My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

When I was little, we used to go down to my Grandma's house every time certain shows came on TV. Mostly because she was the only person in the family who had a color television at the time. A great big floor console. The grown ups had the chairs and sofa, and all the kids would sprawl on the floor. The two main shows we would all gather for were the annual airing of The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music. But I also remember the night we all went to Grandma Helen's and were allowed to stay up unbelievably late to watch the first ever moon landing. I was still of an age when anything was possible and my siblings and cousins and I didn't understand why it was such a big deal that someone was landing on the moon or why the adults kept shushing us every time we talked.

Of all the favorite things at my Grandma's house though, was Christmas time. She had a miniature tree she brought out every Christmas, and the "ornaments" on this tree were trinkets and charms (as in charm bracelets) she bought from her many travels around the world. She always looked for the tiniest, most intricate of charms, and every year we would try to guess which ones were the new ones that had been added. The tree stood all of about 12 or 14" tall and had tiny gifts and toys around its base. I have that tree now and I treasure it. I also have several antique ornaments from her large tree. The one that fascinates me the most is a two sided mirror about 1x4" that has a chimney on one side and Santa on the other. If you twist the string round and round, and then let it go, it will spin so fast that you will see Santa coming out of the chimney.

And of course my grandma baked. Her most famous recipe of all was her caramel recipe. Her caramels were rich and buttery and I've never tasted any others as good, either store bought or homemade. Other people's caramels are grainy or bland. These are phenomenal. I seem to be the only one in the family carrying on the tradition. Every year, when I eat that first one, if I close my eyes, I am amazed at how much of my grandmother's house I can remember, just from the taste of those caramels. Little details that I don't usually keep with me come back to me with unbelievable clarity. It's a sweet thing.

Tonight, even though it's not Christmas time yet, I made her caramels. I tried them as a candy with a chocolate topping and some other variations. They were exquisite! I need about six life times.... To pursue the work I love as an educator, to be a writer, to do the art work I enjoy and would like to learn, to pursue the cooking and baking I love to experiment with, to travel and explore, and who knows what else. Life is just too short for me, I think.

But come the holidays, I do bake. I have a long list of cookies and candies I make--every year. And I give most of them away. I just love to make them. Here's the list...

Russian Teacakes
Toffee Bars
Spritz Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Fruitcake
Chocolate Drop Cookies
Peppermint Bark
Christmas Pretzels
Chocolate Pizza
Chocolate Krumkake
Fudge
Peanut Brittle
Rosettes
Wreaths
Caramels

And I love when my girls come home for the weekend when I do my holiday baking. Sometimes even their friends come over for the day and help. It's a good time. A family time. It's how it should be.