Suddenly, pink blossoms everywhere. The plums and the cherries blooming neck and neck, with the advantage going to the plums. Azaleas too, little mounds of fuschia here and there. I even saw a magnolia tree ready to blossom. What happened?

Trip errands today, plus dinner with friends at Via Tribunali. It had improved since we were there last. The menu is more accessible and pizza-y. (Save the difficult ordering for when you're in the cuisine's country of origin.) The pizzas were just cooked-through and tasty. I forgot how much I loved the atmosphere in there. What lights there were were turned low and lots of flickering candlelight glinted off gold jewelry. I thought of how for all of history except very recently places were yellowy soft in the darkness and gold and silver reflected and concentrated it. In the shadowless overhead light, we forget the meanings of things.

At the end of dinner I couldn't find my scarf and panicked briefly. It was the one I'd bought on the black market in Seoul so long ago. Over time, I've become quite attached to it, having worn it on the trip around the world and many other places since. I didn't think I could leave the restaurant without it. A waiter had already searched the booth with a flashlight, but nothing. I had it when I came in, so it had to be there somewhere. I went to the bathroom to check there (and to think because I was really worried and not thinking clearly in the standing-room-only main room), and when I came out Jerry had found it. He said he had stuck his hand WAY into the crevice between the seat and the wall. He retrieved a number of gross things and also the scarf.