Our life in the last two weeks

The Christmas decorations are still up in our house. Nick and I are hosting our circuit's Epiphany party (late, of course) next Friday, and I figured that was as good an excuse as any to leave everything where it is. Especially because I know taking the tree down will leave a gaping hole in our living room feng shui and the goddess of inspiration is not my best friend at the moment. She thinks I took her for granted when I made a mobile for the baby's room. Anyway, I was all set to leave the decorations up until after the party, but I'm starting to get sick of them. Never thought that would happen. I love Christmas decorations. And Nick wouldn't let me put them up until well into December, so it's not like they've been around since Halloween. But they come down today. Or maybe Sunday. We'll see how it goes. But once they come down, WHAT WILL WE DO FOR AMBIANCE? We have three lamps in the entire house. We are not stylish people. We have recessed lighting on a dimmer switch in the living room, so I suppose that will help, and the only other dim-able lighting is in the baby's room. Great for midnight diaper changes, sure, but when trying to be elegant hosts? "Come! Enjoy your dessert in the nursery! The lighting is perfect!"

Perhaps I need to stop reading interior decorating magazines. Then all will be well.

In other news, The Belly Grows. I thought I was brilliant a couple weeks ago when I purchased a pack of men's "beaters" from Walmart. Maternity camis are easily $15 each, which is a ridiculous price to pay for an UNDERSHIRT. Men's beaters are $12 for a pack of five or six, and they're long and stretchy enough to cover the ever-expanding middle that is my month eight figure. (Seven months done, in the eighth month, for those of you playing along at home and completely bamboozled by the insanity that is pregnancy math.) What I didn't count on, however, was the ribbing. It helps make them super stretchy and comfy, of course, but it also kind of clings to the shirt on top of it, so unless the beater is tucked into the pants, everything still follows the path of least resistance and winds up around the belly button. Still not popped out, btw. Now mostly just flat. Nick is adjusting.

I have three pairs of maternity pants that I wear regularly. They are rotated with the three pairs of sweatpants that are the uniform of a soon-to-be Stay At Home Mom. A pair of high-banded gray corduroys (my favorite), a pair of flare-legged, high-banded but a little snug jeans, and a pair of tapered jeans with a low, thick elastic waist. The last pair of jeans is the most versatile, since they're a) denim (in the loosest sense; stretchy maternity "denim," which is probably mostly spandex or lycra or some synthetic blend) and b) not prone to falling down. The problem is that this baby has never liked things pressing on him. He tries to get away from the doctor every time she tries to find his heartbeat. He pouts whenever my stomach gets too full or I become selfish enough to take a deep breath, only assuring me that he is, in fact, alive when  I've digested enough to make his little acrobatics possible again. He's kind of territorial, it seems. Anyway, when I wear said jeans, he spends most of his day kicking at the waist band. I enjoy feeling his movements more regularly, but he has found one specific spot, and those of you who have been pregnant might know which spot this is, that actually hurts when pummeled. Not fun, little one.

Finally, Nick and I were discussing our dreams over breakfast this morning. I've been having vivid pregnancy dreams for months now, none of which are appropriate for this blog. Last night Nick had what I would call a sympathetic pregnancy dream. Vivid. Weird. But totally blog-appropriate. He said he came into the living room and was apparently not surprised to find two of me watching tv. One of me was in a nest of pillows on the floor and the other was on the couch. The big dilemma in this dream was deciding which of me to cuddle. He picked one and as soon as we touched, the two of me became one of me. Psychologically speaking, I surmise that this dream had something to do with the whole me-having-another-person-growing-inside thing, but Nick insists it was just a "more of you to love" thing.

That's all from our neck of the woods! Have a lovely weekend (almost)!

Gingerpalooza 2012

Ginger Bag End, 2011

Last year we created Ginger Bag End. ---->
It was very simple; we just baked a slab of gingerbread over two glass bowls and attached the front later. Nick created Gandalf and Frodo out of marzipan supported by pretzel rods and "clothed" in colored royal icing.

Nick's first attempt

This year, we settled on Tom Bombadil's house from The Fellowship of the Ring. It was either that or a dalek. We figured we'd be able to bake a slab over a glass bowl with a smaller bowl on top. We planned to add dormers afterward. However, I found two gingerbread recipes in my archives and couldn't remember which one was the architecturally awesome recipe and which was the one that expanded alarmingly and remained soft after baking. I went with the one that didn't call for nine cups of flour and more molasses than I had on hand.

Nick constructs Old Man Willow around a thin vase.

[[Can't... flip... grrr...]] Old Man Willow before the oven.

Unfortunately, I picked the wrong recipe. We give you... GingerBoob. It threatened to envelope everything else on the baking sheet, as you can see by the poor little gingerbread peoples' legs as the GingerBoob ate them.

GingerBoob.

Sooooo, after a new batch of *the correct* dough was whipped up, we revised our design so it could be cooked flat and assembled later. 

Pieces prepared to be assembled.

 Unfortunately, at this point the camera got buried under the decorations so there is no photographic record of assembly. Basically, we connected the four rectangles to the four window sections and the half-parallelogram roof pieces and left them to dry overnight. Nick created Tom and Goldberry out of marzipan and decorated them. This afternoon I assembled the octagonal base and four-dormer'd roof while Nick made the four Hobbits.

Tom's house from the front.

Marzipan hobbits. Frodo is the one with the gold ring near his neck.

