Friday ride

Taking my newly pristine bike for an errand-running ride this beautiful autumn morning. My boyfriend has been muttering forebodingly of the terrible winter to come, but right now it is hard to believe that the sun will ever stop shining. Winter seems like a dream I imagined last year.

Readers: when does the sun set in your part of the world? Here in Chicago it's already setting before 6 p.m. and evenings are wonderfully long.

My outdoor parlor

Yesterday was unseasonably warm. I sat outside for a few hours with a book and a cup of coffee and reveled in the sense of springtime.

Bagels, recently

The best part of making bagels is mixing and kneading the dough with my bare hands. Second best is forcing enormous raisins deep into its warm interior and folding the dough over and over to accomodate said fruits. (I like to use double the prescribed amount.) This batch was made in honor of Brian's birthday last month with different kinds of deliciously jammy raisins.

Adrian Stephen

"Adrian looks immensely long, & his little bow tie somehow gives him a frivolous rather than distinguished air, as if a butterfly had settled on him by mistake."

Virginia Woolf, Diaries, 6 May 1918