Once Gary had the interior Christmas decorations finished, he stopped for a week and did other things. Today, he resumed decorating, this time outside. There are now six small Christmas trees on our front porch, bringing our total to ten trees, in and out. There's a wreath on the door. There will soon be more lights and boughs of greens along the porch railing. I expect him to keep adding things until the 15th, when I have my Solstice Party.
As for me, I've finished the Christmas cards. I decided to order Evan's books on line, leaving only some small inexpensive gifts we'll get in a trip to Family Dollar the week before Christmas. So shopping is taken care of.
Tomorrow, I begin to bake. I'll start with sugar cookies and go on to peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses. Pecan puffs will follow. There will be sweet breads, muffins, caramel corn, and scones. I already have banana bread in the freezer.
My mother's recipes are in a card file on my desk. At this time of year, I remember the smells in that old farmhouse I grew up in. At Christmas, she made cookies, yes, but it was her candy that was mind boggling. She bought a big slab of chocolate every year and every bit of it was used up. There were white creams dipped in chocolate, chocolate creams rolled in crushed walnuts, caramel squares, and so many more. They were stored on trays in the little cold entrance at the back of the house. We children went out that way to walk to the one room elementary school or catch the bus to the high school. Of course, we always grabbed candy on our way out of the house and again when we came home. It was so good!
That is what Christmas is about for me: memories, both past and in the making. So I bake.
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