Dear Kid,

I know you couldn’t really be here this year (what with other commitments), but mark your calendar for 2014, because the Cincinnati Chocolate Festival is Not To Be Missed.

Pi and I went down to the Festival yesterday (held in the same place you graduated from high school because pretty much no place else is big enough for it).

The Festival is now huge with zillions (I counted) of people and tons of vendors. Some of the vendors we expected to see (like Graeter’s, Aglamesis Brothers, and Esther Price Candies—don’t you love that those are all Cincinnati companies?), some were a little surprising (Edible Arrangements was there with chocolate dipped fruit and Kroger was there with a cracker/blue cheese/chocolate combo), and some were just plain unexpected (The Spicy Olive gals were there with chocolate balsamic vinegar—omg, fabulous!!!).

There were a lot of chocolate vendors neither Pi nor I had ever heard of (but what do we know) and we had a wonderful time roaming around and tasting different types and varieties of chocolaty yumminess. Cupcake Crazy had mini cake pops (about the size of a marble) on toothpicks for tasting. Both Pi and I really liked those. The Melting Pot was there with excellent chocolate for dipping a strawberry and pound cake into with cute little tasting fondue forks. In her expert opinion, your sister declared that the best chocolate by itself (yup, she drank the leftover dipping chocolate).

There was fudge from Jelli’s including Tiger Stripe and a hot chili fudge. It was HOT. I loved the microscopic taste I had, but there is no way you could eat a regular size piece. I suspect even being in the same room with it would cause Dad’s head to pop off.

Yes, we did buy something for you but it’s a surprise.

I’m pretty sure I gained about 7 thousand pound this afternoon. Not saying it wasn’t worth it….

In other news, Booker spent some time racing around with Roxie this morning. Roxie has apparently been told to keep off the newly blacktopped driveway. Booker did not get the memo.

Do you know what puppy shampoo does to blacktop? Absolutely nothing. Do you know what Skin So Soft does to blacktop? Takes it right off puppy fur. Do you know what puppy shampoo does to Skin So Soft? Not nearly as much as you might like it to.

We got wet.

He is now clean, has run circles around the house air drying his fur, has rolled around on the good carpet (can’t be bothered to roll on the stuff we want to replace), and has had his compensation for behaving during bath time of a piece of square cheese.

If only bribing children to clean up could be so easy….

Stay off the wet blacktop.

Love, Mom