Monday, December 7, 2009

Gingerbread Envy

Sometimes it really does seem as though the gods are trying to tell me something.

Last Tuesday, I wrote and posted a piece about true mother love and the lengths we sometimes go to.  It was a piece about my Herculean battle to construct a basic, pre-cooked, pre-packaged, gingerbread house for my daughter to decorate.  Over the weekend, my cousin (who doesn't follow my blog) happened to post a photo on Facebook highlighting his two sons' recent efforts . 

They didn't just design, bake, and build a Gingerbread house from scratch.  Oh no...  They built Westminster Abbey!

Think I'm kidding? 

Check it out:


Humbling.  Very, very humbling.

6 comments:

lori said...

but - _how_??? can you find out and post directions?

Lisa @ Pack of Three said...

Hi Lori,

Great question. It's possible my cousin's sons have a genuine business opportunity on their hands.

Here's what I know: the boys (ages ~11 and 14) have taken a local class offered every year (in Boulder) on the art of building gingerbread houses. And even then, the older son spent 2 days over Thanksgiving creating the model, to scale, working from photos of Westminster Abbey. Then he spent another full day plus 3 evenings making & baking the gingerbread which included one botched batch of batter. Mom and Dad were quite worried fearing disaster during construction but, incredibly, it all went off (or up) without a hitch.

The boys and parents should be rightfully proud. As for me, knowing the effort that went into it, I'm happy sticking with my @#$%@ little kit. :)

With best wishes,
Lisa

johnsonweider said...

You know, graham crackers, regular frosting, and small candy can make a very serviceable gingerbread house! Goodness, I can't even imagine tackling a project of this magnitude!

Lisa @ Pack of Three said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisa @ Pack of Three said...

You're very sensible Michelle. As a mom, I'm with you. But if my *daughter* wanted to tackle a project like this -- as her two cousins did -- I'd take my proverbial hat off, bow down, and salute that level of creativity and ambition!

Its nice to hear from you again. Thank you too for the wonderful suggestions for books and movies on my post about images in the media. Gloria Whelan's books in particular look like a wonderful find! Thank you so much!

With best wishes,
Lisa

johnsonweider said...

Yes, you're absolutely right. If my kids ever showed that much initiative to complete a project like that, I would be thoroughly supportive! Gloria Whelan is an excellent writer. My kids (adopted from Russia) enjoyed listening to me read out loud her book Angel on the Square about the last Tsar of Russia. My daughter (8 years old) has recently gotten into the Royal Diaries series, which I also recommend. She read the one about Catherine the Great and is now onto Victoria and Cleopatra. I'm not sure if there are any Chinese princesses in the mix, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Glad to see you over on my site as well! Welcome!