Swizzle Sticks

 

For some reason, swizzle sticks popped into my head. My aunt and uncle used to travel by plane a lot and back then, you could have mixed drinks on a flight. They would always bring me souvenir swizzle sticks. I loved those things! Played with them a lot. Have no idea what happened to them. They would be considered collectibles by now, I’d guess. Some had the logo or design of the airline where they were used.

 

I didn’t know if these kinds of things were around at all anymore. I knew there were all manner of coffee stirrers, but only knew of the wooden of plastic ones like Starbucks had. I decided to look them up on the all-knowing entity that we call Google.

 

Boy howdy! TONS! All colors, all materials, all designs! I don’t do much drinking anymore, but I do enjoy a nice chocolate martini on occasion, and I usually just use an ice cube to stir it around. If I have a Jack-a-Dew, I use a spoon or drinking straw. So I went to the all-providing entity we call Amazon and ordered me some pretty, plastic, multi-colored, star-topped swizzle sticks! I just know they will make my drinks taste even better!

 

And drinking aside, I KNOW I can use them in some way for crafting! Just watch me…

 

PS – I like to see the reviews on things I order. This one gets top prize for humor:

 

“They changed my whole life...

Prior to their arrival I was forced to use the arm of my child to stir the never ending stream of cocktails during this enforced quarantine. Often their hands were dirty which really impacted the taste of the drinks. Who knew they made simple plastic sticks which could accomplish this same challenging task?
No, really, we were out, we ordered them, and they arrived. Not sure why anyone thinks this needs a review?”

 

 

In Search of the Perfect Purse

 

I have the shoes. I have the hat. All I need now is the Perfect Purse. Not a mission to be taken lightly. Some would shrink from the formidable task ahead, but not I. I am A Shopper To Be Reckoned With.

 

The day must start with adequate nourishment. Coffee alone won’t cut it. I need pastries as well, preferably fresh-baked ones. Chocolate croissants, cheese Danish, FRENCH DONUTS…something to really get your teeth into. And not just any old coffee. It has to be Starbucks, preferably Peppermint Mocha.

 

Then the hunt begins. The Perfect Purse must not only be the right color, but style and size as well. It must be big enough to hold all the crap that the normal woman carries around with her like a Sherpa going on expedition to Mt. Everest.

 

And just size alone isn’t the gauge. You don’t want a big empty hole to put stuff in. Then you have to rummage around to find your stuff. Have you ever poked yourself with a nail file while looking for the checkbook?? Ouch!! There has to be compartments within the purse to safely separate and store your accoutrements. You might think you see the Perfect Purse, but when you look it over for the actual storage capabilities, that is when the flaws become evident.

 

My storage requirements are thus:

Three sections in the body of the purse. One for wallet and credit cards. That’s the compartment that gets used the most. One for checkbook, calendar, pen, notepaper, coupons, med list. (I’m old, I carry my med list wherever I go “just in case”). One for everything else…lotion, cough drops, fan, eyeglass wiper, little bottle of antacids, emergency plastic knife and a couple of baggies (for cutting up your hamburger and taking the rest home), and Kleenex.

 

There is almost always a little pocket within one of the sections and that holds my lip balm, emergency pills, purse cross and a little polished stone that says “healing” on it that a friend gave me when I was sick once.

 

There should be at least one outside pocket for my phone. My current purse has one on each side, one for the phone, one for the car keys. There is even a bonus pocket right on the front where I have my tiny address book.

 

If you can find the Perfect Purse with ALL the requirements of color, size and style at the first go, you are incredibly lucky and should immediately go and get a Lottery ticket. Otherwise, soldier on and keep looking…

 

Condiments For Your Comestibles

 

 

In this blog, I’m mainly talking about the condiments you find in your fridge. Some of the condiments I’ve talked about before, but all of these are pretty much always to be found in our fridge.

 

Both black and green olives. I’ve loved black olives since a very small child. I would even drink the juice they came in if I wasn’t stopped. I don’t do that anymore. Green olives MUST have pimento in them. And of course when I was little, I would always suck out the pimento first. One time my dad brought home some green olives with almonds in them instead of pimento. I LOVED those! I’ve never seen them in a regular grocery store though.

 

Pickles MUST be dill. Sometimes I get the kind that are sliced for sandwiches, sometimes as tiny “snackers” but they MUST be dill. Sweet pickles are WRONG!

 

Dill relish I like to have for hotdogs. Sometimes when I’ve been out of regular sliced pickles for sandwiches I will substitute dill relish. The relish is great when mixed with a can of deviled ham for sandwiches.

 

Mustard is for hotdogs, as I’ve said before. Unless it’s a chili dog, then mustard would be wrong. Mustard is good for baloney or ham sandwiches too.

 

Ketchup is for hamburgers, as I’ve also said before. Also fries or tater tots. Not for sandwiches. That would be wrong. And it’s traditional on top of meatloaf.

 

Lemon juice is for fish and seafood. It’s in my fridge right next to the cocktail sauce. Cocktail sauce can also be used for tater tots. Many times I will serve fish along with tater tots.

 

A-1 steak sauce is something Marv likes on steak or burgers. I’m not that fond of it, but will used it occasionally.

 

Mr. Yoshida is awesome with frozen meatballs. Heat them up in the microwave with the sauce and you’ve got a very good meal. The extra sauce left over is also very good on the pasta or rice side dish you might have.

 

Basque Norte is also wonderful with the meatballs. In fact, a lot of the time I will mix the two sauces together.

 

BBQ sauce is always on hand for any cooked meat. I’ve even used it instead of ketchup on top of the meatloaf.

 

Mild Salsa is only an occasional visitor in the fridge. I’m the only one who likes it on my taco salad or nachos, and I usually end up tossing the bottle before it goes bad. I try to get the smallest bottle I can find. And I don’t like chunks, so I always puree it and put it back in the bottle.

 

NO salad dressing!

NO mayo!

Both are anathema in THIS household!