You know what I was thinking about the other day? Otter Pops. Did you grow up with Otter Pops? They are, basically, long narrow tubes of frozen sugar-water that come in flavor sensations like "purple" and "green." I remember tearing off top of the plastic sleeve on a miserably hot day, the colored slush, my red mouth and tongue, the sugar high, and I am hit with a wave of nostalgia and maybe a little nausea; my brother and I ate 50-count packs of those things in under a week.

I think I would hate Otter Pops now, but I miss the frozen icy happiness on a hot day. Did you know you could make grown-up frozen iciness, a step up from freezing cranberry juice in ice cube trays, and a million miles away from the tubes of sugar? There's a book called Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone, and it is winging its way toward me now, because I want to know how to make Kiwi & Strawberry Pops, and Coconut Pops and Blueberry Cheesecake Pops, but most of all, Mimosa Pops and Margarita Pops and Martini Pops. Maybe they will keep me from letting my nostalgia get the best of me, because no one needs a 50-count box of Otter Pops in their fridge after the age of 30.