In the aftermath of our sumptuous Thanksgiving feast here in Paris last Saturday, basking in the love of family and friends, I am still awash in gratitude for our good health and general good fortune. I just came across this video by John Green and as I find it captures perfectly that emotion of being grateful, I am sharing it with you. Also, the captioning is pretty good so click on the CC button on the bottom right to read what Green says as he says it - he does talk pretty fast. I listened to it twice to catch everything as I found it so compelling. Happy Holidays everyone.

Here is a lovely essay, a snapshot of pluck (pun intended), growing up, and the joy of cooking Thanksgiving.

     The medieval ship lay more than a half-mile down at the bottom of the Black Sea, its masts, timbers and planking undisturbed in the darkness for seven or eight centuries. Lack of oxygen in the icy depths had ruled out the usual riot of creatures that feast on sunken wood.
        This fall, a team of explorers lowered a robot on a long tether, lit up the wreck with bright lights and took thousands of high-resolution photos. A computer then merged the images into a detailed portrait.
        Archaeologists date the discovery to the 13th or 14th century, opening a new window on forerunners of the 15th- and 16th-century sailing vessels that discovered the New World, including those of Columbus. This medieval ship probably served the Venetian empire, which had Black Sea outposts.
         Never before had this type of ship been found in such complete form.   --The New York Times

It's no secret that I'm from Chicago. This baseball victory is a big deal where I come from! 

So why is it called the World Series? More on that later. The  most important news is that this year the CUBS WON! The last time the Cubs won the World Series was 108 years ago. Mark Twain was alive then. This is history! Read this story to get a glimpse into how we Chicagoans are feeling today.