kellogg bloggin'

Three Beautiful Things 12/25/11: Quiet, Dinner, Kids on Skype

2011-12-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

1. Christmas Day is very low key around this household. I enjoyed the quiet morning, doing a little writing, keeping an eye on basketball games, drinking some coffee, making some bacon and eggs for everyone, and gabbing.

2. I fulfilled my charge to cook Christmas Day dinner: beef roast rubbed with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme, roasted in the Dutch oven in a puddle of Firestone Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout with Brussel sprouts, onions, baby Yukon potatoes, and mushrooms. The Deke made the gravy. It all came out just right: everyone was satisfied.

3. We didn't have any children around for Christmas, but thanks to Skype we got to peer through a virtual window and see how Jack, Olivia, and David were doing on Christmas Day. That livened up things a bit here during old people's Christmas Day!

Three Beautiful Things 12/24/11: Saturday Breakfast, Market of Choice, St. Mary's Worship

2011-12-25T08:55:00.000-08:00

1. Everything worked great. The kitchen staff worked well together getting eggs cracked and scrambled and cooked, vegetables ready, fruit bowls prepared, bacon, sausage, ham, and potatoes heated up, bread toasted and buttered, oatmeal, grits, mashed potatoes, and gravy fixed, orange juice ready, and everything else. The dining room crew got all the tables set up and the food stations in place. Hungry men and women were lined up down the stairs and out the door and we fed nearly two hundred fifty people of all ages and mental and physical conditions a full breakfast again this Saturday.

2. The atmosphere at Market of Choice crackled with good cheer at the butcher counter, the produce area, up and down the food aisles, and at the checkout stands. It made shopping for Christmas dinner even more fun.

3. Amy approached me a while back with questions about St. Mary's Episcopal Church and decided that Christmas Eve would be a fitting evening to visit and worship. We met at the 9:00 service. It was dignified and full of beauty. Afterward, Amy and stood on the 13th Avenue porch of St. Mary's and enjoyed a long talk together about the church and worship and a complex of other related things. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the eve of Christmas Day. I then returned to the inside of the church for the Solemn High Eucharist at 11 and enjoyed reading the Old Testament lesson, Isaiah 9:2-7.

Three Beautiful Things 12/23/11: Writing, Sorting, Eating

2011-12-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

1. I felt good to sit down to the task of writing out my impressions and thoughts about the interment of Mike and June.

2. It also felt good to sit down and go through my photographs from Armitage Park, to do some minor editing and put some of them up for people to see.

3. It really felt good to go to the Pendleton's house and enjoy a scrumptious steak dinner with salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, mushrooms, and cookies for dessert.

Putting Mike and June to Rest

2011-12-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, December 21st, I arrived back in Eugene around 6:45 to be with the Deke on her birthday. I walked into the Trox's house and there, around the Trox's oval dining table, sat the Deke, knitting, Samantha, also knitting, Marla (Mrs. Troxstar), and Allison, the third knitter, the oldest Troxlet, as well as Emily, the youngest. Evan, the middle Troxlet, came to the table later.

Randy had briefly disappeared into the garage to his kegerator to pour me a pint from the keg of Bayern Pilsener he had purchased, with Emily Sauter's help, that morning.

Randy handed me my beer, took his place at the table, and the conversations, wise cracks, story telling, and knitting instruction continued and we waited and waited and waited for the pizza to arrive.

As we talked, laughed, and entertained each other with our scintillating wit, I wondered to myself if one day Samantha or Allison or Evan or Emily might be sitting at another table at another house and if they might remember back to when they sat at the Trox table or the table at our house and, looking back, say to each other: "You know, Randy and Marla and Bill and the Deke were kind of weird, but they sure taught us a lot about friendship and loyalty and generosity and enjoying friends."

This thought went through my mind because just a few hours earlier I'd been sitting at the Turner family dining table with Terry and Nancy and Sharann and Sarah and Jackie. We had just returned from the Willamette National Cemetery.

At the cemetery, the six of us stood in a crescent near the hole that had been dug for the interment of Mike and June's ashes. After being escorted to the burial spot, J. T., the guy in charge, handed Terry his parents' remains and Terry kneeled and reverently placed Mike and June in one another's company again, to rest in peace.

We waited silently while the hole was filled and then J. T. assured us that he and the two guys were leaving and that we would now have some time to ourselves to do whatever we wanted to pay our respects to Mike and June.

And we did.

We paid our respects to Mike and June as parents who made due with whatever money they had, who could be depended on to support and provide for their children, and who were honest and straightforward.

We paid our respects to Mike and June for all they did in their friendships with people up and down the Silver Valley to teach us how to be good friends, to be loyal, to be generous, and, above all, to enjoy people: to gab, laugh, drink, tell stories, and, if you go to Winchell's to buy a dozen doughnuts or walk into a small town bar while out fishing, when you leave that place the strangers you shot the shit with think you'd been best friends forever.

We paid our respects to Mike and June's balancing act. Mike was the king of bullshit. June was the queen of strength. Mike had harebrained ideas: he wanted to buy a bowling alley in Colville or take over the Osburn Club or find some other way to be an entrepreneur. June held down the fort and managed to keep Mike from leaving his work as the best damn Bogey bread truck driver ever, to keep things anchored and steady, to help guide her Nampa born daughter-in-law, Nancy, through the boisterous ways of the Silver Valley. June was the queen of strength.

Once back to Terry and Nancy's house, we sat down to a meal of chicken soup and skillet cornbread, each got a drink, and continued to talk about Mike and June and the Silver Valley, hooking back to conversations begun in the car and moving on to new threads.

I felt like a salmon, swimming back to the pools of where I'm from.

While the main channel of our dining table conversation was the river of Mike and June, we also darted up many tributaries. These tributaries were the names of the families: the Rinaldis, Yerglers, Tusons, Biottis, Costas, Haddocks, not to mention the names of individuals like Troy Turley, Roger Lyons, Karen Ladd, Tommy Brainard, and many others; each name for me was a new set of memories, each could have been a new set of stories, and each memory and each story, whether told or untold, whether about the Sunshine Mine fire, the Bunker Hill Zinc Plant, the Happy Landing, Dick and Floyd's, the B & M Cafe, Lincoln School, or the lights at Teeter's Field, all took me back to places where I learned and the people who taught me how to be a friend, how to enjoy people, how to (hopefully) be a person others can trust.

After couple of the Troxstar's pilseners, a few slices of pizza, and huge slice of marionberry pie, I had to get home.

It had been a full day and I needed to take my mind full of memories, my heart full of love, and my belly full of good food and drink to bed, happy with all I learned from Mike and June and from all those people in Kellogg about how to enjoy friends, happy that I'd enjoyed a day rich with friends, and hopeful that this enjoyment will carry forward, not only in the brief span of my life, but well beyond.

Mike and June: the enjoyment you taught us carried on well beyond your time together in this world.

I'm grateful.

Three Beautiful Things 12/22/11: Pictures at Armitage Park, North Bank Forum, Hockley Salon

2011-12-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

1. The crisp, blue late morning and early afternoon made for a perfect picture taking outing to Lane County's Armitage Park. I'll post some of my pictures later.

2. Skye and Melanie and I had batted around the idea of getting together some time for a beer or two, and today it happened. We met at the North Bank. Time flew by. For starters, I really enjoyed having a couple of those memory drenched Rubinators (ah, mmm, Edgefield), two pints of Ruby Ale mixed with Terminator Stout. Our conversations about family, photography, smoking cigs, politics, boxing, school, religion, and a host of other things was scintillating and I was sorry that I had a pending engagement that broke up our time together.

3. The Hockleys invited the Adult Education Committee to their home for a dinner to honor Carolyn Gate's years of service on the committee and her work as our committee chair. The dinner was superb: chicken, green beans, roasted root vegetables, salad, bread, wine, apple crisp, and tea. Even better was our far-ranging conversations about everything from hip replacements to movies to the world of education to driving in New Zealand.

I don't know if you've noticed, but this makes four great around the table conversations in the last two days. It's invigorating.

Three Beautiful Things 12/21/11: The Interment, The Turner Table, The Troxstar Table

2011-12-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

1. The ashes of Mike and June Turner were interred this afternoon shortly after 2:30 p.m. at the Williamette National Cemetery. Nancy, Sharann, Sarah, Jackie, and I watched as Terry placed his mom and dad's ashes in their respective containers in the ground, watched as the guys working there covered them up, and then we spent about fifteen minutes talking about what Mike and June meant to us and told some stories. It was a perfect way to bring Mike and June back together again, with silence, reverence, tears, and laughter. I think we all agreed that before the phrase, "keeping it real" existed, Mike and June always kept it real. We all loved that with Mike and June, what you saw was what you got.

2. Terry, Nancy, Sharann, Sarah, Jackie, and I sat down around Terry and Nancy's dining table. Nancy and Terry didn't know that they would keep my soup a day string alive, but they did! We ate delicious chicken soup and skillet cornbread. I enjoyed a beer and a splash of fine brandy distilled in Portland and we continued our conversations about Mike and June and their history and talked and talked about life in the Silver Valley. I was divided. I wanted to be back in Eugene for the Deke's birthday, but I didn't want this time at the table to end. I left, though, warmed by all the great stories about Mike and June and all the digging back into Kellogg/Smelterville/Wallace life.

3. Back in Eugene, I drove straight to the Troxstar's house and once again I sat down with family and friends around a dining table and whole new set of stories and conversation. The Troxstar served me a couple of refreshing pints from his new keg of Bayern Pilsener, from the only German microbrewery in the Rockies for over 20 years, located in Missoula. Pizza arrived. We had a marionberry birthday pie from Sweet Life. I left full of beer and food and exhausted from such a full day.

Three Beautiful Things 12/20/11: Won Ton Soup, Photo Sites, Gravy

2011-12-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

1. I kept my string of soup days alive. Today I devoured a hearty bowl of Won Ton soup at Yi Shen.

2. I took pictures for a short while at two locations I've had my eye on for a while. The first was the back of the parts store to the north of Yi Shen. The second was a section of railroad track with weeds growing out of the track bed that crosses McKinley across from the Market of Choice warehouse. Here are two of the pictures:

3. The accomplishment I was most proud of tonight, having roasted potatoes, onions, and mushrooms to go with the sirloin steaks I fried, was the gravy I made. I might be getting the hang of making gravy.

Post #2000: Remembering Mike and June

2011-12-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

I started this blog back on October 1, 2006.

I began with a post telling how Kellogg is my Paris and, earlier today, I published my 1999th post by telling about three beautiful things that occurred yesterday.

For a while now, my blog has been almost exclusively a Three Beautiful Things blog, one of many in the world of blogging.

I never intended my blog to go in such an exclusive direction, but I wanted to keep this blog going on a nearly daily basis (my success has been spotty) and for reasons I can't really explain, I ran out of steam writing the kinds of short essays I wrote for quite a while here at kellogg bloggin'. The 3BTs have kept me going.

For this 2000th post, though, I'm going to return to the kind of writing I used to do and enjoy the most.

Tomorrow morning, I'm driving up to Gladstone, OR to meet with Terry Turner and his family. They've invited me to accompany them to Willamette National Cemetery for the burial of Terry's Mom and Dad, Mike and June Turner. Mike died in August of 1998 and June died a little over a month ago.

First, a confession: I have never stopped feeling bad for twice damaging property of Mike's and June's. The first was was in the Turner living room in Smelterville when Terry and Scott and I wanted to see if we could touch our elbows to the ceiling.

I got too excited about this, and unlike Scott and Terry who lightly touched the ceiling with their elbows, I put a dent in the soft ceiling tile with mine. Terry's explanation to Mike and June that he hit the ceiling with a ski didn't work.
I got too excited another time. It was in the Turner camper. Terry was driving some of us to the St. Rita's playground to play touch football and for some unknown reason, I started pounding on the glass between the camper and the driver's cab.

Scott probably remembers the stupid reason I had for wanting Terry's attention. I thought I was being hilarious and in my high pitch of excitement I broke the glass.

I'll always feel bad for having done both things, and no matter how often I'm told the damages were minor and that I need to forget this stuff, I don't.

I still feel bad.

I probably still feel bad because Mike and June Turner were so good, not only to me, but to my parents and to Terry's friends.

Dad and Mike bowled together. I think I remember June keeping score. They drank at Dick and Floyd's together. June was often there, too. When I think of Mike and June and my dad, I think of all the stuff I love about being from Kellogg: bullshit, Mike and Dad giving each other and everyone around them shit, laughing, arguing, making expert commentary on every sport.

It's what I learned it meant to be good friends.

To this day, it's what happens between me and my best friends: we drink, bullshit, give each other shit, laugh, hash things out, and act like experts on sports whether we know anything or not.

Now, here it is, December 20th, Christmastime, and I'm thinking about Mike and June Turner.

They were what Christmas was all about for me, growing up in Kellogg. Every Christmas morning, Mike and June went visiting and they always came to our house. Dad loved having people come over on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and he had always bought an ample supply of beer and booze and was ready to mix a Tom and Jerry on the spot.

"Merry Christmas, you fat son of bitch!"

Ahh. I knew it was really Christmas.

Mike had arrived.

Roar of laughter.

"Merry Christmas, and get your sad skinny ass in here."

Hearty handshakes.

A kiss for June.

Then Dad always performed his rabbit out of a hat trick and had drinks in their hands in a split second.

If Terry was along, Dad always said the same thing, "Well, Jesus Christ. MARY! We got any milk? Ah, shit, kid, just go hang on the refrigerator door. Jesus Christ, Mike, don't you feed that kid?"

"Hell, no, I don't feed him! I send him over here."

"That's for goddamned sure. MARY! Get out the turkey! Make the kid a sandwich. He hasn't eaten for fifteen minutes!"

More laughter.

And the bullshit continued.

Underneath the bullshit was loyalty and trust.

Mike and June trusted my mom and dad and my mom and dad trusted them with the care of their boys.

Mike and June and Terry invited me on NCAA men's basketball trips to Seattle and Los Angeles and when they went away on trips when Terry couldn't go, Terry stayed at our house.

Underneath the bullshit was generosity and care, too.

Mike and June were generous with their home. There were nights, as my friends and I got a little older, when Mike and June provided a safe port when there'd been too much drinking or let a bunch of us take over the kitchen and dining area and do our drinking under their roof and we had a place to sleep it off.

If I'd known better, I guess I would have seen it all when I was eight years old. Mike was the coach of one of the Farm League baseball teams. I'll say it was the Elks team, but I don't really know.

Mike's job was delivering bread. He delivered Bogey's (or was it Bogie's) bread. Before a game with the Elks team, we players on other teams would trickle to the game, some on bikes, others in their family's car.

The field we played on was on the old airport and it was largely undeveloped. The road leading to the ballfield wasn't even paved.

So while the Elks team's opponents arrived, I remember parents wondering where out opponents were.

Then, off to the east, a cloud of dust moved toward the field. Inside the dust was Mike's Bogey Bread truck. He pulled it up near the field, opened the back, and out filed his team, having come to play ball in the company of hamburger buns and loafs of sliced bread.

It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

With Mike, there was a lot of bullshit, but underneath it was generosity, loyalty, trust, and trustworthiness.

With June, there wasn't so much bullshit. She was alive with generosity, loyalty, trust, and trustworthiness.

Tomorrow, they'll be put to rest.

Three Beautiful Things 12/19/11: Soup, Physical Shopping, Diane Chambers at Sixteen Tons

2011-12-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

1. I've been warming myself with daily soup and today enjoyed a bowl of beef short rib soup at the Korea House.

2. I decided to do my gift buying for my sisters and their husbands in Eugene and had got in some good walking, going downtown and to the University area. I liked perusing, taking things off the shelf. I liked handling the gifts I bought. I liked going from store to store. The walking was good. So was the soup. Virtual shopping can be good, but I liked getting physical today.

