Disaster for Abe!

As per usual, Abe is not in France. He's in Scotland -- I think. It seems to me that he then

ends up in Holland some time today before making his way to Madrid tomorrow. The nice thing for me is that it apparently makes more sense for him to come back to Paris for the night before

zooming off to Spain. There is a piece of me, however, that has some suspicion that he is returning to Paris to TAKE MY COMPUTER AWAY! You see yesterday he forgot his computer (it is one of those new really tiny computers bigger than a book but not by much!) in the seat pocket of the seat in front of him. He's probably used to the fact that the computer now weighs next to nothing and therefore his lightweight computer bag didn't jog his memory. Everything on his computer has a code to activate it but there is always the worry of identity theft if the computer is sold to some hacker. Who knows.... we may not even need to sell out house when we return to Texas, some stranger may actually do it for us. Anyway, all joking aside losing a computer is huge for Abe. It is literally his third arm. In Telluride he works with two networking together to get through his day's work. Luckily he is not one of those people who never backs anything up. Everything will be fine if and when he comes up with a new computer to use --and I know mine has all his contacts installed in it so that is why I am fearful. Love the guy but.....gee.....do without my computer, can't be done. I'm afraid. Well, it might have to be done but it won't be easy. Withdrawal is painful so I've heard.

After my best yoga day last week I had one of my crappiest today. Gerald turned into Gary. Gary has this habit of wandering around the class and quietly groaning ..unh unh...to himself. You just KNOW he's looking at you and that he is absolutely unimpressed with whatever it is you think you are trying to do. Today, I heard tsk tsk tsk...Kathryn!.....everything felt fine to me...next I heard...look at your foot, look at the way it is not straight...and your knee....pull your knee back to be more in line with your ankle, you are going to hurt yourself. For some reason every time he spoke to me I felt he was talking REALLY FREAKING LOUDLY but I could never hear what he was saying when he corrected someone else. In fact, I'm not sure he ever did correct anyone else. However, you are in the class so what are you going to do? Leave? I know he's there tohelp and he's so darn nice...but ....gee Gerald, talk a little more quietly, please.

I sent a little email to my friend Pat yesterday and she got a kick out of my Hebrew lessons so I thought I should share a bit with you. We leave in less than a month and Abe decided we needed Rosetta Stone. I prefer learning with a real person rather than a computer (not addicted to Rosetta yet) but I couldn't find anyone in the Jewish community of Telluride who spoke Hebrew so had to resort to the computer. All was going well...I know man, woman, boy, girl, boys, girls, water, dog, cat, run, read and swim and horse. I figure those should come in really handy. I can go to the beach and say "boy swim water", see a horse and say "horse run"...but Rosetta forgets that last time I never saw a horse in Israel. I saw a camel....I need "horse with bumps runs" but they aren't teaching me that. What is really frustrating about Hebrew is they have a phlegmy sound to lots of words -- I can do that in Dutch so it isn't too bad. However, Rosetta won't let you move on to the next picture unless you get your phlegm down properly and you can talk with phlegm for half an hour but Rosetta will not beep happily and flash a green light at you unless it is convinced you are phlegming properly. This can get very frustrating. I'm only in Lesson One part 4 (after several weeks....I'm a bit lazy)....and suddenly they started showing me a picture and asking me to match it up to the correct WORD!. Now let's let a grip Rosetta, I have absolutely zero interest in reading or writing Hebrew. However, when you skip over something suddenly you don't do so well in the next section. It is always giving you your score -- 78 WRONG, 22 correct. I can see Lesson 2 involves getting directions....this could actually be useful. Oh well, at least I can get an apple if I want one -- oh right....apples don't grow in Israel either. Abe said he was going to work on this too...hmmph. Haven't seen or heard one word, except to point things out that he already knew or corret me. I KNEW IT.....he's been lieing all these years, he DOES KNOW FREAKING HEBREW!

I stopped by a lovely wine store today to buy a wine thata our friends from Strassburg recommended. The name came to me in the night. It sounds wonderful -- it is a rose with a slight bubble to it and great with Italian food. It is called Lombrusco. I explained to the gentleman behind the counter what I wanted and asked if I could get some. He gave me a really

pitiful look as if he felt sorry for me. Madame, he said.....that is Italian not French. Yeah, sure. Ok. But I want to get some. But Madame...he said, shaking his head mournfully I am not Italian I am French. You must find an Italian wine seller. Right......now how the hell am I going to do that?

