I spleam fun

[la_rainette]

I am a compulsive bathroom reader. I always bring a book to the bathroom, and Husband protests that I take too long. But I can't not read in the bathroom. When I make the fatal mistake of not bringing my book, I end up reading lists of toothspaste or shampoo ingredients, and laughing at the incompetent American translators who goofed enough to tranform a very logical safe for kids into sauf pour les enfants, except for kids. *g* Not exactly what you should write on a baby shampoo. (The baby shampoo is indeed American, but has to bear a French translation to be sold in Canada.)

I am happiest at my friend Sylvia's, who has an entire bookshelf in her bathroom. Bliss!

Any other bathroom readers around? Please tell me I am not alone

Public bathrooms are terrible, because 1) I usually have nothing to read, 2) I then concentrate on what I hear and the realization that someone is waiting/listening is enough to totally freeze up my bladder. (Nny, I laughed when I read your entry about that issue because I am the same.)

So.

Should the occasion arise when a gentlewoman is offered an ice-cream cone, she should refrain from eating it in a public place. Using the tip of her tongue to lick the ice cream from the cone will only serve to mark her as a woman of unsavory appetites. Instead, she should bring the ice-cream home, turn it upside down in a shallow dish, discard the cone and eat it with a spoon.

This is in essence the lesson of proper étiquette I found in the bathroom at the local ice-cream shop, where we went after dropping the girls at the Birthday party.

I did have my ice cream in a cup, with a spoon, but only because I asked for extra whipping cream, and it doesn't go well on a cone *g*.

We had lovely ice cream, on a bench, in the sun, and all the dogs who were being walked while we ate stopped and begged, and all the dog-owners who were walking their dogs either drooled in envy or smugly licked their own ice-cream cones (cones only, which is best when one hand is already occupied by the leash). But then, everyone who knows the area stops for ice-cream at Ed's Real Scoop. I'm sure some people buy dogs just to have a good reason to walk by Ed's on Saturday afternoons. No, really. Anyone got a dog I can borrow for a walk in my neighbourhood?

In other news, Husband dearest, who like to be Cost Effective in everything he does, went to Costco's and came back with his arms very, very full.

And the eggs slipped from his hand.

woops.

We managed to save 2 (out of a dozen), 2 were damaged beyond recovery and will fed the local racoons, and 8 were damaged but still, well, useable for baking. I made madeleine batter galore. *is pleased*


Madeleines are a very, er, literary dessert. *g* Marcel Proust, the writer, shares the wonderful memories he has of madeleines in "à la Recherche du Temps Perdu", so in French the term petite madeleine de Proust is used to describe anything that unexpectedly tickles your senses and reminds you of an important moment in your life (a perfume, a music, whatever.)

The madeleine is also a damn good dessert. Look here (swoons at picture)

The one problem with my wonderful recipe is that I now have to wait until tomorrow to bake them (so the Chef said, and who am I to contradict the Chef? The Chef knows what he's doing. He has given me the best recipe for madeleines ever (I've tried several), slightly crispy outside, moist and perfect inside).

And then I shall bake them - whatever I can manage to salvage from the little ones' greedy fingers, that is, because they like them just as well uncooked. I wonder why I bother baking them at all, sometimes.

And then they will get eaten in 10 seconds flat.

I hope that the madeleines will be their little madeleines when they grow up, and that they will remember the baking fondly: the dipping of little fingers in the batter, the licking of said fingers with little noises of intense satisfaction, the waiting around the oven while the lovely smell makes our mouths water, the blowing on the still hot madeleines. And then the heavenly taste.

Well. I am pretty sure they will be my petites madeleines, at least.

Comments

[drazzi.livejournal.com]

What sane person doesn't read in the toilet? My dad taught me when I was a little girl, and now we have a nice pile of books in there =)

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* and that just transported me back to the day I tried to go to the bathroom at a friend's (when I was a teenager), and opened the door only to find her dad already sitting there with the paper thankfully spread on his knees *g*

So: being a bathroom reader is OK, as long as you remember to lock the door. *g*

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

I'm a bathroom reader now as I have a stomach complaint so spend far too much time in there, have a pile of magazines or take a book in. I never used to be in there long enough to make it worthwhile so I guess I'm only an enforced reader, against my will sort of... lol

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

:D But you also read outside the bathroom, right? ;)

Have I told you how much I love your icon?

