At long last, a trip awaits. For the month of December Cathy and I will be in the Netherlands and Portugal visiting friends, walking on deserted beaches, sitting in cafes, and drinking loads of port. This will be the place to check in with us.

As for recent events, the mood around here goes without saying. The country is well divided, and we lost this one. We've had a brief mourning period for the hopes we pinned to John Kerry and John Edwards, and now we've decided it's time to get to work. It's just gonna be more of the same, so acting as if the world is ending seems silly at this point. (It didn't the day after the election, but it does now.) So we keep our noses buried in the news, we work together to make sure outrages do not pass unnoticed, and we find creative ways on our own to make a difference.

I'd be lying if I said this didn't weigh heavily as we get ready to leave the country for a while, but that's why we're going to Europe and not to Asia.

Anyway, time to put this thing to use. Hope you check in on occasion.