That’s my daughter Nora, holding Cecile and Marie-Grace, her two American Girl dolls. Cecile joined our household this Christmas. Nora’s cousin May May sewed Marie-Grace, who came to live with us last Christmas, a special monogrammed nightgown, and sewed Nora one for herself to match. This afternoon, Nora asked me if I would like to join her and the girls for a tea party. How could I possibly refuse? We had chai and ginger snaps, and Nora insisted that we use the porcelain cups from Mariage Frères. Very la-tee-da.

Clifford, to the left, was not invited.