(Only Slightly) Guilty Pleasures

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Back in a previous decade, we had next door neighbours from California. Every summer they would load up their children and drive across the country to go spend a few weeks with family. While they were gone we would take care of their pets and any other pressing matters around their home. As a “Thank You” gift, we invariably received a box of See’s Lollipops. The first time I will confess to being a little bit disappointed. A box of Lollipops? I look after your cat and take care of your home for three weeks and you bring back a treat for my children? I was a fool. It didn’t take long for me to discover that this treat-on-a-stick was probably some of the tastiest hard candy I have ever sampled. Yes, my children got to have some but I always set aside a small stash for myself. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but these were something else. Caramels and chocolates are both delicious but I have a self-control problem that makes eating just one difficult. These candies had all the flavour of expensive chocolate or caramel and since they are hard candy they last for a good 20-30 minutes making it much easier to exercise self-control (even I can draw the line at walking around in lollipop stick poking out of my mouth for an extended period of time). We moved away and those candies were forgotten. Until last autumn. I was working on one of my California clients and the name of the business I was contacting started the wheels turning in my head. See’s Candy, wasn’t that…? Google is my friend and confirmed my hunch. I checked their online store, found what I wanted and ordered two boxes to use as stocking stuffers for my family on Christmas morning. I kept a stash for myself. They are expensive, but they are SOOOOO tasty…and they always seem to inspire a bit of a walk down memory lane.