On our walk this morning, we saw a cat perched on the edge of a bird bath drinking water. We met a man from Spain who was holding the hand of a little girl. They were lost, searching for a market to buy bread for breakfast. Just here one day. They had been walking for about 20 minutes. The girl was getting tired of walking, he said. We directed them to a nearby cafe, but once we got home from our walk, Snark went after them in the car and offered them a ride to the grocery store, then took them back to where they were staying (after we searched online to find where the street was located).

A few days ago, at the dog park, we ran into Sarah, my thesis advisor from graduate school! A surprise and pleasure to see her again. She was the professor who saved me from the traditional academic hypocrisy that was threatening to strangle me after my first semester.

The back living room is painted now! Thank you, Snark! It is beautiful! He spent so much time cleaning walls, caulking cracks and holes, painting trim, second-coating it, and then finally painting the walls a bright, soft yellow. Exactly what the one-windowed, dim-lighted room needed to enliven it.