March-ing Journal 2024 + Kaffre talks Candy #82

Hello again loyal journal-readers, and welcome to my shiny new March Journal!

So just a quick little journal this month as, if I'm being honest, not a whole lot has actually happened in the last month, but I would like to get back into the habit of posting these journals regularly again though I feel I'd have more motivation if there were some kind of creative outlet like I used to incorporate, but I found thinking of novel topics to be taxing. Any suggestions?

Beyond that, my brother had his debit card stolen and his account nearly emptied. Fortunately, it didn't have much money in it at the time so he only lost like $200, but still annoying. On the plus side, while he hasn't managed to locate my terrabyte drive yet, while searching he did manage to find his cellphone which has been missing for a few weeks so that's some minor solace, I suppose.

I had my dentist appointment and got two fillings. While my brushing is quite good, apparently my enamel is getting quite thin. Still it was pretty routine appointment and I don't think I was in the office more than 30 minutes so that was some small relief. I grabbed a small amount of groceries while I was in town too, but that was really the only time I went into the city since my last journal that will *not* be the case in April, however, where at least two visits are in are in order one of which is my late mother's birthday on 4/20 it will be the 9th such party since she passed in 2014, but everyone's treating it as the 10th (she died after her birthday that year) so we'll be doing something special - we're just not sure what yet...

Beyond that, I'm gradually getting out of my funk and watching a bunch of TV shows I just kind of stopped bothering with. Right now I'm almost up-to-date with 'Bluey' and just finished Season 2 of 'Hilda'. Once I'm done with those, I think I'll try to finish 'Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty (RBUK)' as I remember liking the humour before I just sort of stopped watching non-anime programs and later TV in general in favour of YouTube content.

Anyway, I guess that's about all I really have to say about my rather humdrum existence for this month so thanks for reading! *hugs*

And now, I proudly present...

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Kaffre talks Candy #82:

Name: Crush, Birch Beer
Manufacturer: Crush
Size: 355mL can
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: A reddish/pink carbonated beverage.
Opinion: Despite perchasing this item at an importer, I suspect it may be Canadian due to the size and the packaging. Regardless, the smell and flavour are very similar to that of rootbeer, but lighter and with a sort of fruity aftertaste. I found it a bit medicine-y - similar to 'dandelion & burdock', but not in an unpleasant way. Overall, I liked this product and would consider purchasing it again in the future, but there are other pops I like better.

Name: Hershey's Cookies n' Creme with Graham Clusters
Manufacturer: Hershey
Size: 90 gram bar
Where Purchased: Shopper's Drug Mart
Description: Consists of a flattish bar of white chocolate embedded with many small fragments of 'cookie' (to a cursory inspection, they do resemble Oreo crumbs) as well as graham cracker bits. The bar is divided into twelve segments (three columns of four) allowing it to be readily broken up into bite-sized pieces.
Opinion: Limited edition I opted to try, this bar was, in a word, 'disappointing'. I like Cookies n' creme and I like graham cracker so at a minimum this item should be tolerable, but I actually found it pretty acutely unpleasant. I'm not quite sure what I disliked, but I think maybe the sweetness of the 'white chocolate' amplified the sort of dusty flavour of the graham crackers in an unpleasant sort of way. Regardless, I didn't care for this product at all and would not purchase it again.

Name: Nipits
Manufacturer: A.L. Simpkin & Co. Limited
Size: 12g tin
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Resemble bits of black pencil crayon lead about 1cm long.
Opinion: OK so this is actually a medicinal product that I mistook for candy. These pure licorice pellets have a surprisingly strong and lasting flavour, but unfortunately they just don't taste very good having a bitter and medicine-y taste. On the plus side, it *does* seem effective at 'clear(ing) the throat' thus in the name of fairness my overall review is: not a candy and not to be mistaken for one. I can't say I noticed my voice being any 'clarified' though...

Name: Twirl (Mint)
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Size: 43 grams in two bars.
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Consists of two bars of textured mint-flavoured chocolate (similar to 'Flake') enrobed in Cadbury chocolate and sold bundled together in a single package not unlike Twix.
Opinion: A limited edition British product I decided to sample. As with the regular 'Twirl', this items tends to crumble when bitten filling one's mouth with a shower of chocolate slivers which, due to a high surface area impart an intense mint flavour as they rapidly melt in your mouth. The mint flavouring was pleasant and fairly intense without being overwhelming. Overall, I liked this bar and would definitely purchase it again, but obviously that will depend on your feelings about mint-flavoured chocolate.

Name: Yorkie, Honeycomb
Manufacturer: Nestle
Size: 42 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Consists of five rather thick chunks of chocolate with small slivers of honeycomb toffee in it molded together so that the individual pieces could be broken off and eaten independently.
Opinion: Another limited edition item I decided to sample. As with other 'Yorkie' products, the flavour and texture of this bar are both different from other chocolates - not in a bad way, but it's definitely noticeable it almost reminded me more of fudge than milk chocolate... As for this specific item, the toffee bits gave a nice texture and I think made the bar a tad sweeter, but otherwise didn't really contribute to the taste. Overall, I liked this product and would purchase it again, but while I'm glad I tried it, I'm not sure I prefer it over the regular Yorkie...