I look forward to the gleaming future.

Returning to remembering Thursday, I had chores to do, and I focused on punching out the blog and getting ready. I finally finished before 10 and showered and dressed. I checked the mail, and neither the mail had been delivered nor the trash and lawn debris had been picked up. I found the checkbook and my list of Christmas Gifts. I write it every year from an address list I keep. The fruitcakes were already sent. Now to get the cash and gift cards assembled.

I give small pictures of U.S. presidents and Postmasters to the younger relatives. The US Grants ($50) for younger (there are few left in this category) and the rest Ben Franklins ($100). I have gift cards to give out to, I believe, Beaverton’s best food, Golden Valley Brewery.

I dropped my first off and checked on the construction at the church. There, I met Lowell Greathouse — he was stopping by for some business, a former pastor from the 1990s — and I gave him a tour of the construction. He shared that he was a pastor when the exterior work was completed. Blake was there, I introduced them, and he and Lowell worked out that the work outside is called an Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS). Blake had installed some of it in the past. It was interesting to learn more about the previous remodel under Lowell.

Lowell was happy to see the improvements, and we said our goodbyes.

Cory Johnson, a good friend and fellow gamer and role player, passed away days before Susie left us. It was his birthday, and I dropped off a box of Hicory Farms food to remember Cory and his birthday. I miss Cory every time we play and think of him often.

Next, I headed to Happy Panda for lunch and enjoyed Beef Broccoli while I addressed cards for cash and gift cards. I handwrote the addresses for the cards. I ate my lunch between cards. I paid my bill and parked the EV at the post office. I waited in line to get three types of Christmas stamps. I then stamped my addressed letters with little pictures of US Grant or Ben Franklin.

I returned home, and Corwin soon followed after I let him know he had his Christmas gift and some mail was at the house for him. A GVB gift card and a Ben Franklin, along with a hot chocolate Grinch bomb, came with his mail. I then worked out with him how to play my newest game, The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship, based on Pandemic. We misplayed here and there (I checked the rules, made corrections, and played again with more corrections). Still, we enjoyed the game and revelled in the reworking of a familiar system to create an immersive experience. It was a blast. Corwin and I could not believe how well the engine that controlled the Dark Lord worked and how real it felt.

Corwin and I agreed to finish the game on Friday afternoon; I had to head out to Theology Pub. I took Air VW the Gray across Beaverton in the dark; we are approaching the shortest day of the year. I had a note from Dondrea that Dan and Janice were already there. I arrived at McMenamins Cedar Hills, and it was busy. I was tired and out of sorts, worried our room reservation had been lost, but the staff and our waiter (whose name I forgot) soon had us settled.

I had a few Old Fashions and a Captain Neon Burger, a favorite (I was giving blood on Friday and thought rare meat was a good idea).  The subject was waiting, as many Christmas stories are about waiting. What do you wait for, and what makes the season work for you? Dan Gray reminded us that we often find a process or ritual to be a form of meditation (like baking Christmas Cookies), and we have usually failed to teach it and share it.

I left before the group broke up, which was unusual for me, after paying my bills, Donrea’s, and Z’s. It was a good meeting, and everyone seemed to enjoy our last 2025 meeting.

I returned home and slept poorly. Some days during the holidays are just hard. Nightmare and discomfort ruled the night. Ugh! No horror, but the usual dreams of work and travel, and nothing going right. I could not get anything started or done in the morning.

Laundry will wait, and this blog was finished late.

 

 

I am afraid that Wednesday is not that interesting. I did have what I call pumpkin quiche (pie) for breakfast with coffee, which I had assembled the night before. I wrote the blog as I watched the skies turn almost blue, and the waters had withdrawn here; my backyard is empty. Washington State, north of here, is in a tough spot, as it received more rain in the interior than Oregon did. Our rivers are high, but that is not usual for us, and they quickly return the water to the ocean. It was a lovely winter day with some Oregon Mist, and even a hummingbird checked out my roses for a meal (likely all the bugs it was looking for were washed away). I hope some ants were out there for the bird to find. The ground is still drying, and I saw the squirrels stay in the trees and on the fence tops.

