There are a lot of things that need to be put back in order when you come back from vacation, including, Wednesday, my Internet connection (now thankfully up and running), my schedule, and various parts of the garden that still need to be pruned, picked, or weeded.

One of the more surprising things I found I had to do: reink my fountain pens, which I’d foolishly left out on my desk and were all but totally dry. I’d heard about this problem, but never imagined it could happen so quickly — 2 weeks on a flat surface that’s lit by a south-facing window, and they were toast… I guess it’s just a habit you have to adopt if you write with fountain pens: remember to put them away, or at least put them out of the sun.

Lesson learned…