Doing lunch in Green Valley with Aunty Charlotte and Uncle Bill, two of Bao's favorite people.

Bao loves doing lunch. I always bring along treats, and his clever, Handi-Drink water bottle, but he still expects people to share. I've devised various strategies. For instance, I'll order a Chicken Caesar Salad, but ask for the chicken on the side. That works. I get the salad, he gets the chicken, nobody gets fat. Or if there's a brunch menu, we share a side order of bacon. He loves pasta, too. But pasta is easy, because they usually give you such a big helping that you can't finish it by yourself, anyhow. Sometimes, I cook up a bit of pasta for him here at home, as a special treat.

After 32 years in Australia, I have been having an ongoing love-affair with American cheeseburgers (especially the exotic ones) and all last year I kept telling myself that they weren't really fattening because I was sharing them with Bao. Alas! this proved to be wishful thinking, and I gained 15 pounds. (Bao didn't gain an ounce. I wish I knew his secret!)

What Bao really adores is bread and butter. Or better yet, rolls and butter. This particular restaurant featured a freshly baked, textured cheese bread which Charlotte is feeding to him, delicious bit by bit. Afterwards, he curled up on Bill's feet and went happily off to sleep.