To anyone who is French, I apologise. Do the French never smile? You can chuckle at their baby, smile at their sweet little dog and they look at your like you are insane. We North Americans are smilers. Smiling gets you in trouble in Costa Rica....smile at a strange man and suddenly he is following you all over the store and out on the street because surely you meant something, heh heh heh with your sonrisa!.....in France....smile, and they look at you like you are a total bitch. Smiling is for friends you idiot, not for strangers. I don't even know why they have a word for it here, they never use it. I feel a smile startinag to cross my lips and suddenly I develop rigor mortis and try to stop it so I don't look like a fool. Also....if you see a Frenchman coming down the sidewalk or you HEAR him coming behind you get the hell out of the way. He/she is not moving...YOU ARE. The other day I swear I bearly got out of the way of a man barreling along behind me with a baby stroller (luckily I heard the wheels). I am convinced he would have steamrolled right over top of me and not looked back. Abe laughed because he had been thinking the same thing.

Dog poop -- poop and scoop does not exist. It is better here than it used to be but scooping -- absolutely no way. I laughed my head off at a street cleaner the other day AFTER he went by me. He had his broom, his uniform identifying him as a street cleaner and both of us saw a huge pile of dog poop right in the middle of the sidewalk. I looked at it, he looked at it, and then he walked straight on. There are big pictures of dogs and arrows pointing to the curb drawn on some of the sidewalks, meaning curb your dog....well the dog poop ain't going to any curb as far as I can see. It's staying right there. It's a form of dodge ball. However, I remember it being much much worse say 15 years ago so something is happening I'm just not sure what? less dogs?

If you come to France you must go to a butcher shop and buy a freshly roasting chicken and the potatoes that are cooking in the drippings. Oh my God, good. It is probably not good for you to eat the potatoes that have cooked in the drippings of hundreds of chickens but the flavour is to die for. Plus their chickens have flavour and meat on them. Delicious. Buying a chicken and some potatoes and eating in a park or in your hotel room is so worth it...skip a restaurant and just dig in, rip that baby apart and just go for it. A pastry is a nice accompaniement.

Anyway, got to run. Off to find someone who can cover up my skunk streak of grey. It is a little frightening going to get your hair coloured in a strange city. they have different ideas of what looks good, or is chic, or appropriate. I don't want blonde. I don't want large chunks of high lights. I don't want to pay a fortune! Hopefully I can find someone who can do it for me tomorrow before Benj arrives so I don't look like his OLD mother...I look likehis old mother with coloured roots!

If you don't hear from me for a while you will know it is because Abe came back on the pretext of seeing me ONLY TO STEAL MY COMPUTER.

Some tasty photos!

Here's a view of Monet's lily pond....although my camera is wonderful the colours are a little muted which is sad....it was a grey day! However, imagine brilliant colours and you will envision what we saw today.

Not only do these darn pastries look absolutely delicious...they are phenomenal. There is so
much less sugar used and the creams are so light and sparingly used that you can actually taste

and enjoy the fruit, the pastry and the cream as separate entities while eating the entire product. Why can't North American get this right?

The Last Few Days

So, where have we been the last few days. Oh, out and about as they like to say in Canada.
Abe returned on Thursday and worked his tail off. I had a down day on Thursday and wondered why I was here....maybe a month is too long, blah blah blah. However, had my best day ever on Friday at yoga and all was well again.

We have relatively new friends in Strassburg that we acquired through my sister. She hosted Margaux Lleu in her home over a year ago as a young French exchange student. Abe and I were in Canada at the time and took a real liking to Margaux. When we were in France last fall we drove down to Strassburg, stopping at medieval towns along the way, and ended up at Margaux's home where we spent several fab days with her and also with her mum. When we came back to France this time we notified them we were in town and they bought TGV tickets and at tres grande vitesse took the train up to see us and spend the weekend. We met them at La Grande Arche for dinner and had a fab spaghetti dinner. The next day we met them again for supper and just had a super time. Margaux takes audio visaul as an elective at her school and as a reward the class is going to Cannes for the film festival -- and they get to walk the red carpet. Margaux was in town with her dress looking for the perfect shoes -- quite exciting and fun to be part of for sure.

