First morning in a while we haven't had a fresh coating of at least two or three inches new snow! Instead, the eaves are dripping in 35-degree temperatures, the snow is settling nicely and getting heavier as the warm, misty air overtakes us. I've been listening to the scanner and so far the roads seem to be good. I can see the tops of our trees swaying as the wind picks up, so things will be changing!

I made some candy last night - while the weather was still fairly crisp. I've heard that certain kinds of candy-making fails when the weather is damp. I suppose all that sugar melts the wrong way or something. I'm not very good at that kind of thing, but I have a favorite peanut brittle recipe I do in the microwave, and that hasn't failed yet. Trouble is, I can't resist it, even though I know that except for the peanuts, it's 100% sugar. Whenever I make peanut brittle, I always remember when I was in high school and there was an elderly lady living with the family I boarded with during the winter months when I couldn't ride my bike the four miles to school. Her name was Annie - I can't recall her last name, maybe it was McAllister, I'm not sure. But she was a lovely little lady and I used to enjoy sitting with her and hearing her stories. I brought her some peanut brittle I'd bought at Roger's Store one afternoon, and she was so pleased. She told me it was her favorite, even though she didn't dare chew it because of her teeth, but she let it dissolve in her mouth and enjoyed the taste so much. I never knew what she did with the peanuts - that wasn't important. I was happy to share with her. Since then I've known several other old timers who particularly like peanut brittle. Maybe because it's a challenge to eat without breaking a tooth, I can't figure it out. I never made it for my kids - I guess I was always afraid the sugar would dissolve their teeth on the spot or something. Or maybe they just didn't like it. I'll find out when I take some to our family Christmas Eve party!

We used to pull taffy when I was a kid. That had to be done on a cold, crisp day or it wouldn't come out right. We cooked the molasses and sugar on the wood stove until it was just the right consistency and then it was cooled until we could work it with our buttered hands. I remember how beautiful it was as we kneaded and stretched the golden ropes, twisting and looping it into wonderful shapes, and then how good it tasted after it was cooled and cut into manageable chunks. When I was a little older, I visited my aunt at the beach in Maine, and watched in amazement at taffy being made by big machines at the Goldenrod, a candy store on York Beach. They still make all kinds of flavors there, only they call it "salt water taffy" - and I've tried them all, but none of them taste as good as what my mom, dad and I stirred up and pulled to perfection on those cold, bright Sunday afternoons.