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My tummy issues are fading on Sunday, but I am still stressed with a feeling of bloating and endless gas. Better but not great. The rash is fading but not finished. I put some of the creams on my head, and most of the icky spots have disappeared. Something I have not experienced for years. Hmmm. I also passed my TB test (now a blood test), and that means, if insurance works or I can get a discount coupon from the manufacturer, I will get the pleasure of a weekly injection, Skyrizi. Yes, one of the many things you see in ads for meds. I meet with my Dermatologist on Friday.

I did not get started early, as my church service starts at 11. I spent the morning getting a banana and writing the blog. I did all the usual things, enjoying coffee from Dondrea (thanks!), and reading too much news about the new war and being disappointed by more attacks on the US Constitution-based rights and process. I did update my Quicken numbers. I read (mostly deleting) a pile of emails.

The blog was over 1000 words and was not done until the last moment to not be late for church, but my close attention to scrubbing in the shower and the applications of various creams had me running over. I boarded Air VW the Gray and rushed to Beaverton. Well, I would have rushed if I could. Traffic was slow even on a Sunday. It was sunny, and the view of the mountains was distracting (I even took a picture), and I arrived only a few minutes late.

I ushered and thought it a good service. Ken seemed to give three sermons, and Kathy also gave us background on the events in Selma; it was a terrible list of violence. Each of Ken’s parts was good, and I thought they were well thought out. It did repeat some of the same areas from the last few weeks, but sermons often repeat things we know (Four thousand years of history are available, and there are only so many verses).

Ken’s focus, I think, was that, despite the lessons of history and our past and current struggles with Civil Rights in the USA, we must remember (and sometimes he feels he has missed it): the center is Jesus and Salvation. But never to slip into platitudes and promises of the next life, but to call out evil and failures now. Ken called us to be like the Foot Soldiers of Selma (here if you wish to help), be ready to step up.

Recently, Jo Ann Bland, whose granddaughter I met, passed away. Jo Ann Bland, until recently, covered the history of Selma for tours like mine and lived it as a Foot Soldier in the 1960s. Her granddaughter told us her grandmother’s story and Selma’s. That blog is here if you want to remember with me that day.

The church council followed the church service. Ken had an agenda, and we covered a lot of things in just about 90 minutes. To summarize, Ken sees the new awakening at our church and a good future. He feels that we need to expand our outreach, but we must be cautious because our budget requirements remain unmet. A new group has volunteered to work on funding and messaging to our congregation and friends of First United Methodist Church of Beaverton, Oregon. An impact report on our church’s impact on the community is also needed. I am heading that up as it fits a Lay Leader.

After that, eating my Thai lunch (it was catered), managed to volunteer for two things (oops).  With the meeting done, more meetings were born for later, and I headed home. I watched a few more episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I liked the season 2 stuff better than season 1.

(Yes, that is a bunny cover over the helmet)

I spoke to Deborah a few times, and we managed to connect as she went to bed. It is always good to connect at the end of her day.

I made a New York Strip with reheated couscous and a salad. It was great, and I watched the show while enjoying that. My tummy again filled with gas, but not as bad as before. I managed. I finally read more Gathering Moss and enjoyed another couple of chapters. I finally slept (painkillers and antacid being the usual fix).

Thanks for reading!

Befuddled, I think, describes my memory of Saturday. I was still not feeling well, but the extremes had been reduced. I was less bad. Or like the movie, “Situation hopeless but not desperate.”

I had a 6:30 alarm. . I had only a hint of tummy issues. With the disturbed sleep, pain, and discomfort, I was not completing anything but those things I must. It is a frustrating way to live.

I wrote the blog and found it hard to stay on task. I had no plans on Saturday, and so the deadline or other tasks did not drive me to get things done. No game this Saturday. My thinking was muddled, too. I would walk to a part of the house and not remember why I was going there, but I would then remember. Just hard to keep on task; my mind was wandering to something else. I was distracted by the illness, and my focus was gone.

Somehow, I got the blog done and remembered to put the towels in the dryer. I remembered later that I had not corrected the spelling of phlebotomist, and Grammarly did not correct it. I also had the wrong name of the Star Trek series, “Strange New Worlds.” I had slipped into Lewis and Clark with “Discover New Worlds.” Deborah pointed these out later; I don’t mind corrections. Have noted that Grammarly is not interested in spelling as much as rewriting my sentences to be simpler, mean less, or something completely different. Also, if I dismiss the suggestion, Grammarly returns it over and over; it does not remember the ‘Dismiss’ action (this sentence is one it will not love).

