Three Beautiful Things 10-08-2024: Blood Work and Ultrasound and Results, Blueberry Muffin and Hustling Back Home, Dreaming of a Return to Savannah

1. I hopped into the Camry at dark o'clock (6 am) this morning and soared into the metropolis of Spokane for another visit to the Sacred Heart Outpatient lab for bloodwork and, a bit later, to the Radiology department for an ultrasound of my new kidney. 

The blood work encouraged me. My creatinine levels continue to inch down, my white blood cell count is back in range, my potassium and magnesium levels stayed in range, and everything else, with one exception, was stable. 

Later in the day, my tacrolimus results parachuted into my smart phone. The transplant team would like to see the levels of this immunosuppressive drug be a bit higher in my bloodstream, so they made a small adjustment to my dosage. 

I'll be interested next week to see if or how much this slight increase in my tacrolimus dosage brings down my white blood cell count. My fingers are crossed that the white blood cell count will stay in range. 

The ultrasound results were positive, overall. The only small concern is with the pressure on my artery in the transplant area is.  When I take and log my blood pressure twice a day, if my systolic number consistently goes over 150, the team wants to know. So far, over the last twenty-one weeks since the transplant, this hasn't happened.  I'll have another ultrasound in a month as a way of keeping an eye on this arterial pressure. 

2. I left the Sacred Heart complex and roared straight to Great Harvest for a muffin and coffee. For about two seconds it dismayed me that Great Harvest wasn't selling Morning Glory muffins today, but, my slight disappointment gave way to joy when I saw they were selling Blueberry Oat muffins instead. 

Bliss. 

While out and about, I got word that Keith would be swinging by some time today to blow out our sprinkler system. I let him know I'd be back in Kellogg around 1:30 and then I hustled into Trader Joe's and grabbed a few items -- I didn't poke around like I often do -- and then rocketed downtown and picked up Fire Season,  a book I'd ordered from Auntie's Bookstore. 

I fueled up at Costco in CdA and arrived home ahead of Keith swinging by, which he did about an hour later, and our sprinkler system is ready to hibernate. 

Everything worked out just right. 

3. I'm very happy that I'm not getting distracted and that I'm moving further and further into Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I officiated Scott and Cate's wedding in Savannah back in 2016, in October, and this book moves me to want to go back. Thanks to John Berendt's book, I would see Savannah and its many squares with more informed eyes and it would be fun to trace the footsteps of this book's forays into Savannah. 

I enjoyed Savannah a lot in 2016,  even in my ignorance. Today, I can imagine travel scenarios that would get me there, especially because Debbie's cousin has a vacation condo in Hilton Head, SC, not far from Savannah. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-07-2024: Buying More Books, Business Day, Fun Chicken Tenders

1.  Update on reading through the Leah Sottile book list: Right now I do not have any of the remaining books I will read from her list in my possession. I ordered them all today, buying every book I could from Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane and the other two from Better World Books. Since I make regular medical trips to Spokane, I'll pick up the books I order from Auntie's, all but one were not on their shelves, at their store. 

While I wait for these books to come in, I'm sticking with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil  by John Berendt, a book I've started about three times before getting distracted by who knows what! but I can tell that I won't back down this time. 

It's what's called a non-fiction novel. It's set in Savannah, GA. So far, Berendt portrays Savannah as an eccentric city. It's fun early on.

2. I bore down today and took care of some business: flu shot appointment -- as ordered by the transplant team --, appointment for sprinkler system blow out, and some money matters. It's always a relief when I don't procrastinate and just jump on this kind of stuff. 

3. A week ago, I bought a package of Trader Joe's Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil Chicken Tenders and gave them a try tonight with broccoli and brown rice. 

It worked!

Three Beautiful Things 10-08-2024: Mickey Haller Must Cross Examine Himself, Family Dinner at Sam's, Braving the Excellent US Movie *Girl with a Dragon Tattoo*

1. If you've seen the movie, The Lincoln Lawyer, you know that the central character, Mickey Haller, must face troubling ethical questions about the nature of his work as a defense attorney. In the book, The Fifth Witness, he has to confront similar unsettling questions. In my opinion, to lay out these questions in this blog post would also give away the story. So, I won't dig into these questions -- only to say that I found the book absorbing and very enjoyable. 

2. Paul and Carol had a jam-packed weekend and were also scheduled to host family dinner. To make things a bit easier on themselves, they hosted dinner down the street at Sam's, Kellogg's diner. Carol, Paul, Christy, Debbie, and I sat around a table. We were not lively. Ha!  It was a good idea to let Sam's do the cooking for our tired selves. At the same time, eating away from home served as a reminder to me of how much I enjoy preparing meals at home and enjoy the meals Christy and Paul/Carol prepare for family dinner.  

3. I returned home eager to finish reading The Fifth Witness and did so. 

Upon competing this book, I thought I'd be ready to call it a night, but I wasn't and so I decided to watch the US movie version of The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. 

