Three Beautiful Things 10-09-2026: Yakkin' Session #1 at The Lounge, Then #2, Popcorn Dinner

 1. Today kicked into gear when I sauntered into The Lounge and Harley and Candy invited me to join them. Soon Julie C. took a chair and, not long after, Ed was a part of the conversation. I got to be a part of several conversations that ranged from pumpkin donuts to priests in a van from Kansas to Richard Butler and the Aryan Nation to getting together with lifelong friends at class parties and reunions and a lot of topics in between. 

During this session of high octane yakkin', Mike Rinaldi came over and said hello to me. When we moved into the house Debbie and I now live in, Mike's family lived next door in the house Christy now lives in. I know it had been about fifty years since I last saw Mike and today's reunion was a very happy one. It turned out that Ed and Mike also had some history together back in the day in the world of truck driving and when Ed found out that Mike was now next door having dinner at Wah Hing, he dashed over and also had a happy reunion with Mike. 

Ed also shared the great news that at his oncologist appointment today, he found out his post-cancer treatment blood work looked great. He'll have labs drawn again in six months. 

2. Debbie had been out and about in Kellogg and soon dropped into The Lounge. She stopped by our table and said hello and beelined over to another table of people she often sees at The Lounge and joined in the high octane yakkin' over there. 

I was the last yakker remaining at our table as Julie left first, Ed took his to go order from Wah Hing home to Nancy, and Harley and Candy needed to get going. 

So, I've been acquainted with Becky ever since going up to Silver Mountain in 2017 with Dick and Renae for Brewfest. Renae introduced us. 

Debbie and Becky became friends and yak with Becky from time to time when we run into each other. 

Today, Becky came over to where I was sitting and I got to enjoy another session of high octane yakkin'. 

We yakked about classical music, Becky's experience as percussionist in a youth symphony in Minnesota, comedy and the Spokane Comedy Club, the world of Disney, and a host of other topics before the two of us joined (Becky rejoined) the table where Debbie was socializing and after a short while, Debbie and I headed home. 

3. I'd planned to cook some Asian-like food for dinner, but Debbie and I came to a quick agreement that a popcorn dinner would be fun -- and guess what? -- it was! 

 

Three Beautiful Things 10-08-2026: Assessing, Shopping Together, Relaxing Stir Fry

 1. Over the course of our marriage, Debbie and I have had periods of time when we needed to take stock of our finances, travel plans, the condition of our house and talk about these things and schedule meetings with professionals. 

It's time well spent and there's more to come as we do our best to realistically assess where things are and how we want to move forward. 

It really helps that we are very experienced at working together (twenty-nine years) and that we get along! 

2. Debbie and I both make shopping trips to grocery stores, but I don't recall the last time we went grocery shopping together. We had an appointment uptown today (not at The Lounge -- it wasn't open!) and shopped together at Yoke's on our way home. 

Nothing big happened, but it was a fun change of pace stocking up on some goods together and being in silent agreement about every item we bought. 

3. I cooked dinner tonight! 

Well, spontaneously, Debbie sliced a mixing bowl full of vegetable pieces, but I then had fun stir frying tofu, Thai wheat noodles, and that bowl of cut vegetables into a delicious and relaxing stir fry. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-07-2026: Conference, PT Progress, Discussions

 1. I left the nearly completely cleared off table up and it served me well during an important video conference. 

2. I texted Christy today about how her PT session went and her answer was both positive and encouraging. Great news! 

3. When Debbie was in New York, we tabled a lot of discussions about different aspects of life at home and what things we might want to do at home and about our upcoming trip to Cincinnati. Now that were together again, slowly and surely we are getting different discussions started. Today we had some of those discussions in earnest. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-06-2026: Card Table Quandary, Trash to the Curb, Cilantro Pesto

1. Do I need a card table set up in the bedroom where I sleep? For months, the card table was my pill box filling, blood pressure cuff, and record keeping station, but I no longer need such a station now that I'm over two years past having had a kidney transplant. I did some rearranging of other items in this bedroom today and remain undecided about the card table. 

It's not really a huge decision!

All the same, I'll make it before too long. 

2. The City of Kellogg collects our garbage on Wednesdays, so I went over to Christy's and took her trash bags and cardboard out to her container and rolled it to the curb. It's much safer for Christy to have one of us in the family take care of this job until she regains more mobility and energy. 

3. Debbie enjoys making different kinds of pesto and recently she made a batch using cilantro, cashews, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and I'm not sure what else.  It's terrific and tasted great over a bowl of rotini pasta this evening. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-04-2026: Team Take an Interest, Claiming an Education, Dinner with Christy

1. Deborah and I have been friends since we met as students over fifty years ago at Whitworth. She wrote a wonderful response to what I wrote about going to Ferris High School to hear Rick Riordan and Annabelle Ho. Her parallel experience, and more involved one, took place six years ago when she joined her grandson in reading the Harry Potter series, books she hadn't been interested in but that she TOOK AN INTEREST in and enjoyed thoroughly. 

I told her, in response, that it was really fun to have a friend and companion on Team Take an Interest. 

She liked that and my guess is that we'll both continue to explore things in our life that we hadn't been interested in, but decided to pursue, to take an interest in. 

2. By the way, about forty years ago I read Adrienne Rich's convocation address at Douglass College. In it, Rich urged the students not to passively receive an education, but to actively claim their educations through questioning assumption and engaging critically with ideas in the face of contradiction. In other words, she urged students to take responsibility for their education and to experience it as a dynamic, participatory project. 

I used to read Rich's address to my students and it was in the spirit of Rich's call to action that I encouraged students who told me they weren't interested in readings I assigned to actively take an interest, to see an education as a way not of confirming ways they already saw the world, but to take an interest in ways they didn't and then decide what they thought of different perspectives or things that happened outside their own experience. 

I have no idea if this encouragement made a difference. 

I do know I had a lot of fun trying to help my students' worlds become a little larger. 

3. Mostly I rested today. I needed to recharge after traveling to Pendleton and back last week and then going to highly stimulating events in Spokane on Saturday and Sunday. 

We invited Christy over for dinner late this afternoon.

It's a good thing I had rested. 

Our dinner conversation was intense. 

We talked a lot about all that Christy went through medically this summer and continues to go through now. 

I felt the impact of the complexity of Christy's ongoing medical situation strongly this evening. 

She's experiencing multiple difficulties, all at the same time. 

It's taxing her. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-04-2026: *Americana*, Aaron Copland Twice!, Surprise!

1. Debbie and I arrived at the Fox Theater this afternoon in plenty of time to hear Conductor James Lowe and guest cello soloist Zuill Bailey give a talk about today's concert. 

Today's concert was entitled Americana and, with the exception of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, the concert focused on exploring musical identity in the USA.

The cellist, Zuill Bailey, had collaborated recently with former Spokane Symphony Music Director, Eckhart Preu, on a commission to recruit five American composers of different backgrounds to each create a five minute composition inspired, however they wanted, by the Declaration of Independence. Each of the five compositions featured the cello as a solo instrument and Zuill Bailey filled that role. 

So, Bailey and Lowe discussed the process of putting these five compositions together into a single suite and previewed the emotional content of each piece. The title of the suite: Visions of Humanity. The composers:

Chanda Dancy-Morizawa, African-American

Avner Dorman: Israeli-American

Zhou Tian: Chinese-American

Enrico Chapela: Mexican-American

Mark O'Connor: Appalachian-American 

Bailey and Lowe's discussion of these compositions was fascinating and I appreciated being prepared to experience the variety of ways these composers explore humanity and the musical identity of the USA. 

2. Another great pleasure of this concert was that it opened and closed (or so we thought it closed! More later!) with compositions by Aaron Copland. 

The orchestra's performance of Variations on a Shaker Melody set a tone of beauty of familiarity of the concert. 

The final (or so we thought) piece of the concert was Copland's Suite from Billy the Kid, twenty minutes of selections from Copland's Billy the Kid ballet. 

Fitting snugly into the Americana theme was William Grant Still's warm and lyrical Mother and Child, in which Still brought together his classical European influenced training as a composer with the bluesy and jazzy root music of his life as an African-American. 

The concert program stepped out of the Americana theme for Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, giving us another opportunity to savor the brilliance of cellist Zuill Bailey. 

3. After the orchestra finished Billy the Kid, and the standing ovations and bows by the conductor and the orchestra concluded, suddenly James Lowe reappeared and to the absolute delight of the audience, the orchestra suddenly played Stars and Stripes Forever. The audience clapped rhythmically at the appropriate places, the three piccolo players wowed the audience during their section, and as the lights came back on, the audience left the Fox Theater sporting wide grins and joy. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-03-2926: I Was With Hundreds of Youngsters, Authors Collaborate, Taking an Interest

 1. I've written this about a thousand and one times, but here I go again. 

Especially through Northwest Passages presentations in Spokane, I am attending programs about things with which I have no familiarity and listening to authors I've never (or barely) heard of. 

This evening, I joined over 800 people in the Ferris High School auditorium in Spokane to hear fantasy writer Margaret Owens interview Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh. 

Thanks to this program, I now know that Rick Riordan is the very well-known and admired writer best known for having created the character Percy Jackson, an ADHD twelve-year-old, who discovers he is the son of Poseidson, and from that launching pad, Riordan has written several series of books. 

The primary audience for his books is young people. 

Over 800 people attended this presentation and I'd say at least 75% of the audience were youngsters ranging in age from elementary school to high school and some of the young people appeared to be just a little older than K-12ers. 

I don't remember ever being in the same place with so many giddy and excited youngsters, youngsters who listened with rapt attention when people on stage talked and who, at appropriate times, screamed like Beatles fans on the Ed Sullivan show, expressing their love of the world Riordan has created, the characters who populate this world, and the stories Riordan tells. 

And their love of reading. 

Their enthusiasm and the feeling of togetherness in the auditorium moved me. 

2. Rick Riordan is in the midst of creating another Camp Half-Blood series. He decided to take a new approach to writing the books for this series. He recruited four writers and each is working as a co-author for one book in this new Camp Half-Blood series. 

The first of these four books is now available: The Wild Zone. The co-author of The Wild Zone is Annabelle Oh. This book features a newcomer to Camp Half-Blood world named Katie King. 

