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Rising early from nightmares and asthma attacks was not the way to get ready for teaching Sunday School for the first time in years. I started the coffee and later moved my writing to the kitchen while I made grits. Cooking and writing do not go well together, but I managed to not burn the grits (just a bit of light brown stuck to the bottom of the pan), and while I made a 1/2 sized amount, it was still twice what I needed; that would be in the trash later (grits turns to rock-hard paste as it dry out), next time 1/4 in a smaller pan. Fortified with a banana, Zabar’s coffee, and grits with butter, I was able to complete the blog and get it published.

I showered and all that and soon was in a green sweater vest and white dress shirt. I wore a New Orleans tie. Old school lessons, if you want authority, you wear a darker knot near your throat. I needed everything I could get!

I moved the food and materials into Air VW the Gray. There were multiple trips of stuff, including plenty of sandwiches from Costco that I acquired on Sunday. I headed out and then, talking to Dondrea by text, realized I was an hour too early and returned home and read for an hour, more American Civil War (ACW) battle history.

I arrived a few minutes early and then unloaded. I got some help, and soon the food was in the fridge and the water was ready. The church service was a blur as I ushered, and it ran over by forty minutes, as this marked the start of new programs and planning. We also had communion with Ken, now licensed as a United Methodist Church pastor. I asked folks to put out the sandwiches; there were plenty, and I offered them as lunch to everyone as we ran over. There were enough for everyone (and I encouraged seconds).

We stayed in the fireside room as I had over ten people. I spent 45 minutes reviewing the material I had on biblical history, including actual archaeological finds and their connections to our understanding of the Bible. The idea is that these findings, now in museums, give a clear connection to history that is represented in the Bible. And while we do not have proof of many lives described in the Bible, we do have findings that can place the timeline and artifacts we do have.

It seemed well-received with one person saying, “I’ve never had a membership or bible study that used ‘secular’ history to prove what I believe. Makes you think differently. A Methodist way of viewing it.” Everyone seemed happy and wanted more.

I was tired and soon headed home.

I took a nap, watched that final episode of Wednesday, thought season 2 was excellent, and I’m glad there is a third coming, and read more ACW. I reheated the pizza and had that for a snack and later dinner. I picked up my laptop and started on the notes for my class on the 14th, which meant starting to read again about schisms and denominational history. I have a chart of this from Useful Charts, and anyone who wants to teach this kind of class should just get one. There are fewer charts in the public space, but for a few bucks, you can have a massive chart. The chart starts with the Nicene Creed, and I did some work on that. I have done this before, but I had to get all the words, dates, and places back in my head (and in my notes).

I found a strange movie, Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956), that had some of the original ships recreate their roles in the WW2 1939 battle. It is low budget and skips over the suicide of the captain of the German Pocket Battleship, but, without comment, shows the actor playing the captain never giving a Nazi salute (which is accurate). It sticks to the still official story that the cruisers found the KMS Graf Spee by happenstance (something I still find hard to believe). I found it poorly done, and there are far better YouTube videos and books on the battle (and board games). Still, they had enlisted real WW2 ships (the USS Salem playing the German pocket-battleship, which is now a museum ship),  to recreate some of the moments, and that was worth it. Not recommended as it is an acquired taste. 

While I have not played this battle (I have some figures and rules for it), I have read that gamers believe the Nazi ship, KMS Graf Spee, should have changed its target from HMS Exeter to the other two British Cruisers once it was heavily damaged. Damage each one in succession. This would likely stop the damage to the pocket battleship that caused its loss. This also explains why most believe it was happenstance as had the captain of the German ship been a bit luckier, all the British ship would have been disabled, captured, or sunk. 

