This morning, Tom and I completed some business-related paperwork that we had been stalling on for months. We tired to hand-deliver it all this afternoon, but failed utterly. Who could have predicted that people would leave their offices early on a Friday in December?

It wasn't so bad that we had to drive all around the area in search of a handful of hookey-playing bureaucrats. The air was as clear as Tiffany's diamonds, AEB Mt St Helens was visible on the horizon. We took a few wrong turns (accidentally-on purpose, as we used to say when we were kids), which took us past a couple of wildlife refuges. The water was mirror-smooth, reflecting the blue sky and the wooded islands in the lakes: heaven.

And I finished the first sleeve, tried the sweater on for fit (it fits), and started the second sleeve, after roasting a 20# turkey I had brined last night. I'll tell you what this chilly weather is good for: there was no room in the fridge for anything big enough to brine a turkey in, so I put the turkey in my biggest soup kettle, added a couple of ice packs in with the brine, and left it in the garage. The turkey stayed springtime-fresh all day.