Monday is always do “life maintenance” day. The reason I do it on Monday is that most things – small shops, the Marché, cafes and restaurants are closed. This leaves few options for going out and doing things.

As I write every time I am in Toulouse, it always surprises me about the time it takes to do laundry. I have figured out there that there are “rapids” cycles for the washing machine but they still tend to take longer than the big washing machines we have in the United States. This is not a complaint just an observation as I really am not in a rush in Toulouse so the time it takes does not really matter. I am happy as the washing machine is in the apartment. Back in Alexandria, I have to do laundry in a communal laundry room – the good and the bad of living in a complex that was build in the 1940s and update in the 1980s. So being able to do laundry in the apartment without having to leave and to not worry about getting back to laundry room to be sure to move the clothes from the washer to the drier is a bonus.

There is no dryer so all laundry has to be line dried. I have actually embraced this even in Alexandria. I still use the dryer in Alexandria for sheets and towels but am more open to line drying other types of laundry. There is a nice drying rack with the apartment and it holds basically all the clothes I wash. I think I have mentioned that I only bring one week (7 days of clothes) with me. So doing laundry is essential once a week. The drying rack holds all my essentials that I wash once a week.

As well as doing laundry, I clean the apartment. It is easy and very efficient as the apartment is fairly small and does not have as much furniture and accessories as my apartment has in Alexandria. I am able to vacuum, mop the floors, clean the kitchen counter and do the bathroom pretty efficiently and quickly. I am always thrown by the fact that the toilet is in a separate room but again that does not affect the cleaning pattern and time.

Also, in Alexandria I have a cleaning group that comes in twice a month and cleans my apartment so house cleaning is not something that I do on a regular basis. I have to straighten up and do some cleaning but not to the level that I do in Toulouse. I guess being sort of anal retentive helps as I have to do a good job and I get into a strong routing when cleaning.

After the life maintenance, I went out for a walk as the weather is fantastic. It definitely feels like spring here in Toulouse. The highs are in the mid-sixties and it is sunny. I am not sure if I am just imagining it but the sun is warmer here than the DC area. Even in the mid-sixties when it is sunny it feels warmer. Sometimes I can just go out in a short sleeve shirt and feel comfortable. I am usually always cold so it is nice to feel warm.

I found a bench in a park by the Garonne and sat and read for a hour in the park. It was great afternoon activity. I am not sure why I feel good reading in a park here while I probably would not ever do it in Alexandria. We have the Potomac and parks along the banks of the river but I never think about sitting by the river and reading when I am in Alexandria. I think part of it is that there are not as many people who are out and about and using the parks. I think the community atmosphere in the parks is inviting where sitting by one’s self in a park is not as inviting.

There are definitely signs of spring in the plants now in Toulouse. It has even increased just in the 6 days I have been here. When I arrived the trees were still fairly barren. Not the new leaves are bringing to sprout and things are moving more toward a green rather than brown color. It is fun to see spring come as it is one of my favorite seasons.

I am sad that I will not see the Cherry Blossoms bloom in DC. It is an amazing and beautiful site to see the hundreds of trees in bloom. I have seen a few trees in bloom here so I am getting a little bit of that feeling here.

There are other signs of spring as well that make the city come alive.

As I love the sunsets in Toulouse, I went out at 6:30 pm and sat on the wall in front of the apartment complex on the banks of the Garonne and watched the sunset. I cannot ever get enough of the sunsets here in Toulouse. I am definitely not a morning person and living on the east coast of the U.S., sunsets are more visible than sunsets, especially with the hills and building that block the sunset in DC.

Final activity for the day was making dinner. I cooked the guinea fowl salad, and green beans. Both were very good.

All in all a good relaxing day.