Bonjour chers amis,

In these last few months we do not have a lot to report. We still plan to have some sort of family gathering this summer in DC. As for the grant, we did not have a recipient this time around, which means it will once again double to $1000 in November.

Not much to report on Cote d'Ivoire, chocolate, or FOCI, but I do have a great story to tell about Peace Corps friendship. Recently, I learned that fellow RPCVs Ray and Vanessa Hess with baby Hazel, were moving out to Las Vegas. That very same morning, my mom, with her abandoned house in Las Vegas, told me to take over and deal with it. Well, it was a match made in heaven. Two of my most trusted friends (plus Hazel who seems trustworthy at 9 months) went to live and take care of my mom's house. Ray did landscaping plans, cleaned the house, and cleaned a defrosted fridge that had never been cleaned prior to the electricity being shut off four years earlier, with the remains of ice cream and fish sticks. Plus, when the electricity came back on, the fridge didn't work anyway. He also replaced the air and heating (it was over 100 degrees) and the water heater. By the time I visited to put my mom's stuff into storage, everything was working and I was served Las Vegas' finest croissants and macaroons to make packing that much better.

Ray and Vanessa probably don't want me to advertise their home as the best hotel in Vegas, and the house no longer maintains my mom's selection of fabulous sexy women art, but you will see the cutest baby ever, even when sick, and view my great grandfather's painting, which does resemble Lenin. He wasn't Lenin. What a great time we had, and it is all thanks to Peace Corps. Thanks, Ray and Vanessa.

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