Random Rachel questioins

Tonight she peppered me with them. Probably because I was relaxed -- I treated myself to a bottle of hard cider because I sent 1/3 of the magazine over to the copy editors, and we managed to buy gifts for all of Rachel's friends' birthday parties in the next two weeks AND still eat dinner at a decent hour.

"Tell me, like, part of your childhood," she said at dinner.
"Like what?" I asked.
"Like what you did and what you had."

So I talked a bit about 6F, and Tia Daniella's stuffed animals and my Barbies, and how Daniella scared the hell out of us once when she crawled into a play oven we had and hid while we were trying to go out somewhere. We eventually found her, and Mom and Dad marveled at how she'd been able to fit into something so small.

***

"Remember the time Grandpa said he would marry a tomato?" Rachel said.
"You should remind him of that," I answered.
"I will say, 'Grandpa, you can't marry a tomato! Tomatoes are too small!'" she exclaimed.

(This stems from Dad's love affair with New Jersey tomatoes, fresh, cut up with a little salt. He once told us he wanted to marry a tomato when he grew up. See, Dad, the things we remember??)

***

We were having a discussion about a controversial rule at work, and I told Rachel that some rules -- like not putting your hand in a flame -- aren't discussable; you have to follow them to be safe. Other rules you may want to discuss with people before setting them in stone. Her interpretation:

"Do I want to make this rule, or do I want to make my cat or my baby or my kid or my teenager or my husband or my mom mad?"

***

We have a bunch of wild (I guess you'd say feral) cats that have taken up residence in our backyard. I didn't have the heart to call the Feral Cat Coalition to take them away, and they're great fun for Rachel and I to watch -- especially the baby kitties as they chase with each other and wrestle.

Tonight we got to talking about them and she decided to give them names. The mom is Clarabelle, Clara for short, the dad is Gus (my suggestion) and the two kitties are Pancake and Jellybean.

Pretty soon she'll be ready for her own pet, most likely a guinea pig.