The weekend is nice and lazy, so its a perfect time to put up a few more Paris snaps, with commentary. Noticed that I hasn't posted many pictures from La Defense, several museums and the cemetary, so here are some of those.

The Dali Museum was as wacky you would expect...


But the oyster shell spoon was exquisite. (FYI - It might just be me, but I had much better luck taking snaps of the small, telling detail than of the great landscape)


The Grand Arch of La Defense, built in 1989, is the third landmark of Paris that follows the same line as the Louvre and the Arc de Triomph. The specks on the stairs - people - give you an idea of scale. The two rods leading up to the top mark the elevator.


Past La Defense, France is building something that looks as suspiciously 21st century high-tech bland as anything in the US.


Back again in the 19th century, the Musee d'Orsay was once a train station and got recycled into the main museum for Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. I had as much fun taking pictures of the interior spaces as I did the art. This is the main tramway.


And what you would look like on the main floor as you walked through the tramway...


Another treat was the Picasso Museum. It was a treat to be amongst hundreds of Picassos and it was a treat to just see a ton of Picassos without commentary. The juxaposition between these two couples was striking -


And on the last day in Paris, we paid our respects to Jim Morrison.


And the cimitarie cat.


Make sure you get a map of Pere Lachaisse Cimitarie, otherwise you will feel like this:

No pictures of underwear, I promise!

We visited Versailles on a rainy Sunday. Once it was the Hall of Mirrors, now its the the Hall of Camcorders..


But there is great shopping in the parking lot where all the buses congregated.


Good hunting in the glass-skylit Galleries in the 2nd arrondissment (let me know if I'm spelling that wrong). DH's first cousin took us around.


The first cousin also took us to, I believe, the Canal Saint Martin. This photo is terribly, terribly dark, but atmospheric.


Still life with cafe chair legs.


Regimented cafe umbrellas at the Pomipidou Center.

by popular request, some more pics...

Some of these are going to be funny, and maybe even telling of frugalness. It turns out that while I packed pretty well - the shoes from Goodwill and the sheath dress performed like champs - I did get caught short of one vital thing: only 5 pairs of panties. And somehow spending a ton of euros on french lingerie didn't appeal. So before the laverie came this:

Turns out that a metal disc with a little rubber center by the shower is a secret clothesline. DH showed it to me. The little rubber center is one end of the string, you pull it out and hook it to the latch at the other end of the shower.

Candid, accidental shot under the Arc de Triomphe.


Speaking of the Arc de Triomphe (it just struck me as looking best in blue)


I didn't bother seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, but it was fascinating to me that archeology is still being done around the medieval levels of the fort of the Louvre.


Night Paris - not all streets are narrow. If you can read the jittery lettering at left, the Monoprix (and its little sister, Monop') is the Wal-mart of France.


Speaking of nightlife, Paris has its nerds too. Each of the cars is a realitie virtualle game.


Everyone comes and puts their feet up at the Flea Market...

A quick itinerary:
18th - L'Opera & the neighborhood around the 1st arrondisement
19th - Madeleine Church, Rue Royale, Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb, Champs Elysses, Arc de Triomphe
20th - French lunch with the Parisian side of DHs family
21st - Notre Dame, Ile de Cite, a little bit of walking around the Rive Gauche
22nd - Montmartre; Dali Museum
23rd - Louvre, Place de Bastille
24th - 2nd french lunch with MIL friends, a nap, then an evening at the laverie automatique.
25th - Le Defense, Effiel Tower
26th - Marche aux Puces (Flea Market); walking tour of the Pallisades
27th - Versailles
28th - Picasso Museum, Pompidou Center
29th - Rodin Museum, Musee d'Orsay
30th - Pere Lachaisse Cimitaire

Thank you, Paris Metro and the Paris Museum Pass (PMP)! We managed to get to museums before the crowd did early on, but we got the 2-day PMP for the 28th and 29th. The PMP doesn't pay if you calculate it against admissions, but boy it does in terms of time and aggravation. The cheap person waits an hour in the rain, the frugal person gets the PMP and walks right in.

