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  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Thirsty Thursday! I got a call from Mom's facility yesterday peeyem, she tested positive for covid and is supposed to stay in her room for 5 days, when she will be tested again. Apparently, Mom is having a hard time remembering she's supposed to stay in her room and needs to be gently herded back every so often. She did call me later in the day and mentioned that the staff keeps taking her back to her room when she goes out into the common area to look out the windows at the ocean. A couple other residents have covid, too, unsurprisingly. I'm actually surprised there haven't been more instances of covid, flu, or RSV this winter. It's certainly a whole different reaction to positive tests now than it was in the beginning!

    Wally—it;'s so nice that someone in the family is appreciative of the china!

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    Blue China

    Ingredients

    • 4 oz. white grapefruit juice
    • ¾ oz. lychee liqueur
    • 1¼ oz. blue curacao
    • Maraschino cherries
    • Glass type: Collins

    Instructions

    1. Freshly squeeze your white grapefruit juice.
    2. I mean, yeah, you can buy some, but treat yourself.
    3. Unless you can't find fresh, then yeah, totally buy it.
    4. Add your white grapefruit juice, lychee liqueur and blue curacao to your shaker with ice.
    5. Shake.
    6. Imagine the Terra Cotta Warriors.
    7. They're pretty amazing.
    8. When you're done shaking, put it down.
    9. Add ice to your Collins glass.
    10. Pour your shaken cocktail in there.
    11. Garnish with maraschino cherries.
    12. To China!
    13. And the blue, blue sea!
  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    A beautiful cocktail!

    I hope your mother's Covid illness is mild. Here in Louisiana, the flu illnesses have been more severe than the Covid, according to what I have read.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    Was pleased when I went through the crate all my good china survived the move intact! My china pattern for Royal Doulton is Old Country Roses.

  • jazzygirl
    jazzygirl Posts: 12,096

    Hi ladies:

    I am at work a bit late tonight as I am going to a jazz concert nearby to the office that starts in awhile and just easy to go straight from the office. The artist is a Nez Peirce native American and looking forward to hearing her music. I took a few days off early in the week and its been a busy few days since I came back so it's also some nice quiet time to catch up this evening on a few things in this 3 day work week that feels like five.

    I am not doing any bigger travel this year with some focus on getting some expensive things taken care of to be ready for retirement. Instead, I am doing some long weekends (junkets, as I like to call them) and did a couple days up to Santa Fe for some time there including a cooking class at my fav little cooking school there. I have been doing these for 10 years now (one per year) and this time was foods of Spain with a focus on paella and some other tasty dishes. They did a pear bisque which was just amazing and going to try to make that at home soon, it was so good! I need to get some paella pans as part of my list and going to make some of that too. We made Paella Valencia which included some chorizo, chicken and seafood.

    We have been under the "heat dome" here in New Mexico for a couple weeks now with unusually warm weather with temps up to the low 90s (that is June weather) and ALL the trees are coming out. New Mexico has a long spring that starts with the fruit tree blooms in early March and ends with the cottonwoods in May but not this year. I noticed today almost everything is out and may be by the end of the month. We basically had no winter, the west is in a snow drought and the wildfires have started. I am going to be planning to do a To-Go bag this year for any urban wildfires that hit our city because they are a thing now (those terrible fires in LA being one example but there have been others). A cold front is coming in tonight and will have us back to highs in the high 60s to low 70s and hopefully we will stay cooler for awhile longer. I am starting some slow gardening and praying for more rain. They weather people say we may have a wetter summer with El Ninjo and of course, too much rain can come and flood things here.

    Not much else to share but if I am not here again, hoping you are enjoying the unfolding of spring if you are in the northern hemisphere and have a nice holiday season coming up. I will post some of the pictures from the cooking class from my phone for your enjoyment!

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    The cooking class sounds like something I would really enjoy. I had paella in Spain many, many years ago and remember it as being delicious.

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy TGIF day! Temps dropping back into the freezer this ayem. There is a special weather statement out for this ayem warning of icy roads as melt off from yesterday and last night freezes with the temp drop. This time of year is crazy making!

