Sorry this post is so late: our power's been out since last night. But it was an excellent storm, humid and gusty, and getting into bed beside the open window felt like climbing into Ahab's Pequod. Probably there were whales in our yard.

Speaking of Ahab, I have reached chapter 20 in Moby-Dick and chapter 18 in Great Expectations. Since no one is complaining and Teresa is actively clamoring to continue, I say let's keep going. When I get to chapter 25 in both books, I'll stop and see what you all have to say about what we've read.

Meanwhile, here's my current favorite MD quotation, from the very end of chapter 14:

With the landless gull, that at sunset folds her wings and is rocked to sleep between billows; so at nightfall, the Nantucketer, out of sight of land, furls his sails, and lays him to his rest, while under his very pillow rush herds of walruses and whales.

I find the walruses hard to believe in, but I like them in the passage anyway.

And by the way, thank you, dear unknown blog reader, for the card you sent me. I was very surprised, and happy.