"Fall break"

Natalie is home for Fall Break from Yale. I don't remember having one of those, but I'll take it. It has been a nice, quiet time.

Wednesday we had family dinner with granny, then Thursday I took her over to Duke where she, Susannah, and Eleanor had planned to spend the night with Dora. It was particularly nice to hear the excitement and glee in Natalie's voice when I dropped her off at Dora's East Campus dorm. As I''ve mentioned, the social transition into college hasn't been lightning speed for her, so it means a lot her her to hang with her besties.

Last night, with Graham in South Carolina at a robotics competition which granny was thankfully able to chaperone, we stayed home and had a good dinner (including meat! increasingly a rarity -- for good reasons) and then Natalie and I got under the blanket on the couch and watched some more of Ken Burns' PBS series on the National Parks, which is still kinda slow and deeply repetitive. But there are interesting anecdotes, for example the extent to which early efforts to bring together a National Parks Service within the Department of Interior were informal and privately funded by Steve Mather and whoever else he could get to donate money.

But we watched it nonetheless, and we were warm and shared footrubs, and then we went to sleep. While we were watching Leon came out and sat with us, which is something he only did because she was there.

Today she and the girls are headed to the State Fair, despite the rain. She seems to be making some progress cleaning out her room, which is soon to be Graham's room. For the time being, it is actually Leon's room, as it is the place where he is most at home and even somewhat receptive to being pet by me and Graham.