I can hardly believe my first week here has come to a close. Tomorrow I will spend the day in Paris before flying to London on Wednesday. Lily and I are going to St. Ives for a few days at the end of the week and then I get to go home and see my husband and puppy!

First, yesterday I ran into Laurent and his wife who were standing outside their home in St. Denis. In previous posts, I’ve referred to Laurent as my French professor because as the owner of the Bar/Tabac in town, he was my best practice for improving my French conversation skills. Come to find out, he has retired and sold the bar. I haven’t been in this visit so I will have to see who my new teacher is next time I come back.

Second, as I turn the corner of midlife, I’ve decided bras don’t belong in France. Friends and family from the U.S. will know that I have been fighting wearing them since the excitement of getting my first passed in the sixth grade. They are expensive, uncomfortable and in my personal case, almost unneccesary. Somehow I managed to avoid inheriting the well endowed bosoms of my grandmothers and have sported tiny Bs my whole life. I don’t see the point in caging them up anymore particularly here in France where I live a slightly less formal life. Men need to get over boobs. We have them in varying degrees, they have nipples and I’m sick of doctoring mine up.

Third, while I was sitting in mom’s rocker in the kitchen this afternoon, I heard a noise. It sounded like something dropped off my buffet. When I investigated the source of the noise, I was startled to see a tiny lizard who looked surprised by the fall. He must have been up in the ceiling or on the wall when he took his tumble. Now I have seen these tiny lizards in my rock walls and hiding behind my mailbox and I feel we have come to an understanding of mutual respect. I don’t bother them and they don’t bother me. Until….today. I can’t really abide by having them enter my house. Reptiles and my home have never mixed. I didn’t want to harm it so I “persuaded” him towards the door with a dustpan and he went on his way. I’m hoping he has learned his lesson and won’t visit again soon.