All plans are suspended when your little one suddenly falls ill with an earache, I suppose. This happened Friday night, when my youngest’s cough/cold transformed into “my ear hurts.” I should note here that unlike most families I know, mine has eluded ear infections entirely, in both girls. It’s totally unknown to me, so I did a bit of reading. I am not one to leap directly to a course of antibiotics, particularly as they do nothing to viruses, so I let her nap all day and gave her tylenol and ear drops. Last night she slept twelve hours with no complaints of pain, so please let this pass so we can have a more enjoyable Sunday?

Currently reading: “Theodore Rex” — volume two in the Roosevelt trilogy, this one covering his terms as president. I feel as though I am escaping into fantasy as I learn all about this Republican who advocated for conservation, national parks, and federal regulation over corporate monopolies. Sigh! It’s great, though. Beautifully written, full of all the interesting and eccentric details that I think belong in histories.

John Quincy Adams, by Copley

“Of Arms and Artists” — an interesting book about the painters who documented the American Revolution and the period afterward. Just getting into this one. My favorite American artist of the 18th century is John Singleton Copley. It’s a travesty that he never painted Hamilton — it might have been the most true to life portrait of all. Dude was talented.

In other news, I picked up a couple of Rhodia dot pads last week. Paper is smooth as silk and I think it actually likes my medium nib pen better than the extra-fine. It really has been a trial and error process to match up pens with paper surfaces. But no less delightful. I wrote a few letters last week. Such an indulgent hobby, but it brings pleasure to me and I hope to others, so I continue with it.