I had misgivings about watching this movie because the story includes acts of violence I did not enjoy in the book.  I dreaded seeing them played out in the movie. These scenes were skillfully executed in the movie and they unnerved me.

Here's why I went ahead and watched the movie:  I've enjoyed whatever I've seen Daniel Craig act in and the rest of the cast looked very solid. I also anticipated that the movie's frigid, snowy, sometimes bleak atmosphere would work for me (and it did) and I was curious to watch Rooney Mara take on the titular role of the girl with the dragon tattoo, the troubled savant Lisbeth Salander. 

To my great pleasure, the casting of Craig and Mara worked superbly and the entire cast in support of these two leading roles was also superb. I thought it might be this way knowing that Robin Wright, Christopher Plummer, and Steven Berkoff played key supporting roles along with a cast of actors who were also compelling but not as familiar to me. 

Lastly, and I didn't expect this at all, I loved it every time Lisabeth Salander jumped on her motorcycle and  raced it in the movie. 

I am about to make a list of movie motorcycles I have loved -- remember when Maud swipes the police officer's motorcycle with Harold seated behind her? 

That's a good start! 

Three Beautiful Things 10-05-2024: Mickey Haller's Roller Coaster, Produce Shopping, Wah Hing to Go!

1. Now that I'm back home after a three night jaunt to Pendleton, things settled down comfortably. I spent much of the day riding the roller coaster of Mickey Haller's life in and out of court in the book The Fifth Witness as he faces a formidable prosecutor and a strict judge in the courtroom and, outside the court, deals with family, Hollywood movie makers, thugs, and the difficulties of his temperamental client and a scammer who wants to make money off of her story. 

Honestly, never a dull moment! 

2. I mean this was a really quiet day. 

Debbie enjoyed herself getting some work done at school and the most exciting thing I did was take a break from reading and blast over to Yoke's to replenish our supply of produce. Now I have plenty of vegetable to use for salads. 

3. Debbie had told me earlier in the day that she had a dinner planned for tonight. Then she texted me from school, told me she was going to drop in at The Lounge for a little while, and buy an order to go at Wah Hing. That definitely worked for me. The Broccoli Shrimp and Ginger Beef entrees she brought home boosted my already uplifted mood.  

Then I returned to reading Michael Connelly while listening to a soft jazz playlist on Spotify. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-04-2024: Leaving Pendleton, Returning to Kellogg, Enjoying *The Fifth Witness*

1. I sprang out of bed a bit early this morning to finish packing, take the car to the travel plaza near the resort to fuel up, do some word puzzles, and meet Ed and Mike in the hotel lobby. Back in April, we ended our time together at the Wildhorse with a delicious breakfast at Roosters Country Kitchen.

Our plan was to return. 

We arrived at Roosters this morning, however, they were closed because of a plumbing problem -- or so we heard that was the reason. 

Right down the street from Roosters sits a Denny's and we piled into a booth and agreed: our breakfasts were superb. I really enjoyed my fresh spinach, caramelized onion, mushroom, and Swiss cheese omelet. Ed and Mike ordered slams and were very happy. 

2. I enjoyed being away, talking with Colette, dining, relaxing in my hotel room, reading a Michael Connelly book (The Fifth Witness), taking a scenic drive to Meacham, and so on. I have decided to lay off alcohol for the time being -- I don't know if or when I'll drink it again -- and I missed having drinks at the steakhouse, drinking a beer or two at the lobby bar, and joining the guys for whiskey and b.s. in one of our rooms. 

I also enjoyed returning home. Copper has found a new source of contentment by curling himself in a laundry basket in my closet. Debbie fixed us a great meal of tilapia, yellow summer squash, and curry out of a Trader Joe's packet over rice. 

I enjoyed dining out while away, but home cooking is the best. 

3. Michael Connelly is an accomplished writer of highly readable crime stories, whether he's writing detective stories or legal fiction. As I move deeper into The Fifth Witness, I'm enjoying how chapter by chapter he introduces another complication in the case Mickey Haller has taken on and, in doing so, continues to add dimension to the characters involved. 

This is a murder story, so it's a dark story because of that. But it's not as dark and gruesome as, say, Lost Girls or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I am welcoming the relief from the grisliness of those novels.

I will, however, be returning to Leah Sottile's book list when I'm done with this novel -- and the books I have left to read will be dark. 

I know that!  

Three Beautiful Things 10-03-2024: Lunch in Meacham, Gaming and Yakkin' in Ed's Room, Happy Hour Nachos and Generous Tipping

1.  After a morning drinking coffee, working word puzzles, and reading Michael Connelly's The Fifth Witness, I leapt behind the wheel of the Camry and drove Ed, Mike, and me out to Meacham, OR for lunch at the Oregon Trail Store and Deli. I ordered a terrific Patty Melt with a cup of homemade turkey soup. Ed and Mike loved their cheeseburgers and fries. We had a great time yakkin' with the deli's proprietor and talking amongst ourselves about this and that. Normally, we drive up to this off the beaten path gem of a diner for breakfast, but we changed things up today and we were very happy that we decided to have lunch instead. 

