Slowing Down to a Snail's Pace

Yesterday my friend Jill and I spent the day in the countryside near Dijon. It was an amazing day for several reasons, not least because we managed to avoid the rain almost all day. But mostly it was just wonderful to be outside, smelling grass and hay and clover instead of the usual mix of cars, buses and body odor that we get in Paris.

Jill is visiting from New York for a whole month but this is the first getaway we've taken. I feel sort of bad about that. When Jill arrived I was in the throes of moving into a new apartment (see other posts about this fascinating subject) and so for her first week in Paris she got treated to such fun activities as helping me vacuum my old apartment in a mad rush before the landlady came, or -- even better! -- waiting with a mountain of bags in the basement hardware department of BHV while I went in search of tiny steel rods for my IKEA bookshelf (I never found them, of course). The fact that she is still friends with me after these events speaks volumes about Jill's character. Anyway, I was glad that we got to spend some time outside of Paris while she was here.

Jill, by the way, is my blog inspiration, having written what i consider the mother of all blogs...Puppet the Brave. Thanks Jill!