A very short video I took in my local Monoprix showing all of the yogurt for sale. There is also a look at the cheese but this wasn’t all of it. There is also packaged cheese in another long refrigerated unit. I was getting some strange looks so I stopped.

Something else we did, the day of the snow, was go to a tennis tournament called the GDF Suez Open where top women in professional tennis play. We usually go each year. I like women’s tennis much more than men’s as you don’t have those sometimes four or five hour games. When the players for the match were announced it was rather spectacular with rock star lights and music. I have a bit of Maria Sharapova playing trying to capture that noise she makes when she hits the ball. Maurice and I saw her at the qualifying event at Rolland Garros when she just came on the scene. She was making that noise even then. We watched for a while and she was losing and we went to another court but kept hearing her play and when we went back she had made a come back and won the game. She has a lot of spirit.

Seen in the window of a French clothing shop. It seemed strange to see a sign in English and I wonder how many French people “get it”.

A rather famous boulangerie is found up there.

This is why: best baguette in Paris in 2011. I didn’t buy one as I didn’t want to carry it home on the metro but I should have.

They have lots of other goodies in there too. Part of the reason Paris is so famous-its pastries.

P.S. Some time ago a lady wrote me about a photo I took in Provence with a sign saying “Bonjour”. I can no longer find her email but if you are reading this, that photo was not in high definition and could only be made into a small photo, not a poster sized photo.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A look at the menu. It’s not a good place for a diet.

There is, of course, a counter with seats that turn.

Advertising food to go. I saw a young man eating one of those double burgers.

This little tableau was set up in the bathroom behind the toilet. The walls were covered with various American objects and old advertisements.

The door to the toilet. Many French people I have met seem particularly taken with Route 66. Maurice and I traveled along part of it in Arizona a few years ago. There are only sections of it left now but some cafes and stores along Route 66 have that 60′s look.

You have to have a juke box of course. There wasn’t a Fonzi hanging out though.

I love seeing items through blurry glass. This was in a restaurant but I no longer remember the name.

Same place but bottles this time.

A look at the spiral staircase in the lobby of the Louvre Museum.

Maurice’s son told me McDonald’s had a bagel hamburger so one day I gave it a try. It was pretty good but, to tell the truth, I like the regular bun better.

A grafitti of Alfred Hitchcock.

I think the lettering on her skirt may have been added after the original was done but it sort of fits.

I saw this little girl wearing her crown from my apartment. I was sort of afraid she might get on the ledge and fall but she mostly seemed to dream. Luckily, she was soon brought inside.

Doesn’t this look great? I can’t wait until it’s warm again and people can sit outside to eat. This was in a square not far from the Luxembourg Gardens.

A look at the past in le Train Bleu, the restaurant at Gare de Lyon. I love to go in there and look around. I once sat in one of these seats years ago when I first came to Paris and Maurice and I had a meal there.

Blue feathers and other decorative features.

Isn’t this cute?

Little baby boy shoes.

The reason for it all.

And, finally, for anyone who wants to see a short video of Liam. I know most people could care less about photos or videos of other people’s babies. I have mainly put this up for relatives of Angela as I know they read this blog. I thought Liam looked especially bright eyed and interested for a four day old. I’m not prejudiced of course.

His brothers were all around him very excited and curious. My son now has to get new copies of his and his wife’s birth certificates, a new copy of their marriage certificate, then get them translated into three languages (they speak German, French and Italian in Switzerland along with an old Swiss language) and then pay to have it all submitted for the new birth certificate for Liam. (Latest news-they might accept his previous papers for the last baby born here in Switzerland. Fingers crossed) By the way, just because a baby of a foreigner is born in Switzerland doesn’t mean he will be automatically granted Swiss citizenship. I think they can apply for it in six years(?) and my son says they will all apply as a family for dual citizenship. That way his children can choose which country they want to live in and if they want to go to a university in Switzerland or the States. The schools in Switzerland are said to be very good. I was asked when my son came to Switzerland. The answer is he came after I had lived in France for five or six years. The fact that I lived in Europe helped him get a job where he did and also made him want to live in Europe. It’s nice to have a least part of my family on the same continent.

Here are a few short videos I took in New Orleans.

A one man band. He told us he goes all over the States playing and picking up inspiration.

Life jazz on a street in New Orleans.

This looks like a fun way to end a wedding: a march down the street following a jazz band.

Bourbon Street which was crazy busy on a week night in Oct. You are allowed to carry drinks around the streets and, believe me, it looked like everyone was. I left after just a few minutes as I don’t like crowds with drunk people in them.

One day we took the steamboat along the river near New Orleans. It’s a lovely, restful way to see New Orleans and the surrounding countryside-much of which is below the level of the river. A man played on some sort of instrument using the steam to make music. It was very loud.

This video is from Fort Worth, Texas. We spent some time in Texas visiting relatives and decided to see the “cattle drive” that goes right down a street at the Stockyards which used to be where cattle were driven to and processed. It’s now a tourist area and they do a twice daily drive where the long horned steer slowly plod past. I expected a little more speed but I guess it’s much safer this way.

My son has recently really gotten into cooking. This is a pizza he doctored up. It started out as a plain one euro pizza. He carmelized some onions to put on top and then spread a layer of parmesan cheese over it all. It was really good.

I’ve been making lots of brownies. As you can see, the 3 year old likes to like the bowl.

A car from China. I think it’s the first one I’ve seen.

The back of the church in my son’s village. Look at the living quarters attached to the church. I wonder if the priest lives there?

The bell tower on the church. I’m intrigued by the wheels by the bells. I’m assuming they were there so the bells could be rung by ropes from down below so no one had to climb the tower.

We had a sunny, cool day with still no snow as you can see.

A view of Lake Lugano in the distance.

To get to the convent, we had to trudge up these steps.

Those nuns have a killer view up there at the top of the hill.

You pull this bell if you want to speak to a nun but there was a sign asking tourists not to do so.

This pretty little church was half way up the hill in Bigorio if you couldn’t make it up to the convent.

A almost full moon climbed the sky as we headed back home and the air chilled.