Three Beautiful Things 12-15-2023: Two Workouts and Encouragement, Beers with Byrdman, Debbie Knocks Dinner Out of the Park

1.  On both Tuesday and Thursday this week I got tied up with family things and didn't make it to the Fitness Center. Today, I worked out twice, putting in forty minutes in Smelterville before driving over to CdA and completing my routine at the rehab gym. 

Today two staff members at the rehab gym had encouraging things to say about my progress. I'm losing some weight and I'm gaining some strength and stamina -- and my blood pressure reading was very good today. 

There's not a lot of instant gratification in my commitment to exercise, but over the long haul, it's uplifting to be experiencing some modest results.

2. After working out in CdA, I joined Byrdman at the spiffy and shiny Vantage Point brewery and food joint for a couple glasses of Helles Lager and a Caesar salad. Byrdman and I had a great talk about our relationships with our pets and the difficulty of having them pass away. It made me think back to when Luna and Copper came into my life in February 2021 and more than one person asked me if I were concerned that I might become attached to them, especially if it turned out I was providing temporary foster care.

I knew I'd become attached to them. It's inevitable for me and I welcome the attachment. I knew that one way or another that I would have to let go of them at some point, whether because Kathy got better (she didn't), someone else stepped forward to take them in (no one did), or because, as older cats, I might very well outlive them. I outlived Luna. 

So, as Byrdman and I discussed today, we do get attached, we often do outlive our pets, and it's painful. But, knowing loss is inevitably going to occur doesn't keep us from going all in and giving our pets the best life we can and sharing our care and affection with them unreservedly. 

And accepting their devotion to us. 

3. Two beers were enough for me, so I didn't join Debbie at The Lounge when she was finished with work. Instead, I cooked up some ground beef, and as Debbie requested, didn't do anything with it because Debbie had a plan in mind. She combined the ground beef with fire roasted tomatoes and some other pasta sauce products that were in the fridge and needed to be used, resulting in a superb sauce that we put over a product I'd never heard of called Ready Cut Spaghetti. I guess it's spaghetti, but looks like macaroni -- well, whatever it is, it works! Debbie cooked up a delicious dinner. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-14-2023: Goodby to Luna, Christy is Discharged, Flavorful Chickpea Dinner

 1. First thing this morning, I said goodby to Luna. I drove her to the vet's office, requested cremation, and bought an urn so that I'll have her ashes with me, along with Snug's. 

2. Christy thought she might get discharged some time after 10:00. I arrived at the hospital around 10:30. Christy was doing pretty well. She's moving about as well as can be expected, which is good. She needs to monitor her oxygen levels and take some steps at home to keep a good supply of oxygen going into her blood. Around 12:30 or so, a discharge nurse came in and went over Christy's discharge papers and her instructions for what to do at home. 

We left the hospital around 1:00 and Christy immediately requested a stop at Starbucks so she could treat herself to a grande Peppermint Mocha. Her spirits were already in pretty good shape, but the coffee drink lifted them even more! 

We arrived at Carol's. Christy had no problem, really, getting out of the car and going into Paul and Carol's house. Without a doubt, the weeks of physical therapy Christy has put in to prepare for this surgery helped her immeasurably. She strengthened her legs so that she can push off the leg that was not operated on. Her core is stronger than it was. Her hard work is paying off. She returns to physical therapy on Monday to begin working on her new knee.

I had a couple more things to do for Christy: pick up her prescriptions and purchase her an oximeter.

I completed those errands. 

Now Christy's under the care of Carol and Paul -- and she's back with Riley! 

3. Back home, I took out our second HelloFresh bag. Debbie had to be at work until around 7 o'clock, so I timed it so that dinner was ready when she walked in the door. Tonight's meal was among my favorites -- I tend to really enjoy the HelloFresh dinners that feature chickpeas.

Tonight's was called Apricot, Almond, and Chickpea Tagine with Zucchini, Basmati Rice, and Chermoula. 

It was a delicious blend of chickpeas, zucchini, apricot, almonds, cilantro, various spices, and some heat, topped off with a refreshing sour cream and yogurt (my addition) sauce. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-13-2023: Luna Passes Calmly Away, Christy's Surgeon's Positive Report, Christy Spends the Night at Kootenai

1.  I was at Kootenai Health's hospital from 7 this morning until around 4 in the afternoon.

I wondered throughout the day about Luna. I put her in her carrier with added padding to keep her comfortable.

When I returned to Kellogg, I checked on Luna and she was weak, barely responding to me. After I fixed myself a quick dinner, I brought her out to the living room and held her.

Slowly, mildly, serenely she passed away at around 8 o'clock. I kept her close to me for another half an hour or so before I returned her to her carrier to rest in peace. 

Luna was a loving and spirited companion. I'm very happy we got to spend nearly three years together.

The best I can do now is take good care of Copper. 

2. Christy had knee replacement surgery today at Kootenai Health's hospital. She checked in at 7 a.m. and I occupied myself in the waiting room until I went to the rehab gym, in another part of the hospital, to carry out my regular Wednesday work out. 

While I was on the treadmill, my phone rang. It was the surgeon. He had just left the operating room and wanted me to know that he was very happy with how the surgery went. His entire report was very positive.

3. I returned to the waiting room, worked a crossword puzzle and relaxed and a few hours later, a nurse wheeled Christy out and they invited me to join them on a walk to a physical therapy room where Christy worked on going up stairs and received other instructions about moving around once she was out of the hospital.

We thought Christy might be able to come home pretty soon, but as it turned out, she needed to spend the night because after being under anesthesia, her oxygen levels weren't quite right yet. This is a common occurrence for patients after surgery, not at all unique to Christy. 

I'll go back to CdA in the morning and bring Christy home then. 

 

Three Beautiful Things 12-12-2023: Luna's Strong Spirit, Blood Draw, Simple Fish Dinner

1. Luna lay still in my bed, occasionally meowing weakly, for much of the day with a sheet and blankets covering her up to her neck. After dinner, I carried Luna out to the living room and held her and petted her for about an hour or so. Her body is weak and diminishing. Her spirit is strong and the essence of her Luna-ness is alive, but fading. 

2. I dropped in at the Shoshone Medical Center where I had a vial of blood drawn to be sent to the lab in Spokane -- I do this once a month. It's blood that will be tested if/when I'm offered a kidney. 

3. I picked up Christy from Silver Valley Tire and planned to go work out when her car was ready and after I gave her a lift back. Unfortunately, the work on the car took longer than we thought it would and by the time I drove Christy back to get her car, it was time to cook dinner. It's no problem in the big picture, but I was disappointed not to get in an exercise session.

I decided to fix a quick dinner that turned out to very delicious. I baked tilapia filets with dill sprinkled on them and steamed a crown of broccoli. I also sautéed some onion pieces and in that pot I prepared jasmine rice. We had white garlic sauce left over from Sunday's dinner along with cucumber and feta salad. We both put sauce on our fish, along with lemon juice, and we both enjoyed how simple and tasty dinner turned out to be tonight.  

Three Beautiful Things 12-11-2023: Luna Update, Two Workouts, Mexican Steak and Rice Bowl

1. Luna continues to slowly shut down. Today she got off the bed so she could drink some water and, once Debbie leashed Gibbs, I brought her out to the living room so I could hold her and she could share my chair. I'm mostly trying to keep her comfortable. Gibbs, by the way, behaved beautifully when Luna was in the living room. He didn't bark. He just calmly rested on the couch alongside Debbie.

2. I'm not up to it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but when I am, I sure enjoy going to the Fitness Center in Smelterville and exercising for a half an hour before going to CdA for a session and some more education at the rehab gym. Today, after doing double duty, I felt good. I increased the intensity on both machines at the rehab gym and I recovered well after cooling off for a few minutes. I got home, could feel that I'd been working out, but I wasn't exhausted. 

3. I fixed a HelloFresh dinner tonight that was new to us. It was very simple. All I had to do was make a pot of rice seasoned with a Mexican spice blend and the white part of two green onions and some butter and then cook a 10 oz steak, also seasoned with the Mexican spice blend. In a small bowl, I marinated tomato wedges and the green part of the green onions in olive oil and lime juice. Once the steak was cooked, I sliced in thinly. I then made rice bowls: rice on the bottom of the bowl topped with steak slices and marinated tomato wedges and garnished with a dollop of guacamole. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-10-2023: Aerobic Snow Shoveling, Luna's Quiet Day, Dinner with Christy and Debbie

1. A half an hour of shoveling wet and heavy snow this morning had my heart beating faster and my lungs huffing and puffing more rapidly than a half an hour on the aerobic machines! I finished that job and let it suffice as my workout for today.

2. Luna had a quiet, still day resting on her favorite pillow on the bed. She's having trouble walking, but early this evening she made her way off the bed, drank some water, and once Gibbs and Debbie turned in, she had some time with me in the living room and hobbled around the living room and kitchen a bit. She slept next to me through the night. Copper got closer to me than he ever has and made it clear to me that he wanted to lie on my arm, which I was able to extend his way so that he could. 

3. Paul and Carol had a cast party this afternoon. I don't know what Molly did today.  But I do know that we didn't have a full-blown family dinner. Instead, Christy joined Debbie and me for some Middle Eastern food. I decided to fix a HelloFresh meal without the bag of ingredients, but replicate one on my own.

I fixed Middle Eastern Chickpea Bowls with Spiced Basmati Rice and Garlicky White Sauce. 

To begin, I combined turmeric, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, allspice, paprika, and pepper to make a Shawarma Spice Blend. 

I then put olive oil in a medium pot heated it up and added chopped onion, minced garlic, and Shawarma spice blend, let it cook for about a minute, and then added rice. I cooked these things together briefly and then added water and some Vegetable Better than Bullion paste. I brought it to a boil and then put on the lid and cooked the rice a low temperature.

On two parchment paper lined baking sheets, I spread out chickpeas, grape tomatoes, and wedges of white onion. I drizzled olive oil over them and seasoned them with Shawarma Spice Blend, salt, and pepper and put the sheets in the oven.

I then combined sour cream and yogurt with minced garlic and made the white sauce. 

When the rice was cooked, I fluffed it, added some cilantro, and a chunk of butter.

I took the baking sheets out of the oven and topped the chickpeas, onion, and tomatoes with lemon zest.

In each of our bowls, I put a layer of spiced rice and topped it with the chickpea, onion, and tomato blend. I drizzled sauce over the top, added some cilantro, and put lemon wedges on the table so we could add more lemon juice to our bowls.

I was very happy with how this meal turned out and look forward to replicating more Hello Fresh meals.

I also prepared a salad for our dinner. 

Last night, Debbie made a cucumber and green onion salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I augmented her salad with more cucumbers, fresh dill, lemon juice, feta cheese, and a few grape tomatoes, and more balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

I was very happy with this salad, too, and enjoyed how the salad and chickpea bowl complimented each other.  