2. I decided to give the gaming floor one more try. I had some flashes of success, but never could build any momentum and, after a while, I retired, for this trip, from playing machines. Soon after leaving the floor, I joined Ed and Mike in Ed's room for some robust conversation while Ed and Mike enjoyed sipping a little whiskey.

3. After yakkin' for a while, Ed, Mike, and I moved our party to the Wildhorse Sports Bar for half price happy hour nachos. We continued our ongoing conversations and extended kindness and a nearly 100% tip  to our server who was friendly and sweet to us while working under very trying circumstances as part of an understaffed crew working a resort bar's happy hour. One of the things I really enjoy about joining my lifelong friends at the Wildhorse or when we go anywhere else is that all of us are generous tippers -- and all of us sympathize with and are patient with overworked servers and do all we can with kindness, patience, humor, and great (I hope) tips to try to make their work shifts less stressful. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-02-2024: Productive Day in My Room, Bookstore Run, Blackened Salmon at the Plateau

1. Along with being unlucky so far, my other reason for not spending much time gaming is that even with a mask on and wearing disposable vinyl (not latex) gloves, I am simply limiting my exposure to other people. 

So, today, I relaxed for quite a while in my room, doing my morning word puzzle routine, messaging with Stu and later in the evening, Alex, catching up on my blog, writing a bit to Colette about Leah Sottile's book list, enjoying a short exchange with Leah Sottile on Substack about her list (she gave me a book or two to add to it!), and preparing a document with the text of Saturday's Celebration of Life for Don Knott and sending it out to those who requested it. 

If you are reading this and would like a copy of the service (it doesn't include things said that weren't typed out), let me know. All I need is your email address. 

2. I knew that I'd neglected to bring a book with me to the resort, so I looked online to see if any bookstores were in business in Pendleton. An independent bookstore recently opened: Brett's Books. 

I decided it would be fun to drive into Pendleton and check out Brett's Books. 

It's funny. I had Michael Connelly in mind and quickly discovered that the store had quite a lineup of Connelly's novels. Almost randomly, I plucked one of Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer books off the shelf and I bought The Fifth Witness and read the first chapter before dinner. 

3. As is our tradition when we come to the Wildhorse Resort, Lars, Jake, Ed, Mike, and I sat down at a table at the Plateau Steakhouse. For the first time in the last many years of coming to the Plateau, I didn't order a steak. I opted for a delicious Blackened Salmon served on jasmine rice with a carrot puree and rosemary. I decided to go all out with eating fish and ordered a bowl of crab and corn chowder to start. 

It was a delicious meal and I enjoyed the table talk with my lifelong friends a lot. 

I ended this most satisfying day back in my room for a little bit of reading before dozing off for the night. 

Three Beautiful Things 10-01-2024: On the Road to Wildhorse Resort, Protecting Myself, Invigorating Thai Dinner with Colette

1. Adrenaline shot through my system around 5:00 this morning as I leapt out of bed in anticipation of driving today with Ed as passenger to the Wildhorse Resort near Pendleton, OR. Since the kidney transplant in May, most of my travels have been between Kellogg and Spokane, but I did take one trip to Trout Creek, MT.

I picked up Ed around 6:30 and we blasted over the 4th of July Pass on into CdA for a filling and delicious breakfast at the Breakfast Nook. We made a couple of rest stops and stopped at Starbucks in Ritzville for lattes. It was an easy, uneventful drive and our check in at Wildhorse went beautifully.

2. I spent some time on the gaming floor, protecting myself by wearing a mask, playing machines where no or few people were around, and by wearing disposable latex gloves.  My luck was mixed. After a fairly lucky start, my luck started going downhill, so I returned to my room.

I had some medical matters to straighten out and exchanged messages with Nurse Jenn. Everything is in order, is clear in my head, and I'm ready to return to Sacred Heart on Tuesday for labs and an ultrasound. 

3. Every time I travel to the Wildhorse Resort, I meet up with Colette Marie for dinner in Pendleton. We've been friends for forty-two years now, ever since the fall term 1982 Shakespeare course I taught at Whitworth. 

We once again met for delicious Thai food at Thai Crystal (I loved my Spicy Noodles with tofu) and we plunged right away into deep conversational waters. 

First topic: organ transplants. Colette's brother, Kent Klingman, has survived a complicated and experimental stem cell transplant for over twenty-five years and Colette told me stories about the transplant itself and what's happened in the years since, including when he met and became close friends with Mathias, his donor from Germany, in 2006. 