These pics aren't exhaustive - they're just some of the fun ones.

From the hotel room balcony


The cafe scene along the Champs Elysses is not as intimate as one would like


A nice atmospheric from the top of Notre Dame. Sepia setting, not sunset.


I have a ton of great Louvre snaps, but I just love this one. What you would really get if you tried to wrestle a big cat to the ground.


The laundromat next to the boulangerie...


Damn, its big...


Well you get the idea. Might just as well stop before y'all fall asleep.

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $4 bagel, coffee + $20 sweater wrap


So an interesting piece of trip karma happened this morning at the coffeeshop. I opened up my Sunday paper and found that it was last week's. Never happened to me before. I really didn't want to buy a paper, but I wanted something to read, so I grabbed a book and discovered it was one of those bookcrossing.com books. Read it, then release me ... somewhere. In that case, I just have to take it to Paris, and release it there.

I'm now 85% packed. I've gotten the final thing I was looking for - a black dressy scarf sweater wrap for a cool evening. I'm going for one bag, all the clothes I'm bringing are solid colors in white, black, beige, gray, red, jeans. Okay, a dark green top made it in, but everything matches everything else. Tried everything on - it all fits. Packed it up and I have space.

Super glued the catches of the day bag I'm taking to secure them from a snatch and grab. Shined the shoes. Put the hotel address in the bag I'm checking in. Took pictures of the checked bag so I have it on my digital camera.

I'm so excited now! 4 days and I'm going to be in Paris.

The image today was one I took on Friday. So mysterious, so short story-ish.

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $10 Denny's + $3.25 Italian soda + $17 bottle of wine + $6 groceries

Late Friday night, DH looked at the pile of CDs that I wanted to sell, and picked a few out of the pile.

So after breakfast, DH and I hit the Greenwood Art Walk (blogged a bit about it last year), which is when the various small business along Greenwood Avenue host an artist or two's work, hung alongside the store's wares. The CD store wasn't participating, but was at one end of the festivities, so I dropped off my stack and we went on our merry way.

Found the artist that I bought a piece from, and told him that I hung it at work and got a lot of great compliments. Fun to give him the word.

A leather mask artist had great stuff...


One of the artists had a number of Parisian photographs, so we had a great conversation with her. Her advice, all light based: Go see the Marais district (8:30 - 10:30 am especially) and the 4th floor of the Musee d'Orsay.

Went to the wine shop, where they had a free wine tasting. Each year I go, each year I think to look for the art, and each year I get sucked into the wine tasting. Bought a bottle of bordeaux to drink when we get back.

I managed to hit the lamp store, which had the most amazing display of chandeliers, lamps, and sconces...and a fan that looked like an airplane propeller.

Lookyloo-ing was never so cheap and so fun.

Back at the CD place, I got $100 of store credit. He gave me a bit of a break and wrote up a 11 CD gift card.

Got a few groceries, but since we are only going to be here for a few days, it was just salad-y things, a bit of fruit, and fill-in items. The strategy is to clean out the refrigerator and freezer as much as possible of things that I know won't make it two weeks. Soup, salad, and maybe a meat patty or two for a couple of days.

Saving log - $3
Spending log - $1.85 coffee, milk + $6 lunch and snack + $6 stickers

DH sometimes has the sensibility of a 12 yr old boy. He told me last night that he wanted to change the stickers on his PDA - too flashy, he said. So I bought him some Japanese samurai and kabuki stickers.

Tiny and not so tiny decisions - I have one of three recurring charges (ISP, Netflix, newspaper) on my credit card. This month was the first month I saw that my ISP charge made it from the credit card to my debit card. Think I will try moving the Netflix this month.

Not so tiny decision. This stock market is baffling me and has been for months. I don't understand the fundamentals and why its going up so fast. I decided to shift the 403B part of my portfolio a bit. Before it was quite aggressive - 90% stock (I have some bonds elsewhere). I decided to redistribute to 50/50 bond and stock, so I still have plenty of stock. I'm just trimming my sails a bit.

