Enjoyed: Saturday, May 8, 2021

Listed on the menu: No, but TJ, bartender extraordinaire, suggested this drink for me and he was happy to make it.

Ingredients: Vitae Smoked Rum, vanilla simple syrup, orange bitters, twist of orange peel, and a rum-soaked cherry.

The occasion: A Mother’s Day Eve visit. I was in the mood for a craft cocktail, and Vitae always has interesting seasonal choices. I started with a pale-blue-hued Papa Smurf (gin, orange liqueur, peach schnapps, and blue spirulina to add color). Husband chose a Gold-N-Stormy and Younger Son boldly decided on a Lunch Break, which tasted like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but was remarkably refreshing and light. As we chatted with TJ, I asked about the Smoked Rum, and he said this rum lent a unique twist to Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. Game on! “Make me one!” I proclaimed.

My rating: ***** out of 5. I do enjoy smoky flavors (like a fine Scotch), and this combination of sweet and smoke and bitter was a pleasant surprise. I would order this again!

Final thoughts: Shop local! We are always happy to support small businesses in the neighborhood. And good bartenders are proud of their skills, so don’t be shy to ask for a drink that suits your preferences and may not be on the menu. And a toast to all the mothers out there! Happy Mother’s Day!

Throwback to May 12, 2013

Day One

1. College Boy gets recognized as the Outstanding Senior Geographer.

2. Lovely supper at Zorba’s.

3. All the soon-to-be graduates, each bearing a candle, processing single file and circling Westhampton Lake while families watched from the library hillside.

4. A 10 minute firework display.

5. Thunderstorm holding off just barely long enough to get all of us inside.

Day Two

1. Sunny yet comfortable weather.

2. A moving inter-faith baccalaureate ceremony.

3. A gourmet luncheon in the dining hall for the families, complete with surprises like ice sculptures, salmon linguine, truffles, and linen napkins.

4. The Despica-blimp flying overhead as the graduates walked through campus together.

5. Opening the program to discover that College Boy was graduating summa cum laude.

6. Actually holding that diploma in my own hands.

7. Supper at the Jefferson Hotel.

8. And now, officially bringing an end to my label of “College Boy.”

Throwback to May 10, 2014

1.Sometimes one look–like an icy glare or a disbelieving stare– can communicate more than a thousand words.

2.Sons need to be reminded that the girls they are dating need chocolates and flowers on a regular basis.

3.Daughters need to be reminded that Force-To-Be-Reckoned-With Women need patience, because real men, those strong enough and mature enough to love them, do exist.

4. High quantity guilt works, high quality guilt works, and employing both concurrently works even better.

5.Never allow the kids to speak negatively about their father. Only his wife is allowed to do so.

6.Always tell the kids to be ready a full 15 minutes before they actually need to be ready.

7. A refrigerator full of food is a solid indicator of a mother’s love.

8.Prying into offspring’s personal affairs is a solid indicator of a mother’s love.

9.Nagging is a solid indicator of a mother’s love.

10.Wanting to know offspring’s whereabouts at all times is a solid indicator of a mother’s love.

11.Thank you notes should be handwritten and sent out promptly.

12.Provide your children and husband with a list of the gifts you want for Mother’s Day, Christmas, etc.

13. “Make sure you pay attention as I teach you all the basic household chores, because if you are incapable of pulling your weight around your future household, your spouse will blame me for not teaching you this, and I do not want to be responsible for your spouse’s tears.”

14.Your children should know that if the grandchildren are not raised as Catholics, they should expect you to haunt them from your grave.

15. Vodka martinis help keep your outlook positive.

16. Keep your sense of humor.

Throwback to April 28, 2015

1. “You should see the great view from my hotel room!”

2. “I had the most amazing dinner tonight!”

3. “Yeah, I had a few drinks, but so did everyone else.”

4. “It’s kinda nice to have the whole bed to myself.”

5. “Dinner tonight was even better than dinner last night.”

6. “It’s too bad you couldn’t come along, but I guess someone had to stay home with the kids.”

7. “Will you have supper waiting for me when I get home from the airport?”

Throwback to May 7, 2015

1. I have “liked” his college’s Facebook page.

2. I have added his college’s 2015-16 calendar to the family calendar, so I know when his spring break will be.

3. I regularly check the Parent Portal not to make sure his grades are strong, but to assure myself that he is passing all his classes.

4. I have found our family copy of The Naked Roommate, so that Youngest Child can start reading it.

5. I have purchased a stapler and a hole puncher for his desk in the dorm.

6. I have started to consider the best color to re-paint the walls of the guest room, err, I mean his bedroom.

7. I am actively counting down the days in a gleeful fashion (yay yay yay 7 more days of classes and yippee 3 days of exams and hooray it’s over!)

8. I am drinking more, because I heard that helps ease the pain of denial.

Throwback to May 18, 2015

1. At 10:30 PM, giving into a craving for 85% dark chocolate.

2. At 11:00 PM, being asked by Youngest Child to help him review conditional probability, which set my mind a-whirling.

3. At 11:30 PM, realizing that Youngest Child is three short months away from college move-in date.

4. At midnight, flinching in horror when Youngest Child asked if I wanted to see the 3 foot snake on the front porch.

5. At 12:30 AM, panicking when Youngest Child confirmed that it was probably only an Eastern garter snake, and not a copperhead, and then retracted his confirmation because “I really didn’t get a good look at the head, come to think of it.”

6. At 1 AM, hearing Youngest Child proclaim, “If we’re lucky, the snake will still be here in the morning.”

7. At 1:30 AM, trying to block out the snoring from cuddly-yet-congested Husband.

Throwback to May 9, 2013

1. “Yeah, Mom, I’ve started packing” really means “I helped roommate pack all day yesterday and I was just waiting for you to come to pack for me.”

2. A large duffel bag full of shoes simply means she takes after her mother.

3. Plastic hangers multiply like tribbles.

4. The rapid onset of sore throat and watery eyes is probably due to all the dust bunnies that were disturbed in the packing process.

5. Re-usable grocery bags from the car trunk can also be used to transport clothing. And more shoes.

6. Thrift shop bargain clothes are hard to pass up, and subsequently hard to squeeze into a suitcase.

7. Awesome roommates volunteer to watch the pet beta fish for the summer.

8. IKEA area rugs are inexpensive and not meant to last more than 2 semesters, especially when art students spill paint on them.

9. Colleges give out way too many free tee-shirts and free plastic cups.

10. Mini-vans may not be cool to drive, but they are awesome when it comes to hauling dorm furniture.

11. An ironing board with the shrink-wrap still intact is a sign that I wasted my money on that purchase.

Throwback to May 5, 2013

1. Do you have a pencil?

2. YoYo Ma? Is he famous or something, because he sure looks weird when he plays.

3. Oh, he played at the President’s Inauguration? Does that mean he’s good?

4. Why doesn’t YoYo Ma speak with an accent?

5. Do you have anything I could write with?

6. Wynton Marsalis? Is that a real trumpet he’s playing?

7. Wynton Marsalis? The other guy (a younger student) sounds way better than him.

8. Can I go to my locker to get something to write with?

Throwback to May 11, 2012

1. Don’t touch me, I had my hair done.

2. I can’t sweat in PE today because I am going to the dance.

3. (girl to boy) Are you wearing pants tonight?

Throwback to May 13, 2014

1. A lime green inflatable Rody.

2. An open 25 pound bag of plaster.

3. An assortment of 1 by 6 and 2 by 4 boards.

4. A snapped-in-two skateboard.

5. A string of purple Christmas lights.

6. Flannel shirts from Goodwill.

7. Two real cow skulls from real dead cows.