Bonne année!

Two episodes of TV down, I was looking for something I could do without disturbing the sleeping kitten on my lap. So here it is, my next blog post.

1) Yes, I finally got a foster kitten! He is really sweet. His name is Igor. No, I didn't name him. He is smokey gray and loves attention and cuddles. Like more than any cat ever.

Bonjour! Je m'appelle Igor. Je parle français.

J'aime les gros ours en peluche.

... like, a lot

I like sleeping on laps

I will have him until he gets adopted, and in the meantime, I have a new cuddle buddy! 

Speaking of animals, these guys are back!

This time I gathered up the courage to pet them, and it made my day. I look for them every time I go for a walk now. They just hang out on the first floor windowsill with no leashes, and no apparent attempts to jump down. Their owner is never anywhere in sight, but I imagine there must be an old woman spying on me from inside the apartment.

2) I had a great Christmas vacation filled with family and friends. It was pretty hectic trying to see everyone in Ontario and New Brunswick for the 10 days were were home; however, it was worth it. Plus, we had a lovely New Years eve 'in' at our apartment in Caen, followed by three days of relaxation before Alex went back to work, which was very much needed. 

A Christmas pic: my cousin's 9 month old Bernese Mountain dog puppy.
He still thinks he is small enough to sit on my lap. He's right!

Lazy new years day in France. I only took this on SnapChat, so please excuse my failed attempt to add a caption.
Yes, it says "matching jammies". We are nerds. We have PhDs. It's no surprise. No need to remind us.

 3) I finally got a new cell phone! Huzzah! It is very much like my last one, except a different brand, and it actually works. Now I have a French phone number - hurray! Also, my plan is 0 Euros a month with no contract. And I bought the phone outright. Yep, you read that right. France is awesome...when it wants to be.

4) I went to my first yoga class this week. It is right across the street from my apartment in the top of a hair salon. It's actually a really nice yoga space, and the classes are really small (the class I went to only had 4 students including myself), which means the yoga instructor has plenty of time to suggest adjustments to each student. Maybe too much time in fact...the class was a little slow, as the instructor insisted on correcting our every move, but I'm hoping he picks up the pace at the next class tonight.

5) I start French classes at the University of Caen next Wednesday, and will start my new job as soon as I am given my French class timetable. In the meantime, I am getting a little bored of Duolingo and ready to get started with real lessons (although this kitty on my lap is a new excuse not to do anything all day)! I know what you're thinking; there is plenty to do in Europe. Well, we did book two upcoming trips; one to visit with friends who are coming to Paris in Feb, and another to visit my friend in London, England in March. Yay!

6) In the meantime, I have a new hobby. It's colouring. Don't laugh. I got two "adult colouring books" for Christmas, from two different people. Hmm...not sure what that means. Anyways, it's very relaxing and a good alternative to knitting when I am not currently working on a project.

One of my many artistic "creations" since Christmas.

That's all for now! Will send more updates once I have started my new endeavours in the coming weeks. Happy new year!