The making of a gingerbread house

I feel like a slacker because I've not been very active with my beekeeping blog.  And this post is not going to be about bees except perhaps mentioned in passing. This post will be about making a gingerbread house with my family.

It all started with some ad on a website and I clicked on it.  It was a very cute gingerbread house that McCormicks had posted.  I remembered when my kids were little, I made a gingerbread house and thought I'd have a nervous breakdown as a result.  Everything seemed to go wrong with that house and I very much was looking for perfection.  While the kids loved it, I don't remember them helping to build it.  I must have started it while they were in school.  Not sure.

completed gingerbread house

So I sent the link to my daughter and we decided to make this one with the kids...they are 8 and 3 and I was hoping for a better result this time.

The making, cooking, assembling and decorating the house took 3 days because large chunks of time are needed between steps in the process.  The directions had to be read very carefully!  That is my advice to anyone who wants to build one of these things.  Read those directions....a lot of pertinent information was tucked into the end in a 'hints' section...so read it all before you start.

I started it by making the dough, created templates using cardboard from the pattern, and cut out the shapes and baked each piece...two fronts, two sides, and two roofs.

After they were cut out, they needed to sit for at least 1 hour to give the dough a chance to expand, (I believe that's why), before cooking.  After they were cooked and just slightly cooled, they needed to be trimmed again, using the template as a guide.  They do lose some shape after they are baked so this is a necessary step. 

You want to get the trimming done quickly because these pieces become so hard, you'd need to sand them down otherwise.  I used a pizza cutter while they were still soft.

The recipe recommended (at the end of their instructions which I almost missed) to pipe in the windows before you assemble the house.  It would have been very difficult to do from an upright angle, especially from someone not skilled in piping frosting such as myself.

The next step was assembling the pieces.  And the assembly needs several hours of drying time so I did this the day before decorating and let it sit overnight to dry.

Start with something they call "royal icing".  This icing gets real hard when it sets.  This is your glue.  I started with the front and side pieces and used a piping bag for the frosting and "glued" the fronts and sides at the corners.  Then this needed to sit for at least a few hours to dry.  (I let it sit for two hours.  Next time, I would double that time, or even let it sit overnight before going to the next step, which is to add the roof pieces)
I propped up the front and sides with various canned goods which were a great help.  Have them within reach before you start.

Gingerbread house propped up while frosting dries

Don't be skimpy with the frosting.  If the corners are not neat and pretty at this stage, don't worry...you will add piping over these corners in the decorating process.

So a few hours into the drying process, the 4 pieces were holding together nicely.  I tested to make sure it wasn't going to fall apart on me.  It seemed fine.  So I began adding the two roof pieces by gluing the peaks together and the top of the sides with a thick ribbon of frosting.  Then, as I was adjusting them into place, the sides fell apart.  I begin shaking.

gingerbread house ready for decorating

Somehow, I got it all put back together with more frosting.  I propped the roof pieces a bit, which the recipe didn't call for, but I wasn't about to take chances of having one, or both, slide off and break.  We needed to decorate it the next day.  So I let it sit overnight.  The recipe said for at least 3 hours.  I wanted it to have even more time to dry.

The next day, itt made the 5 mile trip from my house to theirs and now we're ready to get going on the decorating. Decorating began with making gingerbread cookies and other gingerbread pieces we might want to use on the house.  In the end, only a few of the cookies were used on the house...others were kept for eating.

Melissa adding piping to make the base for candy fence

Frosting piped around the edge provides a base for adding candy fence

gingerbread house front entrance using vanilla wafer cookies, licorice around front door and piece of candy for doorknob. Parchment paper under house is removed at the end.

Tristan thinking creative thoughts.  Also notice the gumdrop candy fence 

What was so fun about this project were how much the kids were involved.  They were participants for hours and I was surprised it held their attention that long.  Especially for the little one. Here they are sitting next to the finished gingerbread house and very proud of their work.  What will be interesting is how this house looks over the next month.  Already that front green marshmellow tree fell down (accidentally on purpose?) and has been eaten! But mother has more of the candy to replenish pieces that disappear over the next month.  It's all part of the fun.

Winterizing the beehive

Today is November 7th in Southern Vermont.  We have snow in the forecast for tonight so earlier today I tried to insulate my hives beyond the bales of hay surrounding three sides.

I bought a roll of tar paper, or roofing paper, and stapled it around it, leaving just the entrance uncovered.

Then, under the inner cover, I added a piece of foam insulation to hold in the heat.  Then, to channel any water from condensation  down and away from the bees, I tilted the top cover slightly so it would run off.

 I did the same thing for the small nuc hive and tucked it right next to the bigger one.  The bales of hay were put back into place.  Now I think I'm all set with them except periodically checking on food and brushing away any dead bees from the entrance.

Fondant for feeding bees

While I was in there, I replenished their food (the fondant) and brushed any dead bees away from the entrance on the large hive.
Notice how thick the fondant is. It stays this taffy-like consistency and the bees lick it off.

I also was going to remove the electric fence from around the hives, a seasonal remedy for bears.  I thought they must be in hibernation.  I was wrong.  My neighbor told me the bear visited their suet just a few days ago. So today, I need to get more batteries because I noticed there's no more charge.  I will take care of this today.

Now, a day later, there was no snow here at all.  I saw a few flakes this morning and that's all.  But I'm glad I got the hives set for the winter anyway.

I will get a wreath to decorate it for Christmas and probably leave it up until spring.