The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

I think she knows something's up

Ever since I got back on Friday, Clachat has been more clingy than usual. She's been crawling into my lap any time I happen to sit down (whether or not my laptop is already there), which is rather unusual for her. Yesterday, one of our neighbors came by to say that her parents are interested in adopting Clachat; their cat recently died at the age of 13, and someone told our neighbor we were looking for a good home for our cat. I don't have all the details yet, and it may not work out, but apparently they live somewhere away from Paris and they have a garden, which would be perfect for Clachat, who is used to having some outdoor space. The daughters of this neighbor know the cat, and as they sometimes visit their grandparents, Clachat will even have someone a little bit familiar to check up on her from time to time. This cat-loving couple will come on Friday to meet Clachat -- whose name they apparently would intend to change if they adopt her, but I think she'll get used to it in time -- and if all goes well perhaps Clachat will find herself in... Read more →

The 100-lb. Monkey

After having recently completed the very huge goal of finishing a client writing project that took me over 2 1/2 years, I thought about what I wanted to focus on next in my life. Of course, the first thing that came to mind is putting all my professional energy into finishing my own memoir, and getting it published -- presumably with a nice, fat advance thrown into the bargain. And the second big goal is finding us a new place to live and organizing the household moving project, something that is a must-do, as our house is (to all intents and purposes) sold and we need to be out no later than end of June. But I also gave some thought to whether there were any personal goals I wanted or needed to work on. I've got the perfect man in my life (Georges, do NOT protest my use of the word "perfect"!) and a family. I'm more settled in Paris, although integration and improving my language skills will no doubt be a life-long process. It even appears as if we may have found a nice adoptive home for Clachat (more on that in a few more days, when we... Read more →

Coming up for air

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. After a very exhausting week and a half, I feel like I am finally coming up for a bit of air. I haven't been able to write much about what's been happening (and believe me, you probably don't want all the gory details anyway), but it all started with what I now suspect was some sort of strange variety of food poisoning (as opposed to a bad gastro virus I/a doctor originally thought I had). I spent the better part of 4+ days in the WC, dealing with all of that. The doctor, who came the morning after the first hellish night, where I was also vomiting and spiking a fever of 102.4F/39.1C, told me I had probably seen the worst of it already, that it was a virus and should be done by the end of that day. He gave me an RX for some stuff for nausea and for more Smecta (the French remedy for the runs) -- the latter of which wasn't working AT ALL anyway. Maybe that should have been my first clue that this wasn't an ordinary attack of gastro. The fever bounced up and down for another 40 or... Read more →

Five Years of Bold Soul-ness

I fully intended to post something about this yesterday -- the ACTUAL 5-year anniversary of The Bold Soul™ -- but I have been in the south of France for a few days, visiting my sister-in-law with the Little Guy, and the time just got away from me! But now that I have stopped to think about it... FIVE YEARS of blogging! WOW!!!!! It's amazing to think that five whole years have passed since I got that bee in my bonnet to come to Paris, and I started blogging as a means of staying connected to that dream until I could make it happen. Now, so many years later, my life has surpassed the dream! I'm getting ready to head back to Paris this morning, which means I don't have the time to wax more philosophical than this, but suffice to say I am both proud and humbled at the same time. And I thank all of you who have come along for the ride over the years. I have no way of knowing where the NEXT five years will take me/us/the Blog, but I hope you'll all stick around to find out. After all, you want to read the book... Read more →

I miss him already, and I haven't even left the house yet

You really don't want to know

Sorry for my absence, friends... since Wednesday afternoon, I've been down with the worst gastro-intestinal bug of my life! I'll spare you the deets but suffice to say I've already dropped 6 lbs in the first 3 days and it ain't 100% over yet. Sure, I wanted to drop some weight, but not like this. NEVER like this. And tomorrow I take the Little Guy south on the train for a few days to visit my sister-in-law. Normally this trip is a breeze, but after the past 5 days (and still counting) of practically living in the WC, I'm a little nervous. I am packing Immodium and hoping for the best. Wish me luck. I may need it. Read more →

3-in-1 Holiday

This past Sunday, February 14, was a three-in-one holiday here. I've already written about how the French don't really "do" Valentine's Day (much), but we did manage to find a spot in Belleville where two holiday parades (of sorts) merged into on. First, we had a bit of the Lunar New Year celebration: Then, it was on to "Carnival", with some of the Belgian "Géants" which I thought were rather interesting: I have to say, as parades go and compared with what I'm used to in an American parade (marching bands, parade floats and baton twirlers), this parade wasn't much. There were a few small brass bands and some decent drumming groups playing some good carnival dance beats. Mostly it seemed to be a lot of people in self-made costumes or NO costumes just walking by us. However, besides the giants, there were a few notable attractions I liked: I think this blue cat head is going to give me nightmares; it looks like Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat on crack. This big puppet seemed inspired by a Tim Burton movie. And here was the one and only hommage to Valentine's Day. Read more →

I just blogged to say "I Love You"

You know, the French don't really "do" Valentine's Day. Sure, you can walk around Paris today and see shop windows all decked out in shades of red, pink and white. Florists are no doubt pushing the roses, even on a Sunday when they're normally closed. But it's just not a big deal here, not so much on the national radar. I knew Georges was aware of the day coming up because about a week ago he mentioned it, and also reminded me that his Little Guy would be with us this weekend. Which I had also remembered, and then realized there would be no opportunity for some "romantic dinner à deux". And that's OK, it's not such a big deal. It's more fun, I think, to have a romantic dinner out on some other night, for no reason at all except that it's fun to go out and be together. The fact that I am so incredibly relaxed about Valentine's Day now, that I am not obsessing over it, that I can sincerely say "It's no big deal" is a testament to the kind of relationship Georges and I have. Since falling in love with him, I have changed many... Read more →

What WILL I do with all that free time? Oh, right... I'll write.

It is 5:00pm, Paris time. I have, just now, hit the SEND button on a Most Important Email message. It was to the client whose memoir I have been working on (part-time) for TWO AND A HALF YEARS. And the email in question contained the FINISHED MANUSCRIPT. So let it be written, so let it be DONE. And so it is. I have FINALLY finished this book! I am stunned. I am giddy. I am exhausted after two straight weeks of 8-10 hours daily of editing and more editing. And I want a big damn drink. Where's the champagne? I wish I could tell you more about the book, and someday soon I hope to be able to do that (because she's got a really cool story to tell, VERY interesting and inspiring and not one of those sappy hard-luck tales, either), but client confidentiality prevents me from sharing details at this time. Suffice to say, this is the biggest book project I've done to date. I'm not even sure if my own next book, also a memoir, will be as big. What I have learned as a writer through this long process, and if you are thinking of doing... Read more →

Faire une bêtise

Our French lesson for today, boys and girls, is "faire une bêtise". This means "to do something stupid".A bêtise is a "stupidity", a "silliness". If your kids are acting up and getting on your nerves, you might tell them to arrêtez les bêtises! Here are some very fine examples of grown-up people qui a fait une bêtise, all reported in the news recently (since we no longer have our former President to make fun of, I had to go looking for something else): Why do we REALLY need tougher gun control laws in the United States? Because too many stoopid people, like this guy, want to own guns. Proof that taking drugs makes you stoopid: man tries to buy crack and pay with his CREDIT CARD. Then he stole a car. Then he called the cops to report it stolen. And then he told the cops he'd tried to buy crack with his credit card. And it's not just stoopidity in America either. Here's one from our neighbors to the North. The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) and their so-called professional fact-checkers mixed up two films by Georges Lucas in the same news story, making for a "fairy" good bêtise, indeed.... Read more →