When I was little the was a restaurant in the mall decorated like a turn of the century sweet shop. It was right around the corner from the skating rink – when malls still had indoor rinks and you could sit on the second level watching the skaters spin around below, dreaming Dorothy Hamill dreams.  It had those little dot candies on long rolls of white paper. There was an elaborately carved candy counter where you could order ice cream sodas with impossibly high mounds of whipped cream, which would be served by a man in a red and white striped shirt with a bow tie and suspenders.

And there were swirly lollipops.  Giant, rainbow-colored pops as big as your face. 

When I went to the farm store with friends some weeks ago I knew I was coming back to the sweet shop.  It's not nearly as big as the shop in my dreams but it has swirly pops and my girls, yes my big girls, were every bit as excited about them as I was. It's not always easy getting Moira to go shopping but even she felt she hit the jackpot on this one.