Vive La France (And England, Too)!

Shortly after I finished my breakfast and was gathering cleaners and the bucket to scrub the bathroom and hall floor, I saw the mailman drop a package on my porch. I brought it in and opened it as well as I could (it was VERY well taped). I pulled away the paper to discover an adorable polar bear with big brown eyes and a sweet smile, wearing a red velvet collar. His tag said his name is Marshmallow. I absolutely loved him the moment I saw him.

The second gift verified who sent it. Linda Young mentioned on her blog that she made a friend a present, but couldn't tell what it was on her blog because that friend read her blog. I was wondering whom it could be. The second gift gave me my answer. It was a large wooden E painted with shimmery copper paint, topped with three matching little Es and gold glitter. Linda did a wonderful job on it! Now, I just need to find a great place to put it...

Linda's package wasn't the only birthday gift that arrived today. My sister Anny, her son Skylar, and her current boyfriend Mike sent me a nifty "Star Wars"/Darth Vader-themed Hallmark card that plays "The Imperial March" when you open it.

It took me less than 20 minutes to scrub the bathroom and hall floors. As I've mentioned, my bathroom is very small, and the "hall" is even smaller, a rectangle of linoleum between the living room and bedroom, with the door leading to the bathroom in the middle. It took a long time to dry, thanks to a damp and gloomy day, so I began a simple wheat flour yeast bread recipe I found in a British baking book. While it rose, I ate lunch. I began a vegetable soup recipe last night, but began it too late to have it for dinner, so I had some with lunch today, along with a Peanut Butter and Apricot Preserves Sandwich. The recipe for the veggie soup came out of the French Women Don't Get Fat cookbook...and now I can understand WHY they don't get fat. The soup was delicious, a perfect blend of winter and spring veggies (and a little leftover chicken from the Wine-Marinated Chicken the other night).

I punched down the bread and put it back to let it rise again, then ran to Collingswood for a walk and a few short errands. I met Erica in her car on my way through the neighborhood. She gave me a ride to the thrift shop so I could give them the last of my spring cleaning donations, which I did. Unfortunately, I forgot that, for some strange reason, half the shops in Collingswood are closed on Monday. I was able to pick up some wrapping paper and a pack of WebKinz Cards at the Variety Store, but there were no good records at the Library and the Tree House Cafe was closed. By the time I peeked in Yogawood, they were almost closed for the day, too. I'll call them tomorrow. I bought a Chai Tea Latte from GrooveGround and walked home.

After I got home, put the bread in the oven and did more spring cleaning - vacuumed the house, swept the porch, and took out the recycling (the recycling truck comes tomorrow). The bread smelled so good when it came out, I cut myself a slice immediately and added a bit of butter. It was soooo good, crusty and soft and nutty. I'm never going back to plain-old-bread-on-a-shelf again. I'll either make my own, or when it gets too hot for bread baking, buy it from a bakery or the Farm Market.

Dinner was simple-but-tasty, too, a recipe for Pork Chops and Apples that also came out of French Women Don't Get Fat. I've made Pork Chops and Apples before, but they never came out as good as this, sweet and salty (from the wine used in the sauce) at the same time.