Several days have passed since my last entry. Part of the reason is there has been a lot of activity with email and simply ‘stuff’ which has required attention. Haven’t yet figured out how to manage that ‘stuff’ so it is not distracting.

I was up late the other night (about 1:30 a.m.) and had just gotten up from the computer to check something in the kitchen when I heard the computer ring – a skype call! It was my nephew and niece who had seen I was ‘on-line’ and thus called. That’s the kind of thing for which these computers are really worth having. What a pleasure to be surprised, here in Paris by a visit from them. There we were – the three of us chatting, seeing each other, all these thousands of miles apart. How amazing is that?

So much else has happened since I last made an entry. Susan Tiberghien’s admonition to keep a notebook on hand at all time for making quick entries to use as reminders is a habit I must now adopt. Over the past few days I said to myself several times, “Must remember to write about that…. “ and then again… “Must remember…” Well – I don’t remember most, but here is what I do remember.

It is VERY cold! The sun comes out for a few minutes in the morning (maybe!), and then it is gone. The wind makes it more bitter, with a significant wind chill factor making it feel much colder. I had my hair cut – and I like it! It is quite a bit shorter — I’ll take a photo and post it. The appointment was with Muriel who was recommended by our friend Marie-Louise. Muriel works at the chain Sergio Bossi and we’ve been going to her for years. She speaks very little English we manage to communicate. I know now what I have to say in terms of getting the right hair cut….’pas trop court’ (not too short); ‘degradé’ (not a blunt cut, but layered); ‘brush’ (blow dry and brush) or ‘natural’ (just let my curls do their own thing!).

It works! The hard part is getting the appointment time straight over the phone. As you can imagine, anything over the phone is difficult. All of the hand motions that are helpful in person are obviously of no use over the phone. This time, I was relieved when Muriel herself answered the salon phone.

“Ah, Bonjour Caroline” she said as soon as she heard my voice and my faltering French. “Muriel? Oui, c’est Caroline” (most folks for whom English is not their native language cannot say, “ann” after Carol. It’s OK.) She asked…”Demain?” “No – today, if possible” I responded in French. “O.K.” she said, and gave me the time.

Now, hours of the day and numbers are difficult for us “estrangers” (foreigners) and getting right over the phone is VERY difficult. The morning hours aren’t too bad, but since French appointment, schedules, and reservations are all on the 24 hours clock, any time after the noon hour is a challenge to get straight.

She said, “Seize heure et demi.” I asked her to repeat it – she did. And then I said, “Seize heure — at 4? “ Yes, at 4.” OK. I knew there was another something after the 4 p.m., but I figured I’d get there at 4 and just wait to be on the safe side.

Let me explain: “seize” is 16 in French and 16 heures is 4 p.m. (I subtact 2 from the second digit to get the hour I can relate to IF I understand the number given to begin with!) Thus, a reservation for 9 p.m. will be at 21 heures or “vingt et un” (pronounced ‘vin-te- un’ — said very quickly so you must pay attention. And a 9:30 pm appointment …. Well, you get the idea!) My hair appointment was for 4:30, so I read a book I’d brought along for that purpose.

I like going to this particular salon because it is, as we say, ‘low key.’ Muriel herself travelled to NYC last year and loved it (I haven’t met a person here who hasn’t). She is tall and very thin with long straight black hair. She has a ready smile and gives both George and I welcoming kisses on both checks when we arrived. Coffee is always offered while we wait. She washes our hair and sweeps the floor herself after every cut.

The shop is on a busy street in the 5th arrondissemont, with lots of small stores and markets. Vartan’s is one of two Armenian restaurants in Paris (Yorgantz is the other in the 9th) I discovered Vartan’s one day when I had arrived much too early for my appointment and decided to walk around exploring the area. Tucked back off the main street but with a Blvd Saint Germain address, we tried it for lunch but haven’t been back. The day we were there we chatted a long time with the owner who apparently asks, in Armenian, each customer as they enter, “Are you Armenian?” If you are, you respond, “Ayo”; if you don’t understand the language, there is no response on the part of the entering patron. At least that’s what happened the day we were there. We thought it was pretty funny!

The other shops in the area include a Greek grocery with lots of delicious takeout foods; a natural food store with many ‘green’ supplies for home and self in addition to food; and a very nice clothing store with good quality, moderately priced clothes for women. One street over are an open air market and specialty stores all equally wonderful: a “poisonnerie” with all kinds of fresh fish still wiggling and assorted shellfish still in their shells –displayed on ice; a specialty cheese shop with various yogurts and jellies for takeout; a wine shop, a vegetable-fruit store; and of course, a “boulangerie- pâtisserie” (bakery-pastry shop) from which the most wonderful aromas float succeeding in luring us in.

Most days of the week the square in front of these shops has an open market as well– tented – with all kinds of things for sale from DVDs to sundry items for the house, and clothing for men, women, and children. It isn’t a big market, but supplements the food stores. It makes for ‘one-stop’ shopping.

Going for a haircut becomes a half-day outing as we always need to make the rounds of these shops afterward – they are simply too enticing!

More to follow but it is lunch time now.