Mardi Gras

We had the playgroup at our house today- stacks and stacks of crepes and lots of fun with the dressing up box. In the end, due to the flu going around and ski holidays, we ended up only being 8, but honestly when 4 of the guests are toddlers, 8 is enough. As you can see from the photo, we did some face painting. I did Ella up as a kitty,she ran to the mirror to admire herself for a few minutes, and then came straight back asking for more. So I added a bit here and there (green eyebrows? why not!) til she decided that she had had enough. In the end, she just looked a bit dirty, but she was pleased. Of course, Miss Eczema 2007 just woke up from her nap and her face is covered in red bumps. Honestly, you can't hardly look at that kid sideways and she breaks out in a rash. Guess I'll have to run out before bath time and pick up another 16 euro bottle of face cream for her. This face cream is so exceptionally delicate that it doesn't even have preservatives in it, so it comes in little capsules that need to used within 24 hours; there are 5 capsules in the box and last time she needed it for two weeks. I am single-handedly supporting our local Parapharmacie I suspect.

Its funny, the French tradition to eat crepes on Mardi Gras. At home, we always ate pancakes on Fridays during Lent and since it was a meal without meat, it seemed perfect for "fasting". Here its just the opposite and they eat them on the last day for a splurge before Lent begins. I suppose it has something to do with them being more like little cakes. Eating them them way we did today, with lots and lots of Nutella, they definitely couldn't be considered a meal for repentance, unless you're talking about the next day when you step on the scale...

We never have jam in the house, since we almost never have bread in the house (something I am sure to regret the day we move away from France), so I bought a few pots when I was at the grocery store yesterday. I figured I should buy something really special and maybe that way we would eat them up before they got moldy and had to be thrown in the bin. Turns out I chose well- Pear Vanilla and Red Figues from Gault-Millau, and that old fallback, Wild Strawberry from Bonne Maman. Still, the best crepes, in my opinion, were sugar and lemon on a warm buttered crepe. Yum. Thank goodness I was in the kitchen cooking and not sitting at the table eating or Operation Bikini would have been a lost cause.

Only 10 more days. I can hardly wait. But, did I buy a new swimsuit yet? Nope. I have been all over Paris and the internet looking and considering my options; basically wasting my own time. Its not that big of a decision. You'd think that I was using my retirement savings to buy up some dodgy Chinese IPO the way I'm fretting over this. Why is swimsuit shopping such a chore? B told me to just go to Eres at the Madeleine tomorrow afternoon and be done with it. I am always a bit shocked when he gives me good shopping advice. Where did he learn about buying women's swimwear? Hmmm, curious.

Then its to Brentano's to load up on literature. I tried to do it with Amazon but I just can't do virtual bookshopping very well; I need to page through real books to make a decision. I should also try and download some new music to my Ipod (and also replace the headphones that Ella chewed apart). Oh- and buy some new yarn for baby sweaters. I figure with 13 hours on an airplane, I should be able to knit a sweater, screw it up completely, pull it all out and start again, and STILL finish before landing. Lets hope knitting needles haven't been the most recent victim of air security. I don't have high hopes for Qatar Airways in flight entertainment.

Speaking of security, last time we went to the Maldives I had to laugh at the card that we received on the airplane warning us about items we couldn't bring into the country- top of the list? Porn and Pork Products (the Maldives is a strict Muslim country). Fair enough, I'll leave my bacon at home if I must. Bottom of the list? Guns and bombs. I assume that the list was not in order of importance.