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It seemed that I woke only a few minutes after getting the alarm set. How could it be 6:30 already? I climbed out of bed and found my way to the coffee maker. The sink was stacked high with dishes, and that would get handled later. I assembled coffee, making a whole pot, and then found my way to the shower and did all the usual things. I put on a white dress shirt, a Pride tie, a green sweater vest, and my black church shoes (what Jesu in India called “preacher shoes”), and assembled the remaining items, the cooked and cooled sausages. I risked putting plastic wrap over the coffee pot and set it on the car floor (I should have wrapped it in a towel to keep it from moving).

The electric grills were already in the car with other items. I checked that I had everything; I forgot the extra butter, but we had plenty. Traffic before 7 in Beaverton on Easter Sunday is nonexistent, and I arrived early. I parked Air VW the Gray on the street next to the church. Emmaus Security, from the other church before us, recognized me, and I walked to the kitchen and soon unloaded the EV.

The coffee had spilled, leaving about half of its contents to spice up the EV. The fine German Engineering, unlike the Volvo I had (redesigned by the Chinese who own Volvo), did not put the pain cables and computer on the floor, and thus there was no loss or fire. I would not want to spill coffee in a Tesla! I will clean that up later, maybe (the carpet is black and plastic-based and will shrug off the coffee).

I had a light turn pink on my trip in, and I tried to brake for it, but then I heard the coffee and drove through it. I reached back and turned the now rolling coffee pot back to normal. There was a small sea of coffee. Hmmm.

Nothing was ruined, and I soon was unpacking things. Z and Dondrea soon appeared. Seth set up the tables while Z and I organized the food. Later, Pam would appear with a pile of cooked bacon and reheat it in the microwave (Costco). We would serve freshly grilled pancakes, brown-sugar-and-honey pork sausage, and bacon from Pam. We also had coffee and even tea from Bill.

We started serving around 9, when there were lots of early folks, and kept cooking until after 10. Other folks stepped in and cleaned the kitchen (which was not too bad, since nobody dropped anything this year—don’t ask).  We also kept the crew small, which helped prevent mistakes. Seth started to cook pancakes and I stepped out. I just mixed the pancake stuff.

By 10:45, all was put away and back to normal. By 11, I was ushering for the Easter Service. Today, we had 64 plus 8 online. Lower than last year. As it was the first Sunday in April, it is tradition in Methodist Churches to hold communion on this day. Rev. Anne gave the Easter Sermon and retold the story of Jesus’ disappearance from the tomb and his appearances thereafter. Pastor Anne concluded that Mary Magdalene was ready to see Jesus, while the others were too consumed by grief and their own thoughts to be ready to see the angels and Jesus. Anne believes that only Mary was open to the revelation, and we need to remember to be open to Jesus and God (less Peter and more Mary, using my own words).

Pastor Ken did communion and reminded everyone that at the Methodist Church, communion was open to anyone. I got to use the new process and just raise my arms to get everyone to stand and find their way to communion (or not). After church, my feet hurt, so I got in the EV and headed out, wishing folks a Happy Easter.

I drove to BJ’s Brewhouse, sat at the bar, and had their prime rib Sunday dinner. Taylor was my bartender, and she remembered me. I talked to others at the bar, enjoying an easy (there was no line as BJ’s is not the usual Easter Brunch choice) meal and excellent prime rib (though it is cheaper and better in the Detroit area). We chatted about travel and other easy subjects, including baseball, which was playing on the big screens at the bar.

The beer, food, and the four hours on my feet had me ready for a nap. I spent a few hours enjoying a nap and rose again around five or so. I did not need dinner. I said good night to Deborah, who figured I was napping before. Next, I did the dishes and read. I read The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards, Book 1), which I bought last month on my Kindle. It is a high-fantasy story, reminiscent of The Thieves World, without the darkness or Lankhmar-based stories, as it is city-based so far.

Painkillers, a bowl of ice cream, and a new high-fantasy story make for an excellent ending for Easter 2026. I went to bed. Finally got the pillows arranged and read until I started to lose track of the words, nodding off. It was too warm (with Easter being sunny and reaching 80°F/27°C), so I turned on the fan in the master bedroom. Sleep then game with the light breeze.

