As I keep complaining, it is really cold here. Maurice and I went to the movies and afterwards did a little walk in Bercy Park. In the Spring and Summer it is full of plants and flowing water. This day there were just some either frozen plants, or brown and dormant ones, and frozen water.

There’s something pretty about ice. It looked thick enough to stand on which I wasn’t tempted to try.

I wonder if these water reeds (cat tails?) will survive this cold weather?

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Another pond.

And a closeup of those reeds.

“ And look: it snowed on Sunday. This is a view from out apartment window. Of course, Paris didn't have near as much snow as the rest of Europe and Eastern Europe. I've seen some incredible photos. We were lucky.

I’ve been having a string of bad luck. First of all, the weather. This isn’t really bad luck but it has confined me to our apartment. I just don’t like to get outside when it’s really cold and especially when there is a wind chill on top of it.

Current Conditions in Paris

28°F / -2°C
Feels like 15°F / -2°C
Wind: NNE at 21 mph / 34 km/h
Humidity: 32%
Pressure: 30.3 inches / 1026 mb
Sunrise: 8:17 AM
Sunset: 5:49 PM
Conditions updated at Thu, 02 Feb 2012 3:28 pm CET
Today’s forecast
Clear
Hi: 28°F / -2°C
Lo: 16°F / -9°C
Notice the wind chill of 15 degrees F. That’s really chilly. A cold front from Siberia has moved down into Europe and we went from those days in the 50′s and 60′s to this. I’m wondering if we can get a cheap flight to some warm tropical island somewhere.

A photo from last Spring. I haven’t been outside except for quick trips to the grocery store wrapped in every winter accessory that I have along with a very heavy coat that gives me the silhouette of a bear. And, as I stated before, I am on that Dr. Dukan Diet which requires keeping certain foods in the house. I miss those days when I cut myself a slice of cheese and pour a glass of wine for “dinner”. And I have to cook a lot so I’m always washing dishes. The diet is working though but the weight loss has really slowed down with the introduction of vegetables so I don’t know how much longer I will be doing this. I really want to continue to the end so I don’t gain the weight back. You have to sort of trick your body because it is just waiting to start adding those pounds back again. I’m not sure how much I want to lose, I just know I want to get rid of my fat waistline.

Gosh, this looks great. I’m looking forward to being out again without my heavy winter coat. Back to Dr. Dukan’s Diet. If you are squeamish stop reading here. The other day I was making one of the recipes in the diet book and was using a mandoline (which comes with all sorts of warnings to be careful with the blade) to try and slice the eggplant and, you guessed it, I sliced off a part of my thumb. In retrospect, I should of run down to our pharmacy where they do things like help stop minor bleeding but, being an ex-nurse, and not wanting to try my luck at an emergency room, I put some ointment on the area, wrapped several quickly soaked bandaids on my thumb, applied pressure and kept my hand up. It finally stopped bleeding after two hours. I was afraid to take off the bandage because I knew it would bleed again so I left it on until the next afternoon when I discovered that the bandaid was now welded to my wound. I had to soak my thumb for three hours in warm water and then hydrogen pyroxide before it finally came free and then, of course, it bled some more. I can now mostly go without a bandage but it’s going to be a long healing time. Maurice wanted me to throw my mandoline away but surely I will safely use it from now on.

I’m looking forward to all of the blooming plants that can be seen once Spring is here. A few days ago, just as the cold front was moving in, I bundled up and went out for a speed walk. My face got really cold and I took off my glasses and put them in my pocket and when I returned home, they were gone. I had an appointment or I would have gone back out to see I could find them and now it’s so cold I don’t want to go outside. I can’t find my old pair of glasses although I found three pair that Maurice has. I think they must be packed in storage in Provence. I can do pretty well for distance without them but reading is hard so I turn on a bright light and put on my prescription sunglasses. I no longer have my old prescription and have to go to a doctor and I can’t get in until Monday and then there will be that wait for new glasses to be made. I could kick myself for so many things but that doesn’t do any good so I’ll just carry on as best I can and wait for warmer days.

I was out the other morning doing some speed walking and was just blown away by the blue sky. It has been gray here for weeks and it is such a spirit lifter to finally see that blue. Of course, since I wrote this the gray skies are back, the temperatures are in the 30′s and snow is expected this weekend.