On Saturday, Abe and I decided we needed to tour a medieval museum in honour of Jonathan's Ph.D. work at the University of Toronto. We went to Musee de Cluny and it was perfect. I'm not a good museum goer -- I get bored quickly mainly because I have no mental retention of any historical facts. This museum was the perfect size for someone like me and in an hour and a half we were done and on our way.I had absorbed a few things. Say for instance you were looking at a tapestry that depicted a woman with a unicorn constantly and by the end she was holidng on to his horn....you might have a slight sexual interpretation of what was going on. I did! However, most of the descriptions we read talked about the tableaux showing taste, hearing, sight, smell and touch or some such thing -- until I read an article in the gift store talking about the tapestries being seen as sacred or very profane -- I'm sticking to my interpretation. I think those guys hid lots of stuff in their tapestries and paintings and with my brilliant tapestry reading skills -- I got it!

Today we had great fun. We took a train to Vernon, about 5 or 6 miles from Giverney where Claude Monet painted his water lillies. When you leave the train in Vernon you can instantly catch a shuttle to take you to the museum. My good friend, Peg, in Phoenix (who lived in France for many years) told us to skip the bus and rent bicycles from the local coffee shop. As soon as we left the station -- voila! bikes for rent. We stopped and had a coffee etc. chatted up the owner and left in about 20 minutes on our bikes to ride through town. Best decision of the day.
Although it was supposed to rain, it did not. It got warm. There was a fabulous bike trail that we picked up about 2 km. into the bike ride and it took us straight ot Giverny. How French do you feel stopping at the local patisserie and picking up your breakfast -- croissants aux amandes....should be against the law. Next as we biked along all the local familes were out riding with their children and everyone was "bonjour" "bonjour" "bonjour". Delightful! We could stop whenever we wanted to take photos of homes done in the medieval style, the painted shutters, the gardens....it was fantastic.

The gardens themselves at Giverney -- not to be missed. I don't garden. I don't like dirt. I hate bugs crawling up at me. I don't even notice flowers much unless someone has a nice bunch in a vase -- and even then I can miss them! These gardens were spectacular or "ravissante" as the French would say. He must have been super rich to have grounds like this and we have to look up how he got to be a painter. This was no guy starving in a garret in Paris. His house was beautiful and completely renovated to look like it did when he lived there. It had been badly destroyed during the war. Since it is spring there were tulips everywhere. We took a ton of photos and if I can figure out how to get them on this blog I will. I'm posting them on Facebook too but our facebook connection is struggling here in France.

As we entered the gardens there was a small chicken coop with chickens and a large turkey or something wandering around. A nice sign was posted -- please do not disturb the fowl. We cracked up and had to take a picture which actually seemed to f#$% up the fowl....which made us laugh even harder. We felt so original taking our photo but I don't think one single English person walked by without taking a photo of the sign. Abe loved another sign near the entrance to the musem.....it was to warn you of electrical danger but it said ....Claude Monet, Danger Mort
which means Claude Monet, Danger -- DEAD!. Like we didn't know he was dead!

Women who stand behind their husbands telling them where to aim their camera, what to high light, move a little to the left, get the pink bush in front of the white tulips....really irritate the shit out of Abe. Unfortunately the woman who was doing this was in our path for a good half of the walk around the water lily pond and I think he was thinking of shoving her in to the water. The woman's husband never made a peep. ha ha.

One of the best things to happen this week was a reconnection with a friend I have missed for over two years. My friend, Michael, disappeared on me and I could not find him no matter how hard I tried. Our connection involved Michael trusting me to care for one of his dogs Casey -- now the love of my life! I wrote to his fire department where he volunteered, called his girlfriend, and on and on -- he was just gone. By Christmas of this year I just gave up..he was gone like a puff of smoke and that was that. I just had to accept it. Yesterday like magic a message appeared on Facebook and we found each other again. I pretty much like everybody but Michael just has a aura of "goodness" about him that makes me feel good. Life hasn't always been the easiest for him but he gets on with it and I so respect him for that. It appears he's raising some young girls with his girlfriend now and he will impart great values to them. They are lucky girls.

Benj comes in this week from Czech Republic or some such place. I'm not sure these study abroad programmes actually involve anything close to study, however I'm sure he'd disagree.
David has been really sick in China but with some good doctoring, antibiotics, and allergy pills he sounded a ton better when Abe talked to him the other day. Jon -- still searching for work but hopefully all is well.

Swine flu on the horizon everyone. You don't know whether to panic or scoff......the news can so set us on edge, can it not? My friend, Keiko, in Mexico City -- I am thinking of you and praying you are safe. Take care, friend. We shall see how this all plays out. SARS was terrible and many people died but eventually it was brought under control. Luckily Mexico seems to have reported this to WHO almost instantaneously which bodes well I hope.

