Rebecca's visa is in her hand!
The drive from Mark and Vickie's house to the French Consulate was only about thirty minutes, but Mom and I left two hours before my appointment, because the Consulate won't see you if you're late, and appointments have to be made so far in advance that if I didn't get my visa today, I probably wouldn't get it in time to leave for France. I almost thought that I wouldn't get it today, because the photos on my forms weren't in the correct format. The clerk who told us this got into a very loud argument with Mom because he was being extremely rude and Mom wasn't listening to what he said. We ended up having to make a mad dash to a nearby drug store (we actually drove past the same department store where Mom bought her wedding dress over 30 years ago) so that I could take new passport photos and glue them onto my forms. Thankfully when we got back to the Consulate, the mean clerk was gone, replaced by a nice old French lady who processed all my paperwork and handed me my visa. What a relief.
While we were in Houston, and we ate dinner at Star Pizza -- their goat cheese is so delicious! -- where I hadn't been since Dad took me and Sara back in 2004. We actually sat in the same room that we did back then, because I remembered the poster of David Bowie on the wall. Sara had told me and Dad that one of his pupils was permanetly dilated, and Dad had gotten up and taken a closer look to see. We also visited Candyliscious (I still don't think it can compare to the Candyland Cottage & Ice Cream Shoppe in Rayne), where I bought a jump rope with detachable, candy-filled handles for Eva's birthday. I can't believe that she'll be 10-years-old.
I'm over halfway through with Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows. As of tomorrow, I will have made it last for three weeks.