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Even the pizza was late. Dominos sent me a make-up eMail after my Pizza was more than 15 minutes late. Today had many trials.

A huge box was delivered today from Amazon. The pack of furnace filters I ordered–I am out and try to have a few spare. A four-pack of 16x25x4, but instead, it is a 20x25x4, which is huge and not something I can use. I have already asked for a fix, but Amazon did not make this mistake; it was one of its vendors, meaning I have to wait for them to decide something. So I have a huge box with no filters.

Amazon had a good special on Instant Pot that I have always wanted. So I ordered one for the holidays for me and the household on Sunday. It was delivered today. So I unwrap it and follow directions, and it fails and gives me an error code C8. This means the pot has detected a non-standard pot in the pot. I am beyond disappointed as I have followed directions. I find their website and put in a trouble ticket (?!) with photos.

I do manage to not break it or to burn myself with the C8 on the Instant Pot. I unplug it after I get it open from the first run and do the test rerun. Perfect. But, because I could not cook dinner while this was in the way, I ordered pizza (see above for how that went).

I did receive one of my board game orders today, Twilight Imperium 4 Extension: Prophecy of Kings. This is the long-awaited addition (and some corrections) to the #1 4X-styled board game (4X: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, & eXterminate) from Minnesota’s Fantasy Flight Game. One imagines you must live where it is freezing to design a space empire game! Few games make it to version 4 and then add on an extension, but Twilight Imperium is one that we expect, as they said in Harry Potter, great things–terrible great things.

The base game, Twilight Imperium 4, is like running the wrong side of Star Wars. You are the Evil Sith Lord, but five other (now seven other) would-be empires are forming too. They will do anything to be the greatest, just like you. This six-person game is a massive race to win before the other would-be empires stop your evil plans. The rules are huge, and the game heavy in the details of running your empire and how to defeat or even ally other empires. It is the game you spend half a day playing and then another crying in your beer. The extension offers more options now, but I have yet to win in my Portland gaming group.

I cannot play this until after the virus is solved.

I also replaced the faucet in the kitchen. Corwin and I discussed it, and we were concerned that the tape job on the old one would not be enough. I went to Ace Hardware and bought the same faucet I installed with dad on September 20, 2010 (I found the photo). It took an hour. The old one came out easy, but the new one was harder to install, and I had to get two wrenches to attach a hose. It was easy after that, but a lot of muscles are saying, “what was that?” now.

I also found the first working suction cup handle, MHI Safe-er-Grip. I put one of these on the shower walls, and I cannot remove it by pulling (some levers lock and unlock it). Susie now has safe handles in the shower. I went back and bought two more! I do not know what to do with the one I got from Amazon that is unsafe–I put in a negative review that they have yet to approve. Hmmm.

But today is about trials. The occupational therapist wants the glass doors removed from the shower in the master bath. Well, I hate ’em glass doors. Can I remove them–I think I can? I did remove the two (yes, only two) screws that hold the top on, and I can lift the whole assembly out. It is a lot of glass! I will wait for some help before I do that, and I have a shower rod ready!

My paperwork is in for my leave to help Susie. The insurance company that Nike uses has not yet acknowledged my faxing and mailing of the documents to them. I will have to manually upload each page tomorrow if they still refuse to acknowledge my documents. Yes, the trials go on.

The president had an emergency news conference today to announce that the stock market broke 30,000 today. He took credit for that and thanked everyone for working in his administration. I also received an eMail from RiteAid saying they are ready to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine and will keep us informed when we can get it. It is free to anyone, the eMail said.

Susie has physical therapy tomorrow. She was tired today from the exercises. She did a lot more today than the previous days.

We will keep going. It is getting better each day. It is not easy.

As the president said, the US stock market has never been higher. Nike stock is steady at about $134 now. My 401K is now showing more than a 15% return for 2020.

The deaths count is more than two-thousand one-hundred today in the USA from the virus. This is a rate we have not seen since the terrible times in April.

I went with one I know, Where He Leads Me, as it just seemed to fit today.

Today started about 8ish, and I totally forgot that Susie had an appointment for hair, toes, nails, and so on with Zerida at 9. Susie remembered and was ready in time, and Susie was off on-time. I did manage to do the dishes, and we ordered Thai food for Corwin and me for lunch. I had Pud Thai with shrimp, my usual. This was from the Thailand Restaurant that I often got take-out from when working at the office. The food is spicy and good.

Susie returned from her appointment with lunch from McDonald’s: Chicken McNugget HappyMeal. This is a fav. Susie took a rest after that. She quickly tires.

I did some more communication for work and put in for another week off. This is a short week–Thanksgiving Week–so I am missing very little this week (nothing usually happens this week). I plan to return to work this coming Monday–this will still be working from home due to Covid-19.

I did some more editing on some Howard stories using Grammarly to fix all the misses. It is hard not to wince at each mistake I missed. I decided to work on all the critical mistakes first. I will do more contextual editing after the basic fixes are in.

