At 7 O'Clock the Cookies Came Alive. And Man, Were They Sticky.

Enjoying a nice bonus day before work starts up again. I got myself out for a middling run around lunchtime -- one of the last times to see the inflatable NASCAR Santa (reindeer buddy swaying in with checkered flag), Harley Santa and 6' motorized snow globe before they are deflated for the season. Strange what a difference one street makes -- only staid light strings over here. But who knows, maybe there's a burning desire for things large and inflatable on my very block -- maybe come Fall there will be vinyl turkeys and puffy shed-sized football helmets for me to gaze at from across the street. I'm clearly tempting fate. Maybe *I'll* get kidnapped, have my personality altered and *I* will be the one doing this, complaining about money spent on my lawn decorations, but finishing with, "It's all in good fun, it's all worth it! Why not have fun when you can, that's what I always say~~" Clearly 2012 is a wild card.  

Otherwise, I mainly puttered/mooned about until it was time for K, Threeorfour and Five to come over for the gingerbread house decorating gig. They arrived in a bustling flurry, in surprisingly nice velvet dresses, given the massive amounts of gooey frosting on stand-by. K sighed, explained there was a suddenly necessary family portrait appointment and said she wasn't worrying about the clothes. We got down to it. Meant to take snaps, but was having fun just watching.

As you can tell, the concept of icing as a thin fixative layer lacked popularity. Free-form was valued over patterning and more-is-better prevailed throughout the afternoon, down to Five alternately burying a "girl cookie" (the most favored cookie shape, also referred to as a "sweetie" by both girls) under an inch of royal icing and sucking on the icing gun tip herself, as she slowly depressed more into her mouth. K valiantly tried to keep such things from happening. But really, ugly sugar crashes were penned in from the get-go.

 

Even after the candy roof tiles had been affixed, the sugar storm did not relent. It's a wonder no roofs caved in.

Midway in, Five announced with some urgency that we had better put these cookies in the oven before they came alive and ran away.

"Mmm, these aren't raw -- they have already been baked, I don't think they're going to come alive."

"But there was a gingerbread man and he came alive because they didn't bake him fast enough~~"

"I have made these before and they have never come alive, I think we're good~~"

"But they could, it could happen~"

"...run away" intoned Threeorfour.

I changed tactics: "Well, there are four of us, I bet we could stop him."

She cocked her head. "There weren't FOUR...but no one could catch him. Except the fox! The fox could!~"

"Foxes are good at that, they're fast," I agreed. Attention shifted. More sweeties, a couple trees, reindeer and an elephant* were likewise slathered and festooned. Between the slathering and licking and spooning, the icing was rapidly diminishing. The adults suggested that if there were less on the current cookies, more cookies could also be decorated. This was largely dismissed. "You'll need to go to the STORE to get MORE," Threeorfour decided. I issued a counter-dismissal.

Sweetie GHoST cookie! Scaring all the other cookies on the plate! Wooooooooooooooo!

*my favorite cookie cutter. Don't little elephants always make it better?

We all petered out roughly at the same time. Well not really true: the kids were pogo-ing with frenetic energy. But they accepted the end of the gingerbread time with grace, or ready distraction. They wandered about my living room, asking to see things. Wind up ice bat became the next star. They raced him across the coffee table (though not against anything else), shouting frantically at him: "Go, Sweetie! Go Daddy, you CAN DO IT! oh-no-he's-going-to-go-off-a-cliff!!! Go honey!!!!"

"Come to our house and play with us. You never well you sometimes but not a lot, when will you come over?" Threeorfour peers into my face.

"And bring him," says Five, pointing to ice bat. "Remember to bring him."

He took up residence shortly after they left. 

 

...And on a More Artful and Infinitely Tastier Note

 Heartfelt thanks to Cookie Santa! 

What a lovely, lovely package to receive.

Impressive in their dainty beauty and variety!