I’m in the kitchen, chopping carrots and watching the bread dough rise and listening to Meddle; the dude and Billie are in the living room, animatedly talking politics.

Played Magic with my brother and his son on Saturday evening.

Wrote my own UTF-8 decoder, for secret stupid reasons.

Finished a years-overdue project at work this week, quite a relief.

Meghan and I went to Place Pigalle for our anniversary lunch.

Played hooky this afternoon and walked from Northgate to Greenwood and then home: about 19k steps, 9½ miles, 3½ hours.

For the second evening this week, both kids are out with friends, this time for assorted Halloween shenanigans. Meghan: “High schoolers!” Me: “I know! We should have more!”

Got my flu shot.

Finished reading The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. A beautifully-written, incredibly-bleak story of a girl who escapes the famine in colonial Jamestown. What she finds is barely better, and the glow of light and hope at the very end didn’t do much to counter the darkness of the rest of the story.

I’m glad I read this, and I enjoyed it in some ways, and cannot recommend it wholeheartedly, unless you value how well words are put together more than what happens to the book’s only real character.

Got a bee in my bonnet to make plans and reservations for my [mumblemumble]-year college reunion.

Went to the high school football game with Mom last night; the kids performed in the massive two-band halftime show.

Meghan found scale bugs on her plants in the corner, being herded by ants for their honeydew. Immediate steps have been taken.

Meghan and I went to our great local bookstore to hear Nicola Griffith interviewed by Neal Stephenson.

Went with Mom to Carkeek Park.

I caught a glimpse of a crescent sun through the clouds, before they thinned out too much.