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, one or two slim volumes when the mood strikes me (otherwise known as reading everything in sight voraciously :> )

[http://users.livejournal.com/_skye_/]

Good memories!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. The pleasure lies mainly in the making - although they are delicious to eat, too.

[miscellanny.livejournal.com]

I got the postcard and pics today, thank you! The kids are absolutely adorable!

*hugs tight*

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so glad they arrived! Thank you *proud mom smile*

I think so too, but then I am, of course, quite biased :D

[levi.livejournal.com]

Of course you're not the only one! My girlfriend makes fun of me because I have to read in the bathroom, no matter what.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

:D Husband, too. We have two bathrooms, which is a Good thing because once I'm in there with a book, it's everyone's guess as to when I will come out...

[dramawench.livejournal.com]

But I can't not read in the bathroom. When I make the fatal mistake of not bringing my book, I end up reading lists of toothspaste or shampoo ingredients

OMG!!!!! I am the exact same way!!! If i don't have a book (like at a friend's house), i will open up the drawers and cabinets and read the bottles. *headdesk* We are sick people, aren't we.
My mom makes fun of me, because when i was little i used to stash books all over the house. Where there was space, i had a book there. She said it was either like a squirrel's winter cache or a drug user's stash, she couldn't decide which.
I would go with the drug user, since books have always been my crack.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

:D I'm glad to know I am not the only ingredient reader :D

I love that you used to stash books all over the place! That is SO CUTE. And a very good thing to do, you know, just to make sure you always have reading material at hand. (Don't you just hate it when you are stuck without anything to read?) I always bring a book with me, everywhere, in my purse - especially books that I enjoy reading. I know I am really enjoying a book when I cannot stand to be physically separated from it, even for 5 minutes. And even if the chances to have, say, 60 seconds to myself to read are nonexistent, I'll still take my book. Just in case...

[terrylj.livejournal.com]

I am a bathroom reader. (Is anybody surprised?) I have a stack of Reader's Digest magazines in the bathroom for guests, but I always bring whatever I'm currently reading. Sometimes it's the only place in the house where you can get some peace and quiet!

But I also read while I'm eating (if I'm eating alone), while I'm riding, while I'm waiting in lines, while I'm stuck in traffic, and most especially when I really should be doing other things.

I just can't stand to be physically separated from books. Both times I went to the hospital to have my kids, I brought books. Not because I expected to read through labor, but because I couldn't stand the thought of not having something to read...just in case, you know.

When I was a teenager, my friends were punished by having their phone privileges taken away, their going-out forbidden, etc. My mom punished me by forbidding me to read. I would sneak books into my booksack and read at school. My friends thought this was hilarious, but for me it was the worst thing ever.

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

OH, MAN! I would have died if my mom had forbidden me to read! (But then, I don't think my parents would have considered it. Too cruel and unusual for them, I'm sure. Also, there were WAY too many books in my bedroom to make that possible :D )

That sounds pretty close to the way I feel about my books, and I love you for providing reading material for your guests, too. That is so thoughtful of you.

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I bathroom read too. Only place to get some QUIET!

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

Not that obvious over here, cos the kiddies tend to follow me everywhere (yes, there too). *rolls eyes* Motherhood doesn't go well with privacy, alas.

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

Ew. *wrinkles nose*

What about locks?

[la-rainette.livejournal.com]

*g* Oh, we have those. Only when they actually work, you're never quite sure that they will ever release you again (old house, and rented, so we haven't bothered about improvements).

But to be honest, it might less a question of privacy (I can close the door, and Tadpole can't quite open them yet - old doors, too), than a question of QUIET. ("Mom? MOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM")