The shops

OH GOD I AM SO HUNGRY, DEAR LORD. I might just gnaw the dog's leg off. He's being specially annoying this week (constantly whining to go out so he can steal Satan's food, which is stuff he would stare at in blank disdain if I offered it to him, like cauliflower leaves). Dog eating is in, according to Hugh Faintly Ridiculous Perm, so I would be in good company.

Actually, I'm not so much hungry as headachy, and obsessed with eating, and more particularly, the idea of macaroni cheese and palmier biscuits and flan patissier. Not together. Though if that was the only way I could have them, I suppose I would deal with it somehow.

Ok, we will not speak of this further, I promise, it is boring, I fully accept that. I am not even doing some kind of entertainingly bonkers restrictive diet filled with mad diktats about egg whites and cayenne pepper, I am just trying not to shove everything in the house that is not actually still alive in my mouth. It is surprisingly difficult. I suppose all the previous times I got thin, I had lunacy (or indeed, money for shopping, which I always found a massively effective appetite suppressant) to distract me.

I have been pottering round the shops this afternoon, like on a proper Saturday, back in the day. The children were gainfully (hmm) occupied at science club, aka nerd school. They LOVE nerd school, it has been the most improbable success in the history of all extra-curricular activities, though I suspect this is because it is total, complete anarchy once the parents leave. I am basing my theory on the fact that they seemed to be practising cage fighting, unsupervised, in a corridor when I got back today. I tried to work out what they had been doing but they sort of waved at me, airily dismissive.

"We made something turn blue, then white" said Lashes, happily.

"I lit a match by myself!" Fingers was incandescent with excitement.

I am not sure of the pedagogy, or how completely the "science" element has been absorbed, but they are delighted to go, and do not want to leave, so I am happy. Incidentally my elder child returned from the Dutsch seaside work camp and has told me virtually nothing about it, as is normal. We got a three line postcard from him written in Dutch, that says that the staff were horrible, and "P.S. SOS", but he assures me it was a joke.

Anyway, in my THREE HOURS of Saturday freedom, I:

1. Pottered aimlessly around the many many discount stores around Rue Bailly, and saw some horrendous, awful shoes and some disappointing, expensive boots and many many many many remaindered Superdry hoodies. Amidst all the nasties, I saw one lovely soft cashmere/silk mix cardigan for €35 that I would definitely have bought, and one pair of fake Tory Burch flats I might have bought, if I had been buying.

2. Stared in the window of the Caprices du Bailli patisserie like a woman possessed, admiring the beautiful Debailleul chocolates, and the palmiers, as mentioned above. They looked to be precisely the right mix of crunchy and chewy, which is important in a palmier, which tends to boring dryness in the wrong hands. Sorry, did I drool on your window? Sorry.

3. Bought a small carton of coconut water from the nouveau-hippies at organic/raw/ridiculous food store Tan, where even in my "starved" state, almost nothing looked appealing. Actually, most of it looked like rabbit treats. Had a bet with myself how much the bottle of maple syrup cost (€15) and lost (€27, dear lord).

4. Admired many, many light fittings that I do not need but nevertheless covet in a home type shop I had not seen before.

5. Went and stroked things in the bonkers shop on Rue du Page that sells giant pinatas and miniature folding Atomiums and also, today, a knitted anglerfish. The shop's name is its street number but I cannot remember what that number is. If you live in Brussels you probably know where I mean, and if you don't, this will make no sense, but you won't really care, will you?

6. Bought some star shaped Japanese paper cake cases and stroked beautiful tea caddies in the tea and coffee shop on the same street.

7. Admired many coloured Italian soft, soft, leather ballet pumps with the purest shoe lust in Rue de L'Aqueduc.

It was brilliant. Hooray for nerd school, and for Saturday. Now it is time to prepare a small plate of bitter herbs for my delicious dinner.

What have you been up to today?