52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 49

A few months ago, I got a surprise in the mail from my friend Tina at NotJustAnotherMotherBlogger. Two pounds of Texas pecans were just some of the awesomeness inside the package. I was making some Nutella rice crispy treats this week and decided those were just the nuts to sprinkle on top.

First things first though, I needed to borrow a nut cracker. I cannot believe I don't own one! A bowl of mixed nuts (in their shells) was a staple at so many of of our family gatherings when I was a kid. It made me happy to be filled with nostalgia.

My daughter decided to help me, as this was a novel task. It made me happy to see her have a sparkle of wonder in her eyes at what we were doing. I may have acted otherwise, but it also made me happy when she sent pieces of shell flying as part of the nut cracking learning curve.

I fondly recalled the challenge of getting a walnut shell cracked perfectly in half, trying to find someone who wanted to eat a freshly shelled brazil nut, the trickiness of getting those almond shell layers off, and wondering why filberts were even in the bowl. I was happy that my daughter was engaged enough in her new job to let me ramble about my childhood memories. 

I was happy to see the intricate design of a perfectly shelled pecan. Oh, and the eating of the pecans? Yes, that made me happy too.

Shelling the pecans by hand made it feel like there was a little extra love going into the treats this Valentine's Day (and perhaps a little extra shell fragment or two), and that made me happy (the love, not the shell fragments).