Candy

Howdy-hi, folks! I want to mention to my peeps who followed me last month during the A2Z round that I kicked off my Road Trip series yesterday.   Okay moving right along… in February I shared memories of butterscotch candies given to me as a child and a penny candy song title playlist in my Sweet Things post.  For years I’ve enjoyed making candy for Christmas mainly but have done some candy making other times during the year.  I’ve made caramels, chocolate fudge, maple nut fudge, chocolate covered cherries, peppermint patties, toffee <–link to post look for ‘Traditional English Toffee’ in content],  truffles, hard candy, cream-filled candy, and a few more confections.  I love to make candy!  Rain’s art prompt this week is, “candy”. 

My first illustration is from my April 2020 A-Z vintage pinup girl sketch series, ‘Unmentionables‘ which I could say Candy is wearing lingerie or even this is some fine eye candy!

I remember going to the store with my daddy when I was little.  He often got me bag of penny candy.  To a small child five or ten pieces of candy seemed quite the haul.  I loved holding that little brown poke in my hand tightly.  I could hear the candy rattling around like a Mexican maraca.  It was music to my ears. When I got old enough, mommy or daddy sometimes gave me a quarter to spend and I’d walk to the nearby store to get several of my favorite candies, Tootsie roll pops, Reese’s peanut butter cups, red hot cinnamon suckers, Astrid pops, taffy, Tootsie rolls, Kits, Mary Jane’s, to name just a few.  Not all of these candies were a penny but the smaller pieces like Tootsie Rolls, Mary Janes, miniature Reese’s PB cups, and Kits (taffy) were. 

Several years ago I listed 10 things I wanted for Christmas as a kid which included a cotton candy machine.  I never got one.  In those days only the kids who’s parents had money got one.  Now that I think about it,  I don’t remember a single kid I knew got one.  I longed for one for years.  The only time I got to enjoy a fluffy mound of cotton candy was when we went to the carnival or circus.  I could buy cotton candy at the store and while it was compressed into a small foil like pouch it was still tasty.  Nothing beats freshly made wisps of melted spun sugary goodness, though.

After we had kids, we got them a cotton candy machine which they loved! We still have it.  I need to make some cotton candy again.  I’ve been saying this for the past five years and still haven’t done it.  Procrastination partly but mostly I don’t want to the extra calories.  I’m going to have to give in eventually to this tasting temptation.

I’m joining Mary for TBT using my desire for Cotton Candy as today’s tune search I found a song with such a title done by the American R&B group The Sylvers (1975). At first I thought they were new-to-me but then I noticed they are the same band that released the hot disco sound of Boogie Fever and Hotline.  Alright, let’s go back in time with The Sylvers’ “Cotton Candy”!

This week’s Thankful Thursday, I’m grateful for good news received about a medical issue one our children faced which turned out to be mild.  I’m thankful to have a loan pre-approval letter in hand for our house search.  I’m thankful for cloudy days when working outside.   I’m thankful for the new possibility that we may take that New England vacation later in the summer.  I’m thankful for every aspect of my life.  Every good thing is a direct blessing from God and to Him I give thanks. 🙂

I’m winding things up today with Kat’s Writing Workshop and am going to borrow her prompt to write about something I would change if I could go back in time.

This is really tricky.  What would I change about yesterday that wouldn’t alter my life in a negative way?  That’s tough.  Sometimes, I think if I could go back I’d continue working outside the home but that I’m almost 100% sure would not give quite the fulfilled outcome.  I’d like to think I could change my insecurities, lack of confidence but really that’s something one has to work out as they go along in life because self-esteem issues go back to childhood and let’s face it what kid has the foresight to flip that way of thinking around?  You either feel good or don’t feel good about yourself.  One thing I sorted regretted over the years is my college studies.  I went to a two year school.  It was nice and affordable but more importantly it was big.  Although I really wished I had the drive to try to get into the University of Tennessee back in those days but remember I didn’t think I was smart enough despite my above average GPA.  I can’t even remember what it was now but I’m thinking it was a 3.0.  Anyway, I could do over my college studies.  I was interested architecture design but didn’t elect to go that route.  I don’t remember why now unless that wasn’t an option at the two-year college I enrolled in and  probably wasn’t since it was more a technical school than anything.  Instead I took what they called “Business Data Processing”.  I’m not know what the difference is but I was told the degree was like an associate computer programming equivalent.  Knowing what I know now, I would definitely tell a younger me to transfer to U.T. to get a bachelors degree in computer science after I got my associate.   I would’ve gotten a better job after college no doubt and we would’ve been in better financial standing when we started our family.  Who knows maybe we would’ve upgraded to a bigger home sooner instead of having to wait like we are and still can’t find what we want but I’m a firm believer there’s a reason for everything.  I need to stay patient and focused on God’s leadership.  I also think about ways I would improve the way I raised my family.  Looking back every parent says, “If I did this or that then things would be better…”  Maybe they would be and maybe not.  It’s fun to imagine going back in time to change something but I have to wonder would it do more harm than good?  Life is what it is.  I can’t go back to change anything but I certainly can take pointers away from my experiences and hopefully share it with my kids/grandkids or even make my/our life better going forward. 

 

Tomorrow is DH’s off Friday.  My weekend begins tonight which means I won’t be in Blogosphere until Monday but do drop back by to hit the dance floor with me where I’ll be spinning tunes to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest.  I’m heading over to Rain’s Garden to browse the gallery of artistry.   Have a doodletastic day! X💋X💋, Cathy

Eugenia’s passion is poetry and her weekly gig is perfect for creative writers. Each Thursday she offers a word to spark the imagination and if you’re inspired to write a ditty then be sure to let her know by leaving a comment on her site with a direct link to your post.  Now, go visit my girl! 😉