how about drinking?

Total nightmare. Running on very little sleep. My poor dog was going absolutely crazy from all the noise. So today everyone in our house is exhausted.

As of 2 p.m. Eastern Time, I am officially a graduate!

Good evening, Loungettes!  Spent the day with Mom, who tried to make Shepherd's Pie for lumch, which inspired another little story that I hope is entertaining:  

It was a brisk mid-morning when the Daughter arrived at her Mother’s house, her arms laden with a can of corn, a half-gallon of milk, and a dozen eggs. These were, of course, the essentials for any visit to her 88-year-old, somewhat forgetful Mother, who had announced plans for a family recipe meatball lunch earlier in the week. 

Except, as it turned out, the family recipe had "grown legs and walked away," as Mother dramatically informed her. Not one to be deterred by such culinary betrayals, Mother decided that lunch would instead be Shepherd’s Pie. “I’ll just whip it up!” she declared, with the confidence of a woman who’d been improvising since before canned corn was invented. 

Mother was already in action, boiling potatoes and dicing an onion with surprising gusto for someone who claimed she had been tired all morning. The Daughter, sensing chaos on the horizon, set the groceries on the counter and perched herself nearby to supervise. 

Things went off-script almost immediately. Mother had mashed the potatoes to a creamy consistency—so far, so good—but then began mixing them directly into the raw ground beef. 

“What are you doing?” the Daughter asked, her tone halfway between alarm and bemusement. 

Mother, without missing a beat, replied, “I’m mixing the potatoes and ground beef. Add the corn, please.” 

“But…” the Daughter paused, searching for words, “I thought Shepherd’s Pie was supposed to be layered?” 

Mother stopped mid-mix, her spoon poised in the air, and squinted into the middle distance as though trying to conjure memories of pies past. “You know, I think you’re right,” she admitted. “But today’s Shepherd’s Pie is going to be… different. A modern twist. All mixed together. Very trendy.” 

“Oh, very trendy,” the Daughter echoed, her sarcasm lost on Mother, who had already moved on to rummaging through cabinets and drawers. 

“What are you looking for?” the Daughter asked after several minutes of clattering and muttering. 

“The loaf pans. We’re cooking the Shepherd’s Pie in loaf pans,” Mother explained, as though this was standard operating procedure. 

The Daughter joined the search, opening every cabinet and peering into every dusty box. The loaf pans, it seemed, had taken a cue from the meatball recipe and vanished into the ether. But as the Daughter passed by the counter, she stopped dead in her tracks. There, on the counter, touching the pot of potato-meat-corn chaos, were the loaf pans. They had been sitting there the whole time. 

“Found them,” the Daughter called, holding them up triumphantly. 

“Oh, wonderful,” Mother said, completely unfazed. “Now, get the beef stock from the fridge, will you?” 

The Daughter complied, handing over the stock. To her horror, Mother poured it directly into the pot of meat, potatoes, and corn. 

“Shouldn’t that have gone into the roux for the gravy?” the Daughter asked, her voice tinged with panic. 

Mother froze, the empty stock container still in her hand. “Oh, bother,” she said. “Yes, it should have. Drain it off and fix it, dear.” 

With the finesse of a seasoned disaster manager, the Daughter drained off most of the stock, whisked it into the roux, and cobbled together a gravy. Mother poured the concoction into the loaf pans, slathered the salvaged gravy on top, and popped them into the oven. “See? Easy peasy,” Mother said. 

Forty-five minutes later, the Shepherd’s Pie emerged, golden brown and… suspiciously jiggly. As they took their first bites, Mother frowned deeply. “It’s too wet,” she declared, rising with purpose. 

The Daughter watched in dismay as Mother scraped her portion back into a frying pan. “I’ll cook off the liquid,” she announced, turning the stove to high heat. Ten minutes of furious stirring later, the liquid remained stubbornly present. Mother’s solution? Bread crumbs. Lots of bread crumbs. The resulting paste did not resemble Shepherd’s Pie, trendy or otherwise. 

“It’s not what I was expecting,” the Daughter offered diplomatically, chewing on a particularly dry clump. “Maybe it could use some seasoning? Salt and pepper?” 

