Three Beautiful Things 09-20-2026: Debbie and I Attend Today's Spokane Symphony Concert

 1. Debbie and I know that it's likely that we'll experience traffic delays whenever traveling between Kellogg and Spokane. Right now, delays are common on I-90 westbound because the Northwest Blvd exit is closed and in that area traffic is funneled into a single lane. The delay gets compounded by cars entering the freeway via the westbound Northwest Blvd ramp.

Our hope was to arrive in Spokane in time to attend today's pre-concert presentation at 2:00. The Spokane Symphony Orchestra's performance was at 3:00. 

We left Kellogg around 12:15, hoping we'd left ourselves enough time to absorb a delay and arrive a little before 2:00 at the Fox Theater. 

We approached the I-90 delay. 

The line of cars stopped still on I-90 looked long.  

Right away, both of us shrugged. 

"We might not arrive in time for the pre-concert lecture. No use getting upset. We know we'll make it in time for the concert."

So we patiently, without complaint, inched our way to the where the single lane turned into two lanes and, lo and behold, it was clear sailing into Spokane. We entered downtown Spokane via Lincoln Street, I spotted street parking spots on Second Avenue, we strolled to the Fox, and we seated ourselves at about 1:50 and got to hear the entire pre-concert presentation. 

The presentation was terrific. 

Conductor James Lowes' introduction to today's program was illuminating and stimulating and so was his interview of today's featured piano soloist, Mackenzie Melemed.  

2. This weekend's concert opened the Spokane Symphony's 81st season. I wasn't expecting the season opening concert to begin with the symphony playing "The Star Spangled Banner", but that's exactly what they did! 

We then got to hear the 20th century Soviet/Russian composer Dimitri Kabalevsky's energetic overture to the opera Colas Breugnon. 

I enjoy very much being introduced to composers and compositions unknown to me. Kabalevsky's overture was sparkling. It took full advantage of the entire orchestra and, like all the pieces we heard this afternoon, created fascinating and often fun interplay between the orchestra's different sections. 

The orchestra then played 19th century American composer Amy Beach's gorgeous and romantic Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor. Beach was a piano virtuoso and this forty to forty-five minute concerto in four movements presented soloist Mackenzie Melemed with mind-boggling challenges at the keyboard. He met these challenges with elan and his own virtuosity. As Romantic compositions so often are, many passages in Beach's composition were lush and emotional, giving Melemed and the orchestra long and gorgeous passages of interplay and deep feeling. 

Until today, I'd never heard of Amy Beach. I learned that this concerto we heard today has rarely been performed. It was thrilling to have James Lowe decide to bring this composition out of obscurity and to entrust its many challenges not only to the orchestra, but to the zestful Mackenzie Melemed. 

3. Having accepted the roars of the audience's approval and a lengthy standing ovation, Melemed then returned to the piano and played a medley of several favorite American tunes including "The Star Spanged Banner" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy", sending the audience into the intermission uplifted. 

Conductor James Lowe opened the concert's second half with a tribute to Charles "Chuck" Karscheny who passed away this past June after playing French horn in the symphony and later serving as Production Manager. His career with the Spokane Symphony spanned more than 40 years. 

Then, in a deeply touching further tribute to Chuck Karscheny, a quartet of French horn players stepped forward and played "Evening Hymn" from Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel.  

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet presents a complex blending of a long feud between the Capulets and Montagues, the accompanying dark hatred and street violence, the high hopes of Friar Lawrence, and the passions, frivolity, and optimism of young Romeo and Juliet. 

Sergei Prokofiev, a 20th century Russian/Soviet composer, wrote the music for a Romeo and Juliet ballet, and a suite of selections which constituted the second half of today's concert. 

As with the concert's previous pieces, Prokofiev wrote compelling parts for instruments across the orchestra, even surprising us with gorgeous passages for the tenor saxophone. 

For the duration of this suite, we felt the many emotions of Shakespeare's play and marveled at how beautifully Prokofiev fleshed out the complexity of the characters and the story in his marvelous composition. 