3. The Troxstar and I met for a couple honest pints at Sixteen Tons. The witty and lovely and charming Diane Chambers, played by Emily, kept us entertained with her intellectual prowess (her recitation of Marvell's "The Garden" was very impressive), jazz music, and her innocent lack of street smarts. The highlight of tonight's visit, however, was the superb black and tan Diane made for me with Guiness Extra Stout and Hop Valley Golden Road.

Picture Gallery

2011-12-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures I've taken over the last week. If you'd like to see more, go here and click around.

Three Beautiful Things 12/18/11: Shoes, Isaiah 9:2-7, Tasty Ales

2011-12-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

1. I am really bad about buying myself new shoes (or new anything to wear). The everyday shoes I've been wearing for the last couple of years are a wreck: the soles are coming apart from the shoe, the surface is peeling -- in short, they look awful. The Deke delivered me from my bad shoe state today and bought me a pair of black shoes. I never would have bought them for myself. They are too good. I'm grateful to have such a solid pair of shoes.

2. I enjoyed reading Isaiah 9:2-7 at this evening's Service of Lessons and Carols at St. Mary's. The most memorable part of this passage (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace) is sung in Handel's The Messiah and it's fun to read these words aloud and try to give them a life of their own, unique from the way they are sung in The Messiah.

3. The Deke met the Troxstar (who read like a Troxstar from Micah at the Service of Lessons and Carols) and me at Sixteen Tons after the service and we had a great time gabbing, entertaining each other, laughing, and, when appropriate, sharing some somber moments. Sixteen Tons was pretty quiet, the beer was really good, and we drank exactly the right amount before returning home to continue our evening. I enjoyed half pints of Dogfish Head Namaste, a scrumptious, refreshing Belgian-style White made with dried organic orange slices, fresh cut lemongrass and a bit of coriander, of Flat Tail De La Rose, and, also from Flat Tail, and fermented in the same barrels with the same trappist sake yeast blend as the De La Rose and re-fermented with baked green apples and cinnamon bark, a half pint of Mama Duncan Apple Beer, a most refreshing topper.

Three Beautiful Things 12/17/11: Beef Curry Soup, Photo Strolls, Yi Shen and Sixteen Tons

2011-12-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

1. Not only did I enjoy the Beef Curry soup at Maple Garden, but I was tickled when the woman working the cash register commented on my Nikon camera, told me about her own, and happily answered my questions about the kinds of pictures she likes to take.

2. I had a fun day taking pictures. Here are two of my favorites. The first is from the neighborhood west of the University; the second at 5th and High while waiting for a train to finish going by.

3. On good soup deserved another. After taking pictures in the cold fog of Eugene, Russell and I went to Yi Shen and my body and spirit were warmed by the combo noodle soup. (While I was savoring this soup, the Deke called and we decided to meet at Sixteen Tons where my body and spirit were further warmed by a pint of Hale's Supergoose IPA and some half pints of Flat Tail De La Rose. I'm really enjoying the De La Rose. I don't have words for why I enjoy this unusual beer so much. Here's how the brewer describes it:

This 100% oak barrel fermented and aged blonde ale is
spiced with a unique blend of rose hips, birch bark, and
coriander. Fermented 3/4's with a trappist ale yeast, and the
remainder with an authentic Sake yeast Aromas of
rosewater, clove, and subtle mintyness precede a pallet of
delicate pilsner malt and spicy yeast character.

Three Beautiful Things 12/16/11: Millrace Again, Fun Beers, Chicken Dinner

2011-12-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

1. I went back to the Millrace to take pictures (and look for my eyeglasses -- a lost cause). The environment was foggy and gray and the water was black and gray. I enjoyed, as best I could, setting the colors along the shore against the dark backdrop of the water.

2. I tried two new beers today. First, at Sixteen Tons, a half pint of Gilgamesh's Chocolate Mint Stout, a pleasant beer, but not one I'd eagerly return to, but would gladly accept if offered to me. After grocery shopping, I tried a half pint of Deschutes The Stoic at the Supreme Bean. A half pint was all I would want. It's a strong ale and full of more different flavors than I can describe. For me, it was kind of like bleu cheese: I love bleu cheese, but I'd never sit and eat a bunch of it at one sitting. Same with The Stoic: interesting, unique, flavorful, strong, and something I would only drink in small doses.

3. I thought I fixed a pretty good dinner tonight: I baked five chicken drumsticks and, in the meantime, I fried sweet onion and mushrooms, combined last night's leftover basmati rice and make a salad that the Deke dressed. Add a baguette and it was a good meal.

Three Beautiful Things 12/15/11: Rest, Abstract Photos, Medicinal Squash

2011-12-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

1. I stayed home to rest my sore throat and runny nose and cough. Yes, I wanted to get back out and take more pictures, but I didn't. I rested.

2. Back on Monday and Tuesday, I took my favorite kind of photograph. Today I posted them on both Facebook and at Flickr. I love water surfaces and the way things not only reflect on the surface, but the way breezes, ice, and light affect the surface and what's reflected. My favorite style of art is abstract, and these surfaces make abstract pictures available in fun and, I think, beautiful ways:

3. The Deke took over the kitchen tonight and made the finest acorn squash stuffed with rice and spaghetti sauce. It was not only tasty, but medicinal.

Three Beautiful Things 12/14/11: Coffee, Dreams, Jazz

2011-12-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

1. MB, JH, MM, and I had a spirited conversation over coffee today. I think more than anything, we would like to enjoy our discipline with our fellow instructors by spending more time discussing poem, stories, novels, plays, essays, movies, etc. In every department I've worked in, most of my conversation, in meetings, with other faculty has been focused on the business of how the college operates. Or on how the state is lowering the boom about something. I'd like to spend some time discussing Jane Austen. Or Shakespeare. Or a poem. I could be a stimulating way to spend professional time together.

2. The Deke and I dreamed today at 16 Tons. We'll see what dreams come true. For the record, I enjoyed a pint of tasty Heater Allen Coastal Common and then I was entranced by Flat Tail's De La Rose and enjoyed three half pints of it.

3. I had fun listening to Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, and Chase on YouTube, all inspired, somehow, by hearing Diana Krall sing "Popsicle Toes" on XM Radio.

Assorted Beautiful Things 12/7-13/11: Conferences, Roast Beef, Like Eating in Kellogg, Sixteen Tons a Blessing, Water Photos

2011-12-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

1. Conferences continued with WR 121 students and they continued to be gratifying. Improvement in writing is an erratic and slow process. It's unpredictable. I wouldn't go so far as to say I find it miraculous as students grow in their writing, but I do find an element of wonder in it -- especially because for most of my students, school simply cannot be their first concern and they can't give their best energy to the work I require. Their school experience is so different than mine was. Mine was much easier.

2. The highlight of my cooking week? A beef roast that marinated in olive oil, Montreal seasoning, garlic, and thyme for a couple of days and that I cooked in Firestone Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout with potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and, the clincher, the height of good tasting food, Brussel sprouts. The Deke made stupendous gravy and two of us groaned with pleasure as we ate this pink beef, the tender sprouts, the potatoes, mushrooms and onions swimming in the rich, thick gravy. Neither one of us could believe our good fortune that we were capable of cooking such good food. Bonus: it might have been even better the next day when enjoyed as leftovers!

3. Ye Olde Pancake House has become my go to place for experiencing something sort of approximating eating breakfast at Sam's or the Silver Spoon in Kellogg. It's not cool. The food is good. It's busy. The faces of the customers remind me of home.

4. Hmmmm....could going to Sixteen Tons to talk be among the best things that's happened to me and the Deke over the last fourteen years? I love their beer. The Deke loves their wine. We go when it's quiet. We wind down, talk about the day. We dream stuff up. We went there to recover from losing Snug. We chat with Emily. Jesse and I talk up NBA stuff. Sometimes we have a drink with the Troxstar. Whenever I get a text from the Deke suggesting we meet at 16 Tons, it makes me very happy.

5. On these clear sunshiny and even icy days I've been drawn to water surfaces, the Delta Ponds, the Willamette River, the Millrace, to take pictures of the water surfaces, especially as they reflect the colors and shapes of what's on the shore. I'll be posting albums soon.

Three Beautiful Things 12/06/11: Improvement Continues, IPA!, Hot Drumettes

2011-12-07T07:45:00.001-08:00

1. As my individual conferences with my writing students continue, I'm heartened by seeing admirable improvement in many of my students' writing. I enjoy being able to tell these students in person what they are doing that's better and seeing them beam, if only a little bit.

2. I called the Deke to see if she could meet at Sixteen Tons for an hour of wine and ale and she could and the joint was really quiet and we relaxed and I enjoyed two pints of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, the first IPA I've drunk in many many months. I enjoyed them. The IPA was a nice change of pace and possibly IPA will return on occasion to my personal tap rotation.

3. I fried those floured drumettes carefully, attentively in canola oil and some butter. I made them crispy and then slowly cooked them through and combined butter and Frank's hot sauce in a saucepan and coated the chicken and Samantha and the Deke were blown away by how good these Buffalo drumettes were. I liked them, too.

Three Beautiful Things 12/05/11: Shooting the Breeze, Clooney and Odyssey, Pleasing the Deke

2011-12-06T07:10:00.001-08:00

1. Several of my conferences with WR 121 students went beyond discussing writing to shooting the breeze and I learned a lot about mutual acquaintances, the new Wild Duck establishment, and what students learn in various courses about writing -- some good stuff, some stuff that was worthy of my inward cringing.

2. I had never seen "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and since it's loosely based on The Odyssey, I made it available as an optional hour and a half or so of fun for my World Lit. students. Three showed up! No problem. I loved watching the movie and especially enjoyed George Clooney, whom I enjoy more and more every time I see him perform.

3. I fried up a couple strips of bacon, onion, diced potatoes, a pound of ground beef, mushrooms, green beans, and corn and seasoned them and created a dinner the Deke proclaimed as the best ever. I beamed.

Three Beautiful Things 12/04/11: Troxstar is Everywhere, Deke's Soup, Sweet!

2011-12-04T21:16:00.001-08:00

1. After picking up some groceries and other stuff at Safeway, Hiron's, and the Kiva, I decided I wanted a pint of Hopworks What the Helles, but I had an empty stomach so I went to Dickie Jo's and picked up a burger and an order of fries and took them to 16 Tons, strolled in, and there was the Troxstar talking to Wolfie. Bonus. I had planned on a eating and drinking a beer alone, but got to have some Trox-o-Time instead.

2. The Deke made a pot of tasty turkey soup that she started to prepare last night and it tasted really good, especially with the Pugliese bread I bought at the Kiva.

3. I made an early evening ice cream run and brought home two kinds: Drumstick and French Silk. Samantha said, "Sweet!" I took that to mean she liked my choices.

Three Beautiful Things 12/03/11: Packed Pancake House, Shakespeare Showcase, Winding Down

2011-12-04T15:49:00.001-08:00

1. I enjoyed being a part of the crowd packing Ye Olde Pancake House on West 11th and ate my corned beef hash, hash browns, eggs, and English muffin with the hope that this breakfast would sustain me through the matinee performance of the Shakespeare Showcase.

2. I don't have a great eye for this sort of thing, but, from my perspective, the performances at the 2:00 Showcase were much better than the same performances at dress rehearsal yesterday. Then, at the 7:00 show, with a full house (yes! a full house!), the level of acting, tech smoothness, and lighting proficiency was even better. The 7:00 show had snap. It's thrilling to see how gorgeous all these students look in their costumes and how their eyes radiate and sparkle under the theater lights.

3. It was relaxing to cap off a full day of narrating at the theater with a half pint of New Belgium Snow Day Ale followed by a half pint of Pelican Tsunami Stout. Sixteen Tons was quiet. I drank the beers slowly, thoughtfully. I wound down. Ahhhh.

Three Beautiful Things 12/02/11: Flexibility, Dress/Tech Marvel, Sizzle

2011-12-04T14:44:00.001-08:00

1. Some simple flexibility worked today and helped put one of my most anxious students at ease and we had a good conference because she was relaxed.

2. I marvel at all the details that must be attended to during dress/tech rehearsal for the Shakespeare Showcase and marvel even more at how many things need straightening out and at how rough and chaotic things are and I marvel the most at the confidence everyone has in the midst of the chaos that everything will fall together and there will be a good show. The mess will get cleaned up.

3. That dress rehearsal was over five hours long and I was pretty hungry afterward. I decided to try a chef special at Jade Palace and ate a plate of sizzling shrimp and scallops. I especially enjoyed the bites when the ginger asserted itself.

Three Beautiful Things 12/01/11:Gratifying, Impressionistic, Rib Eye

2011-12-04T10:34:00.001-08:00

1. I started conferences today with WR 121 students and particularly enjoyed working with a student who had been estranged from her biological father and wrote about their reconciliation -- it was especially gratifying to know that reading Louise Steinman's The Souvenir was important to her in helping her sort out her situation with her dad.

2. I've been reviewing the photographs I took on Friday, a week ago, down by Autzen Stadium, and I'm really happy with the way, to me, some of my pictures, taken of the Millrace and of a heron, look like watercolors. I think people who have looked at my heron pictures like the naturalistic ones best, but I really like the impressionistic ones best. Here's an example:

3. The rib eye steak at Billy Mac's really hit the spot and I was especially intrigued by tonight's conversation, especially as we talked about teaching.

Three Beautiful Things 11/30/11: Nourishing Lit, Catching Up, Sixteen Tons Stillness

2011-12-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

1. I'm very happy that for one of my students the World Lit course was nourishing. Very happy.

2. As far as holding class, the fall term is over. It's all individual conferences and paper grading from here on out. Time seemed to open up for my this afternoon and I got caught up in grading WR 121 papers. It's a great feeling to be getting caught up.

3. I rewarded myself for getting those papers graded by going to 16 Tons for a pint and half of beer. It was relaxing to sit and ponder things. The beer was good. The music was good. I sat near some people who brought all kinds of finger food and were having animated conversation. The woman from that table spoke to me as I was settling my bill: "You must have had a great time eavesdropping on our conversation. We were talking about some pretty wild stuff." I replied, honestly, "I was really absorbed in my own little world. I didn't hear anything you talked about." We had a good laugh and I promised that if the same situation arose again that I'd eavesdrop next time. We laughed more. But, for the duration of those three half pints, I wasn't interested in anyone or anything. I just wanted to be quiet and think and remember and let association happen, with no real purpose except to be still.

Three Beautiful Things 11/29/11: Bigger than School, Imagining Soup, Comfort Soup

2011-12-04T09:41:00.001-08:00

1. I tried to explain to my WR 121 students how the work we've been doing is bigger than school. Yes, they earn credits and grades along the way, but to explore age old questions like happiness and reconciliation is to enter into a realm of thinking that goes way beyond earning credits, earning grades, or writing assignments. A few students voiced agreement. I wish they could see the whole of their education this way. Plenty of pressures in their lives make seeing studies this way very difficult, though.

2. Sometime this morning, maybe while driving to school, I began to imagine a beef barley soup. I began to long for it. I decided I'd make one up and see if it worked. I imagined beef pieces, browned with Montreal seasoning, beef broth in a box, mushrooms, onions,barley, and thyme, and so I browned the meat, sauteed the onions and mushrooms, and put it all together and slow cooked it. Later, I fixed the barley and dumped the pearls into the soup. I'd also imagined thick crusted bread and bought a loaf and it all came out great and the Deke and Samantha and I had a wonderful soup and bread dinner together.

3. I was feeling physically and psychologically worn down by the end of the quarter and this soup relaxed me with its thick flavors and comforting warmth. It soothed me and inspired me to go to sleep early again.

Three Beautiful Things 11/28/11: Rumi Readings, Pork Chops, Rest

2011-12-04T09:24:00.001-08:00

1. My World Lit. students arranged themselves so they could all see each other and, one by one, different students volunteered favorite poems of theirs by Rumi and we worked to come to a better understanding of his mysticism and mysteries.

