Three Beautiful Things 05-05-2026: Discussing *Botany of Desire* at Auntie's Bookstore, The Act of Reading, Dinner at Kindred Public House

 1. Debbie and I cruised to Spokane this afternoon for the monthly meeting of the Science/Nature Book Club at Auntie's Bookstore. Today we discussed Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire and discussed whether plants have consciousness, not like human consciousness, but a kind of consciousness outside human understanding. We also focused on a central emphasis of Pollan's, the process of co-evolution, the way human beings in their interactions with plants contribute to plants' evolution and how plants affect our evolution as humans. 

I think our group agreed that it's common for humans to see themselves as separate from nature, to see the natural world as a commodity, a source of economic development. We discussed the impact of this way of thinking, how, as consumers, our demand for perfect looking French fries, shiny nearly uniform shaped apples, potent pot, and predictably colored tulips inform how growers manipulate these plants. This led to our reflections upon monocultural tracts of land over and against biodiverse plots and the problems that arise from monocultural farming. 

2. Having never been in a book club before, I'm understanding more deeply something I've always known: people read books very differently from one another. Today at least twenty minutes or so passed before I spoke up, mainly because I was fascinated by how my clubmates approach reading a book. 

One thing (I think) is certain: I'm a more lenient reader than many others and given a chance to enter into a discussion of a book, I don't immediately want to comment on what I had problems with or on what I didn't like. In fact, I rarely think about these two matters when I read. 

Maybe in another post, I'll talk a bit more about where my more lenient approach leads me as a reader -- I tend to view movies in a similar way. I've written about that somewhere in the deep past of this blog! 

3. On purpose, Debbie and I arrived in Spokane a couple hours ahead of the book club's six o'clock meeting time. Debbie had found out online that on Tuesdays, there's an event in the Garland District called the Global Food and Art Market. 

We found the market but didn't stay long. Nothing being sold grabbed our attention. No problem. I was very happy we checked it out. 

After discovering Ferguson's Cafe had closed at 2 o'clock, we made our way down Monroe to Kindred Public House where Christy, Carol, and I had eaten lunch in April. 

We had a great time in casual conversation with our server, Kam, a terrific conversationalist and attentive man who moved to Spokane from Georgia several years ago. I enjoyed how he didn't seem under pressure to take our order and dash off, but relaxed with us, told us how much he enjoys Spokane even though he hasn't quite adjusted yet to the colder and snowy winters. 

I enjoyed the Lemon-Herb Chicken Sandwich I ordered with its fascinating combination of flavors, including pickled fennel, heirloom tomato, and lemon-basil aioli all adding zest to the chicken breast that had been marinated in a lemon and herb mixture. The sandwich came on a fresh and toasted ciabatta bun. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-04-2026: An Encouraging Visit to Kootenai Health, Beelining Around CdA, Back to the Vizio Room

 1. This morning I rocketed over to Coeur d'Alene for labs and a chest x-ray, both in preparation for next Monday's two-year kidney transplant anniversary visit to the transplant clinic. 

About a couple of hours later, results began to parachute into my cell phone. I felt some low grade anxiety as I opened the app since I hadn't had bloodwork done since February and it had been a year since my last chest x-ray. 

No need to worry! 

From my non-professional point of view my bloodwork numbers looked stable, that is, very similar to the results Dr. Bieber was so happy about back in February. In addition, my annual PSA is a great number and the chest x-ray report was, to use the magic term in the world of imaging, unremarkable. 

Just what I wanted to read! 

2. I broke my fast with a latte and chocolate croissant and then I got a haircut, went to the car wash, fueled up at Costco and shopped, and dropped in to get some items at Trader Joe's. 

It was fun beelining from one place to another and I was back home by about 1:00. 

3. Back home, I relaxed in the restored Vizio room. I had puzzles to catch up on. I listened to the Bach station on Pandora. I watched more of David Attenborough's Private Life of Plants and learned more about how plants find nutrients and how they grow. It was fascinating. 

Today was a superb one filled with good news, good food items, music, and learning. 

And all the time I was in the Vizio room, Copper was resting near my chair in the suitcase he finds so relaxing and safe right beside the ottoman I use to stretch my legs.  

