“April is the cruelest month…” - T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land
READING:
Hemingway — The Paris Years — What can I say? It’s my thing!
The Little Bookshop on the Seine — “It’s The Holiday on the Champs-Élysées in a great big love letter to Paris, charming old bookstores and happily-ever-afters! When bookshop owner Sarah Smith is offered the opportunity for a job exchange with her Parisian friend Sophie, saying yes is a no-brainer—after all, what kind of romantic would turn down six months in Paris? Sarah is sure she’s in for the experience of a lifetime—days spent surrounded by literature in a gorgeous bookshop, and the chance to watch the snow fall on the Eiffel Tower.” — Goodreads. This sounds a lot better than it was. I should have known as soon as chapter 1 revealed the boyfriend named “Ridge” — soap opera alert! You know that I’m not a fan of chick lit, but I stuck with this book for the Paris factor. Unfortunately, my tolerance continued to wane as I bristled at the Parisian inaccuracies. I would probably have enjoyed this book a lot more thirty years ago.
The Collector’s Apprentice — “It’s the summer of 1922, and nineteen-year-old Paulien Mertens finds herself in Paris—broke, disowned, and completely alone. Everyone in Belgium, including her own family, believes she stole millions in a sophisticated con game perpetrated by her then-fiancé, George Everard. To protect herself from the law and the wrath of those who lost everything, she creates a new identity, a Frenchwoman named Vivienne Gregsby, and sets out to recover her father’s art collection, prove her innocence—and exact revenge on George. When the eccentric and wealthy American art collector Edwin Bradley offers Vivienne the perfect job, she is soon caught up in the Parisian world of post-Impressionists and expatriates—including Gertrude Stein and Henri Matisse, with whom Vivienne becomes romantically entwined. As she travels between Paris and Philadelphia, where Bradley is building an art museum, her life becomes even more complicated: George returns with unclear motives . . . and then Vivienne is arrested for Bradley’s murder.” — Goodreads
WATCHING:
One World Together at Home — The concert that raised almost $128 million to support health care workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The best part was the final song — The Prayer (featured at our wedding) performed by Andrea Bocelli, Céline Dion, Lady Gaga, John Legend, and pianist Lang Lang.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist — With all the oppressive news these days, it’s nice to have a funny, musical diversion. Zoey works at a Google-like tech company where she discovers that she has the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her as songs and musical numbers. It’s also nice to see post-Gilmore Girls’ Lauren Graham in another hit role.
Call the Midwife (Season 9) — It’s the mid-1960’s and “the times, they are a-changin’.”
World on Fire — World War Two as seen through the lives of ordinary people from all sides of the global conflict. The first series of seven episodes tells the story of the first year of the war, starting with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ending with the Battle of Britain.
Making the Cut — It’s so good to see Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn again (miss them on Project Runway) and I loved the episodes shot in Paris; however, I did not agree with the final winner (no spoiler alert).
I haven’t started yet, by these French series on Netflix look intriguing.
LISTENING TO:
Exclusive episodes of The Earful Tower podcast for Patreon supporters complete with PDFs that I will reference again before my next trip to Paris.
Paris on Air, the audiobook (as read by Oliver Gee and friends)
I have been trying other podcasts including Lindsey Tramuta’s The New Paris ( This pushes me outside of my Paris comfort zone.) and A Beautiful Mess (I am kind of confused about my feelings for sisters, Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman. They are smart businesswomen and very creative, but can also be a bit of a cliché for millennial trendiness.)
FEELING:
Numb: At this point, most days really seem the same, but I’m doing my best to stay optimistic. I get up at 6:00 everyday and get ready as if I were going in to work. Highlights of my day include snuggling with a snoozy beagle, daily walks around the yard to observe new signs of spring, and unplugging with a glass of wine in the evening.
A bit unkempt: Actually, it’s not as bad as I thought. My hair is really long, but, despite all warnings against it, I have been trimming my bangs — millimeters at a time. This week, my salon put together customized do-it-yourself touch-up root kits which Monsieur Éric was kind enough to apply. I’m doing my own nails and tweezing my brows, but it will feel awesome to be professionally groomed again. And, yes, I recognize that these are superficial, first world problems.
Grateful: A colleague created this 30-Day Gratitude Challenge. I’ll share mine at the end. Play along, if you’d like:
Someone you are grateful for:
Some place you are grateful for:
A food you really love:
An experience you treasure:
A teacher who impacted you:
A skill you are grateful for:
A trip you loved:
A role model who inspired you:
A dessert you can’t get enough of:
A time you were given a helping hand:
A book you are grateful for:
A lesson you are grateful for:
One of your very best days:
Your favorite smell(s): lavender,
A place you feel cozy and secure:
Someone who believes in you:
An activity you love to do:
Something that relaxes you:
A sound that makes you happy:
Something or someplace that makes you feel alive:
A favorite memory from childhood:
A goal you achieved:
Something that makes you feel peaceful:
A person who makes you laugh:
A place that gives you a sense of wonder:
A challenge you have overcome:
The best gift you ever received:
Something you created that you are proud of:
Your favorite flavor(s):
Something about yourself that is pretty cool:
ENJOYING:
The Earful Tower Pub Quiz — Six weeks ago, Oliver Gee and his wife, Lina, started hosting a pub-style quiz on YouTube featuring categories such as French literature, fashion, food, history, etc. It is so much fun for francophiles and guess who won the very first quiz? Yep, me!
Zooming with friends and family — I have had virtual coffee dates, happy hours, and even Easter celebrations with both my friends in France and my 80-year-old godparents.
Baking — Yes, you heard me right. I am baking — primarily cookies, but I’m baking.
Designing a fun scavenger hunt for my nephews — While Alec and Chase were home with broken arms during “spring break,” I created a fun challenge to keep them busy:
Find a coin from the year you were born (need both if playing together)
Find a non-American coin
Find picture of spring in your yard (something growing, buds, eggs, etc.)
Send me a TikTok dance (melindamlarson)
Send me a Snap with a funny filter (melindamlarson)
Write a haiku about social distancing, quarantine, or COVID-19 (Remember a haiku is three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.)
Draw a picture of something you think Auntie would like (with your left hand, of course!)
Make a collage (paper or digital) of what you would rather be doing during spring break: Where would you go? What would you do? — Must contain 10 images)
Answer these facts about Paris
What is an “arrondissement” and how many are there in Paris?
What is the name of the river that runs through Paris?
How much does it cost a teenager to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower?
Who is the mayor of Paris?
Name a Paris fashion designer (Hint: I gave you Christmas presents in boxes by 2 different designers that apparently you can sell on eBay for big bucks!)
Take a picture of an animal in your yard (deer, bird, rabbit, squirrel — Lucky doesn’t count, neither does your dad!)
Find a something with Grandma Larson’s handwriting on it
Find out the #1 song on the Billboard charts when Auntie, your dad, your mom/Uncle Eric graduated from high school (need all 3 songs)
What was the name of the movie that Auntie’s #1 song is from?
Choose one of the 3 songs and do a lip-sync video.
Dress Lucky up and take a picture.
Make something for your family to eat and take a picture of them enjoying it (or not!)
Find a picture of your dad and Auntie when they were little.
Find a picture a picture of yourself with Auntie.
Find something that either begins with each letter of the alphabet or looks like that letter
Find something in your house that is each of these colors: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, gray, black, and white.
PLANNING:
Nothing. It’s impossible to make plans these days; in fact, I have spent quite a bit of time cancelling plans. Everyone’s health and safety are most import. I miss my friends and family as well as the places I love, but Eric and I will go back East next summer and I hope to be in Paris later this year.
