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.