Sur ma table ... Mercredi 5 octobre: My BBM2!

Perfect day, bright, clear, as if everything had been painted in gold and blue. Coming back from work with a heavy bag ( so much homework to do tonight …) and a tired head, I walked through the perfect fall afternoon without seeing anything, and then at my door, a brown package. Ah ah. Is it? No. Yes! Yes! And suddenly the day was glorious. Sunny. All these colors. And the warm slanted sun.
My BBM2 was waiting for me!! Just had the time to drop it on the counter and run to the bus stop to get the boys. The pleasure of stretching my patience to the limits … I looked at their folders, discussed their days at school, gave them their goûters, and then …
I love surprises. Boxes waiting to be opened. This one was the ideal curiosity teaser: layers and layers of bubble wrap, scotch tape all over the place, I ended up tearing everything up furiously. I already knew it came from Italy, but I was not expecting the little pile of Italian treasures I found inside. It made me wildly happy!
- A box of pasta (pâtes artisanales; I don't know how to traslate that ... Hand-made?)
- A little jar of ginger jelly (I just can’t wait to try it with a strong cheese, as recommended by my Italian new friend!)
- A box of cookies (Biscottini di Novara)
- A little box of candy (Pastiglie Aromatiche Leone, Fior d'arancio)
- A beautiful little notebook, along with a bookmark
- The nicest note from Chiara, who was the provider of all these goodies (she wrote in French, I mean, in an excellent French, which made the teacher in me stir with desire to know how she learned so well my language).

I had to try the cookies right away, and as I opened the box, I had a very vivid Proustian moment: the smell of sugar and egg, the granulated texture, the lightness brought me back 20 years ago, to my Italian grand-mother’s kitchen. I can’t remember exactly when she used to give me this kind of cookies, but they are so connected to her that came back to me the very distinctive smell of her kitchen, the sound of that antique radio playing “Le Jeu des Mille Francs” and the intonations of her voice. Strange.
So, even if I loved every single item Chiara sent me, I want to thank her mostly for the “Voyage dans le temps” that she launched. Now, I feel like exploring these dormant areas of my past.
Paolo loves these cookies. His Italian heritage, no doubt …