In addition, Colette's first husband's brother lives on as a heart transplant recipient. Colette and I had a fascinating discussion about how both Kent and her one time brother-in-law, Stuart, have been altered by their transplants. Kent, for example, now has food allergies he didn't have before, ones that Mathias has always had. Remarkably, Stuart's heart transplant seems to have altered his personality. It's as if along with his donor's physical heart, he also received some of her admirable personality traits.

I'll say, as a footnote to Colette's stories, that the only thing I'm aware of having received, in addition to my donor's kidney, is the BK virus and it is being treated and is barely detectable now, if at all. 

Second topic: Colette has read some of the books I've read as I make my way through Leah Sottile's book list. She's also worked with one of the writers, Sharma Shields (especially via Fishtrap) and she's heard Leyna Krow read and present. We had a great conversation about women writers and also talked invigoratingly about the book, All the Light We Cannot See. 

Colette has been working on a novel that she tells from five characters' points of view. We had a great conversation, then, about how much we enjoy books that not only have multiple narrators, but that jump around in time. 

I had been looking forward to this conversation, especially since I started reading Leah Sottile's list of books. 

Our time together was just the stimulating, even electrifying, time of talking and sharing insights and ideas that I'd hoped it would be. 

BRAVO! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-30-2024: The Post-Transplant Medicine Dance, Longtime Friends Dine at Capone's, Goodbye HelloFresh! (For Now)

 1. I was up and at 'em around 4:30 this morning and before long I vaulted into the Camry and popped over the 4th of July Pass, eased into Spokane, and nestled the car in the cozy confines of a Sacred Heart parking garage. 

I had blood drawn without incident and then, after a muffin and a latte, met with transplant nephrologist Dr. Haris Murad. Murad's main concern was my low white blood cell count. This problem is not related to anything I've done at home or on the road. It has to do with the drugs I take to suppress my immune system. He completely took me off of the immune-suppressive drug Myfortic, the latest adjustment to my medicine. 

So we'll see. Will the reduction in drugs that suppress my immune system  help raise my white blood count? I return to the medical center on Tuesday next week for more blood work and a kidney ultrasound, all in service to securing more information. 

By the way, none of this is unusual post-transplant. Finding the right balance between lowering my immune system so I don't reject my new kidney and keeping my immune system, at the same time, as vital as possible, is a dance common for transplant patients, especially, well, older recipients like me! We have to deal with how my aging system responds to medication and, as you can tell, the transplant team and I are keeping a close watch over things! 

Dr. Murad addressed the white blood cell matter and told me, as I thought he would, that everything else in my blood work looks superb -- not only that, he likes how my blood pressure is reading, liked the sounds of my lungs and heart, and had no concerns about fluid retention in my lower legs and ankles. 

Once again, a very positive visit! 

2. A small and mighty contingent of guys from the KHS Class of 72 met for lunch today, seated at an outdoor table at Capone's in CdA's midtown. I hadn't seen Steve Jaynes for several years. It was uplifting to see him today.  Steve joined Roger Pearson, Stu, and me for some solid food and great conversation. We looked back at highlights from our younger days and updated each other on our lives in 2024. 

3. I had meant to cancel this week's HelloFresh box, but forgot to. I decided, with Debbie's agreement, to cancel our subscription. So, the box I forgot to cancel arrived today and I decided to mix the two meals into one and made a mushroom penne with ground beef. If this is our last hurrah with HelloFresh, it was a fun and delicious one! 

Three Beautiful Things 09-29-2024: Link to the Don Knott Slide Show, Violence in the Novel I Just Finished, Pork Roast Family Dinner

1. Today, Simon Miller posted the Don Knott Celebration of Life slideshow. It's on YouTube right now. I hope it stays up for a long time, but YouTube might take it down because of the music. If that happens, Simon will publish it elsewhere and I'll get the word out as to its new location.  Here's the current link: bit.ly/knott23

2. Today I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's a masterfully told story featuring complicated and complex situations and decisions. It's at once suspenseful and, for me, very disturbing. The book includes passages of sadism and sexual assault. These scenes help portray the rot and corruption and depravity of the dark element of Sweden and that the book's main characters are investigating. These scenes unsettled me. They are violent. They were similar to the crimes committed in the book I just finished, Lost Girls. Before I read any other books in this Stieg Larsson series, I think I'll want to know if sadism and sexual assault is a repeated element of his novels. If it is, I'll either pass on reading more of them or let a good amount of time pass before I read The Girl Who Played with Fire. 

All that said, I think in a while, I'll watch the move The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in part because I very much enjoy watching Daniel Craig act and I'm fascinated by the actors filling other roles in the 2011 movie. 