Mother sighed, setting down her fork. “It’s a disaster. Let’s just have dessert.” 

The cheesecake the Daughter had brought was a triumph, creamy and sweet and utterly free of bread crumbs. As they sat eating, Mother declared, “Next time, we’ll make something simpler. Like meatballs.” 

The Daughter’s laughter filled the kitchen. “Only if the recipe doesn’t run away again!” 

 
MOmmy—it's hard when everyone is tired. I hope everyone can catch up on sleep and rest soon. CONGRATULATIONS on Your GRADUATION!   

Thank you, Carole!  

3 French Hens 
 
 

1 shot vodka 

1/2 shot Chambord 

1/2 shot pineapple juice 

Garnish:  raspberry 

 
Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Strain liquor into the martini glass. 
 

NM, love your conversation with mother…and admire your patience and tact.

I am not a pinot noir fan but Costco had a decent sale a few months back (Embroidery) and it is quite delicious. Of course, it doesn't taste like a pinot to me…YUM!

Good Morning, Loungettes!  Happy Monday Monkey Day.  I had an early call form Mom this ayem, she thought someone had come into her apartment overnight and moved the box with the Nativity Set from one part of the living room to another.  I had to remind her that she put the box where she found it this ayem, no one is coming into her apartment during the night while she is sleeping. She had several episodes of being confused and upset when she first woke up while in the hospital, and this is the second or third similar incident since she's been home. She's also talking a lot about moving into an assisted living situation. I guess I'll have to start seriously looking for places after the holidays. It's hard to see her declining. But she is still pretty spunky and mostly self-sufficient, so I guess things could be worse. 

Wally—the conversation in the story is fictional, these little stories are based on things that actually happen with Mom, but are not totally accurate reports! Making these things into exaggerated and thus kind of funny stories is my way of coping with Mom's declining abilities. I'm not a big red wine fan, but I have had some nice Pinot Noirs that I can remember.  

Carole—Glad the stories are fun for you, that's the point, having a little fun with a hard situation. Wow, your temps really have jumped up! Funny how the family that lives closest were the ones who couldn't make it to dinner. Sounds like you had a good time regardless. I can imagine being talked out.  

Five Golden Rings Cocktail 

Ingredients 

• • 4 oz. Jack Daniel's Winter Jack Cider 
• • 3 oz. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider 
• • 3 oz. Eau d’Or Liqueur 
• • Edible Gold Flakes with 1 oz. Winter Jack added 

Instructions 

1. Add the Winter Jack, apple cider, and Eau D'Or to a cocktail shaker with crushed ice.  
2. Shake lightly and strain into martini glasses.  
3. Open the bottle of edible gold flakes and pour the 1 oz. of Winter Jack in. 
4. Reseal the lid and shake gently to loosen and break up the gold pieces. The more you shake, the smaller the gold flecks will become.  
5. Pour a little bit of gold flecks into each glass. 

Kim - the way you write the stories about your mom and you always puts a smile on my face.
The weather is warming up all week. The short days, the sun isn’t out long, but we still manage to walk. This morning I got a walk in as I didn’t need to leave as early. It was so nice, but cold

We leave in 9 days to go see our kids and granddaughter. Looking forward to seeing the little munchkin. it will be about 2 months since they were here. My granddaughter is 19 months today. She has such personality and it shines through in the photos my daughter sends us almost daily. We bought her a kitchen and a couple books for Chanukah. We will have to assemble the kitchen we when get there. DD#2 got her a FB yellow school bus with 2 little people and DS is getting her a coloring book for her age and fat crayons.

This is a busy last week before winter break! Several IEP meetings and reports to write for after the first of the year.

My brother has been sick for going on a month. He was in the hospital for 13 days, discharged and was back in the hospital 2 days later. He has a nasty lung infection that is antibiotic resistant. I talked to him the other day and he sounds good, but is tired and tired of being sick. He’s wasn’t sure how much longer he would be in the hospital. He lives in Ohio, so not close to stop by and say hello.

Not much else to report. Stay warm.

Good Morning, Loungettes!  Happy Twofer Tuesday! Nothing exciting going on today. The sun is out for a few minutes, nice to see between the rain showers, temps back in the 40's agian. Doesn't look like it will be a white Christmas here this year. Oh well.  

