Quiet Friday. Dr. Parker examined my right eye this morning, and said it looks terrific after yesterday's cataract surgery. I can already sense a clearer and cleaner vision for myself, and look forward to seeing the world in a whole new way in future days.

I read some delightful pages in Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse. I guess I had forgotten how smooth and intelligent his writing is -- some of the finest in all of American literature. I may recommend some of his work to our book club sometime soon.