We got to hear Riordan and Oh talk about their collaboration, the process of bringing The Wild Zone to life, and their enthusiasm for encouraging youngsters to read and to learn that they, too, can be heroes. 

3. Tonight brought me back to something I wrote about a little while back. I did my best in my years as a teacher to encourage my students to take an interest in things they didn't think they were interested in. Often students would tell me I'd assigned them to read something that they couldn't relate to and so weren't interested. 

I knew what they meant.

They were telling me the assigned reading was outside their lived experience. 

I'd do my best to encourage them to go beyond not being interested in the reading and to try to take an interest in it. 

That's exactly what I've been doing. 

Last night I took an interest in young people's fantasy books, something I've never had an interest in. 

Before that I went to presentations on the world of Disney (I lost lukewarm interest decades ago), a post-apocalyptic novel (way outside my interest), a novel about rescuing pianos in the Arctic (I'd never thought of that), and the world of Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire (never watched the show or read a Longmire book). 

All of these Northwest Passages interviews/presentation stimulated me, broadened my worldview, gave me pleasure, and encouraged me to continue to open myself to new worlds of discovery and learning. 

I'll just add that when Debbie and I, in a moment of what the heck spontaneity, decided to join the Science/Nature book club at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, I found myself taking an interest in the restoration of a plot of land heavily polluted by toxic factories, in the history of apples, potatoes, tulips, and cannabis, in the history of mosquitos, the history of Earth's moon, rivers in Ecuador, India, and Quebec, birds, and medicinal plants. 

I don't hold things in my mind as well as I used to, but in the moment I'm reading these books, listening to these presentation, or listening to the Spokane String Quartet or Spokane Symphony, I'm enjoying myself. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-02-2026: Easy Driving, Easy Living, Back to Crossword Puzzles

 1. Ed and I had an easy travel morning back to the Silver Valley and I only missed one exit that cost us about ten minutes of time, but the recovery was pretty easy. We stopped in at Country Mercantile outside of Pasco for a quick sugared croissant and I put a little pep in my step with a latte. 

2. I arrived home to a peace and quiet. Debbie baked some chicken and I boiled some potato chunks. Easy food. Easy conversation. It's all good. 

3. I relaxed with some puzzles today. At the Wildhorse Resort and Casino, when I was relaxing in my room, I didn't work much on NYTimes crossword puzzles, so I have some catching up to do. Instead of crossword puzzles, I read The Dog Stars and, with it finished, I can now move on to a new book. I think I'll give Priyanka Kumar's Conversations with Birds a try and continue to read and learn more about a subject I know very little about. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-01-2026: I Finish *The Dog Stars*, Lunch in Meacham, Serious Yakkin' in Ed's Room

 1. I won't give away the ending to Peter Heller's The Dog Stars. I will say that after I finished it, I closed the book, lay back in my Wildhorse Resort bed, and thought a lot about the complexities of survival, the post-apocalyptic inevitability of violence, about love, the post-apocalyptic yang to the yin of violence, and ingenuity, flexibility, and adaptability. 

I also thought about poetry, especially this one by the ninth century Chinese poet Li Shang-Yin:

When Will I Be Home?

When will I be home? I don't know. 

In the mountains, in the rainy night, 

The Autumn lake is flooded.

Someday we will be back together again.

We will sit in the candlelight by the West window.

And I will tell you how I remembered you.

Tonight on the stormy mountain. 

This poem is vital to the story Peter Heller tells in The Dog Stars. 

2. Earlier in the day, Mike, Ed, Don, and I strolled into the Oregon Trail Grocery and Deli in Meacham, OR, an essential part of our routine when we get together twice a year at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino. A hard-working couple runs the place. I don't know their names, but the husband, who takes orders and serves them,  has been friendly and funny with us for as long as we've patronized the Deli and his wife is a superb slinger of the menu's food. 

I ordered a bowl of superb ham and pinto bean soup to go with a memorable Patty Melt. Everything was perfect: the ground beef coming off the well-seasoned grill, the bite and slight sweetness of the Swiss cheese, the onions grilled just right, and, the coup de grace, the robust nuttiness of the rye bread. 

The cook came out from the kitchen and let us shower her with accolades and she was laughing appreciatively as we fell over ourselves with gratitude for her impeccable work. 

3. Mike, Don, and I came up to Ed's room around 4:00. The other guys enjoyed some whiskey and I drained a cup of coffee. We had quite a session, talking about the past and the present, what we read or watch on television, the complications of family life, and what happens when people who share the same father but didn't know each other have a chance to meet up and get acquainted. 

Fascinating -- and the stories were not uncommon. I hear more and more of these tales the older I grow and Debbie's side of the family has their own to tell as Misty, fathered by Debbie's brother David, has entered into the lives not only of Debbie and me, but of David's two other adult children and has become acquainted with more and more of the family tree she just discovered she's a part of a couple or three years ago. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-30-2026: Weighty Decision, YakFest in Ed's Room, Dinner at the Plateau

1. My luck on the casino floor has been lousy, so I've stayed mostly away. That has opened up time to relax in the comfort of my hotel room to read deeper into The Dog Stars. I'm at what feels like a critical juncture in the story as Hig tries to determine if he can take off from where his plane is right now with two added passengers -- can the plane lift the weight of three people and some supplies off the ground? 

2. It's always fun during our stay at the Wildhorse to have yakkin' sessions in Ed's room. The other guys enhance the fun with a snort of whiskey or two, but I had to enhance my fun with a couple of cups of coffee since I'm not mixing alcohol with the meds I take to suppress my immune system. 

Our session featured fun stories, news updates, and, as always, lots of laughing. 

3. Don, Terry, Ed, Mike and I got together at the resort's Plateau Steakhouse for the upscale dinner we always enjoy on our twice a year visits. I tried something completely different tonight. I ordered a bowl of terrific French onion soup and a Plateau hamburger. 

The hamburger was massive, way more than I could eat. It featured two quarter pound ground beef patties, two hunks of slab bacon, tomato, and lettuce. The burger was cut in half with each half held together with a kabob-like spear. The two halves of the burger rested in a very shallow Gouda and white cheddar cheese sauce. In addition, this monster burger had an onion ring the size of my head resting atop it and it came with Brussels sprouts and garlic fries. 

We thought the Brussels sprouts came with Terry's order of rack of lamb, so he enjoyed those. 

I could only eat half of this burger, a few fries, and the onion ring. 

I'm sure I could have eaten the whole thing about thirty years ago, but not now. 

Had I consumed it all, I would have been like that guy in the old Alka-Seltzer ad moaning, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

It was a fun dinner and I wisely returned to my room and relaxed with a crossword puzzle and some reading before I went to sleep. 

Here we are at dinner:  

Three Beautiful Things 09-29-2026: Whitworth at Dave's Bar and Grill, Geography Brain Fog, Thai Food with Colette

1. Ed and I headed out this morning for the Wildhorse Resort and Casino shortly after 6 a.m. and made what has become our regular first stop at Dave's Bar and Grill just off Pines Road on E. Sprague in Spokane Valley. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast. 

As we wrapped up our visit, I asked our server why she was wearing a Whitworth University shirt. She replied that her son had played football at Whitworth and earned two degrees there, a bachelor's and a master's degree. Her son also worked alongside Bud Nameck, the radio voice of the Pirates, over the weekend and Nameck invited him to join him again this weekend to provide analysis and insight. 

Listening to her story was a really fun way to end our breakfast.

2. Thanks to my confusion regarding the geography of the state of Washington, Ed and I took a somewhat out of the way route to Colfax and on west to Walla Walla and south to Pendelton. Luckily, my confusion didn't mar our trip.  We enjoyed the late September landscapes and ended up making pretty good time. 

Later in the evening, I consulted a google map to try to figure out my confusion. It happened as we left Tekoa and I think I pretty much figured it out. I hope I'll remember next time how to best travel from Tekoa to Colfax with a clear and not muddled mind. 

3. Colette and I also have regular thing we do when I come down to the Wildhorse Resort and Casino.

We meet for dinner at Thai Crystal. It's a twice a year thing and we always talk about a wide variety of topics ranging from health issues to books we've read to ideas and insights we have about the natural world, human activity in the natural world, and our lives and life in general. We always converse for about three hours and inevitably continue our discussion in the parking lot, always having a few more insights or stories to wrap up. 

Once again, this was a superb get together that stimulated a lot of thought and gave me more things to investigate in the coming days and weeks. 

Upon returning to the resort/casino, I bolted to the deli for one of the treats I indulge every evening: a two scoop dish of ice cream. This evening I enjoyed a scoop of Cookies and Cream topped with a scoop of French Vanilla. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-28-2026: Blood Test, Chili, Mortality

 1. Dr. Bieber determined that I ought to lower my dosage of Tacrolimus, that is, lower the levels of this medication in my bloodstream. I made the adjustment he ordered.  Then, today, I further followed Dr. Bieber's orders and drove to the lab in CdA and had a vial of blood drawn. The results came back and the Tacrolimus level in my blood was lower and Dr. Bieber messaged me that the new level was acceptable and to continue with the new dosage. 

2. Christy, Debbie, and I swooped into Carol and Paul's house for today's family dinner -- which has, for the time being, morphed into family lunch. Christy brought pickled vegetables for a starter and then we enjoyed Carol's chili, the Trader Joe's cornbread I baked, and the clean out the crisper vegetable salad that Debbie created. 

Great news! 

We hadn't quite, in previous family dinners, eaten all the ice cream that had accumulated at Carol and Paul's and so we enjoyed the last of their stash for dessert.

3. We returned to having a topic discussion, a practice we started back in the spring, but gave a rest over the summer. Christy planned today's meal and asked us, in light of her experiences this summer and of comments I've written in this blog about The Dog Stars, to discuss mortality and how our awareness of our mortality shapes the way we live. We learned quite a bit about each other and it was good to know it's a topic we aren't avoiding, even though it's tempting. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-27-2026: Solo Pianist, Piano Trio and Piano Quintet, Whistle Punk Brewing

 1. I thoroughly enjoy these trips Debbie and I (or I alone) make to Spokane to participate in the Science/Nature book club, hear the Spokane Symphony, listen to Northwest Passages presentation, attend symphony conductor James Lowe's lectures, and hear the Spokane String Quartet. 

All of these pleasures have enlarged my understanding of the world, music, and life itself. 

Today was no exception. 

The Spokane String Quartet played this afternoon at the Fox Theater. This was either the third or fourth concert of theirs I've attended and today's was unlike any of the others. 

For starters, today's concert featured a pianist, Frank Huang. 

The concert opened with Frank Huang as a soloist, playing a stunningly difficult and emotionally complex composition by Franz Liszt entitled Totentanz. I thought the piece pushed Frank Huang to show us the full range of virtuosity with its thunderous and drum-like passages, mind-boggling stretches of rapid runs, and sudden moments of tenderness and calm. 

2. Then the concert featured not a string quartet, but a piano trio featuring, along with Huang, violinist Amanda Howard-Phillips and cellist Helen Byrne playing the Antonin Dvorak's Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor. My enjoyment of Dvorak grows out of his ways of weaving together Slavic folk tunes, dances, and marches with moments of sorrow, soaring energy, and great beauty. 

The concert's last piece featured the famous piano quintet, known as "Trout", by Franz Schubert, one of my favorite pieces of classical music. I was unfamiliar with the first two offerings of this program and very much enjoyed settling into hearing music I've been enjoying for over twenty years. 

I loved that I came to a string quartet concert and heard everything but a quartet! We heard a solo, a trio, and a quintet and enjoyed three of classical music's most brilliant composers. 

3. As Debbie and I walked back to where our car was parked, we decided to pop into Whistle Punk, one of my favorite breweries anywhere. I didn't know what their non-alcoholic offerings were, but I was confident that Debbie would enjoy whatever she ordered. And I was right! She did. And I struck gold! Whistle Punk carried n/a IPAs in cans brewed by the mighty Fremont Brewing. First, I drank a fine n/a West Coast IPA and then a dark IPA, a style of beer I hadn't drunk since the good old days of Firestone Wookey Jack IPA. 

We loved the brick-lined comfortable tasting room, the fine service of the guy who poured our beer, and the enthusiastic young dudes at the bar who talked about topics ranging from the Spokane Greek Festival to where to eat great ramen in Spokane to their admiration for old music like Credence Clearwater Revival. 

 

Three Beautiful Things 09-26-2026: Spokane Symphony Replay, What Have I Missed?, Vanishing Birds and Animals

 1. Last Sunday I left the Fox Theater wanting to go back in, sit down, and hear the entire Spokane Symphony program again. I knew, however, that Spokane Public Radio station's KSFC 91.9 would play the entire concert again today at noon. 

I tuned in. I listened to the entire concert again. I absorbed much more of the music than I did a week ago and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

2. Maybe I've mentioned in earlier posts that until I cracked open The Dog Stars, I had never read a post-apocalyptic novel before. Peter Heller's book is turning out to be such a compelling exploration of love, loyalty, friendship, death, survival, memory, and other human experiences that I'm beginning to wonder if I've missed out on some good material by not checking out books, movies, and television shows in this genre. 

3. Debbie paid some visits uptown late this afternoon. Before she left, she said she asked me to find a podcast for us to listen to when she returned. 

I found an episode in the podcast The American West entitled "John James Audubon and Vanishing America". I chose this episode because we had both recently read Kenn Kaufman's book The Birds That Audubon Missed for book club and wanted to hear what retired University of Montana professor Dan Flores had to say about Audubon. 

The podcast episode ended up focusing on Audubon's deep dismay that so many birds and animals were being killed, often indiscriminately by settlers throughout the USA. Entire species of birds, for example, the passenger pigeon, were rendered extinct and other birds and animals were decimated to near extinction. 

Like so many of the books we are reading in the Science/Nature book club we have joined, Flores examines the relationship between humans and the non-human world of nature, why humans have seen themselves as having license to kill birds and animals (and often do it cruelly and voraciously), and how Audubon (and Henry David Thoreau, among others) grieved the loss of so much life, beauty, and variety in our world. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-25-2026: Grooming Riley, The Lounge, Debbie Rocks the Kitchen (Again)

 1. Yesterday it was Gibbs. Today it was Riley. I taxied Riley to the groomer and picked him up about three hours later and he looked and smelled great! 

2. Ed swung by around 3:00 and we blasted up to The Lounge and spent about an hour relaxing, yakking, and doing a little planning for our departure to Pendleton on Tuesday morning. 

3. I treat myself well and am content with my day-to-day life when Debbie is away. 

That said, Debbie prepares food that far exceeds my very modest imaginative powers in the kitchen.

Like today. 

She made a curried chicken and apple salad. Its ingredients and blend of flavors and textures blew me away. She also made a terrific batch of hummus that tasted great with the salad. Together, they made me very happy. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-24-2026: Gibbs Gets Groomed, Mortality, Take an Interest

 1. I picked up a clean and spiffed up Gibbs from the groomer today. 

2. I don't know much about post-apocalyptic fiction (or movies). But reading The Dog Stars and the thoughts the main character Hig has about his life before the book's pandemic struck and about his life now with few people left in the world is making me think that having a keen sense of our mortality inspires us to self-examine, determine what in life matters most to us, and do the best we can to love others. 

3.  Debbie and I had a long conversation this evening about the variety of books we've read over the past several months, how joining the Science/Nature book club has helped shape some of our reading and the questions we ask of ourselves and about the world, and how we read and think about books. So has attending Northwest Passages evenings in Spokane. 

I thought back to all those years I taught English and how I tried to impress on students the fact that an important aspect of an education is learning now to take an interest in subjects and ideas. Often students would resist essays or books I assigned, telling me they weren't interested in what the book/essay was about. I would respond, "Try taking an interest." Why? I thought an education was about expansion. 

Well, in my retirement (it's been twelve years since I last taught a class), I'm following my own instruction and have taken an interest in new things:  empty lots in Austin, TX, rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada, how plants satisfy our desire for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control, the history of mosquitos, the long history of Earth's moon, discovering species of birds, the medicinal qualities of plants, a fictional world of hunting for lost pianos in the Arctic, Josh Brolin's memoir, and more. 

I do my best to put aside the question of whether I like a book and focus more on these questions:  What is the nature of the world of this book? What is the writer inviting me to learn about this world? Is this book changing how I experience and understand the world I perceive myself to live in? 

All of the books I've referred to in this post have taken me into unfamiliar worlds and have changed how I experience and understand things. 

Talking about this stuff with Debbie was a terrific way to bring an end to our day. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-23-2026: Coffee at Mountain Gem, Coffee Cake Delivery, The World of Disney is Really Wide and Deep

 1.  I drove Christy uptown this morning for a 9:00 appointment. While she was taking care of her business, I strolled up Main Street to the Mountain Gem Coffee Bar to give it a try. It's a cozy interior and there's a seating outside on the south side of the building. I opted to drink my latte indoors on a stool, resting my drink and my book (The Dog Stars) on one of the wooden bars affixed to the wall. 

I especially enjoyed reading this book. It's lyrical. The narrator, Hig, is a poet and the language he uses to describe and tell tales about his life of survival in the aftermath of a pandemic that has devastated most of the human population is rhythmic, not flowery, but musical. I like that he cites poets like William Stafford and Li Po. Hig's loyal companion in this post-apocalyptic landscape is his dog, Jasper, and I'm getting attached to him. 

2. Debbie subbed at Pinehurst Elementary School today. She had a great day. She baked a coffee cake to have put out in the teachers' lounge, but she forgot it. So when Christy was done uptown and Carol came over to drive Christy to PT in Christy's car, I borrowed Carol's car and delivered the coffee cake -- and Debbie happily reported to me when she arrived home that the staff loved the cake. 

3. As I thought might be the case, Debbie decided to stay home this evening after a day of work.

I drove to Spokane alone to attend tonight's Northwest Passages' evening with Disney imagineer Joe Rohde. He's touring with his new book, Floating Mountains. 

It was a perfect evening for me, given what I enjoy in my life, namely learning about things through reading or attending lectures that I know next to nothing about. 

For starters, I've never been that interested in all things Disney. 

I know almost nothing about the Disney company. Aside from being aware of longtime animated characters and having seen some older Disney movies and knowing that Disney is the majority owner of ESPN, I am ignorant about Disney theme parks and other Disney ventures. 

That changed tonight. 

Joe Rohde's work with Disney started at least forty years ago and tonight I learned about ventures, like Animal Kingdom and the Hawaiian resort hotel, Aulani, that Rohde has been in a leader in conceptualizing and bringing into being. 

Joe Rohde's intellectual prowess fired me up. I wasn't expecting this evening to be a deep dive into theories of creativity, the power of collaboration and the near non-existence of individual genius in all walks of life, the desirability of dissent, the indispensable value of the world of nature, the vital importance of the experience, intelligence, and wisdom of indigenous people (much like in the book I just finished: The Plant Hunter), aesthetics and how we perceive reality (and how art shakes us out of those perceptions), and more. 

For me, Joe Rohde's ideas and experiences connected to books our book club has discussed, to Japanese haiku, to ideas Spokane Symphony conductor James Lowe has presented about aesthetic theories, and, most delightfully, to discussions Debbie and I have had over the past twenty-nine years about creativity, the collaborative efforts, including dissent, of Babes with Axes, and so much more that Rohde discussed. 

I really couldn't retain all that I heard tonight.

Thankfully, these Northwest Passages interviews are saved on YouTube and I look forward to replaying what Joe Rohde had to say, possibly several times. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-22-2026: Another Update on Christy's Recovery As I Understand It

1. Today I drove Christy to CdA where she had her next follow up appointment after having had her right hip replaced. The P. A. Christy talked with examined today's x-ray and summed up her assessment in one word: "Beautiful". 

This is great news and I was also happy when Christy told me that she and P. A. also talked about the chief complication to her overall recovery: the aftermath of having been in sepsis. The dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, lack of appetite, and general malaise Christy experienced over the last three days had kept her mostly confined to bed. 

