We visited with my father yesterday afternoon and spent most of the visit looking for his hearing aid that had fallen off a bureau. We looked under furniture, around the wood stove, in the basket of 10-year-old newspapers, but didn't find it. We'll try again next time. It couldn't have gone far. He still has another. I suggested that we drop the other one in the hope that it would lead us to the first. He can get by, for the time being, with just the one. Besides, only needs them when people come to visit.

Also during the visit we looked through tattered paper albums and cigar boxes full of pictures. My grandmother had prepared some of the albums. Some of the pictures are 80 years old, photos of my father as a kid. There were lots of pictures of unknown people, many taken in Finland, stone-faced old Finns caught in a moment when all the world was in black and white. We'll probably never know who these people were.

Marley's enjoying having Sandra's parents in the house. Sandra's mother will be lying on the couch and Marley comes over to rest his head on her leg, giving and getting comfort in equal measure.

Hunting season has started. I passed a couple of hunters who were getting some supplies (beer) before heading out. They were dressed in camouflage jackets and pants and fluorescent orange hats. Do they want to be seen or not? There's no snow cover so it's difficult to track the deer. The forecast suggests that we might get some snow this week.