A Typical Day

8:00 wake, even though I was up late because RB2 helped me with my printer and other computer stuff till after midnight. I now have a beautiful series of photos on my screen and all sorts of fun things.

8:30 Exercise, shower, breakfast of oatmeal, banana, melon, tea.

9:00 Check email, write, laundry.

10:30 Errands. Women are hanging their clothes out and we can hear the flap of sheets. The streets are so narrow that the colors of the wash against the red tile roofs and blue skies overhead makes me feel I am in French movie. BBC now has a program about two men who buy a wreck of the house in France and the problems they have including a neighbor who teases them that he owns their stairs and they don’t have the right of access but must go in through the window.

I buy a grain bread, an apple turnover at the bakery and at the green grocers buy a basil plant. I now have plants for all the herbs I use regularly and will leave with my friend Barbara when I am in Geneva. The cutting back by both of us will encourage growth.

11:00 At Franck’s tea room, I read the television guide and am happy to see that Garou will be on Saturday night. I chat with Franck’s wife, Louise until Rosalie arrives. We share tea and stories about teaching, children, tea, New York, politics, and as much else as we cram in. With two cups of tea there is no way I can make it home even it is around the corner. The tea room’s toilet has brown marble tiles on the bottom and white on the top, joined by a modern art design between. The tap has gold trim. I kinda wish I had brought the guide to read, because it is so pretty, that it would be nice to stay here. I do remember my ex telling me when I asked how long he would be in the bathroom, “One more chapter.”

12:00 Lunch is fresh asparagus with newly made aioli from the charcuterie, broccoli, a tomato, avocado and lettuce salad with sesame-soy dressing and the bread. One of the hardest things I find about being in the States is that I don’t get enough good vegetables. Here and in Geneva all my food is fresh. Only once in a blue moon is it necessary to have anything processed.

Saying that, I do miss Dunkin Donuts blueberry muffins, raison bagels and Stouffer’s welsh rabbit. It is also good knowing that my food here is GM free and the few times I do eat meat I it’s hormone-free. 90% of the time I eat multi servings of fruit, vegetables and grains each day not because they are good for me, but they are so good. The tomato smell burst into the room when I cut into it, and I compare it to all the fruit I brought for a Christmas fruit salad, that was almost flavorless. Interestingly, I find US food getting more expensive while the quality goes down.

I’ve lost the three kilos I put on when I was in the States, the fact I attribute to the healthier diet here, although I am eating more and still give into desserts and raison bagels have been replaced by other breads.

When I finish I do the dishes and give a quick clean to the flat. I hate having dust anywhere. Neurotic…oh yes. I made the mistake of having an almost white floor and crumbs jump up and down to scream at me. A studio has to be kept free of things because of the size. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to move.

1:30 Work on my new novel and contact people on stories I am working on. Also give into a computer game, one only.

3:30 Go for a walk. I could say it is for the exercise, to lower my blood pressure, to activate the vitamin D in my system, all of which is partially true, but the real reason is that the sky is almost royal blue. The wind is blowing at about 25 mph and if I shut my eyes it sounds like a Nor’easter. When I pass palm trees, the fronds sound like they are clapping, and when I pass the bamboo grove they sounds like sticks in a percussion section of an orchestra. I really use the walk to work out the next scene in my book, when my heroine Peggy goes to the Fayetteville NC demonstration. Thanks to www.truthout.org’s tremendous video, I have plenty of details, but I need to look at what is going on inside Peggy’s head.

4:30 Read French News, a paper for expats, curled up on my couch. Although I try and read LaMonde and the Tribune de Genève daily, English will always be easier. I decide to eat the apple pastry I bought earlier before going back to work. Then back to emails and writing.

7:00 Watch The Doctors on BBC. The soap is no better than before, some characters have disappeared.

7:30 Make dinner: beans with onions, tomatoes and a huge bunch of fresh coriander.

8:00-midnight Watch TV, News, Keeping up Appearances, Julie Lescaut. Do needlework while I am watching. On the news I hear a woman say that the US is now a legal murderer about the Terri Shiavo death. I say, we are legal murderers with our death penalty and illegal murderers in Iraq of our own people and theirs, but she obviously can’t hear. In the year without television I haven’t lost the habit of talking back to the TV. I do know I will not watch TV all evening, every evening, but once in a while it is nice. It also helps complete needlework projects faster.

12:00 Pretend to read a novel until I fall asleep. Pretend, because at some point I wake, shut off the light and put my glasses to one side. Tomorrow is another day