I read a bit and rested for a bit. I played a game of Istanbul with the coffee add-on for fun this afternoon against myself. I play a two-person game and see who will win trying to make the score as close as possible.

Dinner is BBQ tonight, and I finally found wooden matches in the garage. It was so dark at 4:30 with the overcast clouds that I could not see. I had to bring up a light to see to light the grill. Finally, I managed to light the gas using a wooden match.

I grilled bratwursts. I try not to carbonize them (I forgot about them a year ago and had carbon), but I like them very well cooked. I, as usual, took the most burned one–slightly crunchy. We had them with potato salad. Susie and Corwin liked them.

I forgot to include Matt Vincent in my Dungeons and Dragons remote game reminder email yesterday! We played today, he (with no notice) and Mackers could not make it, but we had enough players to get through a few difficult encounters. We use Roll20 online service to play D&D 5th Edition (5E) online. Roll20 also has video conferences built-in so we can see each other and talk. I run the games as the Dungeon Master (DM), and everyone else has a character to play. The software even provides lighting effects for the players. They can only see as far as their simulated light sources will let them see.

I spent a few hours reading and preparing for the game today.

Today’s story was about the dreaded Drow Dark Elves and their ruined temple in the Mad Mage’s Dungeon, deep down about halfway to the bottom of the complex. The adventurers are looking to find glory and fortune in the Mad Mage’s Dungeon. Their largest battle was a fight today was with piles of bones and junk that had been animated into undead shambling mounds. The mounds swallowed three characters, but they managed to cut out of them and finish off the vile undead bone piles. Before that, they fought two mutated Drow that was more like giants than Drow Dark Elves. My automated rolls were abysmal for that battle, and the battle was shorter than I expected. It happens sometimes. The adventurers are slowly looting and driving the Drow out.

We have planned occupational therapy for Susie tomorrow, and a new physical therapist comes on Wednesday, Jonathan. Our previous PT had to stop, and so we get a new guy.

Today the certification of the election continues with Michigan certifying its votes for Joe Biden, and the GSA agreed to begin the transition.

The reports have more than nine-hundred seventy people dying today in the USA from the infection. The vaccine is only weeks away.

I turned to this song in the Methodist Hymnal (525) and then found this excellent solo version: We’ll Understand It Better By and By.

Today was quiet too. That is really a blessing as I felt better, so I could get a bit of rest and relaxation. Yesterday I was just tired.

I started at about 8ish, and I just went slow. I read my email and had breakfast. I then ordered some groceries from Amazon.com as an experiment. They will be here in the morning Monday. Delivery is more expensive than Safeway.com, and the items more expensive. So far, the experiment is failing.

Susie started when her mother called and said there was ice skating on the TV. We found that, and I got Susie Eggo waffles with peanut butter. I stepped out for 30 minutes to get some items from Safeway. I thought we could have some more items after reading some recipes I have. Some Thai and Indian style chicken and veggies are possible this week now.

Susie is doing her exercises. She is keeping her journal. She remembers much when I ask her, but she still misses here and there. We keep working on it. Her walking is looking better, and her side stepping is better. This morning she did have trouble getting started, and she was unsure of her movements.

Dinner was reheated stew from two days ago. It was better reheated. I made it with garlic bread I picked up fresh from Safeway.

I watched some more of the Amazon Prime series, The Hunters. It is another well done Hollywood version of history and fiction mixed. This is Nazi hunters in the 1970s. I like it, but it has all usual the warnings–not for kids.

I also wanted to get the board game Istanbul rules down for one of the add-ons I have (I have the big-box version with all the add-ons). I played a game with Mocha and Baksheesh add-on. I just enjoy playing it. There is no official solo version. I just play a two-player game and play both sides and see who will win.

I finished up the initial fixes for the Howard’s Lockdown story–I fixed the ending. I started on the fixes for Howard in Amsterdam. It needs work. I still want to add an epilogue to Howard’s Lockdown story to add 2020 Halloween and some more election jokes to it. I will also need to fix up the other three Howard stories.

More than eight-hundred sixty folks in the USA died today from the virus including one person from Oregon.

I turned to this hymn is the Methodist Hymnal, #648, and had not heard it before: God the Spirit, Guide and Guardian.

My inner ear is a bit off today, and I am dizzy. I hope the cold tonight can bring an end to all the pollen that is making me a bit grumpy and messing with my ears. I missed a meet-up and did not play any games today. Slow today.

I started about 8ish this morning. I managed some sleep, but I woke tired. I managed to get up and read email and news. I called a few people, taking to mom Wild. Before I knew it, it was noon. I ordered lunch from Gyro House in Beaverton. I had a lamb gyro and got lentil soup and bread for Susie as a change.

I always put a note on my order to Gyro House that I miss them. Today they wrote back.

I spent the day staying inside working on a 6000-word story I wrote about my hero Howard in the lockdown. I want to add an epilogue as we are now a bit further into the lockdown, and I want to include a few more events.

