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Monday, as usual, got here too soon. An hour or two of more sleep would have been nice. I was online last night, setting up the days off for Susie’s next Mohs surgery. We are ready for Wednesday’s surgery.

I managed to start at 6:15ish. My 7AM meetings had been canceled, so I slept in 15 minutes. As it was a holiday weekend, there was not much email and meetings to handle this morning.

Susie had a 10ish appointment with Zerida today for hair, nails, toes, and so on. Her driver picked her up. She was ready and gone on time today.

I had a few crises of the moment at work, but I could get most items done. One did lag, and I sent a reply this evening, late.

Lunch was from Gyro House, lamb gyro. Susie picked up a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal on her way home from Zerida’s.

My new Kickstarter game arrived today: A War of Whispers. The game is a special edition and includes updates (the Dark Agents expansion) to the original version; I have waited a year to get my copy. It is only an hour-long playing and two to four player game. In this game, five empires are fighting for control in a Games of Thrones like setting–the map is a close match to Games of Thrones. Instead of directly controlling these empires like a standard board game (there is already a Game of Thrones board game that provides this), this game has you represent a secret faction trying to support some of the empires and try to stop others. You can even change alliances, but this does give away your plans to an extend.

At the start of a game of A War of Whispers, the players’ alignment with the five empires is random and secret. You then try to select actions to support or undermine the empires while trying to not give away everything you are trying to pull off. There are only four rounds of actions, and then each player is only measured on how well, or not, that their selected empires did at the end. A game built on your decisions that include trying to hide your plans while trying to thwart the other players; I am looking forward to trying this one out.

I also received a copy of the Decision Games’ Folio Game: River Plate & Denmark Strait. I have been searching for a rules-light battleship game that can be used with miniatures. I want to cover WW1 and just a bit of WW2. I have 2400 1/2 inch Bismark and Hood that I want to use someday. I just have not found a rules system that is simple enough and expandable. I think these might work. The scale is wrong (1/2 inch a nautical mile, instead of 1 inch a nautical mile), but that is easy to fix with a ruler and a turning wheel. I am excited to finally find eight pages of rules that are easy to use. More to come.

I finished today the book The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It is a great book, and the ending, I was worried it would end strange, was well put together and made me cry, perfect. I recommend it to my SciFi reading friends, and it hints at horror, so it fits there too. V.E. Schwab, the author, has written some series that I did not like as much, but I could not put them down.  This book is the best book I have read in a while. Please enjoy!

I am running around a lot tonight getting dinner for folks. It is a bit chaotic here.

We played Roll20 Dungeons and Dragons for about two hours today; I ran the adventure as the Dungeon Master. Our adventurers managed to cut their way through the evil elves (Drow to you who know D&D) to the Mad Mage’s Dungeon’s next level. They at once point chased down an evil Drow priestess and thought they had brought her to a quick end. Her pleas to her goddess, the Spider-Queen, were heard; she made them in the Spider-Queen own temple. Shadows in the temple came to life, as did the dead priestess’s own shadow, and fought the adventures as revenge. Luckily the brave adventures were not taken by surprise, and the adventures survived the backlash. We will continue the adventure next Monday. The adventurers offered the next Drow a chance to let them pass and received a “pass” to enter the evil elves’ areas without attack. Or so they were told, we will see what happens next week!

I had KFC delivered for dinner. The gravy is even worse–how? The chicken was fresh, a bit salty, but tasty.

1,987 people in the USA died from the virus today.

I turned right to Go Down, Moses and I opened the Methodist Hymnal, #448.

Working backward today, I am just starting my taxes today and collecting my stock trades and interest statements. I logged onto TurboTax earlier today and started my taxes and stopped and saved at the personal information was set. As I told Dondrea today, the federal and states are addicted to my money like a drug. I have to work hard to not have them harvest too much. Even as a tax-loving democrat liberal, I only like to supply what I should. I do not give the government extra; it is just not good for the government to get extra of my money. I have had to be very careful after the Trump tax cut as the so-called cuts increased my taxes by 20% percent. Trump paid for the tax cuts by forcing the standard deduction on upper-middle-class and just above. I now have to be careful that all the paperwork is perfect and still not get any credit for giving, taxes paid, or interests paid. It is a lot of work to pay 20% more.

Susie went to bed early today. I replaced her bandage on her back. It is still healing and looks better. It still bothers her a bit.

I ordered out for Chinese style food from our local Stir Crazy Kitchen delivered. I did not want to cook tonight. The food is just OK; I have much better in Portland with my friend Will when he picks the place. I miss my gamer friends and having dinner or lunch with them once and a while in Portland.

Returning to dinner, I ordered Moo Shu Pork as I wanted to put together the little rolls with plum sauce. I had not done that in so long. Something different for this order.

I turned on Mulan on Disney+, the new version. The food was not planned to go with the show–at least not intentionally. Susie was shocked to see me on the floor after putting the show on pauce after making a second Moo Shu pancake. I had set my plate on the chair arm, and unlike Mulan on the TV, I was clumsy. I hit the plate with my arm when I sat down and spun the plate in the air, and it landed on the floor, now empty. Susie was watching Mulan and did not see my total fail. Susie watched me pick all the food out of the carpet, yes carpet, and then vacuum all that remains. I then made a new plate, started the show, and tried not to think about it.