2. I'd asked the Deke what she'd like for dinner and she requested pork chops and quinoa and green salad. I bought thick pork chops, with the bone, and found a box of quinoa with a spice packet in it and thought I'd give it a try. It worked. The Deke and I both liked the boxed quinoa and, Samantha, who said she doesn't usually like pork, really enjoyed her pork chop. That made me very happy.

3. About this time, the weight of the academic term begins to assert itself and so I need to get some extra sleep and tonight I went to bed really early and welcomed the added rest.

Three Beautiful Things 11/27/11: Soup Prep, Temple of 16 Tons, Devouring Dinner

2011-12-04T08:58:00.001-08:00

1. I've been in the mood for chicken soup so I bought a couple pounds of chicken legs, bones removed, and started making broth last night. Today I put the soup together, let it slow cook all day.

2. The Troxstar and I met at 16 Tons for some honest strong winter ale. It was delicious, especially the Belgian beers, but when it comes to strong winter ales, I'm not that strong. We cut ourselves off, fearing we were about to speak in tongues in the temple of 16 Tons and went to the TroxCrib and watched the early part of the lousy Pittsburgh/Kansas City Sunday night football game. We thought having an amped down beer, a Cool Grand from the kegerator would be nice. That last beer made me really eager to go home to my chicken soup.

3. Once home, I boiled egg noodles to the edge of being of soft and put them in the soup. Meanwhile, I fixed myself a toasted sharp cheddar cheese on Dakota bread sandwich and the soup and sandwich were so good that I made myself a second toasted sandwich and had a second bowl of soup.

Three Beautiful Things and a Bonus 11/26/11: Saturday Breakfast, Mary Goes Macro, Yi Shen Combo, BONUS: Belgian Ales

2011-11-27T08:51:00.001-08:00

1. People just kept coming and coming, over 250 in all, but we had enough eggs, potatoes, link sausage, and toast on the serving line to give each person a full breakfast. I don't know how the oatmeal, grits, gravy, juice, coffee, and milk held up at the other serving tables, but we were happy, and a bit relieved, that we were able to meet the demand in our area of the Saturday Breakfast at St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

2. Mary joined Russell and me for a photo walk on the southeast part of the U. of O. I tried to capture my nostalgic feelings for Mac Court by taking picture after picture after picture, but it never seemed like the images ever matched my feelings. Mac Court held mythic significance for me when I moved to Eugene 32 years ago and I hoped I could capture some of its grandeur, grandeur that was mostly in my head, but grandeur all the same. I'll look at my pictures soon and see if I even sort of succeeded. Mary, by the way, went macro mad on our photo walk, with special attention to a ladybug on a gravestone. It was really fun to bear witness to her enthusiasm.

3. Mary, Russell, and I went to Yi Shen after we were done shooting. Russell and I enjoyed sharing our favorite Eugene place to eat with Mary and she seemed delighted with her meal. I was beyond delighted with mine. I ordered Yi Shen's combo soup -- bbq pork, shrimp, scallop, beef (I think) with bok choy and Vietnamese noodles and I can't remember what else. My inability to remember details is directly related to the euphoria I felt eating this soup: I don't think I've ever tasted a more satisfying, flavorful, complex broth.

BONUS: After doing some shopping, I enjoyed two particularly tasty half pints at 16 Tons. I decided to focus on two Belgian ales and they pleased me completely. I can't write beer review language. All I can say is that I sat there, by myself, and stared, speechless, I enjoyed these beers so much. The first came from Hopworks, and is called Muscles From Brussels; the second came from Japan: Hitachino Nest Barrel Aged Commemorative Ale. The second is a Belgian Strong Ale. I could only drink a half a pint of it because of its 10% alcohol by volume.

Three Beautiful Things 11/25/11: Ye Olde Corned Beef, Solo Photo Walk, The Deke is Back

2011-11-27T08:37:00.001-08:00

1. It was a solid way to start the day: corned beef hash, three eggs, hash browns, English muffins with strawberry jam, a pot of coffee, and lots of water at Ye Olde Pancake House on west 11th.

2. I had a very satisfying solo photo walk today down by Autzen Stadium. The light was wonderful, the fall colors reflected appealingly off of the Mill Race, heron and geese cooperated, and dogs were happy and handsome at the dog park.

3. The Deke is back after a couple of weeks in Georgia to see Molly, Hiram, Olivia, and David. She gave my Thanksgiving leftovers a try and liked them, a plus, and then we went to her office (the Cornucopia) for an hour or so and spent some time getting our bearings. I had really enjoyed my solitude at home from Wednesday afternoon until the Deke returned; at the same time, I really enjoy the Deke being home again.

Three Beautiful Things 11/24/11: Prep, Shove, Cook and Eat and Drink

2011-11-25T13:26:00.001-08:00

1. I read that the cut of roast I bought, the eye of round, is not, on its own, very flavorful. So, salted it, peppered it, garlicked it, and rubbed it with olive oil, rosemary, and ginger. I let it sit all day at room temperature. I was bound and determined to draw flavor out of this roast!

2. I browned the roast on all sides in the cast iron Dutch oven, let it cool down, and then poured a pint of Guinness Extra Stout and a bit of water, forming a malty-yeasty-hoppy-stouty puddle for the roast to cook in and added Brussel sprouts, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms to the pot, covered it, and shoved it in the oven.

3. I kept a close eye on my dinner as it cooked: good thing. The Brussel sprouts were done first and I took them out and covered them. I didn't want mushy sprouts. The roast was done before the other vegetables and I got it out of the pot just in the nick of time, maybe even a little late. The roast was more medium than medium rare, so I wish I had removed it about five minutes earlier. No harm, though. The potatoes and onions needed more time and the mushrooms stay in the pot for the ride. All that liquid from the Guinness stout was now really beefy and oniony and musroomy and sort of spuddy, so I brought that liquid to a boil, mixed up some cold milk and flour, dumped it in the juice and, after a few minutes, I had gravy, the first I've made. I had also decided that I would crack open my bottle of Black Butte XXIII. I could have let it age, but I decided to go for it and it was a rich, complexed flavored complement to the roast beef dinner. It took me about an hour to drink the Black Butte XXIII and I decided to top it all off with about three oz of Figgy Pudding Strong English Ale. I hope recorking that bottle works. I enjoyed that small amount of Figgy Pudding, but the bottle still has over a pint left to be enjoyed.

Three Beautiful Things 11/23/11: Chickpeas, Beef, Stout

2011-11-24T11:26:00.001-08:00

1. I was really happy that one of my students chose Rumi's "Chickpea to Cook" as a poem to study together in class today. Those of us in the class who love this poem had a particularly good time with these lines:

Eventually the chickpea

will say to the cook,

"Boil me some more.
Hit me with the skimming spoon.
I can't do this by myself.

2. I figured out what I want to cook for my Thanksgiving dinner, went to the store to buy a small beef roast, potatoes, Brussel sprouts, onions, and mushrooms. I began to imagine this cut of beef being roasted in a pool of Guiness stout, so I'll need to do a little research to figure out how to make this happen.

3. Well, imagining a roast beef in a puddle of Guiness stout made me think that they sure have some nice stouts and porters on tap at 16 Tons so I dropped in and enjoyed a half pint of Upright Barrel Aged Stout of Monte Fisto, a half pint of Bison Baltic Porter, and finished my evening with two half pints of The Abyss. My 16 Tons evening was enhanced by sitting with Beverly and Wayne, whom I hadn't seen for a couple of years. Wayne lived in the Silver Valley and worked at the Bunker back in the mid-sixties and we have a particularly good time talking about the good old days in Kellogg. We did some of that and the three of us talked about a variety of other things, too. Good times.

Three Beautiful Things 11/22/11: Ponder, Reconcile, Pork

2011-11-23T17:21:00.001-08:00

1. I had a classroom situation where I could have reacted defensively, and instead I replied to a confrontational remark, "Well, ponder that some more. I don't really have a response."

2. The book The Souvenir is helping A. sort out things in relation to her father and giving her insight into their developing reconciliation.

3. I marinated a three pound pork shoulder roast for over twelve hours in Stubb's Smokey Mesquite BBQ sauce and then slow cooked the roast for about twelve hours. I poured the sauce that bubbled around the roast over my baked potatoes and over the pork and complemented the meat and potatoes with green beans. It was a delicious dinner. Samantha ate baked potato only. No problem.

Three Beautiful Things 11/21/11: Barks, Essays, Steaks

2011-11-22T12:58:00.001-08:00

1. Every time I watch and listen to Bill Moyers interview Coleman Barks, I'm stimulated by the vision of Rumi and by the music of the Paul Winter Consort.

2. I'm still working my way through a large number of student essays for World Lit and WR 121. I didn't finish the pile today, but I made significant process. Tomorrow's another day.

3. Samantha seemed pretty happy to learn I was frying up a couple of petite sirloin steaks with caramelized onions. I think I was happier with the broccoli than she was -- but we were both happy with our delicious dinner. The steaks were really good.

Three Beautiful Things 11/20/11: Tom the Librarian, Back to The Abyss, Chicken Dinner

2011-11-21T06:47:00.001-08:00

1. It was a lot of fun to see Tom Beckstrand give his symposium on the church library. He was animated, happy to be the library guy, and eager to let us know what is what in the library. His talk was good, too.

2. After the symposium, the Troxstar and I spent some time at the 2nd Annual Eugene Winter & Strong Ale Festival at 16 Tons. These beers are strong and we were careful. I sure enjoyed two 3 oz. tasters: first, Block 15 Figgy Pudding Ale and, second, Terminal Gravity Bucolic Plague (2009). Then I could not resist returning to The Abyss and enjoy two half pints of Deschutes' The Abyss, a deep, dark, mysterious, and tasty Imperial Stout. It's my favorite, although I really enjoyed that the Figgy Pudding Ale had been matured in brandy barrels before conditioning with mission figs, Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg. These beers were really fun to drink and required all the caution I exercised.

3. So tasty, so easy: a tray of chicken legs with potatoes and onions popped into the oven for an hour or so resulted in a satisfying dinner for Samantha and me.

Three Beautiful Things 11/19/11: Meeting Dan, The Abyss, Spontaneous Soup

2011-11-20T08:20:00.001-08:00

1. I've been a friend on Facebook for quite a while with Russell's longtime friend, Dan, and this morning I got to meet him. Russell, Dan, and I met at the Glenwood for an excellent breakfast and a lot of fun conversation about taking pictures and food in Hawaii and a number of other things. I hope we have the chance to spend time together again soon. It was really fun.

2. A while back I read about a beer that Deschutes brewery releases seasonally called The Abyss. Here's what Deschutes says about The Abyss: "A deep, dark Imperial Stout, The Abyss has almost immeasurable depth and complexity. Hints of molasses, licorice and other alluring flavors make it something not just to quaff, but contemplate." The Abyss came on tap today at 16 Tons and I ordered a half a pint, cautiously, because the ABV is 11%. Oh, my. Indeed, it moved me to contemplate and moved me to order another half pint. It's a magnificent beer. I had read another review of it elsewhere where the person simply said, "Yay molasses!" My sentiments exactly. (I also bought a 22 oz bottle of The Abyss and I'm going to let it age. I've never let a beer age before and I'll crack it open sometime in 2012 and see what I think.)

3. The other night I browned about a pound of ground beef. I needed to use it. I looked around the kitchen. Mmmm. I've got onion. I've got potatoes. I've got two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes. I've got a 14 oz can of Bush's navy beans. I've got garlic powder. I have salt. Water comes out of the tap. SOUP! I haven't done this for a while -- that is, I haven't combined whatever is in the kitchen into a pot and made soup and I've got to say, this ground beef tomato navy bean soup is really good!

Many Beautiful Things Over the Last Few Weeks

2011-11-19T20:40:00.001-08:00

1. David Alejandro Diaz was born to Molly and Hiram on November 2, 2011.

2. I had a great time making Lebanese lentil soup and cheese/fruit dessert plates for over fifty people at St. Mary's Episcopal Church when Dr. Loren Crow gave a talk about his sabbatical to Israel.

3. Ed and I had a superb time in Pendleton where I enjoyed a superb rib eye steak at Hamley's, a most scrumptious Reuben at the Prodigal Son, cold Buds at Whistlers Pub, and a couple of fine breakfasts at the Rainbow Cafe.

4. The beers continue to be fun and delicious at 16 Tons. I wish I had kept a record of all the fine beers I've sampled. It's been especially fun to have the Deke join me at 16 Tons. She enjoys a glass of wine and I try another new kind of beer. In addition, I've begun to join her from time to time at her "office" at the Cornucopia.

5. Carolyn and I had a great time as co-teachers at church, leading different groups in discussions of beauty.

I'll leave it at that. I just wanted to get back into action and get back to posting Three Beautful Things with the hope that I don't let how busy I've been stop me any longer.

Three Beautiful Things 10/22/11: Brails Again, Feeding the Poor, Photographing an Empire

2011-10-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

1. I got myself ready to serve breakfast at the church by eating breakfast at Brails beforehand. I switched things up. Rather than my usual corned beef hash, I ordered ground round and eggs and hash browns and English muffin. I really needed my breakfast so I could be strong at the church.

2. Nearly two hundred-fifty people ate breakfast this morning, all in some state of poverty, many without teeth, some drunk or high, few clean, all hungry. It's intense, but behavior was very good. People we served were grateful. Our work in the kitchen and on the serving line was full of good cheer. We fed everyone who walked through the door. Our church provides this meal every other Saturday.

3. Russell and I took quite a few pictures east and northeast of the main campus at the Univ. of Oregon. I'd never stood close to the Matt Arena or the Ford Alumni Center or the John Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes. Here's one view of the latter:

Three Beautiful Things 10/21/11:Brails Was Just Right, Good Essays, Monschambacher Lager from the Firkin

2011-10-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

1. Everything was just right at Brails this morning: the service, the newspaper, the corned beef hash, eggs, hash browns, and English muffin. Nothing fancy. A common day at the cafe. And just right.

2. My students did a good job recounting what I hoped they would see in The Odyssey and did very good work summing up what they learned from the Joseph Campbell videotape. I read those papers this afternoon and it was really good to read their fine work.

3. I was checking in on FB and a notice came up that Sixteen Tons had just opened a firkin of Monschambacher Lagerbier. I pulled myself together, got a call from the Deke saying she'd like to meet at Sixteen Tons and, wow, it was fun to have some time with the Deke and that Monschambacher Lager drawn from the firkin was -- well, it wasn't Lucky Lager -- or as the Germans might say, Glucklich Lager -- well, that Monschambacher Lager was a treat: a smooth, tasty, easy lager that helped make conversation with the Deke mega-enjoyable and, when she left before I did, put me in a deeply meditative state. The great lagers: my wheelhouse. What a pleasure.

Three Beautiful Things 10/20/11: Lively WR 121, Sixteen Ton-Billy Mac's Retreat, Cards Break Cardinal Cut Off Rule

2011-10-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

1. I was happy and a bit fired up by how my two sections of WR 121 tore into passages that stood out to them as particularly important in "Buffalo for the Broken Heart". By the time my four hours of conducting class ended, I was beaming -- and wrung out from fielding so much good discussion.

2. It's been a draining week. I'm sure it's the aftermath of losing Snug. I welcomed a retreat into the sanctuary of Sixteen Tons. Emily was working the taps and it was fun yakking back and forth. Oakshire had a beer I'd never tasted before on tap: Big Black Jack Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter. I loved it. The best bonus: the Deke joined me. We yakked it up for a while before heading over to Billy Mac's to eat and gab some more with friends. Great prime rib sandwich. Superb company. The retreat continued. I was beaming.

