Suitcase in hand...

Simone exited the French subway. She stood in the blustery cold uncertainly in the wide open square. There were precious few people about, probably because the wind bit so remorselessly one's skin that day.

Simone whirled in a circle, hoping to see where her bus route might be located but she found no clues. No bus stop in evidence, no map of bus routes... And then she saw it: a bus rounding the square. Simone hurried toward it. Lo and behold, it was the very bus she sought.

Would she catch it? She dragged her suitcase and carry-on bag behind her and hurried but it quickly became evident that unless the bus driver waited for her, she would all but miss her ride. She temporized. At least she wouldn't have to wander aimlessly looking for the bus stop: she knew where to wait.

But a miracle occurred that cold November morning. That French bus driver waited. He really did! And Simone did not have to turn into an icicle after all... Miracles do indeed come in all shapes and sizes.

La France sous la neige

Lorsque Simone arriva en France, elle remarqua qu'il y avait une fine couche de neige par terre. Elle n'y pensait pas très fort, puisqu'une petite couche de neige ne veut pas dire grand chose au Canada.

Mais voilà qu'alors qu'elle attendait le train, elle entendit que tous les trains étaient retardés à cause d'intempéries.

Pas vrai?

Malheureusement si.

Il n'y avait même pas un centimètre de neige par terre et les trains étaient retardés. Reste à voir ce qui arrive lorsqu'ils reçoivent plus de 5 centimètres. Ça doit être la crise...

Simone LOVES surprises

As usual, when the alarm rang at 2 am for hubby to start entering orders on his computer, Simone raced out to exercise, she being of the "once the alarm rings, I'm up" variety. As she finished exercising, she took a minute to send out an email. Just as she finished, a message came in.

"Stop the clickety click and get back to bed, baby," it said.

Simone smiled at her husband's impatience and plodded back to bed. They hadn't snuggled for more than two minutes and he was saying, "Okay, let's go."

"Let's go where?" Simone asked, shocked. "It's only 3:30 in the morning!"

"It's a surprise," grinned hubby.

And next thing Simone knew? They were boarding a train for Ottawa where Simone's 19 year old attends university.

What a huge treat!

(But who's gonna do the groceries and the laundry and the...)

Yorkville

Simone et son mari ont eu une sortie un peu imprévue à Yorkville. Le mari de Simone, dont le pied est toujours enflé, devait aller à Toronto afin de s'occuper de quelques affaires pour son boulot.

Il a donc conduit en ville et le couple s'est garé au beau milieu de Yorkville. Malgré le froid et le vent, il était agréable de se promener comme ça, au miieu d'une grande ville. On aurait put être n'importe ou au monde. Toutes les grandes marques y étaient.

Simone a fait du lêche-vitrine avec grand plaisir.

Pour le boulot, il s'agissait de s'arrêter dans un restaurant ou le chef, très connu pour les séries télévisées dans lesquelles il apparait régulièrement, les a accueilli. Malheureusement, le resto était fermé pour un événement quelconque ce soir-là, alors il a fallu aller manger dans un autre restaurant... Ce qui n'empêcha pas Simone de remarquer tous les vêtements super beaux qui se trouvaient dans les vitrines avoisinantes.

Que ça fait du bien de sortir entre adultes...

Someone's Cooking in the Kitchen

Simone was busy. Very busy. She was preparing several meals for the week ahead.

It had seemed like a perfect opportunity to get cooking: the kids were at school, the mother-in-law was at a doctor's appointment. Except that Simone forgot about one important factor: hubby. He was home and the absence of other players conjured up things much different than cooking in his mind.

"I need your help for a minute," called Simone.

He arrived with a camera.

A camera?

"Don't you know how sexy you look right now? I want to take your picture then let's get busy," he winked.

Exasperated, Simone glared at her husband. "I said I needed your help and not only do you come here with a camera but you want me to stand still for a few minutes?"

Failing to read the danger signs, Simone's hubby nodded agreeably.

"Argh!" Growled Simone. She marched toward hubby, removed the camera from his hands and handed him the pestle. "Here. Grind these fennel seeds for me."

"Grind?" Repeated Simone's husband.

"Fennel. Seeds."

Sigh.