It�s not quite the holy grail, but today I found some articles that I�ve been looking for for several years. I knew they had to exist, and I knew I needed them to finish my dissertation, but I had no idea where they were. And then, a random encounter, some surfing on a newspaper site, and here they are in my hands, the last big missing piece of my dissertation. I feel like Columbo (1970s Columbo, that is. Not the sorry revival from the �80s). Even better, I feel like I might graduate this year.

I'm feeling slightly manic today � probably due to the eclectic mix of Francine, Squeeze, Johnny Cash, the Jayhawks, Cat Stevens and Miles Davis on the computer�s spin cycle.

While watching things print, I�ve been surfing in search of some objects to cover up some of the red, red kitchen wall. The color is working for me now, but it is in need of some mediation. The wall in question poses a problem because, since it doesn�t go all the way to the floor (this is very hard to explain, but it�s what happens when you have two rooms open onto each other in a split-level house) and therefore is much wider than it is tall. I had in mind some kind of cast-off sign. A few months ago we were visiting this antique store, mainly because it�s in a really cool old barn, and we found an old sign for the Woodstock Opera House. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Woodstock, Illinois, its primary claim to fame is that it was the town where the movie Groundhog Day was filmed, as just about anyone you see on the street there will tell you. In the movie, the opera house is the big building with the turret behind Punxatawny Phil. Apparently, as part of the deal for location rights, the movie had to pay for a new sign for the opera house. Then a few years later, the opera house was renovated, an addition was built, and the sign no longer fit, so they are selling it. It would look oh, so great in my kitchen. If my kitchen were a few feet longer. And the sign were a little cheaper. Then again, perhaps we would feel like we had to come to breakfast in costume. Or turn our recipes into arias. Of course, the performance of this opera would be required at least once a year. Maybe I should start looking for a food processor that doubles as a harpsichord.

I must go and reconsider my career.

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