3. The top of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 2011 World Series re-invigorated my love of baseball. Kinsler dunks a lawn dart into shallow left center field. He steals second, safe by a hand, despite Yolina's bullet to the bag. Andrus singles, but his hit doesn't score Kinsler BUT the Cards botch the cut off and Andrus advances to second. The Rangers will not get another hit this game, but on the strength of two pretty lazy fly balls, the first by Hamilton, to right field, not only driving home Kinsler, but advancing Andrus, the second by Young, scoring Andrus, the Rangers win. A dinky single, a bold stolen base, a solid single, a botched cutoff, and two fly balls. Chicks dig the long ball? I dig the ball small. I wish I could have watched this last inning with Dad. When he coached our IOOF Little League team, he stressed, like no other Little League coach in Kellogg, the cut off. Keep throws low. Cut off throws and don't let runners have bases they don't earn. The Cards broke the Cardinal Cut Off Rule and it cost them Game 2. I haven't decided who I want to win this World Series. Tonight it was fun to not have a rooting interest and to watch this small ball drama unfold.

Three Beautiful Things 10/19/11: Happy Birthday, Foul Mood Lightened, Day Old Pasta Sauce

2011-10-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

1. Samantha did a lovely thing: she went to Sweet Life and, to celebrate her deceased father's birthday, bought herself a piece of the best cake she'd ever tasted in her life.

2. I fell into a foul mood today and I'm not quite sure why. It almost felt like I might be dropping into the black hole again, a place I haven't been since March, 2009. I told the Deke and Samantha that I was out of sorts and not to take anything personally and they understood. What a relief. My dark mood had nothing to do with them and that they accepted this and that the Deke asked me a few questions about my condition helped me lighten up. So did going to bed really early.

3. I made a really good pasta sauce yesterday, but our family decided not to eat it and tonight the Deke and I dove into it, spooning it over penne. Having it age a day made this tasty sauce really tasty today and we savored its multiple flavors and textures.

Three Beautiful Things 10/18/11: Beauty Group, Red Barn, Burrito

2011-10-19T15:13:00.001-07:00

1. Carolyn and I facilitated another fine discussionwith another group, at the church, about beauty.

2. I enjoy shopping each night for the vegetables weneed, doing it at Red Barn, and then dropping in for a pint at Sam Bond'sGarage. I like shopping at the Red Barn and enjoy how quiet it is at SamBond's between 4-5 or so.

3. I ate this massive burrito from TaqueriaMi Tierra. It lasted me the whole restof the day…and it was really good.

Three Beautiful Things 10/10/11-10/17/10: Catching Up

2011-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

For much of the past week, my thoughts and feelings have been focused largely on the loss of Snug. During this time, I've lacked the energy to keep up with posting Three Beautiful Things each day. These days have been hard, but not lacking in beauty or in goodness, so I'm going to go back and try to pin down Three Beautiful Things for each of them.

Three Beautiful Things 10/10/11: Conferences, Beef Stew, T'ao Chien

1. I had my first WR 121 conference and it felt really good to work closely with the two students I met with. I feel like a more authentic teacher in these situations when I'm working one to one or one to two with students.

2. That beef stew I put together last night? It sat in the icebox all night and today and was ready to be warmed up and eaten tonight. Rave reviews. We all loved it.

3. I always enjoy getting underway with old Chinese poetry and the nostalgic vision of T'ao Chien.

Three Beautiful Things 10/11/11: Chicken Noodles, Beauty Group, It Could Have Been Worse

1. I enjoyed figuring out how I would combine meat off of chicken thighs, egg noodles, mushrooms, and broccoli into delicious dinner.

2. Carolyn and I held our first group meeting on the subject of beauty at the Hockley's home and had a great discussion.

3. Snug's bit Sam hard. It could have been really bad, but Sam protected herself with her arm and Snug bit into her elbow. The good news? Sam is going to be all right. The wound is serious, will require stitches, but Samantha will heal and be fine.

Three Beautiful Things 10/12/11: Art Project, Snug's Last Outing, Leftovers

1. My students did art projects with "Drinking Alone by Moonlight" and had a lot of fun and did good work.

2. I had to get Snug out of the house and, as it turns out, it was our last outing. It was a gorgeous one. I kept him on the leash, but we went to a huge field on Willow Creek Road and Snug filled his nose with grass and ground scents, stuck his nose in little burrows and the roots of things, and had a great sensory experience. He was really happy.

3. That beef stew and those chicken noodles? Great leftovers.

Three Beautiful Things 10/13/11: Grief, Help, Sleep

1. The Deke and had decided in a short, decisive conversation that Snug would have to be euthanized. We both knew it before we said it and then my crying began, the deep grief. I didn't at all want to let Snug go, but I knew I had to.

2. The Deke helped me out. So did Adrienne. I was unable to call the vet to make an appointment to end Snug's life and their help helped me a lot. I'm eternally grateful.

3. Snug and I slept closely together all night.

Three Beautiful Things 10/14/11: Support, Debrief, Dinner and More

1. The Deke and Dr. Jones could not have been more sensitive to my grief nor more supportive of the decision to put Snug down. This meant the world to me.

2. After we left the vet, the Deke and I went to 16 Tons for drinks. It was a perfect way to sort out what had happened and was happening.

3. Later, the Deke, Sam, and I joined Jon and the Troxstar at Billy Mac's and the food and drinks and conversation were perfect: just what I needed. I'd seen the Troxstar earlier with Marla and our 16 Tons pal Emily at Brails. All of this was very good. So was going back to 16 Tons with Jon and the Troxstar for another couple of beers before going home. I really needed to talk and laugh and be with good friends. It all happened Friday afternoon and evening.

Three Beautiful Things 10/15/11: D. B. (Beak, Boney), Whiteaker Again, Return to Yi Shen

1. It was great to see Dale Bachman at Appleby's, helping keep dishes clean at the Springfield Lions' benefit pancake breakfast for a man about to have a kidney transplant.

2. Russell and I enjoyed our photo stroll. We returned to the Whiteaker neighborhood and when we were done, both of us thought returning for the third week in a row would be great.

3. Russell and I were back to our favorite post-photowalk dining spot: Yi Shen. My lemongrass fish plate was superb and I sure hope that today was the next of many weeks in a row that we are back at Yi Shen.

Three Beautiful Things 10/16/11: Symposium, Goddess, 16 Tons Get Together

1. Jared Talbot gave a fine symposium at St. Mary's on his faith experience as a scientist.

2. Emily is a beer goddess.

3. The Troxstar, Marla, the Deke, and I had a really good session at 16 Tons with Emily pouring. It was a really great time.

Three Beautiful Things 10/17/11: Campbell, Steak Sandwich, Stouts

1. I introduced my World Lit students to Joseph Campbell. I sure hope it worked for them.

2. I'd never been to Burgers on the Run down by the Wandering Goat on Madison and I had the steak sandwich. Great food.

3. I'd never tried either Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout or their Choklat Stout. Loved them both. Fun beer.

Snug 2005-2011

2011-10-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 14, 2011, Snug was put to rest by his veterinarian. Snug snapped on Tuesday evening in the kitchen and seriously injured Samantha with a deep bite in her elbow that could have been a deep bite in her neck or face. Samantha's wound is healing really well.

Snug was always an unpredictable dog. His unpredictability made him a dangerous dog. It was part of his DNA. We couldn't do anything about it. Throughout his life, I did everything I could to keep him out of situations where he might attack people as well as other dogs. For the last two and a half years, after he bit a friend at our front door, until last Tuesday, I was successful, essentially protecting Snug from himself and others.

I've been distraught. Snug and I had a deep bond, a deep friendship, unique from any relationship I've ever had. With me, in our life together, he was sweet, tender, animated, and comforting.

I love him dearly.

I hated letting him go.

It tore me up.

I'm going to post more remembrances and thoughts and feelings about Snug here in my blog as time goes along.

Three Beautiful Things 10/09/11: Quiet/Heart Attack, Stew, Beer and Brass

2011-10-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

1. My time of worship was meditative, one of those Sundays when I sat in the back of the church and was quiet most of the time. I was fully participating, but mostly in silence -- it's a way I like to do things. Across the aisle, in another row of pews, a guy who is more rambunctious was seated and I heard him telling another guy that he often feels like yelling "Amen" and "Alleluia" during the service but he figured it would cause people in the church to have a heart attack. I chuckled. I'd be one of the heart attack victims! I worship where I do because I enjoy the solemn quiet. But, I've been fairly forewarned and if this guy decides to let a loud "Alleluia" rip, I'll try to stay out of the cardiac unit.

2. Finally the weather has cooled down enough so that I can assemble and cook beef stew and I spent a few hours in the kitchen putting one together for dinner Monday night. It's one of my very favorite cooking projects.

3. The Troxstar and Madam Marla and I descended upon Sixteen Tons at five and it was great to see Emily in charge of the taps and the cash register. It was a lot of fun talking and laughing and Emily was kind enough to play a vinyl version of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass's "South of the Border". I tried a new beer and was very happy with Cascade's Fresh Hop Porter. I then returned to two favorites, a pint of 8 Ball Stout and a half pint of the Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout.

Beer

2011-10-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

To me, beer is photogenic. Here's what I mean, without further caption or comment:

Three Beautiful Things 10/08/11: Breakfast at St. Mary's, Photo Walk, Casserole

2011-10-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

1. We served about 150 or more hungry people at the St. Mary's Saturday Breakfast. I served bacon and sausage and toast and a number of those who came for a plate of eggs, potatoes, meat, oatmeal, grits, gravy, juice, coffee, and, for some, pancakes, expressed sincere gratitude. I'm sure I've mentioned before that this free breakfast is a twice a month occasion. We don't turn anyone away. Troublemakers get served outside. The church has been offering this breakfast for about twenty years.

2. Russell and Samantha and I went on a photo walk in the Whiteaker neighborhood, starting at the Wandering Goat and making out way to the Red Barn area and back to the car again. I tried out my new lens and had an exhilarating time and hoped that Samantha enjoyed touring this neighborhood and all of its vitality.

3. The Deke was going to make meatloaf for dinner, but she decided to take the pasta sauce I had just made and some frozen leftover sloppy Joe sauce I made long ago and combine it with some macaroni. It was a superb casserole. I love meatloaf, but this casserole was even better on this day.

Three Beautiful Things 10/06/11: Group Fail/Conversation Success, Pint and a Half at 16 Tons, Nerd Games

2011-10-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

1. Carolyn and I got ourselves all prepared to lead a group discussion of the chapter on beauty in Bass's "Christianity for the Rest of Us" and only the group's host, Shelly, showed up. So, Shelly, Carolyn, and I had a really enjoyable conversation about the Ducks, the city of Eugene, flowers, painting, and a host of other things and left hoping that the Friday group is for real and not a mirage!

2. I popped into Sixteen Tons late in the afternoon and had my mind made up that I wanted two beers I'd never tried before and that I would limit myself to a pint and a half (rather than my usual two pints). I enjoyed my first winter ale, a half pint of Oakshire's Ill-Tempered Gnome, a tasty brown ale, combining sweetness and hoppy bitterness. For years, I've seen the label on bottles of Lost Coast 8-Ball Stout, but never bought one. Seeing it on tap at Sixteen Tons and being on a stout kick lately inspired me to try it out. I really like 8-Ball a lot. I think many like the Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout better because it's a dry Irish Stout and hoppier. I really like the Wrasslers XXXX Stout, but I might have enjoyed the 8-Ball a wee bit more. I'm not as crazy about the hoppy finish as a lot of people around here are. About 8-Ball, I must borrow an old bit from Tony Kornheiser: Rack 'em!

3. Samantha found out that the 'Wich House hosts nerd game night on Fridays, and so the Deke and Samantha and I went to check it out. As expected, I saw a couple of my former students and I think Samantha found out what she wanted by observing the games from our table. The food? Superb! My tuna melt on wheat focaccia tasted great, as did the cup of ginger chicken soup. The three of us had a wonderful time together.

Three Beautiful Things 10/04-06: Learning, Savoring, Cooking/Eating

2011-10-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

1. It was a good three days in the classroom: I think the way the story of Gilgamesh unfolds to portray the refining and strengthening nature of suffering started to make sense to my World Lit. students, I had fun subbing for Sparky in her Acting Shakespeare class, and I think I have finished frontloading WR 121 with more information and significant aspects of research and writing than any single person could possibly remember. So, now the reviewing, the repeating, the reniforcing, the practice really begins.

2. These were three good days for trying some different beers. One was an old friend from over ten years ago that I hadn't enjoyed for a long time: Rogue's Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout. I also enjoyed a pint of Hopworks Urban Brewery's Survival "Seven Grain" Stout at Sam Bond's Garage, a flavor-packed delight. The next afternoon I returned to Sam Bond's and had a pint of the first stout I ever drank, in May, 1975, in London: Guinness -- and it's always fun to be reminded of its creaminess and fine taste. Guinness is also a memory-packed beer for me, whether I think about London, Max's (years and years ago) or fixing a delicious black and tan at home. I also enjoyed a bottle of Sheaf Stout from Australia. Brill.

3. It was a good food week, too: I fixed a rump roast with carrots, celery, sweet onion, and potatoes; I used the leftover beef two nights later and fixed a ginger beef and garlic stir fry with brown rice; I baked four chicken legs, stripped off the meat, combined the meat with stir-fried vegetables and brown rice and topped it with Thai peanut sauce; last of all, I fixed a ground beef/sweet Italian sausage tomato pasta sauce, enhanced by a ton of basil, and we all had spaghetti and chunks of baguette.

In conclusion: classroom enjoyment, some good beers, and great fun cooking good food added up to three good days in early October.

Three Beautiful Things 10/03/11: Gilgamesh, Union Cafe, Sixteen Tons with Troxstar

2011-10-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

1. What appears to be an external journey is an inward one: Gilgamesh.

2. A wonderful sandwich at Union Cafe accompanied by a cup of three cheese tomato soup from Soup Nation and a gorgeous pint of Oakshire's Landtrust Lager.

3. The Troxstar invited me out for an evening beer about 8 o'clock and I enjoyed a refreshing Oakshire Triune Fresh Hop Pale followed by a Wrasslers XXXXX Stout which is becoming my favorite beer at Sixteen Tons, although I doubt it will last long.

Three Beautiful Things10/02/11: Small Groups, "Abraham's Land", Stout Blanche

2011-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

1. Carolyn and I got the way we are going to deal with beauty in the small groups figured out. We also had a fine lunch at High Street.

2. I was happy to be an audience to the reading of "Abraham's Land", but as a read play, it didn't do much for me. I'm ready to believe that I would find it more compelling were I to see it staged and acted. The subject matter is as important as any subject matter can be: the tensions between Jews and Palestinians. I'm not totally sure that the particular play treats those tensions convincingly.

3. I stopped in at 16 Tons after the play reading and enjoyed aWrasslers XXXXX Stout. It was a very pleasing stout on the coffee end of the taste spectrum, but its hoppiness surprised me. I didn't like how hoppy it was for about three sips, but then, for mysterious reasons, the hoppiness grew on me and I enjoyed the last, what?, dozen or so pulls from the pint. I then drank a half pint of a much sweeter beer, Mort Subite Blanche. As often happens in my explorations up and down the tap list at 16 Tons, this beer provided me with a different experience than I'd ever had before. It was the sweetest beer I've ever tasted. It wasn't like drinking Hi C or anything like that. But its sweetness and its Belgian qualities combined to be not only pleasing, but, for me, unique (in a good way).

Three Beautiful Things 10/01/11: Jiffy, Meeting, Amber

2011-10-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

1. I like going to Jiffy Market and today I picked up my first cinnamon doughy Pershing sort of thing for many months and grabbed a cup of coffee and enjoyed the slow manner of the checker and relished the junky, casual environment of the store.

2. Our English department's full time faculty met at Jeff's house to talk about department stuff away from campus and at a time when nothing related to school could interrupt us and before I went to Jeff's I bought a bag of six bottles of wine for the Deke and Scott W. saw me and wondered if he could come to my house and I told him I was headed to a department meeting, letting him believe that's what the wine was for, but even though the wine wasn't for the meeting, the meeting did feature a case of Ninkasi IPA (I didn't drink any...it's not the kind of beer I enjoy) and I knew that Scott got the right impression of our meeting, even though he didn't see the right form of alcohol.