I'd do that with some of the Vanguard holdings, however they're in a taxable account and I've bought less than a year ago, so if I shift things around, any profits from selling will be taxed on the income rate, not long term capital gains rate. The next little bit of new money I receive, I'll put it in bonds and trim the sails a bit there, too.

Just to remind me that it's May in my yard:

Free tickets to the grand re-opening of the Seattle Art Museum, as long as you were willing to wait. I went because I had to figure out the museum setting on my camera and had to develop a taste for waiting in line like a tourist.

But I did spend a bit of money. Tickets had a time that you showed back up to get in and I knew I had to hit the bathroom and get a little something to buck me up a bit. So I bought a $3 mocha and a sushi roll for $7.

The ticket line...


The color commentary from the strip club The Lusty Lady across the street (if you are visiting Seattle, its even more of an institution than the Space Needle)


Picture taking was verboten, but with museum setting (no flash), I did enjoy the illicit thrill of snapping two - one from the lobby...


And one from the third floor landing looking back down at the line...


I enjoyed the update to the museum, however the differences in the art in the rooms fluctuated wildly - Islamic in one room, 19th century American the next, Japanese, modern art, African, Korean. Constant surprise. On top of that each of the rooms was branded with the donor's name. It gave the appearance of a gigantic attic under probate where all the heirs taped off their slice and are squabbling, "Mine!"

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + 15$ lunch + $6.15 girly supplies

The coin rescue is going well; I found 3 dimes on the street this evening, one after the other. Just a little FYI - my best hunting grounds are on the curb, or on the sidewalks close to the curb. Pedestrians must put their hands in their pockets as they wait for the light, take them out again. Traffic noise must mask the change hitting the sidewalk, or the pedestrian hears it but thinks, "Forget it - I've got to cross the street." Sometimes to harvest change you have to have a willingness to get run over.

I have some luck on the bus right near the door for the same reason, but its usually pennies, rarely anything larger.

Finishing up projects right and left at work, and now when I say that I think I can get this done in a week, everyone does the math and says, "hah! You'll be in Paris then." Found me out.

Asked the post office to hold the mail. So darn nice that I can request it online.

The fact that the stock market has been up nearly 4 weeks in a row is just freakish to me. Entertaining, because I've bought quite a bit when it was a lot flatter and a lot cheaper. Its doubly entertaining when a number of people are trying to get back into it because it is so high. G*d, people are such financial lemmings! Buy high and sell low, rinse and repeat - there's the way to go broke.

I'd try to get out of the stock market right now, but only about 1/2 of my shares I've held for over a year, so if sold would be considered long term capital gains and taxed less. (I bought seriously on the dips in July and August.)

Got word that the TD Ameritrade account I still have will have its account number changed, so its assured that I will be locked out of it, have to call and sound like a goob.

Next week the trainer comes back and we'll see how I did. My legs are stiff from yesterday and now I only have myself to blame.

Two images, one iconic. In case you forgot where I'm blogging from.


The second one was taken when the bus was zooming on 15th Ave NW. Its blurry and makes me jangly, but I like it.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + $5 magazine + $7 lunch

I've been thinking a bit about supervising DJ friend a bit. Four years ago, I helped to hire him as a temp staffer. When he became a permanent staffer, I had been in that same job several years before so I mentored him a bit. I switched departments. When the opening came up in my new department to work with me that was a step up, I encouraged him to apply and really pushed for him. And in the past two years he's really proven himself.

So while it will be a bit weird, maybe not so bad. Its not like we were at the same level and I moved along over him. I've always been more senior, and have behaved a bit like his supervisor already.

I've already started with giving my two staff members several of the continuous projects that bedeveiled me. Might just as well make my mark early!

The image today is what I wish today was like. It was off and on raining, and this one is sunny...

