Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Time

Things are fairly subdued at our house this week before Christmas, for which I am grateful.
I'm still finishing up one class. Grades have to be in by Saturday. Grace and Spencer have arrived home from college. Tucker is taking mid-term exams this week.
We decided to have 4-year-old Caroline over to bake and decorate cookies one afternoon.
After cutting out the cookies and baking them, let the decorating begin.

No one can concentrate on making a huge mess of yellow icing like a 4-year-old. This cookie, when she was finished, looked like it was attacked by a ketchup and mustard bottle. That's okay though cause we sent it home with her. 
Spencer stayed home that evening and on his phone found an idea for making "colored ice marbles." Put some water and food coloring in a balloon then put it out in the snow to freeze. 
"Let's do it," Grace proclaimed. So my 21-year-old and 20-year-old headed to the kitchen. They quickly learned to put the food coloring in before the water. They ended up with three filled balloons that they put in a snow bank to freeze til the next day. 
But two of the balloons were missing the next morning, leaving only a slightly blue tinted indentation and a yellow-ringed indentation. "Maybe they burst," Grace suggested.
And two blue footprints nearby hint at why they might have burst.
We suspect the outdoor cat, of course, even though this picture looks like an abominable snowman staring out of the snow bank.
Then last night we had a little drama. I was in the kitchen cooking chicken and dumplings, Grace was on the cough, both cats were accounted for and suddenly the Christmas tree toppled onto the floor followed by a tinkling sound as the glass topper broke. Three other bulbs also broke. One of them was our first year of marriage bulb, which I refuse to take as an omen. The other was Spencer's first year bulb, but I think he had two of them. The third may be the real omen -- The Ohio State bulb broke. It does not bode well for them in their bowl game if our tree has anything to say about it.
Hope everyone is having a calm Christmas season wherever you are.  

4 comments:

Sally Tharpe Rowles said...

Sounds like a fun family Christmas, Paulita. Your cookies were well decorated & your grownup children were having fun being kids again…. what could be better….well maybe not a tree toppling over…Wishing you & yours a very Merry christmas!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I can't wait to bake cookies with my little one in a few years - how cute. your daughter must have patience.

Linda said...

I hate it when trees fall over. I only get little ones now.

Adria said...

Those cookies look great! Happy holidays!

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