There are more than just bananas in there...
There is nothing wrong with taking the easy way out, as long as you are honest about it. That’s what I am doing tonight. My school teachers probably would not believe it, but I actually used my time wisely today. One could argue that I did not plan well enough, but the time that got away from me today was well wasted. So, in the spirit of taking the time to enjoy the time you have won’t you join me as we stand and make the Montenegroni.
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It was a dark and stormy night, that’s how the stories are supposed to begin. It sets up the tone for what is to follow. You know nothing good is coming next. Unless Douglas Adams is doing the writing, he might go anywhere. “It was a dark and stormy night when Joel sent off for the clown school correspondence course…” Of course, that could definitely go ominous pretty quick. I apologize for bringing up the clowns, or at least the specter of a possible future clown. Anyway, tonight is actually a dark and stormy night, so in the spirit of being spot on and totally transparent won’t you please join me as we stand and consider the classic Dark ‘n Stormy.
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I bought this mug for the wife way back in September, when he was still just “the child” or Baby Yoda, set adrift among the stars with the Mandalorian. I had planned on making a drink in it for her birthday, but things change as they so often do. This little fella languished in a box for a while, not forgotten, but not getting any love either, even after he revealed himself as Grogu. Last week, during the Snowpocalypse my son and I built new shelves to showcase our cocktail glass collection, with a special area for the tiki mugs and this guy took center stage. Even since, he will not stop subtly reminding us that he still has not had his moment in the twin suns and that he sort of needs that. He’s got abandonment issues. So, in honor of late bloomers everywhere, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make The Castaway.
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There is no real rhyme or reason when it comes to drink selection. I have a curated list of possibilities that I usually consult. Beyond that, it could be a song I heard, a random craving for aquavit, a request from the wife or the way a leaf catches the moonlight. So how did we get to today’s drink? Maybe I am on a weird ingredient kick. Maybe I was reading about regional cookies. Maybe this one was a request. This morning was so long ago that I can barely remember what inspired me to go down this rabbit hole. That is obviously a lie, but I needed a segue, so here we are. In the spirit of a mild prevarication in service to the narrative, won’t you join me now as we stand and make, the Two Boil Flip.
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I find that a nice stroll before dinner is just the thing to get the blood pumping and stimulate the appetite. That sounds like something out of a Dickens novel, said in an offhand way by a fellow in a waistcoat, as he lights his pipe. I have a waistcoat and a pipe but I don’t have Charley writing my lines, so I just go for a walk most evenings. To be fair, in Summer I usually walk a couple of miles before work to avoid the heat, but this time of year I go for my stroll in the dark, flashlight handy in case of traffic. I love the way things look after the sun sets, the stars in the sky and the way the moon turns everything a pale silver. In honor of that subtle magical change, won’t you join me as we stand and make the Moonlight Cocktail.
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It is funny just how much of life hangs on split second decisions. The ones’s that don’t seem to matter at the moment, you just take a chance and suddenly you are on a different road. You turn left instead of right and end up in an unexpected place, you hold the door for someone and share a smile or you decide to fill out an application, you speak up in a meeting or take the time to fix something you see that is wrong. Most of the big changes in my life can be traced back to something that seemed inconsequential at the time. We all know the big ones, deciding which college to attend, though, to be fair, in my case that was a snap decision made in a moment of frustration, that seems to have turned out ok, but if I look back, that decision was only made possible by a much earlier decision to sit back in a chair, light a cigarette and tell the truth to someone who cared enough to let me. So, in honor of those low probability, high impact events that shaped us, won’t you join me as we stand and make, The Wild Card.
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They say that the best place to start is at the beginning, so I am going to make an effort to take us all the way back to where it all began, allegedly. They also say that today is National Margarita Day, a holiday clearly needed by the masses and the “frozen or rocks” lobby. The answer is rocks, by the way. They don’t tell you that, they just roll their eyes and laugh as they walk away if you get it wrong. I hope to answer the bigger question of how did we get here, but that may be a little too ambitious? For now, let’s just delve a little deeper and look for prime causes as we stand and make the Brandy Daisy.
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We still have snow, but the temp is in the 50’s and the thaw is on in earnest. It looks like the biggest danger is going snowblind, but I have shades, so no worries. They have already called off school for tomorrow, but hopefully by then the last of the ice pack will be gone. I am not taking any chances though, so I am sticking with a pseudo tropical theme. Won’t you join me now as we stand and make Three Milks.
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Today the sun is shining…on the snow. The good news is, it is slightly above freezing and the road is looking better so maybe tomorrow we can sneak out and let someone else make the coffee. Before I was even out of bed, Laura suggested a new drink and it sounded terrible, but we could do a cool and timely presentation. Today we are going with form over function as we spend yet another day on the farm waiting for life to restart. So, in honor of those who quietly go stir crazy as they wait for the defrost cycle to begin, won’t you join me as we stand and make the Frozen Ice-olation.
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We still have snow. Lots of it. We still had hours. Lots of them. So, we walked, in the snow. We kayaked down the hill, in the snow. We got the mail, in the snow. We built a set of shelves to hold our abundance of cocktail glasses, in the, well, that was in the basement, but we had to trudge through the snow to the barn to get the lumber and then through the snow back to the basement to work. When afternoon came, we cleaned the snow off the car and went to the store, leaving the property for the first time since Sunday, in the snow. To be fair, there was a lot of sun as well, luckily I was wearing shades, pretty sure the dog went snowblind, though. It is what it is, as they say. Might as well have a drink, so in honor of our newly northern existence, won’t you please join me as we stand and make the Spruce Moose.
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