The battle echoes the problem that the KMS Bismarck would later face in the war; the Graf Spee‘s fuel filter was damaged/destroyed in the fight, making it impossible to run for more than 24 hours without significant repairs. This is the main reason the ship was scuttled (one of the better special effects in the movie); even if it could escape the perceived threat, it would be out of usable fuel in a day. The Bismarck in the Battle of the Denmark Straits takes a seemingly minor hit that damages its water system for its engines; it must return to port as it has only a limited time before its engines cannot operate. The only port is in France, and the ship is far away near Iceland. The Nazi ship is caught and sunk on its way back. The USA faced this too in WW2, having to scuttle damaged aircraft carriers as there was no large sea-going savage tug to get them to repair facilities. This problem is still not necessarily resolved in modern times. Those nuclear carriers are huge!

Returning to our story, tired from nightmares the night before, athema still making breathing, something not optional, not without effort (until I grab my inhaler), teaching, I head to bed early. I read more about the ACW and soon fell asleep, only waking once to check my hydration. Better.

Thanks for reading.

I woke with bad dreams on Sunday morning, and breathing is hard. The pollen, travel, and allergies are making it a difficult start, and I was awake at 4 after having trouble sleeping. It is a hard start on Sunday while I write this.

(Here is Richard and Laura playing the game for scale. Huge, and not all of it is in the photo!)

Starting near the end of Saturday, we (Richard, Laura, and I) chatted for a while about games and playing after enjoying a game of Luthier. This is a new Kickstarter board game that just shipped. It has been called a masterpiece, and the materials are lovely-looking, especially the special maxed-out version. Richard’s copy looks wonderful, the top-of-the-line version. I found the game complex, and there are layers of action and scoring; some of the placements are multi-dimensional without being confusing (the first time I have seen this done so well), but the game flows easily, and every decision requires considering two or three levels of complexity and meaning.

This is a race game that reminds me of the board games Concordia and Lisboa, both of which are favorites. Richard agreed that it seemed like an early Lacerda, but better. It uses a huge box and board like Lisboa. Richard had the roll-out board, which took up most of the table, a large one.

It is a mix of resource management and worker placement, but the resources are unlimited and not challenging to obtain. Your patron gives you things that help, but you have only three turns to get them something, or they will leave you and reduce your score. Many scoring items award only the first — it is truly a race.

A Luthier builds string instruments, and this has been expanded to other types. You represent a family of instrument builders. Your goal is to fill the Orchestra with your instruments first. You also serve patrons who get these instruments too, and that means you score your patron and the Orchestra (if first). Other actions get you resources, you perform (the dice tower has metal bars to play notes when you drop the dice into it), you repair, and you watch. All have advantages, and the connections were interesting. I misplayed a few times as I did not get the sequencing right. Last, with a 69, and half of the others, I enjoyed the game. Laura was surprised to lose by one point to Richard (in their previous game that morning, I learned, she won by a tiebreaker).

It seemed, for my liking, one of the best games we had played in a while. I had invested an hour in the morning watching a how-to-play video, which helped, and we skipped the teaching. Richard asked if we could play it again next Saturday, and I agreed. Again, soon!

I drove home for Richard’s and saw, as I drove through Portland, that the dance clubs were back and packed, but one bar had gone bust. My drive on the highways was fast, with the EV often staying just below 70 with many lane changes around slower Portland drivers. There are frequently opportunities to fund Beaverton or Portland (police), meaning I resisted higher speeds and changing the mode Air VW the Gray to sport and having the interior colors turn red.

I had a piece of pizza to have some food in me when I took my pills. I was soon in bed. Sleep did not come as I rethought the gameplay; my knees hurt, and the coffee I had had impacted me. I took some painkillers for the leg pain and to sleep.

Nightmare haunted me with the first one being that I had to be treated to reduced oxygen treatment, locked in a box, to treat my recurrence of colon cancer. There was an article about a person with stage 4, mine was 3, who was at the beach and found a float — glass floats are seeded in the water for folks to discover on our beaches. An article made me think about how grateful I was. Apparently, I had an asthma attack while I was sleeping, and the article combined with that in my dreams.

