Happy Thanksgiving

We're already up early this morning, and the plan was to leave for Belen before mid morning. We got a light dusting of snow during the night. It is below freezing now and not likely to get above freezing until noon. And now there are reports that the roads are shut down due to ice and accidents. It may be a bit of a challenge.

I just dropped a couple of notes to Ariel, who is spending her birthday and Thanksgiving in Paris. It must be almost evening there. I've been watching a live web cam at the Eiffel Tower. The lights are already coming on, and there's dark stormy clouds covering the city. Looks cold there, too, and a chance of snow. Ariel was very busy when we traded notes earlier in the week, but she thought she'd find some time to visit places there. I think she's found a place in the Montmartre, 18th Arr., part of the city.

Cyndi has been busy this week getting the food for the Thanksgiving meal in Belen. She must have made three shopping trips at least. She's been making the sweet potatoes, a spinach dip, and a salad and passing out food for others to prepare. I hear the turkey is in the oven. Janey is there and Jeff came over, too, I just heard. There is an abundance of food. I even got a few extra items.

As I was writing this Ariel came on Skype, and we video chatted for a few minutes. She was in her small room, eating a croissant she bought earlier in the day. The room looked exactly like I saw it online. She was thinking of going out for dinner, maybe after she has a chance to talk with Chris. She has been busy, interviewing scientists and visiting the National Library. She said she managed to get away yesterday to visit the Louvre (she found a good breakfast near it), Nortre Dame, and the Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, near where she is staying. Mixed reviews on dining. She says her French is good enough to get around the subways, ordering meals in restaurants, and asking directions, but her interviews have been in English. She did say it snowed for a minute today. It was sunny when she first arrived. She looked good. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by her writing project, and she was probably wondering how it would all come together. She also mentioned that the city was less overwhelming than it might have been had she not been living in NYC. The subways, she remarked, were similar. She leaves Saturday.