Be Gentle

This weekend the girls went to their nonny's, where they played with
Pablo, the dauchshund. At first, we had to tell the dog, 'Be Gentle'.
So he was polite and only licked their feet. But then the girls
started grabbing at him, especially his long ears, and by the end of
playtime, the girls were the ones being warned to 'Be Gentle'.

I guess that's progress.

The picture with the girls should come with sound, so you'll just have
to imagine the monkey shrieking that accompanied it. They have
healthy lungs indeed. Tonight they had their first vegetables --
roasted pureed butternut squash. They liked it, especially the change
in color from their usual goop.

The paella was from the same recipe that has been in J's family since
the Nixon era. I cheated and took a few short cuts, but it was still
quite good, and J's parents enjoyed it. It's also a good excuse to
pull out the ridiculously large pan we make it in, as well as the
pricey saffron spice jar. And the last bottle of a favorite Rioja.