I wrote the blog, happy to have survived without issues another river-of-rain event. I wrote my blog while I considered also a Christmas gift for Mom Wild. Jackson and Perkins supplied a gardenia for Mom for too much money. But that is true of all things. I have read and heard in news reports that health insurance companies (and a friend of mine works for one, and she assures me they are not getting rich either) are raising costs to employers by about 6%, twice inflation. Wages are reportedly rising for union and blue-collar workers, but not for service workers or white-collar workers. According to the reports, union contracts are coming due and reworked with 3% increases or better. I heard a Marketplace news report that in Phoenix, Arizona, the plumber and pipefitter union is training apprentices at a strong rate. According to the report, the new AI focus means more computer centers, which require extensive cooling and thus more pipes. Yes, high-tech needs pipes. I remember a Dr Who episode where the plumbing hints at the issue, and the Doctor says something like “Always check the plumbing.”

I met Scott at McMenamins Cedar Hills, changing the day to accommodate him picking up his daughter. We talked about travel and investments. We spoke about Nike and the changes there, with me speculating that the newest CEO needs to find a working solution soon or face the company being bought by some bored billionaire. It is always good to connect, and I think it is grounding to talk to Scott.

We said our goodbyes, not seeing each other again until after the holidays and in 2026. We are both slightly taken aback that we are talking about 2026 now! It is misty now, and I head out shopping. I went to the Washington Square Mall (which is in Oregon) and found a few items I was looking for. I waved at Santa and tipped my hat to him. I did not get my picture with him, but I thought about it.

I enjoyed my walk, but I missed Susie and Deborah. I’m still happy to be here and able to walk the mall and wave to Santa again, even alone. When I walked by the flowers, I thought I should get some for Susie, and then smiled as I tried to imagine which bunch Susie would pick; it was always the brightest and freshest colors when I would wheel her here in her last year. I would have to do the lifts and was trained to do that.

Shopping in Williams Sonoma (yes, I have an account there, I told the cashier), I resisted anything but gifts. In Made in Oregon, Deborah replied quickly with some sizing information. I am not really alone when I have my phone! It was great to do some shopping and walk. I did pass by The Cheesecake Factory, but I was tempted by a coffee drink and a dessert.

Instead, continuing my shopping, I took some messy highways (216-26) to Golden Valley Brewery (GVB) and sat at the bar. My bartender got me four gift cards and a Spanish Coffee. I remember back to the years when another place was open on Christmas, and the Dungeons & Dragons folks joined Susie and me for a Spanish Coffee and chips. It was a good holiday! It is the nature of holidays that they are full of memories. No tears for that, and I had a dessert too.

The EV got me home, and I fell asleep in the chair while watching a YouTube video about the last pre-dreadnought battleship in Japan (and, by strange accident of history, the only preserved British-built battleship). I woke, and Deborah and I were going to watch the current episode of Matlock, but I nodded off waiting. She had some work items surface. We connected and watched the show together, and then, it being late for Deborah, we said our good nights. It was wonderful to start and end our days together.

I made bread in the bread machine. I will get out the bread, slice it, and store it in the freezer on Thursday morning. I do not eat bread faster than mold appears!

Dinner was leftover Chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw.

I did the dishes, assembled the coffee, and saw it was getting late. I remembered to put out the trash.

I still sat down at the table, put on my eyeware (3x bifocals), and started on the Colonel Sherman T. Potter 28mm figure for some touch-ups. I had trouble with my eyewear, and repainted some of the figure when I realized the lack of 3D vision (one eye fogged) did not improve my painting (oops). But once I changed eyewear, I was able to correct the mistakes, and I think it is close. I will check again once all the paint is dry. I think a minor touch-up is needed. I have four more M.A.S.H. figures to go. There is also a Quansit hut and a helicopter to build to match. I enjoy painting figures.

