Jordanian Taxi-napper; Sylvie vs. the Tissue Box

Today was brightened considerably by an unexpected visit from K, Frances Goodman's husband. He just got back from visiting her in Jordan, and stopped by today for a long chat and some yummy Lebanese food at Mama's Deli. K told me a great story (one among many) about FG while we were eating. Apparently, about a month ago, she got into a taxi with a driver who was on his first day on the job, and who really didn't know the streets of Amman at all. They got horribly lost. He didn't know where they were, and neither did FG. To compound matters, he spoke almost no English whatsoever. Thank goodness FG is learning Arabic! Apparently, their conversation went something like this: Driver, speaking the only English word he can come up with (trying to discern where FG is from): "British?" FG replied (in Arabic or English, I'm not sure), "No, I'm American." At which the driver said frantically, and in the only complete phrase he appeared capable of uttering in English, "I am not kidnapping you!" At this point, FG told him, in Arabic, "Of course you're not kidnapping me, you don't even know where you're going!" And the taxi driver laughed uproariously. At least they both thought it was really funny. I find it bizarrely hilarious that the only English phrase he knew involved kidnapping.

???

When we got home from lunch, Sylvie provided further entertainment. She has been playing with a tissue box for the past two days, and today she really got carried away. She discovered the opening in the top where the tissues came out, and poked various appendages through it which got stuck repeatedly. The best moment of all was when she launched herself through the entire length of the box, so that she had two legs sticking out each end, and then STOOD UP. Holy crap, it was funny! She was all stretched out and rectangular and robot-y looking. I wish I could've taken a picture, but she hopped out of it too quickly. To console you over this great loss, I have provided a series of photos of yet another tangle she had with the box around the same time: