Spent half the weekend in the horrid haze of a deep fever and cough – and the rest of it entranced by hot, hot Aragorn. We brought Sarah up to speed on the trilogy Friday and Saturday, then went to see Return of the King tonight to top it off. Russ was down on Saturday, so we had curry. Finished House of Leaves on Saturday – whew – on to less convoluted reading materials. But first, sleep.

Friends have been dealt hard blows this weekend – dealing with hard things, working through hard problems – I feel blessed that what’s on my mind most right now is how much I’m going to miss that boy when he goes home for Christmas. I know it’s less than a week – but we see each other almost daily, so even a brief absence can feel pointed after such constant comfort. *