Things Nicole and I do up in this mess:

1) Finally spread the ashes of two fond ol’ cats (Carlos the Buddha Cat and Little Lola) out in the backyard.

2) Perseverate about the form of our future in education and the form of education in the future.

3) Drive aimlessly through town with the windows down and the stereo up (it was Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound) and feel like we’re on vacation.

4) Hang out in the backyard stringing solar lights from the swing and hiding cat food from the raccoons.

5) Move our pleasant evening reading into the TV room to distance ourselves from the screaming of our neighbors at each other and their loose dogs (“What is a leash?”), then turn up Bud Powell and once again revel in his genius.

Streaming for Shut-Ins:

Also, our dog Louis discovered he can sleep soundly to this marvelous singer, who I think Missy Elliott knows about.