Wally—thanks!  

Karen—I see you've got the countdown going to your next visit with the kids and grandmunchkin. The end of the year always seems to get really busy with reports and meetings and such. Or maybe it just seems busier because all the Holiday things are going on, too? Sorry to hear about your brother. Antibiotic resistant infections are getting to be a bigger and bigger problem as time goes by. I'm praying he gets well quickly.  

 MOmmy—hooray for a white Christmas for you!

6 Geese A-Laying Cocktail 

Ingredients 

4 oz. vodka ( I like grey goose!) 

1 oz. fresh lime juice 

1 cup cranberry juice 

1/2 cup pomegranate juice 

Optional garnishes: 

Fresh pomegranates 

Frosted rosemary sprigs 

Instructions 

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker or cocktail pitcher and stir 

Pour in glass and garnish 

Frosted rosemary sprigs: 

5-6 rosemary sprigs 

1/2 cup superfine sugar 

1-2 TB water 

Combine all ingredients in a saute pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes 

Remove from heat and carefully place rosemary sprigs on a parchment paper to dry ( at least one hour )  

Sprinkle with additional super fine sugar if desired 

Jazzy bought herself a new car for A Xmas present. More soon 🌲

Congratulations on a new car, Jazzy! Enjoy the newness.

Good luck with your mom adapting to a new tv system, NM.

We're having heavy morning fog thanks to the temperature and the humidity being the same. There were multiple accidents on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway yesterday. It's 24 miles long and was closed for hours.

Happy Wednesday.

Good Moring, Loungettes!  Happy Thirsty Thursday! Mom got a good report at the Dr's office yesterday. Her blood pressure is still good, so the blood pressure med that was added when all this started will stay off. She had blood drawn to check her liver function, when those results are in her PCP will decide if she goes back on the cholesterol med again. We had a late lunch at a pizza place that used to be a place we frequented and the pizzas are still just as good as they used to be. She was going to go grocery shopping, but the timing didn't work out, Mom does not like to be out in the car after dark, and that means being home by 4 peeyem this time of year. We ended up a bit later than that, but she did well as it wasn't totally dark by the time she got home. We woke up to an inch of snow this ayem, I didn't realize any snow was expected! Needless to say, Mom has decided that grocery shopping can wait until tomorrow, so I get today to putter around the house.  

Carole—I heard about the fog causing a lot of accidents on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway—sounds scary. Winter fog can be really thick and dangerous to drive in, particularly when people just will not slow down at all. One of the back roads near Mom's place was closed all day yesterday after an early morning head on collision killed both drivers. One vehicle rolled and burned, and there was concern that there were more occupants killed, but the authorities were able to rule that out after getting the fire put out. Such a horrible thing to happen a week before Christmas.  

Morning, MOmmy!  

Eight Maids-a-Milking Coconut Coquito 

Ingredients 

2 cans of coconut milk (10-14oz) 

1 can of unsweetened coconut cream (10-14oz) 

1 can of sweetened condensed coconut milk (10-14oz) 

1 pint of coconut water 

50g fresh ginger 

3 sticks of cinnamon 

8 cloves 

2 star anise pods 

5 allspice berries 

ground cinnamon 

ground nutmeg 

a bottle of aged Puerto Rican Rum (I used Bacardi 8-year reserve) 

a bottle of Licor 43 

a bottle of Damiana liqueur 

Instructions 

1. Coarsely chop the ginger, leaving the skin on. In a small pot, add the coconut water, ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, and allspice berries. Bring to a boil for two minutes, then reduce heat and let it simmer for another 20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and then set aside to let cool. 
2. Next, add coconut milk, unsweetened coconut cream, and sweetened condensed coconut milk to a blender. Gradually increase the speed and blend until homogenous. This will prevent the separation of the coconut cream. When finished pour the coconut mixture into a large mixing bowl. 
3. In the same mixing bowl add, 250mL of the spice tea, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 500mL of aged Puerto Rican Rum (or less if you want a less boozy version, but I recommend full strength), 4oz of Licor 43, 4oz of Damiana (if you cannot find Damiana, replace with an additional 4oz of Licor 43) 
4. Whisk everything together in the mixing bowl. Using a funnel, transfer it into glass bottles for storage. Store in the fridge and let it rest for 24-72 hours before serving as the flavor and texture will improve as it ages. 
5. Shake well before serving and enjoy it in your favorite holiday mug with a generous amount of fresh grated cinnamon on top! 

