50/52: Orange Slices and Eyeball Cookies

For the third (fourth?) year running, I managed to dry some orange slices before the kids demolished the bag of oranges I bought. Congratulations, me! However, they still love eating the dried slices (including, for some of them, the peel) so much that I had to hang the garland up nice and high. "Why did you hang it so high, mom? So we wouldn't eat it all?" Yes. Yes, that's why. Last year we tried popcorn and cranberry garlands and they ate so much of that that I promised we would never make those into garlands again, I would just put a bowl of each on the table for them to eat. But the orange slices are vaguely festive, although I've been intending to also make a pine or juniper garland to hang along with them... But it's been so cold!! Perhaps this weekend, it seems silly to have such an abundance of fresh greenery available and to use so little of it.

Cecilia did make herself a wreath for Lucy's feast day out of some pine branches she snipped from the woods, and I actually cut a bunch of pine and fir branches to make a not-too-shabby wreath for the front door, so I suppose we've been using a little of the natural abundance. (I do want to take a picture of the wreath with the real camera, I'm rather proud of it considering it cost less than $2 total!)

Speaking of Lucy's feast day, this year we (I) decided to go with cookies instead of cinnamon rolls, mainly because Lucy really loves cookies, perhaps more than is reasonable for a baby of her age, but she is the seventh child, after all. So we made these lemon raspberry thumbprint cookies, which were not only delicious (really, truly, perhaps one of my new favorite cookies, they were GOOD), but also a traditional Swedish dessert, and look like eyeballs. Perfect! We actually gave Lucy a cookie without jam in the middle, because who really gives a 9-month-old a large sticky lump of jam? Not us. She very happily watched the procession and had no idea that she was missing out on holding a candle and walking around the table. The girls suggested that she be the Lucia Bride next year, but I assured them that every girl gets a chance to wear the white dress, so next year it will be Mary Claire, who put up the biggest fuss at not being able to do it this year... God bless Elizabeth, she says she would like Mary Claire to do it next year, and she'll do it the year after that.

(That sweet Juan Diego is from my friend Beth, who is selling some of her peg creations on Instagram, you should definitely check her out for any last-minute gifting needs!)