3. When I got home from the meeting I wound down a bit with a 22 oz bottle of Oakshire Amber Ale, a gorgeous beer to look at when held to the light and an easy, pleasing, tasty beer to drink.

Three Beautiful Things 09/30/10: Neil Simon at LCC (A Conflict for Me), The Office, Two Retired Professors

2011-10-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

1. It's hard for me to go see a play by a playwright I don't really enjoy. I don't enjoy Neil Simon. I went to see Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at LCC, put on by the incredible Student Productions Association. The production was splendid. It was very pleasing to the eye. The actors brought great energy to their work. It was great to see Sarah and Tanner, whom I worked with in "Taming of the Shrew". They did wonderful work, as did the rest of the cast. I was very happy for Tim who was the assistant director of the production. I sat two seats down from him in the audience and enjoyed his delight in seeing his hard work come alive on stage. I found myself, however, wishing at many points during the play that all of this talent and beauty and energy had been devoted to a playwright I enjoy more. I have this experience consistently with two often produced playwrights: Anton Chekhov and Neil Simon. However, unlike the last several times when I saw a Chekhov play and wanted to run screaming out of the theater or movie house, I never felt this way at LCC's production "Brighton Beach Memoirs". There was too much to enjoy. And it was wonderful to see so many people in the audience and to hear so many big laughs. As someone who doesn't care much for Neil Simon, I was definitely in the minority -- in a big way. Nothing wrong with that!

2. I enjoy my work as a teacher the most when I work with students individually and two students came by during my office hours today and it felt great to be of help and to get better acquainted with these students.

3. I stopped into Todd's Place this morning for breakfast and seated at a table together were two professors from the University of Oregon whose presence brought back a ton of memories of research/bibliography (James Boren, English) and breakfasts at the Glenwood and the introduction of a couple of friends of mine into Wings (Will Davie, Philosophy). Both professors are retired, are emeritus, and were two men whom it seemed like I saw every day, one way or another, when I spent almost every waking moment in the halls of old PLC, starting thirty years ago.

Three Beautiful Things 09/29/11: Lunch, Billy Mac's, Free Range Red Ale

2011-09-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

1. I enjoyed a nice tuna salad sandwich and a pint of Kolsch at High St.

2. Things were hopping at Billy Mac's. Topics flew around the table; some sang Gale Garnett; lots of solid Jesus talk/church talk; many wise cracks emerged about the length and tedium of Spenser's The Faerie Queen. And to think it's incomplete.

3. My prime beef dip sandwich with a small Caesar salad and two pints of Laurelwood Free Range Red Ale enhanced the pleasure of all the quickly moving conversation and all the roaring laughter.

Three Beautiful Things 09/28/11: Bible as Lit, Kitchen Help, Priest Duet

2011-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

1. I think teaching stories from the Bible as literature, from a literary perspective, is the trickiest thing I do all year as a teacher. I'm totally committed to teaching the Bible as literature in my World Lit. class. It's tough, though. For students, the Bible is often either a supremely highly regarded source of truth or a scorned book, an instrument of oppression. I think I succeeded today in keeping the discussion literary, of voicing no adherence to any doctrines and looking at the poetry, figurative language, narrative structure, and universal meaning of Psalm 23 and the parable of the Good Samaritan. Honestly? It's stressful. For me. I don't want to talk theology or doctrine in my literature class. It's not church and it's not Sunday school.

2. I went from a morning of teaching a tiny bit of the Bible as literature to helping get dinner ready for our Wednesday parish dinner at St. Mary's. I chopped bok choy. I sliced tomatoes. I helped drain peas. I carried big pans of mac and cheese to the serving line. It was fun to help out.

3. I enjoyed listening to our priests, Bingham and Betsy, lecture on the book Christianity for the Rest of Us. They worked really well together and helped bring the book's content alive.

Three Beautiful Things 09/27/11: Comp. Underway, Late Porketta, Black Boss Polish Porter

2011-09-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

1. It felt good to get my WR 121 classes underway. I try to walk the fine line between being eager to help and reasonable about problems by students might have and being clear that I mean business as their teacher. I try to be honest without being intimidating. I try to communicate understanding without seeming a pushover.

2. Heh. I put the porketta in the crock pot a little too late, but finally, about 8:00, Sam, the Deke, and decided that we could start shredding it, with a little effort, and so we did and the meat was good with the onions and the brown basmati rice. I'll try to remember to put the porketta on a little earlier next time -- like two hours earlier.

3. I'll readily admit, though, that the wait for the porketta was made much easier the pint bottle of Black Boss Porter I savored. It's a Polish Porter and is jam packed with chocolate goodness and other sweet tastes that inspired me to noisiness with every drink. I'm glad I only drank one. It's alcohol content is pretty high for me. Its taste, though, really good.

Three Beautiful Things 09/26/11: Lord,Sam, Steaks

2011-09-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

1. My favorite moment today in World Lit. was in trying to establish that divine reality, which dominates this course, is best explored and approximated by figurative language. It's really the only way. I put "The Lord is my shepherd" on the board and asked what the first metaphor of this sentence is. Immediately, members of the class answered, "Shepherd." "No", I said, "that's the second metaphor" and we began to discuss how the earthly idea of lord served as the metaphor for beginning to grasp the sway, the power of the Divine. And then it got better as we saw, in Psalm 23, the unexpected idea that this powerful Lord is a lowly shepherd.

2. I had a good visit with Sam when I got home, a discussion that gave us both a lot to ponder about all sorts of things, including education.

3. Those flat iron steaks, seared and served medium rare: really good.

Three Beautiful Things 09/25/11: An Afternoon with the Troxstar: Great Pints, Ken and Hans, Cool Grand

2011-09-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

1. The Troxstar found me after 11:00 service ended and we glided over to Sixteen Tons for some excellent pints of beer. I very much enjoyed Abita Turbodog, Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen, and Pilsner Urquell, three distinctive beers of the sort that I can't really describe but which are my favorites types.

2. Our visit to 16 Tons was going very well. Excellent conversation, good wise cracks, satisfying, refreshing beer and then Ken and Hans from Victoria Island and Calgary joined us and we talked about music, especially further, beer and wine in Canada, Hans' friend dropping acid at Divinity School, and a host of other things. These were great guys and we probably would have continued conversing longer into the afternoon had the Troxstar's sexton duties not called. So, we glided over to St. Mary's and locked up the church, featuring a good visit with Bingham and Sherry and Phyllis.

3. No Sunday afternoon like this one could be considered complete without a little NFL football, let's say Oakland and the Jets, and an afternoon capping pint of Hopworks Cool Grand, straight from the Troxstar's kegerator. A great afternoon. A great way to end the summer break.

Three Beautiful Things 09/24/11: Breakfast at St. Mary's, Ginger Chicken, Ghosts on Boards

2011-09-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

1. We fed every person who needed a breakfast at St. Mary's this morning. With the addition of maybe 30-40 followers of Further, we must have had over two hundred people come through the meal line for scrambled eggs and/or omelets, home fries and/or mashed potatoes, bacon/sausage/Canadian bacon, and buttered toast and then move on out into the room for grits, oatmeal, fresh fruit, gravy, juice, and other offerings I'm probably not aware of. I saw my former student Clarence again and his appearance seems to support his claim that he's getting cleaned up -- laying off the heroin -- and it's good to seem him. I wish he could find a better living situation than his van.

2. Russell and I hadn't been to Yi Shen for quite a while. We were warmly welcomed and I very much enjoyed my dish of ginger chicken, vegetables, and white rice.

3. I follow a Japanese guy on Tumblr, here, who takes black and white street photographs and I think what he does is shoot some of them out of focus, on purpose, so that the human figures have an anonymous look. They look like apparitions. I like his pictures a lot and today, while out taking pictures with Russell, I took some pictures of some skateboarders hoping to achieve a similar effect. See what you think:

Three Beautiful Things 09/23/11: Film Festival Mtg, Outta Nowhere -- Veldhuizen!, Stacked Corned Beef

2011-09-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

1. I enjoyed very much sitting down with a group of people to begin planning the spring quarter Islamic Film Festival or whatever we are calling it. Many great movies have been and are being made in countries that are predominantly Muslim or in places like Israel, by Israeli filmmakers, about Muslims living in the Golan Heights or Palestine or Jerusalem. and we had a great conversation about a wide variety of these movies, from around the world. It was especially good to have Ibrahim Hamide at the table. He is Palestinian, has family back in Palestine, works hard to encourage peaceful relations between people of differing religious and ethnic practices and origins, and loves movies. Oh! And is a very good restaurateur.

2. The Troxstar and I met for a couple of pints at Sixteen Tons. I enjoyed my pint of Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest as well as a pint of Gilgamesh Fresh Hop Harvester Oktoberfest. I was sipping away and apparently out of nowhere popped Dave Veldhuizen, whom I hadn't seen for a few years, and we got sort of caught up on some things and he paid tribute to the presence of the Troxstar. The pints, quaffing with the Troxstar, and seeing Dave made the visit to Sixteen Tons, well, it made it a beautiful thing.

3. I dropped into the Jiffy Market for a corned beef, salami, Swiss, and cheddar sandwich on sourdough bread. I know the sandwiches there are pretty thick, pretty filling (and, for my taste, really good) so I only order a half a one and it was just what I needed before taking part in Beautiful Thing #1 and then enjoying Beautiful Thing #2.

Three Beautiful Things 09/22/11: Finished, German Beer, Everything's Poker

2011-09-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

1. Each course syllabus is ready to project on the smart classroom screen. I finished them today, with 3-4 days to spare.

2. I thought I merely walked into 16 Tons today, but upon self-examination, I might have swaggered. It's not that I got my swagger back, but I think I have a new swagger in there now ever since I became a member. I thought the other patrons could tell, too. The respect in their eyes when I swaggered in felt good. Most important, however, was the beer and today was really good. I went totally German and enjoyed a pint of Avinger Oktober Fest-Marzen from the tap and a pint of Mahr's Ungespundet-hefetrub from the firkin. I hope Sixteen Tons will serve beer again from the firkin. The firkin sat on the counter. The beer came straight out of it. No hook up to a tap. Just beer. Real beer. It was really good.

3. Poker might be the metaphor by which all things can be understood. You'd know pretty much exactly what I mean if you'd been with me and and friends at Billy Mac's this evening.

Three Beautiful Things 09/21/11: Brisk, Aisle Blocking Conversation, Facebook Three Per Center

2011-09-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

1. The department meeting was brisk. After the brisk division meeting. Brisk is beautiful.

2. I ran into Tim at Market of Choice and we blocked an aisle for about twenty minutes talking about teaching composition, the value of work, movies, and beer. I think most of the people who needed to get by us made it all right.

3. I created my own customized news feed and it made the changes in Facebook work pretty well for me. 97% of users hate the changes. Guess I'm a Facebook Three Percenter. (So are Ilene, Jon, Rhonda, the Troxstar [pretty much -- uh, maybe], and others.)

Three Beautiful Things 09/20/11: Writing, Helping, Laughing

2011-09-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

1. My cousin is working on a book and she sent me a bunch of what she's written and I tried to give her some helpful advice. She's smart. She's a good writer. Her way of writing is unlike anyone else I've read. I wish I knew more about the book publishing business so I could help her with that, but I can be encouraging.

2. I might have been a help to Sam as she gets herself situated in Eugene.

3. I got in a few good wise cracks when MB, Michael, Jeff, and I had coffee at the Wandering Goat and it was fun giving my good friends a few good laughs.

Three Beautiful Things 09/19/11: Sam Visits Two Eugene Pillars, Teachers Meet, True Troxstar Power

2011-09-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

1. I took Sam to the Kiva and to Hiron's to introduce her to two contrasting pillars upholding the world of Eugene.

2. I think this project we are undertaking at St. Mary's is going to work out just fine. The teachers met today and we'll succeed in leading discussion around the different aspects of "Christianity for the Rest of Us".

3. Sixteen Tons. Two pints. Hop Valley Hopocalypse Blackout Stout. Sierra Nevada Porter. I bought a membership. Em was working the taps. I walked in. Before she said hello or anything, she wondered where the Troxstar was. What it must be like to be the real deal, a big deal. Like the Troxstar. True Troxstar power.

Three Beautiful Things 09/18/11: Justice and Mercy, Tuna Salad 'Which at 16 Tons, Cinematography

2011-09-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

1. This morning in church, Rev. Betsy Tesi preached a sermon on the emphasis upon justice and mercy in the Kingdom of God, not on fairness. It was brilliant.

2. After church, the Troxstar met me at 16 Tons and we ventured over to the High Street pub, each bought a sandwich, took our food back to 16 Tons. For a while the taps were no working, so we split a very satisfying LandTrust Lager. The taps got fixed. Then I had a refreshing pint of Heater Allen Dinkel Dunkel.

3. Patrick and I had a very interesting discussion of the relationship between the director of a movie and the director of photography, a favorite subject of mine that I hadn't discussed for a long time. I sent the great documentary "Visions of Light" home with Patrick. I hope he enjoys this history of cinematography, made about 20 years ago.

Saturday Market Pictures: Giving My New Lens a Little Workout

2011-09-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Whole Enchilada

Sam

Guitar Guy

Frog

Didge Guy

Listener

Tomatoes

Sisters and Hawker

Sisters and Hawker II

Larry and Sam

Three Beautiful Things 09/17/11: Market, New Lens, Sushi Ya

2011-09-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

1. Muffie, Larry, the Deke, Sam and I went down to Saturday Market. Sam was in heaven and it was fun to see her be so excited. I ran into Patsy and enjoyed our conversation a ton. I also enjoyed taking pictures. I posted an album of them on Facebook and I'll post some of them on kelloggbloggin when I'm done with these 3bt's.

2. I enjoyed shooting for the first time with my new lens, the one Russell found at Goodwill for twenty bucks. It'll be fun to see how this older 50 mm. prime compares/contrasts with my more contemporary 50 mm prime.

3. Muffie, Larry, the Deke, Sam, Pat, and I went to Sushi Ya. I love sushi. I don't eat it often and eating all those rolls tonight was a deeply satisfying treat. The one called Deborah was really good. I was going to suggest to managment that they rename it The Deke, but I decided to keep my yap shut.

Three Beautiful Things 09/16/11: TroxStock at Brails, Photos, Adult Restaurant

2011-09-17T08:45:00.001-07:00

1. The Troxstar and Mme. Marla were kind enough to extend an invitation to me to join them for breakfast at Brails. Ian's service was prompt and witty, the coffee was premium, and I went off my usual corned beef hash grid and enjoyed Eggs Benedict and hashbrowns. . . a very satisfying start to the day.

2. I organized photographs and copied about 14,000 of them to my external storage drive.

3. Muffie and Larry offered to take the Deke and me out to dinner. Sam, too! They wanted to eat at an adult restaurant (not a brewpub) a joint with steaks and shrimp and prime rib and good booze. At first their request stumped me. Gulp. I just don't go to such places very often. The closest is Billy Mac's, a great restaurant, but still more of a pub. I could tell they wanted something a bit bigger, more extensive than Billy Mac's. I went online (I could have gone to the Yellow Pages) and I was embarrassed that I hadn't thought of the Eugene Electric Station. Score! It fits Muffie and Larry's request perfectly! And that's where we went and my single malt Scotch, dinner salad, New York Steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and glass of red wine deeply satisfied me. I was really happy and so were Muffie and Larry. They loved the joint. (Back home, Larry introduced me to Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey. Smooth. Tasty. Satisfiying. Another score.)

Three Beautiful Things 09/15/11: Blood Drive, Killing Flies, Billy Mac's and Rogue Nation

2011-09-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

1. After my blood draw, and a superb breakfast at the Cooler, I took a drive to the top of Skinner Butte, scouting future picture taking sites. That part of town looks superb for taking pictures. I just hadn't thought of it until today.

