Not much going on, really. Mostly that's okay. Sometimes not, but that's how it goes. Along those lines, I've also not been feeling really talkative, which is why I haven't been, erm, talking.

• Went to see Ben and Erin in Minnesota, which was fantastic. Picked carrots, pulled weeds, played with the awesome dog, ate nice food. Pictures!

• As promised, I went and visited River Falls. It's incredibly tiny, and boring. I'm stunned at the smallness of the world I jumped into without looking, and it's tempting to imagine that I could only do it when I was 19, except that I did it again when I went sailing at 24, and I'm trying to do it again at 32 (to Chile, though I'll be 33 when I leave, if I go).

• To my great sadness, Ave's Taxidermy and Cheese in River Falls is now just Ave's Taxidermy.

• I did go to the Cady Cheese Factory to bring back cheese curds, which were lovely with tomatoes and basil.

• Cannon River Winery: Vastly better than you'd expect from a winery in Minnesota. Far better than the wine JD brought back from Iowa (stimulated by Steve Martin's line in The Muppet Movie.

• I made bread last week: the basic Yeasted Bread from the Tassajara Bread Book, using half white and half wheat flour (since I only have one flour container and needed to get rid of the white flour). It was awesome. It is genuinely a bit of a pain, but most of it comes from not knowing what to do next and having to look at the book to find out.

• I finally put new tires on the car (wow, what a difference). And my electric shaver finally died, refusing to shave even when plugged in. It served long and well, since 1992 or so when it replaced a really awful Braun. I replaced it with another mid-range Norelco, which seems to shave slightly better, but even more exciting, is waterproof-ish and directly washable under the faucet. But it's been an expensive week.

• Things with Anna remain fine and fun, and we're peaceably navigating our relationship.

More news as it happens. Hope all's well with you.