As luck would have it, when I happened across a migration of Santas I didn't have my camera. Frick! In bygone days, those hundreds of slightly drunk santas lumbering across the Burnside bridge would have been just a glimmering dream I tried to describe to people ("No, really: hundreds!"), but today, in the age of technology, of course, I found their blog. Santarchy, Santacon, it is a phenomenon that goes by various names. All across the country, the santas are gathering. There are pirate santas and superman santas, two-headed santas and stilt-walking santas, and I'm sure many other freakish varieties of santas. What do they do? I don't know. I think maybe they just meet somewhere and walk across town together, like performance art. Alexandra and I were coming back from a girly day at the mall (saw a chic flick, bought matchling leg warmers -- really), driving through downtown Portland on the way back to her cool new apartment, and we saw a few straggling posses of santas here and there. Nothing too dramatic, just enough to make you say, "Hm. Santas." But after I dropped her off ("accidentally" keeping her pair of legwarmers, by the way, heh heh) I started seeing more. And more. It was jaw-dropping. So many fricking santas! And me without my camera! (My kingdom for a camera!!) I couldn't be bothered to go home and get it and go back out on santa safari, though the thought sort of flickered through my mind. But maybe next year I will know about it in advance, and Jim and I can become santas too. What kind, I wonder. Maybe devil santas. Or monkey santas.
In cookie news -- help! -- I can't stop baking! Latest: pecan mandelbrot (like biscotti) and chocolate crinkles. Plus the dough for chocolate mint sandwiches, filled with ganache and dipped in chocolate. Oy. And I keep thinking of more cookies I want to make! I simply must stop this madness.
18 comments:
(eek! Its only posting half my comment-thats me that keeps deleting! Please don't pelt me with sausages next time I see you...) Please fill my stolen leg warmers with two trays of those cookies and my tupperware will "be on the march" shortly to retrieve them! I wish I could have seen all those Santas too. I wish I could borrow a police car with a huge rope & net and throw it over ALL of them just to see what that would look like and announce on the loud speaker, "Santas, you are all under arrest for impersonating the real Santa Claus, punishable by a fine of $25,000 each." Then! I'd say "psyche" and drive away. Would you be up for that next year possibly if I am not vacationing in Havana like usual? Yesterday was plenty plenty plenty of fun dawdling about with the Lainitoot!
When I went to the blog and clicked on the Portland link, I loved that the meet-up blurb contained this: "Santa rides the MAX." Now THAT I would have paid to see. ;)
I'm coming over with my cocoa.
Laini- Dave & I once encountered these Drunken Santas in front of the downtown M&F when Camille was 18 months old! They were really rowdy, slightly scary and Camille was petrified! She already had a fear of santa and that was the icing on the cake! She hasn't been the same since! :)
Oh my God! I just remembered.. they also gave Camille some demented gift..it was like a broken toy or headless doll or something...I think I blocked it out of my mind.. I just remember being disturbed and annoyed, we threw the "gift" in the trash...they are just horrible, horrible if you have kids. We avoid downtown like the plague for fear of running into them... Camille would freak even now!
Those last cookies look SO GOOD. Yum yum!
You must dress up as Santa. Funny!
:)
LOL at the Santas! Scary in big numbers. I wished I'd had my camera today too when I saw two massive deer hounds, with reindeer antler head bands on.....so,. so cute and happy to pose for photos too.
Yum, to those cookies!
Delurking to crow about your chocolate crinkles...mmmmm. My grandmother is the only one if our family who made them and she's been gone for years and years. I remember trying them just once and had a big gooey chocolate mess on my hands most of the afternoon. But yours look wonderful!
I need one of Alexandra's calorie vacuum inventions just looking at all the goodies on here!
A teeming throng of Santas seems a little scary to me - sort of like a stadium full of clowns. One's cute, two or three can be funny - but a half dozen or more is sca-a-a-ry. I think that crowd would put me on overload!
I just wandered onto your blog. I just love your artwork! So whimsical! Congratulations on your book and your Laini's Ladies! Merry Christmas!
Back to Weight Watchers after Christmas eh!?*
HAHA!!! Oh Fun! See this is why I miss cities. I have heard from friends who play in Santa groups each year all the wild tales! I have heard of lots of streaking Santa's and spanking Santa's and other holiday naughtyness. I think the goal is precisely that. I love this! The Spirit of Santa really is alive and well. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for the info. They are having an event in Chicago this weekend. I may just have to head out...with my camera.
I like the sky diving Santas. Have you seen them? They are so cute. :-)
How funny! Brad and I actually saw a huge batch of these santas get off the MAX at Pioneer Place on Saturday! (And I thougth the same thing, the camera was in the car - DRAT!) In defense of Jennifer's comment, some of them WERE very scary and odd looking and I could totally see how they might scare the bejeebers out of Santa-shy kiddos. Some had obviously been hitting the 'nog a tad early that day, but for the most part, they were all well behaved and it did look like it could be a fun thing to do. It would make for some fun pictures and a great post if you and Jim do it next year! :) (And the chocolate crinkles - they are one of my favorites!)
This made me laugh...and bummer, we missed them! (although Ayden and I stayed very to close to the homestead on Sat.) We ventured downtown to see "one" Santa on Sunday. This must have been a site to see! What a fabulous girl day you had with shopping and leg warmers and a movie too! :-)
You know what would be cool? If they had all of these Santas do the running of the bulls!
I'd pay to watch that! ;)
Sounds like you and Alexandra had a fun day. As for the Santas, why is it we always see these kinds of things when our cameras are elsewhere? And the baking?? You are a baking fiend! I've never known anyone other than a chef who bakes as much as you.
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