I always enjoy the scenery along I-280, but today was especially beautiful. Yellow and gold and amber grasses covering the hillsides, nut brown and copper leaves on the trees, dusky green shrubs, dark brown oaks, and the startling bright oranges and reds of berries were framed by a cloudless blue sky. Not the deep royal blue of high summer but the slate blue characteristic of early autumn, a faint haze at the edges softening the light. I felt the colors soaking into my mood, fanciful as that sounds. I can still see the long line of rounded, rolling hills like a pod of golden whales surfacing and diving down the peninsula as I race among them in my car, following the curve of the highway.

The rubber stamp convention was excellent. Trish and I worked through most of the room, and I got everything I came for. I bought lots of paper and envelopes, a stippling brush, and ten stamps. Eight of them are unmounted which means they were cheap at $2 and $3 apiece. One of the mounted stamps was $8 and the other was $7, so you can see what a difference it makes. I bought a large sheet of rubber to make the backing for the stamps, and a length of wood with the proper indentations for handles already carved which I'll have John slice up with his circular saw into mounts. All I need now is a small bottle of rubber cement and a pair of scissors, and I'll be ready to mount my stamps. I'm looking forward to it, though at first I resisted because it's work and I like instant gratification. But two stamps at mounted prices convinced me I needed to get over that pronto.

Because I haven't got them mounted I can't make impressions and show them to you. The images I bought are a medieval castle tower, a Norman castle scene, a jousting scene, a Knight Templar, a small 12th century knight with sword at the ready, a medieval archer, a dragon, four Bayeux tapestry style female figures (one stamp), a lovely 18th century tree, and a tableau of three generic and therefore infinitely useful trees. I meant to get even more background images, but I had a budget, and I used it up on the human figures. Besides, I can always order from catalogs online if I need to. I am delighted about adding so much to my medieval collection. All the images are either nicked from old illustrations or based on original art of the period, none of your ickle pretty fairy-princess stuff.

Afterwards, Trish and I walked to Original Joe's and had lunch. I had a roaring neckache from muscle tension, something I've been unable to kick all week, and Trish thoughtfully dosed me with Advil while we waited for our meal. The waiter was an ex-dot-commer, we agreed. I felt compelled to share how utterly, utterly clueless and lame my first few sexual experiences were. Trish laughed, and shared a confidence with me. I'm sure the restaurant was just thrilled by our conversation, but I swear we kept our voices down. I think.

A long drive home and a peaceful, restorative four hour nap was just the cure for a busy day. Now I am awake and can study properly. I love studying in the quiet of the late evening as long as I'm not fighting off sleep or the thought of an early rise for work. So it's off to joust with logic and cast arguments for me, though I'd much rather play with my new rubber stamps. But at least I'm doing so with nice, newly colored hair and perfectly clean teeth. And tomorrow I have no appointments at all.

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