Go to Sleepy, Little Baby

Yesterday I tried to think what I should write: something engaging, something Charming, something, brilliant. Okay, maybe that’s going a little too far;I’ve never written anything brilliant in my life, but, you know, there’s always hope.
Not yesterday, though, there was no hope there. All I could think of was whiny stuff for a whiny baby blog. And why? Nothing horrible, heck, nothing remotely bad happened to me. I had no obligations the whole day. In fact, I had a very nice day with coffee and the New York Times in the morning, and gardening and a nice, hot bath in the afternoon (yesterday the weather was freakishly cold; today it is freakishly warm). Still, only whiny baby thoughts.

Then it came to me. I was cranky because I’d woken up at 5:00 AM. Of course I had – it was the first morning in a week that the cat hadn’t made me get up before 7:00. In fact, at 7:00, the cat was nowhere to be found. So, there I was, 5:00 AM, awake and slept out after six hours.  Why did I wake up, why?  I don't know.  Why couldn't I drift off back to sleep?  Same answer.  There was a time, when I had babies in the house, that six hours would have seemed more than adequate. Not any more, though. Now I want my seven to eight hours. I mean, I WANT them!

In the late afternoon, I sat on the porch and read my Kindle and ate chocolate. Ah, chocolate, the world’s panacea. Apparently I’m a simple creature. All it takes to keep me contented is a good book and a lot of chocolate.

I got eight hours of sleep last night, and today everything is hunky dory!

Pumpkin Surprise

The oldest patisserie in Nice (oops, I forget it's name) has a Halloween display in the window.  Yes, this is an example of American culture around the world.  The display is tasteful as only the French could construct it.  Among the little marzipan pumpkins with jack-o-lantern faces nestled in beautiful boxes are larger pumpkins perhaps four inches 'round.  The outsides look as real as real can be, the orange tint as if just picked from a garden, the tops sliced off, sitting next to the gourd.  However, as the French say, vive las difference!  (Yes, I know they were talking about gender, but just wait.)   The pumpkins are lined with chocolate and -- oh. la! -- filled with white, sugar-dusted Turkish Delight.