Apple on a cowpie

Years ago, we received a fancy triple dipped caramel and chocolate apple from a friend. It was the most decadent fruit I had ever tasted. Forget sugar plums; come Christmas time, visions of that apple are what dance through my head. Being the do-it-herself person she is, Janine determined to replicate the majestic confection. I came home from work to find apples, caramel, chocolate, and almonds laid out and ready craft. Despite our best efforts, however, they didn't turn out so well. The chocolate didn't stick to caramel like we hoped. It slipped sadly down the apple and pooled at base, dragging the toasted almonds with it. The result looked surprisingly like a caramel apple that had been chucked into a field, landing square in the middle of a big ol' pile of cow dung. Needless to say, we were terribly distraught, but that didn't keep us from eating our Frankenstein-ish fruit.

Last night, after taking 3 years to recover from our initial disappointment, we endeavored to recreate the original masterpiece. (I know that Plato is laughing at us in our feeble attempts to recreate the heavenly original, but that's no reason to give up.) Success! And such tasty success. I admit that, in my enthusiasm, I pulled out one apple for each of us. Janine was much more in control of herself; she gave me the look that said, "You're kidding, right? Don't even think about it." So we split one. Can you blame a guy for trying?

These pictures are destined for my future mural project: The 1000 Faces of Neener mural.