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Books by the bed at home - eleven. Have taken to reading every time I wake up in the night.
Also binged on cereal and fruit last night. I shouldn't really have cereal in the house, especially the kind I like to buy even though I know I shouldn't. I buy one healthy cereal and one "fun" (sugary) cereal. Have "neighbor anxiety" which makes it difficult to sleep.
Yelled at the neighbor kids again yesterday. The barking dog threw me over the edge and I rushed out in a frenzy of discontent. Would I have the nerve to do something so rude and aggressive if they weren't defenseless foreigners? They actually went and told their mother (who we NEVER see) and came over and rang my doorbell. So I went out and next door and halfway up the steps and talked to A. She feels we are harassing her by calling the authorities to come and investigate dog situation (I am not the only one who is calling). I feel she has no concept of being a good neighbor. When it came down to it, she says she is allowed to have a dog and dogs bark. P., the pitbull, barks many times a day and not in a nice way. She also tears stuff up and spreads it all over their yard and mine and deposits unmentionables on my property. I gathered up such and placed it on their porch. I really should be nicer to the kids and may wait a week before taking further action. I really want them to leave. Also, a couple of guys were seen arriving with suitcases yesterday.
I did finish two books yesterday.
Book review: The complete potter, by Steve Mattison. A good overview of making pots. Each page includes one or two topics/methods with beautiful photos of procedures and finished pieces, giving credit to the potter and explanations of the pieces. This book is available at the Vineland Public Library (738 Mat)
Book review: The sweet life in Paris, by David Lebovitz. Started reading this BEFORE I went to Paris in May and was determined to finish it. According to David, only 20% of Americans have passports and we are used to foreigners on our turf and not so good at dealing with them when they are on their own turf. "The unspoken rule if you plan to live here - but equally good to adopt even if you're just coming for a visit - is knowing that you're going to be judged on how you look and how you present yourself. Yes, even if you're just dumping your garbage." I guess I should have mentioned that David is a chef from New York who moved to Paris. The book includes several great recipes such as floating island (made by Julia Child and my grandmother) and Gateau Breton (made only one day a week at a bakery near the Pont Neuf where I lived after college). I didn't copy the recipe for Ile flotant on page 28 because it looks really complicated and takes up three pages and I don't cook. When people ask him how long it took him to become fluent in French, he points out that even the FRENCH are not fluent in French. "One of the first words I learned in French class was raleur, which means 'someone who complains'. Maybe it's la grisaille, the dull, gray skies that hang over Paris, causing la morosite ambiente, the all-encompassing gloom that blankets the city at times."
I learned a lot of good words in this books, like that there is a name for the prized crusty end of a baguette. It is called le quignon. This is a valuable introduction to life in Paris and equally fun after you have been there. I borrowed this book from a friend.