I boarded Air VW the Gray at about 65% charge. More than enough to do a trip to Portland and back (about 16%). I tried the local board game, Guardian Games of Aloha, and they did not have a copy of Raiders of Scythia, but there were two copies at the Portland store. Z likes this game, and Dondrea thought she would love a copy for Z’s birthday. I also had an Arduino learning set for Z, as I would support a young person learning electronics. I would have to loan a laptop to Z to use it. I have a spare Windows machine for such uses.

I enjoyed the slow Saturday afternoon traffic, which is an amazing transformation of American driving. Instead of the speeding of 10 over and higher, it is -10 or worse. In slow motion, various extra-legal moves are made to cut people off and change lanes of two or more at once. Monty Python or Mel Brooks could not design a sillier driving experience. And traffic lights give you a perfect view of the mountains, and some of us (not me) just sit there and enjoy the view. Yes, we have traffic from good weather and glare.

I make it through the 26 Highway, looking more like a slow ferry loading experience for the tunnel than a road. Highway 405 is better, and I manage to break away from the congealed traffic and reach the off-ramp to the sketchy part of industrial Portland where Guardian Games resides (always looking at the place where the Volvo enjoyed a smash-and-grab nearby). I find street parking and enter the gaming sanctuary.

I met a young woman on staff, and we talked about gaming. She is a Euro-loving woman in her twenties. She is off to play Trilight Imperum this weekend, her first game. They expect, as it will be a learning game, twelve hours of play. I give her some advice: remember to win by earning points from completing goals, not by building lovely space fleets and using them. She shows me her favorite Eurogames, many of which are math-heavy. Excellent! I will see if we can recruit her, if I meet her again, for Richard’s games and/or make a gaming appointment with her at the store. Guardian Games has a vast collection of games to play before buying. I bet Kathleen would love this (I am already ready to score at the bottom). I do get the game I was looking for.

I get that back in the EV and head to Dondrea’s house. I must drive slowly with the traffic. I enjoy the view during the slowdowns (what else can you do?), and park near Dondrea’s place. I wrap the gift. I had loaded the EV with wrapping paper and a bow. With that task, I headed to the house.

Everyone is there, including Z’s grandma Donna, and we enjoy warm coffee cake for Z’s birthday. Z wanted a low-key birthday. Z loves this game, her new favorite, an efficiency race with some randomism requiring some risk-taking. The excitement of rolling the dice in this game is a thrill.

I also explain the Arduino kit, and she likes that too. I take out the main board, bang it on the table, and drop it. Explaining this is a very stable piece of hardware. This is a new thing, and Z is excited to learn something new. I taught Z games, and she loves them. Z suspects this new adventure may be good, too. We will work on it together on one of the days and see how it goes.

I head out and return home. The tummy is full of gas again. I ignore it and cook a pork chop, salad, and couscous for dinner. I watch more Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, finish season 1, and start season 2. I binge-watched three episodes, and I laughed and cried. It was great. The show is really moving now, and the characters’ personalities are being developed. Wow! Highly recommended. It gets better as the actors and writers seem to learn the mix of old Star Trek, reinvented for the current audience.

I have some gas, but I feel better. My theory was that I was starving myself. I might be right. I did have some gas issues, but the evening settled with some painkillers and antacids. I slept well after midnight.

Thanks for reading!

I rose on Friday feeling better. But soon the pain and discomfort return, but not as badly as the day before. Progress. This meant I would go slowly and do little on Friday. Boo.

I had a banana for breakfast and no coffee (coffee, alcohol, soda, and the like are not recommended for people with tummy issues). Just sipping water with my fruit. I read the news and tried not to focus on President Chaos-Battleship trying to steal more headlines (anything not to be called before Congress to answer questions under oath on Epstein) and some disgusting videos released by the White House, AI generates having our hero of hockey swearing in Canada. The US Team had to disown that. More headline stealing and baiting the press. It seems that Trump will do anything to keep the focus off the economy, ICE, tariffs, and Epstein.

I wrote the blog while I updated Quicken and saw that everything is still caught up in the chaos that is Wall Street right now. I did read about the fantasy story about the future of AI that was impacting the markets (here for those interested and recommended), and even read some of it. Irony is deep when fiction seems more real than the statements of the US Government and Corporations. It reminds me of a SciFi book from the 2000s, The Unincorporated Man.

I finished the blog, showered, enjoyed the ritual of applying skin rash lotions, then dressed. I boarded Air VW the Gray and headed again to the lab. Yes, the remaining missed blood work. I brought my book, Captain Hornblower. Again, I found the N-word in the text, this time used by my hero. I was disappointed.

