My birthday was last week, and one of my gifts was a “Squishmallow” giant pillow with a tag identifying it as “Lorna the Llama.” My daughter and her girlfriend Vata picked it out for me. I decided that Lorna was very well suited to reading my Kindle on the couch, which has smaller armrests than the previous couch and definitely could benefit from having a big pillow to lean up against.

Lorna also adds some cheerful silliness to what had become a rather dull part of the house since the unfortunate demise of my digital art display in 2023. I’m still planning to replace the art display sometime, but I haven’t yet identified a new product to take its place on the dining room wall, opposite the corner of the living room where Lorna has taken up residence. For now, Lorna reminds me that life should be fun and there is always space for improvement.