1. One of the really fun results of Debbie's Bandcamp page going up has been seeing Debbie getting notes and comments from people expressing their love of her music, her honesty, and her talent. Some people from deep in Debbie's past have reached out to her, as well as people she (and we) are current with today. If you are curious and would like to listen to some songs, Debbie's Bandcamp page is right here.
2. I met David Hanson, PA, for the first time today when I completed my annual Medicare Wellness Exam. He's an engaged, energetic, dedicated professional. I enjoyed our conversations and was very happy that, on the one hand, he recognized that I live with slowly failing kidneys, and on the other hand, he determined that my overall health is very good. My EKG results were strong. My heart and lungs sounded good. My ankles and lower legs are not swelling. My blood pressure was about perfect. All that remains to complete this exam is some blood work and David Hanson had no problem having me wait until February to have it done so that it coincides with the bloodwork I have done every three weeks for Dr. Bieber, my kidney doctor.
I left the clinic very happy. It was a bit after 2:00 and I hadn't done my part for several days to SAVE THE PORTER, so I slid into Radio Brewing and enjoyed a pint. I stayed with dark ale and capped off my short visit with a 10 oz pour of Oatmeal Stout, a smooth and pleasing way to relax after being examined, my relaxation enhanced by the Blink 182 station playing on Pandora over the house music system.
I returned home full of 1990s music and later in the evening played one of my favorite songs from nearly thirty years ago: Luna's "California (All the Way)". I wish right now some of my students from years ago were reading that I played that song today and that they, like me, would recall the fun we had watching the short film Family Tree in class. It featured Luna's song and was a fun part of my WR 121 syllabus for a time.
3. I have several quarts of stock I've made over the last few years from Elks Crab Feed shells in the basement freezer and I brought a couple upstairs this morning to thaw. Later this afternoon, I made chowder, guided by my no recipes recipe book. I chopped up and salted and peppered yellow onion, red potato, and carrots and sautéed them with some smoked paprika in a generous barely bubbling pool of melted butter. Once the onion was translucent, I covered it with crab stock, brought it to a barely bubbling boil and let it simmer for a while until the potatoes and carrots were tender. I then added a few splashes of heavy whipping cream and some pieces of shrimp, let it heat up a bit more, and, presto!, Debbie and I had a really delicious chowder made without a recipe, but with some general guidance regarding how to go about cooking it.
Within myself, I uttered a word or two of thanks to Harley and Candy for all of their work making the Elks Crab Feed happen annually and for letting me leave the Crab Feed with bags of shells. The stock I make from these shells is liquid gold (as far as I'm concerned!).
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