The P.A. talked with her about three things. Because Christy had been on antibiotics to knock out an infection elsewhere in her system, the P.A. recommended that she care for her gut by taking probiotics and continuing to eat probiotic foods. She recommended that Christy focus her diet, as much as possible, on anti-inflammatory foods. Lastly, she gave Christy advice about how to pace herself as she alternates between activity and rest.

2. I helped Christy with a few things in her house when we returned from CdA. I gathered up her trash, disposed of it, and took her garbage can to the curb. She had had a handful of packages delivered to her that she hadn't opened and I opened them and put the contents where Christy wanted them. I cleared out her empty cardboard boxes, either putting them broken down with the trash or taking them to our house. Debbie and I clearing things we don't need out of the basement. The boxes will help us with that job. 

3. So how should Christy pace herself? The P.A. recommended that when Christy takes on a household task, she ought to put twenty minutes on a timer and then rest when those twenty minutes are up. Working in short segments of time will keep her active. Resting and not overdoing it will help her conserve energy and not wear herself out. 

Christy tried this approach on Tuesday and was happy with the results. 

Indeed, those twenty minutes of activity got her moving around in a healthy way, but resting afterward helped keep her need for activity and need for rest in balance. 

An example of one good outcome: Christy cleaned out her fridge, emptied another cardboard box, and had another couple of things for me to dispose of before the garbage collector's Wednesday morning arrival! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-21-2026: Fighting Infection, Sloppy Joes, String Quartet Tickets

 1. And I believe her. In her book The Plant Hunter, Cassandra Leah Quaves presents herself on a quest, through rigorous scientific research and testing, to integrate the medicinal powers of plants into the more common practice of using synthetic drugs as a way of treating infections, especially those superbugs that have developed resilience to synthetic antibiotics. 

In telling us her story, Quaves helps us see how the challenges she faces are, yes, in the laboratory, but they extend far beyond the laboratory. She tells us the story of the birth defect she's had to deal with in a multiplicity of ways her entire life. We learn about the interplay between her ambition to save lives by scientific means and the demands of joining her husband in raising a family. And then there's funding: Quaves spends an inordinate amount of time seeking funding for her work. 

Some men in her field harass her, condescend to her, and doubt the value of her work. She learns to resist and navigate this, push forward, and as her courage, self-belief, and sense of purpose grows, so does her success. 

I experienced this book as combining memoir with travel writing and with science and nature writing to give someone like me who is unfamiliar with the demands of doing botanical, infectiological, and medical research in academic settings a perspective upon this remarkable work I'd never thought to look into before.

Most of all, I admired that Cassandra Leah Quaves is an idealist. A higher purpose shaped by working for the good of the whole world, for the protection of plants and animals as well as the saving of human lives marks her work. She has a keen sense of ethics, love of family, love of others, widespread interconnectedness between all living beings and inanimate things, collaboration, service to her students, and hope.  

Now I wonder how our book club will approach this book in our discussions. 

2. In a drawing held after the Spokane String Quartet's final concert for the 2025-26 season, I won season tickets for two to the Quartet's four concerts in 2026-27. 

The tickets were supposed to arrive in my mailbox in late August or early September, but hadn't arrived and there's a concert this coming Sunday. 

I emailed the person who had congratulated me for winning the tickets and heard back from another person in the organization. 

It turns out the person whose job it was to send me the tickets is having medical problems and the person who stepped up and answered my email assured me that our two tickets would be available at the Will Call table when Debbie and I arrive at the Fox Theater on Sunday afternoon. 

3. Debbie prepared superb Sloppy Joe's for dinner. Somehow, the sweetness of the ketchup and tomato paste complimented the onions and green peppers perfectly and together these ingredients elevated the flavor of the ground beef. I added hot pickled jalapeno peppers and bread and butter pickles to my sandwich and I loved their crunch and the heat and sweetness of the pepper and bread and butters. What a delicious blend of flavors and textures inside the toasted hamburger bun! And, then, somehow, the vinegary cole slaw pulled the whole meal together.  

Three Beautiful Things 09-20-2026: Debbie and I Attend Today's Spokane Symphony Concert

 1. Debbie and I know that it's likely that we'll experience traffic delays whenever traveling between Kellogg and Spokane. Right now, delays are common on I-90 westbound because the Northwest Blvd exit is closed and in that area traffic is funneled into a single lane. The delay gets compounded by cars entering the freeway via the westbound Northwest Blvd ramp.

Our hope was to arrive in Spokane in time to attend today's pre-concert presentation at 2:00. The Spokane Symphony Orchestra's performance was at 3:00. 

We left Kellogg around 12:15, hoping we'd left ourselves enough time to absorb a delay and arrive a little before 2:00 at the Fox Theater. 

We approached the I-90 delay. 

The line of cars stopped still on I-90 looked long.  

Right away, both of us shrugged. 

"We might not arrive in time for the pre-concert lecture. No use getting upset. We know we'll make it in time for the concert."

So we patiently, without complaint, inched our way to the where the single lane turned into two lanes and, lo and behold, it was clear sailing into Spokane. We entered downtown Spokane via Lincoln Street, I spotted street parking spots on Second Avenue, we strolled to the Fox, and we seated ourselves at about 1:50 and got to hear the entire pre-concert presentation. 

The presentation was terrific. 

Conductor James Lowes' introduction to today's program was illuminating and stimulating and so was his interview of today's featured piano soloist, Mackenzie Melemed.  

2. This weekend's concert opened the Spokane Symphony's 81st season. I wasn't expecting the season opening concert to begin with the symphony playing "The Star Spangled Banner", but that's exactly what they did! 

We then got to hear the 20th century Soviet/Russian composer Dimitri Kabalevsky's energetic overture to the opera Colas Breugnon. 

I enjoy very much being introduced to composers and compositions unknown to me. Kabalevsky's overture was sparkling. It took full advantage of the entire orchestra and, like all the pieces we heard this afternoon, created fascinating and often fun interplay between the orchestra's different sections. 

The orchestra then played 19th century American composer Amy Beach's gorgeous and romantic Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor. Beach was a piano virtuoso and this forty to forty-five minute concerto in four movements presented soloist Mackenzie Melemed with mind-boggling challenges at the keyboard. He met these challenges with elan and his own virtuosity. As Romantic compositions so often are, many passages in Beach's composition were lush and emotional, giving Melemed and the orchestra long and gorgeous passages of interplay and deep feeling. 

Until today, I'd never heard of Amy Beach. I learned that this concerto we heard today has rarely been performed. It was thrilling to have James Lowe decide to bring this composition out of obscurity and to entrust its many challenges not only to the orchestra, but to the zestful Mackenzie Melemed. 

3. Having accepted the roars of the audience's approval and a lengthy standing ovation, Melemed then returned to the piano and played a medley of several favorite American tunes including "The Star Spanged Banner" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy", sending the audience into the intermission uplifted. 

Conductor James Lowe opened the concert's second half with a tribute to Charles "Chuck" Karscheny who passed away this past June after playing French horn in the symphony and later serving as Production Manager. His career with the Spokane Symphony spanned more than 40 years. 

Then, in a deeply touching further tribute to Chuck Karscheny, a quartet of French horn players stepped forward and played "Evening Hymn" from Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel.  

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet presents a complex blending of a long feud between the Capulets and Montagues, the accompanying dark hatred and street violence, the high hopes of Friar Lawrence, and the passions, frivolity, and optimism of young Romeo and Juliet. 

Sergei Prokofiev, a 20th century Russian/Soviet composer, wrote the music for a Romeo and Juliet ballet, and a suite of selections which constituted the second half of today's concert. 

As with the concert's previous pieces, Prokofiev wrote compelling parts for instruments across the orchestra, even surprising us with gorgeous passages for the tenor saxophone. 

For the duration of this suite, we felt the many emotions of Shakespeare's play and marveled at how beautifully Prokofiev fleshed out the complexity of the characters and the story in his marvelous composition. 

The story of Romeo and Juliet features the death of the ill-fated, star-crossed lovers, and Prokofiev's composition ends with their tragic demise. The orchestra played the solemn final notes and James Lowe held the audience in silence for a short while -- the audience obeyed -- and then released us into a sustained and enthusiastic standing ovation. 

In a move that startled me (really!), James Lowe responded to this solemn conclusion by telling the audience he just couldn't bear to have the concert end so sadly. 

And, so, as an encore intended to send us all out of the hall in a more chipper mood, the orchestra played an uplifting and short Modest Mussorgsky tune (I couldn't hear what Lowe said its title was) and this move seemed to accomplish Lowe's goal. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-19-2026: Science, Stir Fry, Calming Sleep Sounds

 1. I spent much of the day reading Cassandra Leah Quave's book, The Plant Hunter and thought a lot about how difficult and challenging it is for scientists working within university systems to secure funding and places to do their work, especially if the research they are undertaking is outside the box of traditional approaches. Ever since I joined the Science/Nature book club, I've been learning a lot about the difficulties and obstacles scientific researchers face. The memoir dimension of this book is fascinating as is the learning about the ground she works to break in researching ways to combat persistent infections like MRSA and staph infections. 

2. While I read this book and relaxed at home, Debbie had a fun afternoon out on the town where she ran into and had fun interacting with former students, a former fellow teacher, and friends at The Lounge. 

She texted me that she was "in a groove" (great news!) and asked me to take care of myself for dinner. 

Gladly. 

I whipped up a very satisfying and easy vegetable stir fry with Thai wheat noodles and look forward to having the pork chop dinner we were going to have tonight on Sunday. 

3. I'm having trouble falling asleep at night. To help me settle down, I've been playing Spotify's offering called "Calming Sleep Sounds" once I'm in bed. It's helping. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-18-2026: Update on Christy (From My Perspective), Premium Yakkin at The Lounge, Chili Dogs at the Elks

 1. Today I drove Christy to the Shoshone Medical Center for lab work. We talked about the impact having been in sepsis continues to have on her system and how it helps explain the fatigue, reduced appetite, and other trying symptoms she has been experiencing. 

Things are going very well with physical therapy. The physical therapists have been encouraging Christy to increase the range of her walking, to walk up and down longer staircases (but not alone), and to engage in other activities. At the gym, they continue to work with Christy to strengthen her muscles, improve her balance, and other similar things. 

