Special Salt

Among the things that the expat handbooks, websites, discussions, etc really should have included was how to operate a French dishwasher.  We have become used to our glasses looking like this:

On Sunday, we had another family over for a playdate, and when I apologized for the state of our glasses, the wife kindly explained to me that I simply did not have all the appropriate products.  Here's what you need to get your dishes clean in France.

The weirdest product for us, of course, is the dishwasher salt (box on the left).  It acts as an anti-calcium agent, and you are supposed to pour it into a special part of the dishwasher.  Then the liquid stuff, which I always considered optional, is apparently NOT optional in France.  Finally regular ol' dishwasher powder.  Is it possible that tonight we may actually have clean glasses?  We shall see....

And in case you thought life in Paris was getting dull with all this dishwasher chat, please note that we have now entered the stage where I leave the room for a few minutes, and when I come back, Baby Oil is under a chair.

That chair just got a lot cuter.

Let the mobile baby fun begin!