Necessary Chocolate

Ditching gingerbread cookies

As I assemble these posts, it seems so ridiculous that I thought that I'd have time to make the traditional themed gingerbread cookies for my office party. The very phrase "traditional themed gingerbread cookies" for an office party is equally ridiculous. There's a tradition worth breaking.

The cookies did get baked, but the Tuesday before the party I realized that THIS IS NOT WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT. And threw them in the freezer. And went to New York City for a day. That's not really what Christmas is about, either, but what the heck.

While in the city, I kept hoping for inspiration. However would I package the kindereggs? Ha. The trauma and dilemmas I face. But then I walked into one of my pilgrimage stores, a stationery store on 18th St., and there they were. Bags and tape. I could modify some downloaded labels and be done. 

The party went well - not as well as last year's party, but well enough. A hint: if you're taking an office to a restaurant, even the same one you've gone to for years, make sure that they don't set up a room of tables for four. Hard to get a family atmosphere that way. Sheesh. Anyway, the bags (and kinderegg toys) were a hit. The best part was after it was OVER. I drove like a maniac to Trader Joe's in the hope that I'd get there before they closed to buy frozen latkes that I'd, like a fool, promised for the next morning's class. The nice man in the freezer section went out back and tracked some down for me, AFTER closing time. I didn't need to make latkes that night. Yay for Trader Joes!

Happy Valentine's Day!

First of all, thank you for all of your kind & excited comments about the library prizes. I'm so happy that so many of you played along! Instead of mailing the libraries off Saturday, I took off for a small adventure in NYC (more info tomorrow - but here's a hint - 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time!). Next week is winter break, so no class and lots of time to assemble the rest of the libraries and mail them off.

In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day! Hope that your day is filled with fun things like fuzzy pink scarves or ice skating;

Or pies or chickens or valentine aprons;

or sheep. Who knows, some of you may want a sheep for valentine's day.

I'm happy to report that I did not, despite threats to the contrary, make Old Testament Valentines ("I'd sacrifice a heifer for you!" was one of the milder ones I came up with). And there were 14 dozen heart cookies besides the vaguely Valentinesish ones above. The boys in my class were in charge of a dance Saturday night, so eleven dozen of those cookies were for that. They love my cookies, and I'm so darn competitive that when they tell me that they love my cookies best, I eat it up, so to speak, and make lots.

Week 1

Week 1 is done!!!! A great week, now that's it's over. Except that I just spent twenty minutes looking for a library book, and finally found it IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KITCHEN FLOOR.

I think I'll go clean house for a while....

Some women made Halloween decorations in October

I, on the other hand, made an Isaiah banner.

I've declared "Isaiah Days" as holidays in my class. Anytime we read from Isaiah (as in the Old Testament prophet Isaiah), there will be treats.

I happen to love Isaiah. LOVE. I don't worry about whether I understand it all - I love the language and the imagery that I do get (this is King James Version, of course - none of that modern prose for us). I want the students in my class to feel that same love. Or at least drool whenever they hear him quoted. I've threatened to make them sing "For Unto Us a Child Is Born," but so far they've only had to listen to it.

Today we ate warm apple crisp. They now ask if they can't read a little Isaiah with every class...

In case you like fonts, I used Olduvai for the letters, and Blue Goblet Frames for the swirly frames. I like Blue Goblet ornaments, frames, and vignettes almost as much as Isaiah; they're designed by Cory Godbey, who hosts the Terrible Yellow Eyes site.

(I also made Halloween decorations, but it's a better story if I ONLY made this, don't you think?)