We should have known that a tropical storm/hurricane sharing a name with Karen from Will & Grace would head for the largest concentration of booze available but stumble and fall before it got there.

Now I want macarons. There's a place near my gym (how counterproductive is that?) that makes them in all kinds of flavors, including passionfruit, Earl Grey tea, and whiskey.

"There is a problem with the homework"

I'd be so tempted to say, yes, I gave you a whole set of problems to solve. That's what math homework looks like. I get the same kind of thing, students telling me they are having trouble writing the paper. Yes, that's right, that's how you learn in a writing class. You write the papers, and you tackle the challenges that come up during the writing.

Earl Grey! Oh, that sounds good. Maybe I'll bake something later.

I've been reading on my laptop all morning, and my eyes need a break. I have to look into computer glasses, I think.

That's what math homework looks like. I get the same kind of thing, students telling me they are having trouble writing the paper. Yes, that's right, that's how you learn in a writing class. You write the papers, and you tackle the challenges that come up during the writing.

I work in a corporate training department, and one of the things that has been a hard, hard sell for us is that one of the ways people learn best is by having a challenging time of it and actually - horror of horrors! - getting things wrong.

In other news, Finnbarr Fancypants has settled in like a champ. Unlike Jeeves, he's willing to eat things other than kibble. So far this has included not only wet food but rice, applesauce, coffee, and chicken. He even made an attempt at the bleach, but was foiled.

We should have known that a tropical storm/hurricane sharing a name with Karen from Will & Grace would head for the largest concentration of booze available but stumble and fall before it got there.

Ahahahaha, right? I may need to quote you on FB.

He even made an attempt at the bleach, but was foiled.

There could be a bad joke about his coloring there, but I won't attempt it.

Is he blue-eyed? Why am I remembering hearing that many blue-eyed white cats are deaf?

After several emails back and forth, I found out that the "problem with the homework" was that he couldn't sign on to the online homework system. And, frankly, I don't believe him. There were no reported issues that night according to the company that manages is, no other student had problems logging on, and this student has given me this same excuse several times before. I tell him that, if he's having trouble accessing it, then he should contact the company's tech support, since I can't solve computer problems, but he never does.

Trader Joe's has gone seriously pumpkin.

FUCK YES.

Also, just want to agree on the "macarons [one "O"] are not coconut macaroons [two "O"s]" front. TJs pumpkin macarons are GOD. Macaroons are kind of ick. I love coconut. I love sweets. But macaroons somehow end up too sickly sweet for me.

ION, I am never leaving this cottage in Mendocino. SO GORGEOUS.

I hear that life’s such a groove there.