Next, I dreamed I was surrounded by strangers, and we were assembled by the US Federal Government, being shipped out. We had to ask for everything, and I was reprimanded for not asking permission to eat the terrible dry food. Cornmeal for Mexican-style food.  There were mice and trash everywhere, and I had my papers, as I had refused to give them away to the officials. I could still prove who I was. I was looked down on because I was resisting. We were going far away, and we were now considered illegal aliens in our own country. We were trying to speak Spanish to fit our new status. I woke from the nightmare as we became increasingly crowded and ready to march out to our new camp.

Before playing games, I met Mariah, after putting my pizza, which I had baked, a frozen pizza I had dressed up with some freshly sliced green peppers, away. Mariah had un-canceled the canceled lunch. I took Air VW the Gray to BJs Brewhouse, and there we chatted about our recent travels, Mariah in the Arizona desert, and me all over. We had not met in months, and it was great to catch up.

After that, I took the EV to Portland and stopped at Guardian Games, where I found figures, Dungeons & Dragons scales, for some doors, and camping tents. They were not expensive. I also talked with a young employee of Guardian about different versions of D&D, and they (not assigned a gender pronoun without permission) were still DM-ing the 5E version. It was nice, though I have dice and figures older than they, to talk about DM-ing and play.

With my new figures, I headed to The Lucky Labadore and had a beer and soup. I thought I was getting potato and bacon, but that was not updated, and I got to try their corn chowder, which was spicy and chewy with corn. I was going to write, but Z contracted me, and soon we were sharing pictures of Z’s math homework. We worked out that the questions were unclear, and Z will answer, knowing why Z selected that answer.

I spoke to Deborah after that, and we were happy to spend some time together, with me talking between bites of soup. We talked on and off all day as I traveled and wrote. It has been less than a week, but we already miss each other’s company.

The day started with me rising after pleasant dreams, a dream party. I spent the morning writing the blog, updating my usual transactions in Quicken, and processing emails and news (which was depressing). I got a card out to Mom Wild. I try to write her a card Monday-Saturday and get them in the mailbox in time to be picked up. The rest of the morning is a blur of rushing.

I revised my plan for my Sunday School class, Grammarly made some changes I did not notice that were terrible. I sent out new copies. Yike! F**king stupid context missing AI!

And that takes us full circle, thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

I rose later and planned to stay home most of the day. The coffee was assembled the night before, still Zabar’s Roast that I picked up in NYC. I had this with a banana and cottage cheese, small curds, dusted with sea salt and smoked paprika. I was distracted and worked on my Sunday School plans, read emails, looked at the news (depressing), and aligned my transactions into Quicken. It was Friday (Monday and Friday being my usual laundry days), so I started the laundry by stripping my bed and washing the sheets and towels. I would remake the bed with the other set of sheets and use new towels.

I wrote the blog. Again, I had trouble getting focused on it, and soon it was late; I published it. It is overcast but not raining, but the rains return next week. It is always a glorious time in Oregon when the rains return and the plants (and the moss) grow green. I love to visit the coast in September, and will try to find a few weekdays for that. I missed most of my bids on some Duck stamps (the federal government requires the purchase of a stamp to hunt ducks, which are lovely, but never cheap), but got one and a few inexpensive postage dues I was missing, too. I am just filling in the gaps in my album that are still inexpensive. I find most of my missing older stamps are expensive and rarely listed at an auction. I watched for years for an opening for many stamps (I have all the US Zepplin stamps after years of watching with two flown covers).

