Finished reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, a novella that I made short work of. I realized, several years ago, that I should be as kind to myself as I try to be to others, something that is very hard for me. This book is, in part, about that.

The bambina was down with a bad cold, and now I’ve caught it, though so far not as bad as she had it.

Finished reading Permutation City by Greg Egan. Lots of things to like, e.g. digital clones living in a hacky simulation that is more than an order of magnitude slower than the real world. The special relativity section of my brain rebelled against one significant plot point (though I’m not sure I understood it correctly). Very strong Philip K. Dick vibes from the story.

Nasty smoke today — yellow sky, bits of ash in the air — but it’s supposed to clear out tomorrow.

Had Mom and Greg and Jocelyn and the kids over.

The kids got their bivalent covid boosters.

Ant update: Bait traps knocked them back in less than 24 hours. Since then, we’ve seen a few sporadic visitors — we’re not out of the woods yet — but things are okay for now.

The kids had successful first days of school.

After considering and dismissing a repeat of the walk along the shore from downtown, I walked from Husky Stadium along Lake Washington to Seward Park and then up to Othello Station: 3½ hours, 10¾ miles.

Went to a Magic event with the dude; we both had fun.

Finished reading The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel. I really liked this book; the protagonist started as another spineless, obsessive young man like in Last Night in Montreal, but grew up by the end, and the book’s conclusion was satisfying without tying off all loose ends.

Mom came over for dinner (chicken Caesar salad).

Meghan signed the kids up for their newfangled bivalent booster shots.

We have ants in our kitchen. Frankly, we’re shocked that it’s taken 18 years for the first invasion attempt.

Just finished rereading Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian, the last of the 20-book Aubrey/Maturin series. Just like in the previous couple books, there were a few oddities that might have been caught by a more vigilant editor. But the story as a whole is sound, and all is forgiven for the ending, which has brought tears to my eyes each time I’ve read it.