Well dip me in mayonaise and throw me to the lesbians

Oy vey. I made sure Miss Kit got on the right ferry so she can catch a bus to go home and it all goes to hell.
The local bus service doesn't wait three minutes and she ends up stuck in Poulsbo (about forty minutes from home) all by herself until my Mom could rescue her.
Thankfully, some really kind people helped her out and kept her company. She isn't a baby or anything but she is fourteen. It was also the first time she has traveled from Port Townsend to Seattle by herself. (It is a 47 mile distance) My Mother is so pissed off right now that I suspect a bus driver may be found in a ditch soon.

In other news I had my review today. They love me. Maybe it helps that they know I might burst into tears if I get a bad review so they ignore the sarcastic behavior I display at work and say nice things about me. I got a piddly little raise and was told what a great person I was.
I was kind of scared because I was doing my review with Magda Goebbels and being in a room with her, with the door closed made me think of a dog that realizes that it is on its way to the vet. I wanted to scratch the door and say, "lemmie out, lemmie out."

Again one of the things I need to "improve" upon is coming to managers when I have concerns. So apparently trying to place nice, ignoring the problem and putting food on top of it doesn't sit well with them. But how does one say, "Yeah um...you are the problem. quit being such a bitch." I suppose one has to be creative. I did let on that I was sort of irritated that they weren't telling me things I needed to know and I was finding out about them after the fact. So they listened to that.

I think I will take a bubble bath and call it good.

You must taste this

One lovely evening in Paris we went to another itsy-bitsy restaurant that still makes me smile because of the kindness of the people who ran the place. La Cordonnerie (Chez Ivette & Claude) is one of those places that has been around for thirty-some years and will survive any sort of trend and will continue to please people because of the almost heart-breaking sweetness of Hugo and Valerie. The restaurant was originally started by Claude and Yvette and then was taken over by their son Hugo who makes everything and I mean everything you eat. (right down to the sorbet) His wife Valerie serves the people in the evening while Yvette serves people at lunch. These people were incredibly patient with us. We hardly speak French, and Valerie hardly speaks English but Hugo came from his kitchen and translated a few things for us that we didn't quite understand and said if we needed any further help that Valerie couldn't handle, he would come out to help us further. Oh the generosity of these people translates to the food which was exquisite. They had many wonderful offerings but I took a look at their specials. I really encourage people to try specials in good restaurants. (and by good I don't always mean posh) When a menu doesn't change too often a chef gets pretty damn bored making the same thing over and over again and the specials board is presents a place for a chef to really present their art. Sometimes it may cost a little more but you are paying for someone's skill and talent. That evening I began with a soup. It was a pumpkin soup (pureed) with salty bits of bacon sprinkled across. This is a superb dish for the Fall and it was so flavorful. It had the tender subtle sweet flavor of pumpkin, butter, good proper chicken stock and then the perfect surprise of the salty hot bacon. Mr. Jenner decided to have the fois gras that evening. This time it was fried with a bit of balsamic vinegar and was so damn delicious. One would be seduced by the warm smooth flavor of the fois gras and then receive a pleasant surprised of the bit of au jus that was briny.
We had a pleasant house red with our meal. It made me think of cherries, chocolate and pencil shavings.
While we waited for the main course to arrive a dog came into the room. She was a King Charles Spaniel who was begging food from everyone. She would come and sit on my feet, look very sad and hope I might be kind enough to give her some bread. Typically I am a sucker for any animal and I had a bit of restraint but I eventually broke down and gave her bits of bread. She also took a liking to sniffing my legs and hanging about until she found someone else to give her morsels of food. Mr. Jenner remarked that he always saw me with a dog like that instead of a Boston Terrier. Tempting thought but since that breed was on "Sex and the City" as Charlotte's dog (The dog was named Elizabeth Taylor) I am a little cautious of a breed that has a spotlight in the media.
Eventually our wonderful meals arrived. Mr. Jenner had the veal and I had the duck. Brown food but very good brown food. Delicate, juicy, and lovingly made.
Valerie would check on us occasionally and we managed to communicate how much we enjoyed the meal.
For dessert Mr. Jenner chose the strawberry sorbet which tasted so incredible. It was like someone had frozen strawberries. It was beautifully cold and sweet and tart.
I had the chocolate fondant. The outside is warm and rich. The inside has a sponge cake and a cold mousse-like filling. It was chocolate sex. I wish I could have some more.
It was a long, relaxing meal that allowed proper digestion. One felt absolutely at ease afterward.
Oh what a meal.
As we left Valerie came outside and waved good bye to us even though the small restaurant of 20 tables was full.
I long to return to Paris to have meals like that once again.

La Cordonnerie Chez Yvette & Claude
20 rue St-Roch
ph# 01-42-60-17-42
M: Pyramides
closed: Sat, Sun, Holidays, week between Christmas and New Years, Aug