My flabotlismist asked me about the book, and we talked about old times. He was about my age and had traveled and read. He knew the book. He told me, “The world has not been the same since Nero.” He then explained that he was a vampire and that this work was perfect for him. He sported no fangs, but I did find him charming as he bled me into four tubes. Asked him if he got the “left overs,” and he just smiled knowingly. He claimed to be over 400 years old. I smiled and played along. My most unique blood work. I might have to write a SciFi horror story with a vampire working in medicine.

I stopped at Panera Bread and had a cup of chicken soup and 1/2 a chicken salad sandwich. My tummy took that well, but it was still slightly uncomfortable, but better than yesterday. I read more, and soon my mind was with Hornblower as he launched four attacks on the French, or as he calls them, the Corsican’s forces. I got a cookie to go. One of the staff members asked me about the book, and I told him it was a story set in Spain in about 1805. He had lived in Spain, and he told me he had been to the Nautical Museum there, which he said was excellent. Hmmm.

I returned home, napped for an hour, read, and watched more of Season 1 of Star Trek: Brave New Worlds, and was sorry to see that, as Season 1 ended, some of my favorite characters fell or left to take on other challenges (I cried once). I thought the last episodes were better. I would now recommend the show.

Dinner was toast with some jam. I did not want the bloating and pain to keep me up. I switched to a cookbook as a break from Hornblower. I will likely return to Hornblower soon.

I also had stripped the bed, washed the sheets, got the towels almost done. I got the dishes in order, but left the coffee unassembled, as I am not ready to drink more than a cup at most.

With the lack of comfort from eating, I have lost another five pounds, 225 pounds is the lowest I have been (now that I corrected the scale). Not a great way to lose weight, but I will take it.

I soon could sleep without too much discomfort. Dreams, now all forgotten, were about travel and trying to make something work, but the details are lost to me. I had a waking dream, and thought it would be an interesting story for the blog, but it is gone from my mind.

Thanks for reading!

My sore tummy continued to make the day difficult. At the start of the morning, it was mostly faded by sleep and some painkillers, but eating made it worse and worse. By the evening, the bloating and discomfort were quite distracting, and I just read and did small chores. I tried the pink stuff, and that did not help, but the antacids, chewables, did seem to work.   I woke on Friday, the day I am writing this, and at first there was no sign of it, but the pain returned, and I had another antacid chewable.

I woke from forgotten dreams, tired and found my tummy hurt less, and that was a blessing, at first. I also got a text that Scott W was under the weather, so we would not meet for our usual weekly meeting. I texted Brad to let him know we were off. He joined us once and may continue to meet with us.

The discomfort soon reached a familiar level, and I wrote the blog with this slight distraction. It was not long, one of the few times under 500 words, but it was a day of mostly reading and trying to get better by not eating anything that would make it worse, but, alas, it seems anything makes it worse.

With the blog published and me running late, I slept in and then did not do very much of anything but surf the web and read depressing news reports. No coffee, as that and alcohol were not good for a sore tummy. Friends suggested that this might be the flu, but I do not have any respiratory issues. More like food poisoning or an allergy issue. I vote for the side effects of pills and creams used to fight my skin rash. Two of the creams have a long list of side effects, including flu-like symptoms.

On the skin rash side, things are finally improving. I spoke with the Dermatologist’s office and need to return for a test that was missed during my Monday visit. They briefed me again on how to use the meds, and the compounding pharmacy sent me a full tube of the same stuff I was using from samples ($35, as insurance refused to cover it). Sadly, I have lots of refills, suggesting this improvement will take some time to completely remove the rash. Also, the preferred treatment is injections (DIY infections), but that requires the aforementioned missed test.

On the lab results, my cholesterol is low (all types), which is vastly better than high. The rest were good or good enough. My doc sent me an OK after reviewing them, as did the Dermatologist.

I am feeling guilty that I am not getting more done. I took a shower late and then applied all the creams in the proper ritual. I should sing a chant while doing this. Corwin stopped by, found my unfinished bagel with cream cheese and salmon, and, when I was dressed, suggested he try a croissant too. We settled up for the cleaning he did last week. He both headed out as I was off to get some soup for lunch and do something.

Elephants Delicatessen was my stop, having decided on their “The Cure soup,” a version of chicken soup. It came with a piece of bread, and it was an excellent late lunch. I read the newest Analog SciFi Magazine introduction. I learned that Analog and some related zines were now under a startup company, but unlike CBS or the late and mostly zombie Washington Post, the editorial staff was retained, and the format will remain. The editor who wrote the piece did say there will be change, but most of these will be gradual and improve the reader’s experience.

