Raindrops on...gingerbread?

Silly me, throwing a handknitted item into a picture without a proper explanation! The "blanket" warming Billy in the last post was actually my Forest Canopy Shawl (Ravelry link). It was not until several of you brought it up that I realized I'd color-coordinated the knitted accessories. :) In all reality, I did not plan for the blanket to be a prop in the photo at all -- it's been so cold lately that I've had him wrapped up a good deal of the time, especially if he's in his swing or bouncy seat; the shawl happened to be in the room that day, so it became an impromptu blanket for him, and I didn't notice when I took the picture.


1 lb Shetland Raisin Wannabe, Spunky Club fiber, November '08

Today I woke to the sound of hard rain on my window. A chilly, rainy day that I get to spend at my own home is one of my favorite sort of days. I find myself inspired; it's the kind of day I want to wake up early for, all the better to savor the first quiet moments. In my mind, I imagine myself, cozy and warm, wrapped in toasty woolens, piping hot mint tea in hand, dreaming up project after project with endless time to work on all of them. Of course the reality of it is that I have four little ones who need me at every turn, and today in particular I got little to nothing done (at least fiber-wise), but it's fun to dream, my dears, is it not?

My boys are finally done with wearing their Pull-Ups at night. In celebration of this great event, I made a Chocolate Gâteau last night for dessert, which we properly outfitted in candles, and sang a modified version of "Happy Birthday" (but of course!)



Max somehow managed to turn the oven up from 350 to 400 during the baking without my knowledge (dangerous, naughty -- I know.) but it still turned out amazing anyway.

The blur in the above picture is thanks to Max, who put his fingers all over my lens. Do you sense a pattern here?

The recipe for this cake is from Dori Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours, which is a fantastic resource. This is my new favorite baking book.



I'll share the recipe in a later post.

Rachel and my children have been busy for the last few days decorating a gingerbread village. The pieces are actually cut from graham crackers, as per Martha Stewart's directions. We made these last year too, and they were so cute that we had to do it again.

Mixing up the Royal Icing:




The assembled houses:




Busily embellishing:




Billy, overseeing all of the hard work (I've been told he's a real taskmaster):




The work crew and their finished masterpiece:




Candy beauty:




Here's some precious smiles from the tiny guy:



I think he approves the effort.