The story of Romeo and Juliet features the death of the ill-fated, star-crossed lovers, and Prokofiev's composition ends with their tragic demise. The orchestra played the solemn final notes and James Lowe held the audience in silence for a short while -- the audience obeyed -- and then released us into a sustained and enthusiastic standing ovation. 

In a move that startled me (really!), James Lowe responded to this solemn conclusion by telling the audience he just couldn't bear to have the concert end so sadly. 

And, so, as an encore intended to send us all out of the hall in a more chipper mood, the orchestra played an uplifting and short Modest Mussorgsky tune (I couldn't hear what Lowe said its title was) and this move seemed to accomplish Lowe's goal. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-19-2026: Science, Stir Fry, Calming Sleep Sounds

 1. I spent much of the day reading Cassandra Leah Quave's book, The Plant Hunter and thought a lot about how difficult and challenging it is for scientists working within university systems to secure funding and places to do their work, especially if the research they are undertaking is outside the box of traditional approaches. Ever since I joined the Science/Nature book club, I've been learning a lot about the difficulties and obstacles scientific researchers face. The memoir dimension of this book is fascinating as is the learning about the ground she works to break in researching ways to combat persistent infections like MRSA and staph infections. 

2. While I read this book and relaxed at home, Debbie had a fun afternoon out on the town where she ran into and had fun interacting with former students, a former fellow teacher, and friends at The Lounge. 

She texted me that she was "in a groove" (great news!) and asked me to take care of myself for dinner. 

Gladly. 

I whipped up a very satisfying and easy vegetable stir fry with Thai wheat noodles and look forward to having the pork chop dinner we were going to have tonight on Sunday. 

3. I'm having trouble falling asleep at night. To help me settle down, I've been playing Spotify's offering called "Calming Sleep Sounds" once I'm in bed. It's helping. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-18-2026: Update on Christy (From My Perspective), Premium Yakkin at The Lounge, Chili Dogs at the Elks

 1. Today I drove Christy to the Shoshone Medical Center for lab work. We talked about the impact having been in sepsis continues to have on her system and how it helps explain the fatigue, reduced appetite, and other trying symptoms she has been experiencing. 

Things are going very well with physical therapy. The physical therapists have been encouraging Christy to increase the range of her walking, to walk up and down longer staircases (but not alone), and to engage in other activities. At the gym, they continue to work with Christy to strengthen her muscles, improve her balance, and other similar things. 

Knowing that recovery from being in sepsis can take months, I thought back to late 1999 and the year 2000 and how my recovery from having contracted bacterial meningitis took at least a year. During that year, I experienced fatigue, headaches, lightheadedness, depression, and other symptoms. 

I hope Christy's recovery from being in sepsis doesn't take a year, but maladies like sepsis and bacterial meningitis hammer one's system and the aftermath can last long after the condition itself has cleared up. 

So that's my update on Christy's recovery -- from my perspective. 

It's great to see her mobility progressing so well and, at the same time, sobering to know that she has much more than the hip replacement to recover from. 

Christy told me that having come to understand the complexity of her recovery has helped her feel more patient, knowing that the way she's been feeling lousy is not unusual given what she's been through and what the medical pros continue to monitor. 

I think that's a very good thing. Patience is a great help in nurturing the positive attitude and outlook that Christy has worked hard to maintain throughout this ordeal. 

2. Ed and I strolled into The Lounge around 3:45 and immediately engaged in some premium yakkin' with Abby, Fitz, and, when he wasn't busy serving customers, Cas. The guys told a lot of great stories. We had some high level talk about baseball. We thoroughly enjoyed our session.

3. So why didn't Ed and I stay longer? 

Well, tonight the Kellogg Elks served chili dogs so Ed and I went across the street and enjoyed a delicious chili dog dinner. Ed and I continued to yak about all kinds of stuff and we saw some people we've known forever.

It was especially great to see Tona. Her cancer treatment and has been rough on her. I thought she looked great with her new haircut (even knowing she'd rather have longer hair) and it was uplifting to know that after dinner at the Elks that she'd be doing some camping a short ways away. 