Jeff installed ceiling fans in the two bedrooms during a previous house update.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Sorry it has been a busy Sunday and then there was that nap…

Saturday started with me rising with the sunrise and then resisting, and finally rising. Coffee was required, and 1/2 a pot was made, Fair Trade, and consumed. Music was played after I did the usual updating in Quicken, quickly fixed my checking with a transfer, and read email. I have slowed my intake of news as it has been distressing as the war burns on. Deborah did send me The Late Show on No Kings Day, and that was all I could take of the news, but it did make me laugh. Battleship New Jersey had a spoof where they fired a 16″ gun (they had a flag with “Boom” on it, sticking out of the barrel for April 1st). Battleship Texas had a “photo” of the newly repaired Texas firing the guns. I reviewed the news in the New York Times, which had an excellent article on cozy murder mysteries to read (only two had I read), which was more interesting than the war. I have the first one on my Kindle.

I finished The Fourth Protocol yesterday and liked the ending. Despite the claim that the British Labor Party was controlled by the Soviet Union in the late 1980s (hinting at the outrageous claims we would later see from Fox News), it was fun to return to the Cold War and a UK spy novel. The recent movie Bridge of Spies is highly recommended if you, dear reader, want a trip to the Cold War. Or if you want the sexy comic book version, Atomic Blond will do.

I spent the morning writing the blog and talking to Deborah. I next headed to Safeway and got some raw pork breakfast sausage made with honey and brown sugar (I usually go for maple syrup, but they had only one packet). I got some bananas (my potassium is always low) and ice cream (my weight is down to 225 pounds, and I could risk a bit of the good stuff).

I have no memory of what breakfast or lunch was when I typed this. It is always strange that when you write an accounting of the day, you have a blank moment. And then ‘pop’ the moment replays in your mind like an invader. “Oh, that is right,” you think. I took some potatoes and bacon, reheated them in the microwave, and had that wtih the end of the coffee. Yes, that was it.

I then tried to cross Beaverton and discovered that TV Highway is being reconstructed, and other parts of Farmington are being updated, too. Thus, there is no way around the closed lanes and long waits as lights take three passes to get you through. I try to dodge this, but soon I am locked into the slow going.

The gear shift, so to speak, on my EV — it has no transmission — is on the steering column, where the blinkers or windshield wipers are on more conventional vehicles. I still find myself reaching in the wrong place after 1,631 miles in the rental. I try to shift the cupholders. Still, I made it to Portland with only 15 minutes of extra time, only to discover a train was stalled in SE, but I managed to back up and out of the blocked street and drive around the train.

I would not recommend this, but foot traffic was actually climbing over the flat train car stuck at the crossroads. Kids and families. Yikes!

I found street parking a block away from Lucky Labrador’s and soon had Czech-like beer and a bowl of peanuts. There, I opened my laptop and returned to editing a Dungeons and Dragons adventure I used last Thanksgiving. This was my second revision, and it was starting to come together. I need to revise the maps and add some suggestions to make the last encounter more exciting. A paper golem comes to mind, but more on that. I plan to publish it on DriveThruRPG as a pay-what-you-want adventure. I was excited to get close to the end of the editing. I have another one to edit, and then I thought up a new adventure when in Utah involving stone structures and petroglyphs. It might be a solo adventure in the form of a quest for illumination.

I ordered an Italian Grinder. My tongue has taken some damage from various meds, and maybe an unknown battle with Covid-19 (I may have caught it without being aware), and I like things now with strong salty flavors. The sandwich took the edge off of my hunger, and soon I was headed to Richard’s.

XIA is a board game (here) that was designed in Oregon. It is not a favorite of mine, but I played better this time (still coming in last with some bad luck that had Laura and me fighting for last place as she experienced some challenges, too). This is a build your ship 2D space game where you trade, fight, or explore. Not really 4x. Kathleen and I both believe that Richard ran away with the game, as he had played enough to know the best choices, though Kathleen gave him a run (only a few points behind him). The game is arranged into a random universe of tiles. Getting your ship destroyed is possible, but that means respawning.

