A drive to an art supply store near the university looking for refills for my ball point pens - they had the pens, but not the refills - back to look them up and order them from Amazon. The art supply store had an entire row of pens in bins, pens for artists mostly, but no refills. Why no refills? Do people just buy the pen with a refill inside and then just throw it away when they're done? I spent a number of years writing with a Sheaffer fountain pen, simple to use, felt good in the hand, refilled it from a bottle of ink. Maybe I need to find another.

And, having thought about it now for the last several weeks, I ordered a bunch of mat cutting equipment. The Internet operation I ordered it from was advertising fifty-five percent off one of their higher end mat cutters and I said what the hell. How many times have I said “what the hell” and pushed the button? Too many times to be considered a serious person, certainly an adult serious person. But then again, “what the hell”.

Are you actually going to mat and frame photographs?

Yes. I am.

Later. OK, self portraits this afternoon, nothing too exciting - we're easily excited here in Oakland - but portraits none the less. So, a small check mark on the getting it together side of the ledger. A run to the supermarket, a run, as I mentioned, to the art store and maybe now a re-reading of the mat cutting chapters in each of my picture framing books. Which photographs to frame? I have three that demand a narrow-tall execution, no way to find an off the shelf frame kit that would fit. Those to start.