The Cousins

[crockpotcauldron]

The extended family has descended upon us. We have a rolling collection of cousins and kids staying with my grandparents. The baby has, despite my best efforts, given me a cold. Not covid, he was tested, and it came and went without anything worse than a sore throat. It's nice hanging out with the kids. They're 12 and 14 by now (I have known them a long time), which is old enough to have real conversations. It's been fun swimming with them, taking tours of the garden and nibbling on all the edible plants, and giving them books. I have a big collection of dime cart books, and they were both really interested in the cookbooks. So I took em off the shelf and let them pick what they wanted. They cost me like ten cents a pop, that's nothing, and cooking is a valuable skill they want and need to learn. I've got a decent YA section too, lots of girl protags. One of them took Sabriel, they both like Enola Holmes, and I think I'll have good luck with Ella Enchanted and maybe some Tamora Pierce. They are trying their best to be polite and not take all my books, but I'm a grownup with a huge bookshelf and real money, I am not concerned.

Next time we hang out, I'm giving them some aloe plants, we are all getting very sunburned despite our best efforts. They will enjoy having their own personal magical healing herbs.