2. The documentary "I Like Killing Flies" focuses on the unique restaurateur, Kenny Shopshin. It was fun to listen to him blab about his philosophies of life and to see him at work in his unique eatery and to hear him gab about food. The movie's drama centered around him losing his lease and having to move into a different building and how that move worked for him and how his customer's felt about the restaurant being displaced.

3. Tonight was the eatery daily double: first, we had a big turn out at Billy Mac's. More of us who get together on Thursdays showed up than have for months. That was really satisfying and fun. The fun continued when I buzzed over to Rogue Nation and the Eugene City Brewery to meet up with Samantha and her mom, Muffie, and Muffie's husband, Larry. I enjoyed making Larry's acquaintance and yakking with everyone at the table about the good old days and good old new ones, too.

Three Beautiful Things 09/14/11: Good and Cheap Compact Discs, Red Barn, Lookin' Back with Stu

2011-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

1. Sam and I went to Target and I picked up some cheap cd's, now that I have a player in the car - - four best of albums: Eric Clapton, The Cars, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and CCR. I saw Daisy at Target. That, too, was fun.2. I changed things up a bit and instead of buying produce and hot cereal at the Kiva, I went to the Red Barn. LCC student Renee was working the cash register. We had a good visit and then I went across the street for an honest three buck pint of Dale's Pale Ale at Sam Bond's Garage. It was too hoppy for my taste. Nonetheless, I enjoyed relaxing at a table and slowly drinking this renowned beer from the Oskar Blues Brewery. 3. The Stu and I had a good text exchange about Lynrd Skynrd and our fall 1973 Friday afternoons at Jeckyl and Hyde's. We always had the same sandwich while we drank the afternoon away and shot pool before heading out to the next Kellogg Wildcat game. Neither of us can remember the sandwich's name. Then Stu called and we tried to figure out some other stuff from that time in our life -- with mixed success. We had lots of good laughs and decided that Goose and Jake are the two best story tellers we know. Others have good stories to tell, but Goose and Jake really deliver and Stu and I are rendered silent in their presence. That's good.

Sibling Assignment # 152: Facebook Reflections

2011-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here's the assignment that Silver Valley Girl gave:

Share how the social network Facebook has affected your relationships with other people.

Except for two distasteful experiences, I've had a good time being a part of Facebook and I think it's helped not only renew and strengthen a number of relationships in my life, but Facebook has been a way for me to make friends I wouldn't have otherwise shared ideas and wise cracks with.

A few examples come to mind immediately.

In 2009, a bunch of us Kellogg High School grads began to work on having a get together in Oregon to celebrate turning fifty-five years old. It was through Facebook that people who hadn't seen or talked to each others for years got reacquainted and it was through Facebook that we worked out the decision that Lincoln City would be a better site for our party than Portland. The weekend of food, walks, talks, laughs, music, and plain of fun, fun, fun was one of the best times I've ever had and Facebook made it really easy to organize and make happen.

Similarly, the different people in Baugh/West clan started joining Facebook and we started getting to know each other a little better and the idea sprang up that we ought to have a cousin reunion, the Last Cousin Standing Hootenanny. Just like the party I described above, the Last Cousin Standing Hootenanny was one of the best times I've ever had. My sisters and cousins and their families and I, along with the family matriarchs (MIWW and LWBZ), had a great time talking, eating, drinking, telling stories, learning stuff we never knew about each other, and just feelin' the love of an epic family gathering. The Last Cousin Standing Hootenanny prepared the way for the big parties this past spring when we celebrated Judy and Jack's 50 wedding anniversary and Lila (aka LWBZ)'s 90th birthday. I credit our involvement on Facebook with setting things in motion for such full participation at both events.

Later, in 2010, thanks to Facebook and a private group we created, I had a deeply satisfying reunion with three of my Whitworth College students (and Bill's wife). We got to know each other through the Facebook group and made arrangements for a reunion through Facebook. Bill and Diane and I got together again in June this summer for a weekend in Ashland. Bridgit had to cancel because of work demands. It's all to say that we stay current with one another through Facebook and I'll bet we plan another get together and will continue to become better and better friends.

Lastly, thanks to my friendship with local hero the Troxstar, I have made a bunch of Facebook friends who either are from Middlesboro, MA or are married to MHS grads or are FOM (Friends of Middleboroers). Just this past Monday, one of those Middleboro High School grads, Jon, visited Eugene and the Troxstar and he invited me to join them for dinner and a Pats game. I'd had coffee with Jon and the Troxstar once before and the same thing was true both times: having talked on Facebook about music, football, the Red Sox, the Celtics,and church, we moved easily from Facebook to face to face conversation. I trust that if I were to get together with others of this group of people, a similar thing would happen.

I used to have a similar experience through my blog. I made virtual friendships with people around the country (even the world) through my blog posts and had some wonderful, but short lived correspondence with fellow bloggers. That has fallen off. I've notice people are more active on Facebook than they are checking blogs and I often double post my stuff in both places. I miss some of my old blog acquaintances, but I understand that things change.

I remain faithful to this blog. Most of my posts are Three Beautiful Things, but I keep it alive and I've enjoyed the people I've corresponded with because of my blog every bit as much as via Facebook.

The new developments on the World Wide Web have been fun and have nourished my life with the spirits of good people and company of many friends and family.

I never saw it coming!

Sibling Assignment #151: The St. Joe Watershed

2011-09-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

As InlandEmpireGirl put it, we are back rolling again on sibling assignments. I gave this one and it's pretty simple:

"Write about a particular thing that happened on our Sibling Outing that was especially enjoyable. If possible, include an image, but not required."

IEG's post is here and Silver Valley Girl's is here. They both documented the Hobo Cedar Grove phase of our day (see below).

My sisters and I do our best whenever all three of us are in Kellogg to go on an outing without any other family members: no kids, without our mother, no husbands, and without the Deke. We realized a few years ago that when we saw each other, we were always with other family members (which we love), but we wondered if it might be fun to go out with our cameras and explore Spokane or go to Greenbluff or go up the North Fork of the Cd'A River by ourselves and just enjoy one another's company.

We've done it and it works. We gab. We tell stories. We tell inside jokes. We laugh. We remember. We have a great time.

Back on August 27th, Silver Valley Girl, InlandEmpireGirl and I set out from Kellogg and did the following:

Ate breakfast at Sam's in Kellogg
Drove over Moon Pass
Stopped in Avery and poked around
Drove the mean streets of Calder
Stopped at the Marble Creek Interpretive Site, and learned about logging practices in the early 1900s
Drove to Clarkia
Left Clarkia to go the nearby ranger station to get a clearer idea of how to get to the Hobo Cedar Grove
Drove to the Hobo Cedar Grove
Walked an interpretive nature trail at the Hobo Cedar Grove
Stopped at the liquor store in Fernwood
Stopped at the liquor store in St. Maries (success -- grasshopper [aka grasshoppahs] to come
Met Mom at the Mission Inn in Cataldo for dinner

I'd been looking forward to this outing for weeks, not only to spend time with my sisters, but also because I'd just read The Big Burn by Timothy Egan and I wanted to see this part of Idaho again, now with fresh knowledge of what happened when the Fire of 1910 swept through Wallace and the forests to the south.

In 1910, Avery was an especially important railroad stop as trains either descended out of the Bitterroots or ascended over the rugged mountains.

Today, in Avery, one of the attractions is a railroad car, giving visitors a chance to experience what the interior of a passenger car was like when train travel was popular. Here's a picture of the car:

The interior was much more interesting to me, both because of what I could see about the level of luxury for train passengers and because the light coming through the windows and the shadows that resulted were fun to shoot pictures of. I found myself trying to get good pictures of this interplay and I may or may not have done a very good job documenting what the insides of this train car looked like. I don't know my pictures well enough to say if I succeeded in evoking much in the way I shot the light and shadows. You see what you think:

I really enjoyed being in Avery. It's remote. It's pretty interesting, especially historically. And there were all kinds of good subject for pictures there. Here are a few more:

Three Beautiful Things 09/13/11: Tamales, Sam Invades Oregon, I Had a Hammer(head)

2011-09-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

1. I took the Subaru over to the car cleaning place on 8th and Chambers and discovered a Mexican food cart nearby and really enjoyed the two tamales I scarfed down while waiting for the car to be cleaned.

2. Samantha arrived safe and sound and on time in Portland and so her move to Oregon has begun. As you can see, she is very happy to have arrived and is eager to start this new phase of her life:

3. The Deke and Sam and I went to the 19th Street McMenamin's pub for some food and conversation. I've been trying out a lot of different beers at Sixteen Tons and it was satisfying to come back to a beer that's been among my favorites for well over ten years: Hammerhead. Not only do I enjoy how Hammerhead tastes, a ton of really good memories are locked up in that beer. They came alive when I took my fist draw on tonight's glass.

Three Beautiful Things 09/12/11: Good Kidney News, Yi Shen Noodles, Crashing a Middleboro High School Reunion

2011-09-13T08:14:00.001-07:00

1. Okay. Here's the deal. I have Stage III chronic kidney disease. I was diagnosed about seven years ago and I don't know how long I'd had it before it was discovered. I live (quite well) with 22% kidney function. I had about 6% more function until I contracted pneumonia and c-diff back in 2009. The dehydration cost me some kidney function. For some reason unknown to any one, last March my kidney function dipped to 18%. My kidney doctor (and I) hoped this was an anomaly and it turns out it was. In fact, my function was back up to 22% when I saw my internist in early June. The hope of my doctors and my hope is that I stay at this 22% level. I saw my kidney doctor today and not only was my blood pressure really good -- a vital factor in managing this disease -- but my kidney function remained stable. 22% function. This is very good news. Stability. That's what I want, in all things, really, but especially when in comes to my kidneys.

2. Russell and I have been out of town through large chunks of August and September. Not only have we not had a photo stroll for a while, but we've not been to Yi Shen for many weeks. I ate lunch at Yi Shen today and the Vietnamese stir fried noodles with bbq pork not only satisfied my appetite, but reminded me of why Russell and I enjoy being one of the restaurant's weekly regulars.

3. Jon Souza was in town today on business and so he and the Troxstar were getting together, having a mini high school reunion, to watch the Pats play Miami and they invited me to join them. It was calm and enjoyable at the Good Times tavern. The beer and food were good. The Massachusetts guys one table over were good guys. Tom Brady was really good. The Pats won. Jon and the Troxstar and I had a lot of good laughs. We ended the night by introducing Jon to Sixteen Tons and I enjoyed capping off the evening with a pint of Southern Tier Harvest Ale.

Three Beautiful Things 09/11/11: Father Bingham's Sermon, Excellent Beers, Evensong Perspective

2011-09-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

1. Ten years ago hijackers blew up the World Trade Centers, crashed a jet in Pennsylvania, and ran a jet into the Pentagon. I came to church this morning knowing that Father Bingham Powell would address this destruction and I wondered how. He addressed it perfectly in his sermon, putting the variety of responses persons in our parish have had in the context of the Scripture readings from the lectionary, all focused, on forgiveness. He didn't act like forgiveness is a simple or immediate act, but did explore what occurs within us when resentment dominates our inward being. Again, nothing is simple, immediate, or uniform about forgiveness, or about the larger act of reconciliation. I appreciated that Father Bingham Powell preached to the complexity of the Scripture readings and to the complexity of the day. I thought he performed a difficult task beautifully.

2. After church, I strolled over to Sixteen Tons for two pints of beer, two beers I'd never tasted before: a Pilsner Urquell and a Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest. Both were not only tasty, but smooth, easy to drink, without an abundance of hops (I prefer less hoppy beers). For about half of the first beer I sat and contemplated what I'd experienced in church and then the Troxstar appeared. He had been at a Sunday School teachers meeting and knew I'd be at Sixteen Tons and, like me, was eager to give the Pilsner Urquell a try. The Pilsner Urquell satisfied the Troxstar as well.

3. The Evensong service at St. Mary's gave worshipers a chance to pray and meditate upon forgiveness and reconciliation on the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, the plane crash in Pennsylvania, and the deaths at the Pentagon. The Holy Bible foresees a New Jerusalem. I got to read one passage about this promised world that came from the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation. Each of the service's prayers, each reading, each hymn was a measured and sane response to the grief, horror, and confusion that happened ten years ago.

Three Beautiful Things 09/10/11: St. Mary's Breakfast, Land Trust Lager, Greeky Dinner

2011-09-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

1. I got to prepare the potatoes and then serve them to all the men and women who came to our twice monthly free breakfast at St. Mary's.

2. Before I went grocery shopping this afternoon, I stopped in at Sixteen Tons for a single pint of beer. It was hard to stop at one because I so thoroughly enjoyed Oakshire's Land Trust Lager. For me, it was a perfect answer to the unseasonable heat. Not only was it more light than heavy, it was very tasty. I stopped at one and got on with my duties to stock the pantry.

3. New dinner combo: Greek salad and tri tips, prepared on the stove via the cast iron dutch oven. It worked for me.

Three Beautiful Things 09/09/11: Photo Walk, Keg Run, A Cool Grand With the Troxstar

2011-09-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

1. I walked around downtown and into the Pearl District, taking photographs. I ducked into the alley behind the liquor store on 8th and wondered why I hadn't ducked into this alley long ago and taken pictures of the brick building advertising Brenner's Furniture that sits between the liquor store and The Dining Room. It's a workplace. I don't know what the employees do inside, but maybe one day I'll figure it out or someone can tell me. But I enjoyed taking pictures all around it and will return. For one thing, I want to take some pictures with a wider angle lens. Here are a couple of shots from this building.

2. The Troxstar swung by and we went over to Point Blank where he bought a keg of Hopworks Cool Grand for his Kegerator. It was fun talking with Dale, the guy at Point Blank, and fun seeing the Troxstar score this beer that is a one time brew, the 1000th beer Hopworks has created. Or something like that.

3. The Troxstar and I drank a Cool Grand at his dining table and almost had everything in the world figured out, but he had to leave and go to a soccer match. For the kids.

Three Beautiful Things 09/08/11: Shirk Meal, Everyone's at Sixteen Tons!, Win for Once

2011-09-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

1. Scott and I met at 12:30 for lunch at Cafe Sienna and kept right on talking until past 2:30, getting everything in the worlds of music, theater, metaphysics, epistemology, radio, blogs, Shakespeare, Homer, and fantasy football figured out once and for all. It's good we got this finished once and for all before Scott moves east later in the month.

2. I found out today that Southern Tier Brewery brews a superb Harvest Ale, a classic English ESB, and as I was sipping on it at Sixteen Tons, imagining I was back in England, quaffing away, watching the Pearl District Block Party go on around me, in popped Katy and Ron. We had a great visit, full of information, catching up, and great laughs. I didn't know for sure that the Troxstar would pop in. I was a little up in the air, but right in the middle of laughing with Ron, the Troxstar and CB appeared. One pint. Four friends. Lots of laughs. Then, it was off to Billy Mac's.

3. Friends are traveling right now, so the Deke and are were the only ones at Billy Mac's. I tried the special, a bbq prime rib open face sandwich on sourdough. Splendid. The Deke left before and I said I thought I'd play a little video poker before coming on home. The Deke tenderly commanded, "Win for once." I gulped. I put in a twenty and played and played up a little, then down, down a little more, under 10 bucks, and then I hit a $150.00 winner and came home, having cleared $130.00. "Win for once", indeed. :)

Three Beautiful Things 09/07/11: Errands and Photo Walk, Movie Talk, Consecration and Helle

2011-09-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

1. I walked around a lot today: scouted pictures to take, shopped at the Kiva, shot some pictures, had blood drawn, and I went back to the tables outside The Strand and sat with a coffee and took some more pictures at 8th and Charnleton. I don't think this is like a great photograph, but I like the sense of congeniality and purpose these three had as they came outside, their time together over, summed up what they had to say to each other, and moved on.

2. MB, Jeff, and Michael got together for some conversation at the Wandering Goat and talked about all sorts of things, but our conversations about movies made me ache with pleasure.

