Three beautiful things of the week:

1. Cold iced tea on a hot day. It’s been gross down here for the last week or two and iced tea has been the saving grace.

2. The atmosphere at Olsson’s last Friday night was one of quiet excitement. We arrived about 11 and were amongst the first ones there. The booksellers had put out cookies, soda, and Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans (mine were okay, but Rudi ended up with a grass one). We worked on some trivia puzzles and then drifted into lines as the clocked ticked toward midnight. By 11:45, there was a good crowd, and you could feel the excitement growing. Finally, with a countdown from 10 that ended in a cheer, they started giving out the books. It was great.

3. We’re currently on vacation. We saw Spamalot on Broadway last night and are heading a little further upstate to Hillsdale today for the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. We’re going to camp with friends and their kids. We will barbecue. We will find some new music and maybe a wedding present for my cousin. We will see my folks and Gramma Sunday and Monday. We will hopefully come back relaxed and rested. Because that’s the whole reason behind a vacation.