I Took Them For Granted

I have been in Paris for over 7 and 1/2 months now.  I have slipped into a new routine and found some adventures around corners hither and yon.

But, the other day it was so hot, there was no such thing as routine and forget hither and yonning.  I just sat with the fan blowing on me...reading a book and finding my mind wandering to the little things we left back in the US...comfort things...practical things and well, things.  On days like these, we lament leaving the central air conditioning of not only our home, but of all the other civilized places one finds oneself on a hot day...we miss our lovely garden and pool and even driving in an air conditioned car...here we hoof it because riding the Metro on a hot day is just too much for one nose to take.

High on my 'Missed' list is crushed ice.  Lemonade, diet cola and a really good shaken cocktail need crushed ice.  We have an ice cube tray.  It is 3 inches by 4 inches and makes 12 of the cutest, tiniest cubes...which melt almost instantly.  No crunching of ice...I know it is bad for your teeth, but crunching ice can be oh so satisfying on a really hot day.   My fridge back home has an automatice ice maker...more than enough ice for the perfect martini; chilled vodka, chilled shaker, chilled glass...aah.

Of the foodstuffs I miss, you will find bagels, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, a juicy New Jersey peach, granola, oatmeal and Christy's Greek salad dressing on the short list.  Oh yeah and prepared broths and stocks...I have returned to making my own...not hard, just not always as convenient as popping open a carton of Wolfgang Puck's low sodium chicken stock.  And now that it is summer, I miss Maine lobster...oh and ice cream from Kimball's and Johnson's.  Amorino Gelato is an excellent substitute however.  They are masters of design at Amorino, making each cone or cup look like a beautiful flower, bursting with color...and yummy too.

I miss the GPL...I am going through books at a pretty good clip now...not unusual as it is summertime...but I am buying most of my books at English book stores.  I have not tried to resell them at the one of a gazillion second hand bookstores in the area...still working up the courage to part with my books.  But I love libraries...the books, the space, the time, the freedom, the quiet companionship.  Public libraries are a great resource for so many things and probably one of the greatest human institutions ever conceived! There are libraries here too...the big American library and of course the free French libraries, but the former is extremely busy and not terribly conveninet and the latter lacks books in English...I have some books written in French and I muddle through them but summertime requires quick reads and Jules Verne's Paris au XXe Seicle...is going to take me a while.

Who would have thought Soft Scrub, baking soda and a gallon of white vinegar would be missed?  But they were staple household cleaners.  Soft Scrub is no where to be found and Arm and Hammer type baking soda can only be found in a few specialty stores.  I can get Bicarbonate of Soda here, but the texture is different and it doesn't seem to clean the same.  Large quantities of white vinegar, or anything for that matter are a real oddity and luxury here.  First of all, storage space is at a premium, so big bottles, cartons, boxes don't make sense in the city...and if you have to run out to the store every other day to buy milk, cream and vinegar to clean the hard water build up on your appliances and bathroom...you spend more.  I guess that is one way to keep the economy moving.  But please note that I am paying the same for a liter of milk as I would for a half gallon at home. $$$$

Speaking of bigger, I miss my appliances at home.  I wrote earlier about my crazy French washer/dryer and how it takes days to do laundry here...but how about vacuuming?  My central vacuum cleaner, affectionately known as Rod was so convenient and efficient.  The little Hoover canister vac I have here sucks...and not in a good way.  I have to empty the little canister after cleaning two rooms and the filters need to be washed and dryed after every 5 rooms...and you can only vacuum one room at a time as you must let the little engine that almost could cool down.  I don't expect that Hoover will last the year.  I may try a Dyson next.

Then there are the comforts of my home...my things.  I would say about 90% of the stuff in our furnished flat isn't mine.  We have our clothes, books, office/computer things and a few knick-knacks we brought from home.  We have made a few key purchases here as well...an espresso machine, a hand held mixer, chopper, food processor gadget, a lovely crystal pitcher and a new copper pot for my infusions.  But I left the majority of my cookware, utensils, good knives and beaucoup des cookbooks in my recently renovated gourmet kitchen...I miss that six burner range and my three ovens!!   I miss my specialty wine glasses...I just started collecting them as my love and understanding of wine developed...the type of glass really does matter.  My husband misses glasses that hold more than 6 ounces.  As I alluded to earlier...sizes are different here.  One buys beverages by the cl, ml and liter.  A bottle of beer holds 25 or 33 cl...same with a bottle of Coke...and that is about 8 ounces or  2/3 or 1/2  of what we are used to at home. 

Of the other things I miss, here are a few...the sound of "American" sirens although not a favorite sound... the haw-hee, haw-hee nerve shattering, all day long pealing of French sirens is merciless and annoying.  I miss Splenda.  Italian subs.  Driving.  Mowing the lawn.  Gardening.  Cooking on the gas grill.  Birdwatching. Sitting on the grass.  Talking to friends on the phone.  Jack Williams and the 6pm news.  I really, really miss the Red Sox. Local politics and lively discussion about said politics.  I miss our cat, Gracie.  I worry she will forget me.

I miss being able to just do stuff...here everything requires a plan and preparation.  How do you get there?  What will we say?  What happens if we or they don't understand?  How do we get it back to the apartment?  Do they have it? What is the procedure....and so on. It is funny...odd funny...none of us (Emily is here for the summer), like to do anything alone.  From walking the dog to going over to the Boulangerie to buy bread...we always ask each other...do you wanna come along?  I guess we still feel there is safety in numbers.  I miss just hopping in the car and hitting the Pheasant Lane Mall...better still...going on the internet to order stuff...it was all so easy at home.  Here not so much...language barriers, taxes, special delivery instructions...ugh.


Aside from all my dear friends and family, I think I miss my deck most of all.  I miss turning on the outdoor sound system, listening to some classical music or jazz and plunking down in my outdoor living room snuggling into my favorite rocking chair...alone, with the day's copy of the Boston Globe, a copy of Wine Spectator or tbe Dean and Deluca catalogue, a tall glass of iced tea and nobody but the dog and the birds of the backyard to keep me company.  There is a difference in being alone and being lonely.  I was never lonely in the backyard. 

And last but not least, I miss who I was planning on becoming...I think she will show up...a little later than expected and perhaps with a new flair, air or savoir faire but I miss all the things at home that steered me in a purpose driven way.  Now sans GPS, my tools, resources and stuff that I spent years acquiring so I could BE me...I have to sweat it out and do without...not a bad thing, just different...we'll see.