My mom passed away a little less than a month ago. She was almost 97 1/2, and definitely the oldest person I have ever known. The last several years were tough–she was almost always unhappy and uncomfortable.

This is a tough one to write, and I don’t mean this as a eulogy. I am still processing, and I expect I will post more about my mom in the months to come.

I am now officially the Matriarch of the Family, and wondering what my legacy will be. My mother took up oil painting as a hobby when she turned 50. (That’s one of her paintings in the photo.) I am now in search of a cool new hobby that I can take up in retirement. Hmmm.

Mama always had some sort of alcohol in the house, in case friends dropped in. (They did.) She didn’t drink, except for tiny sips of sweet wine or even cognac occasionally. She did, however, believe in home remedies that did use alcohol. I remember coming home from college one Christmas break. I had a horrible cold and residual tummy spasms from the stress of exams. Mama mixed some homemade berry syrup with Polish spirytus —192 proof and that is not a typo!–and offered me a small crystal glass of this “handcrafted” cordial. I slept on the couch for hours and felt remarkably better.

Mama also believed in the curative powers of rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar, as well as in (the slightly more potable) Valerian root tea. She also loved chamomile. She’d buy the dried blossoms, and sometimes the tea bags, and would insist upon it for a variety of ailments. I drank plain chamomile tea when I had a stomach ache. Honey and lemon were added when I was coughing. When I was congested, she’d put the hot tea in a big bowl, and I’d cover my head with a towel and just inhale the steam. And when Mama recognized that my blonde hair wasn’t looking sun-kissed, she had me rinsing my locks with cool chamomile tea. To this very day, there is chamomile in my cupboard.

For tonight’s drink, I actually found a bonafide cocktail recipe using chamomile tea, honey, and lemon. And it actually tasted real good, too–not too potent, either, so Mama would probably sip on it if it were lukewarm.

Combine 1/2 ounce honey with 1/2 ounce boiling water until honey dissolves. Add 1 ounce rye whiskey, 1 ounce honey bourbon (like Wild Turkey American Honey), 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, and 1 cup chilled chamomile tea. Garnish with lemon, and don’t add ice. Na zdrowie!