Knowing that recovery from being in sepsis can take months, I thought back to late 1999 and the year 2000 and how my recovery from having contracted bacterial meningitis took at least a year. During that year, I experienced fatigue, headaches, lightheadedness, depression, and other symptoms. 

I hope Christy's recovery from being in sepsis doesn't take a year, but maladies like sepsis and bacterial meningitis hammer one's system and the aftermath can last long after the condition itself has cleared up. 

So that's my update on Christy's recovery -- from my perspective. 

It's great to see her mobility progressing so well and, at the same time, sobering to know that she has much more than the hip replacement to recover from. 

Christy told me that having come to understand the complexity of her recovery has helped her feel more patient, knowing that the way she's been feeling lousy is not unusual given what she's been through and what the medical pros continue to monitor. 

I think that's a very good thing. Patience is a great help in nurturing the positive attitude and outlook that Christy has worked hard to maintain throughout this ordeal. 

2. Ed and I strolled into The Lounge around 3:45 and immediately engaged in some premium yakkin' with Abby, Fitz, and, when he wasn't busy serving customers, Cas. The guys told a lot of great stories. We had some high level talk about baseball. We thoroughly enjoyed our session.

3. So why didn't Ed and I stay longer? 

Well, tonight the Kellogg Elks served chili dogs so Ed and I went across the street and enjoyed a delicious chili dog dinner. Ed and I continued to yak about all kinds of stuff and we saw some people we've known forever.

It was especially great to see Tona. Her cancer treatment and has been rough on her. I thought she looked great with her new haircut (even knowing she'd rather have longer hair) and it was uplifting to know that after dinner at the Elks that she'd be doing some camping a short ways away. 

After dinner, Ed headed home and I returned to The Lounge. Debbie had arrived. She got involved in conversations with a couple different friends and I got to yak for a while with Rob Gillies. He filled me in on the spreading of Jack Lunger's ashes and we talked about some events that occurred when we were much younger -- like over fifty years younger! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-17-2026: Symphony Lecture, Pho and Spring Rolls, Rib Eyes and Plants

 1. Jetting over to Spokane to the MAC Auditorium this morning to attend Spokane Symphony conductor James Lowe present an hour-long lecture about the three pieces the symphony will play in concert over the weekend invigorated me. I knew very little about the three composers, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Amy Beach, or even the much more famous Sergei Prokofiev. 

James Lowe focused, in part, on the restraints each of them worked under. Kabalevsky and Prokofiev composed in the Soviet Union during the Stalin regime and its mandates regarding what was artistically acceptable and Amy Beach performed and composed under restrictions placed on her by her mother and husband. 

Learning about these restraints, learning about how these composers worked within them, and hearing some samples of the compositions we'll hear performed on Sunday made me very eager to hear this concert. 

2. After the lecture, I meandered up to the Garland District for a bowl of chicken pho and an order of tofu spring rolls at the cozy pan-Asian restaurant, Little Noodle. I enjoyed eating these Asian selections again after a long absence. I definitely hope to return to Little Noodle and try some other dishes featured on their menu. 

Part of why it's always a pleasure to visit the Garland District is the promise of Mary Lou's ice cream at the Milk Bottle. I topped off my lunch meal with a couple of scoops of Salted Caramel ice cream which left my never ending yearning for ice cream satisfied. 

3. Back home, Debbie fixed what for me was luxury dinner: thick rib eye steaks and a medley of roasted vegetables. 

What a great way to enjoy a day: a stimulating and delicious trip to Spokane, a superb meal at home, and reading an increasingly enjoyable book as I delve further into Cassandra Leah Quave's The Plant Hunter and learn more about medicinal plants and join Quaves as she learns more about plant-based cuisine in southern Italy and some of the accompanying spiritual rituals meant to enhance the healing qualities of the plants. Her teachers are very elderly women whose wisdom, practices, and knowledge is being lost, but Quaves is documenting their practices as a way to preserve and learn from them. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-16-2026: Insomnia Uncured, Electronic Keyboards, *The Plant Hunter*

1.  I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep Tuesday night on into very early Wednesday morning. I tried a music contrast that was very enjoyable, but didn't work as far as putting me to sleep.  First, I played the 4th Symphony by Johannes Brahms and it might have wound me up more than settled me down since I love it so much. 

Then, thanks to listening to "Sirius" and "Eye in the Sky" by The Alan Parsons Project during our Tuesday family lunch, I decided to play Eve, an Alan Parsons Project album that I listened to way too much during the time my first wife and I separated nearly forty-five years ago. Back then, the album encouraged the self-pity of my late 20s and it probably wasn't the best album to play as a way to settle down and sleep. But, I gave myself over to memories, mostly from 1982-84, and thought a lot about how lost and afraid I felt and how poorly I handled it. I'm happy to say I no longer have access to the self-pity, disorientation, grief, tantrums, and self-delusion I experienced back then, so while I remembered how I behaved and felt, tonight I did not feel it all over again. 

2.  Eve and other pop music I listened to today brought to mind how much the electronic keyboards and synthesizers made music from that general time period memorable. In fact, I didn't enter back into the self-pity and confusion I felt nearly forty-five years ago so much as I let the electronic keyboard sounds of The Alan Parsons Project and bands contemporary with that group wash over me and I thought how I enjoy that instrumentation way more now than I did in my twenties and early thirties, whether its jazz, progressive rock, New Wave music, pop, or soundscapes of Pink Floyd and others. 

3. I spent much of the day diving into the next selection for our Science/Nature book club: The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines by Cassandra Leah Quave. 

The book is a fascinating combination memoir and study of medicinal plants. In the early chapters, Quave tells the stories of her trips, as a teenager, into the Amazon River basin to not only search for medicinal plants, but to learn from indigenous experts about the powers of these plants, how to prepare them, dosages, and how to combine prescribing these medicines with exercises meant to calm and heal the patient's spirit. 

Going into the jungles of the Amazon helps Cassandra Leah Quave decide that she will not go to medical school, as she had always dreamed she would, but that she would study to become what she is now: an ethnobotanist. 

More on this fascinating book later as I read further into it and as I fill in more of Cassandra Leah Quave's back story. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-15-2026: Christy and Her Cane, Lunchtime Family Dinner, Debbie's Back

 1. After two weeks of the onset of her current fatigue, weakened appetite, and other symptoms, Christy continues to struggle with feeling lousy. But, she is making slow progress with her mobility thanks to her dedication to Physical Therapy. 

Today, thanks to work she and her therapist did on Monday, Christy used her cane, rather than her walker, to walk into the Shoshone Medical Center to have her heart monitor removed and she walked with her cane from the street to Carol and Paul's front door and back again, after dinner, when we went to Carol and Paul's for a lunchtime family dinner. 

2. Carol planned a Mediterranean meal. We started with Christy's Outrageous Stuffed Celery as an appetizer and then sat at the Roberts' dining table where we enjoyed Carol's Smashed Beef Kabobs over yogurt and cucumbers, Debbie's leafless Mediterranean salad, and lightly charred pieces of Naan bread (Carol knew the bread wasn't Mediterranean!).  Our dessert wasn't Mediterranean either. Carol and Paul have a variety of partially eaten containers of ice cream, and we enjoyed an ice cream buffet. 

3. The last time the five of us ate family dinner together was back in May.

It was fun having Debbie back at the table and she caught us up on different things as well as what's going on with Jack and Eloise at school. 

We talked about a variety of other subjects ranging from Plato to our family calendar and had fun listening to a couple of Alan Parsons Project tunes ("Sirius" and "Eye in the Sky") which led to a series of soft rock tunes by 10CC, Christopher Cross, Ambrosia, and others  from nearly fifty years ago.

Three Beautiful Things 09-14-2026: Labs Completed, Food for Two, Debbie's Dinner Rocks

 1. I blasted out of Kellogg around 7:30 this morning and rocketed to the lab I frequent at Kootenai Health to complete the blood work I started on September 4. There was a glitch in my standing order on the 4th. Several tests I needed done didn't get done. I whisked over today to get those tests completed. 

It took a minute or two to sort out with Teresa, the all-pro phlebotomist, what vials I needed drawn and which ones had been drawn on Sept. 4 and we efficiently got it straightened out and soon I was finished and could head straight to Blue Coffee for a fast breaking chocolate croissant and a latte. 

Good news! All the results that came in today were great. My Tacrolimus test can't be processed locally and I'll get that result in a day or two. 

2. Those of you who live by yourself might know what I mean: it's easy to fall into eating habits and not have a lot of culinary variety. Over the past three months, I enjoyed what I prepared for myself, but, I admit, I was fixing food within a narrow range of soups, stir fries, wraps, and eggs dishes.

With Debbie back, however, variety returns. 

Shopping for two of us instead of just for me made my trips to Trader Joe's and Costco today much more fun as I began to anticipate fun meals to come -- prepared by either one of us. 

3. And sure enough, for dinner tonight Debbie prepared Mediterranean ground beef and beans to put on top of white rice. I'm particularly partial to the flavors of cumin and cinnamon, which I loved in this dinner, and loved how the cranberry beans worked in this dish. Over the last few weeks, I've steered away from canned beans (which I love, btw) and have been soaking and cooking dried beans. That's what Debbie did for this dish. 

It worked! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-13-2026: Scam Alert Update, Canceled Trip, Discussions

 1. I have never seen with my own eyes the scam warning some followers of my blog get when they click on the link to my daily posts. I am understanding, however, that for many the alert has not deterred them from going forward and reading my blog posts. 

That's great news. 

I've learned that for others, the scam alert blocks them from accessing my blog posts. 

I am sending one of these people the link to my posts via Facebook Messenger and that works. 

If you are being blocked by the scam alert, let me know in the comments. I can send you the link via Facebook Messenger. If I have the right info, I can text you the link. I can also email you the entire blog post, if I have your emaill address.

2.  I had plans to drive to Spokane today for an event at Auntie's Bookstore featuring Meghan Jones, whom Debbie and I have met in the Science/Nature Book Club we attend. Meghan Jones is an artist. A few months ago, I went to the Chase Gallery at Spokane's City Hall twice to enjoy her paintings of deep ocean life. 

