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I rose early as I could not sleep and rose at 5ish. The house was cold and dark. I set the house to 72F and went to work. I put on my robe. But I was still cold; next, the coffee cup had to be warmed before I could put it in it! With the warming of liberal coffee, robe, and heat, I wrote the blog.

I miss rising early and doing the morning thing. Also, I can talk with Deborah during East Coast time while she drives to work. I love seeing a sunrise, but I stay up until 11ish or more most nights and sleep through it. Still, it was nice to be a morning person again on Thursday.

I wrote until around 10 and then published. I had lunch with Scott at 11:45 and was dressed and out by 11:30 in Air VW the Gray. I headed to McMenamins Cedar Hills to meet Scott. He arrived early and waited for me. Soon, Bob, the waiter we often get for Theology Pub, took care of us. I listened to Scott’s experience setting up end-of-life paperwork for his family. I had to do this for myself; it is an interesting topic (not depressing if you focus on doing it to prevent worrying; nothing to be emotional about). We also talked about my trip and experience with my EV.

My tuna fish sandwich and fries were good, and Scott had a burger. We will meet next week. Next, the EV took me home. I loaded the two worn business chairs, and the recycle folks took them for free. I also mailed a package to Cat in NYC. It’s another comic from a Kickstarter I follow—I get two and send one to her. While mailing it, I saw the Dungeons and Dragons stamps. The villain Acererak, from the original version and carried on even to now, was on a USA Forever stamp! He has finally reached godhood of a sort, officially: USA Forever. I got two sheets and will have to use some.

I next stopped by our local Ace Hardware and picked up furnace filters and vent covers. There are many different types, and it is always a strange experience to see so many types and try to find your perfect match. I picked the 1x16x25, my furnace size, because it was cheaper, and winter is not a time for pollen.

The covers mostly fit, and I did break one. I only had enough for half. I will get more on my next trip to Ace. The house was warmer on Friday morning. I have to remove them when it warms, or condensation will rot the floors, and mold may form (possibly making the house a total loss—it is vital to remove them!). This is another one of the Pacific Northwest things.

I also replaced the filter at the top of the furnace and put it in the correct direction. I cleared the message on the panel that the filter is new. It will count the 90 days to replace it.

I heat the meatballs and sauce I got from Costco. It is too much food, and the meatballs are well Costco-sized. I have a bowl while watching Doctor Who and wish Deborah goodnight. Later, while talking with Dondrea, I reached for the curio cabinet as the glass was leaning. The tape and other holdings failed, and the glass fell. I tried to stop it, but I was wise enough to let it fall and not arrest the fall with my hands (likely to be an ER trip); the glass broke a heavy glass shelf, and everything crashed from one shelf to another. I look at Susie’s ashes on top of the cabinet and apologize for not saving the cabinet.

I carefully gathered the glass and put the fallen items in the cabinet. I will have to work on this later. I am angry and sad. I glued a figure back together and suspected there were others I would need to rescue. The CMU glass was crushed, I can see. I will decide what to do later. I could not even look at it.

I head out. I see JR at the Wildwood Brewpub, and we have a drink and chat. I need to just unwind a bit after the crash. JR and I chatted, and soon, I was feeling better and returned home in Air VW the Gray.

The recycling and trash had to go. This included three heavy bags of trash items from M@ and my garage clean-up. The recycling was packed, too. I got that all, and it was collected on Friday. I showered, read, and glued Boris together; the chips still show.

I took pictures of the electrical stuff for the EV Charge PDX to get me an estimate for an EV charging station. From what I understand, they will get a discount from PGE for the equipment and a plan for usage. More to follow. Later, I got a request for more information. Service to the house is 150 amps.

For those who wonder about the impact on the electrical grid, charging is the same pull as a dryer —almost none. I use The Machine for clothing, and it uses a regular plug (an estimated 99 kWh a year) instead of the 468 kWh of an average American-style electric clothing dryer.

Thanks for reading.

I still wake at 4ish and fall back to sleep, and I wake after 8 when I finally rose. I let the house slide to 66F (19C) at night, and with it being freezing, 25F (-4C), the house floor was cold. I did not put the little vent covers on this year, and thus, the house was cold.

