, , and I had dinner with A and L, ‘s cohabitating relatives of various denominations. It was good, but next time we do potluck supper, needs to make that chicken again, and we’ll make quinoa salad and another veggie dish. Something green, I think.

has an interview this afternoon in Vernon, CT. She got her roommate’s computer working and internet-functional this morning for about ten minutes, and then the damn thing shut down on her. It pretends there’s no modem. Anyone know what might be wrong, or would be willing to help her deal with it? Internet service is a really critical part of her job search right now, and it’s frustrating to her to be camped out always at my desk.

gave me four boxes – two large, two small – made for transporting Very Expensive blades and cutting tools for diamond-cutters. Apparently ‘s boy D used to work in the factory where these boxes were made, and liberated some when they were thrown away. I love boxes, and these are beauties. They’re rectangular and wood, with galvanized steel corners, latches, and fittings, and they have fairly thick sides, with a raised ledge on the inside that fits into a similar place in the lid. The two larger boxes hold – PERFECTLY – the ten planned books of the Epic. I mean, perfectly. There’s about an extra quarter-inch of space along one side, which is just the right size to hold another thin volume if I need the extra space, but still… how often does a coincidence come along like that? So now, in addition to being labeled by books and cantos and verses and lines — the epic can be referenced by box, too. 🙂

and I talked at length about White Wolf, world creation, and my writing exercise from a few weeks back. I’ve decided to do my own writing exercise on Orien this week, as cleanup gets completed. I’ve put off that project for days and weeks and years, frankly, and it needs to be done, if only because I’m getting to the point where the sea voyage to Orien happens, and I want the world clear in my head before the main characters get there. Thanks, for getting me to take the plunge.

We also talked about town planning and walkable communities and neighborhoods, and I went online this morning to find out about Seaside, Florida, a planned town in western Florida on the beach. Now, looking around at this site, I’m struck by how… polished and … fake? rich? elitist? it seems. On the other hand, the unanimity of style and dignity, and the ability to walk all over an eighty-acre parcel and do all your grocery shopping, clothes shopping, and general business — even send your kids to school and go to church, and attend lectures and discussions at the Lyceum and know neighbors all over town — seems to be the way neighborhoods should look. I direct interested parties to the VIRTUAL TOUR at the lower right of the homepage, and to the link to the Seaside Institute, with information on the New Urbanism.

I’d be interested in helping develop a project or two like this. Definitely.

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