HAIR DAY AND SORE LEGS

YUP!!!  We had hair appointments very first thing yesterday morning.  Bill left first, and I followed shortly.  I think I mentioned before that Eileen, my vietnamese hairdresser, around my own age, is no longer available.  We have been going to her forever.  She suffered a brain aneurism a few months ago and is now in the rehab hospital.  She is now talking again but is just learning to walk all over again.  Her goal apparently is to be back at work in one year....I highly doubt she will be but a good goal to work towards.  In the meantime we are now using Annie, another younger vietnamese girl.  And she is amazing...I like her even more.

So, three hours in the chair.  But, it gave me a chance to read my book.  I am reading Jodi Picoult's book "the Storyteller"  What an incredible interesting informative book.  Most of it is in the first person, told by a very old Jewish woman who survived Auchawitz (sp?)  Absolutely compelling, made me cry and hard to put down.

April and Bill went to the Rusty Gull for lunch.  It sounds like they had a great time.  This is where Bill meets his buddies each week and I think he was proud to show his daughter off to the crew down there.  Later in the afternoon we took the dogs to a nearby off leash park and let them rip.  It is so healing and peaceful in that forest.  I decided to walk home,  it is downhill all the way except the last two blocks, which is an evil uphill jaunt.  I took Parker with me.  It would be about 1-2 kilometers...which will make most of you go "oh pshaw!! easy peasy, downhill? really easy peasy!!!"  But if you pack on an extra 150 pounds over what most of you weigh, put on new shoes, and a totally sidewalkless road, off and on gravel and lumpy dirty roots, it ain't so easy.  But, I did it and today my feet and legs hurt like hell...in a good way!  We went to Mcd's after that for a drink.  Our cocktail lounge of choice!

Last night was Survivor so I didn't get too far from my chair.  I made beef bourguignon.  Really for real!!  When I was 17 I lived as an au pair with a very rich Jewish family here in Vancouver.  I learned how to cook some amazing things and one of them was their version of this beef stew.  I couldn't imagine a stew without peas, carrots, turnips etc...and to add red wine?????  Well, I had some beef, really tender good beef, in the fridge and one onion and 1/3 bottle of Dirty Laundry red...it screamed beef bourguignon.  And it turned out completely delicious!  And thats the first time I have made that since 1970!!!

Now I have just finished packing for Paris.  I have taken six outfits, I will wear each one twice.  I also took two pairs of shorts and one dress up outfit.  I am so excited.  Although, not to throw Bill under the bus or anything, I had asked him to check out the chunnel train from London to Paris and I thought that he had.  Turns out he hadn't.  All the reasonable seats are not available and what is left, and they are booking fast, are the very expensive tickets.  Like 600 bucks round trip each expensive, and they probably won't be available by then.  JEEZ!!!!  Its a damned good thing I checked or we would not have a way to Paris.  So I hopped onto Cheaptickets.com and booked flights over and back...so much cheaper.  1 hundred bucks one way.  And, it will be so much easier to return the rental car.  So now I am changing hotels for us.  This is why I always always always book hotels with good cancellation policies.  We no longer need a hotel by the Gare d' Nord so I am going to book one closer to the walking action.  I have already changed the hotel in London.  So much booking and pushing that confirm button.  I would hate being a travel agent.  If I screw up my plans, well they are MY plans, but to screw up someone else's would just be awful.

Gotta bounce...so much to do.  TTYL