Ack! I was unclear. I was asking Dana.

ita, we got them pretty much anytime during carnival season.

Are king cakes more associated with the end of the Mardi Gras season than the beginning? I figured everyone was just rushing to get them in, but that the good eatings started on Epiphany. Unlike paczki, which I associate with the day itself.

Yeah, I'm assuming it's a blending of the original king cake concept with the using-up-things-before-Lent pancake/crepe/paczki concept that extends from one holiday to the other.

King cakes, in my experience, go all the way from Epiphany to Mardi Gras. You get the baby, you provide the next day's king cake. I it weren't for Lent, it would never end.

You get the baby, you provide the next day's king cake.

We always said next year's cake, though I think that was more for calorie reasons than time period reasons.

Thanks Plei. I'm on a no-buy right now - but I will try to remember that when I let myself off "restriction".

My favorite is the Mexican tradition that whoever is the king/queen has to make the tamales for Candlemas.

I would like some cake.

Man I miss being in a neighborhood where you can walk to stuff (like the Polish bakery for paczi!) ... although I'm glad to not have to be driving to get there or parking in that neighborhood right now.

sara, your commute sounds like a nightmare! I know they've had problems with flooding on 39th. I wonder if that's what they are fixing?

Dr. Horrible action figure: [link]

It seems only fitting that the first authorized and fully-licensed Dr. Horrible Animated Maquette is of the man with the PhD in Horribleness himself.

Cast in professional-grade resin and painted by hand, Dr. Horrible is pictured in his moment of triumph, holding his Freeze Ray aloft in one hand and shaking his fist at the world. As with all QMx animated maquettes, Dr. Horrible comes with many screen-accurate details, such as his goggles, the medical symbol on his smock and, of course, the aforementioned deanimation gun. He stands over six inches tall – nine, if you include his weapon. Freeze Ray. Tell your friends.

Dr. Horrible comes in an edition of 1,000 statues and is the first in a series of limited-edition maquettes based on the characters of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

$69.95.

Man I miss being in a neighborhood where you can walk to stuff (like the Polish bakery for paczi!) ... although I'm glad to not have to be driving to get there or parking in that neighborhood right now.

Last time I had a galette des Rois was when I drove from the Eastern Shore to the French bakery in Fells Point to get one for an Epiphany/Taking-down-the-tree game night.

We're having perfect winter weather here -- it's snowing pretty, but 34 degrees, so not really sticking.