Wow, been a while. Been busy. l got a very nice compliment today. A man said l had a "little" accent, l was from there? He was surprised l was American, and he said he loved my accent! Wow, ok. That was much needed for me today.

l actually went to a cafe and had a glass of wine. Normally l would not do this as most cafes are often very smokey. But the ban on smoking in cafes was put into effect, so now l can go. And l can take mon petit fee with me, too (if necessary)!

This holiday season, we didn't go home and l really felt it. Tickets are so expensive and we don't have a money tree. lt would be thousands of dollars that we don't have. lt was quite lonely without the chaos of my family. Living here is great, so many things l like about it, but l really need a bigger and more regular dose of the nest l flew from.

Next week l begin playing in a real French orchestra. The first three l played in before were French, but many of the players were other nationalities. One conductor was American, one British, and one Spanish. This one will be almost all Frenchies and the director, French. Good for my language acquisition.

l miss the US. Especially now when history is being written - the first African-American president! They talk about it over here - is America ready or not? l am making sure that we are registered to vote for this one, though l have done so for, gee, every election since l was 18.

Allors bonne sante a tout cette annee 2008.