Welcome to the Gingerbread Farm, where "Lean on me" is the theme song.
Because we all need someone to lean on, right? And on this farm, everything is frail and crumbly and glued in place with a mixture of icing sugar + water...
It's not perfect and pretty and awesomely crafted.
Which was not our aim, anyway.
But I didn't foresee how this would turn into an illustration of leaning on one another, of supporting one another.
We have had fun with our gingerbread, and in a few days it will be broken up and eaten - more fun with the gingerbread. We will laugh at the cows' expressions (not to mention the piglets, the shy, sly horse and the rest of the gingerbread crew).
We share these short sweet moments. We lean on one another.
In case I won't have a moment to spare for blogging for a few weeks: Happy Christmas!
I was meaning to write this before the
workload descends on me today. Then, my computer decided to shut
itself down in the middle of installing updates. Now that I have a moment between tasks, here goes - and the number one
item is:
1. The computer is working again...
A couple of reboots and a checkdisk later, all the
updates have been installed and we're up and working again.
2. This book:
Marilynne Robinson: Lila
As soon as I saw this on the library's
list of new releases, I put a request on it.
Now I've got it. Can't immerse myself
in it quite the way I'd wish, but I'm enjoying it slowly.
And I'm thinking I really need to re-read Gilead, too.
Which brings me to:
3. Our libraries
We carried another load home yesterday.
(We did return a bagful of titles, too.) I love the system. The
online database, where I can search and request titles and renew
loans. The libraries, where the staff works hard to keep up the
services despite funding cuts.
It's wonderful how well the ankle has recovered. Now, I can walk wherever I
want to. As briskly as I want to. What a privilege.
5. Our car
Looking at last year's posts reminds me to be thankful of this, too. Our fairly new-to-us car passed its
yearly inspection last week. Only
a year ago, the old car was totalled, we were thankful for getting to
borrow a car from friends, and were beginning to look for a new one.
This new one has been such a blessing.
6. Weekend baking
The smell of the gingerbread we baked
on Saturday still lingers. (Probably comes from the tin where we keep
the gingerbread. We made such a big batch that it'll last us several
weeks.) Looking forward to making something next weekend, too. And the weekend after that, God willing, will be dedicated to gluten-free baking, including our yearly gluten-free gingerbread house.
7. Lights in darkness
Going towards winter solstice, the
daylight hours are getting fewer. But yesterday, there was some
sunshine. In the dark hours, there are lights. Streetlights. Lamps.
Candles.
And the Light that shines over the
darkness and cannot be overcome.
Regarding that song: I don't get the
lyrics 100%. What does "you're the healing that lights the way
back home" mean? But I like the chorus, and something in the
intro gives me goosebumps every time. (Well, I was a teen in the
1980's. I guess this reminds me of those days... the combination of the electric guitars' sound and the beat?)
Gluten-free baking is an everyday adventure. I do it because I want all the members of our extended family to be able to enjoy the holiday treats when we get together next week.
I'm not a professional baker, just a fairly confident home baker - still, it's always a bit of a surprise how the results turn out. Especially with gluten-free baking.
Gingerbread houses are not everyday stuff, but they're adventure, and they're fun. I and my son have a yearly tradition to make a GF gingerbread house. Except it doesn't have to be a house. One year, it was a racing track with cars. This year's model is a gluten-free birdhouse.
We're home bakers and we don't try to attain perfection. We don't do grand big creations with lots of intricate details and piped icing.
We'll look at that kind of gingerbread houses on the Internet and go "wow".
Then we do our own thing. Small, manageable (gluten-free gingerbread breaks easily) and with plenty of sweets.
This was today's adventure. Tomorrow's will be transporting this without breaking it to my in-laws'. (Can you guess why I photograph it at home?)