3. I went from the Wandering Goat over to Sixteen Tons. I wanted to try one interesting sounding beer in particular and it turned out to be very different than I expected. I'm learning at Sixteen Tons that the word "beer" is a much wider word than I have ever known before. I thought back it 1979 when Eileen and I went to England for three months and I tried every Real Ale I could that I had sampled a lot of beer. Those beers were all within a family of porters, bitters, IPAs, and other English beers. The beers at Sixteen Tons go way beyond that and so every time I visit Sixteen Tons, I'm introduced to a fermented drink unlike any I've tasted before. I walked in having decided that I wanted to have a glass of Russian River Consecration. It's a wild ale, described at beeradvocate.com this way:

Sometimes Belgian influenced, American Wild Ales are beers that are introduced to "wild" yeast or bacteria, such as: Brettanomyces (Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Brettanomyces Lambicus or Brettanomyces Anomolus), Pediococcus or Lactobacillus. This introduction may occur from oak barrels that have been previously inoculated, pitched into the beer, or gained from various "sour mash" techniques. Regardless of which and how, these little creatures often leave a funky calling card that can be quite strange, interesting, pleasing to many, but also often deemed as undesirable by many.

Russian River's Consecration seemed almost like wine to me. It had been aged in a cabernet barrel (I think) and this aging shaped its sour, winey taste. I'd never drunk a sour ale before and Colin, who poured mine, told me this was a very intense one to start with. I agree. It was intense and, for me, so bewilderingly different from anything I'd ever drunk before, that I might just have to have another one day when I know better what to expect.

My second pint wasn't nearly so different. I enjoyed a very slow pint of Big Al's Summer Helles. I took my time for a couple of reasons. First of all, Dane, a young guy who just moved here from the midwest, struck up a conversation with me. That pleasantly slowed me down. Secondly, after drinking Russian River's Consecration, my taste buds needed some recovery time to move out of the wild ale sourness into this beer which is more of a lager. As my taste buds made the transition, I enjoyed Big Al's Summer Helle more and more.

Three Beautiful Things 09/06/11: Taking Pictures at The Strand, Eggplant Heaven, Smoked Baltic Porter Pleasure

2011-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

1. I took my camera down to the Farmer's Market, but didn't feel like taking pictures there and then I walked over to The Strand at 8th and Charnelton, sat at a table outside, and snapped some pictures of the world around me. One of my personal favorites, for its subject matter, was of this police jail van. I wish it were clearer, but if you look closely you can see the cop in the passenger side is taking surveillance footage of people down the street on 8th. I'm wondering if the cops were worried about the crowd gathering for the Family Dinner down at The Dining Room, run by Food for Lane County. I'm not sure.

2. I had a hankering for eggplant and vaguely remembered a recipe for an eggplant sauce to serve over pasta. I found the recipe, bought a bunch of tomatoes, garlic, and eggplant at the Kiva, a bunch of basil at the Farmer's Market and the sauce I made poured over penne was fantastic.

3. Before going to Nick and Helen's I bought a bottle of Smoked Baltic Porter, brewed by the Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver. While I fixed dinner, this beer delighted my taste buds beyond my usual delight in drinking a porter. And one was enough. It was perfect.

Three Beautiful Things 09/05/11: A Troxstar Trifecta -- Midnight in Paris, M and Sixteen Tons, Evening with Nick and Helen

2011-09-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

1. I chauffeured the Troxstar to the Bijou Theater where we thoroughly enjoyed "Midnight in Paris". When I'm not watching dark/indy/Palestinian-Israeli-Iranian/Sundance/bleak/existential/unsettling/downer movies, which are what I watch more of than anything else, I enjoy smart, beautifully filmed, wistful comedies, comic not only in being funny, but comedies in the way they explore what gives life its vitality, what robs life of vitality, as well as the mysteries of love. "Midnight in Paris" was all of that. I ached with pleasure throughout the movie and had the most pleasant flashbacks to one of my very favorite Woody Allen movies, "The Purple Rose of Cairo". If you've seen both movies, I hope you understand how "Midnight in Paris" affectionately reminded me of the older film.

2. Next stop: the Troxstar and I talked over the movie and a host of other things at Sixteen Tons over a couple of pints. I began with a Gilgamesh Mamba from Turner, OR. It's a hopless beer, which interested me a lot, and I enjoyed the effect of its alcohol content, but did not find it a particularly tasty beer. It was fun to try, though. It's the only beer I've ever drunk that was brewed with black tea (I don't know what that means). My second beer was entirely satisfying. I had a pint of Boneyard Wit Shack, a Belgian white beer brewed in Bend. I really liked M, the woman pouring at Sixteen Tons. She's seen "Midnight in Paris" -- loved it -- , knew what I was talking about when I mentioned "Purple Rose of Cairo" to the Troxstar while we waited to order, and she played Maurice Chevalier on the sound system as a tribute to France and Paris and the movie. M reviews beers online in the sequential tradition: she present her reviews in cartoon form, here.

3. I completed today's Troxstar Trifecta when Randy and I, later joined my Mme. Troxstar, whizzed up to see Nick and Helen for a few hours of enjoyable conversation and a couple of Belgian beers.

Three Beautiful Things 09/95/11: Troxstar Daily Double, Perfect Greek Salad, InnerTubing

2011-09-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

1. The Troxstar and I hit the daily double today. We went to St. Mary's for the 11:00 service and went across the street and east about a block or so and drank a couple of very fresh local ales at Sixteen Tons. I enjoyed a glass of New Belgium Lips of Faith Clutch and a pint of Portland-u-Brew Say What?!? Saison. I don't talk beer talk. I can only say both beers were refreshing, unusual (in a good way), and remarkably fun to drink.

2. I bought feta cheese, four fat fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green and red bell peppers, red onion, Kalamata olives, parsley, pita bread, and six domas at the Kiva and came home and made the Deke and me a Greek salad with a side of domas and pita bread. Deke summed up our dinner about six times: "Perfect."

3. I had fun breaking out of my usual World Wide Web habits and read articles about Jerry Lewis, found more photoblogs to admire, and ventured farther and wider than usual on the innertubes.

Three Beautiful Things 09/03/11: Brain Pickings and Motivation, Crossing Into Chard Land, Jeff!

2011-09-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

1. I spent a lot of time looking at posts on Brain Pickings. It's my favorite website. The posts are cogent and well illustrated with graphics, pictures, and videos and point readers to books and lectures covering a variety of subjects including Mad Magazine, typography, the history of cities, capitalism, graphic design, psychology, and culture. My list is hardly exhaustive. My favorite video today was an RSAnimation of Daniel Pink's lecture, here, on motivation in the work place. He explains how monetary incentives can actually deter productivity, unless the work is material production, and that people in the workplace are most motivated by the desire for self direction or autonomy, the desire for mastery, and by with a sense of larger purpose, of making a contribution to the betterment of one's world, of the lives of others. It wasn't the gaining of new insight that made it my favorite today. In my work, it's been some variant upon these three motivators that has driven my best work and I've known it for many years. In fact, for as long as I can remember, when I've been asked what I value most in my workplace, my immediate answer has been, "Autonomy".

But, I've been discouraged in my work over the last few years. My autonomy as an instructor has eroded as the institutions that govern my work, especially at the state and local level, as well as the entities that accredit our work, place more and more emphasis on program concerns, on coherence and consistency spelled out in shared outcomes, leaving fewer decisions about what to teach (especially, in composition) and how to go about it to the instructor. We are less self-directed. This limits the range of mastery I work toward in my instruction. The sense of purpose I once had as an instructor, especially when it comes to helping students write fearlessly and developing a love for writing, has been hampered by mandates from the state and the institution I work for.

I'll reduce my comments down to the categories Pirsig explores in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". My approach to instruction is more romantic than classical. Institutions are rarely romantic and since the institutions have imposed themselves more into my syllabus and dictated more explicitly what they want my courses to accomplish, my sense of self direction, mastery, and purpose has diminished. It's not gone by any means, but I did better work when I was left to my own devices. And my students wrote better papers.

2. Until today, the Deke has always been our chard chef. That ended today. I brought home chard from the Kiva, got some instructions from the Deke, and succeeded. I added zucchini, mushrooms, spinach/feta sausage, and broccoli to the chard. It's a great meal and got even better with cold sliced tomatoes and cold beets, the ones I had boiled a little earlier in the day.

3. I was reading Brain Pickings, looking at videos, keeping an eye on the score of the Univ. of Oregon football game when suddenly, in my Facebook chat box, Jeff S. appeared and we had a great conversation about longtime friends, colleges, and the mysteries of spirituality.

Three Beautiful Things 09/02/11: The Troxstar Surveys His City, Electric Frying Pan Annivesary, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

2011-09-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

1. A fairly normal day suddenly was elevated to extraordinary. He was hiding behind sunglasses, his Willy on a leash, outside the Kiva, calmly surveying his city, blending in, calling no attention to himself, being like an everyday guy: yes, I saw and then talked to the Troxstar late this afternoon. BONUS: We were soon joined by Mme. Troxstar. It was the perfect trifecta. Troxstar, Mme. Troxstar, and Willy. I almost called it quits for the day. I almost jumped in the car, headed home, and went to bed. My day peaked early.

2. In my search for post-Troxstar meaning and fulfillment, I headed to the kitchen. After all, I had bought a bag of groceries at the Kiva and the Deke had requested that we eat some lean ground beef accompanied by onions, mushrooms, zucchini, snow peas, and red pepper. On the one-year anniversary of having purchased my electric frying pan, I cooked the Deke the dinner she requested. Her response, and I quote, "Perfect."

3. I was feeling pretty chipper after the perfect meal and thinking that I could stay awake and make the rest of my hours of this day meaningful in the wake of the Troxstar Experience, so I decided to watch a documentary film I'd been thinking about since it came out: "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29". It's a look back at the 1968 Yale-Harvard football game, a game whose significance was magnified by both teams coming into the last game of the season undefeated for the first time since 1908. I enjoy football a lot, so it was thrilling to watch the game itself unfold as the movie developed. The heart of the movie, though, is the interviews with about fifty of the players as they look back, not only on the game, but on the experience of being a college student in 1968. I was left with one small question. Because I've been a football fan for nearly fifty years, I loved the football in the movie. I wondered to myself whether a person who were indifferent to football would also enjoy the thrill of the game and the absorbing interviews that give the movie its soul. I read one non-football fan reviewer who did. I wondered about all my friends at school who aren't interested in football but love documentaries and social history. Would this movie work for them?

Three Beautiful Things 09/01/11: Men Who Stare at Goats, Cutter's Way, Talking and Eating

2011-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

1. For me, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" was a lot of fun. It was like watching a blend of "Airplane", "Apocalypse Now", "Dr. Strangelove", and "King of Hearts". I enjoyed the movie as a send up of the absurdity of the USA in Iraq, as a send up of paranormality, and of New Age male "sensitivity" and self-absorption. Every time I watch George Clooney in a movie, I admire him more. I thoroughly enjoyed Jeff Bridges as well. I needed some relief from the dark-indy-Palestinian-Sundance movies I had been watching. "The Men Who Stare at Goats" was welcome relief.

2. Watching Jeff Bridges in "The Men Who Stare at Goats" inspired me to watch him in a movie when he was younger. I remembered that "Cutter's Way" was available for instant viewing on Netflix, and am I ever happy I watched this movie again for the, well, let's say, umm, twelfth time (at least). It was better than ever. I've been living with this movie since January of 1982 when I first saw it at the Cinema 7 and then when I owned a copy, videotaped off of Spotlight with my BetaMax. Back in 1982, I had seen, and admired, John Heard in "Between the Lines", "Heart Beat", and "Chilly Scenes of Winter" (aka "Head over Heels") and his performance in "Cutter's Way" made me think I'd see him in great leading roles for years to come.

Watching this movie today, I once again wondered why no one ever again let John Heard let it rip the way Ivan Passer did in this movie. Never again did I see John Heard play a role where his character was as verbally adroit, manic, seething, dangerous, obsessive, hyperactive, cunning, manipulative, and raw as Alex Cutter in "Cutter's Way".

(If you'd like to read a plot summary of the movie, go to imdb.com and look up "Cutter's Way". )

For me, the enduring power of the movie isn't so much the pursuit of the murder case, but the portrayal of Mo, Alex, and Richard, all in their late twenties, early thirties, drifting through their days, Mo numbed by booze and loneliness, Richard a sex shell, and Alex a crippled, half-blinded alcoholic Vietnam vet, driven by anger, imagination, and a thirst for justice and revenge. The scenes between Lisa Eichorn, Jeff Bridges, and John Heard are complex in the movie's portrayal of ennui, of jaded despair, of three aimless young adults drinking, having sex, talking about sex, making jaded chit chat, indulging in some violence, filling the void with what's at hand -- including Alex's obsession with a murder, a murder whose aftermath was witnessed by Richard Bone. If you are still reading this rambling Beautiful Thing, I'll tell you that at about the 1:40 mark of a movie about 1:44 long, I think the movie goes a little sideways. It jumps the shark. But, for me, it's rescued by the movie's compelling final image, its closing black out.

3. Michael, MB, and I met at the Wandering Goat and talked about a wide variety of things including what happened in court on Monday. Jeff arrived late and couldn't stay long, so we got him caught up and soon after he left, I said I had to go so I could meet Micahel, Pam, and the Deke at Billy Mac's where I took a chance on the Ranchero Prime Rib, a special on the menu, and I enjoyed it very much. I left hoping that one day I can have a straight ahead prime rib at Billy Mac's. That meat was splendid.

Three Beautiful Things 08/31/11: Down to the Bone, Corner Market and Dinner, Stare at Goats

2011-09-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

1. This morning I read Anthony Lane's review of Vera Farmiga's new film, "Higher Ground" (she stars and directs). In it, Lane listed the different contemporary women (Streep, Weaver, Foster, Moore, Blanchett) in contemporary movies who would have made the George Cukor cut for casting in his mid-20th century movies. Lane finished completed his list with Vera Farmiga and I couldn't place her, largely, I suppose, because I haven't seen "Up in the Air". Then, later in the day, I got myself situated to watch Debra ("Winter's Bone") Granik's first movie, "Down to the Bone" and, unknown to me, the working-class, cocaine-addicted, struggling mother/wife/grocery store checker at the center of the movie was Vera Farmiga. I won't forget her. The movie (like "Winter's Bone") is bleak, gray, and unsettling. Whatever hope one might see in Irene's story is unsentimental, hard-earned, incremental, tiny, and, in its own way, profound. Vera Farmiga's performance is stunning: she creates an Irene who is tough, weak, tender, cold, smart, stupid, lost, broken, courageous, cowardly, loving, trusting, deceitful, brazen, wary, honest, well, in short, complex and complicated. The story, the movie's photographic qualities, Vera Farmiga's performance, and the movie's exploration of the intersection between drugs, work, family, longing, sex, friendship, and whatever rehab/recovery is or means will stay with me.

2. I wanted to buy some produce from a local market today and discovered The Corner Market at the corner of River Road and Thomason Lane. The produce comes from Sweet Leaf Farm. I enjoyed shopping at The Corner Market. Later in the afternoon, and after a stop at the remodeled and newly spacious Kiva Market, I fried a single slice of bacon, sweet onion, red bell pepper, zucchini, blanched green beans, and spinach/feta chicken sausage together and it as delicious.

3. I didn't make it all the way through the movie yet, but after watching "Runaway Jury", "Winter's Bone", "Down the Bone", and "Rana's Wedding" over the past week, I decided I'd try something and little bit lighter and so far, after about forty minutes or so, I'm getting a kick out of "Men Who Stare at Goats". I sure enjoy George Clooney and, of course, Jeff Bridges.

Three Beautiful Things 08/30/2011: Getting Caught Up, Discovering Vivienne Gucwa, Artifacts of 9/11

2011-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

1. Staying with Mom in Kellogg means very little internet access, so, whenever I go home, I get way behind in recording these Three Beautiful Things. But, I keep mental notes. My recall is good. Today I got caught up on recording all the 3BTs that happened while in Kellogg, traveling back to Eugene, and the day after my arrival.

