Back from the country tonight, having done too much, so my back hurts. Quelle surprise...

The west wall is stained, and a *bunch* of junk that's been sitting around a long time is now hauled out to the dump--including the old dishwasher. Took up the carpet and pad from Dar's room and hauled it out as well, then sat on the floor pulling out the staples that had held down the carpet pad while listening to old "I Love Lucy" episodes on the TV--all of them from before I was born. Shut up, sean!

Am afraid I left "Le deuxième sexe" up there, so I'll have to go back up and get it either Friday or this weekend. Damn ;-). So far, I've done no homework over break, which is not (I admit) something of which to be proud, but simply an observation. I have, however, done a bunch on the Kandinsky needlepoint, enough in fact to decide that it will probably be nice when it's finished.

Tomorrow is my second national webinar with KIPP, but my part in it should be relatively small (and hence, quick ;-) ). While I was in the country, I found a stack of Russian books (though not in Russian) I'd ordered last fall sometime but had never started, so I started one: Victor Pelevin's "A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia," a collection of short stories. I may be starting to be like Chris and Andrew, though (god forbid!), and be getting spoiled in my reading: the first couple of these stories were interesting but seemed more like first drafts than finished works ;-).