Four Guilt Free Pleasures

Following Wednesday’s post about my four indulgences, I thought I’d share four (nearly) guilt-free pleasures.

Good toast One of the local bakeries (there are two in my little village) makes the best bread. The other makes fabulous cakes, but as the cakes are a bit pricey and very fancy we rarely buy them. The bread bakery, on the other hand, makes perfect, chewy, slightly sour French bread with a crispy  crust and light, air filled interior. A flute, or large baguette, costs €1.10. It’s the kind of bread that American bakeries always try to duplicate, but never quite succeed. I bring it home, we eat about half immediately with cheese, and I freeze the rest. Sliced into large pieces lengthwise, it makes excellent buttered toast.

Free long distance phone calls Our internet comes bundled in a package that gives us free long distance phone calls to the United States. So I can call my mother, my father, my best friend, you name it, and talk for hours. It makes being so far away seem a little less far and I love not having to worry about how much I’m spending on phone calls. The same plan also offers free calls in between my husband’s and mine cell phones, all for the price of what you would pay for just internet with other companies (we use Neuf, if any French readers are wondering).

Free British TV When I first moved to France, eight years ago, we paid a lot more for internet and international phone calls than we do. And, had we chosen to have international TV, we would have paid a lot more for that too. A lot more. But now, with our satellite dish, we get about twenty British channels for free. The dish was here before we moved into the house- all we’ll do is move it back when we leave. I watch old reruns of Ricky Lake (they used to show Oprah!) and The X Factor or American Idol, my husband likes reruns of The Wonder Years. My kids watch the kids channel and then play on the corresponding website.

A clean house Disorder stresses me out, and even more so in our humble abode. Kid clutter, student clutter, computer clutter or guitar clutter- it doesn’t really matter, it’s all stressful. So, those times when I’m most stressed (or trying to avoid studying for an exam) I clean my house. And then I have the pleasure of a nice clean house and the satisfaction of a job well done. I’m a neat freak, I know, you don’t have to say it!

What’s your guilt-free pleasure?