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.
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