1. I arrived at the rehab gym in CdA still a bit road weary from my weekend travels. I scaled back my workout just a bit. It turned out to be a wise move.
I had put Spotify's "Best of Bach" on the Camry's sound system to help keep me calm as I drove from Seattle to a gas station I stopped at several miles after getting over Snoqualmie Pass.
I had Bach on my mind after listening to Iron Butterfly last week. Today, I decided to listen to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos while I worked out.
My mind wandered back to 1986. I was in Portland. So was one of my favorite friends at the time, Craig T. As I remember, and I could very well be mistaken, the Portland Film Festival was getting underway and featured the world premier of Woody Allen's movie, Hannah and Her Sisters. Craig and I luckily snagged two of the last seats left in the theater.
In one of the movie's scenes, Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Elliot (Michael Caine) are alone while Frederick (Max Von Sydow) and Dusty (Daniel Stern) go into the basement to look at Frederick's oil paintings. Elliot has been recommending music for Lee to listen to and poetry for her to read. After Frederick and Dusty leave the room, Lee pulls out a Bach album she's recently purchased and plays the second movement of Bach's Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 in F Minor.
This moment in the movie transfixed me. When I returned to my apartment in Eugene, since I didn't have an LP with the Harpsichord Concerto on it, I played what I did have: my collection of the Brandenburg Concertos.
When I hear the Brandenburg Concertos, I can't tell one of the six concertos from another. I get so engrossed in their beauty that it doesn't matter to me if I'm listening to the first, fourth, sixth, second, fifth, or third. I love them. I'm the same way when I listen to the Grateful Dead channel on Sirius/XM. A song will come on, I'm engrossed by it, but I cannot for the life of me remember its title -- unless it's a song whose title is repeated in the lyrics. Same with Pink Floyd. Their song titles, especially from Dark Side of the Moon, escape me, but as I listen to their music, I often find myself transported to another world.
2. The Nancy's yogurt Debbie and I enjoy is unavailable in the Silver Valley. So is Nancy's kefir. I went to Fred Meyer after I worked out to pick up yogurt and kefir and I suddenly felt an irresistible urge to buy some produce, too, so I could make a vegetable stir fry for dinner.
Back home, later in the afternoon, I chopped a white onion, several stalks of bok choy, some broccoli, and a zucchini. I stir fried these vegetables along with some sliced mushrooms. Before stir frying, I made a stir fry sauce combining soy sauce, water, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced garlic, ginger powder, honey, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes. As the vegetables cooked, I put all the brown rice left over from last night's dinner into the cast iron skillet and warmed it up and once the vegetables were ready, I combined the rice and vegetables in one pan. (Note to self: purchase a wok!) I then topped the rice and vegetables with several stalks of chopped raw green onion.
I seasoned the stir fry with the sauce. Debbie and I agreed: this dinner worked!
3. Just before fixing dinner, I took Copper to the veterinarian for his annual check up and vaccinations. I'll get the blood work results by phone later, but, as of now, Dr. Cook says Copper's heart and lungs sound healthy, she feels good to his hands, his weight is stable, and he seems in good shape. Copper is about thirteen years old. I'm hoping the blood work supports Dr. Cook's optimism.
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