The Auntie's Bookstore event featured Meghan Jones' new book, The Unusual Ocean: Who Lives in the Deep?. Her book introduces children to paintings of twenty deep ocean inhabitants along with written text about each one. 

Alas, I woke up this morning with what turned out to be temporary unrest in my innards and decided not to risk having this unrest recur on the drive to Spokane or in the bookstore. 

It all cleared up this afternoon, merely leaving me a little fatigued.

3. Having been apart since late May, Debbie and I haven't had a chance to discuss all sorts of things ranging from family news to travel plans to taking care of things on the business side of our life together. 

We got started talking about some of these things today and these discussions will continue in the days and weeks ahead. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-12-2026: Debbie Returns, Fire in the Hole, Gibbs' Joy

 1. Early this afternoon, I picked up Debbie at the Spokane airport and we fell right into easy conversation about all kinds of things: how things are going in New York, books we've been reading, how things are in Kellogg, with special attention to Christy's rehab and recovery, and other things. Once home, Debbie assumed her usual spot on the couch, Gibbs was all over her, jumping and licking, and within minutes it was as if she hadn't been gone for three and a half months. 

2. Debbie wanted to have some food from a Kellogg eatery. I told her that ever since she'd gone to New York, I'd been hungry for a Fire in the Hole pizza from Zany's. Debbie had been thinking more about sandwiches, but after a while she agreed: we'll share Zany's chicken, pineapple, jalapeno pepper, and homemade buffalo sauce pizza. 

It was awesome. We have some left over. And Debbie not only brought home the pizza, she also checked out the scene at The Beanery and had a beer at Radio Brewing where she ran into Mike and Deanne Fitzgerald for some very enjoyable yakkin'. She also made a quick stop for a few items at Yoke's. 

She is already getting back into the swing of life in Kellogg! 

3. Gibbs is one very happy dog! 

On the phone, leading up to her return, Debbie and I joked about which of us Gibbs would choose to be close to once Debbie was home -- after all, Gibbs and I had become good pals in her absence. 

No contest! 

Debbie is definitely Gibbs' person! 

I'm always here for backup, but when Debbie's in the house, Gibbs wants to be with her! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-11-2026: Busy, Family Meal, Worn Out

 1. Christy, Carol, Paul, and I congregated at the Roberts' house at 2 p.m. today for family dinner. There's a lot going on among our family members for the next three months: play rehearsals for Carol and Paul and then performances, rehab and appointments for Christy, trips to Spokane for readings and classical music for Debbie and me, and out of town travel for Carol and Paul and, separately, a trip to Cincinnati for Debbie and me. 

Consequently, our accustomed times for family dinner aren't going to pan out, so we are getting together on whatever days and at whatever times we can to squeeze in a meal. 

2, As Christy rehabs and recovers, Carol and Paul's house works the best as our family dinner home base. 

I, however, was in charge of the meal and I made a beef stroganoff sauce to put over egg noodles that Carol prepared. Carol also prepared a leafless salad with vegetables from her garden and I made a side dish of lemon couscous and broccoli.

We began our meal with grapes Paul grew, recently picked pears, and mixed nuts. 

Carol and Paul had handful, at least, of partially filled containers of ice cream/gelato and all of us got to choose what we wanted scooped into our bowl from this buffet of frozen treats. 

3. I arrived home around 5:00 from our afternoon meal exhausted.

I had a lot of cleaning up to do in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom in preparation for Debbie's early Saturday afternoon arrival, and pushed myself to get some of it done. 

I took breaks. 

I fell asleep while resting. 

I gave up and resolved to go to bed and get right back to work first thing Saturday morning and complete the tasks I didn't finish today. 

My system seems worn out and in need of rest and sleep as it continues to work on my body's behalf to get rid of this bug that's been wailing away inside me for the last ten or eleven days. 

The bug is almost gone, but my need for rest and sleep, like the Dude, abides. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-10-2026: Stability, Bookstore Order, An Evening with Author Peter Heller

 1. Today I met with nephrologist Dr. Bieber to review my blood work and talk about my health in general. He confirmed that no doubt this cold I've had has lingered, in part, because of the medicines I take to suppress my immune system. He listened to my lungs. They are all clear. I'm nearly done with this cold. 

My renal blood test results are stable and I am, as of now, in very good kidney health two years and four months after the transplant. 

One glitch, though: for unknown reasons, the full order for blood tests didn't make it to Teresa who drew my blood. 

Dr. Bieber would still like to have my blood tested for cholesterol levels, Tacrolimus levels, and a couple other things. 

I'll go to CdA first thing Monday morning and have the tests run that got left out on Sept 4th. 

2. I drove to Spokane later this afternoon. 

One small accomplishment: I successfully paid for street parking using the ParkMobile app.

More important: I picked up a copy of our next book club I'd ordered at Auntie's Bookstore. Its title: The Plant Hunter. 

3. Until his name popped up on the fall schedule for Northwest Passages programs, I'd never heard of the writer Peter Heller. A couple of days ago I realized that his appearance tonight as a Northwest Passages featured writer coincided with his book, The Dog Stars, having been made into a movie and recently released into theaters. 

Just seven or eight months ago, I never would have attended this program. 

I hadn't heard of Peter Heller. 

I hadn't heard of his book The Dog Stars and the only things I knew about the movie were that Ridley Scott directed it and Josh Brolin, whose memoir I just read, is in the cast. 

But, in the spring of 2026, Debbie and I decided to attend these Northwest Passages programs every time -- unless circumstances outside our control stopped us. 

Along with joining the Science/Nature Book Club, committing ourselves to go hear these writers was a stellar decision. 

Peter Heller blew me away. 

I'll just mention two things he talked about that uplifted me. 

First, whenever writers of prose talk about the attention they give to the sound of their words, to the lyrical qualities of language, to often being as driven to write passages for the quality of their musicality even more than their literal meaning, I'm enthused. 

I loved not only Peter Heller's discussion of what his prose owes to his love of and devotion to poetry, I loved hearing him recite two poems:  a part of W.B. Yeats' "Prayer for my Daughter" (his father often read/recited this poem to the eleven-year-old Peter Heller) and Li Shang-Yin's poem, "When Will I Be Home?"

Secondly, when he talked about his book being rewritten as a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, he gave special emphasis to not minding at all that Smith made changes to his novel that he felt would work better as cinema. 

It was music to my ears when Peter Heller told us that he knows novels and screenplays/movies are different art forms. 

He told us that a movie based on a book is not the book. Inevitably, the two works of art will be different. 

He didn't go as far as I do when I watch a movie based on a book or play I am familiar with. 

My approach is to remove the original source from my mind, watch the movie for what it is, and not use up mental energy keeping track of changes and I find it impossible to declare which I liked better. 

But that Peter Heller was so open to having changes made to his book and that he articulated so clearly his trust in Mark L. Smith and that he so eloquently explained how a movie adaptation cannot be the book, well, it made my night! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-09-2026: My Energy, Christy's Energy, Chickpea Salad

 1. I'm not fully free of nasal congestion and sinus pressure, but the good news is that I have more energy and I'm not nearly as short-winded as I have been over the last week. 

2. Carol drove Christy for her physical therapy appointment this afternoon and afterward Christy reported that she had a great workout, leading to me write with some confidence that Christy is regaining energy, too, and feeling better. 

3. I had a can of Trader Joe's Greek Chickpeas with Oregano and Parsley on hand and combined it with radishes, carrots, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes, and Kalamata olives to make a filling and very tasty salad this evening. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-08-2026: Reflections on Kendra Langford Shaw's Novel *The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos*

1. I spent most of today finishing The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos. 

I didn't foresee at all how this novel would fit so perfectly with two aspects of my pursuit of the arts in 2026. 

First of all, Debbie and I have decided to attend every Northwest Passages presentation we possibly can in Spokane, whether or not we are familiar with the featured writer. So, in July, I learned about Kendra Langford Shaw and her new book. Committing myself to read these books I hear the authors talk about has greatly enriched my reading life. 

Second, Debbie and I have joined the Science/Nature Book Club at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane and one of the great rewards of reading The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos was discovering, from the opening chapter, that while this novel is very much a character driven family saga, even more, for me, it's a book exploring the power of the natural world in the fictional Arctic site she created. 

2. Whether it's sea lions, moose, farming and eating octopuses, flooding rains, a rampaging river, fjords, reefs, goats, chickens, demanding trails and barely passable interior roads, vulnerability to disease and injury in the wild, and any number of other elements of the natural world these characters confront daily, this novel examines not only the power and grandeur of nature in the Arctic, it examines the indomitability of the non-human natural world in relation to human beings. 

As a result, this novel explores survival, the ever-present reality of death, and the combination of courage and foolhardiness of generations of characters as they move into this unforgiving land, working in a variety of ways to make the best life they can. 

And then there's the pianos.

And the piano hunters. 

You'll have to read the book to find out what this completely make-believe aspect of the novel is all about, but it's inseparable from the power of the arctic elements and the persistence and dreams of characters in his novel. 

3. I admit it. 

I'm not crazy about the idea that writers "kill off" characters, as if it's cruel or random or a punishment. 

When Kendra Langford Shaw spoke in Spokane back in July, an audience member asked her about "killing off" characters. 

Shaw never repeated the phrase "kill off" but talked about characters' deaths in her book as catalysts for change and as challenges that force characters to evaluate how they will move forward now that the deceased character is no longer with them. These deaths transform the ongoing story. 

I won't give away who dies in this novel, but I will say that as painful as it was to experience their deaths, each death moved the story forward in ways that never would have happened had the characters not died. The deaths deepened the story, gave us as readers insight into grief, love, flexibility, service to others, resolve, and other virtues. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-07-2026: Holding Pattern, Arctic Stories, Gibbs' New Life

 1. Monday -- the seventh day of my health not being quite up to snuff. I'm in a holding pattern right now. Slight nasal congestion. Occasional cough. No sore throat. Sleeping on and off during the day. Mild lightheadedness. This state of things is better than having these symptoms worsen, but I hope they clear up before long. 

The good news is that I can function, can get done what I need to. 

