An intense orange sunrise spreads over the dismantled gas station. Welcome to eclipse day in the Path of Totality. Tom loves that phrase and keeps muttering it to himself as he takes photos of giant dirty snow piles and pink brooms sticking out of dumpsters. He is on the prowl, and I am amused to watch him at work.

So far, Monson is fairly quiet--just a couple of RVs parked behind the post office--but I expect the place will start hopping soon.

We got into town by late afternoon, hauled our pile of food into the house, then went for a walk up to the quarry. Patty melts, caramelized onions, roasted potatoes, and a tomato salad for dinner, to the tune of Beyonce's first solo album. As we cooked, I read Wolf Hall, and Tom took photos of the gas pumps. Occasionally we interrupted each other to discuss Jay-Z or decide whether or not an item could go in the dishwasher. (Note: We have decided that in a vacation house all items can go in the dishwasher. We hope that Jay-Z and Beyonce's relationship is nothing like Ike and Tina Turner's.)

This morning we are going to drive to a yard sale we saw advertised on a poster stapled to a telephone pole. It is our only plan, beyond drinking coffee and eavesdropping among the eclipse crowd. The yard sale sign advertised many esoteric items, including what I read as "badger" and what Tom read as "badges." I hope I am right but I think I am not. In any case, our car is very full. We don't have room for a badger, unless we strap it to the roof.

I think I will plan to carry a Path of Totality notebook with me all day.  T will be too busy with his camera to enjoy my bons mots. We can share our notes while we are Fine Dining this evening.