 

Three Beautiful Things 12-09-2023: A Great Boring Routine, Caring for Luna, Dinner Tidies Up the Kitchen

 1. Yes, I know. My blog posts, however brief, about working out are repetitious and boring. At the same time, it's been a great change for me and the boring routine of it is what makes it work. I followed this routine again today. I did aerobic exercise for an hour, realized as I left the Fitness Center that I'd left my keys in the basket on the counter, and, thank goodness, the volunteer locking the center up hadn't quite left the building yet when I rapped on the door. He let me in and I quickly grabbed my keys, got out of his hair, and blasted back to Kellogg.

2. Over the last few weeks, I've been keeping close eye on Luna. She's been losing weight. She has not been eating wet food when I put it down. I'm not sure she's eating dry food out of the feeder.  She spends a lot of time lying on a pillow on the bed. 

Today, I began to think of my care for Luna as hospice care. I might be wrong, but I think she's reaching the end of her life. 

This evening, in the bedroom, struggling to walk, she signaled to me that she wanted to be in the living room.

Debbie leashed up Gibbs so he wouldn't hassle her and Luna came out, lay on the floor a bit and then wanted to assume the place she has liked ever since she came into my life, sitting next to me in the chair I sit in a lot. Luna isn't purring. She's always purred. She seemed content in the living room, but frail. Gibbs completely left her alone, as if he could sense her fragility. 

Later, after Debbie and Gibbs went to bed, Luna wandered out into the kitchen. After a while, I checked on her. I was startled when I could hear her weak meow coming from the bottom of the basement stairs. 

Weak hind legs and all, Luna had made her way to the basement and now she wanted back upstairs. 

I carried her back up the stairs and before long we went to bed.

At some point in the night, Luna got off the bed and drank some water.

She was unable, however, to catapult herself back onto the bed. I helped her. She lay beside me and we both rested peacefully for the rest of the night. 

We'll see what Sunday brings. 

3. Debbie wanted to use up some bits and pieces of food we had in the kitchen and made a pan of roasted chicken pieces, baby Yukon golds, and chunks of onion. She also sliced a cucumber with green onion, dressed it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and so not only did we have a simple delicious dinner, Debbie also tidied up the kitchen. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-08-2023: Success at the Gym, Revisiting Episode 3 of *Who Killed JFK?*, More 20th Century History

1. I checked in at about 10:45 this morning at the rehab gym. When I weighed in, my weight was the lowest it's been since I started, so I'm slowly losing some weight. I altered my routine, on Claudia's recommendation, and worked with the hand weights in between twenty minute sessions on the two aerobic machines. I upped the intensity, slightly, of my session on the recumbent cross trainer. After I finished, Claudia and I decided that on Monday I would start working with a "hills" program on the treadmill (it's what I do on the Smelterville treadmill), keep my mph the same, but having more variation in the machine's incline. 

2. I declined Debbie's invitation to join her at The Lounge after work. I also suggested she bring home some Chinese take out from Wah Hing. After we ate some of it for dinner, Debbie and listened once again to Episode 3 of Who Killed JFK? This episode focuses on Lee Harvey Oswald's teen age years -- his disenchantment with going to school, his enlistment in the Marines, and how he appears to have been trained as an intelligence asset for the CIA -- something the CIA has long denied. This episode features interviews with people we are unfamiliar with and Oswald's activities in the Marines, his time living in the Soviet Union, his marriage, and so on were difficult for me to keep straight. Listening to all of this information for a second time was very helpful and, I'm happy to say, I've also found a website that publishes this podcast's transcripts and it's already helping me nail things down more solidly to read what is said in this episode. 

3. We finished listening to this episode and Debbie asked me if I knew of any podcasts discussing the FBI/Branch Davidian standoff and conflagration in Waco, TX in 1993. I found some things, but I thought we might benefit from watching a filmed documentary rather than listen to a podcast. 

I searched for and found the Frontline documentary entitled, Waco: The Inside Story and we watched it.

It was gruesome.

It was enlightening and frustrating. 

Even more, it was gruesome. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-07-2023: Slight Workout Change, Salmon and Rice, Quiet Evening

1.  I tried out a recommendation rehab staffer Claudia made. Instead of working with hand weights after working out on the two machines, today I completed a half an hour of rolling hills on the treadmill and then worked with the hand weights. I finished my workout with a half an hour of a series of sprints followed by hills on the recumbent cross training machine. Her idea was a good one. 

2. After going to the Fitness Center, I returned home and fixed Debbie and me each a salmon burger patty with steamed cauliflower and jasmine rice. I thought a couple pieces of English cheddar cheese would taste good with this meal -- and I was right! 

3. Debbie and I enjoyed a quiet evening. Debbie talked a bit about what her students are doing and how she is devising ways to help them. It's heartening to know that she's having a good year with her students and that they are, all in all, eager to work on things she helps them do. They especially enjoy tactile activity, whether it's looking up words in a dictionary they can hold in their hands or working on projects with paper, scissors, glue, and other supplies that are physical, not virtual. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-06-2023: Intensifying My Workout with Harry Nillson (and Others), Thai(ish) Stir Fry, Lee Harvey Oswald and Deception

1. Over at the rehab gym in CdA, after consultation with Claudia, I increased the speed of my walking on the treadmill, but kept the incline the same. I increased the level of resistance on the hill/sprint program on the recumbent cross trainer. I huffed a bit on the cross trainer and the increased speed on the treadmill made me perspire. It was a great help to me on the treadmill to have "Jump into the Fire" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" come up on my playlist. I'm hoping before long that my playlist shuffle will include Billy Idol's "Many, Mony". It invigorates me. 

2. Tonight's HelloFresh meal was a Thai-ish ground beef and green bean stir fry over jasmine rice. It was very easy to prepare and the soy glaze and sweet chili paste that seasoned this meal made it especially delicious.

3. Wednesday nights in our household means one thing these days: a new episode of the podcast, Who Killed JFK? Tonight's episode continued last week's dig into the life of Lee Harvey Oswald. Both episodes argue that Oswald had primary and secondary connections with the CIA. The CIA referred to its means of deception and disinformation as a "wilderness of mirrors" and tonight's episode looks at how, according to Rob Reiner, the CIA was in the process of developing a story that was not necessarily true about Oswald as a Communist and Castro sympathizer. Debbie and I also learned about the practice of "sheep dipping". That's when a military or intelligence asset is given civilian status to continue to work on behalf of, say the CIA, in ways that can't be traced back. We plan to listen again to these episodes on Oswald. They involve a lot of discussion of operatives whose names are unfamiliar to Debbie and me and describe a good amount of double dealing, of Oswald as a player in a CIA driven theater performance, making it difficult to know whether what he did before JFK's assassination was real or a performance meant to deceive. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-05-2023: Three Favorite Things, Staying on Task at the Fitness Center, Yucatan Citrus Turkey Bowls for Dinner

1. Admittedly, they aren't worthy of song, like raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but late this morning I did three of my favorite things: I heaped the recyclables into the Sube and blasted up to the Transfer Station and put them in their proper bins; I picked up a few necessities at Yoke's; and, I bought Luna and Copper a big bag of their kidney care cat food. 

2. Riding high on the wild surf of these accomplishments, I rocketed out to the Fitness Center and with the help and inspiration of The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, Steely Dan, and other combos on my workout playlist, I spent sixty minutes, combined,  huffing and puffing on the recumbent cross trainer and the treadmill. 

3. Back home, I combined green pepper and onion with ground turkey and a Tex-Mex sauce souped up with a Southwest spice blend, lime juice, and mandarin orange juice I also pickled an onion and made a simple smoky crema. All of this went on top of jasmine rice and Debbie and I thought very highly of our Yucatan Citrus Turkey Bowl.  

Three Beautiful Things 12-04-2023: Exercise and Calories, Billy Mac Recipes and Eugene Memories, Everything but the Kitchen Sink!

1. I decided this morning that it would be wise to give myself some rest before going to CdA to the rehab gym. I decided not to work out twice. I'll never really know if that was a good decision, but I do know that my workout went very well at Kootenai Health. Today's lesson was about calories, burning them, and working to slowly lose weight. I'm trying. 

2. I keep forgetting to write about an uplifting book I ordered and that arrived last week. For the last several years that we lived in Eugene, I joined a group of friends for Thursday dinner at Billy Mac's. This bar and grill, which shared a building with a convenience market, became one of my spiritual centers in Eugene, not only for the excellent food and drink, but, even more enjoyable, for the great company I got to be a part of and for the friendly relationships that developed between people who worked there and Debbie and me. It was also the site of my 2012 retirement party, a most memorable event! 

Billy Mac, the bar and grill's proprietor and head chef, has a full name! It's Billy McCallum. He has a long history of cooking and catering in Eugene. He retired in December, 2021 and Billy Mac's closed.

His sister, Molly McCallum, wrote a combination cook book and family history entitled, Living Legacy: Stories of a Restaurant Family. I'm thrilled to own a copy. 

The book combines, with stories, photographs, and lots of recipes, not only Billy McCallum's life as a chef, but also the history of Billy and Molly's parents and siblings and their beloved restaurant, The Treehouse, which was in business from 1977-1999. 

The recipes are Billy's. 

It is now possible for those of us who loved Billy Mac's (and for those who loved The Treehouse) to take a stab at fixing many of the appetizers, soups, salads, dressings, sandwiches, entrees, and desserts we enjoyed at Billy Mac's. 

In fact, not long after this book came out, some of the people in Eugene who used to gather for the Thursday night dinner sessions went to a reading and book signing of this book. Days later, as a way to celebrate Pam Dane's birthday, they joined forces to prepare a potluck birthday dinner that featured food prepared using Billy McCallum's recipes. 

I've spent some heart warming and nostalgic time reading Molly McCallum's book, going over the recipes, and remembering the many happy evenings I spent at Billy Mac's on Thursdays and many other nights of the week. 

3. I enjoyed the "everything but the kitchen sink" Debbie cooked up tonight in one pan, combining small amounts of food we had left over from earlier meals along with other food that needed to be cooked. This potpourri included eggplant, chicken, onion, some black beans, a bit of gravy, some leftover broccoli, potatoes, and other things. She also added some tomato pesto to the mix and we ate it over jasmine rice. We didn't eat it all. Debbie had had enough of it tonight so she didn't pack up the leftover rice and mishmash for her lunch. That means I'll get to have another crack at this meal in the next day or two. 

Three Beautiful Things 12-03-2023: Zooming About How Then Becomes Now, Another Work Out, Hosting a Tasty Family Dinner

1. Bill, Diane, and I leapt onto the ZOOM machine and had a superb discussion. I came away from it firmly convinced that history isn't so much a way of understanding what happened as a way of gaining insight into continuation. We talked about how we see the USA in 2023 and essentially everything we talked about is not unique to 2023 but a continuation of elements of our nation's life that have been with us all along. 

2. Often our ZOOM conversations last a couple of hours, but today I bowed out around 10:45 because I wanted to get in a workout and the Fitness Center closes at noon on Sunday. I intensified the demands on myself slightly which felt fine while I was on the machines, but by about 2:00 in the afternoon, I felt tired, in need of more recovery than just sitting and resting gave me, and I joined Copper and Luna in the bedroom for a nap that refreshed me and that reassured them that we belong to each other.

