how about drinking?

Popped the cork on my CM present Moet et Chandon to have with early dinner at 2pm and nursed my way through it until the "ball drop" at midnight. Made for a very happy New Year's Eve!

Looking forward to better times in 2022 for all!

Sorry to hear of the different sad news many have posted about. Especially thinking of Cami and her family.

Sandy, do you know every restaurant owner in Chicago??? That was certainly nice of them to offer to stay open for you.

Beaver, sorry to hear that about your son and your friend. CANCER SUCKS, what else can we say?? Let us know if your son has to have surgery.

Minus2, we are glad to have you. Stay warm.

Reader, does someone not like pepperoni? I made a roast a few days ago, then made some chili with the left over.

NM, I hope things go smoothly back at school tomorrow....IF you have school!

I sent Cami everyone's sentiments, she did reply, but with only 2 thumbs up, but at least I know she saw it. A big whopping ZERO degrees here this morning....BRRRRR!!!! Our New Years cheer was to make the best of each day, and one day at a time.

DOTD: Pepperoni Passion

Cocktail ingredients

50ml of pepperoni infused vodka (to make, cook 500g of pepperoni in a pan with no oil, then wait for the oil to come naturally from the pepperoni, add the oil to a bottle of vodka then put in the freezer overnight. The next morning, the juices from the pepperoni will have set, while the flavour molecules will have attached themselves to the vodka. Strain off the solids et voila – pepperoni infused vodka.)

75ml of tomato juice

15ml of fresh pressed lemon juice

20ml of passion fruit puree

10ml of sugar syrup (equal parts caster sugar to water)

1 teaspoon of hot sauce

Pizza garnish

4 x slices of pepperoni

2 x small pieces of mozzarella cheese

Handful of basil

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and roll. Don't shake the mixture as this separates the tomato juice.

Then, strain into a highball glass over cubed ice and garnish with pizza topping by skewering pieces of pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and basil.

And hey presto, a perfect slice of cocktail heaven.

Beaverintx, I too am so sorry about the medical issues your son and friend are going through. And as someone with brain mets, I can’t imagine a tennis ball sized tumor, or how it even fits up there? Please know I’m not unsympathetic, I’m just so blown away by the size in that location, it’s crazy.

We got about 6" snow Friday night into Saturday but it was bitter cold - only about 12 for the high. It's supposed to get to the low 40s today - it's already 30. Thursday is supposed to be bitter cold again.

Almost 1000 homes/structures were lost in the fires. 3 people are unaccounted for. Such a senseless tragedy. They are now investigating the cause of the fire as xcel energy says no power lines were down (original thought for cause of fire). The winds upwards of 100mph made it impossible to do anything.

Beaver - so sorry to hear about your son and your friend.

Such a shock about Betty White. She was planning her 100th birthday party. She was such a class act.

Winter break is over - back to work tomorrow. It's been a relaxing 2 weeks, accomplished a fair amount in the house.

Have a great Sunday.

My heart goes out to you Beaverntx. It is so hard when one of your children are sick and you can't fix it for them.

I am thinking of Cami and her family during this time. Joey must feel like he is losing his best friend and confidant.

Jazzy- I didn't hear about the people stuck on the tram, I can't imaging being stuck on it for that long. I think this will end of being a movie of the week one day.

Goldie - I had to laugh about your comment to Sandy about knowing all the restaurant owners. I was thinking the same thing, that at least she knows the ones that she like to go to.

NM- Sorry you going through so much and you had a some big things hit you at once and it is hard to handle and grief makes you tired and I know when I am tired my mom is harder for me to deal with.

Hoping things get better in the new year. We always do that - put so much hope in a new year. I guess a new beginning for good things to happen.

Good night to everyone.

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Monday Monkey Day! Back to school today, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing the kiddoes again. Going to be lots going on with meetings about the new COVID guidelines starting first thing. Going to be lots and lots of questions, I'm sure. Getting back to a routine will be a good thing for me.

Goldie--thanks for the kind words, they mean a lot! Mom's comment was "Oops, did it again.I'll have to send another check" and then changed the subject. That Betty White clip is still as funny as I remember it!

Chi--sounds like the NYE party was enjoyable, if quieter and smaller than originally planned. Sounds like you are going to get quite the bit of snow. Stay warm and toasty!

Jazzy--oh my goodness, what a thing to have happen!I hope they are all down safely.