Two more weeks in France and then home to Texas we go for two weeks. I guess I can fit in ten more Mysore classes......maybe my shoulders can hit the floor by then in one of the forward bends. That would be nice but I'm not expecting it...the head is there though! Yahoo!

Onwards and upwards....only so many more opportunities to eat some fabulous pastries, drink some wonderful wine, and walk our feet off.

Un Tres Grand Merci!

I know I said I wouldn't talk about yoga any more but I have to say thanks to the three people who have been helping me learn the basics, proper alignment, and the asanas for Ashtanga. So far so good. I met a guy today after class, Roy from San Francisco and my age. He told me that after his first class with Gerald last week (he is also here for a month) that Gerald took him aside and told him he needs to learn the fundamentals or he will seriously injure himself. This wouldn't be so bad except he has taken Ashtanga for five years. Gary, Erin and Sam.....thank you for helping me along this path and ensuring that I am doing things as correctly as I possibly can given my age, inflexible hips and all the other things that go along with getting older. Gerald is pretty well known in yoga circles and does a lot of workshops around the world so when he doesn't take me aside to point out how poorly I am in position (not that he isn't constantly making corrections but that is his job)...I say you guys have done a great job. Thanks.

I'm finally feeling better. Holy cow five days of feeling yucky in a hotel room isn't fun. I'm sure it wasn't fun for Abe either as I whine a lot. Maybe he didn't have business in Holland at all...maybe it was all a way to get out of Paris and away from me.

The sun is out, the streets are full so I think I'm going to walk to the Louvre and do my duty.
That place is so damn big that it is daunting deciding what to go look at. It could take an hour just to find the section I'm interested in. It is an hour to walk there anyway so I will certainly get my exercise. I have my subway pass but since the legs still work I see no reason to do it the easy way, plus the walk along Rue de Rivoli is great with tons of shops, cafes and restaurants.

Have I mentioned that we have been to every single type of market possible....flowers, birds, oldest one in the city, organic, plus every local market nearby. Abe is fascinated with the mouldy cheeses growing fur....which we don't eat. Seeing all the fish and seafood in the markets makes me realise I am a very limited cook. I have no idea what to do with an oyster, or what the different types of clams and mussels taste like and why you would care to have a different variety. I blame it on growing up landlocked in Haileybury......pickerel was the fish of the day and that was it...maybe a rainbow trout if dad fished somewhere different. Of course there was the "ling" but I won't go into that here. It involved almost throwing up and riding my bike about ten miles away from home swearing I would never return....one of my dad's favourite stories.

A little boy yelled at me today. He was very cross that I crossed the street on a red light. He yelled and then started telling his mom what I had done. I felt like a terrible example but there were no cars coming.

My son, David, has been really sick in China since he arrived. When I talked to him the other day it made me cry. He has felt at about 80% of normal since arriving in Shanghai in Februrary and we both think it is due to the filthy air quality -- not pollution like we have that we can'tsee but a dirty brown cloud that hovers over and in the city day and night, a visible cloud. Not only has he developed a deep hacking cough that is constant but his mouth has become so sore that he can't swallow or eat. He's lost about 15 pounds which is not good as he is a very thin man to begin with. However, he has gone to the doctor and been assured his teeth won't fall out (which had frightened him terribly as he has never even had a cavity and he's 26)....and that he has
severe allergies due to the pollution as well has bronchitis. His whole body is stressed due to adapting to the new country, pollution, food he doesn't recognise, etc. I'm a mum and even though he's 26....I wish I were there to take care of him. Why does he always have to choose the hardest road to follow his dreams.....can't he teach English to foreigners in a nice warm climate, near the beach, and eat coconuts and pineapple all day long. Luckily he likes his job, likes his apartment, his students love him (and want to have him to dinner all the time and I think he needs to go!) and his roommate is nice and they get along well. I guess I can't have everything bu I just want him well. If you are the praying kind, please say a little prayer on his behalf that he will get well and begin to feel like himself and enjoy his new life in China.

Benj should be back from Morocco now. I think that will have been a very interesting time for him. He was well prepared as they had had several weeks where Moroccans of all faiths came to tell them about the country, what to expect, etc. Benj was just happy to say he has put his foot on the continent of Africa. I have not done that and I don 't think Abe has either. Benj is one up on us all now.