At some point while waiting for structures to set so I could continue, I tried to create the base for a new Old Man Willow using chunks from the first attempt at the house. I used some of the icing used for Tom's pants and left it overnight. This morning I realized it looked like a... very scandalous portion of anatomy. No photos, sorry. Needless to say, it did not end up part of the display.

Tom and Goldberry.

"Thatched" roof and such.

We have no idea what we're going to do next year, but we're sure it will be fun!

Gingerbread for Eating, NOT building (gets very puffy; does not hold shapes super well)

1 C butter

1 1/2 C white sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

2 T dark corn syrup

3 C flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves.

1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Mix in orange zest and corn syrup. Separately combine remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly with wet mixture. Chill at least two hours. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll dough 1/4 inch thick, cut out cookies. Bake AT LEAST one inch apart for 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly toasted on edges.

Gingerbread for Building (still tasty, but very hard)(we used half this recipe and had the perfect amount for our house) (From Ask.com)

1 1/2 C whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 C brown sugar, packed

2 T baking soda

1 T ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/3 C molasses

9 C flour

Whip the cream and vanilla. Whisk the sugar, soda, ginger, and cinnamon separately, then add to wet mixture with molasses. Add flour gradually while mixing. **This killed my stand mixer last year. Plan to stir the last few (maybe even half) cups by hand. Preheat oven to 275F. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch and cut shapes. Bake 1 and 3/4 hours, removing after 30 minute to refine shapes, as dough will have expanded slightly, then continue baking. 

Royal Icing (from Ask.com)

1 pound confectioner's sugar (about half the larger bag)

3 lg egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar.

Whip egg whites and cream of tartar. Add sugar slowly until icing reaches desired consistency. 

Advent Devotions - The Jesse Tree

Isaiah 11:1 - A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

This [no longer in print] set of devotions for the season of Advent stems [hee hee] from those words of Isaiah. The series of 29 Bible readings (designed for the longest-possible season of Advent) begins with Creation and goes up through the Nativity, focusing on God's promise of a Savior in prophecy and the lives of OT heroes of faith. We have often doubled up on some of the shorter stories to accommodate a season shorter than 29 days, and it is also possible to simply reference one story in another if time is very short (ie, in a classroom).

Each daily devotion has a Bible reference, a hymn suggestion, and a specific symbol to portray the story. My family has little felt ornaments for each symbol (pictured below), but you can print off pictures or omit the symbols entirely and still be edified by the journey from sin to Savior. The series is designed to start on the first Sunday in Advent and continue through Christmas Day.

Our Jesse Tree, with ornaments

1. (First Sunday) The Jesse Tree 1 Sam. 16:1-13; Isaiah 11:1. Hymn 23. Symbol: Jesse Tree banner or stump.
2. The Birth of Life Gen. 1:24-28. Hymn 237. Symbol: world
3. Adam and Eve Gen. 3:1-24. Hymn 378. Symbol: apple and snake
4. Noah and the Flood Gen. 6:11-22; 8:6-12. Hymn 429. Symbol: ark
5. Father Abraham Gen. 12:1-7; 13:2-18. Hymn 439. Symbol: tent and camel
6. Isaac and the Ram Gen. 22:1-14. Hymn 435. Symbol: agnus Dei (lamb)
7. Jacob and his Dream Gen. 27:41-28:22. Hymn 589. Symbol: Jacob's ladder
8. (Second Sunday) Symbol of Prophecy Isaiah 9:2-7. Hymn 47. Symbol: (advent) rose
9. Joseph and his Coat Gen. 37:1-36. Hymn 17. Symbol: coat of many colors
10. Moses and the Law Exodus 20:1-17. Hymn 286. Symbol: Ten Commandments
11. Blessing of Aaron Numbers 6:22-27. Hymn 332. Symbol: hand of benediction (two fingers)
12. Samuel and the Word of the Lord 1 Sam. 3:1-21. Hymn 283. Symbol: oil lamp
13. David 1 Sam. 16:14-23. Hymn 360. Symbol: harp
14. Symbol of Shepherds Psalm 23. Hymn 436. Symbol: shepherd's staff
15. (Third Sunday) Wisdom of Solomon 1 Kings 3:3-28. Hymn 4. Symbol: crown
16. Elijah and the Raven 1 Kings 17:1-16. Hymn 414. Symbol: raven
17. Elisha and Healing 2 Kings 5:1-27. Hymn 564. Symbol: hand of blessing (hand with dove)
18. Isaiah Isaiah 6:1-8. Hymn 11. Symbol: scroll
19. Jeremiah Jer. 31:31-34. Hymn 279. Symbol: Bible in heart
20. Nehemiah the Builder Nehemiah 13:10-22. Hymn 9. Symbol: church
21. Angels Hebrews 1:1-14. Hymn 35. Symbol: angel with candle
22. (Fourth Sunday) Zechariah and Elizabeth Luke 1:5-25. Hymn 13. Symbol: altar
23. Virgin Mary Luke 1:26-38. Hymn 24. Symbol: lily
24. Magnificat Luke 1:39-56. Song of Mary, p. 57. Symbol: Mary
25. Birth of John the Baptist Luke 1:57-80. Hymn 16. Symbol: baptismal shell
26. Joseph of Nazareth Matt. 1:18-25. Hymn 14. Symbol: carpenter's tools
27. Symbol of Bethlehem Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:1-12  Hymn 66. Symbol: Star of David
28. (Christmas Eve) Birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-20. Hymn 54. Symbol: manger
29. (Christmas Day) Christ our Lord John 1:1-8. Hymn 47. Symbol: Chi Rho