Seasonally inappropriate

If the right candy for the time of year was candy canes instead of jelly beans ...

Or if I didn't have to leave the house ...

Or at least if someone else (elves?) cleared my car off ...

...it might be considered pretty. As it is, though, I'm not enamoured.

This was driving home last night (I mean, I was stopped when I took the photo, though):


And these were this morning:


Speaking of clearing the snow off the car, it always amazes me how many people don't bother. And then they're driving down the highway and {wham} flying snowballs trail behind them, which is potentially quite dangerous. Who do they think they are?

The sun did spend some time out today, some melting happened, but there's still white stuff out there, and I don't want to think about it! (My star sign is Ostrich.) Let's talk about something else. Candy!

Specifically, Peeps. I saw something very troubling at Target this week. Have you seen the red Peeps? They are so very wrong. I say this as someone who likes Peeps, by the way, within certain constraints that have nothing to do with the taste (I like the taste, once a year, and I like them best of all about two days after the package is opened).

In general, let me begin by saying, the Red Peep issue goes far beyond my own personal belief that Peeps are Supposed to be either pink, or yellow: not blue, not purple, not green, etcetera. Pink, or yellow. They are Supposed to be shaped like bunnies, or chicks. I am a bit of a traditionalist in some things (stop laughing, mother), and I feel strongly about this. I can in fact riff for minutes at a time about why this should be (or shouldn't be, depending on which way the question is posed).

But the red ones are a whole separate fruit altogether. Apparently they're exclusive to Target, by the way, and I must say I think Tar-jay let the whole "red is our color" idea go to their heads in this case. These are Peeps only vampires could find attractive (yes, I know vampires don't eat food*, let alone marshmallows; work with me here). Red Peeps are severely Wrong in ways not previously imagined (although I did find myself imagining Edward holding a Peep to his mouth, inserting fangs, and lowering a handful of red sugar-dust. Disturbing).

*If you read books from different authors that feature vampires or other other-worldly creatures, have you noticed that they all put their own spin on the folklore? Which means that I'll be reading one and trying to remember, in this world, can vampires see themselves in mirrors? Can were-creatures change shape more than once in a night? Is this a world where there's synthetic blood or not? It does get confusing. And then there's Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, which is great but so very character-rich that it can get confusing: who's this guy again? Do we like him, do we trust him? I actually found myself contemplating making a spreadsheet: "John Doe. Were-rat. First appears in Blue Moon. Friendly." "Jane Smith. Human. First appears in Narcissus in Chains. Neutral, then betrays Anita." Something like that. I haven't made it (yet), but I may, someday, in that mythical land when I have time on my hands. Certainly not before I have a new computer, though. Okay, back to the big type.

The other news in Peep world wasn't quite as disturbing, but it did cause a double-take. Bunny-shaped, kind of beige-colored or light brown, but then I saw the word "Cocoa" on the package. Chocolate Peeps? Very interesting. I didn't buy any, but I think I'll see if I can find any in clearance after Easter. Got to try them, right? Chocolate + marshmallow = how bad could it be?