My good friend lost her dog this week and she is in my thoughts. Silvia and her little Teddy have been together for 14 years I think. This was a huge loss and it will leave a large hole in her heart. to any of you who know her....hugs are in order and a kind word.

Off I go to the Louvre.....if you never hear from me again it is because I have not found my way out of the building. It is gargantuan. Take care.

Come to France but Don't Do This!

Don't get sick. What a way to ruin everyone's holiday. I spend all my time in the shower
trying to steam myself healthy. I have no idea how Abe can sleep through my night long
groaning, getting up, lieing down, coughing, sneezing, coughing some more, getting up.
He's either on some pretty strong drugs or he's faking it!

I've been miserable since Thursday and I'm just about at the end of my rope. I had to go
out Thursday with a colleague of Abe's and his wife who came in on the TGV from Germany.
They wanted to quickly check out Montmartre and then eat. We did all this but it was cold
and drizzly and I was not the best company.

Since then our time here has consisted of pretty much doing nothing. Luckily for Abe he had
work to do during the week. Today we found a movie theatre and that is as exciting as it
has been. I think our yoga meditation is out for Sunday....they would not want me there sneezing and coughing all over everyone.

Next week can only be better.

Bonjour Xavier, nice to meet you too...could you put your pants on now!

The title grabs your attention doesn't it? Imagine us all going to Sam's and a new student, male joins us, and calmly undresses in front of us and puts on his yoga wear. That's pretty much life here in France -- it takes a bit of getting used to and just annoys the hell out of me that I'm such an uptight person! However, we had a handshake and a chat and all was well.

I promise to quit going on about yoga....I know it will wear you all out.

Life is settling into some level of normalcy. Up early, yoga, home to prepare a lunch and meet with Abe. Abe starts work at about 11 a .m. since we are on strange hours compared to Australia and the U.S. It is almost impossible for him to talk to Australia unless he starts at midnight. Around 6 p.m we do a mad dash to find some supper and then Abe goes back to work.

Benj is off to Morocco next. This is a sponsored trip through the institute he is studying with. Apparently they've been meeting once a week to prepare them for their culture shock. Various Moroccans of different faiths have met with them to help them with their short immersion into the culture. It will be an experience. If anyone can handle it, it will be Benj. He spent 10 summers in the Canadian bush with no electricity, water, showers, toilets etc. He can cope.

Abe goes away next week so it will be an adventure to be here completely on my own. I think that is a first given all the times I've been in France. We hope to go to Giverny this weekend, by train and bicycle to see where Monet got his inspiration. I know absolutely NOTHING about art so it will be an adventure. I'm' good in a museum for about one hour then I turn into a whiny little 5 year old...are we done yet? when are we going to eat? I'm thirsty, etc. You get the picture. Luckily Abe is used to it.

We are invited to a meditation at the yoga studio on Sunday night and then a vegetarian dinner. we've decided to go. It is the only way we can really join into French culture in even a tiny way. Everyone is friendly in a polite but cool way.....this is as up close and personal as we will be allowed to get. Might as well go for it.

Wake Up Call

I have a recipe for anyone who just can't get up in the morning. It does entail first dragging your sorry ass out of bed...but after that I guarantee you will be awake. It is really easy. Drag aforementioned ass out of bed, crawl to fridge, open door, inhale STINKY CHEESE, olfactory explosion and voila -- AWAKE. Very easy. You don't ever have to eat the damn cheese. My God, Abe went crazy at the market yesterday and we have many ripe cheeses doing their bacterial thing in our fridge. I reached in to grab, yes, a COKE for those who don't know me and my head blew off. I am now very awake.

Yoga is going much better. A) I can find the damn studio. B) I can get the door to open to the courtyard. C) Manage to traverse the steep but itsy bitsy stairs to get upstairs and D) not nearly as afraid as I was. It just takes going a time or two to start to lose your self consciousness. Gerald is very nice and extremely helpful and Linda, his wife, is Canadian so how could I have a problem with her! She's lovely. Their two gorgeous children, Amaya and Jonathan are delightful and were enjoying a visit from "la cloche" the local steeple bell who had delivered chocolates to them for Easter.