3. Debbie and I hosted family dinner tonight and Debbie decided she wanted to fix everything we, as the hosts, contributed. She made one of the best meatloafs I've ever eaten, presented us with delicious twice-baked potatoes, fixed a vegetable plate with dip for an appetizer, and mixed each of us a gin martini. She also bought the table's two bottles of wine. Paul brought a delicious broccoli and cheese side dish and Debbie, Paul, Brian, Molly, Christy, and I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Carol was at a party with high school friends that happens every year, so she wasn't with us. 

Conversation tonight covered a galaxy of subjects ranging from The Pogues and Flogging Molly to the Idaho Vandals' playoff success to questions about gift giving and receiving at Christmas and the importance of traditions and being with family. 

And a whole bunch of other discussions, too.  

Three Beautiful Things 12-02-2023: Shoveling Snow, Meeting Ed at The Lounge, Roasted Chicken Dinner

1. It wasn't a heavy snowfall, but enough piled up that it needed to be shoveled. So, instead of going to the fitness center, I got my heart rate up and huffed and puffed a bit shoveling snow. I'm not sure how long I was at it, but I'll tell whoever checks me in at the rehab center on Monday that I exercised for twenty minutes.

2. Ed and I met at The Lounge at 3:00 and had a fun time yakkin'. The snowy weather inspired me to have a pour of brandy alongside a couple pints of Pulaski Porter, a very satisfying combination for a wintry day.

3. I returned home, took a whole chicken out of the icebox, let it warm up to room temperature, and then covered it in butter and seasoned it with a combination of salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, red pepper, thyme, cumin, garlic powder, dry mustard, celery seed, and paprika. I put the chicken in a roasting bag and about 80 minutes later it was ready to sit. Debbie turned the juices in the bag into a delicious gravy and I steamed some broccoli and boiled a handful of baby Yukon golds. 

It was a fun, delicious, and comforting meal on this bleak-ish December night.  

Three Beautiful Things 12-01-2023: Double Workout and "Shining Star", Coma Nap and The Lounge, Skyline Chili and Sobering TV Programming

1. I piled into the Camry and, on my way to Smelterville, listened to Jeff play some awesome cuts from a live Jerry Garcia Band performance from November 1973 on his radio program, Deadish. Until today, I didn't know that the Jerry Garcia Band performed "Shining Star", and, for whatever it's worth, I enjoyed the performance Jeff played more than any I've ever heard -- yes, even more than Earth, Wind, & Fire. 

The Jerry Garcia Band put me in a great mood to work out twice today: I dropped in for a quick twenty minutes at the fitness center in Smelterville and then blasted over the wet, easy to drive Fourth of July Pass into Coeur d'Alene for my Friday hour of power at the rehab gym.

I got out of Coeur d'Alene and back over the pass before a little hell broke loose later in the afternoon when the snowfall picked up and a semi jack-knifed and was high centered on a jersey barrier. I don't think this was the only accident, but I saw more pictures of this incident than any others. 

2.  Back home, the double workout hit me and I fell into a coma nap for a while. I woke up in time, though, to make plans with Debbie on the texting machine to head up to the Inland Lounge for some gin, relaxation, and yakkin'. Debbie swung by after she was done at school and we had a splendid time, happy to be part of a good crowd of good people, enjoying a few libations and along with lively conversation and laughter.

3. Back home, I made some spaghetti, heated up a can of Skyline chili along with a can of black beans and opened a bag of grated sharp cheddar cheese, and Debbie and I each enjoyed a bowl of Cincinnati chili. We decided to continue our recent habit of watching documentary programming and watched most of the first episode of Ken Burns' Civil War. If we needed something sobering to counter the gin we enjoyed at The Lounge, this documentary fulfilled that mission and more. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-30-2023: Ground Beef and Pinto Bean Soup, Solid Workout, *Frontline* and Lee Harvey Oswald

1.  Over the last ten years, I've been asked quite a few times what I'm doing now that I'm retired. For some reason, I almost never think to answer with the most obvious two words: I cook.

Today, I had some ground beef thawed and I cooked it up with chopped onions and then added diced fire roasted tomatoes, baby carrots, chopped red potatoes, and finely chopped garlic to the pot along with cumin, paprika, oregano, and some red pepper flakes. I let this all cook for a few minutes until fragrant and then added two cups of water and some beef Better than Bullion. I cooked this for about fifteen minutes and then added a couple of cans of pinto beans and let this soup slowly cook until the vegetables were tender. 

It worked. 

I made enough for dinner tonight, Debbie's lunch tomorrow, and for me to have some more when I return home from the rehab gym on Friday.

2. Once I got the soup assembled and cooked, I turned off the heat and bolted out to the Fitness Center and worked out for about forty minutes, the same amount of time I work the machines in CdA. I was a little rubbery from yesterday's double workout, but it was not a problem. It felt really good to get this session in before returning to Kellogg and giving Christy a lift to Silver Valley Tire.

3. After dinner, Debbie and I continued our effort to learn more about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 2013, Frontline ran an updated version of its 1993 documentary Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?. We watched it tonight. I'd say that Debbie and I agree that this story is so murky, so convoluted, so rife with possibilities that the more we learn,  the less we know for certain. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-29-2023: Two Workouts, My Workout Playlist, Chickpeas and Lee Harvey Oswald

1. I followed through. 

Yesterday I wrote that since my food hangover kept me from going to the Fitness Center, I would go to Smelterville, work out, and then go to Coeur d'Alene and work out again at the rehab gym.

Tha

t's exactly what I did. 

I arrived at the Fitness Center in Smelterville around 9:00 and exercised on two different machines for 45 minutes.

I then rocketed to the rehab gym at Kootenai Health and went through my regular routine.

Yes, I walked out of the second gym a bit rubbery legged and more tired than usual, but part of my rehab program is to log about a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise a week, and I'm right on target to do what I want: exceed that 150 number.

2. While I work out at the CdA gym, one of the staff comes to me with educational material about all kinds of things ranging from home exercise to dietary information. In addition, someone often comes around to listen to my lungs or to check my heart rate and, on occasion, my blood pressure while I'm huffing and puffing away. Therefore, I don't exercise with my wireless earbuds at the rehab gym.

At the Smelterville gym, it's a totally different story, and today, for the first time, I listened to the new workout playlist I created on Spotify while I worked out and it was fun listening to The Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and others while I huffed and puffed away.

3. After fixing a very interesting and delicious HelloFresh chickpea and rice bowl featuring blistered tomatoes, roasted carrots, and both a schug sauce and a lemon aioli, Debbie and I listened to the next episode of the podcast, Who Killed JFK.  Soledad O'Brien and Rob Reiner guided us through a convoluted story narrating the mind boggling comings and goings of Lee Harvey Oswald from the time he became a Marine to when he moved to the USSR to when he married a Russian woman and they resettled in the USA. This episode posits that Oswald was under the employment and direction of the CIA during this time. Listening to this episode was, for me, like watching a spy movie where I have a lot of trouble keeping up with just what's going on who is working for whom. 

Next week, the podcast will continue to probe the Lee Harvey Oswald story. Before then, I just might listen to tonight's episode again and try to get all the details and twists and turns of his story, as presented by this podcast, straightened out.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-28-2023: Getting Christy's Support Organized, My First Birria Tacos, A Food Hangover

1. Christy has knee replacement surgery coming up in two weeks and she, Carol, and I got together for lunch at Casa de Oro to go over Christy's schedule for when she needs rides to the hospital, physical therapy, and a post-op follow up appointment. We got that all taken care of and veered off into other subjects -- ha! 

2. I had read recently that Casa de Oro had just begun serving Birria Tacos. I'd never heard of this style, looked into it, learned that it features spicy stewed beef (or goat) in a pan-fried tortilla. The Birria Taco comes with a bowl of seasoned consommé for dipping the taco in. If spicy means peppery or hot, my Birria Taco was not spicy in that way. Rather, it was seasoned with spices. I enjoyed my three Birra Tacos and only wish I had ordered them a la carte. The rice and fried beans that came with my tacos was way more food than I wanted. If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have asked for a box and taken home one taco and at least half of the beans and rice. 

But, acting as if one of the teachers at Sunnyside Elementary school was hovering over me, threatening me with detention during noon recess if I didn't clean up my plate, I ate the entire meal.

I can't work out after eating. I'd planned on going to the Fitness Center this afternoon, but even by six o'clock, the heaviness of my lunch was still with me and not only did I not exercise, I didn't eat another bite of food the rest of the day. 

I decided that I would make up for missing my workout today by working out twice on Wednesday: once around 9:00 at the Fitness Center and again, at 11:00, at the Pulmonary Rehab gym in Coeur d'Alene. 

3. I managed to get some shopping done at Yoke's and mail a package at the Post Office. But for much of the afternoon and evening I read newspaper articles online, worked a couple of puzzles, talked with Debbie about her work this week, so far, and simply recovered from eating too much food at lunch. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-27-2023: Positive Hour at the Gym, Soup and Salad at Moon Time, Tomato Tortelloni Bake

1. I checked in with Eddie at the rehab gym, happy to report that I had worked out for 200 minutes on my own over the last week. I also lost a little weight. Today, on both of the machines the staff has assigned me to use, I increased the level of difficulty slightly and I liked how these levels pushed me harder, but didn't leave me feeling depleted or sick. I also moved up to five pound hand weights. My blood pressure upon arrival was great. 

It's working splendidly for me to work this program, primarily because I do better when I have someone to report to. This was true several years ago, back in Maryland,  when two of my former LCC students who were earning their nursing degree emailed me,  needing a "patient". All I had to do was report to them my weight, blood pressure, and number of steps. Working with both of them at separate times helped me take better care of myself. I do better when I have someone to report to.   

2. On the spur of the moment, as I was leaving CdA, I decided to stop in at Moon Time for a cup of soup and half a salad and a couple glasses of water. The soup was a delicious, moderately spicy pineapple and shrimp curry and I ordered half a Thai Crunch salad. Even though it was a half a salad, I had to box up about a quarter of it or so and bring it home. It was delicious, but I couldn't eat it all in one sitting. 

3. It sure didn't take much effort to fix tonight's HelloFresh Tomato Tortelloni Bake. All I had to do was briefly heat up some oil, Italian seasoning, chili flakes, and finely chopped garlic in a pan and then add two diced tomatoes to the pan. I let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes and then added a packet of tomato paste. After it cooked for a couple of minutes, I added a cup of water, vegetable stock, and cream cheese and when these ingredients were combined, I dumped the tortellonis in the pan and cooked them until tender. I added a hunk of butter to the tortellonis and sauce and once it melted, stirred it all up.

