1. From about January or February through the end of the semester in May, 1973, I hung out almost daily with Bruce Alldredge (RIP) and his roommate, Robert, along with Sluggo, Liz, Jane, and others. Bruce and Rob lived in an old apartment house near North Idaho College that they nicknamed the Cockroach Castle and Bruce drove a van nicknamed the Purple Pig. Those four months or so had to be one of the most invigorating and fun periods in my entire life. Memories of reading aloud from National Lampoon, hectoring President Richard Nixon as he spoke about Watergate on tv from the Oval Office, a dollar pitcher celebration of the Knicks' NBA championship at the Rathskeller, listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer and other albums, having fun times out with Liz in her trusty old Ford Falcon (I think), discussing poetry and politics, dancing to "All Right Now" as we closed down the Steinhaus, and many others made this time unforgettably awesome. Time seemed to stand still and the loving feelings I have about those months came pouring back to me today.
You see, someone posted a picture on Facebook of the old Fish Inn located out in the Blue Creek/Wolf Lodge area several miles east of Coeur d'Alene. Parked at the fish's mouth, in the picture, was a van that looked remarkably similar to the Purple Pig -- although the pictured van was more maroon than purple. I emailed the picture to Liz and Jane and both of them remarked on how much they think and talk about the Purple Pig-time. I loved hearing back from both of them, knowing how much we loved that brief, influential, ecstatic time in our lives.
Here's the picture that sparked our memories and our words of love:
2. I saw Dr. Bieber, my nephrologist, this morning. We went over my most recent bloodwork and, once again, things are stable. All but one of my numbers are within range. My kidney function slipped a little bit to 15%, but I've been at 15% before, even as low as 13%, but without experiencing any symptoms of kidney disease. That's the case right now -- no edema, no metallic taste in my mouth, etc. I'm working out 5-7 days a week, losing some weight, and feeling great. At some point soon, I'll ask to be returned to the active status on the transplant list, but, for now, I don't want to be offered an organ while Christy needs help with transportation after her knee replacement.
3. Tonight's HelloFresh meal was a, hold on, it's a long one, Sweet Chili Chicken Rice Bowl with Chicken Thighs, Sesame Slaw, and Quick Pickled Cucumbers.
In the past, when HelloFresh meals have included quick pickled cucumbers, I've thought the cukes didn't pickle long enough. So, today, I immersed thinly sliced cucumber pieces in sugar, salt, and water about a half an hour before I started cooking the rest of the meal. Likewise, this recipe called for the chicken thigh pieces to be marinated in soy sauce and I prepared this part of the meal in advance, too.
While I was doing things in advance, I decided to fix the pear, cabbage, and sesame seed slaw ahead of time and once I finished following the recipe, decided that a slug of Nancy's whole milk probiotic yogurt would make the slaw I prepared taste even better.
I was correct!
The rest of the meal was very simple.
I cooked the jasmine rice. I added corn starch to the marinated chicken, tossed it until the chicken was coated, then cooked the chicken. I transferred the chicken to a clean bowl and topped with a packet of Sweet Thai Chile Sauce.
I divided the rice between our two bowls and topped the rice with the sweet chili chicken, pickled cucumbers, and slaw.
The sweet and the heat along with crunchiness of the cucumbers and slaw gave this dinner a tasty combination of flavors, sensations, and textures.
It worked!
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