At the Scuola del Cuoio, in Florence, Italy

When the days go all hurrying by, like they do, when I wonder if I've ever actually stood up and walked away from this desk in the last, say, months or years, I play a little game with myself.

Where was I this time last year?

The answer this time is Florence, Italy, at the Scuola del Cuoio, in the bowels of the Santa Croce Cathedral, where I was learning how to make a leather book from one of the masters of the craft.

There he is, toward the end of our process. And here the book is today, on my desk, with my certificate.

It makes me happy to remember.