Tuesday, May 26, 2020

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Ennui (noun): a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. From mid 18th century: French, from Latin in odio(n- ), from mihi in odio est ‘it is hateful to me’. Compare with annoy. Synonyms include boredom, tedium, lethargy, langour. (Thanks, Google.)

The long Memorial Day weekend ended with no trips to the beach or pool. Summer break is right around the corner, but we have cancelled all our vacation plans and family visits. I am still cleaning out closets, still digitizing old photos, still crocheting a rag rug, still sewing a poncho for next winter, still attempting to re-learn some favorite piano pieces, still experimenting with bread baking, and so on. In other words, my attention span has been short and is getting shorter as we hit day 75 of the quarantine.

Day 75. Sigh. The only thing I have not neglected is this daily cocktail diary, so I suppose that’s something.

In honor of day 75, I could not resist creating my version of the classic French 75 cocktail.

In a shaker, combine 1 1/4 ounces gin, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, and 3/4 ounce simple syrup. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled flute and top with about 3 ounces of dry apple cider (I used Blue Bee Cider from Richmond, Virginia–buy local!). Twist a strip of lemon peel over the glass (to express the oils) and drop the peel inside.