GreenNode of Simmer

We slept pretty late this morning. You'd think that would garner me eight hours, but apparently I woke up too much in between. I spent the rest of the morning mostly chatting with the Sparrowhawk, creating plausible scenarios for interactions between INTPs and INTJs that made him laugh, and discussing the possible genetics of magical power in The Riddle-Master of Hed and its sequels, which we just finished re-reading. The language is lyrical and the story poignant, but it's not the easiest book to read out loud. I think every author should read their work out loud at least once, because when you do, certain tics show up that might pass you by when you're editing silently. We wanted to start a drinking game with all the times that a character--particularly Morgon himself--says nothing, remains silent, is about to speak but doesn't, or says "I don't know" in answer to every question. But that didn't spoil our pleasure in this fine and evocative tale. The ending is still grand and sad. I'm not sure how one would move on from such events. It's a little like what happens to Frodo in LotR. He survived the ending of an age, but he himself is no longer able to live in the world he made possible. Characters in the Riddle-Master trilogy survive the ending of an age, but they are "bound to the circles of this world" as it is said in LotR, and they don't have the option of sailing West. They have to live with what they have become. But how they will do that is the story that McKillip does not continue to tell, although she does leave them with just a seedling of hope.

I got my books in the garret cataloged and packed away, so that's one more step in the tidying process. I didn't get a lot done in my writing time--just a couple more notes. Then I cooked dinner--a roast pork loin with onions, carrots, cabbage, apples, fresh sage, barbecue sauce and what was left of the maple syrup in an almost empty bottle, served with mashed potatoes and salad. I also cleaned up the kitchen, because it made a lot of dishes, and I didn't want to inflict them on the Sparrowhawk. It was very delicious. When it got dark, we went to a spot in the neighborhood that has slightly fewer trees and tried to see the comet, with the Sparrowhawk's new binoculars. He thinks that he saw it. I didn't have much luck. I saw some dim stars in the area, one of which could have been it, but I couldn't see well enough to tell if it had a tail or not. There was some haze on the horizon, and my eyes focus even worse than they used to, so it was hard to say. We'll try again on Saturday, which will be the next clear-ish night.