I was out of sorts and wrote slowly, having trouble finding the enthusiasm I usually have for the task. Dear reader, I enjoy the task (usually) of recalling the previous day and trying to produce 500-2000 words describing my experience for a day (often on the following morning). I want to remember every day and share it. But, on Wednesday morning, I was not enjoying it. It is a new thing, depression-like moments. Something that has appeared since the brain surgery and my wife’s, Susie, passing. I did not realize until writing this blog (on Thursday morning) that I was looking for someone all day, Susie, and the grief was sliding in and crushing me as I remembered her passing (13th of October, a Friday, 2023). It is not really depression but grief that froze my mind and actions on Wednesday.

I spent much time yesterday just talking to Deborah, which was lovely. We talked about simple things and later about hotels and Portland for Deborah’s visit in February. We talked for hours and in multiple sessions, which made the darkness fade. I was finally better by the afternoon, though tears did come a few times as grief surfaced again. I am confident that finding all the items in the garage helped trip the depression/grief. But I have recovered and will watch for it.

I made the last of the Costco pizza, which had too much basil (for me). I managed to eat a few slices and then tossed the rest. I promised myself I would make something I would like for dinner. I took a shower and soon was dressed in a T-shirt and slacks. I took Air VW the Gray to SurplusGizmo and learned that they accept donations on Saturday and that the printer is not wanted. Mike decided he could check out what I had and saw I had a speaker kit (another expensive kit I will never get to) and a flying RC shark that excited him. They took that and the speaker kit and will get some helium for the shark.

The shark thing was a gift from Linda, and I called her. I never got the helium; I never built it. She and I thought it was the perfect ending for the kit to be flown around in SurplusGizmo. I have more goodies for them that I will bring on Saturday.

I traveled to SBC Recycle, which took me a while to find again, and paid them $5 to take the printer. They have flat charges for items. I learned that they do pick-up and that they take furniture and mattresses. They will take the chairs I have for free. I will drop them off on Thursday. Glenda found this place on her last visit.

Next, while a 60% charge is reasonable for an EV with a 275-mile 100% range, I am still not used to this, and it is hard not to have range anxiety as a new EV driver. M@ has a Tesla, and their charge time is only 15 minutes at their superchargers, but I am a VW and have only lesser options that take an hour or more for a full charge. The installation of an EV station at the house has made no progress, as EV Charge PDX has not returned my call. Hmmm.

On my app, I see a fast (well, sort of) station for Electrify America at Fred Meyer (owned by Krogers now) near Nike WHQ. I did not look at the time; the kiddy-jam was in force (all the local school buses and kids hit the pavement at 3ish). I had to backtrack to avoid some of the mess and soon reached my target. I had my Apple and expected a coffee, a treat, and to do some writing or reading. It takes me a moment to park and connect as this is still new to me (and strangely, only gas is full service in Oregon- EV is all DIY). I get more walking now that I have an EV, a strange benefit, as I often park where the chargers are and then have to walk across a parking lot to someplace like a Target, Fred Meyer, or Subway. I imagine doing this in a snowstorm or worse would really suck. I talked to Deborah for part of the charging. I was surprised that the muffin shop closed at 2, that the Fred Meyer did not have a Starbucks inside, and that the Starbucks in the furthest part of the parking lot was closed for some private event. F**k. No coffee or a place to sit. Back to the EV.

I learned, I am sure they told me, that I have 500kW free with Electrify America, and the 40% charge top-off (I slipped to 59% in the travels) was forty-five minutes. Physics says that the last 20% takes as much juice as the first 80% for capacitors, and I believe that this is true to some degree for EVs. Thus, an 80% charge (like gas, you don’t want to drive around looking for a charge near zero) would likely not be 2x that time and cost. The charge cost was almost $15, but my plan covered it; it was free by a discount of the amount (thus, I know the price).

I find the EV an exciting adventure and a chance to learn and understand EV better. I never planned to do this. With the unexpected demise of the Volvo, and while I considered going carless and getting a bike, I decided that I was not ready for that physically (balance issues from the brain tumor) and emotionally (I like the freedom). The VW is cheap ($270 monthly after $4000 down) and seems a lightweight entrance to an EV.

