Three Beautiful Things 01-30-2026: Preparing for Family Dinner, Cool Old Man Status (Maybe), A Simple Chicken Soup

1. I am hosting family dinner on Sunday and going to hear the Spokane Symphony on Saturday, so just to get a little bit ahead of myself, I started cleaning the house and doing laundry today. I am very slow at this, but I vacuumed the living room and used the little green machine thing to spot clean some spots on the rug. 

2.I realized today that now I'm one of those old men I used to talk to in bars when I was a young man. I'd leave the bar, whether alone or with others, and comment, saying something like, "That old guy was pretty cool." 

Ed and I met at The Lounge around 4 this afternoon and had some back and forth with a man and a woman who usually come into The Lounge later in the evening when the clientele is younger -- well, younger than Ed and me. 

Ed made them laugh and things were fun between us. The guy said to the woman that they'd have to come in more often around 3 or 4 o'clock and I wondered if maybe they stepped outside and said something like, "Those old guys were pretty cool."

3. All I had to do when I got home to make a delicious dinner that was light and warmed me was heat vegetable and sesame oil in the Dutch oven, toss in chopped celery and carrots, a half a white onion in rings, and about four chicken breast tenders. Later I added sliced mushroom and when these items had cooked up I added three potatoes sliced, some broccoli, corn kernels, and a quart of chicken broth.  

I salted and peppered the soup, cooked everything until tender, avoiding mushiness, and ladled myself two bowls of this soup and added Braggs liquid ammino to each bowl. 

Simple and satisfying.