With coffee (I was sleepy from lunch, jetlag, and writing — plus a beer), terrible luck, and no rerolls or other useful advantages, I pushed on and enjoyed the game despite my bottom showing on the score. I watched Richard do his own thing, and soon he was too far ahead for me to imagine catching him, but Kathleen did scare him. The game is shorter than you expect, and you have to find a source of cash quickly (and not be bashed up by a nebula or killed by pirates) to get going. It reminded me of the board games Istanbul and Scythe, both racing-to-win games. A few more plays and we would start to get a handle on it, I think. I might have to get a copy. Hmmm. So many games, so few times to play…

We finished about 9ish, and I headed out to cook some sausages and get to bed early, 6:30 seems really early now. The trip back was not difficult. I got a call from Pastor Anne that her printer was not working and the Easter Sermon for Sunday was not ready. Yikes. After I got the sausage started, I contacted her, drove over, and found that you need to close the scanner to replace the ink cartridge (!?). With that done, the printer worked. The Easter Sermon was printed. Emergency over.

I went home, moved the sausage into a glass container, and set them in the frig on a heat pad (glass shelves don’t like sudden heat changes). I then closed my eyes and woke suddenly, I believe only minutes later, at 6:30. Ugh!

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

I rose as the sun did and drank coffee I made in the kitchen, standing on my new flooring that Jeff installed while I was in Utah with Deborah for about two weeks. The price was more than I had hoped, and Jeff was concerned that I had picked the cheaper “rental” grade floor, but he agreed with me that the color was wonderful and matched the house well. The extra cost was from mold and water damage from the previous laundry. That was where the smell was coming from. Jeff had to replace some of the walls and flooring. It looks wonderful, and I am happy.

There is no Good Friday service at First United Methodist Church of Beaverton. I do have to get some sausages and butter for Sunday. I have my two grills and Z, and I will be making pancakes for Easter. The usual Easter morning starts at 8 for us on Sunday.

I spent the morning writing the blog and running load after load of laundry. I made grits (with milk and water with a bit of salt) for breakfast. I added two pieces of bacon that Corwin cooked for me the day before. It all went well with the Fair Trade coffee. The bitter taste reminded me that the USA is at war, and there was a prayer and tear for the pilots who were shot down over Iran in their F-15E.

I wrote, then showered, and connected with Jeff. He came over, we settled up, and we talked about the new floor and the work. Next, I called the pharmacy that supplies Skyrizi to learn that they had done nothing (despite my signing up for automatic refills) and might miss my window to get the injectable. F**k. I called Emily, my nurse provided by Skyrizi; she returned my call, and we were both surprised. There is some hope that the pharmacy can get the stuff to me next week. Ugh! They will contact me on Monday (not Friday, since they don’t ship over the weekend) and maybe work something out. Hmmmm.

I got a double beef from Arby’s for lunch because my watch reminded me of a SPRC meeting (for those who do not speak Methodist, this is the church’s HR committee), and I ate my sandwich and fries during the meeting. I originally had the Zoom meeting running on my laptop on the deck, but the neighbors have a new, younger dog, and soon they were all barking, ugh! The contents of the SPRC meetings are private. We finished the meeting in 35 minutes.

I toured the plants as I had been away for two weeks. My surviving tulips were bright. Two of my roses are showing stress, and I added some bone meal and mulch to them. The stressed roses are both old roses and in a less sunny spot. I will likely (with the two exceptions) have roses soon (instead of impressive thorny sticks). The dawn redwood is happy, growing, and turning green again.

I then decided I was tired and just did laundry and read The Fourth Protocol, a 1984 Cold War spy thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth. I remember the movie, but I had never read the book. I enjoyed his earlier mechanical-thriller designs and recommend The Day of the Jackal. In The Fourth Protocol, he expresses political views against the Labor Party and suggests that any left-leaning organization must be controlled by Marxist-Leninist ideology (yes, this being before Fox News was even an idea), but I still like the story and its mechanical nature. I also enjoyed his book, The Odessa File. The movies are dated and treat women as objects. The new BBC show, an updated version of The Day of the Jackal story, was good, but it does not follow the book.

