One of the things I really look forward to in late fall is the departure of pumpkin spice and the arrival of peppermint. And the thing I look forward to most of all is the arrival of peppermint bark.

I am, in general, not a fan of white chocolate. I agree with Sandra Boynton who said “Only a true purist would argue that white chocolate does not constitute real chocolate, since it is made from cocoa butter and sugar, lacking only the chocolate liquor. The same purist might argue that fructose and water don’t constitute real orange juice.” But I make an exception when it comes to peppermint bark – the white chocolate is a nice complement to the real chocolate and the peppermint.

Most years, I buy two or three boxes from Trader Joe’s and possibly one box from someone else, and it’s all gone soon after New Year’s. In 2019, the purchasing pattern was the same, but the consumption pattern was different.

The first box went fairly quickly (helped, no doubt, by our son’s being with us at Thanksgiving), but then I slowed down. They say that the first bite of a dessert is the best, and I took that idea to heart – instead of having one official serving of bark (half a square, 220 calories), I’d break the square into 9 or even 16 pieces and have one or two of them a day. And I wouldn’t even have bark every day.

I finally finished the last piece today (I far preferred the Trader Joe’s over the experimental box from Sur la Table, in case you’re keeping score). I think it was better a couple of months ago, but it was still worth having – and I’ll be looking forward to its return in November.

(That would be nine weeks if weeks had nine days each!)

It was laundry day today. I happened to be the one who took it out of the dryer and started putting it away. When that happens, I take care of all of my clothing and some of Diane’s since I know where it goes, but there’s some of Diane’s clothing that I don’t quite understand. Sometimes I leave it in the basket for her; other times, I fold it and leave it on the bed for her – but neither of those choices has made her happy.

Today, I decided to try something new – I separated the tops and the pants and put them flat on the bed. A little later, she told me “thank you for laying out the clothes so neatly and making it easy for me.”

It only took me 43 years to get it right! Sometimes, less is more.