Daily Update, July 14, 2022

    I mostly took it easy again today. I might not have gotten Val's lunch shot right, so I made extra certain I got his midnight shot right. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it, then continued with a little more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. After that, I showed her the next several pages of _The Flower Garden_, saying a little about each picture, since it has no words. Next, I read "Tom Thumb" from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished my reading with "The Happy Gnomes," the July 14th story from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It told how the different gnomes all got together to celebrate when their prince married a wood sprite princess. Mom liked all I read to her today. {Smile}

   I did my arm resistance, walking, arm swinging, and standing arm weight training today. I did the sitting arm weight training and head exercises during lulls in City of Heroes. I made the therapists shift of slowing down the arm weight training. I'll talk to him about how much, but I got less than half the number of reps, and felt like I'd done enough, so it's definitely harder, like the therapist promised. I hope that's slow enough for now, though maybe later he'll want it slower yet. {Smile}

   I wrote yesterday's daily update after breakfast and read comics over lunch. I chatted with Ultry, my new role-playing partner, about comics well into the afternoon, on the chat server. I hopped into city of Heroes: Homecoming later and did a bit of paperwork. Then I teamed up with Perogies, and we added bowlofdro and a friend of his. We ran three of my missions on a low-level character, one from one story arc and two from a different story arc, because the second mission I had in the first arc was notoriously long, and bowlofdro wanted to catch the later short, large-group event. Perogies and bowlofdro's friend ended up leaving then to, so I soloed some more of it, because there was a lot of talking to NPCs, as well as a "hunt," where you just get a number "on the streets," which I can do by myself easily. I stopped when I realized I was again late to read to Mom. {rueful smile}

   After dinner and the exercises, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming, to finish the soloing I started before dinner, making sure the character was ready to start something fun for a team. Then I badge hunted a little on that character. At the same time, I chatted with Ultry more on the chat server. Eventually, I asked about her coming into the game, and she did. We teamed up for a few missions with some roleplaying on the side. Then she left, apologizing for having a busy day the next day. I did some paperwork, and maybe a little soloing. Then Perogies came in, and we did a couple of missions on the low-level character I'd played earlier, and a different low-level character of his. I think they worked well together. After that, he left again. I finished off the game with more paperwork and badge collecting. then I wrote much of this, and made notes for the rest. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 13, 2023

    I stayed home and took it easy. After yesterday, I thought that was reasonable. {Smile}

   I did call the vet, and they called me back. Val's insulin shots don't have to be breakfast and dinner, as long as they're 12 hours apart and after meals. I'm trying Noon and Midnight; breakfast would make me ever later to church than I already am most days. {rueful smile}

   I ate lunch and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. I started with scripture and thoughts about it, reading yesterday's entry first, then today's entry. So, we're caught up. Then I continued with a little more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. After that, I showed her the first several pages of _The Flower Garden, a collection of fine art pictures of flower gardens, flower stands, and other pictures where flowers are prominent. I said a little about each picture, since it has no words. Next, I read Sleeping Beauty from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I finished my reading for today with two stories from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. First, I read the July 12th story, "The Legend of the Dragonfly." A lonely dragon was visited daily by a fairy. One day, the fairy fell into a pond without her magic wand to save her. When she called for help, the dragon dashed out. Being at the far side of the lake, he breathed on the lake, turning the water into steam, and the fairy into an insect we now call a dragonfly. I followed that with the July 13th story, "The Sea-Urchin." A sea-urchin was washed into a tidepool at high tide. At first it enjoyed the adventure but paniced as the tidepool began to dry out. Luckily, a little boy came along, and rescued the sea-urchin with his spade, taking it back to the sea. Mom liked all I read to her today. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises real late... while base touring, but I did get all five exercises done in full. {Grin}

   I wrote yesterday's daily update in the morning. Then I caught up with the comics I like to read, since I didn't read them yesterday. I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming in the mid-afternoon, after writing, lunch, and personal chores. There, I found Kitten, who wanted to get a particular hard-to-get villain for a particular couple of badges. I went through my characters until I found one who was working on the storyarc that the villain is easiest to get in. I thought it was near the end, but it was actually near the halfway mark. The game gives confusing clues because it kind of changes to a new arc, but not really. We finished the first arc and ran much of the rest. Perogies joined us for the last few missions we did that afternoon. We ended just two missions from the end. if the second arc. The very last mission was the one we really wanted.