2. Today, I continued reading the adventures of life over the generations as told by Kendra Langford Shaw in her novel The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos. I enjoy the way Shaw couples fantastical storytelling with the development of characters whom I care about. I've got about a hundred pages left to read and look forward to seeing how the book's conclusion helps me understand what Shaw ultimately portrays about life, family, love, friendships, courage, endurance, and the other dimensions of human life her novel explores. 

3. I knew when Copper died, it would definitely change Gibbs' life. He's coming to realize that he has the whole ground floor of our house to himself now and this new development has drawn us closer together. I've been reading in the Vizio room, often stretching my legs out on our ottoman. Gibbs now can join me while I read in this room and he alternates between relaxing and sleeping on the ottoman and jumping up into the chair I sit in, pressing himself against me for more relaxation and sleep. 

Moreover, Gibbs also now fully realizes that he no longer has to spend nights alone on our living room sofa.

He can sleep with me at night, sometimes pressing against me, sometimes wanting to be alone and not making contact with me while on the bed. 

Debbie will be back home on Saturday and Gibbs will experience another huge change, one he will flip out over and love: he'll have the love and presence of Debbie back in his life again. 

He might go back and forth between being with both of us, but history says that once Debbie is back, Gibbs will devote almost all of his attention to her and this is exactly as it should be. 

She is his primary companion. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-06-2026: Updating Christy's Recovery From My Point of View

 1. I spent some time with Christy today. I picked up a grocery order for her and helped put the groceries away. I picked up a couple of packages for her that went to her former "residence" at Carol and Paul's house and helped put away those items. 

I thought Christy seemed a bit stronger today than she has the previous several days, but was still in a weakened state. She's been up and moving around with the aid of her walker and she got some work done in the kitchen and elsewhere in her house. Her voice sounded stronger. 

2. We talked about the renal panel results from her latest labs. Very strong! With other things going on, it's sure a relief to know that Christy's kidneys are functioning beautifully. 

Tomorrow I'll give Christy a lift to the Shoshone Medical Center where she'll be fitted for a heart monitor. Her PCP wants to determine if the AFib she experienced at the Kootenai Health Hospital was a temporary problem (that's what the doctor thinks) or if it's ongoing. She'll wear the monitor for about a week. 

Christy and I also talked about blood pressure and it looks like going off of blood pressure medicine is helping raise her low blood pressure up to more acceptable levels. 

3. Christy has been experiencing lightheadedness for the past several days. It's been more acute at night when she has to get up. She's been careful about getting up slowly, not rushing things, which is really smart. 

I, too, experienced lightheadedness for much of the day today (Sunday). 

Christy and I agreed that both of us must have caught a bug at family dinner Saturday. We both think it's part of what's had Christy down since about last Tuesday and we wondered if it might be the source of the lightheadedness we've both experienced. 

It just seems, since both of us are getting solid results when we measure our blood pressure, that the lightheadedness is not because of low blood pressure. 

Let's just say it's this bug that's kept Christy down. 

The resulting fatigue, lightheadedness, and loss of appetite have cut into Christy's efforts to rehab her new hip. 

Her next PT session is scheduled for Wednesday, and it'll be great news if she feels strong enough to make that appointment and get going again on her rehab program. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-05-2026: Returning, Recover(ed)ing, Reading

 1. Unless some unforeseen circumstances arise, I will pick up Debbie at the Spokane airport on September 12th early in the afternoon. 🎊🎊

2. I felt a lot better today and so began to deal with the clutter and neglect dominating the kitchen! 

3. Feeling better, for me, means being able to enjoy reading again and so I returned to Kendra Langford Shaw's epic, cross-generational, sprawling, and fantastical Arctic tale, The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos. For now, no words. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-04-2026: Labs, Low Energy, Bagel Cheeseburger

 1. Yesterday I wrote that I was determined to drive to CdA and have my labs drawn. 

I did it. 

The phlebotomists at the Kootenai Health lab I frequent are terrific. Today Teresa drew my blood and she is not only an expert at locating a vein and drawing the blood efficiently, she is kind and always strikes me as wise. 

The bloodwork reports that came in yesterday look stable to me. One important test result will come in later so I'll find out in the next few days how my tacrolimus levels look. 

Just to be safe, I always fast before these blood draws and I enjoyed today, as I have so many times before, a chocolate croissant and a latte at Big Blue Coffee, a modest reward for getting this task done. 

2. Overall, my recovery from this cold I've had all week is slowly coming along. Two symptoms persist: I'm a little short winded and my energy level is lower than usual. 

When I was done with labs, I wanted to drive to Auntie's Bookstore to pick up our book club's next book. It's waiting for me to pick it up and because I didn't go to our club's meeting on Tuesday it's still waiting. 

I decided I'd rather go home and sleep, if I needed to, and not sleep on I-90. 

So, the book will continue to sit on Auntie's shelf. I know I'm going to Spokane for a Northwest Passages presentation on Thursday. I can secure my book then. 

3. I had one plain bagel left in the freezer. I thawed it and I thawed ground beef. 

It had been years since I made myself a cheeseburger on a bagel and that's what I ate for dinner. 

I enjoyed it.

I'd fix it again. 

That said, my preference remains using a hamburger bun, but the bagel was fun and added some welcome variety to my life of cooking myself dinners. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-03-2026: Christy Sees Her PCP, I'm Determined, Bagel Bonanza

1. I drove Christy to her post-hospitalization appointment with her PCP. The doctor made some adjustments in Christy's medications, talked with her about doing PT through the winter and possibly beyond, and addressed the array of problems Christy is dealing with. Christy found the appointment very helpful and will see her PCP again in a month. 

2.  I see the doctor in charge of my kidney health Thursday next week and need blook work done ahead of time. I'm determined to drive to CdA tomorow (Friday) morning and get this task completed. 

It's been three months since I prepared for a blood draw and getting ready this evening was like riding a bike for the first time after an absence: I set out a water bottle, put my morning doses of pills in an empty pill bottle, set out a mask (since I've been sick), and I set out my wallet, keys, and water bottle so I wouldn't be searching for them Friday morning, I am relieved it's been raining. I won't have to put on my protective gloves while I drive, wear a sunhat, or do anything else to keep the sun off my skin. 

3. A treat today. Rebekkah of Beach Bum Bakery texted me that the bakery produced a batch of cinnamon raisin bagels. She knows I love them and when I was in the day before, I said next time she made them available, I'd buy as many as she'd sell me. They freeze well and it's fun having a good number on hand. 

I zoomed up to the bakery. I bought ten of the bagels. This left a some for other customers who might like some. 

I'm really happy to have.this many of these bagels on hand and I'll try to make them last a couple of weeks or more. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-02-2026: Dreaming in a Dream, Cans to the Curb, Medicinal Bouillion

 1. I don't remember having a cold interfere so massively with my sleep at night before. The good news, though, is that this afternoon I fell asleep for about 2-3 hours had experienced that rare phenomenon where I dreamed about people who then had dreams in my dream. 

2. When I wasn't having dreams within dreams, I rested but rallied long enough to put Christy's and my garbage cans to the curb. 

3. I have a long history of treating colds (and the flu) with chicken bouillon and noodles or pasta. Today I enjoyed a bowl of it along with a plain bagel toasted with cream cheese. Then I fell into the coma nap with its double dreaming. A connection?   

Three Beautiful Things 09-01-2026: A Cold, Copper's Back, Cinnamon Knot

 1. Monday night, I could feel it coming on: sinus pressure, sinus congestion, mild sore throat, and coughing. I barely slept Monday night and I knew this morning that I'd be resting all day today, trying to sleep, and staying home from book club in Spokane.  Very disappointing. 

The good news: it's been several years since I've been sick. In addition, when I do get sick, I'm never a hero, trying to push myself through it. I take my time. Rest. Pound liquids. Give myself time to get better. 

2. I brought Copper home today in his urn and soon I'll find a spot for him and Luna to rest side by side. 

3. I thought a cinnamon knot from Beach Bum Bakery would help me feel better. I loved the treat, but it did not have the medicinal impact I'd hoped for! 

Three Beautiful Things 08-31-2026: Books, Correspondence, Soup

 1. I'm in a splendid phase of my reading life right now, reading books that I never would have read, except -- well, let me explain. Over the weekend, I finished Josh Brolin's memoir, Under the Truck, which I never would have read except Shelley gave me this book at Bruce Larsen's memorial because I had mentioned enjoying him when he was interviewed on the Criterion Channel and Shelley read about that in this blog. 

This weekend, I finished reading The Birds that Audubon Missed and l never would have read this book had Debbie and I not joined the Science/Nature Book Club at Auntie's Bookstore. Now I've read six books I never would have read thanks to being a part of this group. 

And now I'm starting Kendra Langford Shaw's novel The Pillager's Guide to Arctic Pianos thanks to having gone to Spokane this summer to hear her interviewed in the Northwest Passages series. I've enjoyed the first fifty or so pages a lot, especially as I marvel, page after page, at Kendra Langford Shaw's vivid imagination. Yes, there is such a place as the Arctic, but in this book she creates a world with place names that are imagined, writes about events that she invented, and has her characters doing things that fit perfectly in the world she's created, but did not happen in the historically documented world of the Arctic that lies outside her imagination. 

When I read or watch movies, I never say such and such could never happen or this or that is not believable. 

I read and watch movies as a believer. (Guess I'm a Monkees reader and movie viewer!)

2. I continued to send out emails and text messages today, doing my best to get caught up in correspondence. I'm still behind. 

3. Onion. Celery. Mushrooms. Zucchini. Broccoli. Frozen raw shrimip. Chicken broth. Old Bay Seasoning. Basmati rice. Salt. Pepper. 

I enjoyed a simple soup for dinner tonight. 

Three Beautiful Things 08-30-2026: Rest, Tickets, Gibbs

 1. I took a day of rest today. Quite a bit has been going on lately and it just didn't seem like I had any duties to fulfill today. I always have sweeping, cooking, dishwashing, and other spiffing up things to do, but I didn't do a lot else today. 

2. I did, however, purchase our symphony tickets for the three concerts we'll attend this fall. I had already lined up our tickets for this fall's Northwest Passages events and I'm expecting the season tickets I won for the Spokane String Quartet to arrive in the mail before long. 

