Twinkle Twinkle from the Bar

The girl’s birthday was this Sunday, and she was going to have a party. I’d themed it “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” knowing that stars would be an easy item to find (paper cups, garlands, twinkle lights, clothing) in December, but also because there’s something of the dark night to my little girl, and something luminous. She moves in and out of herself, scowling and shining by turns but always bright, like the stars that never really cease to glow but simply move out of our eye line.

I’d like to think she gets that quality from me, but I have to admit my glow has dimmed over the years, and needs a little more kindling. With that in mind, and given the impending social even for which we were preparing, I invented a drink–a little fuel for the old inner fire, so to speak.

Anyway, the party got canceled because the girl got a fever the night before (on top of being sick, she was apparently cutting two teeth) and so the fire required no fuel. Instead of celebrating our girl’s first year of life we spent the afternoon with a grumpy baby who just cried at the hunk of cake I put in front of her and a brother who was convinced that the birthday would be his if only he screamed a little louder. I could have used a fancy drink after the terrible children went to bed but I didn’t bother. I wasn’t in a very twinkly mood.

Anyhow, I call this the Ginger Twinkle. There’s apparently a cookie of the same name out there (I Googled it, as I always do when naming something, mostly out of a fear of accidental innuendo) but this has bubbles in it and sugar on the rim, so–double twinkle. Which means I win. Anyhow, it goes like this:

First, make a ginger syrup. (Or buy one. Slightly different results, both yummy.) Put about a teaspoon of syrup in the bottom of a champagne glass. Fill the glass a bout 3/4 full of prosecco. Top with ginger ale.

Of course, I tried multiple variations of this. You can increase or decrease the syrup and it’s good lots of ways–it’s even good without the syrup at all. Just prosecco and ginger ale. Or just prosecco. Or wine. A little Christmas magic. Right, Linda? Whatever helps you twinkle.

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It’s Been an Interesting Week

My husband bought this thing called the Echo–we call her Alexa–so I’ve been walking into my kitchen to tell my robot servant to play Christmas music or to ask her what the temperature is outside. My Trekkie husband has been saying things like, “Alexa: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” To which she replies “Replicators are offline” or “I’m not a replicator.”

I read Emma Cline’s The Girls and Googled the heck out of Charles Manson, then had a hard time sleeping that night.

I had three custom cartoon portraits in the hopper. I’ve drawn a chicken with a fro, a Delorean, and am working on several dinosaurs.

It snowed here in Seattle, which doesn’t happen very often. Then my Facebook feed blew up with pictures of kids in the snow (including my own).

Today is the girl‘s first birthday–can you believe it? I can’t believe it. We were going to have a party but poor baby is sick. I get the feeling that’s going to happen to her a lot. I was often sick on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Throw a birthday midway between the two and I’d say the likelihood of being sick on at least one of them is pretty significant. But I’m no mathematician.