I read The Chinese Maze Murders, which appeared in my books I purchased and had shipped from Boston. I have read the series before, but I could not resist getting one again for $6, less than a cup of good coffee. I enjoyed the crazy story, now set in the Ming rather than the Tang of the original. The cases to be solved were gleaned from historical Chinese imperial records and then rewritten into a story by a Dutch diplomat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I rose with my alarm, though I did set it to 7, when it went off at 6:30. I woke tired and struggling to get my mind working. Coughing and hearing issues also made Tuesday difficult. Then the rain was already generating a two-inch puddle in my backyard. Last year, I saw it reach a new high during a previous rainstorm, just reaching a rose bush that nearly drowned. There is no nearby river to flood the area, and we just deal with surface water, which must flow to the creeks and then to the rivers. My neighbors have built over the French drain with some tool sheds and like structures, and they complain when the structures flood, suggesting that I own the water that is coming to them. I tell them, like in the SciFi books, “it must flow.”

I write and try to finish the story of Monday before I need to get ready, but I am distracted by making tea (I was out of coffee) and by enjoying a bagel-like bread product with cream cheese for breakfast. I also spend some time looking at the news and updating my transactions in Quicken. I pop into the shower in a rush and leave a few minutes late, 8:50. Driving in Beaverton is slow and wet, but there is no flooding. Even the puddles are not large. This means we have cleaned up our leaves in the larger Beaverton Area; Richard, living in Portland, told me he had to put on his rubber boots and clear some local storm grates in Portland when water was backing up and threatening homes. Sadly, the attempt to fix Portland’s sewer issue (i.e., the Big Pipe) has failed against the onslaught of the storm, and the sewer has poured into the river. Warnings everywhere, skip the river for a while. Ugh!

I arrived about ten minutes late, and James was just a few minutes behind me. Richard had already set up most of the cooperative board game, Tainted Grail. Richard is getting a bit frustrated with the game, as the app that runs it seems to be running us in circles, and there are various storylines to follow, but none are particularly glorious. Look for so and so and find something. Being a Dungeons & Dragons player and DM, I am used to endless side quests (see the recent movie to see this) and misplays. We are also able to defeat most creatures without risk or the risk of failure; role-playing adventures become more like a video game harvest.

We head to an area we have not explored after being blocked in every path we try. We do learn that we are not yet ready for the final task, but do move to chapter 7, which is about the 1/2 point. We have been playing for six months now to get here. We often play every Tuesday morning for three to four hours.

We follow, now familiar, the ‘save’ process and will play next Tuesday again. The game has introduced Mordred to us, and we are slowly moving to his castle. Maybe we will find something we need there. It is also possible we missed an important event and are frozen, but since we did move to a new chapter, I think we are on the right track.

While I did not like the game and its mechanics when we started, I now enjoy the storyline and discoveries. It is good to be reminded of Arthurian legends and freely mixing them with SciFi and H.P. Lovecraft horror works for me. But Richard and I did get smashed up by one exploration, and had we been hit twice, we would have gotten that card we have so far only seen but not used, “You Are Dying.” I keep, for my character, the “You Are Insane” card as it seems a short trip for my character (many of my cool combat actions cause me terror).

We have one more play this year (funny to write that), and I look forward to seeing Mordred and how he is written in this story. We have heard from his troops that he is a jerk and only someone mad or suicidal would seek him out. Yup, I am the right druid for this!

I find street parking in Portland and near the Broadway Grill. It is wet, and my walking shoes with open fabric on top are a poor choice. This is boots weather. I have a headache, something that has started of late, and decided lunch with lots of food is good.

I ordered the most decadent three-chili dogs with fresh onions that promise to alert all your lunch choices for hours! This I have with a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride beer. I managed, Mr. Toad’s did not help, to finish the blog there.

