there was something about a crocodile in doris lessing's the golden notebook that made me want to read it up to that part, but i never was able to get through the first chapters. it's one of those books on my bookshelf that defies me, like the satanic verses and housekeeping. caught up with marychen and lapsuscalami's updated sites, drank some alt.coffee, and spent pretty much the rest of the day in the kitchen (baked the pumpkin cheesecake with baby marshmallows from timeout) while neil sketched animals for his 2nd grade class to take apart to make brand-new animals.