Oooh, Lovely

This is Ceri. She and her husband Rob had a hand in our delicious visit to Tony's parents last weekend. She made, for example, the pavlova I was hyperventilating over, and the lovely potato salad, and the fruity vodka punch (!) that was Ladies Only.

We saw them again tonight, coming straight back from the day's outing to Cambridge (more on that tomorrow). Ceri made another incredible meal, this time starting with baked camambert and sweet cherry tomatoes. Iain was amazingly excited by the cheese, and ate a lot of it smeared on thin slices of toasted bread.

The main course included chicken breasts stuffed with cheese and wrapped in proscuitto, roasted asparagus, boiled new potatoes, and tiny corn cobs. Simple, tasty, entirely satisfying. For dessert? Please. Homemade chocolate ice cream that felt more like mousse on the tongue, fresh raspberries and thin slices of tiramisu. We rolled out a little early so as to make it home before the dogs exploded with anxiety.

But we took away one last sweet gift. Ceri gave Iain two lovely books. Tusk Tusk by David McKee is about tolerance. Mummy Laid an Egg by Babette Cole explains where babies come from and makes fun of parents at the same time (yay! says Iain). Of course, books are Iain's favorite gift bar none, so these are delightful and so welcome.


Driving off, we ran into Aunt Sandra, who had - what else? - a little something for Iain. It was a compilation of Beatrix Potter's tales for little children. A few months ago I read the recent biography of Potter and now know about her hard work to save England's country places and farms from development and decay. Potter is a welcome addition to Iain's shelf, for sure. He clutched the book all the way home, then happily shredded the blue tissue paper in which it came.

I doubt we'll be able to drag ourselves away.