Yesterday I held Middlemarch in my hands, because I didn't want our hosts to think it necessary to entertain me while they worked, but the topic of Taylor Swift's new album interrupted Fred Vincy's musings on Bulstrode. Then later, when Featherstone's oppression weighed on his mind, the subject of the rioters broke in, as it inevitably would. Today it snowed while we visited the arch and a quirky flower shop for the autumnal decorations. Both were beautiful, impressive, and made me feel good about the world.