3. Carol and Paul hosted tonight's family dinner. Seated at the table were Christy, Carol, Paul, Pat, Debbie, and I. Carol prepared a tender and delicious pork roast. Christy fixed a tempting and delicious looking sweet potato casserole and I was dismayed that I thought I'd better not eat any of it with blood work coming up tomorrow and with my need to avoid foods rich in potassium. Debbie made a fresh and delicious cabbage salad. I had fun making do it yourself Rice a Roni from scratch, not out of the box. Pat baked a delicious apple pie and I enjoyed eating it a la mode. We had fun talking about the challenges of being left handed, the old days of Kinney's Shoes, the Celebration of Life for Don Knott, gardening, fall decorations, and other things.  

Three Beautiful Things 09-28-2024: Patio Party, Don Knott's Celebration of Life, Depravity (No Details) in *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*

1. Debbie and I hosted a word of mouth, informal party on our patio following the Celebration of Don Knott's life, the reception at the church, and the buffet dinner, drinks and invigorating socializing at the Inland Lounge. 

I'm not sure how many people came into our back yard -- maybe between 15-20 -- but this party was also invigorating, a time for longtime, lifelong friends to remember Don some more and also talk about old times together, how things are going in the present, and have a chance to laugh and love each other. 

As the evening drew to an end, a handful of us ended up in the best social space in any house anywhere: the kitchen, with a bit of migration into the living room which, thanks to the large opening between our kitchen and living room is almost the same room. 

Gradually, our friends had to get going -- some had morning tee times, Terry Turner had a long drive back to Oregon on Sunday, Christy needed to see how Riley was doing -- and Debbie and I were alone in the kitchen. 

Debbie summed up the day and the patio party perfectly: "This is why we moved here."

2. Immediately, in the time before today's service, upon talking with Paul Roberts and Simon Miller, and later, talking with Don's daughter, Beth, I knew today's service was going to go beautifully. 

And it did. 

For my part, I entered the relaxation/trust zone I needed to occupy first thing in the morning and maintained my residence in that zone throughout the service. 

My attitude about being asked to officiate this service contributed significantly to keeping me in the zone. 

Once I knew I would conduct Don's Celebration of Life, I felt a deep sense of solemnity, a sense of duty, of service. While I wanted to do all I could to contribute to the celebratory spirit of this service, at the same time, I wanted to be of service to Don, his family, and to his many friends gathered in the church today. 

That I also read the tribute to Don that my lifelong friend Roger Pearson wrote, magnified my sense of duty -- I felt a welcome obligation to be of service to the nostalgia, love, and respect that animated Roger's most eloquent composition, along with feeling loyalty to Don and his life and our memories of him. 

My hope is that I met these obligations. 

I do know that it was my solemn sense of duty and service that strengthened me, kept me relaxed, and spiritually nourished me throughout our celebration of Don Knott's life. 

A footnote: as far my participation in this day of celebration while being immune compromised, the church setting did not feel very risky. I didn't stay long at the church reception and I sanitized my hands as soon as I returned home. 

The crowded Inland Lounge felt riskier. Before I walked in the door, I put on a mask and I made a beeline for the back room where there were fewer people. I went through the buffet line masked, sat at a table   pretty much apart from the others and trusted the health of my table mates, finished eating, put my mask back on, went to the bar and exchanged a few fun words with Cas, and bolted out the door. 

Then when I was with friends and family on the patio, I was outdoors, which is much safer, and, again, I trusted the health of the handful of people I yakked with in the kitchen later on. 

3. So, wow!, even with this vitally important service coming up at 3:00, I couldn't resist reading more deeply much of the morning and into the afternoon into the novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I won't give away details, but this novel has become increasingly disturbing and unsettling to me the more the story develops. As Mikael Blomkvist and Lisabeth Salander dig deeper into the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, they unearth more and more evidence of criminal depravity and this depravity makes its way to Blomkvist's own front porch. 

 

Three Beautiful Things 09-27-2024: Beach Bum Bakery's Sabbatical, Plot in *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*, Entering the Zone

1. The Beach Bum Bakery, a purveyor of superb organic baked goods, opened its tiny mobile shack on the south side of Furniture Exchange in Kellogg a couple of years ago. Later on, they moved the shack to Coeur d'Alene. They baked their goods in Silverton and parked their tiny shack in the Runge's parking lot and then at Lowe's. On Wednesdays, they were a vendor at the Coeur d'Alene Fifth Street Farmers Market.

Beach Bum Bakery's proprietors have decided to take a break, reassess how and where they do business, and hope to reopen in the spring. 

So, Thursday was my last chance to purchase an order of Beach Bum's peerless New York bagels.

Today, I picked up my order at Furniture Exchange. I added the dozen I bought today to the 6-8 bagels I already had on hand. 

They freeze beautifully. 

My challenge will be to dip into my supply infrequently enough that I can have bagels on hand up until Beach Bum Bakery reopens and bakes them again. 

Ha! My guess is that I'll consume my supply much sooner than later! 

