in which i am proud of numerous things.

Permission arrives to post a picture of Cedric's present. I think it's amazing. I trust you will too.

It's a camera. A really cool camera. I'm sure it is completely out of commission, but it'll look pretty cool on a shelf, right? It was purchased at the Marche aux Puces with rather less haggling than was perhaps called for, but no, Cedric, I am not telling you how much your own present cost. When I bought it, the seller said it was from the thirties, and in "acceptable" condition (ha ha). I keep playing with it, because you can shut that front door and make it accordion up, and then you pop it open and it all expands. Like a pop-up book, only better (unless we're talking about, say, a Graceland Interactive Pop-Up Tour. For example).

Skye and I surrendered to the inevitable and went grocery shopping. This is rather more stress-inducing than it would seem to, oh, normal people; because we do not, in fact, know how to cook. Therefore, we do not know how to shop; and so I called Mom in a minor panic. She laughed at my pain, and then she gave me a list of staples that we should try to buy. Butter. Eggs. Bread. (It occurs to me now that we forgot the eggs.)

Anyway, we went to Franprix and tried our best. Grocery stores in France are smaller than would be in any way reasonable. Four aisles and frozen food on two walls, fruit on another. We succeeded in buying enough stuff for the week, if we stretch it, and we only spent 64 Euros. This is impressive, I'm telling you right now. And we cooked dinner, after a fashion: tuna salad, cheese and tomato melted on bread. Tuna melt. But awesome. In Skye I have found someone whose culinary goals mesh with mine (namely, do not starve).

I have also started drinking tea. No, I don't understand it either, but a chunk of sugar goes a long way toward making things palatable. Still, coffee remains in the realm of the undrinkable.

Also, I have no idea why the formatting in this post is so screwy. Blogger is really frustrating.