Cooler Weather, Cleaner Toilets and.... Paris

Last night the hot, muggy system we've had for the last week disappeared. I don't know if it just went *poof* or blew off to bother people elsewhere but all I know is it's gone. The first cool sleeping night since Oregon. Sigh. Blissful sigh. Today was more wonderful weather, the high was around 80 but by evening it was chilly enough again for a sweater if you wanted, or shut the windows if you wanted. Not that I wanted either, I'm really lovin' the cool, but you could.

I expected to go crazy cleaning today as I have my new reading group arriving on Wednesday evening for a meeting. In my house. And I'm supposed to serve something to eat and drink too. So I have to have time for that as well. In my fantasies I'm this amazing hostess, a cross between Martha Stewart, Tasha Tudor, and M.F.K. Fisher perhaps. In reality my hostessing skills are more a mixture of The Mad Hatter, Amy Sedaris, and Mrs. Weasley.

People seem to like visiting me, but I'm much better at the unexpected visitor where I can excuse away my mess by claiming to be in the middle of remodeling or moving or just getting back from a trip to Machu Pichu. I'm not very good at planned visitors who show up to practically the same level of chaos but leave me with a lot more challenging task of explaining it. Uhm, I'm involved in a decade long experiment with a secret but very important organization measuring domestic entropy and time distortions in disorder or randomness in a closed family system?

Well, anyway, that all day cleaning frenzy got procrastinated down into an afternoon cleaning frenzy and then detoured because of more football tasks and family phone calls and finally ended up being a couple of hours of cleaning late tonight, including the front bathroom which I've left to the men to clean for the last year. BAD IDEA. Not the scrubbing of it, but the having left it to men to clean for so long. I wouldn't be surprised if my arms and shoulders are sore tomorrow morning. Odd, once I got going, I really enjoyed turning chaos into clean and orderly space. (don't tell that secret organization that I messed with their experiment!)

Tomorrow the plan is I clean some more as well as see the doctor for that tooth I broke last week. Shudder. I won't think about that right now. There's nothing for it but to go in and get the news on what needs to be done. Hopefully my panic over getting my house clean and something baked in time will cancel out my dread of visiting the dentist.

And now, let's forget all that and do something completely relaxing and pleasant - look at some pretty photos of Paris. Pull up a chair and... er, here, let me move that cat. And brush off a bit of the cat hair. Okay. Ready?


This was a courtyard just off Place des Vosges. I was taking a photo of the colorful window and the beautiful winding vine when this young Parisienne thought he'd make the photo a bit more interesting for me.


The fountain (not running while we were there) in the middle of what my Hubby dubbed "his park". It was nicely situated with Notre Dame, Shakespeare & Co. Books, and a cybercafe with American keyboards all just across the street in three different directions. It was the one place in Paris he didn't mind being left alone without feeling lost. (Not that he knew how to get anywhere from here, he just didn't mind being here until I came back for him.)

Sam, Kyla, and Hubby just chillin' with the Seine lapping at our feet.

Beautiful old building, a sparkling fountain, late afternoon sun filtering through pale green spring leaves, a pretty street lamp, and a nice corner cafe. It doesn't get much more picturesque than this. Oh, and check it out all you faery lovers - just through the left edge of the water spray in the fountain, you can make out a pair of white faery wings. They were attached to a young bride-to-be being feted by her friends. It seems to be a tradition to go out dressing up the bride-to-be, and sometimes the rest of the party, in something odd like masks, hats, wings..... and go about celebrating publicly. I love this idea!


Walking along above the Seine late in the afternoon. So much to see, so much to photograph. Or maybe I'll simply stroll along with a quiet smile and enjoy the moment.

More faery wings over on Laume's Studio today.