I did take a few breaks for a short nap and to read when hours and hours of editing got to me.

Susie is doing her exercises every day.

I used Grammarly to edit the story. Grammarly has an add-in for the Microsoft Word version I had to buy when I upgraded my Mac this week. Before, I had to upload the story and then download it. Now I can just run it inside of the document, cool! The new hard drive is very fast and I see no time to save now.

I had a huge number of issues. It took all day to get the document corrected. I also noted that the newest part of the story needs work before I start on the epilogue. I was am happy that all the fixes are in now. I just have to rework the last sections.

I made cheese burgers, no bun for Susie, for dinner for just Susie and I.

Susie is watching an old Clint Eastwood film while I write. I made microwave popcorn to go with it. I have missed popcorn and going out to the movies. It is not the same, but fresh popcorn is always good!

Today it was reported in the USA that fourteen-hundred sixty people died from the virus including seven from Oregon.

Today I went to something I found on YouTube, GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO. Antonio Vivaldi.

Zoom calls do not synchronize sound well. Today is Susie’s birthday, and I managed to connect with her aunts, uncle, mother, and sister on Zoom today to celebrate. Susie asked for carrot cake. I made one for her from scratch that was excellent. The cake’s spices are a bit more intense, and the roasted walnuts make it marvelous. I also made the frosting from scratch, and I discovered that the fresh-made frosting is lighter and fresher than what is used on store-bought cakes. I often scrap it off the cake. I had only a ‘5’ candle, but that worked–I did not have an ‘8’. I lighted the candle, and a completely out of sync “Happy Birthday” followed. Susie blew it out. I served cake for us here in the house.

Everyone was happy to have seen and talked to each other. I had to pull the curtains closed as it was oddly bright in Oregon today for folks to see Susie on screen. While we were meeting on Zoom, Joyce’s flowers arrived–Joyce is Susie’s aunt. We were able to show everyone the flowers via Zoom.

A huge balloon bouquet appears a few hours after the Zoom called ended.

Before the balloons arrived, we drove across Beaverton in Air Volvo to Dondrea’s house. I had bought a huge amount of spice that I had divided for her, and I had some books too. Dondrea suggested a book about the 1898 Chicago Fair, I read it, and then I had to know more and bought the original guides. I had bought two copies from eBay and AbeBooks–I thought there were different books, but no. She gets one for suggesting the story to me. I also had two copies of the Green Book (a reprint of a guide book for Black Americans in the 1950s on how to travel safely in the USA for African Americans) and included that in the books to give to Dondrea. The Green Book is featured in the popular book and hit TV series Lovecraft Country. I had bought the reprints and again managed to get two. So a spare to Dondrea. I also included my copy of Lovecraft Country I bought for reading on a trip–I don’t usually buy physical books. Finally, I put in some carrot cake and a recipe for German Goulash in the bag.

We pulled into the driveway, and Susie stayed in the car. I handed the bag of stuff to Dondrea. It was the first time we have seen each other since February! It was nice to see her and share my extras. We had masks, and we did not break our bubbles. We left after just a few minutes.

After we returned, Dinner was a German Goulash like strew. I add carrots, potatoes, and celery to the meat and onion recipe. I also baked this in the oven. I should have cut the meat smaller. We have enough left for a few more dinners!

Starting from the start, the morning began a bit late, and we had the Physical Therapist here at 11ish. She was delighted with Susie’s improvements in walking and spent an hour with Susie on exercises and checks. I showed the PT Susie’s skating video, just the short program, which I think made the connection a bit stronger, but we learned this was her last session with us. New procedures require a set of staff to be supplied to facilities (they have to be tested twice a week for Covid-19), and our PT, Michelle, is one of the people headed to facilities. The change is to make folks safer, but we will miss Michelle and will have to start again with a new PT next week.

In case I have missed this, Covid-19 really sucks! Lockdowns suck!

I have ordered prime-rib dinners for Susie and me for Thanksgiving from Golden Valley Brewery. Dan Gray had asked me my plan, and I thought about cooking, but plan ‘B’ was GVB. It is now The Plan. I am scheduled to pick up our dinner at 2:30 on Thanksgiving Day. Again, GVB has been one of my go-to places for this disaster. Thanks, Dan, for asking!

I am reading The Word is Murder: A Novel, Kindle version, of course. I like the new approach this novel uses to tell a detective story. The story is set a few years ago in London and written in the first person. The novel follows a writer who starts to tag along with a detective, one he does not really like, to tell the detective’s story and how the detective solves a murder. The writer in the book is a BBC writer, and the book purports that the writer writes for well-known shows like my fav Foyer’s War. The writer character in the book is trying to expand his writing to include real-world events. It is fun and dark and full of sidebars of what it is like to be a writer. So far, I really like it.

More than nineteen-hundred twenty people died from Covid-19 today in the USA.

I found a communion song that seems to fit the start of the holidays, Come Let Us Eat. This is Methodist Hymnal #625.