2. I spent a lot of time today engrossed in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I agree with those who have told me they love Stieg Larsson's character development. I'd add to this that in great novels, character development is tied inseparably to plot. I am thoroughly enjoying how Stieg Larsson has plotted this story, how he introduces new characters with new plot and subplot lines and how he deepens our understanding of the characters we already know with these further movements in the novel's story line. 

Surprising, sometimes disturbing, things happen in this book, and I became more and more absorbed in the task one of the main characters, Mikael Blomkvist, has accepted to carry out: he is not only researching the history of the famous Swedish industrialist family, the Vangers, but he's also working to unravel the mysterious disappearance of a family member, Harriet. Harriet was a teenager when she disappeared. The novel takes place in the early 2000s and she disappeared about forty years earlier. 

And, now, I've reached the point in the book when Mikael Blomkvist hires the titular girl with the dragon tattoo, the enigmatic and brilliant Lisbeth Salander to help him with his efforts. 

I think things are about to REALLY get fascinating! 

3. When I retired for the night, I had printed out my contributions to Saturday's Celebration of Life in highly readable 20 point font, double spaced.  I formatted the text in ways that I hope will help me read it effectively. I punched holes in the margins of each page and loaded the pages in a binder. 

Now, on Saturday, I'll read over the text a few more times, get more and more familiar with it, and I'll relax. 

I'll relax. 

That's my zone. 

Nowadays, I think of it as my kidney transplant zone. 

It's the zone I entered into as I awaiting news when I received kidney offers. 

It's the zone I entered into during the nearly eight hours I awaited transplant surgery at Sacred Heart. 

It's the zone I want to be in as I officiate Saturday's Celebration of Life. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-26-2024: Getting Familiar with the Service, Reading a Terrific Book, A Fun Trader Joe's Dinner

 1. In my slow and steady efforts to prepare to officiate Don Knott's Celebration of Life on Saturday (3:00, Mountain View Congregational Church, Kellogg), I am getting more and more familiar with what I'll say and will continue to practice on Friday. 

2. I am well into the book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I'm finding it absorbing, difficult to put down. The author, Stieg Larsson draws characters in compelling and efficient detail, populating his story with fascinating characters who are also in compelling situations. 

3. When Debbie arrived home, she went right to work making the homemade dog food she feeds Gibbs. She reached a stopping point -- she'll finish the project on Friday -- and then I made a Trader Joe's dinner: Thai Vegetable Gyozas on a bed of organic cous cous topped with Trader Joe's Hoisin Sauce and Trader Joe's Aglio Olio Seasoning Blend -- kind of a mix of garlic and chili flakes. The woman who checked me out on Wednesday told me she uses this blend in Italian, Asian, and other dishes, so I gave it a try. 

It worked! 

 

Three Beautiful Things 09-25-2024: Blood Work and Results, Fun in Spokane and the Valley, A Busy Afternoon and a Power Outage

1. I blasted out of Kellogg around six this morning to have blood work done at Sacred Heart. The results were mostly positive with one exception. 

My white blood cell count and my absolute neutrophil count are getting low. 

Therefore, the transplant team lowered one of my immune-suppression drugs and took me off of the antibacterial drug I've taken since the transplant. 

The following is a blog statement, not an informed medical statement: my sense is that the drugs I've been taking to suppress my immune system or to do work on its behalf have contributed to this lowering of my white blood cell count and my absolute neutrophil count. 

Nurse Jenn sent me a long list of precautions to take in light of my white blood cell count and absolute neutrophil having fallen. 

Actually, the list of precautions isn't much different from what I've been doing. 

It does throw my participation in the get together at the Inland Lounge after Don's Celebration of Life into some doubt. 

I'm thinking if I wear a mask and camp out in the back room where I can keep more distance from people that I can attend for a while. 

I would really hate not to go at all! 

2. After I left my excellent visit to the medical center, my day just continued to be fun and uplifting.

I rocketed over to the Great Harvest Bakery for a delicious Morning Glory muffin and a bracing cup of Cravens coffee and purchased a loaf of Dakota bread.

Trader Joe's is near the Great Harvest Bakery and I popped over there and bought a bag and a half of some fun products including a new seasoning mix, a new pesto, a Thai peanut satay sauce, a couple of seasoned, pre-prepared meat items, a fancy salad for Debbie to take to work, and other things. 

I followed Debbie's directive: if it looks fun, buy it! 

I obeyed. 

I have now read eight of the twelve books on Leah Sottile's July 13th book list she compiled in response to  the NYT's publication of a list it called "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century."

The four I have left to read don't seem to be available on any bookstore shelves locally, so I'll order them from independent bookstores online and have them shipped. 

I do, however, want another book right now to read, and so I dropped into the Barnes and Noble store off Sullivan Road. 

I wandered around a bit and suddenly I couldn't -- and didn't want to -- resist the attraction of Stieg Larsson's novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

I purchased it, strolled to the Barnes and Noble cafe, bought a tall latte, and sat outside in the mildness of a September Spokane Valley morning and read the book's first chapter. 