I had already combined panko, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil in a small bowl and now I spread this mixture over the tortellonis and tomato sauce and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes and ABBACADABRA!, Debbie and I each had a delicious bowl of food for dinner. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-26-2023: Back on the Wellness Trail, Hiking with *Deadish*, Comic Tales by P. G. Wodehouse

1. I had to put myself to a moderately challenging test today. The Wellness Trail winding up the hill just east of the hospital is only a half a mile long and, in descriptions of it, is considered easy.

Well, it has enough incline and gains enough elevation that it gets me breathing hard and works out my legs.

When I saw Dr. Jespersen back in the spring, I happily reported to him that I'd hiked this trail recently and thought I did pretty well. He told me that consistent physical activity was the key to keeping my pulmonary system functioning well and told me about a patient of his with low functioning lungs who keeps himself getting along well by riding his bicycle everywhere.

Inspired by that story, I took my bike to the shop, made sure it was in good shape, and started riding. I didn't ride everywhere I went, but I took rides on the local Trail of the CdAs.

Then one day in June, I got sick from riding in moderate heat in the sunshine and never rode my bicycle again -- nor did I hike the Wellness Trail. I didn't want to experience that sun/heat illness again.

When I saw Dr. Jespersen near the end of October, he recommended that I start a rehab program in the Cardio-Pulmonary gym at Kootenai Health and I'm going into that gym three days a week now and I've rejoined the Fitness Center near Smelterville and workout there on the days I don't go to CdA.

Today, however, instead of going to the Fitness Center, I returned to the Wellness Trail for the first time in over six months.

Walking to the start of the Wellness Trail, I'd become a little short of breath walking up The Trail that goes from Riverside Ave to Kellogg High School.

As I worked my way up the Wellness Trail, I stopped a handful of times to stop panting, but I thought my recovery time was pretty good. My legs, which had become weakened from inactivity over the summer, felt good going up this trail. I was glad to be doing this hike alone because I was so slow, but I made it to the end of the trail, rested at the picnic table for a short while and had a good hike back down the hill and a good walk home. 

2. Listening to the first hour of Jeff's Thanksgiving Day Deadish show on kepw.org made my hike even more enjoyable. He played songs from a show on 11-23-1973. Early on, Jeff  featured songs with Bob Weir on lead vocals.  I thought Bob and the band sounded terrific on "El Paso", "Mexicali Rose", and "Looks Like Rain".  Lately, Jeff has been playing a lot of live "Deadish" music from 1973, not just the Grateful Dead, but Jerry Garcia Band performances, Traffic, Old and in the Way, and other stuff. Is it just me -- or were these groups sounding really good fifty years ago? I sure think so.

3. Back home, relaxing in the living room, I put in my wireless earbuds and listened to a couple of stories by P. G. Wodehouse. One was a detective story about a boarder at a place called The Excelsior having been murdered under mysterious circumstances -- it involved bananas, a cobra, a harmonica, and a cat. The other story was an early Bertie Wooster tale that barely included Jeeves. It was hilarious. Bertie's overbearing Aunt Agatha sends Bertie to NYCity with orders to rescue his cousin Gussie. Gussie has fallen in love with a vaudeville singer. Aunt Agatha disapproves. Once Bertie is in NYCity, a series of madcap events occur and the story comes to a surprising and most comic conclusion.  The title of the tale is "Extricating Young Gussie". 

Three Beautiful Things 11-25-2023: A Good Workout, Afternoon Time with Copper and Luna, Exquisite Turkey Soup

1. After driving out to the Fitness Center on Friday, only to discover it was closed, I wised up today and called out there. It was open from 8-12, so I blasted out and got in some good exercise. While on a couple of machines, I listened again to Episode 3 of Who Killed JFK? and then powered my way to the end of my workout with ZZ Top, Free ("All Right Now"), and Pink Floyd ("Shine on You Crazy Diamond"). 

It might be time to make myself an exercise playlist on Spotify.

2. It was chilly outside today. Copper and Luna seemed very happy that I joined them in the bedroom to work on Saturday's NYTimes Crossword Puzzle and to take a nap. I was happy to be with them, too.

3. Debbie bought a couple of turkey backs and made a very delicious turkey soup this afternoon. It was like having a certain kind of turkey dinner in a soup. She added sliced yams, chopped potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and topped the soup with dumplings. I especially enjoyed how the yams sweetened the broth and were balanced by the Brussels sprouts. My favorite way to enjoy turkey is to eat turkey soup and this was one of the tastiest turkey soups I've ever eaten. Debbie made enough so that we can have some more soup on Wednesday. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-24-2023: The Lounge Instead of Exercise, Leftovers and Tiny Tim and Australian Mammals, Plans for Christmas Time

1. I buzzed out to the Fitness Center to do some exercises, but discovered it was closed. Disappointed, I returned home and Debbie and I decided to wash my sorrow away with a trip to the Inland Lounge. The Lounge was buzzin'. We planted ourselves at the bar. I enjoyed some gin screwdrivers, some yakkin' with Cas, Ginger,  Dick G, and with Debbie. It was a boisterous and mirthful scene at The Lounge. 

2. Next up: Leftovers at Carol and Paul's. I enjoyed that not only were there food leftovers, but I also enjoyed another glass of that Mezcal/cider cocktail Paul mixed for Thanksgiving. Brian E. had been with his family on Thanksgiving Day, but joined the leftover shindig and we had fun talking bout a bunch of stuff while we revisited the Thanksgiving food. Debbie helped bring surreal randomness to our yakkin' by talking about huge mammals that went instinct in Australia and her experience interviewing Tiny Tim in Eugene about 30 years ago. We also squeezed in a little talk about the Basque region and where we might go to purchase lamb meat for Christmas. 

3. We also, I think, pretty much figured out what we'll do where over the Christmas holiday. It's a crowded time -- Debbie and I both have birthdays at that time, we got married on the 24th, we have an international Christmas dinner that we hold on the 26th so that Cosette, Taylor, and Saphire can join in -- Christmas Day is a big work day for Cosette. 

And there's more -- so we'll have our first family get together on Christmas Day with a gift exchange and a brunch and return to Carol and Paul's on the 26th for the annual international dinner and another gift exchange that includes Cosette, Taylor, and Saphire. Debbie and I are leaving things open for possibly doing something together for our birthdays. There will be a party for Cosette on the 28th. I'm sure all of this is subject to change, but this evening we established the first draft!

(Christy will also be recovering from knee replacement surgery.)

Three Beautiful Things 11-23-2023: Fixing the Appetizer, An Hour or So at The Lounge, Family Time and Thanksgiving Dinner

1. I'll let the cat out of the bag right away.

We had a calm, satisfying, and delicious Thanksgiving Day.

Carol made the food assignments. She gave me an easy task: Loaded Sweet Potato Bites. 

Well, I used yams! 

All I had to do was peel the yams and slice them. I put the slices in a bowl and poured olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and cinnamon over them, and tossed them.

I put the pieces on cooking sheets, baked them for ten minutes, flipped them, and baked them another ten minutes.

I finished by putting a dab of Frank's RedHot Sauce on each slice, sprinkling grated cheese over the slices, and then adding finely sliced green onion and a dab of sour cream on each one. 

Presto! 

We had a Thanksgiving appetizer.

2. Annually, on both Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, Cas and Tracy host a buffet dinner at the Inland Lounge. Debbie and I dropped in before the dinner started, enjoyed Bloody Marys and had great conversations with both Cas and Tracy before other people started to arrive. 

3. We arrived at Carol and Paul's about the same time Christy did and we joined Molly, Zoe, Carol, and Paul in the house. We all settled into the living room and Paul served us each smoky cocktail, a mix of Mezcal and apple cider -- and I can't remember what else. We munched on the vegetables arranged by Molly and Zoe on a platter to look like a turkey, with the word  THANKFUL  spelled out with carrot sticks along the top.

We had a superb discussion of the play Arsenic and Old Lace. We'd all seen it. We'd had time to think about it. Paul had a great stuff to say about directing the play. It was really fun to have a sustained family discussion about something we were all involved in, having all either seen the play or been a part of its production.

Before long, we took our places at the table, sang a verse of "We Gather Together" (a favorite hymn of Mom's) for grace, and enjoyed turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, cranberries, and rolls for dinner -- with wine.  

We returned to the living room for pies -- pumpkin, pecan, and/or a salted coffee shoofly pie.

Six straight hours of social interaction, a few cocktails, and a delicious dinner wiped me out! 

I went to bed earlier tonight, almost immediately upon arriving home, than I have in ages. 

Copper and Luna probably wish I would get wiped out like this more often! They were very happy to have my company so early in the evening. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-22-2023: Bagel Run, Remembering No Crime Day While Exercising, Podcast Episodes at Home

 1. I decided to add to our Beach Bum Bakery bagel stash and on Tuesday I ordered a half dozen sesame bagels. Beach Bum Bakery no longer sells wares out of its shack behind the Furniture Exchange -- and wares are no longer baked out of the owners' home kitchen. The bakery now operates out of the Silverton Mountain Manor, so I buzzed up to Silverton today and picked up the bagels I ordered. Back home, I toasted a sesame bagel and topped it with almond butter and honey. 

It worked. 

2. Am I ever happy I purchased wireless earbuds some time back. It means that when I go to the fitness center in Smelterville, I can give myself both a physical and a mental workout. Today, I turned to Slate's season of podcasts focused on the year 1986. During that year, Detroit Piston's point guard Isiah Thomas organized, with the help of Mayor Coleman Young, a No Crime Day in Detroit. Detroit, like many cities at that time, was experiencing a high volume of crime, much of it associated with crack cocaine. This episode told the story of the crack cocaine epidemic, examined Isiah Thomas' idea of declaring Sept. 27, 1986 No Crime Day, and reviewed what happened on that day. The podcast also presented people in the present day who reflected back on No Crime Day, a day of enthusiasm and grief in Detroit. 

3. Today, the podcast, Who Killed JFK, released its third episode. We listened to it after I'd worked out, enjoyed a pint of Hammerhead Ale, and eaten a bowl of leftover corn chowder. I fell asleep, so when I go back to the gym on Friday, I already know that I'll listen to this episode again while I exercise.

We also listened to the first episode of a podcast entitled, American Terror. Today's episode unfolded the thinking and plans for destruction of a Neo-Nazi organization called The Base. The Base was infiltrated and the infiltrator turned over recordings he made of phone and face to face conversations he'd had with leadership of The Base and this first episode was built around what the infiltrator recorded and learned. 

It's chilling. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-21-2023: Working Out with Wireless Earbuds, Fixing Chickpea and Rice Bowls, Artificial Intelligence and Then More Watergate

1. I like to work with words first thing in the morning and exercise either later in the morning or in the afternoon. Therefore, having an 11:00 slot at the rehab center in CdA and going to the Shoshone Fitness Center at 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon works perfectly for me. Today, at the Fitness Center, I took my wireless earbuds, hoping they wouldn't fall out while I was exercising (they didn't), and listened once again to Episode 2 of the podcast, Who Killed JFK?, and to a past episode of Fresh Air featuring Brian Stelter talking about recent changes at Fox News -- the firing of Tucker Carlson and what it means for Fox that Rupert Murdoch has, to some degree, stepped aside. 

