The Pimm's Cup

Vicki had the mom's group over for a one year survival party. Knowing my place, Vicki asked me to plan and man the beverage station. I needed a drink that wasn't overly potent, that was somewhat suited toward a nice sunny day, and that could be made for a number of people at once.

The Pimm's Cup fit the bill. I had never made them before, but had a few at various parties.

There is some variance in how the Pimm's Cup is made, naturally. I took the original recipe, as cited by Wikipedia . However, as Drinkboy says in his video about the Pimm's Cup, lemonade in Britian does not mean the same thing as it does across the pond in the States. Lemonade is apparently lemon-lime soda (Sprint, 7-Up). Drinkboy prefers ginger ale to soda, but I don't.

Given that Pimm's is pretty low in alcohol content, and also given that there were going to be many children in the house, I felt the need to give the drink a little more potency. Not a lot, but more than the normal recipe. To offest that extra punch, I needed something to balance kick. I chose fresh squeezed lemon juice and lime juice.

Here's my recipe for a small pitcher:
8 oz Pimm's No. 1
4 oz Gin
2 oz lemon juice
2 oz lime juice

Fill Highball glass three-quarters full with ice. Fill glass a little more than hald way the with Pimm's mix above. Top with 7-Up. Garnish with cucumber slice.

The cucumber does really impart a fresh flavor to the drink. It is great a great and easy recipe for a sunny afternoon.

An Observation On Our House

Of the five beings that inhabit our house, the poop of the majority exits the dwelling in plastic bags through the front door.

File this under stuff you wouldn't have thought until you had a child.

Saturday Mornings

My first job out of college was pretty much straight-forward sales. Oh, they dressed it up as "Financial Planning," but it was sales. As fate would have it, I wasn't selling much.

To get me back on track, my bosses (all three of them) determined that I, along with the other under-performing rookies, would have to come in on Saturday mornings to make calls. Sleep was, and still is, precious to me. Saturday sleep even moreso. I was not happy. And I was snarky. By this point in time, I knew I was not long for this particular career.

"What time?"

"Let's say 8:00 am," said Brian, who was boss number 3 of 3.

"You think people will be awake at 8 am and will be happy to hear from me?"

"Oh, if people have kids they will be up by then, for sure."

Brian had kids, so I assumed he knew what he was talking about. I was 22 years old and childless, so I had to take his word for it. But this was one of those items that stuck with me over time because it scared me. Up earlier than 8? Because of kids? No thanks.

So, last Saturday, as I was pulling George out of the crib at 6:15, I thought of Brian.

When 8:00 am rolled around, I thought, yep, parents are awake at 8:00 am, but if some sales guy had the stones to call me at that hour, I would reach through the phone line and strangle him.

One More Summer Baby Photo

I will post more later, but here's another gratuitous baby photo.