Popup Apologies & Thomas Jefferson

My mom reports that the website I sent you to was one of the most annoying she's ever visited, not only with multiple layers of popups, but popups that can't be closed. I guess my popup blocker is doing its job, because I didn't experience that when I visited it.

I do apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.

On another note, I opened up the Writers' Almanac today and read about Thomas Jefferson. There were a few details that stood out to me personally. According to The Writers' Almanac, today is the day Jefferson was appointed American ambassador to France (following Ben Franklin) in 1785. On his trans-Atlantic boat ride, Jefferson read _Don Quixote_, the book I am currently finishing up. It appears, however, that unlike me, Jefferson was reading it in Spanish using a Spanish dictionary (I'm reading a translation). He learned French from books, which has been my primary means of learning the language as well. Thus he had some difficulty communicating when he arrived in France (as do I). By the time he got to Paris, they say he had fallen in love with the city. I can't explain this phenomenon, but I generally avoid cities and enjoy very little about them; yet, I have thoroughly enjoyed Paris during multiple visits and given a little more time there, I might even fall in love with it.

One of the things he loved best about Paris was the book shopping. Here again, my personal connection to this statement is obvious to anyone who knows me. I love the quote they pulled: "I suffer from the malady of bibliomania." My husband would accuse me of the same. Unfortunately, our visits to Paris have been short, so I haven't had time to peruse the bookstores. It's probably just as well. Otherwise I would likely face weight limits at the airport check-in. We have settled for lighter reading picked up on the fly during our whirlwind visits: copies of Asterix and TinTin have stowed away amongst our socks and jeans.