1. Peter Himmelman's album, Strength to Strength continues to be one of my favorites, not only by Peter Himmelman, but favorite albums of all time. The two times I saw Himmelman in concert were two of my most enjoyable evenings of all time and his songs continue to move me nearly thirty years later.
When I was in the hospital in May, I played Strength to Strength several times while recuperating and the songs inspired and comforted me and I enjoyed how nostalgic they made me, as memories of his concerts, of those with whom I shared his music, of playing his music while I gardened and traveled to and from the Oregon Coast, and of how his songs always got me thinking about life's big questions.
For a while today, Peter Himmelman's music filled the house. I lived simultaneously in 2024-25 and the mid-1990s, enjoying being here now and being there then.
2. When we lived in Eugene, I seem to remember we had a hardback copy of Erik Larson's non-fiction historical book, The Devil in the White City in the house, but I never read it. For some reason, the mere existence of that book has stuck in my mind for the last twenty years or so and today I finally did something about it!
I downloaded the book on my phone and it will be my companion for about fourteen hours as I work out and when I drive to Eugene on Thursday. At some point, I'll purchase a copy so I can go back and read passages from books that I've listened to on Audible.
The opening of the book has me hooked. I'm ready to learn more about the characters Larson introduces and am fascinated by the book's passages about the history of Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
3. Debbie passed a simple recipe on to me over the weekend and I cooked it this afternoon: baked pork chops with onion and rice for tonight's Family Dinner. Carol and Paul are in rehearsal and Molly is working on getting ready to move to Boise, so Christy came over to the house and joined Debbie and me for our meal. Christy roasted broccoli with superb seasonings, using a recipe she'd just received from the NYTimes. It was unique and rounded out our meal perfectly.
We enjoyed our dinner, yakked for a while, and after we wrapped up our time together, I was ready to go to bed, a result of my hour long workout earlier in the day. That exercise rewarded me with deep and satisfying sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment