Welcome to Candy Land

Refusing to believe that I could be beaten by a simple combination of butter, sugar, and water, I have once again braved the P-family toffee recipe. This time, the results seem to be much more satisfactory. I decided this morning that I just had to give it another whirl, so I busted out the ingredients and the 3-quart heavy saucepan once again. I made Peppermint Fudge first. I figured that a little taste of success would bolster my floundering confidence. It did, and the lingering scent of peppermint in the kitchen made me want to keep going. And on I went. I'll admit, I was very nervous, standing diligently by the pan, stirring my little heart out. I even went beyond trusting my candy thermometer by manually testing the candy's progress- stringing it across a cold plate. Looks like I can't blame the candy thermometer for yesterday's snafu...it was dead-on. Of course, the candy went from 250 to 300 degrees pretty quickly, so I don't feel as bad as I did yesterday. Live and learn.

So, my candy-making for the year is over. I've made all of the things I wanted to make. There are still plans for butter cookies on Saturday night, and tomorrow I am making the pies for our pseudo-Christmas dinner, but I can retire the candy thermometer for another 12 months, and that makes me very happy.

Now it's time to make sure the house is in order for company this weekend, so I'll be cleaning and doing some produce shopping today. It's very exciting around here. I've also decided to pack my hospital bag. You know, just in case S wants to be a Christmas baby. Speaking of S, here are some pictures of her room. The one very empty wall is still anxiously awaiting her map, but other than that, I think we're done. Part of me wants to keep painting and drawing things to put up, but I know that if I start, I'll never stop.