   After supper, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I got together with my new role-playing partner, whose username is Ulty, and we finished the role-playing scenario we've been working on. Kind of. We're both very happy with the way our characters' relationship is developing. I think this will continue to develop. Mysty came in and said hi while we were roleplaying. We chatted a little, until she left me to my role-playing. Then Kitten came in, wanting to finish the story arc we'd been working on, but I explained I needed to finish the role-playing scenario. Eventually, I did finish the roleplaying scenario, and promptly told Kitten I was ready to team after feeding Val and giving him his shot. I told Mysty, too, and invited her to bring a character or two, with Kitten's permission. She brought one, and I formally introduced them. as we got started. We ran the last two missions of that storyarc, and everyone got credit for the hard-to-get-at villain. Near the end, Chili Bear invited me to see something. Turned out he was showing off bases. I love base tours, and my friends were happy to come, so Mysty, Kitten, and I joined Chili Bear and a friend of theirs. We toured a few bases Chili Bear has built or is still building. Then I wrote a little of this and made a lot of notes to make it easy to write up the next day.

Daily Update, July 12, 2023

    Yesterday was physical therapy, so I contacted Uber. Karen picked me up, and we had a nice chat all the way over to Life Care Center. {Smile}

   At physical therapy, the receptionist told me that my health insurance wants me to take a break from physical therapy. The last day they'll cover for now is August 2. My therapist wants to get me into a regular dance class or club. He feels that's the best way to keep me active and exercising while I don't have physical therapy. I'm concerned about this. Yes, I love salsa dancing, but in any dance, I have to figure out what I can do, and what I can't do, and focus on what I can do. That's not always feasible in a class or club, where the teacher or club organizer has planned ahead of time what the group will do. There's also the problem that many seem to happen int eh evenings, after work, and I don't know about getting out then. I can't manage late mornings and afternoons much better. Still, I'm trying to keep an open mind, and see what we come up with. {smile}

   I contacted Uber, and a different, less chatty driver took me home afterwards. 

   I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after lunch. I teamed up with bowlofdro and Soothing Darkness, who ended up mainly talking with someone not on the team, though we did do a few missions. I also got a phone call from our former nurse. {Smile}

   Then I called Alan, and he took Val and me to the vet. They ran tests. Val's blood sugar is higher. They showed me how to do his shot, and told me to do it that night. They told me it was time to call Alan again, so I did. He came, but we weren't quite done. However, but waited for us, and took us home though it was dinnertime when I got home. {smile}

   Val's appointment ran so late, I got back in time to eat dinner normally with her, so I ate with Mom, but didn't read to her. I'll just have to catch up on the two dated things in the future. {Smile}

   I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming after did. I started with some soloing and paperwork. I also started roleplaying with my new roleplaying partner over the chat-server. Then my new roleplaying partner suggested we move to the game, so we did. We had a very nice roleplaying session. We parted planning to continue another night when she realized she'd better sleep. {Smile}

   Then I did some paperwork and a little soloing. I also chatted with Soothing Darkness, but they realized they'd better go to bed before we could get together. I saw a particular mission advertised that my 2nd best badge collector could get a badge for doing, so I joined the team, and got the badge for a mission. Perogies came on near the end, and we chatted while I finished my mission, and he farmed. The mission team split up not long after. Then I joined Perogies in his mission, chatting more while he farmed. Kitten came on and joined us, too. Then Perogies left. {Smile}

   Kitten wanted to join a team next, so they did. I tried to join the same team, but they finished as I was getting to them, and wanted to do a fairly high-level task force next. I was too tired for after my long day, and it was getting late anyway, so I didn't. However, our former nurse called for a quick phone call, which was nice. He knows I'm still up at that time. After that, I made notes to write this up the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 11, 2023

