I stay out of Costco on principle; buying in bulk is almost always a bad idea for me these days, and every time I have been in a Costco store I have bought anywhere up to three times as much stuff as I came for. The whole place is a temple of temptation, and the great prices just are not worth the effort it takes to resist.

Last night, I renewed an important friendship with Sharon, a retired professor whom we met (with her husband Richard, another retired professor) at a food-security fundraiser a few weeks after we moved to Stratford. Sharon is a raging granny with a long list of causes, and a lot of fun although she does keep trying to draft me -- last night she was promoting "chalktivism", her term for graffiti attacks on public buildings. (I *so* don't want to get arrested, especially not for vandalism.) She's also a cellist with no one to play with; maybe, if I distract her with enough diddly tunes, I can keep her out of jail.

Sharon and Richard can help me drink up Edmund's collection of wine. Unlike my in-laws, they like rare steak with a robust red, and they eat with all the enthusiasm of a penniless undergraduate.

Diet still going well; the rate of loss has slowed, but I have not regained so much as an ounce. Over time, I think (hope?) its primary function will be to keep me eating a healthy balance of carbs, protein and fats; I had been living primarily on bread and cheese.