Yesterday was a Disneyland day--we wanted to take advantage of Jonathan's last free Wednesday. He teaches five days a week this semester. We have got this Disney thing down! We didn't spend a dime in the park--the trick is to bring a big bag of PBJ sandwiches and a giant water bottle. We already have our passes, so all we paid for was the train tickets. We were super-efficient and got home in time for dinner.

This picture is of a new little spot we discovered, the Dragon's Lair. It's Tristram and Jonathan's new favorite. There is an animatronic dragon that breathes smoke and everything. Well, Jonathan's--Tristram likes it a lot, and calls it "Horse," but his favorite was the haunted mansion. He likes the hanged man who suddenly appears dangling from the ceiling. He laughs and laughs with delight. Some parents used that as an opportunity to pull the "Look how good that kid's being, and he's just a tiny baby" nonsense that irks me--but this time, it was really just bizarre and puzzling. The kid in question was, by our best guess, nine, and was crying and shaking and screaming "I don't want to go!" in terror. First of all, how does a kid that old get that pathological about a silly fun ride? Second, given that she is and her feelings seem genuine, if incomprehensible, why would anyone force her to go anyway? Strange. Very strange. In any case, Tristram loved it, and he loved Pirates of the Caribbean, though his favorite train ride was closed. Also, he loves peanut butter and jelly practically to the point of obscenity, so much that I let him have another one for dinner tonight (we have to finish off the "American bread"). I gave him a banana too, and he ate super-healthy breakfast (cereal I ground out of millet, sunflower seeds and cinnamon mixed with yogurt, raisins, and applesauce) and homemade pea soup for lunch, so I don't feel too bad about the lapse on my usual dinner standards.

Today was a mellower day; we are getting ready for Dan & Robyn's visit. We went for a walk, and I discovered that it is officially spring! Lisa and I saw the first snowdrops while she was here. Well, now there are also crocus blooming, and early-blooming iris, and hyacinths starting to send up bloom stalks, and daffodils and muscari sending up leaves. Plus, the early flowering trees are starting. I was so excited I jumped around until Jonathan cracked up laughing. He does not share my springtime glee. That's because he is indifferent to flowers.

We walked all the way across the bridge, not just to the island but to Chatou-Croissy, and found a better grocery store. Better meaning bigger and cheaper. Plus, since our close one is closed for renovations at the moment, we have to walk anyway, and this is closer than the next one in Rueil. We also found a great garden shop, where I will have to restrain myself from spending too much money, and a mercerie that is much closer than the one in Centreville here in Rueil.

And good news tonight: I've finally gotten notice from some of my government job applications that I've been found qualified and my name has been passed to the HR department at the agency in question for the next round. Seems they use big firms to do their initial culls, which take about a month. Now we'll see how long the next round of culls takes--but at least it's progress! Maybe I will be a legal assistant next time you see me. In any case, the daily applications continue; today I sent out apps for assistant editor positions. I can do that. I would like to do that. I will be good at that.

It seems that I could get a job of some sort pretty quickly in the DC area, though it's hard to tell from the contacts I've gotten exactly what those jobs would be--it may be that they are trying to secretly hire me as a telemarketer or something equally unpleasant. However, I've gotten two companies so far trying to get me in for immediate interviews with scant details, and asking me when I explain the situation to keep them in mind and get in touch when I get back to the states. So, does it make more sense to head East when we return? Or am I just getting calls from there because my current US mailing address is in Silver Spring?