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Oh Jenny! How dare you hit us with that Lucy Barton quote first thing on a Tuesday!! :) Now going to sob my way through lunch as I realize my about to graduate senior (fingers crossed!) can pick ME up now. On that same subject- last night we called my son's phone and realized he still has the same outgoing voicemail message since he got the phone in 7th grade. So- there was the unchanged little boy voice on the message. We clenched our hearts and promptly recorded it so we can listen to it over and over when he's at college next year.

And thank you for the beautiful eggplant ideas.

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I'm SORRY!!!!

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Was going to say the same! All the tender parents of graduating kids be forewarned, that quote will break you! 💛💛💛

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haha, by "break you" I assume you mean "help you appreciate the moment more" :) [PS for the record I am terrible at doing exactly that.]

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This is a joy to read - two great things coming - another book from you and another Lucy Barton book! Your cookbook and Oh William were two of my favorites last year.

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Rhubarb week (as it should really be called) is my favorite! I bought a couple pounds of rhubarb (was it late this season or just slow getting to Texas?) and I've made straight rhubarb jam a few days ago, and just this morning, a second batch of rhubarb-strawberry-cardamom (I got wild) jam to swirl into David Lebovitz's French vanilla ice cream recipe. It's sweet, tart, and decadent, according to my husband who's already dug into it, and hopefully there will be some left when I get home from the office tonight!

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Thanks for the heads-up on a new Elizabeth Strout novel. Can’t wait! What a quote that was, but also a reminder to appreciate and be grateful for all those times with loved ones and friends.

Just looking up some rhubarb recipes of my own…..always a family favorite! Thanks for your suggestions!

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Killing me with that quote, Jenny!

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Thank you for addressing the rhubarb remorse problem. And my daughter and I are going to steal your big buckle Birkenstock look - I haven’t seen those yet! Cute!

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Just read the Lucy Barton quote. I think about the last picture book I read to each of my three, and how I didn’t ever know that was the last one. Crushes me.

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Cheesecake is my childhood love language (and I just learned--my daughters too!!). This looks delicious.

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those "lasts" haunt me too. my nephew was born last june and he's just about to walk now, which means the time for him just sitting with you and being unable to do anything about it is ALREADY basically gone, and i feel like he was just born last week. it occurred to me too, how little time we have with kids in general. as i get older, time just goes by at a breakneck pace. a decade seems like five minutes. there are people i haven't seen since before covid, somehow three years feels like a weekend. something else i think about, there will be a time where we prepare our last meal, likely a rather long time before we die. that really spooks me, not being able to cook.

well, on that sunny note, i'll just say thanks for the rhubarb recipes! rhubarb grew in my gramma's yard as well as my great aunt's. but the weird thing is, although they both also had glorious vegetable gardens, i don't think the rhubarb went in anything but my inedible mud pies. (i used to spend hours pretending i was julia child or on victory garden.) i'm 38 and still haven't ever cooked with rhubarb myself. maybe this year that will finally change :)

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The quote!!!A new book!

Those buckles...hahaha 🤣 I have the rip-off version since I can no longer afford the real Birkis.

Oooh, Rhubarb! Almost winter here in Australia, but I'm inspired for next Rhubarb season now - with Strawberries...who'da thunk that?!

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Wait! What is better than your MIL’s crisp (which has been my go-to crisp ever since you posted it years ago!) AND Elizabeth Strout’s words?!

You may have just described heaven!

So thankful for your synthesis here 😍

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Congrats on the new book! I have a son with peanut, sesame and chickpea allergies. Would love a little section on allergies and possible subs!

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May 10, 2022
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Caitlin, I'm so sorry -- wow that is hard. Your mom does sound like quite a character. Thanks for writing.

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