It was a whirlwind end to our week.  Last Friday we hosted the homeschool group’s monthly First Friday potluck lunch and social.  That meant more people were going to be at our house than there had been in a long time.  That also meant that I was not going to be able to have my kids helping too much in the kitchen as I needed them to be helping elsewhere–like cleaning up their toys.  However, we decided last Thursday to make a batch of cookies together.  The boys wanted to use cookie cutters, so I chose the ginger crisp cookie recipe out of this book:

The drawing on this cover will make me yearn for Fall in the middle of Spring.

We made ginger acorns, leaves, apples, pumpkins, and to mix things up a bit, ginger trains.  It was quite a lot of fun and just what I needed as I prepared to play hostess.  I was scared stiff to be honest, frightened lest these women with large homes would find my humble cottage a little tiny.  Frightened lest they would sneer at our half-painted walls (poor Haus Meister has been working weekends since October, and I am not to be trusted with a paintbrush.  Ask my dad)–in fact, I put up “please excuse our mess; we’re remodeling” signs.  There is a spot in all of us that craves acceptance, and I was afraid my friends here would think me ridiculous for wanting to stay in a place half the size of their own homes.  But you know what?  If they thought so, they tactfully kept it to themselves.  Everyone had a wonderful time, and I might not be afraid to host again when my turn comes around next summer.

And ginger snap trains look real cute, although I confess I liked the apples and acorns best.