Last night, USC kicked off its first lecture in a series of lectures to promote its partnership to create the Fred W. Smith Library at Mount Vernon about President Washington. It was a delightful evening; Kevin Starr gave the first lecture, and while he admitted he is not a colonial specialist, he has such a rich, deep baritone that he could just read anything to me and I would be happy to listen. However, at one point during the conversation, one historian noted that Washington started to build an addition to Mount Vernon at the beginning of the war. He didn’t finish it for 10 years.

I feel somewhat less guilty about how long it’s taking me to renovate my bathroom.

(Ok, well, yes, he led a revolution, helped start a country, and had no power tools, but I’m kind of busy, too.)