Would you happen to have a plastic baggie or some Centièmes?

My friend Martha in Tennessee, wanted to know if I had storage since I had such a small apartment.

I told her “I have no storage.  We are probably called “minamalists” since we have come to France with little.”    Then I took a pic of my “storage containers” which are here, and nothing but cardboard file containers from IKEA.  Yes, all two of them.

“storage” for our entire lives – in France

But there’s another problem, —-   my various bags.

Today I have started cleaning out just my handbags and my backpack that I usually take on all my walks with me, (not all at the same time, ) however, the variety of material that I have found inside and placed on my bed, is astounding.  It is a wonder that my shoulders aren’t lopsided.   I have never seen so many various and assorted “emergency”  sundries in my life.   I have found allergy pills that were missing for months and I daresay are any good,  Band-Aids that are so old, they probably wouldn’t stick if I needed them, a vast amount of lip softeners, chap-sticks, etc that I shant need another one for the rest of my living days………a receipt from PHILADELPHIA airport café where I promised the girl I’d sign in and give her a good writeup, (will) –  a  variety of paperclips, writing tablets, post-a-notes, pens,   And, strangely enough,  a tiny bottle of Bayer Aspirin, in case I have a heart attack, that was dated 2004;  4 sets of white stereo earphones, 181 centièmes,  26 small plastic bags so in case, God forbid, I have to carry an entire bottle of ADVIL with me instead of tucking a few pills here and there in teeny tiny baggies for the huge handbags,  AND an Irish Journey Blessing, an expired Starbucks card, AND a pair of scissors.  I am ready to nurse, heal, overdose, write an entire novel from the amount of paper inside, soften everyone’s lips that lives in Cassis, buy my way through at-least 3 trips to the “beach attendant toilet guy” that wants 60 centièmes to use the toilet there.   He loves it when I pour out the 60 centièmes from my little plastic baggies!!!!   Not.    OH!  Mon dieu – I just found 2 more items!   A St Louis Lottery ticket from LAST year and my mother’s hair pik from the 70’s!!   I’ve been looking for that thing!!!   (I dare not look up the numbers, it’s void after 180 days -what if I had the numbers?????!!!!!!!!!)    Better not to know.

And I tease my husband for being “OCD!!!”   Which, by the way is “TOC” in French.   (Trouble Obessionnel Compulsif );   Never say you haven’t learned a cool French Acronym from me.

the hand bag contents

Okay, time for me to get the heck out of here and walk walk walk,  and find ingredients  at the market for my SOUFFLE tonight.    My friend Sandrine is coming to enjoy that Souffle – and to give me yet another French lesson, of which we both laugh out loud from the “mistakes” and the “misunderstandings” .    I wonder if she needs a couple hundred plastic baggies.