It is completely frigid here in Philadelphia. I do not like living on the tundra and far prefer a tropical clime. The French West Indies hold a great deal of appeal for me on numerous fronts: the language, the food, the Caribbean sea, and so forth. I once spent a week on the Ile des Saintes, a teensy French Caribbean island so far out of the mainstream that the airport staff in Antigua had never even heard of it. Almost no one spoke English. It was sublime.

Back to reality. My son, age six, fancies himself to be a pro skater--a la "Tony Hawk, Pro Skater Two." He is "grinding" (sans skateboard) here in the living room as I write. Just a little bit distracting......

Meanwhile, I am planning to start up the furniture factory. I bought a garage full of decrepit antique Chinese furniture for ridiculously low prices--mostly in the low two figures but I did buy one piece for $3. Yes, the low price is in direct proportion to the high degree of decreptitude. But when they're done they will be beautiful. It's kind of therapeutic to work on this stuff, and besides, I love wielding power tools.