I'm hooked. 

3. I spent much of the afternoon finalizing the Saturday buffet following the Celebration of Life for Don Knott. 

It's now nailed down! 

Plenty of food -- and as I wrote in an email, if it's not enough, I'll buy Chinese food next door at Wah Hing! 

Debbie arrived home with the news that she had to leave soon to return to an event at Pinehurst Elementary School. 

I went into cooking overdrive and, before Debbie had to leave, I got out the wok and made a chicken stir fry that included onion, zucchini, celery, cabbage, and cilantro and enhanced it with the Peanut Satay Sauce I bought today at Trader Joe's.

With that wok, I'm telling you, it's possible to make fast food that is mighty tasty! 

Just as Debbie arrived home, the power went out thanks to a short, powerful thunder storm.

We shrugged and each went to bed.

I had the best night of sleep I've had in months! 

When we woke up, PRESTO!, the power was back on. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-24-2024: Saturday's Buffet Looks Great, Writing My Part of the Celebration of Life for Don Knott, Wah Hing Hits the Spot

 1. Today, I delayed going to Spokane for blood work until Wednesday and stayed home to work on two projects related to Don Knott's Celebration of Life (Saturday, Sept. 28th at 3 p.m. at the Mountain View Congregational Church in Kellogg.)

First project: Keeping track of people's contributions to the Saturday buffet. 

This project worked well. I am positive we'll have plenty of food at the Inland Lounge following Don's service. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the contributors. 

2. Second project: Writing, as the officiant of the service, my contributions. I completed a solid first draft of Saturday's service and I'll return to it on Thursday and see about making any edits. 

3. Debbie arrived home in the mood for some Chinese food, an awesome idea,  and we ordered Ginger Beef from Wah Hing along with an order of potstickers and for both of us. It was a perfect break from our own cooking. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-23-2024: DON KNOTT'S CELEBRATION OF LIFE IS HAPPENING!!!, Contributing Food for After the Service at The Lounge, Meatloaf Family Dinner

1. So I had this bright idea that I would use the Event Announcement capability on the Kellogg Idaho Class of 72 Facebook group page and post the information about Don Knott's Celebration of Life as an event. 

Little did I know that for people living outside the Pacific Time Zone, the Event Announcement would tell them the Celebration of Life would begin not at 3 PST, but in Montana the time was listed as 4 MST. 

This caused confusion. 

I received a text asking me, essentially, if the time of the service had been changed because a Montana member of the group saw the time listed as 4 p.m.

So, I took the Facebook announcement down from the Kellogg Idaho Class of 72 group page. 

Little did I know that when I deleted this event announcement, Facebook would send out notification that the event had been cancelled. The Facebook robots equate an announcement being deleted with the event being canceled. 

I didn't think of that! 

Luckily, Ed and Nancy Hanson called me almost right away to tell me that Nancy received a cancelation notification.

So, I went to work on email, Facebook, and this blog immediately to get the word out in all caps that 

DON KNOTT'S CELEBRATION OF LIFE HAS NOT BEEN CANCELED!!!

I hope the fact that the service is happening will be helped further along by today's publication of Don Knott's obituary. 

Here's a link to his obit:

https://shoshonenewspress.com/news/2024/sep/24/donald-knott-70/

2. Cas called me today. I'd asked him earlier about how Don Knott's friends and I could help with the food situation for after the service at the Inland Lounge. 

He told me that he and Tracy will provide ribs. 

He asked me to tell people who want to contribute to bring food that doesn't need to be kept warm because the electricity capability at the Inland Lounge is limited. 

So, I've put out an announcement about bringing food to one group of people, and will probably ask some others.

I've asked people to let me know what they are bringing so I can let others know and hopefully avoid duplication. 

If you are reading this and want to contribute, just email, text, or Facebook message me what you'd like to bring.

So far we have a pasta salad, chips, Trader Joe's chocolates, and cold chicken wings, so there are plenty of options available! 

3. We had a superb family dinner tonight in Christy's back yard. The main dish was Christy's terrific ground beef and pork meatloaf. She also made a grape salad and Carol contributed a fascinating and delicious cornmeal zucchini  pie and she made a zucchini chocolate cake for dessert. For an appetizer, I cut up some Beach Bum Bakery bagels served with Trader Joe's egg salad. Molly also brought delicious bread to eat with dinner. 

So, around the table sat Christy, Debbie, Carol, Paul, Paul's mom and Molly's grandmother, Pat, Molly, and me. 

The weather cooperated and, as always, we talked about a variety of subjects ranging from the perils of having skunks in our neighborhood to the glories of Ethiopian food, especially at the Spokane eatery, Queen of Sheba. 

Don Knott's Celebration of Life Is Not Cancelled!

