I finally just sorta did what I wanted. No agenda. No schedule. No rush. No need to pick up and tidy. Nothing to wrap. Long sigh - JUST what the doctor ordered.
Most of the day was spent reading - pleasure reading. It felt so wonderful - reading something just for the sheer enjoyment of it - not an assignment, not work...just fun. What delight is to be found in the world of words. In reading we can leave our own small plane for a few hours and live the life of another - seeing what he sees, knowing what he thinks, smelling his smells - it's an expansion of life. Reading is a gift. A good book is a treasure. Oh to have a good book every time I want to read. THAT is the tricky part.
Actually, the day started on the 25th, when what to my wondering eyes should appear - no, not the jolly old elf and eight tiny reindeer - but two pieces of paper wrapped and under the tree. E-tickets. To Paris. Frank and I are going to Paris on April 26th. Since he travels a lot, he saved up miles to go to a foreign destination in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary. I picked Paris.
In anticipation of this gift, I had purchased a couple of novels by John Baxter - A Paris Christmas and We'll Always Have Paris. For Christmas we each gave each other a Paris travel guide, and Frank gifted me with the wee Moleskin travel planner and diary for Paris - includes maps and metro station information. So yesterday, as I lounged with MANY cups tea and lemon, the ottoman held all things Paris, and I sampled from each of them throughout the day. Putter in the sweetest sense of the word. Just plain decedent. My Moleskine travel journal has it's first notes, such as where to find the best baguette, which cemetery has the lovely statue of the woman weeping, and which cafe is a favorite - a hole in the wall kind of place. What fun it will be to research over these next few months and make notes in the tiny book. Just my sort of thing!
A Paris Christmas: Immoveable Feast, is fabulously written. Here's the back cover description: A witty cultural and culinary education, Immoveable Feast is the charming, funny, and improbable tale of how a man who was raised on white bread - and didn't speak a word of French - unexpectedly ended up with the sacred duty of preparing the annual Christmas dinner for a venerable Parisian family... Baxter's memoir of his yearlong quest takes readers along his misadventures and delicious triumphs as he visits the farthest corners of France in search of the country's best recipes and ingredients. Irresistible and fascinating, Immoveable Feast is a warmhearted tale of good food, romance, family, and the Christmas spirit, Parisian style."
Just now curling up for my Sunday afternoon, and about to crack open John Baxter's We'll always have Paris. Pencil in hand, tea on the side table, feet up and blanket surrounding...I'll soon be napping and reading the afternoon away. Still under the weather with a plague in my lungs, but today...it's not such a bad plight.
Bonne après-midi tout le monde! (Happy afternoon to everyone!)
Just wanted to tell you that you've been on my heart and also in my prayers today...so sorry this lung stuff has had you down.
ReplyDeleteJust drags on, I know. You take care and let us know how things are. :)
Thanks Melissa. The very stubborn bug actually landed me in the hospital...Sunday afternoon. Two days later we have a long list of what ISN'T causing my heavy chest, and the diagnosis is likely to end up that the virus traveled to my heart or lung lining. I'm doing better, and likely will be discharged this morning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the prayers and concern! -g
Do you mean decadent? Threw me for a loop there, Woman Who Loves Words! I hear there are awesome bookstores in Paris! I hope you have an absolutely wonderful time. -Wendy
ReplyDeleteYes Wendy, I DO mean decadent. Ha. Decedent is a dead person. No, it was not a dead person day.
ReplyDeleteThe spell check didn't catch it...since it IS a word. Ha. Thanks.