Internet down for almost 24 hours = no post this morning. Sorry.

However, here's a capsule summary of what I was doing instead of writing to you:

1. Not editing.

2. Making bread-and-butter pickles.

3. Reading Nabokov's Pale Fire.

4. Not writing.

5. Making catsup.

6. Making lunch for my friend Nick, who came all the way from New York City to have lunch with me. I'm so incredibly flattered.

Notice that I'm making catsup, not ketchup. Just pointing that out.