1/14: three for Monday

I stayed at home this morning to write a letter of recommendation; I figured I'd be able to write it more quickly (with less interruption) here.  I got it done in good time, and it was fun to remember the student and the good work she did in my courses.  This evening I submitted it.  As my parents say, "Done is beautiful."

This evening I also submitted an abstract for conference paper.  I did a lot of preparatory work for it over the summer, but haven't had much time to focus on it directly since then.  The advance work (plus having it "bake" at the back of my mind all this time) really paid off:  I was able to re-read my notes and flesh them into an argument fairly easily.

I didn't think I'd be able to linger with the sunset this evening, so I pulled off the road and took a quick photo on my drive home:

But as Chris and I were eating we saw bright colors in the sky, so I decided to scurry down the hill after all.  In less then an hour the scene pictured above had transformed itself into this:

And though Chris at first said he wasn't going to come to the dock with me, he did.  A partner who will chase sunsets with you?  Definitely a good thing.