I made dinner instead of buying it, having done two weeks of restaurant food. I found some aging red potatoes left over from St. Patrick’s Day that I baked to go with a defrosted pork chop. I had the frozen green beans as a side (though they were not good). I overcooked the pork chop again, but it was still good. The wine was excellent.

I spent the rest of the night reading and resting. I spoke to Deborah often (we miss each other’s company). I will travel again soon (back to Michigan). I started to nod off as the book built toward its conclusion. I will likely finish on Saturday (though I have gaming on Saturday night and Easter pancakes).

I was asleep about 11 and did not wake until 6ish.

Thanks for reading.

 

I finished Thursday at my home, crawling into familiar sheets in clean PJs and soon closing my eyes in my bed and soon oblivious to the world. It felt good, but a teeny bit lonely. I slept the night without interruptions and woke early about an hour before my usual. I rolled over, and the sunrise woke me.

I returned from church in the early evening. Corwin was taking a day off, and his dog Hank was here. Corwin played video games using my excellent bandwidth and cooked bacon. He was finishing up his near-disaster laundry issue. He left it in my brand-new washer for a week, but my washer recovered, and the sanitize setting helped. I will make no further comment.

The new flooring was wonderful, and the reorganizing of stuff was not too bad. I could find things. I sorted my mail and opened my new TTRPG (i.e., Table Top Role Playing Game), The Laundry. I was disappointed by the over $350 price for four books and one (only one) signed by the author; his signature was just a blog. Hmmm. Though the price tag is about right if ordering the signed and limited editions. I think I will curtail any more investments in TTRPG releases. It was two years late, too. Interestingly, I have the first version, and it looks like this version covers less than what I had before. It is a favorite topic and setting for me, and I’m glad to see the materials finally delivered.

Corwin headed out, and I read for a while, more of The Fourth Protocol, an old Cold War novel I picked up in Salt Lake City (SLC), and an interesting 1987 movie. I had some bacon as a snack. I started the first load of laundry.

Before this, I rushed to church, being thirty minutes late. My plane was about 45 minutes late (instead of ten minutes early). SLC surprised us with a snowstorm, wtih the snow making it impossible to see the mountains. My plane needed to be de-iced. The pilot then told us that the winds at SLC International Airport meant that they were using different runways and there was a line. Next, we had to pull over, a new experience for me, as our plane’s brakes had overheated and we needed to wait for them to cool. Hmmm, my thoughts were simple, “Take your time to not set the plane on fire or have no brakes landing at PDX.” I should have ordered a drink at that point, but everyone was seated for takeoff. We took off and landed without incident.

I watched the other half of Rental Family, a brilliant movie about life and the illusions we hide behind, and I did cry and laugh at the end. Highly recommended by Deborah, and I would say an excellent film. I had coffee and a cookie (dipping the cookie in the coffee). I managed to ignore the landing (there was nothing I could do about the brakes) and watched Mulan, the cartoon version. I almost made it to the end. I had four minutes left when the plane doors opened, and it was time to go.

I found my way in PDX as usual and took the strange right to the corridor that gets you out. The construction is now done in the terminal, and it looks even better. Wow! I helped some lost people who were confused about the difference between the baggage check-in walkthrough and the baggage claim. I agree it is a bit confusing. My bag appeared moments after I arrived at the baggage claim. I rolled my large new bag (now with a few scuffs) to the MAX train, scanned my phone to pay ($2.80), and boarded the light rail car. It is about a ninety-minute trip, but it is far better than the traffic and the $80+ for an Uber.

Corwin picked me up in Air VW the Gray with Hank, unhappy to be alone in the back. But he did not make a mess. I was soon home, pointed out some food that Corwin could make (he selected the bacon and left me about 1/2 cooked in the fridge; I had some for Friday’s breakfast). Then drove after the garage door wouldn’t close (I used the manual version and later fixed it using Deborah’s advice).

The service was dinner, followed by a foot-washing service (I selected my hands as an alternative), and we sang and heard many New Testament scriptures. I was too tired and distracted to enjoy it much (also, I am not much of a fan of washing services). Still, it was nice.

