on the whole , the old ladies who had migrated out of these teeny burgs which were in many ways identical to gopher prairie had conversational interests which lay in bridge or canasta , which my mother tried briefly and discovered she detested , in the candies of the midwest , which she took a genuine interest in , specializing in swiss varieties and collecting a giant copper tub which was used in some mysterious candy factory , and in hand-wringing about the troubled way the financing of the folks new tractor had recently turned out .