It was, indeed, a great joy to meet miss_amaranth (and R. liked her too), and an even greater joy to see her reaction to The City! And I was glad to be able to come along on the annual expedition - although I slightly over-estimated how renewed my stamina was. (By the time we all went our separate ways, I was running on sheer willpower... but I had started out with a determination to have a good time, and I refused to get all miserable and cranky and bring everybody else down. And if I can manage to get off my arse and go for a walk occasionally during the rest of this year, I'll be in even better shape this December.)