Trina Machacek: Candy calendar

It was bad enough several years ago when I zipped quickly past a mirror and saw my mother and it was me! Not that I mind having part of my mom in me. Not that I mind hearing her in my voice occasionally. Not even that once my other half told me I was giving him the silent treatment so well that I reminded him of how well she dished out that treatment! But this week I had to draw the line at something I noticed I have begun to do, just like my mother! I am plotting my year by the kind of candy that becomes available each month. Yes, the whole year by the types of candy the stores sell! Sweet? Not!

Already you are starting to think about this, aren’t you? Let’s go back a few months to start this sweet journey as Valentine’s Day has just past and the next big one isn’t for a few weeks. So go back with me to say, October. Halloween. The mecca of candy, for sure. In my humble opinion, anyway. Miles of miles of miles of candy, sweets, tooth getting goodies. Yes, yes, it starts to show up about August, but that is because August really doesn’t have a candy holiday. But! Yes, a “but” is sweetly pushing in. But I am getting ahead of my sugary self. Let’s see, we were at October. Such a sweet month. Followed by November. Thanksgiving.

Not that there aren’t some special goodies available at Thanksgiving. Chocolate-shaped turkeys and all. The candy-filled Advent calendars are out and calling your name. It was November when at my grandmother’s home hard, colorful ribbon candy started to show up. I found, however, as I grew that the pretty multicolored ribbons were not something you really ate. Yep, discovered that the last time I went to pick up a piece and the whole pile — and the dish — were melted together. Yuck, sorry, Grandma! Then you slip into Christmas and the cookies and peppermints and, and, and…

There is a slightest of a dip of non-candy in early January as we all seem to swear off of everything with our New Year’s resolutions. But come about mid-January, the Girl Scout Cookies are sold. The cookies don’t come until later, so I have discovered Camp Fire candy in January! Oh, my gosh Camp Fire mints are the best! (Available online if you can’t find them in your area!) In February, the heart wants what it wants and it wants — candy hearts. March sees us gathering up the St. Patrick’s Day green — what? Taffy! Huge displays of tons of the chewy stuff. Note that this is the candy used to just fill in a month where decorations are usually a bigger seller than candy, but candy is always sold alongside — to us calendar candy buyers! April is Easter. Such pretty sugary eggs and the one mainstay that I cannot stay away from — Peeps! Aw, geez, Louise, I am a Peep-er! How sad is it that I was excited when Peeps came out in shapes of Santa and Pumpkins et al! Yes, I know I am not alone.

May sees the beginning of summer and Memorial Day. Start to gather up stuff for Smores! Chocolate bars and marshmallows and graham crackers. Don’t forget to buy a lot of wet ones for cleaning up! June will offer up something related to the end of the school year, like licorice. Easy for traveling in the car on that summer vacation of camping!

July and all the Fourth of July hoopla is another taffy season. Too hot for chocolate and there hasn’t been a Peep in the shape of a flag — yet! Taffy actually is a good hot month choice. Yes, it melts and gets all squishy. You can still pick it off the waxed paper though. That brings up September. This is a fruity, granola, bakery month. School is starting when fruit leather and powerful granola bars are on sale to put into lunches. Then, if you watch for them the little Hostess cupcakes and Twinkies and Snowballs are sometimes like 10 for 10 bucks! These freeze well and — well, you get the idea.

And presto, we are back to October! Now that you have come full circle of the Candy Calendar with me — did you see yourself? Anywhere? Everywhere? Do you need a big ole glass of water to get all that sugar out of your mouth? I know I do.

Yes, I see my mother in me. Not the ribbons of grandma’s candy dish, though. That was something that just didn’t — stick with me! Stay sweet all year long.

Trina lives in Eureka, Nev. Find her on Facebook or share with her at itybytrina@yahoo.com. Really!