Zac's Back!

I woke up this morning at 9:00am. It felt so good. It was a little rainy, but that's just a given in Paris this summer. I haven't minded it. I would rather that than sweaty nights in my flat with no air conditioning or fan. Who wouldn't? I had to go to the grocery store so I could stock the pantry and fridge for the family's return. The time of arrival was unknown, so I decided to assume it was earlier than later, just to play it safe. When returning from Proxi with a full trolly, Marcel, a man doing some work around the house, but quite occupied. That means that he had stuff scattered everywhere. So much for cleaning the place and having it really nice and homey for their return. Arg!

I had to go to Verena's school to get a paper stamped that I probably should have done three and a half weeks ago. They were closed. Then off to Monoprix for some gifts and PAPER. I never have paper. It's one of those things that should always be around, wherever you are. It's like when you are a kid and you assume some fairy brings your toilet paper, rubber bands, pens - because every house has a plethora. You never thought it was your mom that kept all of it fully stocked. So I am realizing with paper. I stocked up. Three little notebooks. Which also brings up another point. I like to be in school. I was the teacher last year, which was fun and all, but I didn't get to look at my own list of school supplies to see what I had to go get for my classes. I have one more month till it's my turn. Oh how I miss the days at OSU in the bookstore with my basket, grabbing my mortar board (which was the highlight of my semester), and books and colored pens to help me organize my thoughts and activities.

After Monoprix I went to this store on Rue Saint Dominic called Joker. It's an everything store. Small, for certain, but they have all sorts of odd things for a fairly cheap price. I bought two decorative boxes to store my stationary, pictures, momentos, etc. Another thing that made it's way into my hands was a kitchen utensil holder that included wooden utensils. Now this thing has a plate attached so that you can set your wooden spoon dirtied with, um let's say, Queso, on it and it won't get your countertop dirty. Now that's innovative. Alright, apologies for taking you down bunny trails.

After all my errands I got a phone call to say the kids were at the flat. Woohooo. I ran in quickly. Zac was sitting on the couch watching television. I stood there for awhile, just waiting for him to look up and scream and run into my arms. That didn't happen. He didn't even look. I said quietly, "Zacharie, my sweet little boy!" Then he looked up and sweetly said my name. He came to give me a hug. I realized that we were going to have to get re-adjusted. It has been almost a month. I wanted to play with him, but he said "Connie, I haven't seen a television in a month. I need to watch it." Hmmm of course I replied with, "You haven't seen me for a month!" He grabbed my neck and kissed my cheek, smiled, then went back to watching his cartoon.

I meant to blog about this earlier, but Zac lost a tooth the night before he left for Greece. There is a story about the French Tooth Fairy that differs from our good ole American version. I will make sure to blog about it the next time a tooth falls out.

I went back to my place for an hour. I came back before the parents had to leave for NYC for a wedding. It was time for me to start cooking dinner for the family again, just the kids tonight. I am currently fasting with some friends from church, so I planned a night of good veggies that I love.

Menu de Connie:
Entree - grated carrots with vinaigrette dressing (I also added a tomato to my plate)
Main dish - Veal with homemade mashed potatoes and green bean almondine.

I have never cooked veal before and I was nervous. I planned to cook it in the oven. When Balthazar walked by I casually asked "Hey what pan do I use for the oven?" He said "You're not going to fry it?" Duh, so I said, "Oh I guess I could do it that way too, if that's what you prefer." Alright alright, I will fry it on a pan. I did it how I thought it was supposed to be done. My fear was that they would come into the kitchen, see what I was doing, and say "What are you DOING?" I did it quick and decided that if something didn't taste right, I would just say "Well that's how we do it in Texas." I am tired of saying that I have never eaten that or that I never knew how to set a table. That's some sort of appalling statement here in France.

Dinner was served and my eyes were watching all of their eyes. Was it good? Do they like it? Do they sense that I am seeking their approval right now? Hmmmm. I managed to get a "Mmmmm" out of Balthazar. Then, like an answer to prayer, sweet Barthelemy looks at me, shakes his head and says, "Connie, this is delicious." The clouds opened up, the choir sang, the light shone down on my face. I have arrived.