Our guest for the week-end arrived this morning... First word she uttered while entering Rude Manor was "chat", (French for cat in case you have no clue, which I doubt). Armand heard that and promptly decided to hide behind Thierry's bag, but his fluffy butt and tail were still visible, which didn't elude Margaux.

She then "helped" Thierry play Mario Kart by holding his wheel and pressing various wiimote buttons. He thought it was hilarious for some reason ;-)

And finally, we went to buy fruits and vegs with her (along with a little plastic chair for Margaux) and since she was a little grouchy (needed a nap and all that), we pretended our cucumbers were light sabers and attacked her in the store while making the classic lightsaber sound. She loved it. We'll probably have to go shop there with fake beards and wigs for a couple of months until everyone has forgotten, but what the hell, she had fun !

I can't believe how well she manages to eat (she barely misses her mouth now). And how fun and cute and cuddly she is.

And this is OT, but I've found the two tattoo I really want. I'll have a tiny stylized chameleon on one hip and a Bad Badtz Maru on the other. I thought about having a Stitch, but I want very simple, basic designs... I'm seeing the tattoo artist next week, I can't wait to get inked. In the meantime, I'd love more piercings in my ears...

Blythou out.

I did something I hardly thought I could on Friday. We visited our friends JM & Caroline (the Grand Moff and his wife) and they suggested we take a dip into their swimming pool.

I usually come up with a mountain of excuses regarding bathing with friends. Because a) I feel vulnerable and exposed in a bathing suit, b) I have trouble being half naked in front of friends and trouble seeing them half naked too and c) I look like a plucked chicken with my super white skin which tends to get all prickly if there's the tiniest breeze.

Somehow, I decided to do it. And it felt good and liberating. I'm not saying that from now on, I'm joining a nudist camp. But I'm glad I did it. It was fun.

Then we had dinner and we watched movies in the garden. It was short feature night and we had most of the Star War trailers in 16 mm, Roller Coaster Rabbit with Roger Rabbit, an old Disney cartoon called The Reluctant Dragon with the camp-est, gayest dragon I've ever seen and a Peter Sellers Muppets episode. That's what's beautiful about being adults : you can meet your friends, play in the pool and watch movies until it's pretty late without anyone ruining your fun.

Finally, today, we visited the Star Wars exhibition at the science museum. Thierry was once again surprised by my SW knowledge. But he refused to buy a SW Trivial Pursuit. He doesn't like to have his ass kicked by my inner geek, I suppose. We can be pretty competitive like that, sometimes...

Blythou out.

If you've never seen a Grand Moff up close, if you want to see Darth Vader showing his lighter side, if you want to see what happens to Rebel Blythes... Please take a look( behind that Force generated cut... )

So while I'm out running errands, I pop into a toy store to check out their selection of Littlest Pets. Turns out they don't have the long-haired chihuahua in his carrier. France is always behind in LP's releases. *sigh*

While I'm browsing through their selection of Strawberry Shortcake dolls (I'm doing extensive research on the matter. I only have 3+ years left until my goddaughter is old enough to play with them), I overhear a conversation.

Customer : Do you have Master Yoda's lightsaber ?
Shop assistant : Well, err, no, I don't think so. Are you sure he has one ?
C : Yes, I saw one for sale in another toystore...
S.A. : Maybe it was Darth Vador's saber ? Because I'm not sure Yoda has one. He doesn't fight, you know, he's pretty old and...

In front of such a blatant lack of culture, I can no longer hold my tongue :
"Of course he fights. He may be over 800 years-old but he fights a crucial duel against Count Dooku in Episode II and saves Kenobi's and Anakin's lives. He's got a saber with a green blade if that can help."

Both the customer and the shop assistant look at me in disbelief. I probably don't look like your regular SW fan and they're mostly guys over here anyway. I give the customer the address of a comic bookstore where I've seen said lightsaber a week ago. I then use the Force so he doesn't fall madly in love with me or my mind and leave with the feeling I've somehow did something to make the world a better/geekier place.

Blythou out.