It is great fun to wake up knowing that there’s nothing you have to do, apart having from the “must dos” of everyday life—we all know we need to shop for food and go to the dentist. Family, hobbies, and volunteer jobs can take up good chunks of time. But if you fail to establish some […]

Not long ago, a friend, anticipating  her own and her husband’s approaching retirement, expressed excitement about the possibilities ahead: travel, spending more time with family, cooking together, golfing together. She expressed nary a qualm, however, about 24/7 togetherness. Nor, apparently, had he. Be assured that the following comment is non-pejorative: Round-the-clock togetherness, even in the most blissful marriage, […]

You would think, without the burden of having to get up and out the door every day, I would sleep later. Not so much. In fact, I’ve developed a habit of getting up before sunrise even when Miss Puppy doesn’t harrass me out of bed. Sleeping in general has become particularly problematic since we “gained an […]

This is my first stab at writing a blog, but I found the first blog that interested me, French Word-a-Day — http://french-word-a-day.com — in 2001 or so, long before I ever knew that this sweet petit gout of an American ex-pat’s everyday life in Provence was called a blog. I’ve read it faithfully ever since. […]