We cleaned

in honor of Bill Howe and Lisa Phillips and Bill Howe's mom, who are arriving sometime this afternoon.

The beach party was fun! We made, ahem, smores. At least half of the people associated with the studio are from back east. I mean that they're new to California within the last 2-7 years. Of course, almost everyone was new to California as recently as 50 years ago. Perhaps this helps explain the tendency to mythologize instead of historicize, as Mark suggested last night.

I also just finished clipping Lester's wingfeathers. Both Lester and I detest this process, but it's for his safety. Usually, parrots become lost very quicky if they get outside. And because he's a small, light parrot, a bit of Pacific ocean wind could carry him a long way in only a few minutes. I always wrap him in his little baby blanket to clip his feathers, which makes him very mellow. And then he gets treats afterwards.