Three Beautiful Things 09/11/19: Goodbye to Dr. Jones, Pondering at Hill St. Depot, *Chopped* and Cheese

1. I didn't go out hiking today, but I did walk uptown to the clinic where I had an appointment with Dr. Kristie Jones, my nephrologist. In that we were both pleased with my blood work and with the stability of my kidney function, it was a good visit. In that Dr. Jones is moving to Arizona and this was the last time I'll see her, it was a sad visit.

Regarding my health, Dr. Jones and I discussed that I am fortunate that I am not suffering other maladies -- I'm not diabetic, my heart health is very good, etc.  People with low kidney function like I have and who have ancillary health problems have a much tougher time than I am having. So, I'd say that, so far, the way I'm eating and the fact that I'm out walking and hiking quite a bit are keeping my system in pretty good shape and are helping keep me from starting dialysis.

2. After my appointment, I walked down to the Hill Street Depot for a couple of street tacos and  two margaritas. I hadn't been in the the Depot for a while. I arrived close to 3:00 and, as I figured, it was very quiet. I was the only customer for nearly the entire hour I was there. I pondered. I enjoyed the house music (Modest Mouse, Lord Huron, Mumford and Sons and others). I thought about my visit with Dr. Jones. I read a few of my favorite Twitter feeds. It was a welcome hour of relaxation.

3. Back home, I continued to relax and started to get ready for my trip to Spokane. Out of the blue, around 9:00, I decided to watch a random episode of Chopped and enjoyed the contestants wrestling with ooey, gooey cheese focused baskets. Several times during the program I wanted the discussion to slow down and expand -- why did that chef add acid to her dish? how did that chef decide to balance out the sweetness of the corn-cheese ice cream? what spices did the chef of Indian descent use as she worked to make her dishes have a taste of India? I'm not crazy about the competition part of Chopped, but ideas about cooking do fly by during the program and I think if I watch this show some more, I will pause the show and replay cooking comments and take notes. I honestly wish the show put more emphasis on what these chefs say about food prep and put less emphasis on whether the chefs think their dish is better than their opponents'.