Mulan was a different story in details from the animated one. It had evil women witch that did not work for me. The rest of the story and action did work. I would say it was average.

Before I ordered dinner, I had to pick up the prescriptions and some supplies for Susie. RiteAid was surrounded by police SUVs, not the usual escort for me. There also were two police cars by the trash for Safeway. It appears some local drama was in progress. I went in anyway. There were no flashing lights, which usually means it is safe. I asked the store clerk if it was OK to come in. She was emphatic that it was safe, now. I did not raise an eyebrow but smiled and went in. I picked up the stuff and, seeing lots of police, thanked them. I was balancing my good, and the cops offered to help. They also liked my hat. I demurred.

I learned that there was some small theft, a local drama.

Before all of this, I made soup from a can with some homemade bread for lunch. I had some canned peaches to go with it. Susie had toast from the same homemade bread with jam, a banana, and the rest of the canned peaches for breakfast-lunch.

I started a bit late, 930ish; Susie was up three times last night. I had about four hours of sleep.

I edited some Howard stories on and off all day. I have moved to the first long stories I wrote.

1,387 people died today from the virus in the USA. The infection chart shows an increasing infection rate again.

I went with Morning has Broken today as it is a fav of ours. It was even a song at our wedding. I found a good new version.

I was up a bit late this morning, 9:30ish. I did the dishes and cleaned-up last night and did not get to bed until 1ish. I like the sink to be empty when I start my morning.

So the sink was empty, and I made coffee and started, not even dressed yet, to write Python code.

Yes, a cup of coffee, toast, and a banana while coding a bit of Python. My friend Dan Gray asked me to take the code he sent me to convert temperatures, an entry-level exercise I often see as an example and make it more interesting. I used my standard headers and practices and then rework the code. I produce a version 0.0.1 and then send a 0.0.2 after thinking about it some more. I made it the program do Kelvin too. It was fun to do the basic coding again. I find it always fun to code in the morning.

I then cleaned a toilet and vacuumed some of the carpet. Susie has a physical therapy appointment, and I can’t have the house looking well-used when we have guests. I got the laundry started and the dishwasher going too. This warms up the house a bit.

Susie was ready when Clare from PT got here. I had to leave as I have a hair cut today. I was there to ensure we scheduled Susie’s new PT days for next week. We all prefer two days a week for Susie. I made sure Susie had water, coffee, and toast with jam when I left.

My haircut was with Zerida, and she follows all those procedures to keep us all safe.

I drove back without stopping. I texted with Evan, and he came over later to play a few board games.

Dinner was not fav but easy. I got the large pack from Taco Bell–making another quick trip. The food was not that great. Too salty this time. I am afraid that Taco Bell went off the list for dinner.

Evan and I played a crazy board game that I had not even punched and put together. Evan got to help assemble castles, towers, flying machines, and boats for Heroes of Air, Land, and Sea. I have painted many of the figures, 60+, but had never played my copy. I decided that today, 2021 January, would be time to try out a two-person game using my copy. It took a while to start. Evan was learning the game, and I was trying to remember how to play. Heroes of Air, and, and Sea is a 4x (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, & eXterminate) game and requires you to crush your fellow players while building your empire. Evan made a few mistakes as he was learning the game, the same mistakes I made when the game was first introduced to me, and we ended without scoring–it was a learning game. I am sure he is ready to crush me in the next game. If you play 4x, it is crush or be crushed.

Again, I wanted to play something fun for 2021 that I have not played for a while. The Star Trek Panic game is one of the best visual board games, I think. You do missions on the Enterprise from the 1960s version of the TV show, and the ship is overlayed with explosions and destruction. It looks so right, and the mechanics feel a bit like you are in the original 1960s series. No game for me is as immersive and also unthreatening. There are some other timed immersive games, but I won’t play timed games. Sorry, they feel like work to me and not a game. This game is cooperative and still feels rushing without the timer. Players work together, but your turn is when you get to drive, literally. Again, Evan had never played this before, so we played the introduction version, and then we played a few more missions after resetting and playing new characters. I played Scotty in the first try and then Jame T. Kirk for the next play. I think Evan liked this one too. It is simple, but there is a strategy and planning to make it work–that is not to destroy the Enterprise with you in it!

We had some wine for the last game, and the Taco Bell pack was finished off.

2,107 folks are reported to have died today of Covid-19 in the USA.

I turned to There Is a Balm in Gilead in the Methodist Hymnal today, # 375.

I stayed up to see the ball come down last night and have a glass of champagne with Susie. I used the same glasses from our wedding back in 1990. It was strange to see CNN coverage with their anchors a bit drunk and unsure of what to do. It is good to put 2020 in the rear-view mirror.

I started 2021 by sleeping into 8:30ish. Susie was up a few times this morning, so I decided just to get up. I made coffee, read email, and just relaxed for the morning.