    Carole--Mom's case is mild, she is pretty miserable when she gets a coughing fit, but otherwise just more tired than usual. Which is not keeping her down much at all from what I gather. She is determined to get her look out the windows over the ocean at least twice a day! It will be much easier for her when she can go back to eating in the dining room. I've heard the flu has been much more serious this season, but haven't run into it directly. It's funny how this and the earlier outbreak at Mom's facility occurred when the CDC surveillance shows Maine at a "low" activity level.

    mOmmy--glad to hear your china survived! I looked up that pattern, it is beautiful!

    Jazzy--it's nice to have quiet time to catch up on things, especially when fitting 5 days of work into 3. The junket taking sounds like a great time! The cooking school sounds like a really fun experience. Your weather sounds even more capricious than Maine spring weather. I hope things even out a bit for you. Going from flood to drought has got to be really hard. Can't wait to see the cooking pics!

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    Pomegranate Rosé Paloma
    Ingredients:
    • ¾ oz pomegranate juice
    • 3 oz premium grapefruit soda (I used Q Mixers Grapefruit)
    • 4 oz sparkling rosé wine (I used Yes Way Rosé Bubbles)

    Instructions

    • Fill a wine glass with ice. Pour the ingredients over the ice and stir gently to combine.
    • Garnish with grapefruit and a fresh herb like mint or rosemary.

    From https://www.moodymixologist.com/blog/pomegranate-rose-paloma-easy-sparkling-rose-cocktail

  • miriandra
    miriandra Posts: 2,839

    I just completed an Introduction to Mastectomy Massage class. It was very interesting, and I got some useful stuff out of it. The downside was that about a third of it was hard-sell promotions for their intensive class series. Like really hard sell. "You'd be surprised how excited people are to support you if you do a GoFundMe. We even put together a guide on how to set up a funding campaign. Or ask yourself, 'If I could take on two more clients a week between now and October, would that cover the retreat training?" Or the one that made my husband do a double-take: "Hopefully you all have supportive partners who would love to see you invest in yourself with these classes. And if they're worried about the cost, let us talk to them! We can convince them to let you go."

    On the one hand, it does look like a really good course, the textbook looks fantastic, and it is a modality I could definitely make use of. Plus the remote learning series is not too expensive as far as continuing education goes. But I'm torn about reinforcing those awful sales tactics. It's kind of sad that they feel like they have to shill that hard.

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    ood Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday!

    Miriandra—I'm with you, that kind of hard sell makes me really suspicious. Is there any way you can research the method they are teaching and the people/company providing the classes? Maybe find other course teaching the same thing and compare prices and student satisfaction reports? I can't help but think there are some other sources of the same information/training at lower cost and with less sales pressure. The offer to convince supportive partners really sounds questionably ethical to me.

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    Saturday Night Special

    Ingredients
    1 oz Jack Daniel's® Tennessee whiskey
    1 bottle Bacardi Breezer® Orange

    Instructions:

    Pour Jack Daniel's whiskey into a pint glass. Add Bacardi Breezer and serve.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    My collection is quite large.

  • jazzygirl
    jazzygirl Posts: 12,096

    Foods of Spain class

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  • minustwo
    minustwo Posts: 13,879

    YUM. Looks interesting AND delicious.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    I second Minus's post. Thanks for sharing.

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Sunday Funday! It's cold enough to see your breath outside this ayem, but it looks like the temps will get up above freezing and stay there for a couple of days, which is very welcome! Maybe winter is starting to really let go, finally.

    Morning, Teka, mOmmy!

    Jazzy--Wow, those look so yummy! Did you get to make any of these?

    Morning, Minus!

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    Chef’s Kiss

    Ingredients
    • 3/4 ounce Fernet-Branca
    • 3/4 ounce yellow Chartreuse
    • 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
    • 3/4 ounce Demerara syrup
    • Garnish: black-sea-salt-coated lime wheel
    Steps
    1. Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
    2. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass.
    3. Garnish with a black-sea-salt-coated lime wheel.

