I spent a couple of hours today making a zipper fly and a waistband for the silver-and-blue pants. All that remain now are the button, the hems, and possibly belt loops. The serger hasn’t actually saved me any time yet, but it is a powerful tool and I expect great things once I can keep up with it. This is the fourth zipper fly I have made, and I finally feel like I understand how they work.

This afternoon Ali and Rose had a barbecue over at Kismet to celebrate Rose’s birthday, though a steady Seattle drizzle kept everything but the grill inside. Having failed to plan ahead, I picked up pancetta, brie, tomatoes, and some French bread on the way over; after turning these into bruschetta, everyone thought I had done it on purpose. Yay for improvisation. Dana and Carina’s daughter Eowyn made up a complicated game involving brain-hungry zombies that amounted to having me chase her around and growl. Adam and Janet brought an astonishing cake made of raw cookie dough and frosting, which was apparently just the sort of thing Rose was hoping for. And it was basically just a happy few hours with friends.

Went to St. Mark’s for the compline service. Now I’m going to read about a boat trip down the Ganges and sleep.