Abe and I went to a fabulous market on Saturday. It was on a road that is part of the original Roman Empire roadways that spilled through all of Europe. They had everything. I swear that fruit is so much tastier here. For one they mustn't use gas to ripen everything. If you walk by someone smelling strawberries you can smell the most amazing scent of fresh strawberries, as though you were in a field of strawberries doing a "pick your own." (do they do that in the States?.....certainly a huge event in Canada.) All of the fruits and vegetables are stacked so beautifully. I stopped to stare at a beautiful display of meat -- I know who knew meat could look beautiful? A little tiny impeccably dressed French woman heard me talk to Abe and she said," yes, eet eees so beeyuuutifulllleeesn't eet? Usually when people talk to me in Engliesh when I can speak French really annoys me.....but it was obvious she was so happy to show her English, maybe learned during the war? that she didn't bother me a bit. I replied, "yes, it is beautiful."
Hoooweever, ees eeevin bayter zat eeeet tastes beeeeeyuuuutifulllll, no?" Yes, I replied, even more important! So sweet.

A very young boy was begging on the street with two of the tiniest little puppies. One puppy looked like it should not have left its mother yet. They were eating some tiny crumbs of a cookie that the young man had spread on his blanket. He had parked himself right near a vendor roasting about 50 chickens and tons of tiny new potatoes. It seemed like a cruelty to himself to be seated right where the scent of roasting chickens was overpowering. However, there he was. I couldn't help notice him because I was drawn to his puppies and his youth....plus he looked cold in his tough little hoodie pulled tightly over his face. However, we proceeded by and went to breakfast.

Our "Le Vitamine" breakfast meant vitamins only because you got about four ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice. Other than that we dug into the croissants, freshly baked country bread, jams, local honey and of course, it is France, a big pot of amazing chocolate. But the young boy was still in my head. Here I was eating my way through heaven and it wasn't cheap and he was looking for money. However, I don't give money but I will give food. I told Abe I was buying him chicken and Abe was all in agreement. I took our last bits of bread in the basket to give to the boy and told him that it was for the puppies. Next I bought us a chicken for our supper and a large portion of chicken to give to the boy.

He was just young and fresh eyed. He didn't look like a druggie as so often they do. IN fact I've had real druggies in Montreal refuse my offer of food...they want cash and a fix. (that was with David in Chinatown so we left our food on a bench and it quickly disappeared, we never saw who took it but when we looked back it was gone.) He accepted so graciously looking my straight in the eye with clear eyes and a firm acknowledgement of gratitude. I believe he truly was hungry. He was obviously a Muslim and I can't help but wonder what his circumstances were that put him on the street. The dogs were yipping and jumping all over the place when the smelled the chicken in the bag. I wonder if he has depression, did his family kick him out for not following the rules. I will never know but I know that that day he got something warm and wonderful to eat and that his little puppies didn't go hungry.

So onwards we go. Abe has had Easter Weekend free but real life beckons. I don't know how many other tourists are here going to yoga and to the gymn...but let's face it guys, I'm spoiled. I've been to Paris before and I love it but I can only tour churches and museums so many times. This time I feel so much more French, going to the bakery, bringing home pastries for supper, having a neighbourhood to which I can, for a short while, belong. Life is good.

And Sam....if you are reading this.....I know, responding was tough for me too. I read my son's blog but couldn't figure out how to give him my personal thoughts......couldn't get myself entered in as a respondant somehow. Oh well. Take care.

Oh....forgot. Half the world is teasing me and the other half doesn't make a peep but I think it is amazing that Benj went to mass at the Vatican, almost by accident. The plaza in front of the church was packed with people and Benj was inside. He was amazed and got wonderful photos which you can see in his blog, benjaminswords.blogspot.com. He said it took 40 minutes for all of the priests to leave the Vatican after the service was over. The pope stopped to bless a baby as he left down the aisle and Benj was right there and he managed to touch the Pope. I know, many of you think, who cares, but this is a powerful person in world history usually so surrouned by security that you couldn't get near him......but a personal touch happened. Benj even has photos of the security detail high up above the altars......so it is not like the guy isn't protected. Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you.

Happy Easter to all. Hope Passover was full of family and friends! Namaste everyone.

Yoga France Style

Well, I finally got to yoga. It took me TWO DAYS to find the place. Abe and I went out once to locate the studio but we had the incorrect address in our head so you can imagine how that went. Day two I had the correct address but could not find the street, streets merged into new names, my map didn't help me one bit and then I was late anyway so I came home all annoyed. Luckily going to the gymn and running and rowing took my mind off my second day of failure. This morning when I woke up I had about as much energy as a dieing snail but Abe was really mean and forced me to go to yoga. We found the place and he headed to a park to work on his new mini computer and feed the birds and I headed to Mysore -- terrified.

