A little warmer this morning, but still cool enough for the furnace to grind on. Monday, Halloween, and I barely managed to remember to buy candy yesterday. I was thinking about P's birthday and the opening day of deer season, and Halloween nearly slipped my mind.

We had a busy day yesterday. Tom painted the first coat of stain onto the shed, and I putzed around with housework, put the outdoor chairs in the basement for the winter, baked bread, grocery-shopped, installed a new toilet seat, and so on and so on. The shed isn't finished yet, but the woodshed addition is ready for occupancy, just in time for the green firewood delivery this morning, and later today I'll have the fun of inaugurating it. The day promises to be bright and temperate--a perfect day for wood work--and stacking should go quickly in the new digs.

I've finished reading Already Dead and am idling through a New Yorker article before picking up another book. I need to clean floors. I need to get started on class plans for next week. I also need to allow myself to take a rest. I haven't had a full weekend off since I had Covid.

FYI, my December chapbook class, "Learning from Nina Simone," is now half full, so if you're thinking of signing up, you should probably do so soon. Participation is strictly limited to 6 people so that everyone's manuscript will get lots of attention.

Next Thursday, I'll be reading in the Visiting Writers Series at Warren Community College in Washington, New Jersey. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there.