1. God

2. Alan’s drawings – he draws a mean yellow submarine, likes boats and all their parts, and an intriguing cathedral with a rose window

3. Talking with Andrew and my father, mostly about my father’s chess playing when he was younger, how he learned the game, even played it with people by mail, appreciating my father’s stories

4. Looking at an album of pictures from when my mother and father visited Andrew in Paris for his thesis defense, 20 years ago, still proud of him, imagine we all are

5. Talking of chess reminded me of Ed, a friend who visited me when I was incapacitated with a broken ankle, and who brought a chess board and chess pieces, along with some books, and then we sat on my front porch together on a summer day like this one.  Last I heard he was newly a father and doing quite well

6. What about this summer day? The clouds are rolling away and family are coming over including my parents, children, my brother and his children.  It is going to be nice.

7. Looking out my back door, I take pride in the garden that’s there, results of planting and nurturing, and from somewhere else came the seeds, the soil, the rain and sun, gratitude for this.

8. Cassie finding new recipes, handing it over to me, this chicken must be “aggressively” salted, she said, and then “unattentively” cooked.  Turned out great especially with the sauce made with mint from our garden.

9. Elements