    The housekeeper finally came and gave the house an extra deep clean because she'd been gone so long. It was wonderful to see her again, and house is definitely better for her attentions. It was great to see her again, too. Between an emergency trip and transportation trouble when she got back, she was gone a fair while. {SMILE}

   I also got a call from our former nurse. We caught up with each other and had a nice chat in general. I do enjoy talking to him. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that, though later than I liked, because I simply lost track of time, and suddenly realized it was six - late to start, but I couldn't start earlier at that point. I started with scripture and thoughts about it, then continued with a little more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. Then I read the last several pages of _1950's Fashion in pictures_, sharing both pictures and captions with her. Mom was really into it, saying something after most pictures, often "and that is that." So I read significantly more than I meant to. Next, between the late start and the longer picture book read, I skipped over _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_ entirely. I'll get back to it, though maybe not tomorrow, since I expect to be at the vet, or hopefully coming back from the vet at the usual time. Anyway, I finished my reading for today with the July 11th story, "Good Neighbors," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Mrs. Field Mouse went out to go shopping. She warned her babies to stay in the nest, then greeted the donkey and hens on the way. When she got back, the field she'd made her home was all plowed up. The donkey in the next field assured her that her babies were safe: she'd rescued them by letting them climb onto her They were still clinging to her, safe and sound. {Smile}

   I did my walking and arm swinging exercises between reading to Mom and dinner. I didn't have time for more right then. I did my arm resistance and my standing weight training exercises after dinner. I did my head exercises during lulls in the game after my role-playing partner left. I also did a bit more over 20 minutes of salsa than usual after that, though nowhere near 25 minutes, unfortunately. I did the warm set, and the first set of less structured dance, and started the second set, but I wasn't too far into the second set of less structured salsa dancing when I got so dizzy, I simply had to sit down. I took some cany to treat unstable blood sugar, but that take too long to work to more dancing as late as I did it. {Smile}

   I read comics over lunch, and a bit after lunch as well. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I met a fellow and we started talking. We role-played a first meeting and arranged to role-play a date between our characters after my dinner. Then my new RP partner said hi, and we arranged to meet up later in the evening if the date ended early enough. I chatted with Perogies, but we were busy at different times, so we didn't team up. I soloed while we chatted, then broke for me to dash off late to read to Mom. He was ready for bed anyway. {Smile}

   After dinner and my exercises, I went bac into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I tried to find the fellow I'd talked to earlier and couldn't find him. I know I was late, though by less than when I read to Mom; I hope he didn't think I stood him up, but I'm afraid he probably does, unless he forgot or something himself. I arranged to meet up with my new RP partner in a while if he didn't show. He didn't, so we did, and ran a couple of my missions. Then they had to go to bed. I started soloing, and Mysty said hi. We talked a fair while before I asked about getting together. She was open to that, even when I said I'd have to stop early for salsa dancing. She started a task force she'd meant to do alone. I ran it with her, ducking out for my salsa sets and feeding Val, but coming back after each. That worked better than I expected. We got to the last mission, with the big fight at the end. It took two tries, and a little cash gift from me for her to buy some pets, and me using my pets, too... but we actually finished the fight, even though we weren't sure we could. We then talked before I stopped to write this to notes. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 10, 2023

    I worked on the shorter story before lunch, and a bit more after lunch as well. I've done barely half a short scene, but I'm making a bigger change than I expected, and it's becoming a rougher scene emotionally, both to read and to work with. I'm not sure how much is because I'm changing the viewpoint character, and how much is the suggestions the critiquers made... though I think someone there was changing the viewpoint character, as well as introducing a "grumpy old man" dynamic. I like the change in viewpoint and emphasis better than the change in personality. A lot of the changes are because the critiquers never worded it the way I would, if they even interpreted what was happening the same way. I hope it improves the story, but don't worry. I've saved many older versions, so if I have to go back to one of them, that should be easy. {Smile}

