Well I’ve always wanted to learn how to make candy and now since I am currently unemployed and my brother’s birthday is coming up I decided to give it a try. Of course instead of doing something really simple I’ve instead opted to try one of the more difficult candies to make which is chocolate covered cherries, the kind with a tiny bit of liqueur encased inside the chocolate.
The tools that I needed for this project was a candy mold, a paint brush, a spoon or two, a cake thingy to make things flat though an old credit card would have worked as well, a cake decorating bag, a spatula, Ghirardelli dark chocolate, a little milk chocolate, and cherries soaked in liqueur. I used geridelle chocolate and the cherries I used were Cherith Valley Gardens Spirited Cherries which were fantastic because they did not contain any corn syrup, (I don’t like the corn syrup aftertaste) only sugar, cherries, and liquor. I also needed a double boiler, or in my case I just used a metal mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water.
First I melted all the chocolate by holding the mixing bowl, with a potholder as it got hot, over a pot of boiling water. I constantly stirred the chocolate as it melted with the spatula to insure that the chocolate did not burn. Burned chocolate would ruin the flavor of anything it touched and had it burned I would have had to throw it out and start over.
Once the chocolate was thoroughly melted I used a small spoon to fill each of the molds roughly 1/3 of the way with chocolate. I then used an artist paintbrush (bought on sale from an art supply store for $2) to paint the sides of the molds with the chocolate. It is important that all the sides have enough chocolate that you can no longer see the plastic mold beneath it. If they are not completely coated, then you will have holes that the wonderful cherry liqueur will seep out of.
Next I dropped a cherry into each mold and put a few drops of the liqueur inside as well. The liqueur should not fill the mold any higher than half the height of the cherry it surrounds.
At this point the rest of my chocolate had hardened and it was necessary to reheat the chocolate in the same manner as I did in the first step. Then I poured the chocolate on top of all the cherries and liqueur to completely fill all the molds. 
Last I used the cake flattener thing to squeegee the excess chocolate off the tops of the molds and then put the candies into the refrigerator for about a half hour.
After a half hour I brought the molds out, and over a sheet of wax paper (this can be done on top of a plate, or even a counter if you want) I proceeded to pop the candies out. If the candies do not come out of the molds easily they may need to be cooled for more time, you can also try tapping the mold with a spoon to pop them out.
I then melted the milk chocolate and used the spatula to fill the cake decorating bag with chocolate. I then cut the tip of the decorating bag off with a pair of scissors. Then I squeezed the bag by twisting the back end to push the milk chocolate through the bag. 
With this technique I then drew little squiggly drawings on the top of all my dark chocolate covered cherries. Completing the project.
I hope my brother enjoys these little candies. Of course this is what I imagine my cat thinks of all this, “Are you done yet, when you gonna feed me again?”
There are many ways to knock yourself off. Some ways are more publicized then others. A few weeks ago we had a murder suicide where some guy went and killed his wife, all his kids and then killed himself. I see stories in the news like this every so often. A few years ago it seemed popular to suicide by cop. I guess if you kill yourself by threatening a police officer to the point of killing you in broad daylight in front of national television your family can collect on any life insurance policies. And just yesterday, a man walked into the crystal cathedral and shot himself.
This made me think of a whole new category of suicides. Destination Suicides, like a destination wedding without the in-laws. Now destination suicides have been around for a long time, though I’m not sure any one has categorized them in that fashion. A couple of months ago an old couple went on a cruise together and jumped off together in the middle of the ocean.
So then my little cynical brain began to think about promotional materials, and what might a destination suicide brochure look like, and how much would a package deal cost? Would there even be packaged deals available? Would I be able to book it with a travel agent? When walking in for an appointment would the agent bring out a handful of brochures and tell me “These are our most popular destination suicides! As you can see all of your meals and transportation is included in the pricing. Would you like a room with a view or more secluded accommodations? You simply must try the salmon dinner when your there, It’s to die for! Also would you like to leave a video suicide note? It’s all the rage now and we have our own videographer here ready to do it for a small fee. And for just a little more we can add a video soundtrack or a music video of your life. Also you will see that this package comes with a clean up crew so that afterward you don’t look too unsightly and our clients are compensated for cleaning up your remains. Though if you opt for jumping off one of our lovely cruise ships no clean up is necessary as the various ocean critters will consume you. They are so cute and efficient! So when and where would you like to off yourself? We accept Visa, Master Card, and American Express.”