What I have learned is that there are a few of us stamp collectors who are willing to pay more than $100, and even fewer who are willing to pay over $200. There are also crazy folks paying thousands, but I assume they are dealers or investors. I have also learned that proofs, stamps printed on cardboard and paper, usually as examples of stamps — much like today’s posters in the US post office, exist at much lower prices, and the print is generally perfect. I have one for a stamp that has no price (there is only one known version), and I have a proof of the same stamp that once belonged to President Roosevelt’s collection. Excellent! FDR’s collection was broken up and sold after his passing, and parts of it have surfaced here and there. Now, instead of an unfilled empty spot, I have FDR’s proof still glued down by him on a small piece of paper.

Sorry for the aside, this is also a distraction.

I reheated the Chinese-style food and watched a group of videos on YouTube. ShipHappens, Battleship New Jersey, The Descriminating Gamer, and a few others filled much of my afternoon. Corwin stopped by to check an unusual quarter he found. We determined it was a normal quarter after using my scales and magnifiers (I use them primarily for stamps). I was chopping and preparing to make Bœuf Bourguignon from the recipe we cooked at Evelyn’s Midtown Kitchen. This is an update to Julia Child’s version. I had about 3/4 of the amount of beef, but that did not stop me. I replaced the onions with celery and onion powder, but that left it with a darker flavor, which was not bad. Deborah is allergic to onions, so I try to switch them out when I can. I also skipped, as did Evelyn, when we cooked this with her in Detroit, the pearl onions.

I burned the brown bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven, and luckily, I have another, so I switched to that one. That saved the meal, but there is a slight bitterness from this. I will have to be more careful next time. I had put the flour on the meat too early in the process, which caused the issue. I mixed this up with another recipe for beef stew that cooks the beef with the flour (and I nearly burned that too, hmmm). I got a full glass of wine (two half glasses, as I believe you should only fill your wine glass to the level that is the mess you are willing to clean up after you knock it over). I use a bulb glass, not a stemmed glass, when I am cooking in my tiny kitchen.

Aside: I love my tiny galley kitchen.

It seemed to take forever for the carrots to soften, and I think next time I will just ‘sweat’ them (words from New Orleans cooking). I followed Evelyn’s special baking instructions, setting the oven to 450°F to form a crust on the meat and then reducing the temperature to 325°F after adding the wine, stock, and various other aromatics.

I then cleaned up and let the would-be French-style mix bake for hours. I fried the mushrooms to get them nice and brown, ready to be mixed into the Bœuf Bourguignon. I used high heat and avocado oil. Next, I boarded Air VW the Gray and took it to Costco, and there I bought sandwiches and fruit for the Sunday School. I returned home and loaded that into the fridge to be ready for Sunday.

I made various updates to my plans, adding in more information on the early fragments of the Gospels. I resisted buying a reproduction of the fragments (you can download the images, print them, and make your own). I finally finished and set a copy off (I sent a fix later, as Grammarly made a change I missed and also overlooked some obvious issues).

I had a few servings of my version of Bœuf Bourguignon, and although it could have been better, it was still not terrible. I would add more liquid next time, too. I will leave the bay leaves whole and remove them. The onion powder can be added later with the mushrooms.

Stuffed with food and the standing, chopping, mixing, cleaning, and wine left me tired. I decided to read and found myself sleeping before 10! I woke up a few times to check my hydration. Again, this is a reminder to keep up the walking and reduce sugar.

I dreamed most of the night, and sleep seemed shallow, but the dreams were large. They have all faded, but the dreams were pleasant, featuring travel, eating, and enjoying friends and family, including those who now only exist in dreams. All my living friends were there too (so if you woke up tired with a vague sense of happiness, hmm). I woke tired from all the dream-partying!

Thanks for reading

 

 

 

I rose before 7, and the coffee, Zabar’s (pronounced zay-bars) roast from NYC, had been ground and made ready, and the timer started brewing as I rose. Today I was busy meeting Scott for lunch, the church’s monthly HR committee (SPR/C for those who speak Methodist) meets online at 2, and then I was meeting the folks working on the refresh of the church entrance way, fireside room, and kitchen. I was busy writing the blog, writing a card to Mom Wild (one is being returned as I forgot to write the street address on it), reading email, updating Quicken, and generally getting the morning tasks done.