2. Once I returned home, I made our next HelloFresh meal and it turned out to be one of my favorites. The meal has kind of a long name: Vegan Street-Style Chickpea Bowls with Yellow Rice, Garlicky Hummus Sauce, and Pita.

Do you want to call this a Mediterranean meal? Middle Eastern food? Whatever you call it, it might be my favorite style of preparing food. 

And, it was simple. 

I heated up some olive oil in a small pot and added turmeric to it and then added water, vegetable stock concentrate, and jasmine rice and let it cook.

I chopped up a cucumber, tomato, and a couple of green onions, put them in a bowl, and seasoned this little salad with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

In another bowl, I combined hummus, olive oil, garlic powder, and lemon juice. 

In a pan, I heated olive oil with some chopped green onion whites, garlic powder,  and Shawarma Spice Blend (turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, paprika, allspice, and black pepper) and then added chickpeas and a couple packets of vegetable stock concentrate. I let this cook until the liquid was gone. Then I added lemon juice and some salt and pepper to the chickpeas. 

When this rice was done, I added a packet of sliced almonds to the pot and fluffed it.

While the chickpeas cooked down, I topped two pitas with olive oil and garlic powder and toasted them in the oven. 

Now it was assembly time. I put a layer of rice in the bottom of Debbie's bowl and mine. Next I added the chickpeas and the simple salad. I drizzled each bowl with hummus sauce and hot sauce. Last of all -- guess what? -- more lemon juice! 

I cut each pita into quarters and put them on top of the rice, chickpeas, salad, hummus, and hot sauce.

We loved this food! It was pretty close to ordering a tasty rice and bean bowl from a food truck! 

3. Debbie and I relaxed after dinner with a podcast episode and another tv episode of Season 1 of Slow Burn. We listened to an episode of Code Switch and learned how Artificial Intelligence and search engines are not neutral, but have the same racial biases built into them that we humans do. We learned about this from UCLA professor, Safiya Noble. Then we watched a Slow Burn episode focused on the aides who worked behind the scenes during the Senate Watergate Hearings and on John Dean looking back at his work in the Nixon Administration and his testimony before the committee.   

Three Beautiful Things 11-20-2023: Solid Workout, "Morning Dew" Bliss, Corn Chowder

1. I zipped over to CdA today and enjoyed a solid workout at the rehab gym. I returned home right away. 

2. It's a blast using my phone to play Jeff's radio show Deadish, thanks to KEPW.org archiving his Thursday night show for a couple of weeks and Bluetooth technology in the Camry.  Lately, Jeff has been playing excerpts from Dead shows from November 50 years ago. The band sounded especially good on I-90 yesterday when Jeff played a "Morning Dew" growing out of "Uncle John's Band" and then returning to "Uncle John's Band", growing out "Morning Dew". 

3. Back home, I got out one of our latest bags from HelloFresh and made an Old Bay seasoned corn chowder accompanied by a toasted mini-baguette, cut in half, and topped with a mixture of Old Bay Seasoning, a hint of sugar, and butter. It was a perfect November evening supper. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-19-2023: ZOOM Time, Watching the Movie *Arsenic and Old Lace*, Risotto is Slow Food!

1. Bill, Bridgit, Diane, and I jumped onto ZOOM this morning. Both Bridgit and Diane are either about to face or are in the midst of medical treatment and that was a central focus of our yakkin'. Bridgit was recently evaluated at her workplace and her hard work garnered her stellar reviews and evaluations. She hired on as a supervisor in a broken department and has, with months of diligence, focus, intelligence, and humaneness, resurrected it and was evaluated most positively for it. Bill didn't sing at a recent open mic, but he read poetry, an outgrowth of his Tuesday night Poetry Break, available live on Facebook. 

2. Debbie was curious today about how the play, Arsenic and Old Lace, was made into a movie and so she rented it.  If you know the play and watch the movie, you'll realize very quickly that the movie version is based on the play. It's not a film version of the play as performed on stage. This movie was made during the heyday of the screwball comedy and Cary Grant plays the screwball hero to the hilt. As the psycho Jonathan Brewster, Raymond Massey cuts a chilling, cold-blooded figure, focused, intimidating, and remarkably quiet. Peter Lorre plays Dr. Einstein perfectly and it's hard to imagine anyone playing the aunts, Abby and Martha, any better than Josephine Hall and Jean Adair. 

WARNING! I AM GOING TO GIVE AWAY THE ENDING OF BOTH THE PLAY AND THE MOVIE.

The movie is much more committed to the screwball tradition than to the original play. The original play concludes ghoulishly with the aunts killing one more lonely old man (or in the Sixth Street production, a woman), making the farce even darker than it had been and, again, teetering on the edge of tragedy. 

The movie has a bright ending. The newlyweds head off to honeymoon at Niagara Falls and the movie ends on a high comic note, not a dark one, with one last unsettling murder committed by the two homicidal Christian spinsters. 

3. When our HelloFresh box came last week, we got three meals -- not sure why. What that meant for us, though, was dinner time rolled around today and we had another bag of ingredients for me to turn into a meal.

A while back, HelloFresh introduced me to the slow, steady process of making risotto. I got to do it again today. This particular risotto dish included roasted zucchini and grape tomatoes along with sautéed garlic, shallot, and sun dried tomatoes. 

I stood over the risotto cooking for about 25 minutes, stirring the rice and adding half cups of water one at a time until the rice soaked up the liquid. The payoff was splendid. This risotto dish was creamy, full of delicious vegetable flavor, and accented with Parmesan cheese. 

It's slow food. 

My favorite kind. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-18-2023: Paul's Birthday Party, *Arsenic and Old Lace*, Debbie and I Yak About Farce and Tragedy

1. Paul Roberts turned 64 years old today. He requested a taco salad birthday party. So at 1:00 this afternoon Paul, Carol, Christy, Zoe, Debbie, Cosette, Taylor, Saphire, and I sat at Carol and Paul's dining table and made ourselves each a custom made taco salad, choosing from a variety of ingredients. After eating our salads, we gathered in the living room and Paul opened his gifts, which emphasized primarily his love of hot sauce and of Amaretto. Carol roasted a pumpkin she plucked from one of hers and Paul's gardens and made it the centerpiece of Paul's birthday cake. It was called a Delicious Pumpkin Bundt Cake. 

2. After Paul's birthday party, I was wiped out and took a nap. It helped refresh me to watch the Sixth Street Theater and Melodrama's production of Arsenic and Old Lace in Wallace. If I'd ever seen this play acted out before, I sure didn't recall it, and, to my delight, I'd kept myself about 95% unaware of what happens in the play. Paul directed this production and he played a lead character, the psycho Brewster brother named Jonathan. Carol played a small character role at the story's end and gave the play its finality. 

3. Debbie and I returned home and each poured ourselves a nightcap. Almost always, when we go to a movie or a play together, we don't talk about it right away. But, by the time we traveled back to Kellogg from Wallace and got settled into the living room, we began talking in earnest about Arsenic and Old Lace. Before long we were discussing a favorite subject, the fine line between farce and tragedy. I couldn't remember who first introduced me to this idea. I thought it might have been T. S. Eliot. But like dramatic tragedies, Arsenic and Old Lace is a story about death. Invariably, tragedies focus on the demise of a central character who lives by some kind of illusion. The tragic character's delusion develops into the source of the character's demise. Likewise, Arsenic and Old Lace is a farce built upon the delusions of the Brewster sisters and their nephew, Teddy Brewster. 

This idea that farce often teeters on the edge of tragedy led us to discuss the television show, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976-77), a dark satirical, often farcical send up of the soap opera that often hit serious social problems so directly that it could be a painful comedy to watch. Later, the program, Soap, did much the same thing. It was a farcical comedy, a cutting satire, but often took its viewers to the brink of tragedy, if not occasionally crossing over into the tragic, and was often moving and unsettling in ways usually reserved for tragic drama. 

We also talked a bit about the self-referential bits in Arsenic and Old Lace, how the play was a play about plays, even poking fun at plays that had much in common with Arsenic and Old Lace itself. We both agreed that Arsenic and Old Lace could be regarded as an absurdist play and I remarked that I thought at one point a character had referred to someone who had the name of Pirandello, who wrote the superb absurdist play, Six Characters in Search of an Author. 

Last of all, the character of Jonathan's face has been surgically altered. He looks, in the play, like Boris Karloff. 

Well, guess who played Jonathan in the original cast of Arsenic and Old Lace?

That's right, Boris Karloff! 

Self-referential city, man! 

Three Beautiful Things 11-17-2023: Slight Ramping Up, The Cursing Man at Costco, Conspiracies and Cover Ups

1. So my workout assignments at the cardio/pulmonary gym at Kootenai Health are called prescriptions. One of the staff, on Wednesday, decided to ramp up my prescription a bit for my workout today. I think my workouts could be ramped up a little more after today. I did very well with today's challenges and look forward to continuing to search for the workout that makes me work a little more but doesn't make me double over, fighting for breath, or make me barf.

2. After my workout and a light lunch at Moon Time, I got some Thanksgiving shopping done for Carol, Paul, and me at Costco. One man passed me in an aisle, cursing shoppers under his breath who were blocking the aisle. (They were enjoying offerings at a sample table.) I don't enjoy getting agitated and was glad that I enjoy the crowds in Costco. Always have. I mean, I am contributing to the mob scene, right? Anyway, I watched this guy until he was out of my sight, practicing red-faced, grumbling indoor road rage as he headed toward the check out stations. I hope he got home all right and found some time and a way to settle down, relax, take it easy.

3. Debbie and I listened to the second episode of the podcast, Who Killed JFK? and had a fascinating talk about cover ups and conspiracies. Debbie cracked open a can of Skyline (Cincinnati) Chili which we enjoyed over spaghetti with grated cheese and green onions and we watched two different episodes (again) from Season 1 of Slow Burn, taking in more programming about conspiracies and cover ups.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-16-2023: Signed Up at the Fitness Center, The Camry and Bluetooth, HelloFresh Chicken Dinner

1. These sessions at the heart and lung rehab gym at Kootenai Health motivated me to rejoin the Fitness Center at Shoshone Medical Health today. After I signed up, I did all I could to replicate the workouts I do in CdA. 

2. I've been driving the Camry this week and Debbie has been driving the Sube to school. In addition to having superb headlights, I love being able to use Bluetooth in the Camry. Recently, I switched from Mose Allison and started playing music from nearly fifty years ago recorded by Michael "Popsicle Toes" Frank. I loved getting back in touch with his smart, clever, erotic, and imaginative writing and the superb musicians who support his vocals. After working out, though, I sought a different kind of music and rocked out to the best of ZZ Top -- "Give Me All Your Lovin'" had come over the house sound system while I was on the treadmill and helped make my workout very enjoyable. 