With 100% charge, I reached home with 98% left. I was coughing again, and my nose was running. I had a small 1/2 dose of Benadryl, which helped, but it made me sleepy. I did the dishes and more laundry with The Machine, which worked perfectly on the Permanent Press setting. Dinner was sweat Italian-style sausage with fettucini pasta and sauce from a jar. I defrosted the sausage (I had frozen it) from Trader Joe’s, baked them until cooked, let them cool, sliced them into coins while still warm, and browned them in a metal frying pan (not non-stick). I then deglazed the brown bits with some wine, poured the jar sauce that I had cooked for forty minutes on low heat in the frying pan, and let that settle for fifteen minutes or more while I finished the pasta boiled in salted water. I did not add the salty water to the sauce as I was afraid it would add too much salt, as is my usual process.

I watched the Classic Doctor Who, Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, while eating dinner in a bowl in my comfy chair in the living room. It was delicious, so I had a few bowls. I nodded off, likely the food and Benadryl; I had no wine. I return to the kitchen, which looks like the remains of an exploded Italian restaurant, and do the dishes. I am in bed at about 10ish and read for a while, try a new physical book (my eyes blur a bit with text now), and enjoy The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery, a reworking of some of Agatha Christie’s version now with contemporary letters and photographs from the family. The book is an oversized paperback version. So far, it has been delightful, but I just finished the extensive introduction.

I sleep before 11. I am cold and uncomfortable and wake up often. I finally sleep until 4 and rise at 5 feeling rested. The cough was much reduced now.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

Grammarly is not working properly today, so please forgive any mistakes…There appears to be an outage. I have copied this text in…

I rose late on Tuesday, having rolled over a few times. I seem to wake up at 3AM now. Mom Wild called me at 8ish and we chatted for a while. She was lonely and wanted to just talk for a while.

I started on the blog and wrote much of the morning. I texted back and forth with Deborah. It was a relaxed morning. I meant to start some laundry but did not finish it until later. I showered, shaved, dressed, and was out of the house in Air VW the Gray with an older model HP printer in the cargo hold. I drove to the SurplusGizmos to see if they would take the printer (and ask them about other items) but discovered they are not open on Tuesdays. I was hungry and received some replies on some church items that left me disenchanted. I needed a beer and a burger and stopped at Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. I tried to find my focus, eat, and enjoy my burger. I ordered my favorite, Captain Neon Burger, a bacon blue cheeseburger with the fixing and fries. It’s not a good choice for weight loss and health, but stress and a light breakfast of just a banana and coffee made me ravenous.

I returned home, soon napped, and read some of a Kickstarter-published New Edge Swords & Sorcery Magazine issue 3. The art and the writing were excellent and focused on Fantasy, with me thinking some of the themes would make an excellent new adventure. I am always thinking about writing a new adventure for Dungeons and Dragons. Corwin stops by, grabs the ladder, and cleans the leaves from the gutters. It is still cold, and Corwin is surprised that the bottom of the gutters is frozen water. I have a church Zoom meeting at 6:30, meaning I have no plans for dinner, and Corwin and I share the smoked salmon I got from Costco. I have some chips with the salmon but am still full of burger.

Corwin is not driving food deliveries today. Tuesdays are slow days, and sunny days are poor days for food delivery. Corwin and I discuss his motor bike, and he says he has not been able to sell it. I will donate it then. He is OK with that.

Pastor Ken calls me after he reads my emails and is concerned for my disenchantment, but the beer and food worked, and I am still willing to try to make some of the church project work. We agreed to try to continue the refresh of the fireside and entrance way, but I was concerned that the report I read had asbestos in the floor in the entryway. I told Ken that I believe we should pay for past errors before refreshing, but I will address that through the regular church committees. Also, the refresh may encapsulate the problem, which is a solution often used in older buildings. My focus as vice-chair of church (lay leader with an administrative focus for those who speak Methodist) council is more important.

The meeting followed and clocked in at more than two hours. Yikes! The meeting was about process and there was a little axe-grinding that was unsuccessful. I was trying most of the time not to say anything as meetings like this will just spin and go on forever on old topics long resolved. I did object to one change, but tried not to have it spin. I respect the person who was trying to fix the issue related.

I was happy that the meeting finally closed. I was only slightly disenchanted now.