Goldie--I'll invest in your Resolutions business!!Love that decision, too.

Chi--if you get that Flintstone size ribs, get a pic to post!

Beaver--you really did have a sucky end to the year. Gout is not fun, from what people have told me. Praying for your son and your friend.

Minus--don't you just love the temperature swings that are going on?

Celia--sounds like a really nice way to spend NYE!

Reader--Pretty looking pizza! I bet it was really good.

Goldie--looks like school will be happening. No where near as much snow as the 2-3 inches predicted, barely a coating, the big problem is going to be the refreezing of the snow that melted yesterday, but I've heard DOT trucks out sanding, so should be ok.

Jazzy--so glad you had a wonderful NYE weekend to recharge!

Karen--Wow, that is a huge amount of damage done by the fires. I can't imagine what trying to fight a wildfire in 100 mph winds must be like. Praying the unaccounted for people are ok, just out of contact.

Misty--I feel for Joey, too. I hope he's doing ok. You are right, things/people are harder to deal when I'm tired, but I have caught up on some rest and am beginning to feel better, so I'm hoping I'm over the worst of it for now.

Back to School-tini

Ingredients

• 2ouncesTitos vodka
• 1/2ozMalibu Coconut Rum
• 1/2ozapple juice
• Splash of Grenadine
• apple slice for garnish

Instructions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
2. Pour in the vodka, coconut rum, and apple juice. Add a splash of Grenadine.
3. Shake well and strain into a martinis glass.
4. Garnish with an apple slice.

From <https://olivejude.com/back-school-tini-2/#wprm-recipe-container-6782>

Jazzy, funny that you wanted to be Betty White when you grow up! How is your sister doing? How scary to be stuck on that tram overnight with such cold temps.

BabyGirl, you make a good point about such a large tumor and how in the heck it fits there! Sounds pretty scary, I can't even imagine.

Beaver, glad to hear that the daughter's comment was that her mom was still in there somewhere.

Misty, Joey is a HUGE comfort to Cami. You would not believe how sweet he is to her. But he's a sweet kid period.

NM, well of course that was mom's response to the miswritten check. Not surprising at all, after all, she is the perfect one, right? I'm surprised she didn't blame you for it in some manner! We too didn't get the amount of snow predicted, just a dusting. But it sure is cold!

Karen, I had to look up PD day, personal developement? Praying the unaccounted for are found. How the heck does one store even have enough clothes for all those women to spend $500 each?!?!

Ran to town yesterday for groceries, Phoenix on Wed. for treatment. I'm just gobsmacked at how many are not wearing masks. I've mentioned before how our cases average about 3000 day, well Saturday was the most in one day, reaching over 8000. Here is the sign in front of the hospital.

Lori - sorry for using an acronym/initials. PD stands for professional development. I'm guessing that the store is pricey - it is a boutique and locally owned in the area impacted by the fires. Joey must be a junior or senior in high school by now. Cami and Joey have a very special relationship.

Jazzy - sorry to hear that your sister will have to put her fur baby down. So many losses in a short time.

Tonight and tomorrow is my mother's 4th yarzheit (anniversary of her death). On the English calendar its January 18th but we light the yarzheit (memorial candle on the Hebrew date. I miss her more with every passing day.

It warmed today (40s), tomorrow high 40s, but it will get cold again on Wednesday afternoon and more snow. Single digits Wednesday night.

I'm kind of weird in that I don't like pepperoni on pizza--but I love anchovies (just not too many because they're so salty). Guess it's a vestige of my Brooklyn upbringing. Sausage or green peppers & mushrooms are my faves.

No DOTD today except coffee this morning and water the rest of the day.

Oh dear Jazzy, I'm sorry hear about your DS's fur baby.

Sandy, hopefully today is a better day for you.

Karen, I figured out the PD. Most of them I know, since I worked with special needs kids. But I had to look that one up. I miss my mom too, but I don't consider the day she died for anything. Just me. I wish I didn't even know the date of her death, but it was the day after my DD had a medical emergency and I almost lost her. Weather is cray cray for sure, we are supposed to get to 60 by Friday.

Reader, I like anything on my pizza. Not a fan of green peppers or onions, but will still eat them. No anchvoies please or anything spicy. My DH will ONLY eat Italian sausage and pineapple, sometimes with bacon.

