I've been on the prowl for the perfect Buddha statue for many years now. (Note: I'm not a Buddhist. I just feel calm and peaceful when I see a Buddha.) There are so many different representations of the Buddha, but the one I have been searching for is like the one in the Japanese Gardens in San Francisco, which I've always liked... the very picture of serenity. While I still haven't found one exactly like that one that "felt just right", THIS wood-carved Buddha with his paint peeling but looking so zen, discovered at the big antiques brocante at Bastille, was one I liked better than any I've seen before. The only reason I didn't buy it? Over 1,000€.
I've been trying to be zen about having the flu for the past 3 days. I'm lucky; it's been a mild case. Low-grade fever that comes and goes, just enough to keep me sweating and chilly and a bit achy; not much appetite for certain foods; symptoms mainly under control with a good cough syrup and some OTC meds from the USA that I keep on hand; very tired and wanting to sleep a lot. But this was no where near as bad as the last time I remember having a really horrible flu, and that was more than 20 years ago. Then, I was single and sharing an apartment with my best friend, and I just remember being sick as a dog, even vomiting and feeling like it would never end.
This time, I had my husband around to care for me and about me, and other things fell into place (appointments getting reshuffled by others) to give me the space to just rest and let my body heal itself). I've tried to stay away from all the kids, hoping it won't "catch on" to anyone else. Fingers crossed that Georges won't end up with it; he refuses to let me sleep in another room when I'm sick.
So in reality... I'm not really griping much about la grippe this year. It could truly be much worse, and it's not. By tomorrow I ought to be in much better shape.