Three Beautiful Things 05-03-2026: The Return of the Vizio Room, Retro Family Dinner, Music and Movies and Russian History

 1. If you've been reading this blog for the last several years, you might remember that we kept our television in our house's front bedroom (which we've never used as a bedroom) and I called it the Vizio room. I won't go into the mind-numbing details, but a few years ago we moved the television into the living room. 

Today, March 3, 2026, however, marked the resurrection of the Vizio room. I won't numb you with all the details of this development but suffice it to say that I am very happy. Debbie bought a cover for the chair and ottoman in this room. I'm using them again. I have speakers hooked to the television. I now have the hang of casting content from my laptop or phone to the television. 

I returned to the Criterion Channel today. I watched about ten trailers on Netflix. I cast the first episode of David Attenborough's documentary series, The Private Life of Plants from archive.org to the Vizio. 

I watched the first twenty minutes of an hour-long cat documentary on Netflix entitled, Inside the Mind of a Cat. 

During the heyday of the Vizio room, I listened to music, read books, watched ball games, movies, and other stuff on television and it's awesome to have it back in operation. 

It's also Copper's room and while he's never wanted to be on my lap, he does like finding spots to relax and sleep close to where I'm sitting. We'll enjoy sharing the Vizio room. 

We have more things to do to further develop the Vizio room, but it's a boon for me to have brought it back to life again. 

2. This afternoon rearranging of our household came about because as I was vacuuming the living room rug in preparation for family dinner tonight, we suddenly decided to dispose of this old and dog/cat worn rug and Debbie brought a much smaller rug she had upstairs in its place. 

We had time to do this on a family dinner night because Debbie had decided to keep dinner very simple. She combined Campbell's tomato soup, a box/carton of tomato soup, and fire-roasted tomatoes together and she used bread she'd baked on Saturday to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Carol and Paul brought chips. Christy brought ice cream sandwiches. 

And PRESTO! 

We had a throwback dinner, a retro dinner and it was superb. 

In fact, later in the evening I confided to Debbie (and now to all of you!) that I would be ecstatic if every family dinner were a simple soup accompanied by a great sandwich.

I don't really want that to approach to come to pass, but I hope one day we'll come back to some variation on the dinner Debbie fixed us tonight. 

3. Paul and Carol took one of their students to the Fox Saturday night to hear the Spokane Symphony play the soundtrack to Batman (1989) while the movie played. 

I could hardly wait for them to arrive for dinner so I could listen to Paul and Carol talk about their experience and what a good time their student had. 

Later on, we learned that Carol and Paul are reading Crime and Punishment with an adult friend of theirs. They recently read The Odyssey together and seem to be in a groove of slowly working their way through massive and complicated works of literature. 

Before we knew it, thanks, in part, to another book Paul is reading, we started talking about Russian history and its many contradictions and complexities. 

A couple weeks ago, the Great Course I've been listening to delved into Russian composers and the lecturer explored Russian history and surveyed Russia's folk music tradition. 

I never dreamed I'd have the opportunity to contribute some of the things I learned from the Great Course and from the Russian History course I took at Whitworth in 1974, but, lo and behold, some of the things I learned were relevant tonight and it felt really good not have a chance to talk about it rather than just have what I've learned stuck head untalked about. 

Three Beautiful Things 05-02-2026: Walmart Order, Relearning What I'd Forgotten, *Celluloid Closet*

 1. Last night I submitted an order to Walmart for curbside pickup and around 8:00 this morning I picked up, meaning we now have a good supply of produce, cat food, milk, and other staple items and the order included products that I dropped off at the Elks food pantry. 

2. It had been quite a while since I cast anything from my laptop to our Vizio. This evening, Debbie and I decided to rent a movie on YouTube and when I tried to make it play on the television, I couildn't do it. I had totally forgotten the steps necessary. So, I put on an instructional video and relearned the simple process and we were back in business! 

3. When the movie was over, neither Debbie nor I could remember what we'd been talking about that led us to want to watch the 1995 documentary Celluloid Closet, a study of how gay, lesbian, and trans characters were portrayed in the movies over the course of the 20th century. The movie featured clips from a wide array of movies and numerous interviews with screenwriters, actors, and others who provided expert commentary on this subject. 

