No One Came

Each year candy is purchased, pumpkins are carved and lit, lights are turned on, and a happy somewhatfortyplus lady in waiting sits, waiting and waiting and waiting. No one comes. The door bell does not ring. Head lights don't venture up the long dark driveway. Voices are not heard in unison shouting "Trick or Treat!" No one comes. A friend calls to say 42 kids have already been to her house. She lives in the well lit town; I live in the dark and spooky country.

Trick and treating hours have been set in this Chicagoland area, and range from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. CDT. It is now 8:40 p.m. A $12 five pound bag of assorted candy bars, purchased at Costco, sits undisturbed, missing only those eaten by the somewhatfortyplus husband. One more year of no monster mash. No goblins or vampires. Good thing I can remember Jack dancing and singing to "The Monster Mash" on stage a few years ago. Thanks Jack. Tell them Boris sent you......

Photo Attribution: somewhatfrank

Easter Baskets

Running around the house in search of chocolate Easter eggs has been a holiday tradition since the recipients were old enough to crawl. Regardless of their age, these twenty and thirty-somethings seem thrilled with the hunt, fill baskets with the goods and then seldom eat the rewards. This year will be somewhat different. Jessica and husband bask in the Mexican sun, reminding us summer will soon be here. Frank remains working in Virginia, yet his Easter treat included watching Alma Mater Purdue play basketball from the company box. Jack is the only chick who made it home, and he is far removed from hunting for chocolate he rarely eats. Cut-out Easter cookies to the rescue.

Williams-Sonoma provides all things eatable for Easter baskets this year, including mini iced Easter sugar cookies by Isobel & Company. The bite size hand-decorated sugar cookies in duck, bunny, flowers, carrot and Easter egg shapes taste good and are good enough to buy another bag. At $19.95 for 8.8 ounces, the Canadian made cookies use real butter, fresh eggs and royal icing, and provide the zing needed at festivities. Truffled “robins’ eggs” , actually chocolate truffles cloaked in white chocolate and finished with a speckled candy shell also fill the baskets. Sour Gummy Bunnies, another Williams-Sonoma exclusive, add a sweet and sour appeal for the older set and burst with citrus flavors, including pink grapefruit, Key lime and lemon. Jellybellies, Cadbury eggs , a favorite of father and son, and Godiva chocolate bunnies fill the baskets. Easter brunch at the Country Club completes the tradition, and the real Easter bunny always appears to give children of all ages additional treats. Whether with family or friends, enjoy the day and Happy Easter to all of you, including Jessica, Mike, FJ, Jack and John.

Photo attribution: Williams-Sonoma

Christmas Cookie Memories

Christmas wouldn't be the same without cut out Christmas cookies. After two days of flour hanging in the air, flour on the cupboard knobs, flour on the doors, and flour on the floor, the cookies have been chilled, rolled out, cut out and frosted. All remnants of cookie cutting will be gone by 3:00 today when the cleaning ladies depart and the house sparkles, ready for guests.

Cut out cookies are time consuming, yet they remind three adult children of Christmas's past, when their goal wasn't to close the big deal before Friday, but to make the perfect snow Angel. In those simpler times little fingers sampled raw cookie dough, and colored frosting had prints left behind. The broken cut outs had to be eaten lest they spoil, or worse yet, be consumed by a sibling. Making cut out cookies was a process that involved the entire brood and has left life long memories.

Blogger Boy was delighted at the news: the cut out cookies are now frosted. Law School Boy has never been one for sweets but will savor a cookie with his morning coffee, and Jessica has the ability to eat only one cookie and walk away. Five dozen Christmas trees, stars, hearts, bells and clovers are awaiting the lips of those dearest. While the cookies will last far too long, eventually ending up in the trash, the value of the cookies is measured in memories of Christmas's past which will return each time the tray of cookies is sampled.