After dinner, Ed headed home and I returned to The Lounge. Debbie had arrived. She got involved in conversations with a couple different friends and I got to yak for a while with Rob Gillies. He filled me in on the spreading of Jack Lunger's ashes and we talked about some events that occurred when we were much younger -- like over fifty years younger! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-17-2026: Symphony Lecture, Pho and Spring Rolls, Rib Eyes and Plants

 1. Jetting over to Spokane to the MAC Auditorium this morning to attend Spokane Symphony conductor James Lowe present an hour-long lecture about the three pieces the symphony will play in concert over the weekend invigorated me. I knew very little about the three composers, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Amy Beach, or even the much more famous Sergei Prokofiev. 

James Lowe focused, in part, on the restraints each of them worked under. Kabalevsky and Prokofiev composed in the Soviet Union during the Stalin regime and its mandates regarding what was artistically acceptable and Amy Beach performed and composed under restrictions placed on her by her mother and husband. 

Learning about these restraints, learning about how these composers worked within them, and hearing some samples of the compositions we'll hear performed on Sunday made me very eager to hear this concert. 

2. After the lecture, I meandered up to the Garland District for a bowl of chicken pho and an order of tofu spring rolls at the cozy pan-Asian restaurant, Little Noodle. I enjoyed eating these Asian selections again after a long absence. I definitely hope to return to Little Noodle and try some other dishes featured on their menu. 

Part of why it's always a pleasure to visit the Garland District is the promise of Mary Lou's ice cream at the Milk Bottle. I topped off my lunch meal with a couple of scoops of Salted Caramel ice cream which left my never ending yearning for ice cream satisfied. 

3. Back home, Debbie fixed what for me was luxury dinner: thick rib eye steaks and a medley of roasted vegetables. 

What a great way to enjoy a day: a stimulating and delicious trip to Spokane, a superb meal at home, and reading an increasingly enjoyable book as I delve further into Cassandra Leah Quave's The Plant Hunter and learn more about medicinal plants and join Quaves as she learns more about plant-based cuisine in southern Italy and some of the accompanying spiritual rituals meant to enhance the healing qualities of the plants. Her teachers are very elderly women whose wisdom, practices, and knowledge is being lost, but Quaves is documenting their practices as a way to preserve and learn from them. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-16-2026: Insomnia Uncured, Electronic Keyboards, *The Plant Hunter*

1.  I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep Tuesday night on into very early Wednesday morning. I tried a music contrast that was very enjoyable, but didn't work as far as putting me to sleep.  First, I played the 4th Symphony by Johannes Brahms and it might have wound me up more than settled me down since I love it so much. 

Then, thanks to listening to "Sirius" and "Eye in the Sky" by The Alan Parsons Project during our Tuesday family lunch, I decided to play Eve, an Alan Parsons Project album that I listened to way too much during the time my first wife and I separated nearly forty-five years ago. Back then, the album encouraged the self-pity of my late 20s and it probably wasn't the best album to play as a way to settle down and sleep. But, I gave myself over to memories, mostly from 1982-84, and thought a lot about how lost and afraid I felt and how poorly I handled it. I'm happy to say I no longer have access to the self-pity, disorientation, grief, tantrums, and self-delusion I experienced back then, so while I remembered how I behaved and felt, tonight I did not feel it all over again. 

2.  Eve and other pop music I listened to today brought to mind how much the electronic keyboards and synthesizers made music from that general time period memorable. In fact, I didn't enter back into the self-pity and confusion I felt nearly forty-five years ago so much as I let the electronic keyboard sounds of The Alan Parsons Project and bands contemporary with that group wash over me and I thought how I enjoy that instrumentation way more now than I did in my twenties and early thirties, whether its jazz, progressive rock, New Wave music, pop, or soundscapes of Pink Floyd and others. 

3. I spent much of the day diving into the next selection for our Science/Nature book club: The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines by Cassandra Leah Quave. 

The book is a fascinating combination memoir and study of medicinal plants. In the early chapters, Quave tells the stories of her trips, as a teenager, into the Amazon River basin to not only search for medicinal plants, but to learn from indigenous experts about the powers of these plants, how to prepare them, dosages, and how to combine prescribing these medicines with exercises meant to calm and heal the patient's spirit. 