As usual when I am exercising, I was at Promenade Plantee. This is a bridge that goes over a large expanse of grass where, in the summer, people get out in the sun.

There’s one area where they are always doing artistic looking things, this time with wood.

The promenade takes you between these two buildings which I like the look of.

I’m always taking photos of this police station with the line of sculptures and wonder who thought to do this there.

Someone wrote this on the steps going up to the street. I often call Maurice Frenchy.

Last year I missed the Chinese New Year parade in China Town and was so disappointed. I love going and seeing the colorful costumes, hearing the firecrackers and feeling at times like I am in another country. I thought I had missed it again as the actual day has passed but luckily for me, they had a parade Sunday afternoon. When I read the weather forecast a week ago, rain/snow showers were forecasted. Happily, the weather changed and though it was cold, there were blue skies and a wintery sun.

There were signs like this along the street which I think means good health as I saw one in French too.

Pretty girls everywhere as they wait for the parade to start.

I was wondering why these guys were wearing these pants and finally figured out that they were the dragon that dances down the street. Lots of drums as they move and firecrackers often go off.

I loved all of the color on the parade participants. They are not afraid of color.

This happy guy first did those gangster/rap hand signs but finally changed to this.

The parade hadn’t started yet so these girl’s “horses” were on the ground.

Some more lovely girls.

Took this for the colors.

These ladies did one of those charming dances with fans.

Two dragons fighting. This is the year of the dragon by the way.

I still haven’t been out much except to the grocery store. Part of it is the rainy weather and part is this diet I am on. I almost have to be home to have the food I’m supposed to eat so I’m not dropping into cafes at the moment although I did manage to get a very expensive chicken broquette the other day. I did go to the movies yesterday if that counts. I saw the latest Sherlock Holmes movie which I liked due to the humor but mostly to the fact that some of it was set in Paris which they manage to make look over a century old I’m sure due to computer enhancement. Parts of Paris, of course, don’t need changing as it is still as it has been for hundreds of years.

Now, can you not only rent bicycles in Paris, you can rent little cars. They have space for three of these at Nation but they almost always seem to be gone but I finally saw one the other night.

It’s an electric car and if you look closely you can see the electric cord behind the car. Interesting concept. I’m sure someone will figure out a way to steal one.

Bercy Village seen from on high at the movie theater.

A short video I took at Bercy Village where I often go to see movies at the theater there.

Like millions of French women, according to publicity, I decided to try Dr Dukan’s Diet. It’s fairly easy as the first five days (there are four sections to the diet) consists of just protein as in meat, chicken, fish and other seafood-as much as you want. No veggies, no carbs, no wine and lots of water. The results are rather dramatic and I lost about nine pounds in five days. I was craving something other than meat by the end of those five days and am now in the part of the diet where I can add vegetables every other day-except for potatoes, rice and beans-and, I have to tell you, they taste so good. The weight loss will now slow down but continue but once I reach the weight I want, I switch to the third section and finally the fourth where I am hopefully going to be able to keep the weight off. We will see. I’ve done diets before and usually the weight returns. I’m interested to see if what the Dr. recommends works. I hope so. I didn’t want to go to any businesses, such as Jenny Craig, as I don’t like going in and weighing and all of that. I told a doctor that we go to that I had lost weight on Dr. Dukan’s Diet and she told me that she hated it and that she considered it dangerous and that it would lead to me gaining more weight but if I would make another appointment and come in, she would set me up with her diet. She has “nutritionist” after her MD but I’ve seen part of her diet that she had Maurice on which included soft cheese and a baguette a day which seemed strange to me. I decided to stick with what I am doing and see how it goes.

I watched the first season of Downton Abbey here in Paris a month or so ago and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to seeing the second season. It got me to thinking about a lovely home I saw in England the last time I was there with an enormous kitchen which once held a huge staff to keep care of the family there so I went back and looked at the photos. Here are a few of the kitchens which had many separate rooms devoted to various parts of a meal, such as a room for making desserts.

For cleaning up the floors. I thought it was rather decorative.

A pretty container which I think might have been for fermenting things. I could be wrong.

I took this because I liked the blue wall.

This wasn’t in the kitchen but was, in fact, the suitcase of a son who had died in the war. I was amazed at the contents.