   I found some texts around lunch time, including one from our former nurse, promising to call tomorrow, and what turned into a series by our housekeeper, who is continuing to have transportation trouble after all, but hopes to come tomorrow. {Smile}

I had a nice phone call with Auntie Barbara after dinner. It wasn't long; just touching bases. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom, reading to her before that. First, I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued with more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. Then I read the next few pages of _1950's Fashion in pictures_, sharing both pictures and captions with her. Next, I read "The Nightingale," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_. I showed Mom the illustrations for that story as well as reading it. I finished with the July 10th story, "The Shy Ostrich," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A shy young lady ostrich hid her head in the sand when a rhino with a rough voice proposed marriage to her. With his poor eyesight, it looked like she had no head, so he ran off, saying he couldn't marry someone without a head. {Smile}

   I did my walking and arm resistance exercises after lunch, but it was really too hot for exercise, so I didn't do more right then. I did my arm swinging and my standing weight training exercises after dinner. I did my head and sitting arm exercises after I'd calmed way down in City of Heroes: Homecoming. {Smile}

   I read comics over lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after lunch. I started with a little paperwork, then tried to talk to Perogies, bowlofdro, and Soothing Darkness. bowlofdro responded first, inviting me to join him and Soothing Darkness in a public base. It turned out to be a nightclub in a spaceship, with a bar and a dance floor. I joined them, and we started to chat, first on the dance floor, then in a set of seats off to one side. Perogies joined us, first looking like a dog, and only making dog noises as roleplay. That was his mood. He changed into a humanoid dog when we moved back to the dance floor. I think he left when we were getting ready for a tour of the ship. I made it to the end of the tour of the ship before going to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner and the exercises that I did then, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I found my new roleplaying partner on a team and said hi. Turned out they were getting ready to run a story arc in character. They invited me, even though the gal I used the last two times with this roleplaying partner was too low. I found a gal who wasn't too low and joined them. They started off pretty quickly after that. They must have been waiting for me. It was a very long story arc and took most of the evening. After that, I did some paperwork and soloing. I talked to Kitten a little on the chat server, and Perogies a bit in the game, but we didn't get together. The Mysty said hi, and we accidentally got together for a mission, and a bit more talk before we said goodnight. I made notes and finished writing this up the next morning. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 9, 2023

    Today was Sunday, and I was running late, so I contacted Uber before I was quite ready, and had to dash right out; they were only 2 minutes away! That's the fastest yet, especially at our house. It's normally slow to our house, because we're in a residential area, not a more popular part of town. That's why I figured I'd contact them then finish up. {Smile}

   Because of that, I actually got to church early. I checked with Auntie Barbara before the service and sat with her during it. I had lunch with her too, though she sat down late because she was one of the servers. Then we went to Island Naturals together. They have a nice sale every second Sunday of the month, so we stocked up, though for me that was only a couple of bags of seeds. They were out of bulk dried cranberries again. After that, Auntie Barbara took me home. She had a quick visit with Mom. We sang one song together, Mom was tired, and just wouldn't get into a second. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom. I read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. After that, I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. Next were the first few pages of _1950's Fashion in pictures_. I shared both pictures and captions with her. Then, I read "Rapunzel," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_, showing Mom the illustrations for that story as well as reading it. I finished with the July 9th story, "The Enchanted Mill," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A water mill in the forest was abandoned, but people loved to picnic there, and kept leaving their trash. Taht is until a sympathetic forest fairy cast a spell that prevented people from coming, so the animals were free to enjoy it by themselves. {Smile}

   I slipped the head exercises in while role-playing. We're always typing, sending then waiting for them to red, type, and send back. One exercise at a time doesn't slow things down much if at all. {Grin}

