Author: Monkeybrad (Page 27 of 57)

Frosted Sugar Plum

December 21, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Eighth Drink

Christmas is a time to reflect on our lives. To look at the year nearly past and how things have changed. For me, even more than New Year’s, this is a time for reflection, to think about what we’ve gained, what we have lost. It’s been a hard year for all of us. So many losses and they just keep coming, as today we found out that yet another friend has passed from Covid. It makes it hard to find the spirit of the season with so many people hurting. We take many things for granted, especially our beliefs. We have to to try to stay positive, though. To look on the brighter side and count the blessings we have, even on this Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year, or the last night before things begin to get brighter, depending on your point of view. So in that spirit, please join me for the eighth of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the eighth drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Frosted Sugar Plum”.

Boozy Orange Hot Chocolate

December 20, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Seventh Drink

There are all kinds of treats that we only enjoy during the holiday season. We rarely have candy canes, those awesome chocolate oranges that break apart into wedges or snickerdoodles in May. Then there are those treats we enjoy more often, but are extra special this time of year. What would Christmas be without a big creamy mug of Hot Chocolate? Well, we aren’t going to find out, but we are going to sexy it up a bit and make a more adult version of this decadent treat with a nod to those chocolate oranges. So in that spirit, please join me for the seventh of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the seventh drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, Orange Hot Chocolate”.

Coquito

December 19, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Sixth Drink

We have been talking a lot about the signs of the season and the things we love. We don’t all love the same things though, and that is ok. My wife despises the popcorn Santa in this picture. I love, love, love, him. He is met each year with the traditional rolling of her eyes as I find somewhere I can see him and experience the joy he brings. Different strokes for different folks move the world, as they say. We should embrace our differences, celebrate how diversity keeps things from getting boring and most of all, learn to appreciate those things that others love. So in that spirit, please join me for the sixth of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the sixth drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Coquito.”

Hot Buttered Rum

December 18, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 3 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Fifth Drink

Decadence is the order of the day, as it almost always is during the holidays. It seems like we play by slightly different rules during this time of year. We are a little more free with our budgets. Whether, this means extra gifts for people and charitable giving, which is always a good thing or going a little heavier on the sweets. The holidays are a time for indulgence. I am not casting stones here, I had a red velvet cupcake for breakfast, so I am in no position to judge. I am, however in a position to enable and this evening’s drink is seriously decadent. So in that spirit, please join me for the fifth of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the fifth drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Hot Buttered Rum.”

Peruvian Christmas

December 17, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Fourth Drink

It is about more than giving and getting presents or spending time with the one’s we love. It is about more than street corner Santa’s or the spirit of charity in the air. In many ways, for me, it is about the smallest things. A single lit tree in the yard of the same house I have driven by for the last twenty years. That tree was decorated by someone I have never met, in front of a house I have never visited, but it always makes me smile the first time I drive by and see the lights are there once again. How many of the things we love, those signs of the season that mean it is Christmas, are done each year by strangers? How many of our own decorations or rituals signal that same thing to people we have never met? Like Clarence said, each of us affects so many others, without ever realizing it. It gives one pause. So in that spirit, please join me for the fourth of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the fourth drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Peruvian Christmas.”

Lemon Syllabub

December 16, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Third Drink

In a lot of ways Christmas is sort of the season finale. Sure, New Year’s is coming, but that is more of an epilogue or the first episode of the next season depending on how you approach it and how much you have to drink that evening. The season of giving really is a time for remembrance, a time to look backward, not just at the ghosts of Christmas past, but the entire year. A time to remember the little wins and losses that pass the time, that make our memories, that make us who we are. We are going much further back for this evening’s exploration of the spirits of the season disguised as a history lesson. So in that spirit, please join me for the third of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the third drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Lemon Syllabub”.

Peppermint Martini

December 15, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – Second Drink

I started my morning making coffee, looking out the kitchen window at the frost as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” played in the background. The lights from the tree were reflected in the frosted glass and it was just a nice quiet moment. I’ve never been a huge fan of that song, it’s a fine thing and I sing along, but it’s just not one of my favorites. It hit me this morning, though, perhaps for the first time. So in that spirit, please join me for the second of The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the second drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, a Peppermint Martini.”

Clyde Common Eggnog

December 14, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

The 12 Drinks of Christmas – First Drink

We are properly into the holiday season now, with people from many faiths and no faith at all celebrating this special time of year. We move together through this unusual season, which doesn’t look like anything we have seen before. Visiting with family and friends virtually instead of in person, ordering gifts for delivery, it is a strange time indeed. While we may not be in the same room, we can be joined in spirit, celebrating those ties that bind, helping us make it through these unprecedented times, knowing that some day soon we will be together again. So in that spirit, please join me for The 12 Drinks of Christmas. Sing along at home, if you like, because, “For the first drink of Christmas, Uncle Monkey made for me, Clyde Common Egg Nog.”

Drunk Uncle

December 13, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I am blessed with four wonderful niblings, two nieces and nephews. My brothers kids all predated Liam, so Laura and I got to make a practice run at parenthood with them. When they were little we drug all three of them, in their time, all over the place with us. Actually when Laura and I met, she thought that Mason might be my kid, since we spent so much time together. When the time came for us to have our own live-in offspring, Mason, Tori and Andrew all stepped up to help us out. A year after Liam came along Laura’s brother and wife introduced us to Annelise, my littlest niece, who I also adore and wish I got to see more often. The point is I love being an uncle and I am damned good at it. Don’t believe me? It’s true, ask around. That said, I try to set a good example for the younglings, while still being honest with them, shooting straight and admitting my many shortcomings. So, in that spirit, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Drunk Uncle.

Milk Punch Two Ways

December 12, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The father celebrates a birthday today, so we are making a drink for him. As you get older it seems harder to find things to give for birthdays and Christmas, at least within the family. We all have everything we could wish for, except for more time and none of us can afford that. So instead of giving dad some socks or a tie or yet another desk accessory, I am going with trying to recreate an experience, so won’t you join me now as we stand and make Arnaud’s Milk Punch.