I was looking for something to blow my nose and discovered the bartender at the men’s room (she), and there was some drama. A dishwasher was added to the crew, and some Spanish language did not change the situation. Apparently, a person was refusing to leave the toilet. The bartender called the police for help and agreed to let me pay the bill and get out of the way. I asked if she needed me to stay. “No.”

Back in Air VW the Gray, I had to pull out of my parking spot into traffic and blew it. I put my arm up after getting a horn to remind them that they disagree with my choices and to acknowledge my fault. Yes, soccer movements are accepted in Portland. With no more chances to make mistakes and no means, even on the bridges and cement canyons in Portland (all wet but none flooded) to reach any speed, I left Portland. Beverton roads, with puddles, were the usual wet of the Oct-Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb-March-Apr-May-June season we call ‘the rains.’ It is gray, and the only way, usually, to tell the date is by the temperature of the rain.

Back at the house and stuffed and beered, I was now more tired. I napped in my chair, tried to watch The Agency, and nodded off. Instead, I headed to Safeway in the dark and picked up a few things, including some Fair Trade coffee (something new there), bananas, soup (just in case), and some instant coffee (for my upcoming trip to Detroit).

After I unloaded the items, Deborah and I connected (she had work issues because there was a snow day in Michigan the next day), and watched another Matlock together. Deborah was now sleepy, and we rang off.

I made, more like assembled, a pumpkin pie, Grandma Ruby’s recipe (off a can), and had a slice and thought it marvelous. I did the dishes, assembled the coffee for Wednesday morning, loaded up the dishwasher, and then walked over to my table.

There, I picked up Klinger’s 28mm M.A.S.H. figure and touched up all the paint. I am not rushing, and I did not start until after 10 (9 being the time for hobbies) and stopped before I began to make mistakes. I am thinking of dry-brushing the US Olive Drab (mixing some white into the color and creating some highlights) to add more shape. Radar, Frank, and the Father look rather plain.

For those who wonder, I will do any updates to the colors before spraying the figures with a very light dusting of shiny coat to protect the paint and to allow me to ink and shade using oils and other oil-based paints. Once that is dry and finished (I might even dry brush to brighten the figure with the water-soluble acrylics I start with), I will give the figure a very light coat of dull paint. But I must be careful as the dull coat will change colors and remove metalics if overdone. Silver can become gray. Repainting the metals will be the only option then. Been there, done that!

I find my way to my PJs and bed. My breathing is hard, and I take some of my inhaler (my chest will hurt on Wednesday from all the coughing). I should have taken it sooner!

Tired, happy, and breathing fine, I fall asleep in my blanket and pillows. I wake in the middle of the night, too warm (the storm is warm, wet air), toss off some blankets, and return to sleep.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Monday is much like Saturday to me. I usually have nothing on Mondays and can sleep in. There are no Saturday Cartoons, but it does feel like my memories of Saturdays when I was a child. It feels good to just enjoy the blankets.

I rose, and the coffee maker was still heating the coffee. I had assembled it the night before, but I need to remember to get more coffee (I spaced it) since I used the last of the locally roasted beans and need more. It was wonderful to pour a cup, find a bagel-like bread product, and spread cream cheese to complete my breakfast.

I wrote the blog and heard from Deborah while she drove. We later watched a show together, Matlock, the new version with Kathy Bates. I managed to find focus and was surprised to push out 1,300 words. I then showered and dressed. I considered growing a Santa beard, but I decided it was nothing I had any experience with, meaning I passed this year.

I received some African American Heritage Hymnals from Cokeberry and put a few in the EV. We saw these at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and thought them quite good. I bought a few for the church and friends, and they arrived yesterday. I got two prints I wanted to frame, I put them in a weatherproof folder, and put that in the EV. It was damp, but the storm had not yet reached its full intensity.

Lunch was cold chicken with potato salad and coleslaw. Later, Corwin stopped by, reheated the pasta and sausage I had made yesterday, ate it for lunch, and did the dishes for me. Our schedules haven’t been connecting lately. Mariah asked to meet for lunch, but I was enjoying Delta Dental and discovering how my new insurance will work. I connected to their call center; they were helpful and competent, and soon my account was working. I learned to click ‘change group’ and found my new insurance. I updated the security questions and other important settings. I missed lunch with Mariah.