Soon, tired, disenchanted, and cold, I decided 10 was OK for a shower, PJs, and more reading of Fantasy. I enjoyed a couple of stories. I felt that Tuesday was a failure as I did so little and went soon slept. I woke at 3ish for proof of hydration, but then managed to sleep again.

Thanks for reading.

At 10AM Monday, Matt (M@) showed up at Château Wild to lead the cleaning and reshuffling and to get Air VW the Gray inside and safe from local bird artists. I started the work a few days ago for a few hours each day to get some of the junk out of the way. I also threw away lots of chargers, transformers, and cables. Like many involved in USB equipment, I had a different set of cables for every older version and matching chargers. All were now in tangled messes and just clutter. I decided if I needed one, I could always buy one. I also found the Octopus A USB cable to other (but not C) types. That will do.

I found where The Ring was for all those years; it was lost in Sauron’s Garage. That is where I found my precious. I suspect the orcs accidentally took Sauron’s ring to Goodwill, and an enterprising hobbit bought it there. The hobbits, who love a good story, later made up a more interesting version.

The goal was to eliminate the accumulation of stuff with the realization that much of it had not been used in five years (before the pandemic), meaning it was not really needed and should be tossed or taken to Goodwill. We took two loads of stuff in the EV to Goodwill (they would not take the office chairs that were peeling). Among the items were more of Susie’s clothing, which always makes me sad when we find it.

M@ commented that he, too, has many 28mm figures he has not painted (I have piles of unpainted figures in the garage), but then he remembers all the ones he has painted and played with and just smiles (and I have painted hundreds? or thousands?). I will consider painting again as I find it relaxing and enjoyable.

M@ assembled the wheeled storage shelving (the same I used for the orchids), and we put the board games on that. Matt also organized the unplayed games (some less than loved Kickstarters). We found places for stuff, and I slowly but steadily cleaned up a work desk I had put in place years ago. It is where the charger for the EV will go and was blocking access to the electrical panels. The desk was Susie’s from college, and it had become unsteady (it never was very steady), and it was time for it to go. It took me a few hours, but I found places for stuff on it and under it. Much was trashed or recycled.

We moved Corwin’s motorbike outside and put the cover over it. We must find a solution for it (he does not need it). Through the magical powers of M@, the garage found order and was once again large enough inside (unlike the Doctor’s TARDIS, the garage is smaller inside) to hold a vehicle, and Air VW the Gray now sleeps in the garage. There is also access to the power panel.

The panel was replaced some years ago when I learned that the panel was recalled and was not safe. F**k! Again, I am always impressed when you buy a house, have it inspected, and later find out it was not-to-code and that certain safety items were missing/failing. I replaced the natural gas hot water heater early, and they had to rebuild the connections, redo the exhaust, and put a safety tank on it, but as it was a fixed bid, I did not pay extra (for once). Previously, I was informed that I had to strap the one that came with the house and cover it with a blanket (I did), that the house had no ground faults (I installed them), and that the garbage disposer was directly connected to the power as was the stove (I spent $1200 fixing the stove connections). I replaced the furnace, added AC, replaced all the windows, sliders, roof (and 3/4 of the plywood underneath–again, a flat bid, and they ate that), deck, and fence, and updated or replaced much of the landscaping. I refreshed the bathrooms with the master damaged by a toilet leaking while I was in NYC with Susie as an accidental tourist for four weeks.

I will consider, in the future, an electric tankless heater in the bathrooms and something for the kitchen. The newish natural gas one was high-efficiency and lowered my gas bill, as did the new furnace, which was moderately efficient. The trees keep the house cool in the summer with their shade and also eliminate the option for solar panels on the house.

I will contact the recommended contractor, and I should get a discount for installing a charger at the house. Richard offered to do the electrical work, but I think that was covered. If not, I will likely take him up on that.

It was late, and I had received some more strange items from the church and was upset. I also spent some time just chatting with Deborah (it was her day off), and we are excited that she will be here in less than four weeks. I finally found focus again, finished the blog, published it, and decided it was time to get something to eat; it was already after 7:30.

