Saturday.  We were expecting a quiet day but we ended up having so much fun!  As you know, it was market day so we were up and out early (for us).  We bought lettuce, tomato, avocado and mushrooms to make a salad for dinner on Sunday night.  My friend from high school, Gail, and her daughter, Lisa, will be arriving on Sunday to spend a few days with us.  We also bought some bananas.  It was a cool morning but the market was still very busy!

Then David walked me over to the salon, which is called Diva Salon, for my haircut and color.  It was not open yet so we waited a few minutes for the owner to arrive.  I was her first client of the day.  We went in and David walked next door to the bakery and bought a baguette.  He returned home and went back to the pastry vendor at the market and bought some breakfast treats.  Apple pastries that we love and something different -- miniature chocolate chip muffins that were very good.

Meanwhile, the stylist and I were talking away . . . her in French and me in English.  But with a few words of each other's language and hand gestures, we got along just fine.  She worked very quickly and within a few minutes she had applied the color to my gray roots (racine grise).  I knew I would have to sit awhile for the color to work so I took out my glasses to read a book on my Kindle.  I started to put my glasses on and she stopped me because she didn't want the dye to get on my glass frames.  She gave me these cool plastic sleeves to slide over the stems of my glasses.  I told her I hadn't seen them before so she gave me two of them to take home to show to my stylist, Erica.  Erica is pretty hip so I'm sure she's aware of them but I thought that was very nice of her.

While my hair was processing, we heard a marching band coming down the main street.  We went outside to watch it and it was great music and very festive.  We don't know why they were there but we enjoyed the band very much!

Soon she rinsed the color out of my hair and gave me a haircut.  She was a very fast hair cutter too!  The color looks good and the haircut is OK too.  It's a little short and not quite as edgy as Erica cuts it, but I think it looks nice!!!   

I walked home and I could hear the band playing in the market place.  David was just coming out the door to see the band so we stayed outside awhile listening to them.  We still don't know where the band was from or why they were playing but all of us at the market enjoyed it very much!

This is such a wonderful place to live -- you never know what you'll see from day to day and we love all of the surprises!  

When we were going back into the house we greeted Nathalie and her husband (whose first name we still haven't heard!).  Mr. Roger (using Nathalie's last name) asked us if we wanted to join them later for a drink.  Of course we said yes!  We were flattered that a French family invited us out to do something.  We were delighted!

Some time later after having breakfast and starting our day, Mr. Roger knocked on the door and we went out to have a drink with them.  They took us to Aux Cepages and the place was PACKED!  Nathalie told us that they go there most Saturdays for a glass of wine after she finishes working.  Of course they knew everyone there and there was much hand shaking and cheek kissing.  It was a party-like  atmosphere.  The outside tables were full so we got a table all by ourselves in the back room where the bottles of wine are for sale.  

We ordered our wine and then Nathalie ordered some . . . gasp . . . cans of sardines.  Now most of you know I'm a very picky eater and I don't eat seafood or fish of any kind.  And, of course, David is a vegetarian.  They had brought baguettes with them so they sliced the bread and encouraged us to dig in.  Couldn't do it.  But my sweet, sweet husband was a very good sport and he tried a bit of sardine (a big bite!) on a baguette.  He had eaten them when he was a kid so he said it wasn't too bad.  When I declined, they ordered some kind of pate on sliced baguette (pork, I think) so I ate that and it was delicious.  As an aside, I remember as a kid that my Dad ate sardines that were out of a can and packed in mustard.  I also hate mustard so it was a double icky thing.  My Dad used to chase me around holding the can pretending like he was going to make me eat one.  As if!!!!!

You would be amazed at the breadth of conversation the four of us were able to have with our limited French and their limited English.  We talked about their daughters and where we live in North Carolina and we talked a lot about politics.  We discovered Mr. Roger is a medical doctor although he is semi-retired and only works two days a week.  He explained that although he is a medical doctor, he prefers naturopathy and accupuncture and alternative types of medicine.  It was an interesting and enjoyable conversation.

Just when you think it can't get any more fun, up walks a very handsome man who greets Nathalie and Mr. Roger very warmly.  We were introduced to him as Nathalie's ex-husband and the father of her daughters.  He is Dutch and speaks four languages -- one of them English -- so that was fun.  We knew he used to grow flowers on a farm and I think he and Nathalie had a flower shop.  He is still farming because he gave Nathalie and Mr. Roger a chicken that he keeps at his farm and he gives that chicken's eggs to Nathalie.  Such a nice man and we all had a great visit.  There is nothing like an extended lunch (and a few glasses of wine) with new friends.

Nathalie had to go back to her shop and Mr. Roger was going home so we all walked back to our house together.  Here is a great picture of Nathalie and her husband right outside of her shop.

I'm sorry she put on a sweater because she had on the cutest purple dress with purple tights and boots! 

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly.  I'm sorry to say I'm finished watching "House of Cards" so I'm starting to watch Portlandia.  My niece, Lisa Shields Brock, told me I must watch it because it is filmed in Portland and it is great.  I watched two episodes of it and it is very Portland and I love it!  David took a little nap.  Then he walked over to the newsstand and bought the New York Times which he is really enjoying reading.

We had cocktail hour and we had pasta for dinner.  No dessert which is odd for us!!!  I think we stayed up until after 11:00!!!