Going into the jungles of the Amazon helps Cassandra Leah Quave decide that she will not go to medical school, as she had always dreamed she would, but that she would study to become what she is now: an ethnobotanist. 

More on this fascinating book later as I read further into it and as I fill in more of Cassandra Leah Quave's back story. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-15-2026: Christy and Her Cane, Lunchtime Family Dinner, Debbie's Back

 1. After two weeks of the onset of her current fatigue, weakened appetite, and other symptoms, Christy continues to struggle with feeling lousy. But, she is making slow progress with her mobility thanks to her dedication to Physical Therapy. 

Today, thanks to work she and her therapist did on Monday, Christy used her cane, rather than her walker, to walk into the Shoshone Medical Center to have her heart monitor removed and she walked with her cane from the street to Carol and Paul's front door and back again, after dinner, when we went to Carol and Paul's for a lunchtime family dinner. 

2. Carol planned a Mediterranean meal. We started with Christy's Outrageous Stuffed Celery as an appetizer and then sat at the Roberts' dining table where we enjoyed Carol's Smashed Beef Kabobs over yogurt and cucumbers, Debbie's leafless Mediterranean salad, and lightly charred pieces of Naan bread (Carol knew the bread wasn't Mediterranean!).  Our dessert wasn't Mediterranean either. Carol and Paul have a variety of partially eaten containers of ice cream, and we enjoyed an ice cream buffet. 

3. The last time the five of us ate family dinner together was back in May.

It was fun having Debbie back at the table and she caught us up on different things as well as what's going on with Jack and Eloise at school. 

We talked about a variety of other subjects ranging from Plato to our family calendar and had fun listening to a couple of Alan Parsons Project tunes ("Sirius" and "Eye in the Sky") which led to a series of soft rock tunes by 10CC, Christopher Cross, Ambrosia, and others  from nearly fifty years ago.

Three Beautiful Things 09-14-2026: Labs Completed, Food for Two, Debbie's Dinner Rocks

 1. I blasted out of Kellogg around 7:30 this morning and rocketed to the lab I frequent at Kootenai Health to complete the blood work I started on September 4. There was a glitch in my standing order on the 4th. Several tests I needed done didn't get done. I whisked over today to get those tests completed. 

It took a minute or two to sort out with Teresa, the all-pro phlebotomist, what vials I needed drawn and which ones had been drawn on Sept. 4 and we efficiently got it straightened out and soon I was finished and could head straight to Blue Coffee for a fast breaking chocolate croissant and a latte. 

Good news! All the results that came in today were great. My Tacrolimus test can't be processed locally and I'll get that result in a day or two. 

2. Those of you who live by yourself might know what I mean: it's easy to fall into eating habits and not have a lot of culinary variety. Over the past three months, I enjoyed what I prepared for myself, but, I admit, I was fixing food within a narrow range of soups, stir fries, wraps, and eggs dishes.

With Debbie back, however, variety returns. 

Shopping for two of us instead of just for me made my trips to Trader Joe's and Costco today much more fun as I began to anticipate fun meals to come -- prepared by either one of us. 

3. And sure enough, for dinner tonight Debbie prepared Mediterranean ground beef and beans to put on top of white rice. I'm particularly partial to the flavors of cumin and cinnamon, which I loved in this dinner, and loved how the cranberry beans worked in this dish. Over the last few weeks, I've steered away from canned beans (which I love, btw) and have been soaking and cooking dried beans. That's what Debbie did for this dish. 

It worked! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-13-2026: Scam Alert Update, Canceled Trip, Discussions

 1. I have never seen with my own eyes the scam warning some followers of my blog get when they click on the link to my daily posts. I am understanding, however, that for many the alert has not deterred them from going forward and reading my blog posts. 

That's great news. 

I've learned that for others, the scam alert blocks them from accessing my blog posts. 

I am sending one of these people the link to my posts via Facebook Messenger and that works. 

If you are being blocked by the scam alert, let me know in the comments. I can send you the link via Facebook Messenger. If I have the right info, I can text you the link. I can also email you the entire blog post, if I have your emaill address.

