1. Around noon or so, I sprang into the Sube and swooshed over to Coeur d'Alene, happy that the driving conditions were nearly ideal so the swooshing was easy.
I grabbed a misto at Starbucks and went to the hospital to visit Linda L. Even though she'd been through a procedure earlier in the morning, by the time I arrived, she was awake, alert, and we fell into easy conversation. It looks like Linda will be released from the medical center on Sunday (02/09) which means that chances are good that this morning's procedure was a success in stopping the internal bleeding that's been going on over the last (about) ten days. Linda explained what it turned out the problem seemed to be, and while I have a general understanding of what she was telling me, I'd have to hear it again or read about it to get it appropriately straight and repeat it.
Linda was in good spirits for the two hours or so we talked about subjects ranging from music, especially the genius of Daryl Hall (and Hall and Oates' 1973 album Abandoned Luncheonette, featuring "She's Gone") and Leon Russell to some history of the Bunker Hill Company and life on the North Fork to what's happening in our families these days. Our conversation was interrupted for a little while by a physical therapist who was checking out Linda's plans for where she'd go upon being released and who put her through a few paces to see what kind of shape her balance and mobility were in after all she's been through. I think the physical therapist's assessment could be summed up this way: "Pretty good -- all things considered!"
2. I left the hospital, got a nifty hair trim, shopped a bit at Costco and Pilgrim's, and headed back to Kellogg. I hadn't eaten much all day so I put on a pot of rice and assembled a very tasty salad composed of rice, chickpeas, cucumber, almond slivers, Kalamata olives, feta cheese crumbles, cilantro, olive oil, rice vinegar, and Kalamata brine.
And that's not all! Ever since the short days and long nights and colder weather descended upon Kellogg, I've been hankering for some winter ale. My trips to Yoke's have been futile when I've looked there -- didn't they used to carry Deschutes Jubelale and Ninkasi's Sleigher? -- for some malty seasonal beers. At Pilgrim's, I wasn't having much winter ale luck at all, when a second or third scan of the shelves rewarded me. I found a can of Hopworks Urban Brewery's Abominable Winter Ale and a can of Sockeye's Winterfest. I enjoyed the malty Abominable while the rice I cooked for the salad cooled and, after I'd eaten, I enjoyed the much hoppier Winterfest.
I drank these beers while watching two disappointing basketball games. Five cardboard figures dressed in uniforms that said "St. Mary's" on the front got flattened by Gonzaga, 90-60. That St. Mary's put up so little resistance to Gonzaga's high scoring and efficient offense was a big let down. I'm happy the Zags won, but I was hoping for a well-contested game. This one wasn't. I stopped watching it at halftime. Well, wait a minute, I did enjoy one thing: watching the continued emergence of Drew Timme.
I left the Zags' game to watch Oregon play Oregon State in Corvallis. While this game was close, it was disappointing to see Oregon look so unsure of themselves, especially on offense. Tonight, at least, not one single Duck player stepped up to share the scoring load with Payton Pritchard. The Ducks suffered through a long drought in the second half, not scoring a single point for nine minutes. Yes, the Beavers played stingy defense, blanketing Pritchard especially, but all that attention to Pritchard left other Ducks open for some pretty good shots and it was one clank city for the Ducks.
If you read my basketball thoughts on this blog about college basketball, you know that I think teams who get good production out of secondary scorers and don't depend too much on their stars have the most success. Tonight, Payton Pritchard had an average scoring night and the secondary scorers for Oregon came up nearly empty. The Beavers exploited the Ducks' long dry spell, chipped away at Oregon's double figure lead, eventually took the lead, protected it, and won this game, 63-53.
3. It had been a while since I visited Daryl's House on YouTube. Well, Daryl Hall was fresh on my mind after visiting Linda, so I looked for an episode I hadn't seen and found the episode featuring the O'Jays dropping by Daryl's abode, allowing me before I went to sleep tonight to jump on the "Love Train", to be on guard for those "Backstabbers", and to say "I Love Music", too. Daryl's guests always sing at least one hit from Hall and Oates and, Oh Lord!, Daryl and the O'Jays performing "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" was divine.
It was a satisfying and emotional way to bring a full day to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment