I'm afraid this semester has come swinging at me like a ton of bricks, affecting my ability to feed myself, let alone write amusing and pithy blog entries. Regardless, I do feel like I am finally catching up, as I sloooowly develop a thesis for my Comment (think legal research, but hopefully more perky than usual) and getting used to 7-day weeks. No complaints, though, really-- when possible we've been having a blast, spending time with our friends Seth and Jenner who just moved up to our lovely home from the wilds of Connecticut, and hanging with my mom who similarly found a (retirement, in her case) haven away from Boston.

Last Saturday was my first totally free day since Labor Day, and Otis and I drove up to the Common Ground Fair with his parents, who came up from the Cape from the occasion. I've heard some complaints about the food, but we dined quite well, with crisp cider from Androscoggin Apple Company (full disclosure-- Allen and his family are clients of Otis's, but that does not create any bias, honest-- it's damn good cider), and burgers cooked to order by Caldwell Farms.

We also got to see a woman spinning angora yarn directly from the bunny, who didn't seem to mind, and some very talented dogs herding both sheep and ducks.

Other fun meals have involved a visit to the new location for Beale Street BBQ, which was yummy and quite generous (2.5 meals from my portion), and a tasty working lunch at Chef et. al. with my friend Stacy from USM. (Although the darned font used in the logotype still irritates me, the flatbread with chicken Caesar did win me over.)

This upcoming weekend Otis's brother and his girlfriend are coming up for the weekend, and I have high hopes for a lovely time, including lots of tasty fare...although I will probably have to abandon them on Saturday to spend some time in the library.