Category: What am I to eat?

It’s strawberry season north of here, so when I came back from a trip up there, I brought strawberries for everyone.  They are incredibly sweet!  I’ve never appreciated strawberries so much in my life!  I’ll have to try to grow some.

A friend of mine helped me unpack all of my birthday treasures.   She took a strawberry break and offered me some.  I said I couldn’t take one because my hands were filthy.  I holding an enormous jug of hand sanitizer when I said it.  Duh.  The photo below is a reenactment.  Some strawberries were in fact consumed in the composition of this blog post.

Yesterday I took my teammates out to lunch for my usual meal.  Sometimes it’s frustrating when we do things together because people always treat Johannes most seriously because he’s a man.  However, he also gets the choicest piece of meat, pictured to the left, because he’s the most important person, being a man.  Hee hee.  I can defer to him in all culinary matters…

Aren’t these cute??  When I lived in France, I always admired these miniature pastries.  Little things have always attracted me, dollhouses and stuff.  My sister likes it all too, so I figured that we’d get some of these when she came to visit and enjoy oohing and aahing over their cuteness together. 

Somehow, we didn’t manage to get any, but here I am in France with a friend, and I convinced her to at least pretend that she thought they were adorable.  Not quite the same as sharing the experience with my sister, though.  Especially since this friend doesn’t like puff pastry filled with cream.  Huh?  How could you not like puff pastry filled with cream? 

Julie, when my lovely niece is old enough and has developed her own fascination with tiny things, the three of us are going to have to go to France and admire tiny eclairs!

Believe it or not, these lovely fruits are available at Walmart on Rt. 59 for only $5 a pound!  Rachel spotted them there.  Of course, they’re free off my friend Suzy’s tree, but shipping back to the States might be a little tricky. 

I wonder if they sell a lot of them…

POTLUCK.

In the States, there is often a sign up sheet for bringing things.  I usually push and shove to the front of the crowd around the list so I can do plastic silverware, cups, paper plates, something like that.  A few years ago I went to a thing in the States where we were
supposed to bring the dish we’re famous for.  My first thought was "Big
Macs?" 

There are not one but two potlucks with the other expats here this Christmas-appetizers Christmas Eve, and lunch on Christmas.  Unfortunately, we don’t use disposable anything here, so I have to come up with something edible to bring.  Appetizers were pretty easy-a friend is bringing some special imported treats up from the capital for me to serve-grapes, apples, and Cheddar cheese with crackers.  Ok, not exciting to the folks at home, but thrilling to people who serve here!  For Christmas Day, I have another imported thing.  A box of instant mashed potatoes.  I seem to be the only one excited about that, though.  I’m going to bring drinks too-I think I can manage iced tea and use up the stock of Crystal Light that a friend left me this summer.