I don't know if Debbie had seen this movie more than once. I know I had which is just to say that I had remembered it as a superb documentary and I had that uplifting experience this evening of finding the movie even better than my very positive memories of it. 

Now my hope is that I always remember the easy steps necessary to cast stuff from my laptop to the television. About an hour ago, I brought up a YouTube video of the London Symphony Orchestra performing Brahm's 4th Symphony, not only to enjoy the music, but to make sure I still remembered the next day how tp cast YouTube from the laptop onto the television! 

And I did! 

Three Beautiful Things 05-01-2026: Breakfast with Rooster at Rooster's, A Fun May in Spokane Coming Up, Debbie's Travel Plans

 1. For many in and around the Silver Valley, Ed's name is Rooster, a nickname he picked up many many years ago. It's only fitting, then, that Mike, Ed, and I enjoy ending our stay at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino by stopping off at Rooster's Country Kitchen in Pendleton as we start our drive back home. 

We had a delicious breakfast and good conversation at Rooster's. I was especially happy with my pot roast hash, scrambled egg, and biscuit. If I were a younger man, I could have eaten the entire generously loaded plate of food, but I'm getting old and I decided I wanted to drive back to the Silver Valley feeling comfortable, not stuffed. 

Turns out that was a great decision. 

2. For many many months starting in 2020 and then again for several months after kidney transplant surgery in 2024, I was very cautious about going out into the world, especially in places with a lot of people. Eventually, I eased up on the caution and as I started to widen my world a bit, Debbie asked me several times what I wanted to do at this stage of my retirement. 

"Don't you want to travel? Aren't there places you want to go?' 

My answer was always the same: I'd like to go see friends in Seattle and Eugene. 

I'm hoping that will be possible sooner than later.  

I have decided I want to stay fairly close to home as Copper ages in case he begins to need special attention the way Luna did when she began to die. Copper is shrinking, losing weight. His appetite is off and on. He seems comfortable and he is strong enough to, say, jump up on my bed, but I'm keeping a close eye on him. I've seen several other cats slowly progress toward dying and I'm seeing some signs in Copper's appearance and habits that he might be doing the same. 

I'm also mindful of staying home with Gibbs when Debbie goes away to help out family members or to be a part of celebrations. 

As 2025 became 2026, I decided that a great way to enjoy my retirement would be to make trips to Spokane. I'd go to classical music concerts whether the Spokane Symphony, Spokane String Quartet, Gonzaga Symphony, or other ensembles. I'd go to lectures. I'd go to art exhibits. Debbie and I decided we'd go to Auntie's Bookstore on the first Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. and be a part of the store's Science and Nature Book Club. 

To top it all off, I proposed to Christy and Carol toward the end of 2025 that we think about making all twelve of our 2026 monthly sibling outings trips to Spokane. They agreed. It's been awesome -- we've gone to the Garland District, Whitworth University, places on Monroe Street, the Spokane Falls, St. John's Cathedral, Cannon Park, and we've sampled different ice cream shops along with different cafes and restaurants. 

Today, I wanted to be sure I knew what all I'd be doing in Spokane during the month of May whether alone or with Debbie or with my sisters. 

It's going to be great month: sibling outing to the Spokane Night Market and Street Fair, two symphony performances, a lecture, one string quartet concert, an evening with author Craig Johnson, book club at Auntie's, and who knows what I might do on May 11th in addition to having an appointment at the transplant clinic for evaluating how I'm doing on the two year anniversary of the transplant. 

3. One last terrific event in May: Debbie recently decided to fly to Chicago on May 29th to join other family members for Rosie's first birthday party.  Rosie is our niece Samantha's daughter. Debbie already had plans to be in New York in June. That plan won't change -- she'll just have a fun time with family in Illinois before making her trip to New York. 

I'm very happy this all worked out and I'll definitely find ways to occupy my time while holding down our little fort in Kellogg. 

Three Beautiful Things 04-30-2026: Breakfast at the Oregon Trail Deli, Relaxing in My Room, Spinning Reels

1. All of us who've been hanging out at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino this week buzzed about thirty miles east of the resort to Meacham, OR in order to do eat at the awesome Oregon Trail Store and Deli. The couple who operate this business put out great food. We've had superb breakfasts at the Oregon Trail and fantastic lunches, too. I indulged in today's breakfast special and enjoyed a platter of biscuits and gravy with sausage links. 