Air VW the Gray took me to First United Methodist Church, and I was there just to check the refresh work and to drop off a hymnal for the office. Jack was there, and he liked the hymnal; he took it for inspiration. The Food Pantry was giving away food, and I chatted with those folks for a while. Ken showed up as I was headed out, and I turned around. We talked in his office, and he got the other hymnal I had (I kept one back for Dondrea).

I headed to the framing store and laughed when I arrived to find it, like many Art institutions, closed on Monday.

I returned home without issue. The winds were not too bad, and the rain was coming down faster but not at soaking speed. I was tired and rested for a bit, and as I said, watched a show with Deborah. I then returned to Mary Beard’s Rome with No Limits video on YouTube while I made a thick pork chop, green beans (I had only frozen and regretted it), and a potato I cooked in the microwave, then wrapped in tinfoil and added to the hot oven with the pork chop. I was going to put a jam on the chop, like I used to get at BJ’s Brewhouse, but I simply forgot.

There was too much food, and I did not finish the potatoes and the beans. I watched another Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode and then sat down at my mostly cleaned-up table and started painting 28mm figures. The house seemed controlled enough to just use the brushes and paints I already had to start to finish some figures based on the TV show M.A.S.H. I finished the base painting for Radar and cleaned up a few items on others. I have some gaming figures (under 28mm) for the board game Pandemic and hope to paint them soon.

I also covered a tent with Speed Paint, and that will be finished with ease. I washed off the paint from my hands, then finished the dishes and headed to bed.

I was tired but relaxed. Painting the figures and having the house tidier helped.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

It is another church morning, and I rise after 7, knowing I have plenty of time: church service is at 11, and coffee is waiting for me. It will be a slow day as I am paying for all the travel with some exhaustion, and the house and bills are getting untidy. I chat with Deborah a few times and find that the blog is not my focus, as I pay bills, supply some money for Mom Wild to Linda (and while it is nothing like this…I had to put this here). Paypal mangled the payment, and I had to repeat it (must have been ‘New Business’). I have noticed some instability in PayPal of late. Hmmm.

I paid off everything, including flights, hotels, and some entertainment in the Detroit area. I returned to the blog and found my focus again. Finances are tidy again. I was not able to finish in the time I had left.

I dressed in a white shirt, tan pants, a blue sweater vest, and a pride tie. My pants and shirt could not seem to keep in their correct place, but I hope that I looked tidy at least, sticking to tidiness today. I am pleased with my dress shoes (plain black leather), which have a rubber texture on the bottom (the sole of boots), as they do not slip or get damp. Good for Oregon.

I arrived before the service and soon am doing my ushering gig and giving a few tours of the refresh work. It is ahead of schedule. The cost seems to have faded as a concern, and everyone is happy with how nice it looks and just wants to see it done.

Pastor Ken runs over for his sermon, but it was well done, and he had much to say, and I can’t complain, well, as any Methodist, I can. Ken searched for a way to explain that the world brings hardships, crushing disasters, and disappointments. It is not true, and there is nothing in the Bible that suggests this is true, that living a Christian (or Jewish or Muslim) righteous life will avoid these. Bad things do happen to good people, though Ken did not use those words. That our faith and our God and Jesus can give us the strength, words, and hope to face these. Ken’s other message was that we cannot turn away from these dark events that affect others. We must object to the darkness, see the folks facing injustice, and help when we can, even if all we can do is see them.

And while Ken was in this darkness for a while, and I thought as an usher I should bring him a flashlight and direct him to the exit and the light, he did find his way out on his own, and it was a good sermon (here). Communion was next, and we now do it in the mob version. Before, the usher(s) would go row by row, and now I get to do my ‘pope’ arm wave to get everyone to stand and head out of the pews and mob the communion table. Fun. Though the older ushers (most called to the Great Church Service of the Saints) would roll their eyes and miss the old military precision. It works.