I left as I was getting tired. I arrived at the house, pushed and pulled on the cameras for the garage door until it worked again, and then sat and talked to Corwin. That takes me full circle.

From the start of Thursday, in Salt Lake, we had a lovely breakfast with a wonderful waiter, and he arranged for Deborah to assemble this ad hoc breakfast for a better price. It was a cold and wet day, and it seemed time to head home. The drive to the airport and the return of the car were easy (though I almost went into the wrong lane).

Thanks for reading!

Deborah’s plane was late as the pilot was missing, and they waited for a replacement. Then there was the de-icing…She made it home safe.

I am leaving for Michigan next week.

 

 

I rose a bit later, showered, and then found breakfast at the hotel, where the waiter walked me through the menu while Deborah stayed with the American Breakfast. Deborah was up early and wanted to return to FamilySearch to find more records about her family. We spent some time together and remembered not to leave the DO-NOT-DISTURB sign on. It would rain all day (making me feel like home), and we cut our plans to visit some local parks.

We collected the Hyandia from the Valet Parking and headed across Salt Lake City. Quite a few pickup trucks cut me off and did not seem to respect my choice of car. Hmmm. We arrived safely at The King’s English Bookstore and parked nearby in the street. It was raining, and water was running down the streets. Again, I felt at home in my hat and coat.

Deborah found a book on bird sounds, and I got some stickers. We enjoyed just browsing and talking to the staff, which seemed to outnumber the customers at this time. I was feeling a little off, dropped Deborah off at FamilySearch, drove by the First United Methodist Church (just to see it), and then stopped at a UPS store and bought a small box for $2 to get change.

I then returned to the hotel, collected all the trinkets and other items from the car, leaving the trash in the car in case there was something I had mistaken for trash (Deborah would check later), and carried them to the room (for later packing). I then returned to the lobby and wrote the blog. I was slowly feeling better.

Deborah told me later she met another skilled researcher at FamilySearch and was excited to find her grandfather’s name on the SS Finland passenger manifest! She was also able to find more on his citizenship papers, including the witnesses who were also family members.

Deborah took the light rail back after a few misdirections. Easy to do as SLC is still new to us. We meet in the Little American’ s lobby (our hotel). Despite the rain, we crossed to the Grand American to see what it was like (I got to use a crossing flag, both ways). It was very much like our hotel, but overdressed in antique reproductions and higher ceilings. I think I liked ours better. The restaurant looked the same as ours, with an additional ice cream parlor added.

We returned to The Little America and had sandwiches for lunch. Both were huge, and we ate half and would finish them for dinner. We then, I feeling better, spent time together, ate, and headed to a movie. We retrieved that car from the Parking Valet and later would tell them we would be checking out on Thursday (the car was waiting for us Thursday morning).

Hail Mary was playing at the Mega 12 Theater. Deborah and I both had read it, and Deborah listened to it as the read version included sounds for the Eridian used. It was an excellent telling of the story, and I only noticed a few parts that the movie passed over. The parking was in a garage, and the signs and directions were difficult, with Deborah being right about where we should have walked. We took the wrong elevator and were on the walkways, but the theater entrance, surprisingly, was on the same level. We bought our tickets, got free small glasses of water (2.5-hour movie), and, for me, a tiny popcorn. We learned to scan, and that gave us free four-hour parking with a strong warning to use the app or link to also check out of parking. I did supply Apple Pay in case I ran over (unlikely, but possible unless I forgot to check out).

We loved the movie, and the time went by fast. The Eridian and the spaceships were excellent, and everything seemed believable. Deborah observed that even knowing the story and events did not diminish the suspense. Without giving anything away. Well done.

I followed the link I was given after the movie, and while we turned the Hyundai over to the Valet Parking ($18 a day with or without valet). That seemed to work, but later I received a warning to check out, and I then followed that, and that time did check out before being charged. Hmmm.

We did some basic arranging, Deboerah shared her new findings on her family with me and others by text, and soon fell asleep on our last night in SLC.

Thanks for reading!

Aside: Jeff, back in Oregon, has finished the floor repairs and installed the new flooring. Water leaks and just wear meant it was time. Thanks, Jeff!