Susie needed her bandages changed. It is looking better, and the reaction to the tape products is mostly gone. It is still not healed.

I continued to edit more Howard stories. I am working on the Christmas story from 2016 still. I hope to finish it tomorrow and start on the first long story I wrote. Again, I am not sure what to do with the stories, maybe publish them, but I want them more polished.

I went out and got lunch—a whopper with cheese for me and a chicken McNugget Happy Meal for Susie. Susie was too tired to eat it until later.

I set-up Raiders of Scythia board game today. I set the game for two players. I am playing it against myself. I am still trying to learn the rules and how to play the game better. The rulebook and examples online are good, but the game has many different cards to play, and not every case is covered. I have finally understood the Town Centre’s actions after playing the practice game wrong for four turns.

Raiders of Scythia is from a fav game making company, Garphill Games, and I have some another of their excellent games, Architect of the Western Kingdom, and it took a while to learn that game. This new game is a rework of their well know Viking raiding games. I thought this game’s art was better than the Viking games’ cartoonish art, so I bought this one. I do not usually pick games by art, but it is lovely, and Scythians have always been interesting to me—the bad-guys of history and possible slayer of the biblical Cyrus the Great.

Mariah called, and we meet outdoors at McMenamins Cedar Hills location. We had hot buttered rum (just above lukewarm when we finally got it–they seemed a bit disorganized) and then some locally made beer to welcome in 2021 with a snack. Susie stayed home; lockdown required us to sit outside in the rain under a partial roof and a propane heater next to us–not something Susie would enjoy. We got the last two-person dry table.  We talked about writing and travel.

I returned and watched RATATOUILLE: THE TIKTOK MUSICAL. A reworking of the Disney animated movie. They did Ratatouille loosely based on the movie as a staged set of shorts and compiled group singing. While not all of it was great, it was short (less than an hour), and some of the singing and acting was great. I bought a ticket that is going to support the Actor’s Guild.

I made light snacks for Susie. She ate her Chicken McNugget Happy Meal late. I had fries and a salad with Mariah.

I watched the Doctor Who New Year’s special today. We have not seen the Doctor for a while. The show was fun, and I liked it–Daleks everywhere. The camera work was different, likely the impact of Covid-19, but still a familiar feel.

2,129 people in the USA today died from Covid-19.

I went, for 2021, America again for our song.

Today started at 9ish, and me going slow as I had no plans for the day. I have a bottle of cheap California sparkling wine and hope to stay awake to open it and toast in 2021.

I was surprised to get some last-minute items in 2020. My coin sets from Canada for 2020 were delivered today, yes the last minute. I have one set next to my 1999 and 2000 coin sets, and the other is a gift. This is to remember the year many of us thought about moving to Canada.

I started the morning by not shaving. I want to shave off extra 2020 tomorrow!

I also received the printed cards I made for the massive game Twilight Imperium 4. The new cards were presented in new rules but not supplied in any add-on. I learned how to make cards from instructions online using the MPC, Make Playing Cards, website. I made four copies, one for me and a local gamer and two to give to others who need to update their copy of TW4. The new cards replace some existing cards in the game, rule changes and content updates, and are new cards for new content and some special scenarios. It is exciting to learn how to make replacement gaming cards.

I continued to edit and write today. I finished editing a third Howard story. This is Howard’s Christmas I wrote in 2016 and is the second long Howard story I wrote. I have started editing the first long story, Howard 2016, about Howard’s Amsterdam and Istanbul experiences. I wrote the first story when I could not sleep on the plane back from my own trip to Amsterdam and Istanbul in 2015. I was there for some terrorist attacks, and it was the first time I used my Situational Awareness training from Nike to be safe. I was having trouble relaxing on a USA flight from Europe. I wrote the story to distract myself. I should have it up to snuff tomorrow. I do not know if I will publish them, but I would like them ready to be read.

Susie was up late this morning and then again this afternoon, and her wound in her back had an issue. Like her mother, she is allergic to certain tapes and medical products that use the same adhesive. Susie had blisters everywhere she came in contact with the bandage I put on yesterday. I cleaned up the blisters and replaced everything with a simple dressing. Susie took some Benedryl and aspirin to get the rash and swelling back under control. She is better now. She is not getting a break this time!

Dinner was a baked potato with the works and our usual frozen from a box Chicken Cordon Blu. Comfort food if you like. We had some canned pineapple as a dessert.

I also made bread today. I baked the bread in pans this time, and it is a bit better. I have ordered more flour and sourdough stuff from King Arthur Flour, so I continue this adventure. The bread is good, but I want huge bubbles. I am making good sandwich bread, I want so much more.

I was thinking about writing some musing on our shared experience of 2020. F**K that! I just want the year gone. I can hear all the fireworks, most illegal, going off tonight—good riddance to 2020. If 2020 was a song.

3,438 people on this last day of 2020 are reported to have passed away from Covid-19 in the USA.

And I picked on Eagle’s Wings to fly to 2021. I picked Michael Crawford’s version (Phantom of the Opera) as he can sing well in the minor key.