We visited Norway House in Minneapolis to see their annual Gingerbread Wonderland exhibit. As always, it was amazing to see the variety of styles and skill levels. Anyone can submit an entry. The requirements:
It must be less than three-feet wide or long.
It must be 75% gingerbread.
It must be 100% edible (other than lights and the baseboard).
I’m including a lot of pictures, many of which are not great shots, because we want them as inspiration for future gingerbread creations of our own. Who knows, maybe we’ll even submit a creation some day.
After a whirlwind of post-Thanksgiving school, we’re all on break again for the winter holidays. Griffin is at an all-day D&D game with some friends. Maggie and Oliver, meanwhile, are building an epic from-scratch gingerbread house with Sarah.
D&D at Zack’s house.Gingerbread workshop.
Update: See below for a few pictures of the construction process and final product.
We pared down our feast a bit this year to make it work without plumbing at the cabin. Instead of a full turkey, we roasted a partial bird. We made the stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and pies in advance. At the cabin we added mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts.
potato prepmashing and whippingtime to eatpost-feast
We arrived at the cabin after dark. Clear sky with the Milky Way above. Wolves howling across the lake. Snow on the ground, but not much shoveling required. Temps dropped to 10° overnight. Warmed to 35 by noon which feels balmy. Ice on the lake is thick enough for walking near shore and hurling the tennis ball for Piper.
This year marked Andrew’s third trip as a chaperone with the 7th grade at Camp Widjiwagan along the boundary waters in northern Minnesota. This trip was different for a number of reasons. First, Griffin was a seventh grader, so he was on the trip too! It was pretty great to be able to share this experience. This year we also went up in March rather than January. As the normal January date approached, COVID rates were spiking, so the school and camp made the wise choice of postponing. It was a bit soggier than usual, but we had no issues with the pesky virus, so it was well-worth the wait.
My gifted colleague, Bobak— social studies teacher, photographer, and videographer—documented the trip for posterity. I’ve pulled a set of photos from the larger collection to share here. Most of these include Griffin, but some just help set the scene.
Here is Bobak’s “Widjimasters 2022” video compilation:
The 2022 luminary loppet took place on Saturday, February 5. It was a lovely evening of mild weather after a long, cold week. (Temps in the teens rather than hovering around zero plus wind.)
2022 loppet map
We’ve attended the event most winters, though it doesn’t always make it into the blog (see 2011 and 2017). It features a beautiful ski/walk/snowshoe trail that winds around the surface of the Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. The trail is lit entirely by ice luminaries (frozen columns, blocks, or spheres that contain candles). It’s otherworldly, to say the least.
This gives you a blurry sense of what it looks like.
The hanging luminaries were a new feature.
Maggie next to a giant luminary.
Oliver wrote a book about the experience at school. Each page features an illustration and a caption (in the blue bar). I’ve added typed captions additionally in case you aren’t adept at reading Oliver’s calligraphy.
We decided to take the risk of traveling this Christmas after two years of staying put. We flew to Bethesda to visit Andrew’s parents (known to the kids as “Grummy and Grandpa Stape”). Andrew’s brother, David, also visited with his family (Nancy, Raven, and Max). We were nervous about COVID the whole time, but multiple self-tests have come out negative, so we think we made it.
We avoided indoor activities beyond the family, but had a great time skating and exploring the National Mall. Pictures below capture a bit of the spirit (click on them for larger versions).
And, a video of Raven and Nancy doing a spin on the ice:
