Usually I am the primary Christmas shopper, mostly because my schedule is more flexible than Tom's. This is a de fault situation, not a preferred one: I am not a shopping enthusiast. But by some magic, the two of us managed to get much of our shopping done this weekend--together, in person, in town, from local stores and artists we like. Plus, Tom made a fantastic shopping coup for himself: in a vintage clothing shop he found a pair of pale blue suede Italian dress shoes, with red laces and soles, that fit him perfectly. Blue suede shoes for our son's wedding! What a magnificent find.

So despite my dislike of shopping, we had a pretty good weekend. And now I must gird myself for an intense week, starting tomorrow night, at 6 p.m., when I'll be reading at the Table Bar in Gardiner, Maine, with some of my favorite people: Gretchen Berg, Marita O'Neill, Betsy Sholl, and Meghan Sterling. In the interstices, I'll be dealing with stacks of editing and class planning, plus various appointments and obligations, plus cold and ice and holiday chores. Ugh, December is a ridiculous month.