Grandson Nathaniel raised the mirror, indicating that he is now with us for a few days. It’s a bit less grand than the flag flying over the palace when the queen is in residence, but we Americans are not as formal with our rites and rituals.

We drove by Sunburst Falls, my favorite of the close ones. It seemed to be accepting of the ice and snow.

In Brevard, we ate lunch and divided this key lime cheesecake at Square Root restaurant. I asked if this was a plated dessert. Nathaniel explained that it had five elements – dessert, crunchy crust, drizzled sauce, whipped cream, and sugar sculpture. Yes, by definition it was a plated dessert. Fancy!

Day two began with custom-made pancakes by chef Nathaniel. He mixed the batter and personalized them for each of us. I couldn’t resist dark chocolate chips in mine, and John chose banana. Rose was imaginative. She thought of a coconut-walnut duo, which Nate easily produced. The pancakes were huge and as light as could be. My frying pan was surprised at such perfection, because it usually sees measly, flat little pucks.

The highlight of Nate’s day was hiking with Rose and son John $pencer. They scrambled along snowy trails near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some of the trails had not been used for a while, and they had to climb over fallen trees. Rose brought me a special photo of Nathaniel with a giant icicle. I loved the pose and was struck by how much he looks like Cousin Lars here.