Honestly, I have sorely missed going to live classical music concerts this summer. I'm stoked for the music to start up again and eagerly look forward to the book talks and other lectures. 

3. Now that Gibbs has the entire ground floor of our house at his disposal -- no more gate -- he has been spending quite a bit of time with me in the Vizio room where I've been writing, doing puzzles, and reading. He is now a;so going into the bedroom and jumping up on my bed in advance of my arrival. I miss Copper. Gibbs doesn't. It helps compensate for having lost Copper, though, to have Gibbs being such a willing companion during the day and at night. 

Three Beautiful Things 08-29-2026: Family Dinner with Guests, The Menu, Old Dried Black Beans Cook Slower

 1. Starting at 5:00, Carol and Paul hosted a delicious and fun-filled family dinner. What made this evening especially fun was having three lively, funny, and fascinating guests: Renae Costa, Dick Costa, and Kathy Yamamoto. 

So many stories! So many history lessons, especially about Kellogg! So much catching up on travel, health, pets, mutual friends, and more. 

It was as close to a perfect culinary and social occasion as I can imagine. 

2. Carol planned this evening's menu and built it around a Cuban theme. Every dish was superbly prepared, filled with great flavors and love. We enjoyed the following: 

Plantain Chips with Salsa 

Slow-cooked Cuban Mojo Pork

Cuban Black Beans

Yellow Rice

Cuban Salad

Goya Cookies and Gelato

3. I admit it: I am fastidious about getting a very early start when preparing food for a scheduled dinner -- especially family dinner. 

I always cook with the assumption that everything is going to take me longer to prepare than the recipe says it would take a normal person.  

My assignment for this evening's dinner: Cuban Black Beans

Over the last several weeks, I've been committed to using dried beans, not canned ones (which I think are great, by the way), when I fix hummus, refried beans, or any other recipe calling for beans. 

So Friday afternoon, I put about five cups of dried black beans in water and soaked them for about seven hours (I made a conscious decision, for no good reason, not to use the quick soak method). I drained them, refrigerated them, and soaked them for another hour or two Saturday morning. 

I changed the water, brought the beans to a boil, and cooked them at a low heat. 

Normally, black beans, having been soaked, take about an hour to soften and be ready to eat. 

Not this batch! 

These were stubborn black beans and I ended up cooking them for over three hours or so before they finally softened up and I could move forward to combine them with sauteed onion, red pepper, and garlic seasoned with oregano, cumin, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. I then cooked this combination for about a half an hour or so. 

I wasn't satisfied with how they tasted. I added more oregano and more cumin. I put bit more sugar in what I'd cooked. I added a splash more of vinegar and I added the juice of a whole lemon. 

Finally, around four o'clock, I decided the Cuban black beans were family dinner (with guests) ready to go -- getting these beans right took about nine hours of soaking, three hours of cooking without the added ingredients, and at least another hour of cooking when I combined everything. 

The recipe stated that it would be quicker -- ha! 

It's a good thing I gave myself a huge cushion of time for something to go off the rails. 

This time it was just stubborn black beans that I think were old that slowed me down -- I've had old dried beans in the past require much more time than usual to cook and today it happened again. 

Three Beautiful Things 08-28-2026: Copper's Bequest, Christy's Drive Down Cameron Ave., Yakkin' at The Lounge

 1. Copper lived a simple life. He ate from a feeder and from a bowl. He had a good litter box and he could depend on it being scooped out. He had a portable litter box ready to assemble if we ever had to evacuate our home. He always had a reliably stocked supply of dry and wet food. He even had a suitcase to rest and sleep in which he often  occupied for hours at a time. 

Paul and Carol volunteered to take the things I just mentioned, except the suitcase. I disposed of it -- it was great for Copper's use, as was the towel he lay on in the suitcase but neither was  suitable for human use any longer (all that hair!). 

Paul and Carol have two cats and they will keep the things Copper bequeathed them that they can use and find ways to donate the things they won't need. 

One other thing: I was very happy with our pet gate since Gibbs and Copper had to live in separate parts of the house. 

I took it down today, though, and while the reason I took it down is sad, at the same time it's true that it's nice to walk freely out of or into the living room. 

2. Together, I assume, Paul and Christy decided that she could give it a try to make the simple drive behind the wheel of her Subaru from her house to the vet's office (and back) where Riley had an appointment. It's a straight shot down Cameron Avenue, a good route for seeing how Christy might do behind the wheel. 

Paul told me Christy did fine. 

It's a first step, but it might still be a while before she can drive the car alone. 

3. Ed and I met up at The Lounge this afternoon. It was a relaxing time of fun and funny back and forth with Cas and I enjoyed hearing about Ed's very happy and busy time last weekend, all involving his grandson's wedding in Pinehurst, the reception, and a great family party at Ed and Nancy's house on Sunday. 

Three Beautiful Things 08-27-2026: Immense Gratitude, 68-69 Kellogg Kittens Basketball Team, Gibbs' World is Bigger

 1. By far, having said goodbye to Copper, the best thing to happen was receiving countless messages from friends who were moved by the last hour Copper and I spent together and who extended comforting words of understanding and condolence about having a pet die. 

Thank you to each and every one of you for expressing your thoughts, feelings, and support so beautifully. 

2. A friend sent me a superbly preserved photograph of the team picture of the 1968-69 Kellogg Junior High School 9th grade basketball team. I posted it on Facebook and the many joyous responses people made to the photograph uplifted me and helped balance my feelings of grief. 

By the way, our junior high teams were the Kellogg Kittens! (The high school teams were the Wildcats.) 

The picture is below. 

3. Gibbs never did adjust to having Luna and Copper in the house. We put a gate up between the living room and the other rooms in the house. I think this was after Luna died. Now the gate is open and Gibbs is enjoying being able to investigate the rooms he was cut off from. I'm hoping that soon he'll figure out that now he can sleep with me if he'd like until Debbie returns home. 

I might just give him some help figuring that out by bringing him to my bed when I retire tonight (Friday). 

Here is the Kellogg Junior High 9th grade basketball team, the Kellogg Kittens, 1968-69

Back row l to r   Jack Dunn, Mike Farley, Tim O'Reilly, Mike Heglund, Terry Turner, Craig Comer, Mike Rieken, Dave Holland, Sam Cooper 

Middle row l to r Kirk Hoskins, Elvin Hansen, Al Wise, Dale Costa, Dave MacPhee, Coach Jim Currie, Harold Kurt, Neil Parkins, Jim Lewis, Scott Stuart  

Front row from l to r   Bill Woolum, Don Knott, Roger Pearson, Steve Jaynes, Bruce Larsen 

Three Beautiful Things 08-26-2026: Copper and I Share His Last Hour, Debbie and I Talk About Pets, Complexity

 1. I'm writing this blog post on Thursday, August 27th and will begin with what took place this morning. 

Shortly after 6:00, Copper staggered into my bedroom, collapsed, and let out two weak, but adamant wails. The wails woke me up.  I'd never heard him make this sound before. 

The sound of his wail made me all but certain that Copper's life was nearly over and he wanted us to spend the time he had left together. 

After over five years of not wanting me to hold him, Copper rested in my arms and on my lap. After a while, I wrapped him in a soft towel and placed him atop a soft ottoman and stroked him, encouraged him to let go, and watched his life slowly pass from his being. 

At about 7:10, Copper surrendered. He died at home. He died in the room where he spent most of his time. He died close to me. 

I took time to gaze upon Copper, to fix in my mind the assurance that he was resting in peace. 

2. Now back to Wednesday. 

Debbie and I had a superb telephone conversation. 

We talked about having Copper euthanized. 

We talked about timing, about when euthanasia feels merciful. 

I told Debbie that I hoped Copper would die at home, that we would experience the end of his life together, but that I would see how Copper was doing on Thursday morning and, if it felt right, I'd call Dr. Cook and schedule a consultation, asking him to assess Copper's condition and advise me on how to move forward. 

Copper took matters into his own paws and I didn't have to make that call. 

I felt great relief, having known for quite a few days that Copper's life was nearing its end, that he came to my room, woke me up, accepted being in my arms and on my lap, and passed away at home. 

3. I might write more about the book The Birds Audubon Missed another time. For now, I'll simply report that I finished the book and it further fed my wonder regarding how complex and mutable the natural world is, including human beings. 

Three Beautiful Things 08-25-2026: Christy Gets Good News and Encouragement, Heating/Cooling Checks Out, *Farewell, My Lovely*

 1. I drove Christy to her orthopedic appointment at Kootenai Health. She saw the PA who was in the room when Dr. Blease replaced Christy's hip. PA Fields has a complete understanding of the condition of Christy's hip before surgery and talked with Christy about how things look three weeks after the procedure. 

Her assessment was positive. She cleared Christy to be able to bend down if she needs to pick up light things, say, off the floor. She encouraged Christy to spend time in her garden and busy herself with other light tasks, emphasizing that Christy proceed with caution, to use the walker outside and not overdo anything. 

PA Fields' encouragement and the clearances she offered were in step with Christy's PT session on Monday. The physical therapist she worked with cleared her to use a cane when walking indoors, but not outdoors. This will make things more convenient for Christy, especially when she moves back into her home on Thursday, unless something comes up that nixes that plan. 

2. I'm always relieved when the technician completes the annual review of our heating/cooling system and our furnace and reports that everything looks good. That happened this morning. 

3. While keeping watch over Copper this evening as he rested behind my Vizio Room chair with regular strolls to the bedroom and to the bathroom where he lay down in favorite spots in those rooms, I satisfied an urge I felt to watch a 1970s movie. The other day I watched Tombstone, a 1990s movie, and Repo Man from the 1980s, and this evening I delved into the world of 1970s film noir and watched Robert Mitchum play the role of Phillip Marlowe in Farewell, My Lovely. 

The movie definitely scratched my film noir itch. Its moody portrayal of 1940s Los Angeles, its convoluted plot, the way it features Charlotte Rampling playing a most fatal femme fatale, and the cool, cynical wit and shrewdness of Mitchum's portrayal of Marlowe gave me pleasure and, at the same time, made me feel disgust as I witnessed killing after killing and experienced the movie's exploration of heartless ruthlessness. Oh! And greed.