    From https://www.liquor.com/chefs-kiss-cocktail-recipe-5115520

  • miriandra
    miriandra Posts: 2,839

    Exciting news to share! The STILL Anthology has dropped. It's a fashion photography project to help raise awareness of and to normalize aesthetic flat closure. I was invited to take part in the second volume that has just been published. It's a beautiful volume, and the stories are so amazing.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWbj5FxDsuR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Miriandra—that is really exciting! Love the preview pics.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    Just got back from Wally World to get the last of thr stuff I needed for Easter dinner. Doing it on Saturday as my hubby works Sunday. Making a pre-seasoned pork tenderloin, steamed veggies, hash brown casserole, rolls and bought a frozen chocolate fudge layer cake

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    We are invited to my younger sister's home for Easter dinner. The gathering will be small since my sister's daughter and granddaughter and GGD will be elsewhere. Her son and his wife and two small autistic children will likely come. My sister had hoped to do an Easter egg hunt outside for the children but the weather forecast is 70 percent chance of rain. Maybe we'll get the 30 percent.

    I'm baking a ham and making a large potato salad. Large so we'll have leftovers.

  • miriandra
    miriandra Posts: 2,839

    I got my MRI results this morning. It found a 3mm mass, so what I felt was confirmed. The initial thought is it's something benign, but I'll have an ultrasound on the 17th to confirm or to order a biopsy.

    DH and I saw a touring production of Phantom of the Opera last night. Absolutely beautiful, and the singer who played the Phantom was incredible. Interestingly, in the program, almost all of the cast bios included Instagram handles.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    Going to make the hash brown casserole today so that all i have to do tomorrow is toss it in the oven to warm up along with the rolls while the pork tenderloin is cooking

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy TGIF Day! We've got a lovely sleet/ice/freezing fog/freezing drizzle mess going on here this ayem. I am very happy to not have to go anywhere today, even the back deck is treacherous, as poor Colt found out when he did his usual jump from the yard up to the deck to come back in the ayem potty trip. I did not know a dog could do a 4 way split!

    Carole--one of the things I miss about Easter is the split pea soup mom used to make with the ham bone and leftover meat the next day. It's hard to find an in-bone ham small enough for one person. I suppose I could cook off a bigger one and freeze some of the meat. I hope you do get to do the Easter Egg hunt.

    Miriandra--praying the ultrasound confirms something benign. I would love to see a big production of something like the Phantom of the Opera. Funny all the cast having Instagram handles, but I guess that's the thing these days.

    mOmmy--hash brown casserole sounds yummy!

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    Bunny Hop Punch
    Ingredients
    • 8 oz vodka
    • 8 oz peach schnapps
    • 8 oz raspberry lemonade
    • 16 oz club soda or lemon-lime soda for a sweeter version
    • 2 oz lemon juice
    • 1 cup Raspberries
    • 1 lemon sliced into wheels


    Instructions
    • In a large pitcher, combine vodka, peach schnapps, lemon juice, and raspberry lemonade.
    • Stir well to mix everything together. If not serving immediately, place the pitcher in the fridge to cool.
    • Right before serving, add ice to the pitcher and top with club soda.
    • Add in fresh raspberries and lemon wheels. Set some aside to garnish each glass.
    • Stir gently so you keep the bubbles. Pour into a glass with fresh ice and garnish with raspberries and a lemon wheel.
    • Serve immediately and enjoy your Bunny Hop Punch! This will serve 6-8 servings.

    From https://mybartender.com/recipe/bunny-hop-punch/#recipe

  • wallycat
    wallycat Posts: 1,974

    NM, if you have a honey-baked-ham store, or the like in your area, you can often purchase just the bone and they leave a lot of meat on it. I used to do that when we lived near civilization in WI.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    Wally, we used to buy the ham bones from the honey-baked ham store in our area. The bones have a LOT of meat on them. I wonder what they cost now. They used to be about $8. We don't cook dry beans as often as we once did because dh's digestive system can't handle them. Toot. Toot. LOL.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    Hash brown casserole made and cooled, now chilling in fridge. Getting a jump on Christmas gifts for my second cousin's kids (3 boys and a girl), making them blankets. Got one done, one in process, yarn planned out for a third and just have the last one to plan out.