   After Auntie Barbara left, I finished yesterday's daily update. Then after a break for personal grooming, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. There, I found Kitten, and we got together. I also started chatting with bowlofdro and Soothing Darkness. They were teaming, along with a third person. Kitten and I joined them. The leader left to get some food as we joined, so out of boredom I phoned in a mission, and got one closer to the group than I expected. I couldn't show them it, not being the leader, so I led the others to it, and we started it. The leader joined us when they got back, and we finished it together. We continued with a mission the leader had, since they were back. Then Soothing darkness left, and we did another mission. Then all three of the others left, and I did some paperwork before reading to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I spotted the person I roleplayed with the other night and said hi. They were busy, so when I mentioned eyeing a pair of high-level task forces, they said to go ahead. So, I did. When they were done, we got together, and ran a couple of missions in-character. Then we settled down for some after-mission talk and quieter time together. That's really a nice RP date, especially for a first date. After we faded to black, Kitten started talking on the chat server. They weren't up to playing, so I shared several videos instead. We'd shared videos earlier, and these were kind-of sort-of vaguely related. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 8, 2023

    Yesterday I had physical therapy, so I contacted Uber. The driver came, and greeted by name, which was nice. We chatted a bit on the way over. {Smile}

   Physical therapy went pretty well, including using the squishy thing and the new exercises. I'm improving at stamina with eh faster salsa dancing, but I can't do a whole song at that speed while concentrating on my most energetic moves. I enjoyed talking with my therapist. At the end I brought up the question of what to do when my insurance no longer covers my therapy, and he thinks I should join a dance club. He's going to ask another patient who belongs to a line dance club. That would be nice if we could stick to the moves I can do or fake. {Smile}

   I contacted Uber, and a less chatty driver took me home again. {Smile}

   I had dinner with Mom. Before that, I read to her. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. After that, I covered the last few pages of _Memories 1950's_, sharing both pictures and captions. Then, I read "Hansel and Gretel," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_, showing Mom the illustrations for that story. I finished with the July 8th story, "The Circus Clown," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It was a boy who went to the circus when it came to town. He enjoyed all the acts. The clown had asked if he was coming while the circus was setting up, though he wasn't in costume, so you didn't know he was the clown. When he spotted the boy in the audience, he tossed him his hat. {Smile}

   No exercise yesterday beyond physical therapy. That was quite enough! {Smile}

   I read comics over lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after that. I said hi to Perogies, and we started to get together. However, I ran into the leader of the late-night Hami raids, and we had a long talk. Perogies left; I really should have included him in the conversation. The raid leader - who's quitting leading - and I established easy contact. Perogies came back after, and we finished a story arc we'd started a couple of days ago. After he left, I did paperwork until it was time to read to Mom. Near the end of that, Minde Bender asked about teaming, but it was too close to time to read to Mom by then. I apologized and promised to return after dinner. {Smile}

After dinner I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming and joined Minde Bender and a friend of theirs. They got me to join them in a voice channel on the chat server, and we played a few missions. They claimed my audio was bad until I turned off the in-game music. Then it was fine according to them. bowlofdro asked if he could join me, and I checked with the others. They invited him, and we finished the story arc. Then Minde Bender, his friend, and bowlofdro all left. So, I checked my friends online. Spotting Phonso, I said hi, and learned he was getting a task force together, and still had two spaces. I joined, and the another did, so we started it soon, and ran it. He had me lead, and he and another told me go ahead and read the mission dialog, which I never have time to do on task forces, strike forces, and trials. It was wonderful to finally learn the story and see how ti fits with the missions. Folks say you can usually learn it by reading the wiki, but it's just not the same without the missions mixed in. I don't get to see how they fit together then, not really. Afterwards, we stayed to clear out the last mission, which I've never seen done so thoroughly. Then the team broke up, and I did a lot of paperwork. I meant to write this up, but somehow started researching dance clubs in town. I learned that I have a lot to figure out. Then I wrote a little and made a lot of notes so I could write this up the next day, which I did after church. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 7, 2023

    I called Melanie after breakfast. I told her about Val's appointment next week, but she's busy the day I have to take him in. So I called Alan next, and he'll be happy to take me. Just call to remind him at the time. {Smile}