Just a reminder, dear reader, I use Quicken to consolidate all my finances, and all transactions are downloaded and aligned. This allows me a clear view of my income (currently limited to interest and dividends), my retirement investments, which are managed by US Bank Wealth Management in an IRA, and the cash I manage. I have some money in stocks and Treasury Bills (these are the short-term instruments offered on TreasuryDirect.com). I update my balances at least monthly by hand for Treasury and IRA, just the balances. This protects me from criminals, but I have been fooled by one email, and I got lucky. So, please be cautious.

I wrote the blog in my office, showered, did the usual things, and was ready early. I read more of the Strategy & Tactics new quarterly magazine, as this one is about the American Civil War. I stopped my subscription, and now buy them when they are a topic I am interested in. I find them at Barnes & Noble (getting my discount). This issue, Rosecrans Vs. Bragg #31 Fall 2025, covers the lesser-known battles in Tennessee. This is known as The West in those days. It can be argued that the ACW was won in the West, and the finish was merely a grinding away of the Confederate forces remaining in the East until they were too weak to continue (see #27). I find S&T ACW issues some of the best military history reading. I like the way they tilt less towards emotion (though it is hard not to enjoy Shelby Foots’ mystical account of Gettysburg, Stars in Their Courses), but more towards the hard facts and troop placements — for gamers and re-enactors.

I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed to McMinimans at Cedar Hills to meet Scott for lunch. We had both been traveling with Scott, enjoying Paris, and were surprised by the story of the French Kings trying to attach themselves to God through relics and myth. Dan Brown was not the first person to rewrite history to better fit a story! We discussed investments, and Scott is still comparing his approach to investing with that of a team doing the same. I am happy with the 10+% earnings (after fees and withdrawing $10K) for the year. Scott and I talked about me selling the house and using the investment value to cover rent; it works financially, but I am not ready to move to apartment life. I like the space and options (and my roses).

Scott and I enjoyed getting caught up and will meet again in two weeks. After that, I headed to First United Methodist Church, and Wendy, the Church Administrator, let me borrow the Pastor’s office for the SPR/C meeting, which lasted about an hour. We have many to-dos as the church year is starting again, and the previous calendar year ends.

After that, I met with a contractor and our designer for the church refresh project. I am primarily a tourist, though I did help with a few questions. With that meeting done, I went home. I had some pizza from yesterday, still cold, and watched another episode of Wednesday, which does not disappoint.

I then travel to Market of Choice and then the 185th Corner veggie stand. I have a long list, written, and am shocked by some of the prices @ MoC, but in the end, the three bags of groceries were less than one dinner with friends, me buying. The veggies did not break $50 and were excellent.

I also bought some special items from MoC and coffee from 185th. This knocked the price up, I am sure (almond flour, for example). I plan to cook and bake over the next nine weeks before my trip back to Michigan on October 10th. I want to do some French-style items.

I put away the items and then watched a second episode of Wednesday. I was tired, but it was not that late, and I wanted to write some code, do more prep for class, and maybe work on some writing. I wanted to do more, but rest was required, and I wanted the cough to stop. Instead, I put on my PJs and read more ACW until I found myself dreaming the text and not reading. I was soon asleep.

I woke twice to prove hydration, making me wonder if my A1C is back up. I will try to keep the carbs down and the walking going. Though those bake goods may mess with that a bit…

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

I rose late, after 8, on Wednesday. The day was overcast, but it was still, and with an intense heat we sometimes experience with cloudy skies, like an oven. I have a cough from traveling and allergies. I need a few more days of going slow; the trip in Michigan was a whirlwind, and two four-hour-plus flights in less than a week.