I am letting my subscription lapse, not because of the changes, but because I cannot find the focus and time to read Analog. But it is excellent, inexpensive, and I recommend it. It is also small and great for travel. I was happy to at least read something from the newest issue.

With soup in me, and my tummy not happy about even chicken soup, I head to the comic book store. I review what is on the ‘back wall’ of the recent issues. I do not know the economics of these sales, but I suspect that unsold comics are destroyed and not paid for. I cannot imagine they are returned. I picked out three: Our Billiant Ruin: Horror at Crane Mansion (number 1), The Last Day of H.P. Lovecraft (number 3), Disney Villains: Maleficent (number 5). Published by Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, respectively. I talked to the staff for a bit and learned that Boom! and Dynamite were small publishers.

I read them later. The Disney one was interesting as it involves the villain against other creatures (a new story). The Lovecraft one art was a melted, horror-filled dream world. It seems more a pastiche than a comic, with a long text spread over two pages (an invented text, I think, as it does not have endless sentences). The story seems to be that there are two Lovecrafts: the man who dies after a failed, mostly uninteresting life, and the author and his material that will live on, spawning more and more writing. Ruin reminds me of some Doctor Who comics and, while interesting, won’t have me waiting for the next issue.

I returned home, and my tummy was unhappy. Sleepy time tea helped. I drove to Walgreens and got a bottle of the pink stuff and chewable antacids. Dinner was eight crackers. I read more Hornblower. Painkillers and antacids helped the most, and I was finally able to sleep around midnight. I read when I could not sleep.

Looking out my window, the trees still have bare limbs, but the robins and tiny birds fill my backyard. The small birds fly just over the robins, who ignore them as if they cannot even acknowledge such a rude display. I saw a huge white heron fly by (likely headed to a watered area to collect its fill of frogs). So far, no eagles or hawks have appeared for me; I heard many last year. I miss my jays and ducks, but changes in temperature have driven them to higher elevations and farther north. Our hummingbirds are still around, and I see them usually every day. The roses are cut back, and so they have less to search for the little bugs they enjoy. I do not spray the roses because the hummingbirds enjoy the insects, and I usually have strong, plentiful canes. I would rather feed the locals than have a perfect bloom.

I dream that I am traveling and I have trouble getting my luggage off trains and making my connections. I finally make a connection. Next, I am at a catered party with many work friends for a conference, and I keep spilling my food and making a mess. I just cannot get it together. I wake and manage to fall asleep. I rise after the sunrise.

Thanks for reading!

This will be a short blog as I was not feeling that well yesterday and spent most of the day reading in bed. It seems to be side effects from the anti-rash creams and meds. My tummy is sore, and I finally switched to liquids. Not much happened on Wednesday.

I rose after 7, and it was already bright out. The rains have stopped, and the big puddle in the back corner started to drain away. My tummy hurt, but I had no coffee or breakfast as I had a fasting blood test. I did drink some water, and it didn’t go well. I was uncomfortable.

I wrote the blog; it was hard going with the tummy issues and no coffee. I managed to finish by 10ish. I then showered and applied all the creams following directions with care. I then took my book, Captain Hornblower (a combination of three books written in the late 1930s), with me to the lab near my usual doc. I waited there for about an hour. Drop-ins get served last. I finally got my turn, and soon that was done.

La Provence is in the same area, and I went there for brunch and had coffee, water, and potato pancakes with poached eggs and bacon. This comes with an excellent croissant. It was a delicious meal after twelve hours without food, and my bartender, a young woman with braces and tattoos, helped me pick it out.

I read more in my book and could hear the water and smell the cannon fire, but I was surprised to see the N-word used by a side character, and my hero ignored it. It saddened me. I kept reading, and that did not happen again. The author was using it as an example of slang speech. My tummy was unhappy with me.

I went home and spent most of the afternoon reading in bed and suffering from tummy issues. Mariah sent a note to meet me at BJs, and I agreed. I took Air VW the Gray and was soon at a table drinking ginger ale with my usual waiter, Eric, whom I missed the last few times. Mariah joined, and we chatted while she had ribs and I had soup. I was distracted by tummy issues and she by work issues, but still it was a nice time.

I returned home and read more. I did the dishes and then read in bed for the rest of the night. I finally got sleepy around midnight as I finished the first of the three novels in the one book, Beat to Quarters. I took some painkillers as my legs and joints hurt and that helped and soon I was sleeping.

Thanks for reading.