3. I didn't take much to make a delicious dinner tonight of chicken cutlets and roasted Yukon golds accented with a Parmesan and chive cream sauce accompanied by a mixed greens salad dressed with a Dijon Mustard dressing. It might have been the simplest HelloFresh dinner yet and one of the tastiest, too. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-15-2023: New Primary Care Giver, I Walked, Scallops for Dinner

1. Physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practioners come and go at the uptown Kellogg medical clinic. This morning, at 7:20, I had an introductory appointment with Michael Watrobka, PA, my fifth primary care giver since moving to Kellogg. Mainly, PA Watrobka and I talked about my medical history and current medical situation and set up an appointment for me to return to him in January for my annual Medicare appointment. He's also in charge of my prescriptions now. 

2. When I check into the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I answer a few questions, including, "Have you exercised since your last visit here?" I like to be able to answer that I have exercised, but on Tuesday I was busy with online communications and the get together at Corby's. Therefore, when I left my 7:20 appointment, I came home, ate a small bowl of oatmeal, and about an hour later took a twenty-five minute walk. 

"Have you exercised since we last saw you?"

"Yes. Just this morning in fact."

3. Debbie and I, until this evening, had never had a meal from HelloFresh featuring scallops. I made mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and pan cooked about ten scallops. I also made a sauce for the scallops and both of us were very pleased with how this meal worked out. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-14-2023: Yakkin' at Corby's, Resurrecting Mose Allison, Superb Headlights

1. Terry Bushnell, from time to time, organizes get togethers at Corby's Bar in Post Falls. We had one today with a great group of guys: Jim Morgan, Dave Macri, Lloyd Bennett, Rob Rossi,  Ray Doty, Byrdman, Chester Larson, Terry Bushnell, and I. I picked up Byrdman, drove to Corby's, and great conversation circulated around the table. I especially enjoyed Ray and Terry's stories about their fathers and the work Terry and Ray did for the Bunker Hill Company in their younger days. 

2. I came across a post from a jazz radio station that exalted the career of jazz pianist and songwriter, Mose Allison. I was suddenly transported back to Eugene in the early 1980s when KLCC's morning music show was called "The Wireless". I don't remember who hosted it, but that person regularly played Mose Allison, introducing me to his music. Back in my early days of graduate school in Eugene, I think I only went to the WOW Hall once -- but that one time was a blast. I heard Mose Allison perform and I loved it. 

3. The Sube is not a terrific vehicle after dark, but the Camry is awesome. I experienced a very positive change in attitude about future after dark trips on I-90 today after driving from Post Falls to Kellogg, in the dark, with great illumination from the Camry's headlights. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-13-2023: Back to the Gym, Bread and Salad, Pot Roast Family Dinner

1. As long as the roads aren't snowy or icy, this routine of blasting over to CdA for pulmonary rehab is working for me. I like having a workout schedule planned for me. I appreciate learning more about breathing techniques and other respiratory tips. I also enjoy the small gym with only a few other people and that I can focus on my exercise, stretching, and light work with weights and the only conversation I have is with the staff, only occasionally. 

2. Christy was this evening's family dinner host and assigned Debbie and me to bring salad and bread. I remembered thinking some of those salads in a bag from Costco were pretty good so I picked up a Mediterranean chopped salad today. While roaming around Costco, I suddenly remembered that I'd given some thought to bringing croissants to family dinner. Even though I had stopped at the Beach Bum Bakery shack in the Runge's parking lot and purchased a baguette, I still bought a container of croissants and figured Debbie and I would enjoy the baguette. 

Sidenote: When we lived in Virginia and Maryland, we spent quite a bit of time with Molly, Hiram, and their family. Molly frequently purchased Costco croissants and every time I purchase a pack and when I eat one, sweet memories return of when we lived with the Diazes and then, once we found our own apartment, visited them often. 

Such warm memories returned today. 

3.  For dinner tonight, we started with one of Christy's favorite cocktails. I don't have the details memorized, but it was a mixture of pear nectar and vodka and, I think, the flavor of vanilla. Carol prepared a pickle and olive tray for an appetizer. Christy slow cooked a Mississippi pot roast and served it with mashed potatoes and roast's gravy. I brought the salad and croissants I mentioned earlier. Christy baked a pear crisp for dessert. 

It was fun yakkin' during and after dinner about the production of Arsenic and Old Lace that Paul is directing and that Carol and Paul appear in as characters. Carol and Paul went to CdA over the weekend and saw a production of A Christmas Story: A Musical and Carol had some strong opinions about A Christmas Story, the movie, and it was fun seeing her get a little worked up and poking some fun at her. 

It was fun, beyond A Christmas Story, talking about other movies, podcasts, and tv shows. 

Between all of us, we watch and listen to a great variety of stuff -- it's interesting the different directions we go. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-12-2023: I Rested, Flannel Sheets, Great Evening

1. And on the seventh day, I rested. Napped. Kept Copper and Luna company. Worked crossword puzzles. 

2. I also laundered a new set of flannel sheets I bought and put them on my bed. It's been many years since I had flannel sheets and I look forward to sleeping under them again.

3. Debbie came home after visiting new puppies at Diane's and we enjoyed stuffed squash for dinner and I capped off the night with a couple delicious tequila cocktails and great conversation with Debbie. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-11-2023: Time for Winter Tires, Tequila and Goulash, Back to *Monk* -- and Sharona

1. I sprang out of bed at 7:00 this morning, gulped down a cup of coffee too fast, fought off a resultant coughing spell, moved the Camry out of the garage, backed the Sube up to the garage door, and loaded it up with our eight winter tires. I buzzed the tires down to Silver Valley Tire Center, walked home, leapt into the Camry, rocketed it down to Silver Valley Tire, and walked back home. A couple of hours later, Jeremy called. The guys at Silver Valley Tire had finished putting the winter tires on both cars. I walked down, paid, blasted home in the Sube, put the summer tires back in the garage, and walked back to the shop to pick up the Camry, and I bolted back home, this morning's tire task completed. 

2. I continued getting this and that done around the house and, a little later in the afternoon, I got out two glasses, filled them with ice, and into each I poured some silver tequila, orange juice, limeade, and a splash of 7Up. It was a quasi-margarita, I guess, but whatever it was, Debbie and I agreed, it was a tasty cocktail.

Debbie crushed Great Harvest croutons into crumbs, used them to top our leftover goulash along with chopped green onions, and we enjoyed diving back into Monday night's dinner. Debbie also cooked some veggies in the glaze leftover from Thursday night's HelloFresh pork chop dinner, an ingenious and delicious idea.

3. It had been months, before tonight, since Debbie and I watched Monk, but we returned to the show tonight and watched two episodes -- in one, Monk gets fired by the haughty and arrogant police commissioner and in the other, Monk agrees to work undercover with a local organized crime kingpin. 

Monk was awesome in both episodes, but I thought, in the end, the emotional heart and courageous soul of both stories was Monk's nurse, Sharona.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-10-2023: I Get Going with Rehab, A Little Shopping and Sandwiches, Two Perfect Movies

1. I rocketed over to the Kootenai Health campus today, strolled into the small gym at the Heart Center, and began my pulmonary/cardio rehab program. It was just what I wanted! For starters, only about five of us old coots were in the gym and two staff members were on hand to instruct and guide us -- a superb ratio between therapist and client. I worked out, mildly, on a couple of machines and did some stretching and light weight lifting with hand weights. I wanted direction, support, and education and that's just what the therapists provided today and I REALLY liked being in a gym exercising with other people around my age or older. 

As a bonus, Classic Rock played quietly in the room while we worked out, uplifting me, making time go a bit more quickly while doing tedious exercises on the machines. 

2.  I felt good after my session and blasted straight to Costco to pick up a few items and then I wandered around Pilgrim's for a while and bought some fresh produce and a few other things. 

My plan was to use the produce to make a Thai curry for Debbie and me, but when she arrived home, we decide to have roasted vegetable sandwiches instead. I roasted eggplant, red pepper, and onion, piled it between slices of Great Harvest's Dakota bread and Debbie made herself a wrap. 

Yes, curry would have been awesome, but this simpler dinner worked great, especially because after all those years of cooking eggplant nearly every week in Greenbelt, MD, I have rarely prepared it here in Kellogg and I loved having eggplant as part of tonight's meal.

3. So, Debbie and I were enjoying our cocktails after dinner and were enjoying some low key yakkin' when Debbie suddenly wanted to return to All the President's Men. A while back we watched the movie for the 450,000th time and got as far as Woodward and Bernstein starting to knock on doors, wanting to ask members of CREEP questions about the committee, money, and other details. 

Every time I watch this movie, I marvel at the obscure character actors' exquisite work -- along with the well-known character actors like Jane Alexander, Hal Holbrook, Jack Warden, and the rest. I also marvel at the movie's exquisite plotting, the ingenious way the makers of this movie tell its story.

When it ended, I was in the mood to watch another movie that epitomizes strong character acting, along with superb leads, another movie that is as exquisitely plotted as any movie I've ever seen.

I turned on The Sting.

One of the great pleasures of watching The Sting is that I always forget the countless cons going on in this story and when another one plays out, I always experience the pleasure of getting tricked again and enjoy laughing at how the movie got me again. 

The Sting got me. It entertained me. It delighted me. 

Man, that was fun! 

Three Beautiful Things 11-09-2023: Monthly Blood Draw, The Podcast *Who Killed JFK?*, Dinner and Evening Conversation

1. I'm established at the Shoshone Medical Center. When I walk there, carrying my kit, and check in to have my monthly kidney transplant blood draw performed, the standing order is in place, the phlebotomist recognizes me and knows what to do as far as drawing my blood, filling out the label on the vial, and mailing the sample to Spokane. It all went smoothly today. That is a relief.

2. Back home, I tuned into a podcast I'd read about online called Who Killed JFK? So far, only the first episode in available and I wanted to listen to it and see if I thought Debbie and I would both want to follow this podcast. Even more than the subject matter, this podcast caught my eye because it's hosted by journalist Soledad O'Brien and Rob Reiner, the movie director and sometimes actor. 

Listening to the first episode, I was impressed with the experts they interviewed, the research informing  their script, and the connections they were making. The premise of their podcast is straight forward: The U.S. government's account of the assassination, documented in The Warren Report, missed the mark.

This podcast works to hit the mark in determining who killed John F. Kennedy.

3. For the first time since we started our subscription to HelloFresh, the company sent us the wrong directions for one of our meals. Luckily, the directions for their meals are posted online, so I found out how to prepare the sweet chili and lime glazed pork chops for tonight's dinner. 

All I had to do was chop up sweet potatoes, carrots, and an onion, drizzle them with oil, season them with salt and pepper, and roast them for close to twenty minutes.

Then I salted and peppered the two boneless pork chops and cooked them, removed them from the pan, and put them in foil to keep them warm.

I then cooked the whites of green onions in the pork chop pan and soon added sweet chili paste, hoisin sauce, fresh squeezed lime juice, and water to the pan and made the glaze.

Once the vegetables were roasted, I divided them between our bowls, topped them with sesame seeds and then I cut the pork chops into bite size pieces, put them in our bowls, and topped them with the glaze. 