2.  I had plans to drive to Spokane today for an event at Auntie's Bookstore featuring Meghan Jones, whom Debbie and I have met in the Science/Nature Book Club we attend. Meghan Jones is an artist. A few months ago, I went to the Chase Gallery at Spokane's City Hall twice to enjoy her paintings of deep ocean life. 

The Auntie's Bookstore event featured Meghan Jones' new book, The Unusual Ocean: Who Lives in the Deep?. Her book introduces children to paintings of twenty deep ocean inhabitants along with written text about each one. 

Alas, I woke up this morning with what turned out to be temporary unrest in my innards and decided not to risk having this unrest recur on the drive to Spokane or in the bookstore. 

It all cleared up this afternoon, merely leaving me a little fatigued.

3. Having been apart since late May, Debbie and I haven't had a chance to discuss all sorts of things ranging from family news to travel plans to taking care of things on the business side of our life together. 

We got started talking about some of these things today and these discussions will continue in the days and weeks ahead. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-12-2026: Debbie Returns, Fire in the Hole, Gibbs' Joy

 1. Early this afternoon, I picked up Debbie at the Spokane airport and we fell right into easy conversation about all kinds of things: how things are going in New York, books we've been reading, how things are in Kellogg, with special attention to Christy's rehab and recovery, and other things. Once home, Debbie assumed her usual spot on the couch, Gibbs was all over her, jumping and licking, and within minutes it was as if she hadn't been gone for three and a half months. 

2. Debbie wanted to have some food from a Kellogg eatery. I told her that ever since she'd gone to New York, I'd been hungry for a Fire in the Hole pizza from Zany's. Debbie had been thinking more about sandwiches, but after a while she agreed: we'll share Zany's chicken, pineapple, jalapeno pepper, and homemade buffalo sauce pizza. 

It was awesome. We have some left over. And Debbie not only brought home the pizza, she also checked out the scene at The Beanery and had a beer at Radio Brewing where she ran into Mike and Deanne Fitzgerald for some very enjoyable yakkin'. She also made a quick stop for a few items at Yoke's. 

She is already getting back into the swing of life in Kellogg! 

3. Gibbs is one very happy dog! 

On the phone, leading up to her return, Debbie and I joked about which of us Gibbs would choose to be close to once Debbie was home -- after all, Gibbs and I had become good pals in her absence. 

No contest! 

Debbie is definitely Gibbs' person! 

I'm always here for backup, but when Debbie's in the house, Gibbs wants to be with her! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-11-2026: Busy, Family Meal, Worn Out

 1. Christy, Carol, Paul, and I congregated at the Roberts' house at 2 p.m. today for family dinner. There's a lot going on among our family members for the next three months: play rehearsals for Carol and Paul and then performances, rehab and appointments for Christy, trips to Spokane for readings and classical music for Debbie and me, and out of town travel for Carol and Paul and, separately, a trip to Cincinnati for Debbie and me. 

Consequently, our accustomed times for family dinner aren't going to pan out, so we are getting together on whatever days and at whatever times we can to squeeze in a meal. 

2, As Christy rehabs and recovers, Carol and Paul's house works the best as our family dinner home base. 

I, however, was in charge of the meal and I made a beef stroganoff sauce to put over egg noodles that Carol prepared. Carol also prepared a leafless salad with vegetables from her garden and I made a side dish of lemon couscous and broccoli.

We began our meal with grapes Paul grew, recently picked pears, and mixed nuts. 

Carol and Paul had handful, at least, of partially filled containers of ice cream/gelato and all of us got to choose what we wanted scooped into our bowl from this buffet of frozen treats. 

3. I arrived home around 5:00 from our afternoon meal exhausted.

I had a lot of cleaning up to do in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom in preparation for Debbie's early Saturday afternoon arrival, and pushed myself to get some of it done. 

I took breaks. 

I fell asleep while resting. 

I gave up and resolved to go to bed and get right back to work first thing Saturday morning and complete the tasks I didn't finish today. 

My system seems worn out and in need of rest and sleep as it continues to work on my body's behalf to get rid of this bug that's been wailing away inside me for the last ten or eleven days. 

The bug is almost gone, but my need for rest and sleep, like the Dude, abides.