Beautiful cocktail. I would guess from reading the ingredients that it is delicious. The problem would be drinking only one. Or two…

Laptop tells me it's 44 degrees this morning and the sun is shining. My plan is to FINALLY take myself outside and do some neglected yard work in the front flower bed. Pull some weeds and prune the Knockout roses that are looking like Jack's beanstalk.

Happy Friday.

I'm officially on winter break :) Definitely need the R and R. I've been exhausted. The last week before winter break is always a hard one - I had lots of IEP meetings, reports to write as well as see my kiddos. I'm off till January 6th. Then it's a long stretch till spring break the end of March with only MLK and President's day off.

My brother is in the hospital for 5 more days. Still on IV antibiotics. He said he is having lots of GI side effects. I'm sure such heavy doses of antibiotics are wrecking havoc with his gut. It's always a long road for him when he gets an infection - generally lung infection.

5 days till I see my favorite munchkin. Cold, damp, rainy/wet miserable weather will great us!! A big difference from the mild weather here. Today is 64f!! The 10 day forecast is low 60s to high 40s and now snow, though the mountains might get snow. When we get back from seeing the munchkin, we are heading to the mountains for a few days of hiking.

Monday I go for my last follow up on the cataract surgery and get a new Rx. I can't wait as my current glasses are not right. I don't wear them driving or walking at night and not even sure if they are the right strength for reading. I'll have to wait till I get home to get the new glasses. I order online so I should start looking at frames.

Have a great week-end.

Enjoy the visit with your daughter and granddaughter, Karen!

Good Morning, Loungettes!  Happy Saturday! We woke up to some gentle, moderately large flaked snow this ayem. Only supposed to get a coating to an inch as of yesterday, but the storm moved a bit westward and now we're predicted to get 1 to 3 inches. Not enough to be any kind of a problem, really, but enough to give us a white Christmas if it sticks. It's very pretty out this ayem.   

Took Mom grocery shopping yesterday. She was in the store for 2 ½ hours and came out with about $60 worth of groceries. She uses one of the electric carts to get around and I know that slows things down a bit. Her favorite place to grocery shop is the nearby WalMart Superstore, which is HUGE. Just popping in for milk and bread means walking at least a mile, I swear! I'm happy she still wants to go shopping for herself, though.  

Carole—I think I would have a hard time drinking just one of the 9 Ladies cocktail myself! I've got about 22 degrees to your 44.  Makes your 44 degrees sound warm!  

Jazzy—now that is my idea of a good way to reduce the wine by half!   

Karen—Happy Winter break! I've got to admit I do NOT miss all the end of year work that I used to have to deal with. I like it even more that I can decided not to go out at all if it's snowy or slushy or icy. Prayers for your brother. It seems like repeat lung infections tend to get harder to treat over time. And antibiotic side effects are not fun. I bet you are excited to see the munchkin. The weather difference won't matter one bit, I'm guessing. Good luck with the last follow up appointment and new glasses!  

Ten Lords a-Leaping 

Ingredients 

2 oz - Rye Whiskey 

1 oz - Apricot Syrup* 

1 oz - Lemon Juice 

1 oz - Egg White 

Garnish: Candied Apricot 

Glassware: Old Fashioned 

Preparation 

1. Add all of the ingredients to a shaker tin without ice. 
2. Add ice and shake for 8 seconds. 
3. Double strain cocktail back into one of the shaker tins. 
4. Dry shake for another 8 seconds. 
5. Pour contents into glass over a large ice cube. 
6. Garnish and enjoy. 

Apricot Syrup* 

 Ingredients 

1 liter - Simple Syrup 

200g - Apricots 

1g - Salt 

Preparation 

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a pot and cook at a low heat for 1 hour. 
2. Strain through a cheesecloth. 
3. Transfer to an airtight container and let cool uncovered. 
4. Date, label and refrigerate.