The dinner was simple to prepare and very delicious. 

Before long, Debbie and I were discussing the podcast, commenting on our experiences the day JFK was assassinated, talking about seeing Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald on live television, and sorting out what we learned from the podcast about JFK's tensions with the CIA and his military advisors along with his complicated relationship with Nikita Khrushchev.  

We had another evening of good food and fascinating conversation and story telling.

Three Beautiful Things 11-08-2023: Getting Things Done, A New Dinner, Cognac and Deep Conversation

1. After I wrote this month's bills and registered the Sube online, I ventured out into the hustle and bustle of Kellogg and completed tasks. Debbie read her third graders a children's book about Senator Tammy Duckworth. Her students, moved by Senator Duckworth's story, were blown away that the person in the book was not only a real person but was alive. They each wrote Sen. Duckworth a letter. I went to the Post Office and mailed the packet of letters to Washington, D.C. today. 

I also took care of some business at Kellogg Insurance and emptied the garage of recyclables with a trip to the recycle station up the street and drove out to the transfer station.

2. Back home, I prepared a HelloFresh dinner we'd never had before: Old Bay Panko-Crusted Cobia with Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Parsley Rice.

I had never heard of cobia before this bag came in our HelloFresh box. It's a solid, mild, saltwater fish. How did HelloFresh have me prepare it? I made a sour cream and Old Bay Seasoning sauce and a panko with Old Bay and butter mixture. First, I put a layer of the sauce on the fish and then applied the panko-Old Bay crust. I baked it, along with asparagus spears that I merely oiled, salted, and peppered, for about fifteen minutes. Once baked, I applied another layer of the sauce to it. It was delicious.

So was the rice. Once cooked, I added the juice of a small lemon, a half a handful of chopped parsley, and a small chunk of butter to the rice and it paired really well with the asparagus and cobia.

We loved this dinner. 

3. After dinner, I poured myself a little cognac and drank it along with a couple of Trader Joe's chocolate dunkers, a very tasty combination. Debbie and I fell into a long conversation about things currently happening in the world, and, as we always do, talked about history, too. The subject matter of our discussion was unpleasant, beyond our ability to even try to think of solutions, but it was very satisfying to talk so intelligently and earnestly together about these subjects. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-07-2023: Rehab Intake, Back to the Breakfast Nook, I Voted and Slept Hard

1. I hurtled over the 4th of July Pass and descended into the Kootenai Health campus, parked in the hospital's south parking lot, entered the Heart Center door,  and ascended to Cardio Pulmonary Rehab on the third floor. Before long, I was in Lance's office filling out questionnaires, answering Lance's questions, and clarifying why I was seeking rehabilitation and what to do to meet my objectives. We decided that on Friday I'll come back to the facility at 11 and begin a working out program in a class setting. Perfect. Lance also had me perform a six minute walk, repeating what I did at Sacred Heart a couple of weeks ago, and, once again, I was able to complete this test without getting winded. My oxygen readings and blood pressure were solid. 

I'm looking forward to getting this program underway. 

2. I won't do this after every appointment at the rehab center, but today, since I hadn't eaten all morning, I went to the Breakfast Nook and enjoyed a sausage, eggs, hash browns, and toast breakfast and spent time contemplating my current medical situation, feeling like, all things considered, I'm doing all right. 

3. I returned to Kellogg and voted. I only had two items to vote on, a school levy and a race for a seat on the Kellogg City Council. I supported the levy and voted for the more moderate of the two candidates. Back home, spent from talking to Lance, eating all that breakfast, and voting, I joined Luna and Copper on the bed and fell into a deep coma nap, an exquisite one. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-06-2023: Preparing the House, Cooking for Family Dinner, Lots to Discuss

 1. After picking up a few things at Yoke's, I spent much of the day preparing our house for family dinner: clearing the dining table, running the dishwasher a couple of times, vacuuming, sweeping, and clearing off surfaces in the living room.

2. I also cooked dinner and mixed tonight's cocktail. I made goulash and, for the first time, I used equal parts of Italian sausage and ground beef for the meat and added fennel seeds to the sausage. I made way too much! Oh well. It'll freeze. It turned out to be delicious as was the Costco baguette I thawed.

For our cocktail, I mixed each of us a Vieux Carré. It's a classic New Orleans cocktail featuring equal parts of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and cognac, and a splash of Benedictine liqueur -- I subbed Cointreau for the Benedictine -- with a dash or two of bitters and a Maraschino cherry. 

It worked, too! 

3. Carol brought bread pieces and a spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer and Christy brought eight small pies from Birdie's pie shop -- two each of pecan, key lime, apple, and berry. It was fun sampling the different types of pie and we all agreed that Birdie's bakes tasty pies.

Molly wasn't feeling well tonight and stayed home. Debbie, Christy, Paul, Carol, and I sat around the kitchen table and talked about a lot of things before, during, and after dinner: medical stuff, our local elections, dealing with life when it all seems to either go in totally unforeseen directions or, maybe even worse, fall apart, and other things. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-06-2023: Wide Ranging Session on ZOOM, Slow Sunday Afternoon, I Return to Hal Hartley: *Henry's Fool*

1. When I signed off from ZOOMing with Bill, Diane, and Bridgit, my head was spinning a bit from having talked about so many different subjects and I found myself marveling at how we slide out of one subject into another, the next subject often seeming to have little to do with the former one. Today we talked about naturopathy and allopathy, Indian food, where and when we have Thanksgiving dinner, radiation treatment for cancer, eyelid surgery, books by David Lodge, record albums and turntables, the fractured bone in Bill's foot, Italian food and pizza, the poet Louise Gluck, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and more. Whew! Lots on our minds! 

2. I had as slow and relaxing an afternoon as I've ever had after Zooming. I completed the Sunday NYTimes crossword puzzle and then, for fun, went back to February of 2023 and completed puzzles I hadn't worked on at that time. Debbie and I decided to each take care of ourselves for dinner and that  pasta salad made from lentil pasta Debbie made Friday evening tasted even better this afternoon. 

3. Debbie retired early tonight and I decided I'd return to the movie making of Hal Hartley this evening. I've watched what's known as his Long Island Trilogy and tonight I watched about an hour of Henry Fool, the first movie of his Henry Fool Trilogy. 

That one hour was wild. Henry Fool is an ex-con and a pretend intellectual (played brilliantly by Thomas Jay Ryan) who rents a basement apartment in a broken home featuring a manic depressive mother, her disaffected daughter (played brilliantly by Parker Posey), and an asocial introvert (played brilliantly by James Urbaniak) who works as a garbage man and, under Henry Fool's guidance, starts to write poetry. 

I'm about half way through the movie. The characters are broken people. Their Long Island world is without glamor, possibly without real purpose or meaning. I have no idea where the story is going, but as is always the case with Hal Hartley, it's a funny movie for anyone into dark comedy, and it's a story that teeters on the fine line between realism and absurdity, forever keeping a viewer like me off balance, not knowing what kind of violence, tenderness, insight, or con game might emerge next. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-04-2023: Lunch at Meltz with the Fellas, Chillin' at The Lounge, A Robust Moroccan Dinner

1. Mike Stafford was visiting family in Kellogg and Coeur d'Alene. Ed, Stu, and I met up with him in Coeur d'Alene at Meltz, a cozy melted cheese sandwich spot in a strip mall near the corner of Kathleen and Ramsey Road. Meltz has an extensive menu of grilled cheese sandwiches with all kinds of combinations of cheeses, meats, vegetables, and other condiments and sauces along with homemade potato chips, dips, and different soups and salads.  They sell a big cookie, too. 

This was my first visit to Meltz and decided to try the Simpleton, a grilled sandwich blending pepper jack cheese, garlic grilled chicken, bacon, diced tomato, green onion, and avocado ranch dressing. I also enjoyed a cup of tomato basil bisque. 

The soup and sandwich worked for me. 

So did spending about an hour yakkin' with three lifelong friends about any number of subjects, all in good humor and mutual enjoyment. 

2. I arrived home, joined Copper and Luna on the bed and took a luxurious post-Meltz coma nap. Not long after I woke up, Ed texted me that he was going to The Lounge and wondered if I'd like to go up.

Yes I did.

I rocketed uptown, plopped down next to Ed, said hi to and talked a bit to Abby and Kate, ordered a 7 & 7, and settled in for a superb session.

Ed and I yakked. Tracy joined in a couple of times. Ed left after a couple of beers, but Charlie was playing blues on the wireless jukebox and I wanted to hear more of the fantastic music he was playing, enjoy another cocktail or two, and yak some more with Bob. Charlie's music kept getting better and better and Charlie told me about growing up in Texas where his dad ran a blues bar next to an auto repair shop and how, as a result, he came by his love of the blues. 

I cut myself off before long, hung around for nearly another hour, drinking water.

I didn't want to leave. It was a mellow night at The Lounge. The music was awesome. Bob had time to yak about music and his upcoming trip to Vegas and San Diego.

But, alas, I wanted to see how Debbie was doing, have some dinner, and continue to relax at home. 

3. During the day, Debbie fixed a Moroccan chicken dish -- I'd call it a stew -- with orzo and chickpeas and vegetables and a superb spice blend she'd purchased. I topped my bowl of this awesome stew with croutons from Great Harvest and loved relaxing, yakking with Debbie, and warming myself with Debbie's great dinner dish.  

Three Beautiful Things 11-03-2023: When Jeff and I Were Stopped Cold by a SWAT Team, "Morning Dew" and Communion, Trader Joe's Dinner

1. Today I went to the kepw.org archives and listened to the Nov. 2nd airing of Jeff Harrison's Thursday night radio show, Deadish. He told me in advance that he had a "special note" for me in the show, so I listened in, eager to know what the note was.

Well.

Jeff was playing Zero, reaching back to shows from November, 1994 at Eugene's WOW Hall.  He asked me, on the show, if he and I were on our way to one of these November shows when a SWAT team confronted us in a vacant lot near the WOW Hall, the SWAT team leader outfitted in camo, pointing a gun at us, screaming like a drill sergeant, telling us to STOP!

We had been strolling through alleyways from my house on our way to the corner of 8th and Lincoln and one of us casually noted that there sure were a lot of police cars around.

Here's why: an armed criminal had stolen a car at Valley River Center, rocketed into our neighborhood, and accosted a person in their home and was now on foot. 

The criminal was wearing black jeans and a black Levi jacket and had a ponytail.

Just our luck.

That's exactly what Jeff was wearing and Jeff wears his hair in a long ponytail.

I might note here that Jeff and I might have been the two most harmless men in Eugene -- peace seekers, rarely confrontational, laid back devotees to the Grateful Dead and jam bands like Zero.

Luckily, we didn't get shot.

But the police cuffed Jeff, incapacitated him, and all Jeff could do (as did I) was show the cops that we had tickets to that evening's Zero show at WOW Hall -- less than a block from where we were surrounded by uniformed police, camo SWAT team guy, and a phalanx of police cars.

