I am still feeling a little haunted by death and sadness. Otherwise, my day was good, if busy.

I stopped by MacNairs before I went into town. They said they didn't need anything, and their son Doug arrived as I was leaving. The rest of the children were expected.

My chair is to the left, behind the coorporate personhood sign

It was still raining when I got to the Arch, and cold. I had my umbrella, my chair, my knitting and my purse. There was a tent over the table, which had been moved a little to one side. I thought it was because of the weather, but apparently the UGA authorities have decided that we cannot be on the steps. About 60 people came out at 6:30 in the morning to be there when the police came. I am very disappointed; I was so proud of Athens. I thought it was very smart to offer no opposition. I think more people will come if there is resistance. I had a shawl and a jacket under my raincoat, but it was 55 degrees and I was not warm enough. The rain stopped, but the wind picked up. I had to take a break and eat lunch at Five Star Day, where I had hot tea and a yummy chicken and pasta dish. Then I moved my car. I need to get more quarters...

At 2, I picked Ray up after his class and we drove to Atlanta to pick up my Dad. He was coming out as we pulled up, so that worked out perfectly. It is a little wierd to see him in a wheelchair, but it is a brilliant way to get through the airport for him. ATL requires lots of walking and he doesn't have to worry about finding his way. His trip went very smoothly, but he was still pretty tired. We enjoyed Bistro Niko very much, but it wasn't quite the same with just the three of us. It was not busy, but there was an atmosphere of getting ready for the rush. We sat by the window and watched the bar fill up as people arrived after work. There was a wine tasting set up in the private room; it looked like professionals. Grampa was feeling like he shouldn't eat anything too rich or spicy and I (and Ray) am trying to eat as healthy as possible, so we didn't order gougeres, or cheese or charcuterie. Ray and Dad had the butternut squash soup, which is amazing, as you may remember. I had the beet salad, which is pretty wonderful, too. Little sprigs of watercress and tiny dollops of creamy goat cheese, eaten with lots of French bread (this time it seemed to be partly whole wheat!). Ray had salad nicoise, Dad had trout meuniere, I had coq au vin. I did not love my coq au vin--Grandma's is better. Or at least what I am used to. This sauce was dark and tasted a little strong. Either it had been reduced too much (is that possible?) or they had added something that did not improve the flavor. Mushrooms and onions, but not much in the way of carrots, three small potatoes. The trout was better--very mild, with buttery mashed potatoes and perfect green beans. I think Ray may have felt the same about the nicoise--it wasn't they way we make it.

We did get a little sorbet and chocolate marquise, which was actually kind of odd. A chocolate mousse-y thing, some dry cake (like baba), some boozy cherries and pistachios. The bottle of wine was great. The service was exquisite and I love the atmosphere. And it wasn't that much. Yes, over $100, but not $150.

We took Grampa home to his lonely apartment (I think he needs a cat, but he can't have one there) and zipped over to choir, where we had missed about half an hour. Ray was so disappointed; he wanted to go home and go to bed after all that driving. But he perked up after singing for an hour. Many people there gave me hugs; I guess they had heard about MacNairs. It is good to have community. I sometimes feel like I might as well laugh as cry about My Year of Death...

I didn't even watch a whole episode of Wheel of Fortune before I went up to read in my cozy bed and fall asleep. It is cold this morning, but predicted to be sunny. Time for the house to do its thing, letting the sun warm it up during the day and holding the heat in at night. It needs to be full of people, though, enjoying it and letting me feed them.