January Adventures

I've been a bad blogger lately. I wasn't sure why I've been so tired this last week, until Saturday night when I started feeling feverish. I spent Sunday sleeping on my futon, alternating between putting more layers on and taking them off as the chills and the fevers took turns with my poor little body. But I feel a better today after some tea and toast and broth.

I've been enjoying all the status updates and photos about the blizzard the United States have been battling the past week.  It's easier to enjoy a blizzard when it's 50 degrees here and grass is growing in the cracks in the sidewalk. (I'm not sure I'll ever be able to live in the Midwest during the winter again.)

While you're buried under layers of snow and ice, let me catch you up on some of my recent adventures.

I got a new washing machine. FOR FREE. I'm so excited; hand washing or carrying my laundry for blocks has been getting quite tiring.

My friend Alain joked that my new friend was a Laden. "Osama bin Laden?" he said, laughing. "Non, non, non," I said, shaking my head at him.

But later that night...I heard a strange hissing noise from my kitchen and discovered my pipes were leaking. It was just a little leak, and it was late at night, so I decided to leave it until the morning.  Maybe not the best plan, as I found a large puddle on my kitchen floor the next day.
After I moved most of the contents of my kitchen into my living/dining/bedroom,

  and gave my washing machine a look

my friend Sylviane's neighbor came and fixed my pipes. Yay!  Now I can do laundry, my kitchen floor is clean, and my cupboards are reorganized. And on top of all that, I learned that I have a creepy basement under my apartment and how to turn my water off.  Sarcasm warning: It was just fabulous. 

Also, I got my hair cut! I've been needing a cut for a while, but they're really expensive in France. Then I discovered a salon/school around the corner from my apartment that offers free haircuts. I looked up all the haircutting words, like layers and bangs and "I'm trying to grow my hair out, please don't cut it too short." I like it, but I really can't wait until my hair gets longer. This in-between stage is annoying. Grow little hairs, grow!

You can't really tell here, but I have bangs now.

This post is getting really long, so it will be continued tomorrow. Hope you're having a great day!