I managed to get the code to work to open the behemoth doors of the building where the studio was located and found the entrance to the Japanese garden that was also the entrance to the Ashtanga Paris studio. Gerald, the owner and instructor was there and was very calm and powerful at the same time (both Abe and I got the same vibe.). Now here comes the weird part for anyone who hasn't been in a "changing room" situation in Europe before (I could tell you about the health club pool in Holland where you are forbidden to wear a bathing suit for sanitary reasons as bathing suits are dirty!(yes, mixed company) but that would be a different story. So, since French women are very chic they don't tend to run around in their yoga clothing. You need to change at your club. Once I paid my moneyfor the month there was a little vestiare where you can change and hang up your clothes. The entrance to the area is about four or five feet wide and the little screen to give a bit of privacy to the area is two feet wide. You may think I'm joking but I'm not. So now you have just arrived at a new studio, you've met the owner andnow are basically getting undressed in front of him. He could have cared less about the naked women and no one else could have cared less either....just always a bit awkward for us North Americans with vestiges of Queen Victoria running through our blood.

I haev NEVER done Mysore and I was literally shaking in my boots. I knew that I could remember a lot of the asanas but certainly not all...I'm a long way from that. Only seven students could fit into the studio. Anyone who knows Silvia that is reading this knows how she can gracefullly flow from one position to another....well they all could. They looked like they had been studying for a million years. This doesn't mean Gerald wasn't going around repositioning people's hips, arms, feet, etc, as Erin or Gary or Sam would....just he had to do it to me every single move. I could hear Gary and Erin saying......relax your shoulders, etc. etc. and I wanted to tell him , "you aren't telling me anything I don't know! but what good would that do.....maybe in my next life my body will be supplea nd fluid and just flow....but this life time, not so sure. Sue....a sidenote for you, they were doing things I've never even seen Silvia attempt. This class was Mysore Levels 1 and 2 plus Kathryn! Every once in a while Gerald would say....and so do you know what comes next? UGH. I hate that. Can't you just show me! Where are the other beginners? How does everyone get so good?

The main thing is I survived the hour and a half. I felt like I should apologise for being there since I took up so much of his time but I don't think that is what he expects or wants. I'll go back. The Lulu credo of do one thing a day that scares you may last a long time for me in terms of Mysore.

The fun part of the day was wandering through Le Marais, the old Jewish quarter. It is Passover and all of the very orthodox Jews were out and about. All the children were racing around. It is poignant when you see a Jewish family walking by a restaurant where there is a sign about the round ups during the Holocaust. You know.....we are still here! Signs like this are all over the city, death of a resistance fighter here, children rounded up here. Abe and I seem to notice these signs everywhere without meaning to. Special foods are available in all of the bakeries and everything smells and looks delicious. Everyone is in a joyful mood. Juxtaposed to this is chocolate Easter bunnies (a thousand times more original and delicious looking than
our boxed varieties at Walgreens) in the other shop windows and people on their knees outside of churches as they listen to the Good Friday sermons. The churches are so packed that it is impossible for everyone to get into the building and the churches are large here.

Jack...if you are reading this we ate dinner with two guys the other night, one of whom actually worked for quite a while with Moshe Safdie! (architect of Habitat at Expo 67 in Montreal but even more importantly architect of Yad Vasehm in Jerusalem. He told us what a super employer he is (wife is a famous photographer in her own right) but how being Israeli they argue about everything all the time, which made me laugh like hell. He said Safdie did the work at Expo at the age of 19 as a project while at McGill.....I can't verify he was 19 but he was really young for sure. Cool, eh?

We are considering a visit to l'Abbaye du Mont St. Michel in Normandy. It is a medieval abbey (monastary) that beganto be built in the 10th century and was finished in the 15th. You can only see it when the tide goes out otherwise it is obscured....whether it is completley obscured or not I am unsure. We are debating whether we shall go or not. It is a two hour train ride each way and apparently there is really only the abbey to see.

Abe did his first Chunnetrip yesterday to London. In all the times he's been to Europe it is hard to believe he hasn't done the Chunnel before. In just two hours and fifteen minutes he was whisked from Paris to London -- unimaginable really.

It is grey, cloudy, and drizzly. It can't make up its mind whether to be cold or warm. It is still great. And to all of you who boo hoo hooed my jet lag......I'm sorry but it was hell!

