Another Medieval Book/First Chunkster

I've (finally) finished reading A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman. Here's my review from Goodreads:

Tuchman disabused me of several misconceptions about the Middle Ages--most learned people thought the earth was round, noblewomen were more educated than noblemen, and chivalry was not all it was cracked up to be. In fact, she demonstrates how chivalry ultimately cost France autonomy and allowed the Turks to remain in Europe, leading to the fall of Constantinople. Also very interesting read for all the details of everyday life, though quite dismal at times.

She Plays What She Knows or Imitation is the Finest Form of Flattery

So for a while now, E. has been imitating me in her play. First it was using the sponge to make the cabinets clean or rinsing her hands while I washed dishes. Then she moved on to "sorting" and "folding" socks and washcloths. Now, she loves to play sleep by lying down and saying "shhh." She also loves to push a doll stroller around the playground and spends several seconds moving the safety harness around before she says "oush" or "out." Oh and I almost forgot--her first imaginative play was pretend eating. But that's hardly a surprise, as it's one of her favorite activities. Most recently, she's started offering her sippy cup to her toys and to the cat. No one's taken her up on it yet, but I'm waiting for the day when she offers it to a real baby.