   I got a text from our housekeeper. The problem she had yesterday was still getting worked on, so she couldn't come today, either. She hopes to come tomorrow. {Smile}

   I looked over the shorter story that's in late revisions and realized that if I I think of a different character as the main character, I don't have to switch characters at the end. I started revising with that in mind... so far, I haven't had to make many changes, but I didn't get to the part where I'd expect more changes yet. {Smile}

   I had dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I read scripture and thoughts about it first. I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020 next. Then, I covered the next few pages of _Memories 1950's_, sharing both pictures and captions. After that, I read "The Elves and the Shoemaker," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_, showing Mom the illustrations for that story. I finished with the July 7th story, or rather poem "Breakfast Time!" from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It was a poem about a sparrow mooching a breakfast of left over crumbs from a girl. They even got bacon rinds. {Smile}

   I did my walking, arm resistance, arm swinging, and standing arm weight training exercises after dinner. I did my head and sitting arm weight training exercises during lulls in roleplaying and the game, and after I was done playing. {Smile}

   I read comics over lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming afterwards. There, I found Kitten, who wanted to get together. Kitten spotted a team, but I was looking something up when they said. It was full by the time I got back. I switched to the character I wanted to join, and waited, watching it. I joined when I spotted that they had a spot clear.   We played a few missions before Perogies came on. I tried to point out when we had openings, but they kept filling before he responded. I left when it got close to time to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, my usual friends I team with were all gone, well, except for Mysty and a maybe one or two others who were on full teams already. The game won't let you add more when a team reaches 8. I found someone in the role-playing group I met my roleplaying partner in, and we got together. We started role-playing, and our characters clicked. I might just have another roleplaying partner. We'll see. Eventually they went off to bed. Looked around for someone else, and spotted Laine, a relatively new friend. We did 2 missions with a talk with an NPC in between, and he went off to bed. I finished with a bunch of paperwork, and working on making notes about most I hadn't written about already. I finished writing it up the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 6, 2023

    I got a call from the vet's office, and finally got to tell them that I do want to try the shots after all. I guess they didn't get the message I left or lost it somehow if they did at first. Val needs to go back as we get the shots started. {Smile}

   I finished up sharing yesterday's daily update, then started my online counselling. Bad day to do that: she couldn't run overtime, so this made our session slightly short. That said, I think we covered everything I really needed to talk about. So it was still a good session. {Smile}

   I texted housekeeper when she didn't show up and found out she's coming tomorrow due to unforeseen difficulties. {smile}

   I called The Fire Ant Guy when he hadn't shown up past the time expected. He was just running late; we were his next stop. We came, and we had a nice talk around the time I paid him. He recommends regular treatments, and I'm all for them. At first they'll be every 6 weeks, while we're getting them under control. We'll be a little less often when we've reached the maintenance stage. {Smile}

   I had dinner with Mom. I read to her before that. I started late because of the game, but I got everything covered; just tried not to spend too much time with anything. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Then I read more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. Next, I covered the next few pages of _Memories 1950's_, sharing both pictures and captions. After that, I read "Snow White," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_, showing Mom the illustrations for that story. I finished with the July 6th story, "On the Beach," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. It was a young boy's first trip out of the mountains to the seashore, which he'd wanted to do for quite a while. Mom said she liked everything. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises late - as Owl Girl and I were typing up play, and I started working more diligently on this daily update, but I did do them. They're what my therapist wants me to do the day after therapy. {Smile}

 I read comics over lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after contacting the housekeeper and The Fire Ant Guy. There, I noticed a high-level trial had one space left, and ran it on my fourth best badge collector, because the top three had the badges already. Now she does, too. After talking with The Fire Ant Guy, I teamed up with Perogies and bowlofdro. We ran a few missions. {Smile}