I finished the laundry from the trip and, though I still find a sticky spot here and there, most of the spilled jam from a wayward Monte Cristo sandwich in my carry-on is cleaned up. Deborah informed me that the blog from Tuesday (about Monday) had a few typos, but it was understandable. Sorry, dear reader! But it is more important to publish even with typos. I was tired and wrote that blog mid-travel.

I wrote over 1,300 words on Tuesday at my office in Cheatu Wild, describing my return to Oregon and my first partial day back. I started the last load of laundry from the trip and later put away all the clothing. I got a card out to Mom Wild with a picture of us taken by Deborah last week.

With the blog published and the clothing done, I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed to BJ’s Brewhouse. I took a seat in the newly remodeled bar. It looks more like a sports bar now than a microbrew-centered one with the taps along the wall. Rachel is my bartender, a youthful-looking woman who I would card to be at a bar, but soon I have their excellent red ale (which needs no updates), and the new lunch menu is introduced to me. The chicken parmesan with what I would call overcooked pasta is soon before me. The sauce and chicken are well done; better than the usual industrial chain restaurant version. I chat with Rachel about her name and how it appears, spelled differently, in a Sherlock Holmes story (‘Study in Pink’ in the newest version in the series Sherlock). She is intrigued, and we also talk a little about WC Fields, whom she has not heard of, but liked his line “I often cook with wine, and some often makes it into the food”!

I was thinking of WC Fields, and he is my spirit animal for presentations (he learned that juggling and jokes get you nowhere if the audience is not involved, and faked being drunk so they thought he would drop something). I was writing my notes for my class on Sunday and expanding on what I will say and what areas to cover. I get 45 minutes for all Biblical history next Sunday. I will stop about 900CE as that fits the next Sunday better about the history of denominations.

I had a salad and ice cream, and my bill was not even into the thirties. Not bad. I stopped by Barnes & Noble with no intention of buying a book, but rather to pick up my usual magazines. I was tempted by a Roman warfare edition of Strategy & Tactics, but I would want to buy that with the game. I saw a new book on the US Constitution that was a cleaner-looking version of the Idiot’s Guide to the US Constitution, and I got that too.

I returned home, read, and then napped for a while. I woke with a start, not knowing where I was, and panicked that I needed to get to a flight. I did not recognize the living room. I had slept in the chair at first. I think I did not wake all the way and dreamed a different room when I woke. When I finally opened my eyes, I was home. I had a very Dorothy or Silver Key moment.

Back in this world, I collected my books for the class, some post-it markers, and started to identify facts for my discussions. Again, I wanted to avoid anything that people can search for or learn in a good documentary. I found a frozen pizza and made that for dinner. I watched the last Pirates movie, having now re-watched them all. I started the new episodes released this Wednesday, for well, Wednesday. I watched just the first episode, and it was excellent, with a surprise appearance by some returning cast members.

I headed back to the EV and The 649 Bar. Stephen was bartending, and I had a coffee and a shot of amaretto almond liqueur with it. I reviewed the history I was covering, including dates in my notes for completeness (which I will share), even though dates can be obtained from a Google search. I included notes about existing artifacts that agree with the Biblical text (mostly). I need to add more prophets and judges in my notes. I managed to get nearly there. Just a few more hours and I will be ready.

I talked to Dondrea earlier and agreed to have a longer service (I am the Lay Leader) as Kickoff Sunday has a lot to kick off. I sent notes about the refresh work and will meet to discuss some of that on Thursday. One tray of wraps from Costco should work with water and some fruit for Sunday’s class lunch. The class may be heavily attended, I was warned.

After more organizing, it was time to head home. I had a too-large and too-microwaved piece of bread pudding for dessert to finish at The 649. I soon arrived in the EV, was too tired to do much, and soon was asleep again. I woke a few times, and each time I knew where I was. Like other dreamers, I dread that deeper dreams, but still want to explore those other lands. Next time, it will be de-calf, if I want to have a chance to meet Mr. Carter.

Thanks for reading and dreaming with me.