Saving log - $0
Spending log - .65$ milk + $5.25 lunch

This morning I was called into my boss's office and was offered the promotion. On May 16th I will be packing for Paris but I will be the official boss of DJ friend (boy that'll be weird) and another co-worker.

The job grade is one step higher than the one I have, so I'm guessing it will be a $2000/yr pay raise. That and an expected 4% raise at the beginning of the next fiscal year (July) means I have a fighting chance of paying off the Paris trip within the year. I'm not sure if the job grade pay raise and the cola are additive or not.

Tried out some more settings on the camera. I figured out that it takes black & white, vivid color, cyan, and sepia. Since the MayDay rally caused a stack-up of buses, that's what I used.

This sign appears every 50 feet or so along the Aurora bridge, a magnet for this sort of problem.

Today I changed some dollars to euros for the trip. Too bad that 1507$ is only 1005 euros, but I hit it lucky at the Travelex in Westlake Center. They had a special - no 1% change rate, and a free buyback program to change the euros to dollars at the rate I got today. Due date for the buyback is 31 days, but I'll be in Atlanta on a 3 hr layover on May 31 (last day of my buyback). I know what I'll be doing!

In addition to that, it was a spendy day - a couple more bras, tights, ankle socks, and bubble bath ($38). Lunch at a kaiten sushi place ($13). DH was eyeing my Japanese-style fold out Moleskine notebook, so to avoid a fight, I picked a couple more, along with some office supplies ($29). And to top it off, a bubble tea ($3.25).

2 images I had to show. On the postcard rack at the curry joint I saw this:


And I had to take a snap of the curry. The most addictive thing in the box is the little plastic container of green sauce. I think is comprised of yogurt, green chili, and cilantro. Sour, hot, and cilantro-y sharp. I could dip a slice of cardboard in it and happily eat it.

Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + $6.45 lunch (today and tomorrow) + $.75 peppermint tea

Had to admit defeat this pay period - I moved $100 from the brick and mortar savings account back to checking. I'll try to tighten things up, then move the leftover money back.

Bought the footlong sandwich which I will eat tomorrow. The resume and cover letter that I needed to submit to apply for the promotion I finished up this morning, with a chiropractor break in the middle.

I'm getting more and more excited about my trip. Anticipation, just like anything else, has to be timed just right. You want to be at the peak of anticipation just before you go, not a few weeks before. Right now its remembering to hold the mail, call the bank so they won't hold my money, call the executors, donate my newspaper subscription, get some euros so I won't have to find spare coins at Charles De Gaulle airport. There is a Travelex in Seattle for that. The rates are $5.95 flat or 1%, which ever is greater. So $600 is the break point.

The image is from last Friday night while I was waiting for the bus. Not quite Paris, but Paris in spirit.

Got done with revising the resume, due tomorrow. So to reward myself with fun writing, its time to blog. Since the How to Buy Grocery Produce was so popular (450 hits!), I'm planning on writing the sequel - How to Store Grocery Produce.

Picked up several more solid colored tops for the summer (and for Paris). ($7)

Yet more images from yesterday's festivities:


DH is on the sidewalk, in the jeans and black T-shirt.

Tulips of different colors


Lulu - the pug hard to photograph. Her owner was watching me through the window, laughing her blank off.

At one of the Greenwood yard sales...


That's where I went today instead of the book sale. I stopped off at a number of places, but controlled myself and bought only what I could use right now - I bought a framed poster, a book (that was free), 3 art tiles, bath oils, and a 4 pack of coasters. (15$)

Snapped a number of pictures, including a very cute pug. Hard to shoot pets, they don't stand still.

After the yard sales, DH and I went to the grocery store. The produce looked okay, but the price was wrong, so I only got bananas, spinach, potatoes. I also bought some No Jet Lag for the trip, which several coworkers swore by, and a tube of facial peel. ($44)

And no, although I was tempted and could probably use the item right now, I didn't buy the handcuffs.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $7 lunch + $11 goodwill (shoes and light blouse)

Bought a pair of brown slip on shoes and a neutral light blouse for summer. Seattle is not known for summer particularly. Usually there's a three week space that you need something summery - after that, its long sleeves year round if you want. I just don't want to hit Paris in t-shirts.