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! Mom is out of quarantine as of today, for which she will be very happy. I can imagine how claustrophobic and boring that small room must have gotten. I'm going to let her get out and reconnect with her friends today and go down and visit tomorrow. I got a notice from the facility that they are lifting visitation restrictions and masking requirements for Mom's all but one "neighborhood," the memory care unit, due to no new cases.

    Wally--It doesn't look like there's a Honey-Baked-Ham store in Maine (big surprise, not). But that does remind me that I can check with the food co-op farms that sell meats, I bet one of them would sell me a meaty ham bone if I ask.

    Carole--How do you usually cook the dried bean dishes? Before COVID, when church suppers were a regular summer thing, I noticed that baked beans changed as more people used crock pots instead of oven baking. The crock-pot beans always seem to be less completely cooked, never got completely soft the way I remember them being after overnight soaking and baking from right after breakfast until supper time. And never tasted quite as good, but I think that came from people not throwing a chuck of fatback in the pot. I swear beans done in the crock-pot are gassier than oven-baked.

    mOmmy--You are being very busy! Good for you! What colors are the blankets?

    Answering the question nobody asked and nobody wanted to know... Can you use baked beans as a cocktail ingredient. Well, that's exactly what I've done and I'll be showing you exactly how I did it, so you can make your very own baked beans cocktail from the comfort of your own home. Finally (not that you'll want too)


    I mean, let's be honest. How can I call myself a British Bartender, a master of mixology, a trendy cocktail crafter, liquid chef, and all round flavour guru if I've never tackled the humble can of baked beans?


    Keep in mind non of this is to be taken seriously, however it actually didn't taste that bad. For starters, baked beans are like 36% tomato so it makes sense to make a Bloody Mary style of cocktail.


    So here's the recipe for what I'm calling


    'The Bloody Bean'


    50ml (2oz.) Haricot Bean infused vodka (recipe below)
    100ml (4oz.) Baked beans tomato juice (mix the sauce from the can with a bit of water for a bean tomato juice)
    4 dashes Worcester sauce
    Sriracha to taste
    Stir over ice in a empty bean can and garnish with basil. If you do make it, do let me know your thoughts.
    From

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    one has different shades of blue, another has different shades of forest and fall colors, the one for the girl is pinks, purples and white, think i might do the last one in greys or just pull various skeins from the stash I have

  • nativemainer
    nativemainer Posts: 8,170

    Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Sunday Funday! Gray, gloomy, and drippy here today, but at least above freezing. I like it better when the sun is out, I feel more energetic when the sun is out. Nothing I can do to control the weather, so I'll use it as an excuse to veg out with a good book and pupper cuddles.

    Techa--AMEN!

    mOmmy--those sound like very pretty colors. Are you knitting or chrocheting?

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    Village Idiot Cocktail Recipe

    INGREDIENTS

    2 ox Vodka
    2 oz Gin
    Top Up Lemonade
    Dash Lime cordial

    DIRECTIONS

    Fill tall cocktail glass with ice
    Free pour gin and vodka at the same time. Add a dash of lime cordial
    Top up with lemonade
    Stir

    And for added fun:

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  • jazzygirl
    jazzygirl Posts: 12,096

    Hi ladies. Happy Easter to all who celebrate. I'm not doing anything today but was out yesterday with friends and had this craft cocktail called a Lemon Leaf.

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  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Posts: 10,239

    Crocheting

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Posts: 9,321

    I crochet, too. I taught myself to knit on a very basic level just for the heck of it. Mommy, what are the measurements of your gift blankets?

    I've been having a little glass of Marsala wine after dinner, having finished up a bottle of cream sherry. The Marsala is nice.