The police weren't interested in me. No one reported the perpetrator being in the company of a long-haired stocky guy dressed in purple, possibly wearing a purple fanny pack. 

It turned out that one of the police officer's father worked at LCC, so I yakked with him.

A security guy at Valley River Center was with the person whose car had been stolen and the police told the security guy to bring the victim to 8th and Lincoln so the victim could tell them whether Jeff was the car jacker. 

Well, there was a delay.

The security guy got lost between Valley River Center and our location near WOW Hall.

Finally, though, he arrived and the victim, from the street, about sixty feet from where Jeff was standing, was emphatic that Jeff WAS NOT the man who had robbed him.

So, the police removed the cuffs from Jeff's wrists, and, without apology, let us go. 

Let me repeat: Jeff asked me, on the air, if this happened before one of the early November shows of 1994. 

I wrote Jeff back and informed him that our being detained by the SWAT team happened in the spring of 1994. I knew this because the whole incident occurred in the sunshine and mild weather of spring. 

Jeff looked back at Zero archives and confirmed that sure enough, Zero played a three night run at the end of April, 1994.

We went to all three shows.

But we were a little late for the Thursday show. 

2. So, I enjoy the Grateful Dead a lot, but unlike many others who love the Grateful Dead, I don't have different performances of different songs locked in my memory. Some one like Jeff can tell you when and where the Grateful Dead played a knockout "Truckin'" or an epic "Dark Star". This fact came to mind during the second hour of Jeff's show when he played what I was experiencing as a gorgeous "Morning Dew". But then I wondered -- is this performance of "Morning Dew" considered a GREAT "Morning Dew" by those who keep track of these things? 

But, I set that concern aside and just luxuriated in what I was hearing. 

Jeff came back on the air and mused that he had wondered, when assembling this show, what on earth he could play next coming out of that beautiful "Morning Dew". 

I liked that he said that. 

I liked knowing that the warmth and joy I felt listening to this "Morning Dew" was a shared experience.

It made me think of how much I enjoy the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church, knowing I am in communion with other Anglicans around the world sharing in the communion's bread and wine. 

"Morning Dew". 

Communion. 

I experienced a connection. 

3. When we went to Trader Joe's last Saturday, Debbie bought some packages of pasta and noodles and containers of sauce.

Tonight, she fixed us a Trader Joe's dinner. She boiled a packet of lentil pasta, combined it with some leftover Trader Joe's salad in a bag, and created a very delicious and satisfying pasta salad. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-02-2023: College Basketball After John Wooden, Exercising, Intro to Agnolotti

1. I had fun today texting back and forth with Byrdman and Roger about college basketball between about 1975-1978. Our conversation was inspired by two titans from that era having just died: Coach Bob Knight and North Carolina's All-American Walter "The Greyhound" Davis. Bob Knight's 1974-75 and 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers were remarkable. In the 74-75 season they went undefeated until losing to Kentucky in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament, a loss that was almost certainly attributable to one of their best players, Scott May,  breaking his arm toward the end of the season. Knight's 1975-76 team was undefeated, won the national championship, and is widely regarded as one of college basketball's best teams ever. 

Walter Davis played on the North Carolina team that played Marquette for the national title in 1977. That game was remarkable for many reasons, but especially for the fact that Marquette head coach, Al McGuire had announced his retirement. Marquette won that championship game, 67-59. Walter Davis led North Carolina with 20 points. 

It was a fascinating period in the history of NCAA men's basketball. John Wooden retired from UCLA after the 1975 season (and ten national titles) and things felt more wide open to me. Granted, I loved those great UCLA teams, but that 1976 Indiana team, having perfected Bob Knight's motion offense, played a style of basketball I loved to watch. I loved the grittiness of Marquette's teams. I especially enjoyed the 1977 underdog team from U North Carolina Charlotte, featuring future Celtic Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell. UNLV also broke into the national scene that year, with many great seasons to come. 

My mind  swirled much of the day with memories of those college teams and performances from that era and of players like Walter Davis when they played in the NBA. 

(By the way, I was traveling in England from Jan through early April of 1979 and didn't get to see the Michigan State/Indiana State match up featuring Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.)

2. I've been feeling sluggish lately and today I pretty much snapped out of it by rolling out my exercise mat and doing exercises targeted to help strengthen my knees, hips, and core. 

3. For dinner tonight, I fried a couple of chicken cutlets seasoned with Italian seasoning. When they were cooked, I dropped a package of butternut squash agnolotti (very similar to ravioli or tortellini) into a pot of boiling salt water, put the chicken in a foil tent to rest, and then cooked sliced shallot and added a couple handfuls of spinach and finely chopped garlic. Once the spinach was good and wilted, I added a packet of cheese roux concentrate and some pasta water and when it had thickened a bit, I added cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and butter to this mixture. 

I dropped the cooked agnolotti into the pan along with half of the chicken pieces I'd just sliced up and after it cooked briefly, I served the contents of the pan into two bowls and topped it with the rest of the chicken pieces and some more Parmesan cheese. 

I especially enjoyed the butternut squash agnolotti. 

This dinner capped off a good week of solid HelloFresh meals, the two we ordered and the one bonus meal we had last night. 

Three Beautiful Things 11-01-2023: Bob Knight's Influence on Me, A Lucky Steak Dinner, Copper and Luna Express Contentment

1. Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight died today, on November 1, 2023, and his impact on my life over the last 45 years or so is on my mind. His bullying personality, often inflexible demands for loyalty, thin skin, profane disrespect for women, pugnacious persona, and his reliance, as a coach, on demeaning players, subjecting them to domineering temper tantrums, and tearing them down (as a way to build them back up) all became for me, in my twenties and for the rest of my life, the model for exactly how I didn't want to be as a person and as a man.

I've tried (not always successfully) to live by one of my favorite lines from Shakespeare: "Let gentleness my strong enforcement be". It's a line from As You Like It. 

Especially as a college instructor for about thirty-five years, I always hoped my students would learn and improve and perform well as a result of my encouragement, positive approach to their work, and my jolliness. I was not a tough guy in the classroom. Occasionally, I slipped, especially when I was a younger teacher, but overall I was not a taskmaster. As I aged as a teacher, I became increasingly lenient, even soft.

Since the announcement of his death, I've read two long pieces about Bob Knight. The first, by Frank Deford, appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1981. The second, by Seth Davis,  appeared today in The Athletic. I've saved both articles as PDF files on my desktop and, if asked, am happy to share them.

Both writers try to sort out the contradictory fact that Bob Knight was at once cruel and virtuous, a coach who humiliated his players while also pushing them to be the best they could be on and off the basketball court.

I always have known this about Bob Knight -- that he went out of his way to help players in their lives after they finished playing for him, that he saw to it that his players completed degrees, that Bob Knight was strict about following NCAA rules and was never accused at any of his jobs of cheating, of violating NCAA rules and standards.

But, let's face it.

As an English instructor, I didn't have the kind of focused, intense relationship with my many student every quarter that Bob Knight had every year with the about fifteen or so players he worked with. 

I know many of my students from years ago have gone on to live good lives. Some are raising children with love. Many of them are employed in jobs helping others, whether as teachers, social workers, counselors, employees in non-profits, or, in one case, as the owner of a catering company. 

I like to think that along with other encouraging teachers, other kind teachers, that we had a positive impact on our students and helped them grow into adulthood, helped them arrive at a deeper sense of themselves and their worlds, without humiliating them, pushing them to the edge of cracking, without verbal abuse, and without crude and profane demonstrations of wielding power with intimidation.

Any one in my life who demeaned me, intimidated me, tried to push me to improve by yelling at me or physically punishing me, thwarted my growth, eroded my confidence, and ruined any trust that might have developed between us. 

Bob Knight was for me a role model of exactly the sort of person I never wanted to be. When my behavior as a teacher or a step-parent or a husband or a friend in any way was like Knight's, those moments of weakness have haunted me, no matter how long ago they happened, no matter how unformed and insecure I was when I acted that way.

2. When our HelloFresh box came on Monday, it included the meals we ordered and most of the ingredients for a meal we didn't order. We did not order a meal of Steak and Garlic Pan Sauce with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli, but our box had everything to make this meal, except the steaks! So, today I bought a pack of petit sirloins and made this dinner. It was very easy. All I had to do was boil potatoes, mash them, and work in sour cream and some water along with roasting the broccoli and a clove of garlic, pan fry the steaks, and make a sauce out of a packet of concentrate in the bag.

It was a terrific meal -- someone's error at HelloFresh turned into good fortune for Debbie and me.

3. After dinner, I joined Copper and Luna on the bed and worked the Thursday NYTimes crossword puzzle.  Luna always wants to be near me, either on my chest or close at my side and she is quick, maybe even eager, to purr.

This evening, Copper moved in close to me, level with abdomen. I could easily put my hand on his back and later his underside. Merely placing my hand on Copper moved him to purr, a sound I don't get to hear very often. It was a relaxing and peaceful time together for all three of us -- and, if I were prone to purring, I would have joined their chorus. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-31-2023: Happy Halloween, Post-Transplant Meds, Perfect Halloween Dinner

1. Gibbs frantic scream barked every time a trick or treater came to our door. Debbie leashed him so he didn't panic run to the door and hop on his pogo stick as I greeted our trick or treaters. Not many trick or treaters came to our house, but it was fun handing out candy to the ones who came. 

One welcome change: in Eugene, people put off fireworks on Halloween. I never really knew if they set them off in their yards or in Monroe Park, a block away. 

I didn't hear any fireworks tonight -- a huge relief.

2. Earlier in the day, I went to Yoke's for a flu shot and I handed Karli, the pharmacist,  the list of medicines I'll take post-transplant, if I get transplanted. The list had cost estimates from Sacred Heart's pharmacy and I want to know what my costs will be at Yoke's. I also wanted to be sure all of these medications will be available at our Yoke's pharmacy. 

Ever since Mom was able to do less and less and Yoke's filled her prescription box and delivered it, I've wanted to keep my pharmacy business at Yoke's. Since moving to Kellogg, both Debbie and I have had the need for a favor. For example, once I mistakenly bought a more expensive medicine when a less expensive one was available and every single time we've need help or a favor, Yoke's pharmacy has helped us out, given us superb service. 

So, my medicine situation will be a bit complicated if I have a kidney transplant. I understand (that is, I'm pretty sure) that the first thirty days of pills will come from Sacred Heart, but, after that, I'm hoping I can secure my pills from Yoke's pharmacy. I want to keep my business with this pharmacy here in Kellogg. 

3. Since I took on handing out candy and Debbie took on the task of trying to keep Gibbs from being a total maniac, Debbie also got Gibbs out of the living room by cooking us a delicious dinner of roasted sweet potatoes, yellow pepper, and onion over rice. It was simple, very tasty, and a perfect way to prepare food in the midst of the occasional pandemonium Gibbs engendered in his faithful commitment to keep us safe from anyone who might walk in front of our house or, OMG!, come up on the front porch.