breakfast quandary

bit of a blah day today - not hugely happy with either my morning drawing work or the afternoon painting. motivation is definitely flagging today: why exactly am i putting so much effort into learning how do something that isn't actually all that useful? it's not that i thought i would suddenly be much better after two weeks, it's the worthiness of the goal that i am doubting a bit. perhaps if i could have a sneak preview of a totally amazing painting that i will produce by the end of class, i would feel a bit more juiced. i think everyone's hit a bit of a cranky patch the last two days, to be honest; L said she was feeling very cross at her lack of brilliance yesterday, and M was grumbling away all day today on my left. oh, well - hopefully it is just a passing phase.

second bellydancing class tonight - krystle is going to paris for the weekend in two weeks for some mega techno music event and she has promised to buy belly dancing jingly scarves for everyone. i think that's a sound investment of ten euros, myself, so i have a request in for midnight blue.

tomorrow my Big Job is to get myself out of bed in time for morning pilates (we alternate yoga and pilates every morning at 7:30; this morning was the first morning i was organized enough to join in, and half an hour with the dvd yoga sadist proved to be much more doable than the hour long version we did the other day)... and then get myself to the weekly AC mini-farmer's market to buy groceries before class. i am making a conscious effort to stay away from the supermarket as a dietary challenge, and only eat food i get at the farmers' market. bless me, michael pollan, for i have sinned; it has been four days since my last visit to the shopi, but the only thing i bought was balsamic vinegar, which i really don't think should count against me; the last visit before that was over a week ago. i am going to have to find a solution to the breakfast conundrum; i am such a creature of habit with my shredded wheat and granola, that any deviation from the norm is painful. the closest approximation the shopi could provide are cardboard rice flakes, with some truly horrible muesli (for some reason 95% of available cereals are chocolate flavoured - including the muesli options), and it is truly a mystere why the french who are SO GOOD at food should be so bad at breakfast cereal. (i could go the decadent route and go to the bakery for a croissant or pain au raisin every morning, but the bakery is closed until sept. 23 while the baker goes on holiday, and also i would come home weighing three hundred pounds. the bakery is very cute - it is all dark and locked up, and there is a big sign on the door explaining that there will be an Depot de Pain at the butchers' shop for the next two weeks while m'sieu le baker is en vacances with the addresses of the three nearest villages' bakeries in case of emergency. i can't think what such an emergency would consist of (some diabetic accidentally overdosed on their insulin and needs two chocolate eclairs STAT!) but i am looking forward to his return and checking out the goods.
i made a spanish omelette tonight with skinny green beans with ham; L is always very impressed when i do something that is what she calls European Cooking (pouring gazpacho out of a jar and sauteeing some stale bread for croutons also counted as European Cooking, so her standards are not high). i have been keeping half an eye out for an easy french cookbook, but perhaps l'internet will be my best shot, despite the slllooooooowwwww connection. hmm. thoughts to ponder.
thank you to those who have written to me - it is much nicer to feel that i am responding to people rather than just rambling!
love to all...