Jim headed back to Nampa today so we bade him farewell, very happy that he made the trip up and that we got to spend time together. 

Terry also headed back and I rode back to the resort with him and we know we'll see each other again pretty soon, possibly in May and for certain in June. 

2. I had catching up to do this morning and this afternoon. I needed to blog and work puzzles, the things I usually do first thing in the morning at home. I also napped after eating such a great meal at the Oregon Trail and having had a so-so night's sleep.

3. Ed, Don, Mike, and I got together in the afternoon at the Wildhorse's Sports Bar and had a good session of solid yakkin'. We agreed we were unsure when or if any one of us would want an evening meal, so we agreed we'd all be on our own. 

I spun reels for a while and then ate a half a deli sandwich and then spun reels some more. It was fun to play a ton of different games and by the time I quit and ate some ice cream at the deli and headed to my room, I was happy that my luck ran pretty good. 

Three Beautiful Things 04-29-2026: Breakfast Together, Some Pendleton Streets, Steakhouse Dinner

 1. Before we went our separate ways afterward, Jim, Don, Mike, Terry, Ed, and I met for breakfast in the Traditions restaurant and yakked about all kinds of things over a delicious breakfast served by a witty and fake-cranky server who made us laugh and we returned the favor. 

2. My separate way was to return to my room and solve puzzles and blog before I spent some time spinning reels. Later on, I drove to Pendleton and spent time trying to get a better sense of the lay of the land. I haven't spent enough time just getting to know Pendleton better and made some progress today. 

3. We old men gathered again at the resort's Plateau Steakhouse for a delicious dinner together and more conversation and storytelling. We enjoyed our meals and continued to learn more about what we've all been up to. We also raised a toast to our great friend Bruce Larsen and had fun telling stories about him and remembering the great things about him that made our long friendships with him so enjoyable and significant. 

Three Beautiful Things 04-28-2026: Breakfast at Dave's Bar and Grill, A Fantastic Country Drive, Dinner with Colette

1. I picked up Ed around 6:30 this morning and we beelined straight from Kingston to Spokane Valley for breakfast at Dave's Bar and Grill. I hadn't eaten at Dave's since last October and it all came back to me how much I enjoy this place. First of all, it's a morning hangout for codgers like Ed and me and so, as before, we sat and let snippets of great bs come our way and even though we were near the intersection of East Sprague and Pines Road, it felt like we were at any one of the Silver Valley's bs joints -- like The Lounge, for example. 

Then the excellent quality of the food came back to me, especially the fried potatoes covered in gravy. 

I finished the plate of potatoes and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage patty, and English muffins with strawberry jam and knew I wouldn't need to eat anything until dinner around 5:30. 

Dave's Bar and Grill sent us off to Oregon nourished and happy. 

2. We drove from Spokane to Colfax to Dayton, Waitsburg, and Dixie, continuing on through Walla Walla and Milton-Freewater, and ended our drive just after noon at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino.

It was a spectacular drive. We enjoyed being off the freeway and the variety of landscapes, much of it farm land.

Upon arrival, I took a nap, started to get caught up on word puzzles and blogging, and headed downstairs where I found Ed, Mike, Don, and Jim relaxing at the lobby bar. I spun a few reels and then returned to my room to get ready for dinner. 

3. As we try to do every time I come to Pendleton, Colette and I met at the Thai Crystal and we enjoyed delicious food and nearly three hours of scintillating conversation about Colette's work, her family, classical music, books, podcasts, and writers. 

Our conversation uplifted me. 

When I returned to the resort, Ed, Mike, Terry, Don, and Jim were enjoying whiskey time in Ed's room. I couldn't join in the whiskey sipping, but I did join in the conversation and we Silver Valley boys had a lot to talk about from the past and the present. 

We couldn't help but feel the presence  of our lifelong friend Lars. His death is fresh in our minds and on our hearts, but I think we took some comfort in telling stories about him and enjoying great memories.  

Three Beautiful Things 04-27-2026: Packing, Talking, Stopping

 1.  On Tuesday, April 28th, six of us guys raised in Kellogg will get together for three nights of fun at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino and in the nearby area.  Here's who will join together: Ed Hanson, Mike Stafford, Terry Turner, Don Windisch, Jim Lewis, and I. 

It took me all day to pack because I am fastidious about not forgetting anything whether clothes, electronics, medicine, stuff for the bathroom, etc.  I'm less likely to make mistakes if I don't rush. 

2. When Debbie and I participate in cultural events, it usually takes a day before we can really talk about it. We talked some on Sunday about our experience hearing Verdi's Requiem, but we got into it in much more detail today. I learned a lot listening to Debbie and am really glad we don't push each other to comment on these things when the experience is fresh. We both need time. 

3. Michael Tilson Thomas, the recently deceased giant of classical music, especially American, said that "the most important thing about music is what happens when it stops . . ."

I''m going to leave his insight uncommented on, hoping you'll ponder it. 

Three Beautiful Things 04-26-2026: Hearing Verdi's *Requiem*, More of Verdi's *Requiem*?, The Snake Pit

1. To prepare for the combined efforts of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony Chorale, and four visiting soloists (Caroline Corrales, soprano; Linda Baird, mezzo-soprano; Adam Diegel, tenor; and Mark Walters, baritone) to perform Giuseppe Verdi's monumental Messa da requiem, Debbie and I attended an hour long lecture on Thursday, presented by the symphony's conductor, James Lowe and then today we listened to the pre-concert lecture given by Lowe and the chorale director, Dr. Meg Stohlman. I also did some preparatory reading and note taking. 

This slim amount of preparation helped me to a degree take in the Requiem at today's matinee performance, but I almost immediately recognized that nothing I might have done would have prepared me for the sublime power of Verdi's composition nor for the overwhelming energy of a ninety-seven member choir, an expanded orchestra, and the four soloists exploring the terror, pleading, glory, awe, hopefulness, quaking, and overall awe of death and of facing the trepidation of the fires of eternity and the beauty of eternal light.

Verdi patterned this requiem after the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass and wrote it after the death of the great Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni. While on the face of it, Verdi's masterpiece can be seen as exploring Manzoni's own fears that the misadventures of his youth would never be forgiven, in actuality, Verdi makes music out of universal fears and hopes and uncertainty about our morality and what might follow death.

2. When the concert ended and after the audience showered vigorous applause upon all the performers and the two conductors and the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox began to empty out, Debbie and I sat silent until the theater was nearly empty. 

As we left the Fox and walked to the car, Debbie said, "You know how when we drove to Kellogg from New York (in 2021) and planned our trip around dog friendly breweries? How about if we start looking for performances of Verdi's Requiem and how about if we travel to listen to it whenever and wherever we can?" 

I loved that idea.  

3. Being the mortals we are, while we had been spiritually challenged, blown away, and nourished by this afternoon's concert, we also needed to satisfy our physical hunger. Neither of us could remember the last time we ate at the Snake Pit in Kingston/Enaville and we decided to give it a try. 

It was a solid choice. I don't remember which burger Debbie ordered, but she happily ate half of it and half of her tots at the Snake Pit and took the rest home. I very much enjoyed my steak sandwich on a fresh hoagie roll and the accompanying fries. Our server was efficient, friendly, and witty, a delightful combination! 

By the time we walked in the Snake Pit and sat down, we were coming back to Earth again and while Verdi will live with us for a long time, his Requiem no longer dominated our thoughts and feelings, no longer had struck us nearly dumb. 

Three Beautiful Things 04-25-2026: Cardboard, Pizza Party, Preparing for Verdi's *Requiem*

1. I mean it's just cardboard. Why does it make me so happy to get cardboard boxes out of the garage and the house? I don't know, but I made a quick trip to the transfer station today and got rid of about fifteen boxes. I returned home inexplicably giddy!

2. Carol and Christy are at Priest Lake for a women's weekend with friends and we invited Paul over for pizza. We enjoyed a spinach/feta and a Hawaiian pizza along with some wings and had fun yakkin' together about topics ranging from learning French to watching videos of people reacting to hearing songs like "25 or 6 to 4" for the first time. 

3. I spent time today reading more about Verdi's Requiem in preparation for Sunday afternoon's performance of Verdi's take on this Catholic mass. It will be given by the Spokane Symphony and Chorale.