We ate them tonight with a little balsamic vinegar, a hot French beef stew, and toasted bread. And a pinot. O, man. Wish you could have been there.
And the second news flash: Beatrix is following in her sister's footsteps. The other day I heard a clatter from the kitchen--with Merry, our oldest, I would have hurried down to see what was going on, but now, with the third, I've become rather lackadaisical. So by the time I mosied down to the kitchen, Bea had spent a lovely long time eating chocolate, including our dark chocolate-covered almonds. I found her before she ate the tea-bag.
Don't fall off! I called, and like a truly voyeuristic parent, recorded the moments of independence. Bea was pleased as a little duck. She'd pushed the chair across the floor, positioned it just so, and scaled the back of the chair to find a happy spot on the counter.
No one ever said the Cockroft girls aren't independent. And thanks to heaven, all still alive.
