The morning is cloudy, and it will stay cloudy all day. The temperature is tolerable at 35°. It is winter after all. The air is perfectly calm, nothing moves, not even the dead oak leaves hanging off the ends of the branches. I made my toffee, almost. I just have to cover it in chocolate and nuts. I even made two batches. It is destined to be a Christmas gift though I might save a few pieces for myself.

We used to watch Santa Claus on TV. The program came from a New Hampshire station. Santa sat at a table and talked to us. He read stories and letters to Santa. Sometimes an elf joined him in the workshop. The elf looked liked a gnome. Santa was surrounded by shelves filled with toys. On Christmas Eve he’d say good-bye before his big trip.

We always took a light ride. We had favorite places. The block in Saugus was one of them. Every house was covered in lights. Every house was awesome. We went slowly in a line of cars and went up and down the streets. That is one tradition which has held over the years. I still take a light ride, and my sister does too.

We always wished for a white Christmas mostly because snow is always the backdrop for Santa and his sleigh. Over the year my sled was kept upright in the cellar. The runners would get a bit of rust but not the permanent sort. I remember leaving a reddish trail as I dragged the sled over the snow. It didn’t drag easily until the rust was gone.

I had the good fortune to live on a great hill. My house was on the corner almost to the top of the hill. I’d pull my sled to the top, plunk it down then run and jump on. I was always on my stomach with my feet in the air and my hands on the front steering bar. Only little kids sat upright. Sometimes we’d go so fast we couldn’t stop at the end of the hill so we’d hope for no cars as we crossed the street below the hill and ended up in the field. It was always a slog pulling the sled back up the hill.

I loved cocoa in the winter. My mother made it with milk and Nestle’s cocoa which came in a cardboard container with silver on the top where the opening was. Sometimes the container was a bank with a slit at the top for the money. My mother always put Marshmallow Fluff on the top of the cocoa. It would melt and spread across the top. I remember a marshmallow mustache.

My dance card is so full it’s groaning. Today is my fourth concert in a row. Next week I have five plus practice and my lesson. A four string instrument had taken over my life, but we’re singing Christmas carols which make the concerts fun for us. We all wear green or red and fascinators on our heads. We have music makers and bells. We are an enthusiastic bunch.