Oh.....we stopped for lunch today at a tiny little restaurant. The bread was phenomenal (of course all bread in France is incredible) but last year.this place won the 2nd prize for the best bread in France. The competition will take place at Notre Dame on May 16 and the proprietor/baker was telling us that he has to make his bread in only six hours -- bread that takes 24 hours normally. He is plotting how and what to do. We enjoyed his bread so much that he brought us out a big basket....bread made with white chocolate, bread with olives and cheese, cheese bread, bread with apricots and nuts, whole grains......did I say it was incredible! And the wine......need I say more.

I had great plans of NOT looking like North American while here but we walk so much that I have to put on my running shoes. I've worn my good shoes as much as possible but my feet are starting to kill me. when you walk four or five hours in a day......how do those French women do it? they are really irritating. Ann....if you are reading this....Abe is wearing his boots everywhere. He at least looks very fashionable! We will get a photo of his boots, don't worry.

Pieces of Ourselves

Our live has been wildly interesting. In fact I can't imagine having had a life that stayed static. I grew up in one town and knew everyone and everyone knew me, well actually everyone knew my dad and my brother, the athletes. However, everything filters down and by default Karen and I were well known too. It was a totally safe feeling; we knew exactly where we belonged in the hierarchy of the town.



Life changes though and people marry, have kids, move on. I now feel a bit like a porcelain statue....with bits of my nose, my toes, my skirt missing. Coming to Arizona for a few days has allowed all the missing bits of the statue to be replaced and it feels wonderful. As weird as this sounds I think I can explain it.



When I was a child I was the entire statue, everything about it was pristine. I married and had two children and the statue was still intact. Once I got divorced the statue was marred, a small piee of toe, say, fell off. People I met didn't know the other me. I was the single mom with two kids and a shadowy ex husband somewhere in the past. Then I remarried and another little piece of the statue was knocked off as people assumed that what they saw was the reality of my life. I'm fine with this as the reality of my life was great it just wasn't exactly who I was. Once Abe and I moved to Arizona things really started to change. I think a huge chunk of my skirt fell off because people saw the five of us as a family with no shadowy past behind me. This was great in that no one judged our family....Jon had the height and hair of Abe so we were regarded as a normal family, no ugly divorce history. Once we moved to Texas that changed. We were seen as a family of three. This is painful to a mom; you want everyone to know that there are two more additions to the family. Yes, people were were informed that there were two other vibrant, intelligent, fabulously marvellous members of our family but they were more ghostlike. A few lucky people got to meet Jon and David and even Kim and that helped but basically we were a family of three.



Now my statue has developed a large crack down the centre. People meet me at the store in Telluride but assume I'm one more single woman who has lost a husband, suffered a divorce, never had children. It makes me want to scream. It is for this reason that almost every customer coming in suddenly gets a big long monologue about my husband, kids, where they are, why I'm in town, why I can' afford to have any more parts of me disappear into thin air.



When Abe suggested joining him for three days in Arizona while he mountain biked, I wasn't sure I needed to come. I was so wrong. It isn't roots that make me feel entirely whole again it is deep friendships that I formed while living in different communities. Without deep friendship full of honesty I would have no strong connections, aka roots. I did develop those. Coming here has been like a major tonic. I sat for four hours with Peg Gavillot yesterday and felt all my little porcelain bits flying through the air and adhering to my statue once again. How was David? Are Jon and Kim married yet? Remember when David crashed the car? Is your ex still with Deborah, how are their children? Is your dad still karaoke king? got his girlfriend? partying all hours of the night?



I think I did the same for her. I KNOW her story, her life, her sad bits and her happy memories. I completely understand why her children are the world adventurers that they are. I can ask about her dog, her dog Diva that we hiked with for several years through the desert, she remembers Boris. It was like drinking a tonic and feeling healthier afterwards.



I may not have roots but I have something better. I had a wonderful life of travel and living in places completely different from anything I was used to AND I have deep solid friendships that can carry me through the hard times. Something bad happens and I can call someone who knows the real me, the real us, the face of the child who may be having a hard time, the laughter of the kid who is enjoying his new life so much that he just doesn't want to come home. We all need people who make us feel whole again and I found mine.



My adventure today will be to hang with my trainer who knew me when I didn't know what a free weight was, and who remembers me telling him, I want to learn how to do a real push up, but please don't make me do 100.....I know you. He will laughingly remember that he made me do 101 in that session before he let me get up. Maybe I don't need to visit him at all......god knows what memory he will create today.