Thank you Grandma B.!

When I was young, it was easy for me to take for granted the hard work and heart that went into the special caramels that my Grandma B. always had at her house during the holidays.  All I knew was that these little goodies just happened to be on the table or in little bowls lovingly placed around the house.  I would open each tiny wrapped package of sweet, chewy goodness, pop it in my mouth like it appeared out of nowhere and wonder how I got so lucky as to fall into its path. 

I have since grown up and realized that at least 3 hours of careful measuring, temperature watching, constant stirring and wrapping went into each yummy batch of Grandma's homemade caramels.  I have missed so many of her holiday traditions and this one is definitely at the top of the list.  I attempted them a couple of years ago and they came out a little too gooey but still very delicious. 

So here it is, Christmas 2010.  I spent the evening stirring up a batch of these beloved caramels.  I even had to pull a chair up to the stove to sit on as I stirred and stirred and stirred.  I guarantee Grandma never needed a chair!  Oh well... I know if she were here she would say that it didn't matter how you went about making these goodies, just that you loved doing it and that you created something that your family loved because you loved them so very much.  So that I did! 

Thank you Grandma B. for passing the love down to me!

Jake patiently waited for me to make a mistake...

24 hours later it's time to cut and wrap...

Davey is quite a natural wrapper wouldn't you say?

Zach helped by taste testing!

And this festive little fella may have hummed a Christmas carol while he wrapped...Or not...

Perfection!

What is OH so funny about these pictures?

Thank you Grandma B.!