BJ’s Brewhouse was my choice, and it was a pleasure to get Air VF the Gray out of the garage, but the garage opener is still in the old Volvo. I need to stop by Volvo anyway to update them on the status of the wreck (waiting for a title replacement). I will likely donate the wreck and the motorbike to Oregon Public Broadcasting; they will likely need money once Trump gets going and tries to sell PBS to Elon Musk–sounds like a joke, but I am not sure it is.

I sat at the bar and had some fill-in bartenders, Taylor and Chris. Taylor was busy cleaning and working. Chris sort of just made drinks and wandered (I was not impressed that he let Taylor clean). The previous bartender, who I knew, was happy to see me. I had not been back in a month or two. First, I have been traveling, and second, their food adds pounds fast! I had the chicken soba noodles and a salad. I did have a red ale that the manager, happy to see me, brought me before the bartenders even spoke to me. I saw their wide eyes, as that was an unusual occurrence. I had good service, and Taylor, already dressed for home, got me coffee and a shot of amaretto to go with my coffee.

I saw that they are back to training folks on the basics. This was on the bartender’s screen.

I took the EV home and had to get out and open the garage, but still, it was nice to park inside. Soon, I was reading in bed in my PJs after a shower. I was asleep after 11, work at midnight, three, four, five, and six, and rolled over each time. Coffee late wakes me up at night.

Thanks for reading.

The morning started with me rising with my alarm at 7:30 and trying to find my way on a Sunday. I find Sundays are often busy for me. I wrote until about 10 and published the story on Friday. I drank liberal coffee on this inaugural weekend and later charged my EV car, the first peaceful transition of power in the USA since people died on the last one. While along with the grounds, I find Hope in my cup, the bitterness reminds me of how much work liberals have yet to do.

I am running out of time this morning, as I have a visitor at 10, so this will be a bit rushed.

Moving forward, Air VW the Gray was plugged into charging near the church. In a dress shirt, blue sweater vest, Pride tie, and black shoes, I sat through church but was not listening. I was looking at the refresh area and the sanctuary and noticed a connection I need to consider in this work. Michael R gave a good sermon on the story of Joseph (of the coat of many colors) and how cities are both something we should help, but we can become involved in the interworkings of a city, and as a church, we need to remember who we serve. It was an interesting connection.

Jack and I had lunch at the local Thai place in Beaverton. It was overpriced but good. I was shocked to see that the lamb was not $39. I ordered a veggie dish (I had only a banana for breakfast, but I have been sneaking snacks at the house). It was with rice; I should have ordered bread instead. Rice turns to sugar too fast, and for a diabetic, it was a questionable choice. It is OK for an occasional food. After lunch, we got the EV, which was now charged 91% for about $3, and I dropped Jack at home.

I returned home, removed the tie and sweater, switched to a floppy sweater, and returned to cleaning the garage. M@ is coming over on Monday to help, but I wanted to finish some things. I work for a few hours. I spotted only a mouse spider (they grow huge) and thought it was the brown recluse, but no. They are not aggressive, and the smaller ones are not likely to break your skin. I will sweep the garage when we clean it up, which is the best way to get rid of them, and then spray insecticide to keep them away. I usually see a few substantial brown fuzzy mouse spiders that are freaky when three or more inches wide (including the legs). They make me jump when they run away, and you see that running in the corner of your eye. I try to chase them out of the garage instead of killing them. They are a wonder when that size.

I head to M@ for Dungeons and Dragons, 5E version (though we are reading some of the 2024-5 new version). Today is our first time playing in a month. We are now headed to the D&D version of Hell, published for Dungeons and Dragons without Dante. I don’t want to share too much as this is published, but my cleric character was hammered repeatedly. Luckily, my character has many hit points and magical armor. My character survived a pummeling, and we escaped. It was a close thing, and I had to use some of my best spells, and we ran. Tiamat, another D&D version, was about to rise as we left the area.

We had a new player, and everyone was well for our first game at the 18th level and our first time in 2025. I forgot my hat. Matt made us burgers for dinner. I was home at about 9:45 and watched some Classic Doctor Who until I headed to dress for bed. I soon showered, was in bed, and slept.

I woke at 3 and could not sleep. I got emails about church stuff and was very unhappy about it. It kept me awake for about an hour, and I finally fell back to sleep. I am not sure church committees were a good fit for me. Hmmm.

Thanks for reading.