Hit the gym again armed with an index card containing a lower body routine.

My bus ride goes past a sign that never fails to make me smile. Here it is.

Saving log - $4
Spending log - .65$ milk + 6.75$ lunch

I had a craving for the deluxe pho, and I haven't posted an image for awhile. Its hard to find a more frugal pleasure than the deluxe pho. And of course, any larger, and you could take a bath in it.


The SD card finally came from Overstock.com. Time to email a thank you that I got it.

Our department is reorganizing and the job that I now have will be classified one job grade level up and will expand to become supervisory. I still have to apply for it, but the competition will be inside our department, and its all the duties that I have right now, which no one else wants to do . I just have to jump through the hoops and be mellow about it.

Which to participate in next Saturday -

The Public Library book sale or
the Greenwood neighborhood yard sale?

Because I improved my hard drive, everything is slow enough so that I broke down and bought another 512M of memory ($59) from Memory Suppliers. I've ordered stuff from them off and on - USB drives, the last 512 M memory, an SD card if overstock.com fails. I've always been successful. Their memory configurator alone is a lifesaver. (link is in Sites I Enjoy if you need the memory configurator)

I hit it so lucky today at the thrift store. Because I'm a casual sort, what has been freaking me out for the Paris trip is that DH, MIL and I will be having a high end authentic French meal, a dress for an important occasion place...in May, when its warm. The plan was that I'd buy something there. Not that I wouldn't find anything there - - but its always been my shopping experience that desperation breeds frustration, high expense, and bad luck. When I have to find it, I won't, and that will cut into museum time. Today I found a navy blue, high-waisted sheath dress. Conservative, classic, flattering, readily accessorizable, and 10$.

A couple days ago I snapped a picture of our cherry tree.


We don't get many cherries off of it - the birds get there first. Somehow I've lived near a cherry tree for well over half of my life. We had one on the farm, my uncle had one, the rental in grad school had one, and now here. Funny story - the cherry tree at the grad school rental was so large that I didn't figure it out until a cherry hit me on the back of my neck.

A mixed bag of food buying -

Went to breakfast at a new place considerably closer to our house than the Denny's is. The food was great but the portion sizes were tremendous; I guess for $10, it was to be expected that we were served platters, not plates. Its a step forward though that even my eyes figured it out. Time not to be a caloric hero: got 2 boxes - one for me and one for DH, who actually used his immediately. I was so proud.

There was a party of three at the table next to us - grandmother, mother in her late 40s - early 50s, and son in early 20s. The portions were huge for even them. They ate, son left some bacon on his plate. "It's okay grandma, there some bacon at home," son said.

They left a bit after us, the mother and son to pay, the grandmother a bit behind. The grandmother glanced at our boxes and said sadly, "...tried to teach him some values."

After food, it was hitting a couple of grocery stores - the one next to the breakfast place had only a 10/$10 deal on clif bars, but only in the chocolate/ peanut flavors. Produce looked good, but everything is at least .50/lb more than it was even 2-3 months ago. Anyone else notice?

Next was the HT, which had better produce and fruit prices. I've been on an apple/banana jag for this week which was great because each were .49$/lb.

Then it was cleaning house and watching the afternoon rain. The image today is of wet, newly unfurled japanese maple leaves.


Contacted overstock.com. The camera works great, but the SD card I ordered with it hasn't come yet. They are putting a trace on it and will contact me in 4 days.

Finally, I made some broccoli salad, but I needed tarragon. Went to my third grocery store where I got the tarragon, but also found .99 clif bars in my two favorite flavors - apricot and blueberry. Yippee.

Because my credit card bill is lighter than usual, I put $200 into my ING account.

