It is has been interesting finding my way back to the routines of my French life. I sleep longer here which is lovely. I don’t set alarms and I find the daylight peaking through my curtains is enough to stir me awake when I’m rested. If the daylight doesn’t work then certainly Sophie will step in and either repeatedly paw my head or make strange noises until I respond. She is a sure thing.

I walk Sophie every day for 2-4 miles and the locations we hit depend on the weather and dampness. The tree-tunnel trails that encircle St. Denis, where I can let her fun off leash are our favorites. Unfortunately, when it is wet here, they become muddy and hard to traverse. On those wet days, we do road walks which neither of us like as much but don’t require a bath for Sophie so she begrudgingly agrees.

Cooking and meal prep are another routine. I make coffee every morning but only eat breakfast if I’m hungry. Always, I have a big vegetable filled lunch and for dinner I try to cook something balanced and interesting. Lunch is almost always a bowl of greens, tabouleh, grated carrot salad, felafel, and some kind of soft cheese. I try to eat different things but this is always what I crave and it doesn’t get old.

Dinners this week have ranged from pesto shrimp with gnocchi, to homemade pizza. I have also done rice and stir fried vegetables which did not excite. Last night I worked late so after eight o’clock I made a bowl of curry flavored ramen and ate nearly a half loaf of French bread with it. Absolutely yummy. Have I told you how good the butter is here?

The evenings are cool so I have built fires with my newly obtained wood and Sophie and I are snug watching Netflix. It isn’t getting dark until nearly nine so sometimes in the evening we will go out to the garden together and I will throw the frisbee until I can’t stand it anymore.

The rhythms of my French life have returned and the routines feel as comfortable as putting on my LL Bean flannels at the end of a long day. I just wish my family were here to join me!