   Then I got invited to a strike force I normally like. Perogies left for bed, but bowlofdro and I joined it. It ran right through feeding Val, reading to Mom, and dinner, with me taking separate breaks for each, playing for a while in between. The strike force was still going after dinner, so I was able to do the last mission or two and get the full rewards... which were better than usual. That said, bowlofdro and I talked about it afterwards. We both felt it was harder than it was fun. I may try to avoid such hard versions in the future. {Smile}

   As I was beginning to wonder what to do next, Perogies came back, and asked if I had a particular type of character. I didn't, so he asked for a healer. He wanted to farm together for a while, so we did, chatting and playing until he went off to bed. Then I started talking to Owl Girl. However, I spotted a pair of high-level task forces. We agreed we'd get together after, so I joined them. Getting together got delayed when the same leader did them again; they counted towards a badge I wanted and got, starting the next badge in the series. Then I left to team with Owl Girl, despite them doing another pair. Owl girl and I chatted, role-played, and ran two missions before heading off to bed and to write this up, or at least making notes, since I didn't have time to write everything in full. {Smile}

Daily Update, July 5, 2023

    Today, I had physical therapy, so I contacted Uber. when the car got here, I had to double check, because there was a person in the bucket seat, next to the driver. Yes, this was the car, he was just helping a friend. No one was very chatty on the way over, so I just enjoyed the scenery. {Smile}

   Physical therapy went well. He introduced a foam pad to stand on for one set of exercises. that added instability which made the exercises more challenging. I introduced a few more exercises which he seemed to approve of, including one he took away the pad for. {Smile}

   I contacted Uber again for the ride home and got Cody. I was happy to see him, because I'd forgotten to tip him until the app wouldn't let me. Not that I tip him much, but even little bits help. {Smile}

   I called The Fire Ant Guy when he didn't show up. We arranged that he'd come tomorrow. {Smile}

   I had dinner with Mom. I read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I moved on to more from her niece's long family Christmas letter from 2020. Next, I read the first few pages of _Memories 1950's_, sharing both pictures and captions about music stars and movies, including a couple of hits for each star, and the words on movie posters when that was shown. A few showed other pictures instead. After that, I read "Rumpelstiltskin," from _Five-Minute Fairy Tales_, showing Mom the illustrations for that story. I finished with the July 5th story, "My Fish," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. A little boy told about sea fish, lake and river fish, and aquarium fish. Mom said she liked everything. {Smile}

   No exercise beyond physical therapy today. That was quite enough exercise for one day. {Smile}

   I read comics over lunch, and after lunch for a while, too. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I did a little paperwork, then tried talking to both Perogies and bowlofdro. Perogies answered first, and we began getting together. he'd just suggested watching a new movie, and I'd countered with suggesting we finish the first one. Then bowlofdro answered and wanted to get together with me to show me the character he's been working on. I suggested after finishing the movie with my other friend. Perogies and I got out of the game and got a video call going. We got the movie going and finished it. I'm pretty impressed. For a movie that was shoehorned into Issac Asimov's Robots world, I thought it fit well, and was quite good. When it was done, we went back to City of Heroes: Homecoming. We teamed up, and I checked with bowlofdro. He was busy, and said go ahead, so Perogies and I started a mission. bowlofdro joined us before the end, and we ran another mission together before I went to read to Mom. 

   After dinner, I came back, and was surprised to see Perogies on all three of his accounts. (Yes, he has three now, and seems satisfied with this number.) He invited me to a farm where we were able to chat a lot while getting some rewards. We talked about the movie, both what it says about robots, and how the African Americans did not feel like token African Americans. Well, a little. I hadn't worked out why they didn't feel token... but when they interacted with each other, their voices and mannerisms changed, becoming more like the voices and mannerisms I see in shows with primarily African American casts, especially when the African American characters are interacting with each other. Eventually, Perogies left for bed. I looked around and noticed Owl Girl. I joined them for several missions, with more-or-less light role-playing while playing. Then we went to an in-game bar where a lot of role-playing happens, and talked about what we'd seen, and what it might mean. Mostly Owl Gril explained things to my character, since she has a particular spin on the context of the missions. It looks to be interesting. {Smile}