Back Pages: Eating My Words
Mar 2nd, 2009 by Marilyn
The Simmer Till Done management and advisory board – that would be me – is on a special-projects work break, so please enjoy these posts from the past, especially if they’re new to you. Thanks for visiting – and if you have a repeat request, by all means send it along.
Today’s rerun, from July 2008: when I messed around with eggs and Edies, I found myself Eating My Words. Original post found here.
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When Josie was a toddler, I dutifully subscribed to family-activity-type magazines – and who knows why, because I always started with with “Look! We should go to that family tree-climbing resort in Costa Rica!” and finished by hurling it at the wall.
What ticked me off in those glossies were the food projects. Every kids’ activity involved turning string cheese into castles or candy bars into costumes. Why would they waste all that food, I’d demand to Josie, why? The poor thing would just flip the pages, dreaming of processed cheese. With people starving, why do they need to paste lettuce into hats?
Well, people, today I eat my words. Jean over at Renovation Therapy is hosting a Grey Gardens contest.* (update – contest over!) The Grey Gardens ladies are quite a sensation – but if you’re not familiar with Grey Gardens, it’s the true story of Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, two Jackie O. cousins who lived out their splendorous, manic days in a decrepit Hamptons mansion.
Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, going bats
Made famous in a 1975 documentary, their story was also told in a Broadway musical and soon, a feature film. For her contest, Jean asked everyone to get in touch with their inner Edie and for most people, this meant donning scarves and faux furs. At my house, we tried something different.
Little Edie wonders: will I ever get away?
Don’t ask me why I had to make Edible Edies. It seemed like a stunning idea at the time – but last night, as I wrapped green apple-scarves and flattened bread into minks, it occurred to me that I was dressing eggs. And the photo shoot? If my neighbors had peeped through the window at ten, they would have spied me posing and shooting two hard-boiled dames. Work with me, Edies!
I’ve always had a thing for eggs, perhaps due to a conspicuous lack of Easter. Plenty of eggs at Passover to be sure, but…different. Not so decorative. So when I first worked in bakeries and Easter rolled around, I was thrilled to join the party, and hit the bunny trail with a vengeance. My co-workers would look over and say oh, my…um, elaborate. I’d look up and say what. Don’t all egg cakes get a working chocolate carousel?
With apologies to every family magazine that ever advocated graham cracker choo-choos, these are the materials I used for Edie Eggs:
two hard-boiled eggs
semi-sweet chocolate (glasses and eyes)
two yellow Skittles (brooches)
one pink Skittle (lips)
glittery sanding sugar (brooches)
three peppercorns (brooch)
three chocolate jimmies (brooch)
one corn husk (shirt)
corn silk (Big Edie’s hair)
one potato peel (collar)
one slice of Health Nut bread (mink)
one Granny Smith peel (turban)
one cherry tomato peel (lips)
So I went and wasted all that food – surely someone will miss their Skittles tonight – and now I’m not even sure they look like the Edies. More like a 1920’s flapper and an egg-shaped Harry Potter, but whatever. It was fun.
Now – if you’d like to see two adorable Edie dogs, one precious Edie baby and several hilarious Edie adults, run over to Renovation Therapy and vote. And remember, don’t play with your food.
* contest over! Time for a new one, Jean.
Reruns! Hogwash! I was going to boycott your site, but I just couldn’t do it. Early this week I developed the shakes and a twitch in my left eye. I attributed to Simmer withdrawals, so I promptly visited today to get my fix. We’ll see if it helps with my symptoms.
I’m new to the whole Grey Gardens thing. I few months ago I watched a documentary on PBS about translating the documentary to stage. I found the entire thing riveting. I need to watch the documentary.
For some reason, I relate to individuals who just don’t neatly fit into the order of the world.
You know how The Country Doctor’s Wife always uses the acronymn CDW to abbreviate. If you did this, Simmer Till Done would be STD.
I’m sure I’ll be blacklisted for posting such juvenile rubbish on your site, but it tickles me, and I take my joy wherever I can get it.
I’ll be sure to post some highbrow comment in the future to compensate for the sophomoric.
Well Mike, it’s nice to see you, too. I believe I told you not to trash the place while I was gone, did I not?
Just remember that I’m here behind the scenes reading every word…though I’m not sure anyone else is. That’s the breaks for having a one-track brain. *sigh* Be back soon, Simmer pals.
Marilyn,
I don’t know how I missed this first time around. When N and I watched Grey Gardens on dvd a few months ago I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I was astonished. Obviously I should have turned to egg crafts to truly assimilate and overcome the experience. Your likenesses are uncanny. You are a portraitist! Does your leave of absence have anything to do creating a new artistic niche of portraits, in food? The reruns are much better than silence. Even your intros are longer than seven words.