We are about to get some heavy rain and wind, and I am hoping all the decorating work the town and businesses did stays intact for the weekend. A little bit of snow would make it really Christmas in Edgartown.

Happy Birthday to all who celebrated this past week. Big balloons go out to Cruz Cancellare, who celebrated Dec. 7; Perolla Marcal, Emma Wallace, Sloan Snowden, Dec. 8; Ilija Trance, Dec. 9; Isaac Scheffer, Matheus Candido, Dec. 10; Isabella Francis-Espino, Dec. 11; Benjamin Fuller, Dec. 12; and to Bella Silva, who celebrates Dec. 13.

With all the hustle and bustle I wonder how all the parents get everything done in time for Christmas. My brother Frank and I were talking about our parents. They both worked in the mills, Mom had the day shift and Dad the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Mom did not drive so Dad drove her all around to get her ingredients for her date and nut bread, cookies and the fruit cake, which was dad’s favorite. He never drank a drop of liquor, but we both laughed that he loved it when mom poured the rum over the fruit bread. She also made fudge. The taste testing was the best, along with the meringue cookies with chocolate bits which were my favorites.

On the weekend we would go to Somerset, to our Uncle John and Aunt Coras’ house. We were always patiently awaiting that trip because Aunt Cora made the best cookies. As expected, we walked in the house and the dining room table was full of cookies. The list was long on how many kinds of cookies she had, but she made the best short bread cookies. Even though I could not see Frank’s face as I talked to him, I know he was smiling as much as I was at the thought of all those creations and memories.

Social media is full of recipes to try. You cannot possibly make all the things you see but I would sure love to. I tried the cranberry candy, and it was not bad. All you do is soak them in orange juice and Sprite overnight then drain and shake them in powdered sugar. Then bake them at 250 for five minutes. They were supposed to be crunchy but mine were not. It was a good way to use them up seeing the freezer is full and they would not last long in the refrigerator. But there are many more to try and it is a long winter.

Have a great week and keep the home candles burning.