Thursday, April 12
Saving log - $3 tip box + $35 to DRP + $40 to another DRP (I know it'll go through on the next paycheck) + $15.22 from T-bills
Spending log - .65$ milk + $30.15$ sundries and a twenty dollar bill

Friday, April 13
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - .65$ milk + 15$ lunch

Can I vent? I process pledges, write and mail reports that tell other entities who much money they'll be getting from us. I got a snarky comment over email from the VP of one of the other entities out in Boise, Idaho (not my office) ... Why is it taking so long, couldn't it be done faster?

This is a $500,000 report. Elephant clip next to it the largest one they make and is put in for scale.

Get a grip, lady.

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + 7$ lunch

DJ friend's memory failed. It was funny really - the memory threw a driver into an infinite loop. So it was shut down, pop out the memory, put my old memory back in and everything's fine.

Work was just tiring today. Everyone seemed to want something now. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

This afternoon was a beautiful day, so for lunch I bought at Uwajimaya and ate at the most beautiful, frugal place I know - Waterfall Park, Pioneer Square, birthplace of UPS. Free, baby.

Saving - $1 tip box
Spending - $.65 milk + $7 lunch

Well, you've heard over and over (and over) about my tip box at work. And once upon a time Jeffrey encouraged us to show off our tip jars.

Well, today's photo is a snap of my infamous tip box nestled in its native environment - one of my desk drawers (yeah, like I'm going to tell you which one ) by the business cards, the tea, and the emergen-C packets. It even comes with its little tiki cover.



So far, I've moved over $1400 through my little box from the wallet to the savings account. Don't be fooled - its a powerhouse!

I always wanted to have long legs...



With apologies to Priceplus, where I got the idea..

So the ATM was down this morning. Instead of paying a double $1.50 in fees for using a foreign ATM machine, I went to the hated Safeway, bought 5 Clif bars 10 for 10$ and added $40. Sigh. So much for privacy.

Met with DJ friend to go through how to use the Excel templates I made that will give us a correctly formatted playlist time no matter what a DJ gives us. I volunteered to format a number of the especially weird ones ("You won't ever have to buy a coffee again," he said.) But I promised DJ friend that I would give him how much time it took me so he gets an idea of how much he owes...

Ran five playlists myself in 35 minutes. I'd be faster, but I was rusty on the first one, and it was a multi-hour one that I debated for 10 minutes how to do.

Then I went for 1.5 hour walk in the light drizzle, listening to tunes. Fun and relaxing after close work.

From two days ago, a snap of the hated fish flingers...

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $20 (DH and I's breakfast @ Denny's) + $5.50 produce

From Friday - So I chatted with DJ friend, who is the king of getting electronics and deals for the radio station, that I'm going to be looking for another 512M memory. He told me that he upgraded last week and was left, somehow, with a 512M memory chip. We have the same Dell laptop. He doesn't understand how he was left with the extra chip; he didn't know what to do with it, he wrote it off to karma. I'll bring it in, he said.

I'm not going as far as "the secret" (blegh!), but one of the best frugal tips I know of is let other people know what you are looking for. You just never know.

About that 365 photo challenge. I can't say that I'll have the discipline to submit a photo every day, but carrying the little digital camera around and learning what it can do, well some shots appear. Today at Denny's on the Saturday before Easter...came a bunny and a chick.

I asked the parents for permission at the end of their meal (and boy did I feel weird about it), but I plan to take these photos off after a few days. You just can't be too careful.

Saving log - $1
Spending log - $.65 milk + $7 for 2 juices + $10 lunch + $3 apples + $5.45 camera case + $10 pizza dinner

After the .65 day, I was nibbled by mice. Another department has an intern, and since I interact and have lots of info, I met with him. Instead of coffee, I bought juices. So young....

I picked up a small camera case on sale from Fred Meyer. Its padded, the camera fits in it, it looks different when pawing through the purse. All that and for $4.99 closeout.

To answer a comment - Just like the song Kodachrome, "I got a Nikon camera" Nikon Coolpix 4600 from Overstock dot com. As threatened, I took it out and tried out some of the settings.

Hammering Man was getting a bicep transplant at noon today.