... And I'm back.

It’s been a lovely three weeks, attempting to diagnose and then correct a problem in which playing an audio CD crashed my computer and did damage to the hard drive. One CD-drive swap and operating-system reinstallation later, everything seems fine, but all of my computer's configuration (including my user account name and password for this blog!) was destroyed.
We've had the same cold air that much of the rest of the country has had during that time. We didn’t get the worst of it, of course, but enough to make it unusually Christmassy, with the whole Skykomish Valley white with frost in the mornings. (Most Christmases here are overcast and soggy.)
Sultan Claus -- the volunteer Santa at the volunteer fire station -- made his annual visit last week. With his real Santa beard (and how does he stay incognito the rest of the year, pray tell?) and his excellent lapside manner, he’s a natural.
The house and the car are full of Christmas carols, pretty much all the time. Astonishing for a house full of Godless liberals, but there it is ...