2. Through Tumblr, I discover more and more photography blogs and I'm especially drawn to those whose subject is the city of New York. Today I discovered Vivienne Gucwa. She considers herself a "memory collector and an urban documentarian". Before finding her blog, I had been thinking how I would like to document the realities of the Silver Valley in the 2010's -- on a regular basis, not just when I visit for a week or so. If you'd like to see Gucwa's pictures, start here. Her blog will then link you to a variety of other places to admire her work. I've never been to NYC. My experience with NYC has been through watching sports on television, photographs, movies, listening to others talk about NYC, and music. Gucwa loves NYC. It's thrilling to experience NYC through her love, to experience how love shapes her imagination and how she sees things. (Note: I really should comment on other photographers of NYC I admire in other posts.)

3. Speaking of New York City, today, while listening to BBC World Service's program(me), "The Strand", I learned about a photography exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London. The photographer is Francesc Torres. The exhibition's title is "Memory Remains". He spent five weeks photographing Hangar 17 at JFK International Airport where debris and material cleared from the site of the September 11, 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center is stored. You can see some of the images he captured here.

Three Beautiful Things 08/29/2011: Court Dismissed, Ground Round, Rest

2011-08-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

1. The judge denied the motion for a hearing to vacate the Stalking Protective Order and it still stands.

2. After court, I enjoyed a ground round steak and eggs breakfast at Brails.

3. After court and Brails and after a long Sunday drive, I needed and took an afternoon and evening of rest.

Three Beautiful Things 08/28/2011: Travel Plans, The Radio's On, Petrol Delay

2011-08-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

1. So that I could be in court for an important hearing regarding the vacating of the Protective Stalking Order protecting MB, I left Kellogg a day earlier than planned. I didn't leave in the cool of the morning, so I left about two in the afternoon so that I would be driving in heat for the first few hours of my drive, but would enjoy the cooler temperatures of the evening as the sun set and darkness fell in the later part of my drive. My plan worked very well, although I didn't arrive back in Eugene until after midnight.

2. I listened to a variety of radio documentary programs as well as news reports on a variety of radio channels on XM radio. I heard a story about the trial of an adult woman who killed her own mother at the age of fourteen, another story about the world garbage problem, and still another about heart disease and diet. I didn't listen to any music on my long drive, but instead was absorbed by these features and by the news of Hurrican Irene and its aftermath as it pounded New England.

3. The Dalles. Safeway gas. Nine pumps. One attendant. Five cars. One customer had the attendant fill five five-gallon gas cans. It's against the law to pump one's own gas in Oregon. Fortunately, I brought a quarter pounder and a large order of fries with me and finished my supper while I waited for the harried kid to pump my gas.

Three Beautiful Things 08/27/2011: Moon Pass, Avery, Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Area

2011-08-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'll post photographs of this outing later.

1. It's been too long since my sisters and I went on a sibling outing, but today we piled into the Vibe and headed east to Wallace and made our way up Placer Creek and to the top of Moon Pass. Carol narrated historical facts and stories as we passed certain houses and passed the Pulaski trailhead. We enjoyed the landscape and laughed and laughed at inside jokes and plays on words known only to us.

2. We wound our way to Avery and enjoyed the historical sites. We continued to laugh at inside jokes and plays on words known only to us.

3. After a tour of Calder, a tour of Clarkia, and a stop at the ranger station, we climbed to the Hobo Cedar Grove Botanical Area. We admired the stately cedars, took pictures, and laughed at inside jokes and plays on words known only to us.

Three Beautiful Things 08/26/2011: Up the River, Yokes Shopping, Dinner

2011-08-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

1. I took a drive up the river and came back with some pictures, including this one:

2. I went to Yokes and bought the groceries I needed to fix dinner tonight, an assignment I was given last week by my sisters and mother.

3. I fixed boneless pork loins with brown sugar and cinnamon apples and I fried bacon, green beans, sweet onions, corn, and potatoes together as a tasty side dish. We had cole slaw. Everyone seemed pretty pleased with dinner.

Three Beautiful Things 08/25/2011: Television News, Rana's Wedding, Pot Roast

2011-08-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

1. I don't have television service in Eugene, so when I go to Mom's, I see the world in a whole new way and today I found myself hooked on the developing story of Hurricane Irene and the ongoing story of the upheaval in Lybia. Normally I learn about such events by listening to the radio or by reading written accounts and looking at pictures on the World Wide Web. Television intensifies these events and I sure got drawn into the intensity of it all.

2. Today I watched Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad's movie, "Rana's Wedding". I'm always looking for movies that show the world through the eyes of everyday Palestinians and this movie was superb. The movie was shot in East Jerusalem and Ramallah and chronicles the efforts of Rana to find her lover and marry him within a ten hour time frame. She has to negotiate check points, overcome roadblocks, witness protests and rock throwers, and deal with miles of red tape. From this story's point of view, living with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians going on all around her, is absurd for Rana and her lover, and the movie goes well beyond being about her mission to get married and becomes about the world Rana lives in. I enjoyed the movie's humor, the absurdities of Palestinian life, and the logical and absurd conclusion the movie came to. Rana is played by the most wonderful Clara Khoury, who also is the central character in "The Syrian Bride".

3. Mom got out her electric frying pan today and cooked a delicious pot roast. I took mental notes.

Three Beautiful Things 08/24/2011: Rural Decline, Winter's Bone, Broken Wheel

2011-08-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

1. I gave Carol a ride up to Wallace and I meandered back through Osburn and on home via the old highway, thinking how much I'd like to stay in the Silver Valley for a length of time and take pictures as a means of historical preservation -- or as a means of recording images of the ongoing rural decline in Shoshone County -- and beyond -- I would imagine the decline in Shoshone County is happening in similar ways elsewhere.

2. I decided that this afternoon, I would venture more fully into the dangers, criminal activity, and other dark realities of rural life and watch "Winter's Bone". It was an unsettling movie, raw in its portrayal of how the codes that criminals in the Ozarks live by result in cruelty, ruthless cruelty -- and how one teenage girl touches something in these people deeper, even more humane, than the code in a way that is grisly, unromantic, and, for me, unimaginably grotesque. It's a superbly made movie, a well-told story. It touched deep fears in me.

3. I think the last time I went to the Broken Wheel was on December 1, 1973 when Dad and I went out to dinner for cocktails, steaks, and stingers. Then Dad and I returned home to watch an epic UCLA vs Maryland basketball game, won by UCLA 65-64, their 77th win in their 88 game win streak. I remember that evening as the perfect trifecta: great time with Dad, great dinner and drinks, great basketball game. Well, late this afternoon Mom and I had dinner at the Broken Wheel and I ate my first ever (to my knowledge) porterhouse steak and it was very good. Mom enjoyed her jumbo prawns. We didn't drink stingers and we didn't have an epic basketball game to come home to, but we had a good meal out on the town.

Three Beautiful Things 08/23/2011: Road Trip, Amanda, Salmon Dinner

2011-08-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

1. Jake swung by and we headed off to Murray and then over Thompson Pass to Thompson Falls, on down to Paradise and Quinn's Resort and back to Kellogg. We had stops planned at St. Regis and possibly elsewhere, but I'd told Mom I'd be home by five for dinner, so we didn't stop as many places on our trip as we thought we might.

2. We had a beer at the Bedroom Mine Bar and then headed down the street to the Spragpole Bar for the best hamburger I've eaten since the last time I went to the Spragpole (with Jake). Amanda, the bartender, made our lunch even more enjoyable. She was a friendly, smart, frank, and attentive server -- and a great conversationalist. If we hadn't had places to go, I think we would have been happy to wile the afternoon away drinking beers and shooting the breeze with Amanda.

3. Rosie had brought by some chunks of salmon for Mom and that's what Mom fixed us for dinner. It made for a very good dinner.

Three Beautiful Things 08/22/2011: Jimmy's Down the Street, Camera Corral, Family Pictures

2011-08-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

1. I jumped in the Honda this morning and drove to Cd'A to see if the Camera Corral had the camera equipment I needed and that Best Buy didn't have. Before venturing into the heart of East Sherman, however, I stopped for breakfast at Jimmy's Down the Street. It was bustling with customers and I seized the opportunity to snap some pictures from the hip. My favorites were of my friendly and hard-working server, Babette. I enjoyed her service and her personality a lot:

2. It was completely worth the added trip to drive back to Cd'A this morning and go to the Camera Corral. They had the products I was looking for. The atmosphere of the store was calm and professional. To make sure the shutter cable worked, I brought my camera into the store and tested it. It worked. I left the store beaming.

3. Taking pictures of Carol and Paul's family was really fun. Sure, we have a lot of pictures with eyes closed, attention distracted, a familly member playing with her hair -- we all expected that. But, we got some good pictures out of it, too. Here's one I like:

Three Beautiful Things 08/21/2011: Best Buy Failure, BBQ Steak, Happy Racoon

2011-08-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

1. Tomorrow I'm going to try my luck at taking family portraits. Silver Valley Girl has asked me to take pictures of her family. I need a tripod. I also need a shutter release cord. Today Mom and I went to Coeur d' Alene so she could redeem a coupon at J. C. Penney and so I could by the photograph supplies I needed. I struck out. The kid at Best Buy told me that a shutter release cord is a "pretty specialized product" and that he could order me one, but that they don't carry them in the store. I decided that was it. I decided not to try any other big box stores and that I'd return to Cd'A on Monday and see if the Camera Corral has what I need. Mom hit a coupon home run.

2. Mom fired up the bbq and we had an excellent steak dinner.

3. After dinner, I took some pictures in Mom's front and back yards. She likes figures of animals in her yard, epitomized by this happy fella:

Three Beautiful Things 08/20/2011: Stories, Mullan Friends, Mike's Thriving

2011-08-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

1. As we sat around having a few beers, played ladder ball, ate a great salmon and flank steak dinner, a bunch of us laughed and laughed and found out about things our friends had done when young that were astonishing. I think all of us left this barbecue with a sense of gratitude that none of the guys who did these wild things were killed. I left the barbecue realizing, again, how tame I was as a young guy, how crazy I never was and how I haven't changed much. I've never been drawn to doing crazy stuff.

2. It was great to see Kirk again. It had been about four years. He and Jake are master storytellers. I loved hearing the stories I'd never heard before and all the ones I've heard repeatedly over the years. Kirk's wife, Janice, was also at the barbecue and I don't remember having met her before and we had a could talk about people from Mullan she graduated with in '72 and who were friends of mine either at NIC or from playing ball. I enjoyed getting to know Janice.

3. I hadn't seen Mike since Ed, Scott, Jim, and I visited him last September after his cancer surgery. He's recovering beautifully. He looks great. He told us how he's taking great care of himself. It makes me very happy to see him doing so well.

Three Beautiful Things 08/19/2011: My Visit Ends, West Kettle Falls Railroad Bridge, Snoose Run

2011-08-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

1. I enjoyed my stay with IEG and JEJ so much that it was difficult to leave. We relaxed, enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings, enjoyed telling stories and talking about all kinds of things, ate good food, and relished the joy and pleasure of family life. Once again, here is a picture of the guest house where I stayed. The generous vegetation surrounding it, its simplicity in design, and the comfort it gave me at night are all emblematic of what makes visiting my sister and her husband, dogs, cats, and home such a pleasure.

2. Someday, preferably in October, when the light is golden, I would love to spend a week or two in northeastern Washington taking photographs, especially of structures that point to a robust past, but speak to a declining present. For example, before arriving from the west to Kettle Falls, two bridges cross Lake Roosevelt, parallel to each other. A fair amount of traffic crosses the highway bridge, but the train bridge is not very busy at all. It, like so many similar bridges in the Inland Empire, is a structure I love, more solid than the economy it was built and support and dignified, staid.

3. Ed will be working for a couple of months, starting next week, on a job in Orofino. This evening, he needed to drive down to the Fighting Creek Smoke Shop to purchase a couple rolls of snoose. So, we drove down, with a stop at Jack in the Box for some supper -- and, as long as we were in the neighborhood, we went down to the Coeur d'Alene Casino. My luck was miserable, but the trip was fun, especially jawing with Ed about life and its many challenges.

Three Beautiful Things 08/18/2011: Guest House, Annie, BBQ Dinner

2011-08-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

1. It's been very relaxing here at Martin Creek, enjoying the vistas and the beauty of my sister's property, admiring all the work she and Everett have done. One of their projects was to turn a shed into a guest house and I've been staying in it this week:

2. I got to know Annie a little better this afternoon, and took a whole bunch of pictures of her while we had some quality time together:

3. We had a great dinner out in the bbq area in the front of the house: shrimp, corn on the cob, fresh green beans with bacon, bread sticks, cucumbers, and tomatoes. IEG took this picture of dinner:

Sibling Assignment #150: Morning Has Broken

2011-08-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

To commemorate our 150th sibling assignment, IEG gave this assignment: "Pick three favorite images you have posted, link them in some way, and write about them."

She posted images of gathering, of gathering around tables, here, and reflected upon the way her sibling assignment pieces correlated with the emphasis of her blog.

Well, I tried going back to sibling assignments and looking for images I had posted and I failed.

I still want to do this assignment, so

I got to thinking about the sibling assignments I've written and about my blog and about posting on Facebook and how they all kind of blend together in my mind. Two images come to mind when I think about starting my blog and about writing sibling assignments. The first image relates to the way I had been fighting some serious problems with mental illness, with depression when I started writing this blog and when I started writing sibling assignments. My mind was not clear. It was, well, like this:

And for a few years, starting in 2006, I often wrote about my struggles with depression. In part, I think I was trying to help my sisters understand my experience, and, definitely, I was trying to come to a better understanding of its persistence and malignancy myself.

Not only that, but I was having some physical illness problems, too. These problems interfered with my blog writing and interfered with my work on sibling assignments. I've written quite a bit about these problems and tried to come to grips with how I was beginning to feel dilapidated.

The sibling assignments have been restorative. In them, my sisters have asked me to think about ideas, remember events from our family's past, tell stories, take pictures and post them, write about music and movies, feel more deeply, learn more about my sisters, and tell them more about myself.

I feel better in August 2011 than I did when we started out sibling assignments, and, better than when I started writing this blog.

I don't know know why I feel better. I like to believe, however, that it has a lot to do with sharing feelings, ideas, memories, pictures I've taken, and stories with my sisters.

I like to believe that this project has been a way that, for me, morning has broken:

Three Beautiful Things 08/17/2011: Catching Up, Camera Confusion, Silver Peak Fire

2011-08-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

1. After not being online for about four days, I logged on and got caught up posting 3BTs and posted some photo albums.

2. IEG and Silver Valley Girls took the dogs for a swim and while they were gone I tried to get my little pile of a life here in Martin Creek organized. My Canon S95 was missing. I stayed calm. I didn't tear up the guest cabin where I'm sleeping at night. I didn't start bawling. I stayed calm. IEG arrived home and I pushed down all the panic coursing through my veins and greeted her at the door, "Do you happen to have my camera?" "OMG! Yes! I do. I wondered why the settings on my camera were different. It's because it's your camera!" The entire house sighed in relief. This is the one small, nearly insignificant drawback of brother and sister having the same camera!

3. Our friends on Facebook posted pictures and comments to help those of us not in Kellogg find out what was happening with the Silver Peak fire that broke out on the hill above Silver and 2nd Street and started to shoot up the hill and move south. By the time we went to bed, the reports had quieted down and this led me to believe that the fire had been nearly contained. We'll see if that's the case in the morning. Btw, I talked to Mom at about 9 p.m. and it was good to hear that it was neither very smoky nor smelly down on Sunnyside -- which led me to believe that the fire wasn't raging.

Morning Breaking in Kellogg

2011-08-17T21:47:00.000-07:00