Thursday, June 25, 2020

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Have yourselves a Merry Little Half-Christmas! First thing this morning, Dear Husband asked the music device to “play Christmas carols,” because he always does this on June 25. Always. We find it amusing and endearing. I do believe this date has become significant to our family members because it is a milestone: the future Christmas is now closer to us than the past Christmas. We focus our attention on moving forward, with hope and high expectations, and a longing for the joyful celebrations to come.

But this is 2020, after all, and the “new normal” surrounds us. My family hasn’t really moved forward in months, and we have only a few events to anticipate during this summer-at-home. (I always start buying Christmas gifts during our summer travels, by the way, so that’s not happening, either.)

So today, as the holiday tunes play in our home, I wonder what Christmas 2020 will look like. What will the fates bring us? Will we all be healthy? Will we all gather together in person? Will we sing? Will we go to church? Will our gifts to each other be more meaningful? Will we all finally have the time to send out personalized greeting cards and to bake cookies from scratch?

Last Christmas, we bought too much eggnog, so we shoved an unopened half-gallon into the basement freezer, and then forgot about it. I discovered it a few days ago, and today I am using it! A few ounces will go into our cocktails, and I will use the remainder in Saturday morning’s pancake batter and in my morning coffee.

Today’s drink is my version of an eggnog martini. As much as I love my December eggnog with bourbon or even dark rum, I wanted a “lighter” drink to sip in June.

Dip a chilled martini glass into caramel syrup and then into brown sugar. In a shaker filled with ice, combine 3 ounces eggnog, 1 ounce vanilla vodka, and 1 ounce amaretto. Shake and strain into the martini glass, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.