a few notes from la france!

this weekend: arrived in france on friday (flight delayed, of course) and hit the ground running. left the airport, drove straight into a terrific snow storm, lost our windshield wipers, had a mini heart attack on the highway in the dark during rush hour traffic, switched cars, loaded all the gear into a friend's minivan, and headed to the mountains! (only 14 hairpin turns on the way up the last ascent... on ice. and did i mention we were in a minivan?) once safe in our sweet little chalet, we proceeded to have a crazy couple of days full of snow, hardcore alpine sports, alcohol abuse, sledding beneath a full moon, and CHEESE. gooood times.

injuries: plenty. after a weekend of intense snow sports, you can be sure the list is long. the worst of them (is not so bad) is a weird twisted elbow thing that happened when i was trying out SPEEDRACING. ON ICE. seriously, wtf were my friends thinking? clearly they must be trying to kill me. obviously i thought they meant cross country skiing when they suggested it (a much tamer version of skiing, aka not downhill) but alas, the language barrier failed us and then there i was, slipping around on ice with giant poles in my hands and huge sticks tied to my feet while people zoomed around me like dainty ballerinas. "it's like dancing," my friend jeremy told me - advice i found completely unhelpful. and so, i find myself handicapped once again, the right arm, for the second time in one month. bravo carmella!

but the weekend is over and i am back on the boat with my dad in the south of france. my new injury(ies) comes in quite handy since i am here with the specific intention of helping out my dad (who had carpel tunnel surgery over the break) and yet i can barely tie up my hair into a ponytail. you should watch me try to use a fork. hilarious

hair : since i'm spending the next month holed up on a sailboat with my dad, i thought this might be as good a time as ever to try this new experiment on my hair called "no 'poo!" . (no one to impress, although i might be meeting up with tim deary tomorrow night? he's living in toulon now!) basically, i wash my hair but without using any products (hence no poo= no SHAMpoo). it started out a bit greasy but i soon discovered combing my hair in the shower fixed that problem. they say it takes a few weeks of adjustment for the oils in your hair to stabilize, but afterwards, you should be rewarded with luscious locks of product-free hair. i might also try to make my own natural shampoo, as leslie mcoclock does (she suggests baking soda for shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner, both diluted in water, fyi)

chocolate: it's more than just a commodity, and beyond even a food group- in truth, it's really an entire lifestyle. breakfast lunch and dinner. example: my friend laura offered me a "yogurt" after a meal the other day, and it turned out to be what we would call "chocolate pudding." oh i love the french, with their chocolate and wine and cheese. there could be worse things in life. :)

missing yous, pics to come soon --

carmella

ps we should have a little section where you tell us what you're currently listening to/reading/etc, to spread the word about new music or whatever. i'll start.

i am currently reading ISHMAEL by daniel quinn and i can't explain how much i am blown away by this book, how many times i have thought argued discussed these same points that he's making. except he does so thoroughly and simply and without tears and yelling. i highly recommend this book. cheers!