What happiness looks like

Or smells like rather....

Today, I made one and a half gallons of homemade egg nog. You read that right, one and a half gallons. That's a lot of nog. It's my full intention to give most (I'm still a little greedy) of it away as gifts to colleagues and other folks I need to get drunk to convince them of the glory that is me. I hate that I need liquor to do this. I must say, it is damn good.

I've moved on to apple butter. I'm never made this before but I could make it every weekend. Hand to God, it's a marvel. Truly beautiful. I only have two large stock pots, which is odd enough, I know. So I'm staggering the two batches. I have peeled 8 pounds of apples. I find it oddly fun in a Zen kind of way.

One pot is full of 4 pounds of apples steeping and bubbling in a half gallon of apple cider. It's the making of apple sauce. The other pot is bubbling away with homemade applesauce with cinnamon, sugar and ground cloves. I must say I love to boil the shit out of fruit. My house smells good enough to eat. I could do this every day. Every damn day. And yes, I am on my second helping of bourbon. It was needed for the egg nog. I had extra...

In a half hour the White House special comes on HGTV. As much as her husband is a total tool, Laura Bush knows how to decorate a house. I have my Christmas cards all ready to get written out which should be amusing should there be more bourbon involved in my evening. In the meantime, I am knee deep in the first season of the West Wing and can't figure our if I love Josiah Bartlett, Sam Seaborn or Josh Lyman best. Let's not even talk about Leo McGarry.

I have a fire in my fireplace. Well, it actually flame created by a gas line to my fireplace. It doesn't smell nearly as good, or at all, my it sure is pretty. I have just sat back and determined the following thing: Life is fucking beautiful.

Comments

[Deanna]

Friends don't let friends nog and blog.

[Vanessa]

Dear Deanna,

Shut up, bitch. And, that's it, I'm eating the apple butter I was going to give you. So there.

Vanessa

[Deanna]

Homemade apple butter? I would sleep on Dora the Explorer sheets for homemade apple butter.

[Kelly O]

Nogging and blogging can be dangerous, but if it keeps me from getting apple butter, nog and blog away. Shall I send more bourbon?

[Jenny Ryan]

Ooh-sounds really cozy!