I got to sing, terribly, some Christmas favorites. I did the offering and, with the holy family now on the altar, I put the plate, as always, to the side, so it never looks like we are worshipping the offering. And with the holy family (Jesus is not out yet) leaning forward, it would look like they were kneeling before the offering plate. Not the message we want for Christmas!

I left soon after saying ‘hello and Merry Christmas’ to many, as I was tired from all the standing and hand-waving. Someone fell after the service, tripping over wires that should be under the floor (as many have pointed out), but was not injured. Ugh. So many things need to be ‘refreshed.’ But it is a lot of money, requires a lot of planning, and is challenging to execute.

At the house, I stopped over at the local gaming store, Aloha Guardian Games, and found a used copy of Tiny Epic Galaxies. Also, I was happy (despite the $79 price tag) to purchase the new Pandemic-based Lord of the Rings board game, which is so well rated. I learned from the store staff that they had a pile of copies (you cannot get the game online). I found one with a torn plastic (which few would buy).

The EV got me home without issue, I heated up the leftover Chinese-style food for lunch, and returned to my drive-to-tidy. I put on more Mary Beard and her videos on Rome while I folded laundry, and started to find the table under the pile of gaming, travel detritus, and Christmas gifts. It was an archaeological layer of untidy leftovers from various trips and gaming stuff tossed on top.

I did not need a trowel, but a box for some of the 3D models, and moved some boxes to another place. Not necessarily improving the overall tidiness of the house, but I am not ready to sort paint bottles and paintbrushes. Mary Beard covered much of Roman history while I was doing my dig. I found things going back to the two trips back to New Orleans, various business cards, and other at-the-time-thought-to-be-useful paper items. Recycling and trash were doubled.

I switched from Mary Beard to music videos on YouTube.

The table was found, some order restored, my projects made visible again (some figures I want to paint), and some stress relieved. The house disorder was impacting me, and I felt better. I stopped because I got tired, and my back started to hurt a bit.

I returned to my new board game, pulled off the plastic (making it now ‘used’ and not returnable), and found the instructions for assembling the printed cardboard Dark Lord dice tower, oh yes! The game storage is designed to allow for the dice tower to be stored in the game. Next time, should I ever do this again, I will use sanding sticks to make the pieces less tight, but I still managed to do minor damage and get it all together, often using considerable hand force to get the pieces to fit. It fit in the box when I tightened up a few bits. I extracted the rules after packing it all away.

I finished the night in my PJs, reading the much easier and more familiar Pandemic-style rules of The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship board game. Pandemic, my first cooperative board game, is still a favorite and sits on my shelf, getting played once in a while. I have to admit I enjoy the Cthulhu version more, but that is just a matter of taste. This new LOTR game has expanded the threat engine of the original Pandemic and made it less predictable (which makes sense when you are not talking about virus simulations but Sauron’s forces). This update got rave reviews from Shut Up and Sit Down (here). The other surprise is that every player receives two different characters (or a group in the case of Sam & Frodo) to play, taking four actions for one and one action for the other.

As I only get War of the Rings, the massive game of LOTR war (hundred of dollars of investment) may be on the table once a year or less (there is a lot of dust on it), this game is faster and, while it must abstract some details that are lovely in War of the Rings (Saruman vs. Treebeard, for example), the clean and simple flow may make this its replacement. More to come.

I managed to sleep with thoughts of LOTR and games on my mind. I am sure, though I have no memory of it, that I played some round of board games in my dream world. Maybe Mom Wild joined me in the dream, and we again played Grandma Bailey and Joey in the card game Euchre and still beat them even when they cheated; we kept it tidy. One of my favorite memories is playing them in the RV as we headed to Montana back in the early 1980s, and Mom Wild and I beat them despite their little signals. They told us they were unbeatable.

Thanks for reading.