NM, that all sounds HORRIBLE at school. This is not going to end well! What I meant about your mom blaming you for the wrong check writing was something you said or done that caused her to be upset or baffled, therefore causing her to write the wrong number. Glad you are leaving early due to road conditions.

Arizona had their all time high in daily Covid cases. Usually around 3000 a day and has been as high as 8000. Yesterday cases totaled over 14,000! I have neighbors that are anti mask, Covid is a joke, it's just the government wanting to turn you into a puppet, yaddy yaddy yada, you know the type. Well they are now asking for prayers because someone they know has Covid!

I spoke with my DD, she informed me that my son has gone back to smoking pot and his buddy is drinking. They just moved into their own apartment, both were staying at the safe house and both were sober, my son over 18 months, his friend not too far behind. I imagine my son will be drinking shortly as well. I hope and pray not. He drives for a road construction company and could lose his job if they test him.

Can't find a "themed" cocktail, so just thought this looked yummy.

White Cosmo

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. of white cranberry cocktail juice
• 1 oz. of white crème de cacao
• ½ oz. of white chocolate liqueur
• Cranberries
• Shaved chocolate

Preparation:

1. Put ice in a cocktail mixer and combine cranberry cocktail juice, white crème de cacao and white chocolate liqueur
2. Shake the mixture and strain it into a martini glass
3. Wet the rim with water and dip in sugar. Pierce cranberries on a cocktail toothpick and place in the glass as a garnish
4. Add sprinkles of shaved white chocolate to the top of the drink

The only "prayers" I would offer for the unvaccinated maskholes is that they come to their senses, or else go off the grid into the wilderness and stay away.

IL had 89,000 cases from Thurs-Sun. 20K yesterday and 27K today. Test positivity jumped from 12.5% to 17.5% in one week. Chicago's test positivity nearly doubled, from 13.6% to 23.2%; but the rate of increase in case numbers is slowing, and numbers of new deaths & hospitalizations are beginning to drop here in the city even as they are skyrocketing statewide. Our city health commissioner is cautiously predicting this wave will peak by late January, perhaps even as soon as next week.

Not sure what we will do tonight (which will "drive" what we drink). Bob gets off work at 5:30, and wants to pick up takeout from nearby Chez Joel and go to Regalia tomorrow night--but tonight will be relatively warm while tomorrow night will be down into the single digits (air temp, not wind-chill) around dinnertime. He's off tomorrow, so maybe we can skip lunch and have a very early dinner at Regalia. But first, I need to call both places today at their posted opening hours to make sure they'll be open. Can't take that for granted these days.

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Hump Day! Interesting twist at work yesterday. The nurse that works at the sister school tested positive for COVID yesterday ayem. So she's stuck at home, but her older child can continue to go to school, it's an odd situation all the way around, but that's the way the new rules work. It's going to be a crazy ride.

Chi--what a way to wake up in the ayem! I'm curious about the intermittent fasting, I've heard about it but don't know any details.

Karen--Hugs and condolences on your Mom's yarzheit.

Reader--that was an interesting pizza!

Goldie--no, the new rules are not going to end well for schools and their communities. Nurses everywhere are trying to tell the US CDC and their state CDCs this, but we're not being heard yet. I see what you mean about Mom and the check, I hadn't thought of that angle. Prayers for your DS. The White Cosmo looks really good!

Thank you, Teka! I hope so, too.

Chi--so sad that we can't take for granted that a restaurant will be open on any given day! What has the world come to?

Morning, Celia!

Lori, drive safe. Sorry about no hot water 🙁

Positivity rate is 25% which is really an underestimate as it doesn’t count home resting or those asymptomatic. More children are being hospitalized. They are testing all children upon admission and numbers are higher than expected as kids admitted for another reason are showing up positive. Maybe Omicron will start being treated as the flu. Doesn’t diminish that people can become sick and need to be hospitalized but maybe life can resume a little bit more like pre-March 2020, albeit with masks.

Snow coming in just in time to drive home after school 🙁 happy to have the snow but not lousy dr

Amazed Sandy that John remembered. Told him to say “hi” when he next saw you early on NYE. After our delightful dinner is when I went home to a phone call that I’d been exposed to Covid by the 2 days before manicurist who tested positive. My stupidity for going to her though she said her daughter, a pharmacist, had vaccinated her. Many breakthroughs I’m learning.