Things I've had since I first got married (besides Bill)

• Off the top of my head (a dangerous position I know), I can't think of anything we've owned - that plugs in - that we've had for our 40-year marriage outside of this little Sunbeam mixer. One could rightfully argue that this longevity is based on usage and that I must not be much of a whipped-cream whipper or cookie dough mixer or whatever else you use these things for.

• I'll admit that I didn't make too much real whipped cream, but I did come of age when mashed potatoes were not supposed to have lumps, much less skins, and we whipped the devil out of them with our electric mixers once we'd hand mashed them. And I made my share of birthday cakes and brownies. Especially my famous chocolate chip brownies as mentioned in an earlier post.

• This Christmas I've made 5 batches of Pecan Puffs, pictured on the left. Three to my brother in Palm Springs, for whom they are an addiction, and one to my parents. I displayed the one that is ours next to a gift in a bag that features a scene from A Christmas Story, the movie with the famous line "you'll shoot your eye out" (refering to Ralphie's desire for a Red Ryder BB gun and his mother's reply). My kids like that movie, and, of course, it holds nostalgia for me since it was filmed in Cleveland, my hometown, and features scenes from Higbee's Dept. store.

• At any rate, my family has been making Pecan Puffs for over 50 years. The recipe originally came from my mother's dear friend Pete Fathauer (a lady whose maiden name was Peterson). Her daughter Judy became one of my dear friends. Here's the recipe for posterity: Combine: 1 stick butter, 2 T. dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup sifted flour, 1 cup ground pecans. Roll in nickle-sized balls. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Roll in powdered sugar that has a couple of dashes of cinnamon mixed in. Must be butter. And I probably use 2-1/2 T. brown sugar. The end!