Dear Silenus Charm, Research Elf:

Violet Crumbles do not involve Violets as ingredients. They are a honeycomb type nougat covered with chocolate. However, $17,000 worth of wonderful dental work over the past 3 years leads me to suggest nothing along the lines of hard to chew items! I have a condition which causes brittle teeth so I've had problems with chiped enamel. As a result, I've had a great many crowns and 3 bridges. The bridges were to replace teeth broken during an assault over a decade ago. I now have marvelous looking teeth but I stay away from Nougat! As for liquor - neither me or my husband drink much these days. We have quite a lot of wine gathering dust and an equal amount of spirits. I would not want Santa to consider any alcoholic beverages since they are expenisve to ship and we really don't need any. Please let Santa know.

About me:

I am an enthusiastic cook and gardener. I love old cookbooks, handed-down recipes,unusually shaped biscuit cutters (cookie cutters), interesting cake tins (pans), salad and/or pudding molds, Shortbread molds or stamps, and other such items. One thing I do not have but would love to have is a Pie Bird.

To give you an idea of what I am like, My Mum asked me what one item of hers I wanted the most after she died and I told her I wanted her Potato masher. Here in the USA, Potato Ricers are all the rage these days but when I was growing up, my Mum used a mashing device that was shaped like a sign wave. I managed to have an antique-dealing friend get me one that was similar but it's not exactly the same. The mashers around now are all squared patterns and make for lousy mashed praties.

I live in southern California but I am originally from the Irish Bronx, a section of New York City that historically has been the home of recent Irish emigrants. My family came to the USA from 1916 to the 1920's. That first date should give a clue as to why. My mother's family is also from ireland but by way of Canada. They arrived a generation earlier and settled in an iron mining town of far upstate New York. Her side of the family became union activists, something I inherited. Here in Los Angeles, I once ran for president of my Craft Local and lost by just 6 votes!

I grew up in a very musical family on both sides but I no longer play an instrument due to a painful joint condition (the same condition that makes my teeth brittle). I do still sing, however. My sister and I had a little folk duo as children and teens. We've both recorded but only she has actually had music available commerically. Both of us played guitar during the Folk Mass era of The Catholic Church here in the USA. It's an era I recall fondly despite the simplicity of some of the music. My sister eventually left popular music to cooncentrate solely on the Music Ministry and now she and her husband publish and distribute original litergical music. I was terribly fond of the Weston Priory music written by the former Brother Gregory Norbett. I don't have any of it on CD and would love to have some of my old favorites such as: Hosea, Wherever You Go and others from that time period. While the latter Weston priory Music is nice, it doesn't carry the same nostalgia for me as the Norbett songs.

I was the harmony singer in our family and as a result, I grew up to be terribly fond of nicely matched duos such as The Louvin brothers, The Everly Brothers and the work Gram parsons did with Emmylou Harris. My voice was once very similar to hers, so I boought every album she ever made up to a point. I have most of them now as well except for a few that have never made it onto CD. I would die of happiness if I could get the Albums White Shoes and 13 on CD.

Speaking of albums transferred to CD - there is one Irish ROvers album from when I was a child called Tales To Warm Your Mind that has several songs that have never been available on CD - songs such as Brambleshire Wood and a different version of The Stolen Child than you hear elsewhere. If anyone had this and could put it on CD - I would be so in their debt.

I have a pretty huge CD collection, but there are allows more albums that you love and want, right? I would love a copy of the Everly Brother's Album Songs That Our Daddy Taught Us with songs such as Put My Little Shoes Away and The Lightening Express (Please Mister Conductor). I've always been a sucker for all those heart-wrenching type songs. In fact, my mother used to sing me The Prisoner's Song (If I had the wings of an angel) as a Lullabye! I only have one version of it on CD - the Sonny James one from 1976.

Perhaps all this has given you a picture ofwhat I like. I'll ad more later.

Dave'sWife