The weather has changed! Rain and clouds have rolled in. The day was very
grey. It is in stark contrast to the weekend — a weekend that hasn’t been
all that wonderful. Today I’m feeling much better and not as well as I will
feel tomorrow. That is definitely goodness.

I moved to a much better hotel in Gent (the Sofitel Belfort). The
difference between the two hotels is simply amazing. The price is almost
twice as much (particularly when I include the cost of parking), but the
difference in services and amenities is also more than twice. For instance,
the availability of English-language newpapers. It is good to get
re-acquainted with what is going on in the world. I think my
experimentation on hotels is coming to an end. I may look at another hotel
here in the area but the looking in Ourdenaarde is over.

This week is also a week of a couple of sad anniversaries. Traci was born
and died on the 15th of January and Trevor died on January 18th. The week
helps me remember how fragile this life is and how suddenly it can come to
an end. Perhaps that’s why a bad weekend at my age is such a waste. There
are far fewer weekends left in my life than I’ve already enjoyed. Traci, we
never knew you and have that opportunity to look forward to. Trevor, we
miss you terribly and the reunion will be sweet. We love you both!

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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld