Yesterday I spent $800 on a complete set of new brakes. Ugh. It seems, however, I am not alone: the mechanic told me he has replaced a ridiculous number of brakes this summer. Apparently, when you don't do much driving for a year and a half, your brake pads and rotors start to corrode. So be warned, work-from-home friends: get those brakes checked pronto.

A much happier occurrence was a visit from my darling friend Kerrin--wonderful poet, associate director of my Frost Place conference, and all-around entertaining pal. We spent a couple of hours strolling around the neighborhood and gossiping about this and that, and, goodness gracious, how amazing it is to see my people again.

But now here I am, at the big day: when Paul flies west and Tom and I look at each other and say, "Um. Hello."

Next week, I will be home alone, all day, every day. What a bizarre thought.