Because I deleted an event announcement of Don Knott's Celebration of Life  I'd posted on the Kellogg, Idaho Class of 72 Facebook page that caused confusion about the time of the service, Facebook sent out notifications that made it look like the event has been canceled. 

Don's Celebration of Life is very much happening. It's at 3 pm on Saturday Sept. 28th at the Mountain View Congregational Church in Kellogg. 

In fact, Don Knott's obituary is available online and you can read about Don's life AND when and where his service will take place. Here's the link: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/shoshonenewspress/name/donald-knott-obituary?id=56359724

Three Beautiful Things 09-22-2024: Birthday Party Wraps Up, Preparing for Don Knott's Memorial, Talking to Roger

1. Wisely, when Diane and others planned the food for our birthday weekend at the Pineapple Lodge near Trout Creek, MT, they figured we'd have plenty of leftovers from Friday and Saturday and didn't need to bring special food for Sunday's wake up, have a bite, and hit the road breakfast.

They were right. 

We had plenty of leftovers to feed us.

We got ourselves gathered and were out of the house by check out time.

I had an easy and relaxing drive home and hope my friends did as well.

2. I'll be conducting the Celebration of Life for Don Knott this coming Saturday (3 p.m., Mountain View Congregational Church in Kellogg), so Don's daughter Beth and I, on Saturday, arranged to talk things over on the phone today.

And we did. 

I'd say we are set. 

I know what I need to do to prepare for the celebration and Beth knows what she needs to do and this service should come off smoothly. 

3. After I talked with Beth, I had a superb conversation with Roger Pearson about the service, about Don, and some other things. We decided what we needed to and did so candidly and most enjoyably. 

I gotta say -- after spending a weekend with so many people at the Pineapple Lodge and after working out details about the service with Beth and Roger, I was bushed. I looked forward to recharging my batteries with a good night's sleep and returning to my tasks on Monday. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-21-2024: Sept 28th The Celebration of Don Knott's Life, Spinning Reels, Birthday Dinner and *Boom Again* Trivia

1. The date, time, and place for Don Knott's Celebration of Life is now secured, as well as the get together to follow the service. Here are the details:

Date: September 28th, 2024

Time 3:00 p.m.

Place: Mountain View Congregational Church, 525 W. Cameron, Kellogg, ID (Many of us knew this the home of the United Church in our youth!)

Food and drinks at the Inland Lounge after the celebration at the church. 

In addition, if you'd like to contribute money in Don Knott's name to Kellogg High School athletics, Don's daughter Beth has started a GoFundMe to raise funds. Here's the link: https://gofund.me/8e362a7f

2. I had a lot of fun, even though I didn't win any money, with Wanda, Nancy, and Ed at the Wayside Tavern in Trout Creek, MT playing slot machines for an hour or so. It's been fun after over months away from machines to spin some reels and feel the occasional thrill of victory and the always reliable agony of defeat. 

3. Tonight we enjoyed our official 70th birthday party with a delicious shepherd's pie dinner and three gourmet cakes baked by Susan Dahlberg. Stu had the honor of declaring the joy of the occasion and he blew out the 7 and 0 candles. 

After dinner, we divided participants into two teams and played a couple rousing games of the Boomer trivia game, Boom Again. I thought our class members had solid grasp on facts in all the categories and did a good job answering the questions the game raised. 

Three Beautiful Things 09-20-2024: On the Road, A Feast, Four-Handed Cribbage

 1. It takes me longer now that I am a post-transplant guy to get my medicine, blood pressure cuff, thermometer, binder, and other things gathered and organized to travel. So, this morning, I was a little bit late getting out the door to drive to the Pritchard Tavern and join a table surrounded by Class of 72 classmates for a fun and delicious lunch. 

Afterward, we stopped at the Coyote Bar, a country establishment at the bottom of the eastern side of Thompson Pass and for the first time since May 10th I got to play Wolf Moon, my favorite slot machine, and I had some luck. I carried my rinse free cleansing foam in my pocket and washed my hands repeatedly, figuring that was the safest way to enjoy spinning some reels and I was relieved that not many people were at the Coyote. 

2. We all arrived at the Pineapple Lodge north of Trout Creek, MT for our 70th birthday celebration. We got settled into our room and a couple of hours later a pasta feast suddenly appeared with penne, meatballs, sausage, tomato sauce,  lasagne, garlic bread, green salad, and other food items to snack on. 

It was a great dinner -- especially good for me, as it turned out, because the lasagne was not tomato based -- freeing me up to eat a moderate amount of the pasta with tomato sauce and more generous helpings of the lasagne. 

3. I retired to my room and finished reading and being disturbed and unsettled by Lost Girls. 

The highlight of my evening, once I finished the book, was playing four-handed cribbage with Jake, Diane, and Lars. I enjoy playing cribbage online. My opponent is a robot. It was much more fun playing live cribbage and I've always enjoyed what a blast it is to play four-handed.