1. I met a 1:00 appointment this afternoon for a Pulmonary Function Test (actually a battery of tests) at the Shoshone Medical Center. I decided to come into this appointment with my lungs having had a light workout, so I walked to the trail to the high school, followed it to a culvert that crosses Jacobs Creek, walked to Jacobs Gulch Road, and on south to the outpatient area of the hospital.
Before long I was under the care of Liz, a calm, clear thinking, articulate, engaging pulmonary therapist. After a short interview regarding my pulmonary history and current experience, Liz had me do a series of tests involving deep breaths, long exhales, and pants. I don't know what the results will look like, but I was very pleased with how strong I felt while doing these tests, especially as I recalled how weak I felt doing similar tests 40-50 years ago in the wake of the accident I experienced at the Zinc Plant.
The testing took about 90 minutes to complete.
I left the testing room feeling spry and walked back home easily.
For the transplant program at Sacred Heart, I began a series of blood draws, heart and lung tests, x-rays, scans, and interviews back at the beginning of February. Today's tests, I think, brought all this testing to an end.
I imagine I'll hear from the transplant program at some point regarding whether I still qualify for kidney replacement.
For now, though, it's a relief to have these tests and interviews finished.
2. Back home, I relaxed for a while and gave nearly a half an hour over to trying to come up with a solid dinner plan.
Then it hit me: why not, for the first time in many years, go to Yoke's and buy Debbie and me steaks.
That's what I did.
I bought a package of petite sirloin steaks, returned home, and got to cookin'.
First, I started a pot of baby Yukon Golds boiling.
I remembered we had four slices of bacon in the icebox. I got out two cast iron pans and started cooking the bacon.
I sliced a handful of cremini mushrooms and a couple of small zucchinis.
When the bacon had finished cooking, I dumped the mushroom and zucchini slices, along with two minced cloves of garlic, into the bacon grease and got that little mess cookin'.
In the other puddle of bacon grease, I placed the salted, peppered, and garlic powdered steaks and put the timer on for three minutes. When the timer went off, I turned the steaks over and put the timer back on for three more minutes.
The vegetable mess finished cooking. The potatoes finished boiling. I put the steaks on a plate to rest for five minutes.
I put butter and sour cream on the table for the potatoes and soon Debbie and I were having a splendid dinner of steak, mushroom and zucchini, boiled potatoes, and a couple slices of bacon.
We were both surprised and happy that I decided, after all these years, to fix a steak dinner at home again.
3. I was moved by Willie Nelson's guest appearance on Monk. In case you haven't seen this episode, I won't give away what happened that stirred me, but for this episode's moving final scene, Willie Nelson was perfect, as was the connection between him and Monk.
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