1. Gibbs can be energetic, especially in the morning. With insistent barking, he demands to have someone (right now, me!) throw one of his toys and he retrieves it, brings it back, and this goes on for a while. Gibbs can also be barky in the back yard, which, to me, is a problem if he goes out as early as 6:00 a.m. to do his business.
I decided to find out today if taking Gibbs for a walk, first thing, before I do anything else, might help tire him out a little bit and give him a chance to take care of his business somewhere other than the back yard. In fact, this morning, I walked him twice, once before my usual morning routine (coffee, word puzzles, blogging) and again afterward.
This morning walking is a good idea both for Gibbs and me and my guess is that as Gibbs and I develop this routine, our walks will get longer over time and I'll get back to increasing my number of steps per day.
2. I've had a personal business situation hanging over my head for a while and after much deliberation combined with some procrastination, I initiated a process today that, I hope, will begin to take care of it.
Once I did all I could with that, I leapt in the Sube and drove to CdA to take care of a few things.
I dropped off an item to be returned to Amazon at the UPS Store. I used a card entitling me to a free car wash at Hippo and spiffed up the exterior of the Sube. I went to Supercuts and got a hair cut.
I then buzzed over to Daft Badger and ordered a pint of Mosaic IPA, a single hop beer. I ordered the slow cooked pork taco lunch special of the week and it came with a bowl of chicken and black bean soup, seasoned Southwest style. I was the only patron sitting at the bar and as I finished my lunch, one of the servers, Mark, struck up a conversation and we talked about how both us happened to land in North Idaho in the past few years and about other places we've lived. He was a great guy and our conversation made a satisfying lunch even more enjoyable.
After lunch, I decided to see how things were over at Outpost, formerly known as Slate Creek. I like this taproom a lot, primarily because it's small, neighborly, and draws people it's fun to listen to talk to each other. I ordered one of Outpost's own beers, an IPA, and, I'm sorry to say, it was disappointing. This one less than stellar beer, however, would not keep me from coming back. Their guest taps were awesome, the environment of the Outpost was enjoyable, and I find the place very relaxing.
I finished my beer, buzzed up to Costco, filled my gas tank, and bought a few food items and headed on back to Kellogg, bringing a low key, uneventful, but very satisfying trip to CdA to a close.
3. Back home, I got settled in, and soon Bill Davie's live broadcast of Poetry Break came on Facebook. Early on, Bill read a favorite poet of mine, Lisel Mueller, and after reading some of his own work, he focused on Gary Snyder for most of the program's hour.
Bill talked a bit about Gary Snyder giving a reading, in 1983, at Spokane's Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC).
I went to that reading. Snyder had just published his book called Axe Handles and I remember the poem "Axe Handles" having a strong impact on me that night. My memory of what month that reading took place is blurry to me and I'd love to find out. It would help me clarify whom I attended that reading with. Mostly I remember Snyder's quiet command of the room and that his reading attracted more people I thought of as living close to the land than I'd ever seen in one place at one time in Spokane. I loved it. It was one of the few times when I was in Spokane between 1982-84 that I felt like I was back in Eugene and I remember being uplifted by that feeling.
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