Well, I'm back . . . though the computer's webcam problem is not fixed, and the computer guys are scratching their heads and ordering new cables, and I'm going to be without the machine again. 

I hope your week has been interesting. Mine has been slow. Between the rain, the wind, the cold, and the laptoplessness, my activities have primarily involved chilly walks and much reading. While I was "gone," I finished the Aeneid, Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain, Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans, McMurtry's Sin Killer, and half of Hazzard's The Bay of Noon. I wasn't joking when I said I had some time to read.

So today I'll catch up on all of the desk work I've let slide. I'll do some gardening, if the windy cold allows, and get ready for our weekend jaunt up the coast to our friends' cottage near Acadia. Next time I write to you, I'll be staring out into the cove, watching gulls and lobster boats. I can't wait.