Moscow Mules, an adventure in drinking

Boy, have I been missing out or what?!

Moscow Mule as Wikipedia states is: "a buck or mule cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer and lime which was popular during the vodka craze in the United States during the 1950s. The name refers to the popular perception of vodka as a Russian product."

This tasty little beverage is one that I don't think I'd heard of until recently (according to the interwebs it's a "classic"). It was a complete mystery to me in all of my experience bartending until a regular at my current booze slinging establishment suggested that we add it to our summer menu.

I must say, I like this suggestion.

I googled it, because if you've ever had just about any "classic" cocktail there is a basic recipe though variations may occur. The base tends to look as followed,

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• ginger beer
• lime wedge for garnish

Ginger beer is non alcoholic in most cases and can be found in the soda/mixer section of any grocery store. It's pretty darned tasty. Similar to ginger ale though less sweet.

Some variations of the recipe include mint, simple syrup or rum but I think sometimes it's just best to keep it simple. More ingredients does not equate to better, you're just being difficult. :)

I challenge you to try mixing one up at home and share your thoughts. Great for our next summer-y day with some bbq'd chicken dontcha think?

Art Bus and More

At a certain point in my life I came to the realization that I wanted my children to know a sense of community.

To really know what that word meant.

We throw the word around often as a society. Community. But when it really comes down to it how many of us are participating to help it grow? What ideals do you wish and want and hope we carry as a whole as people that is lacking? I know we can all list what we'd like to see. How we'd love our city to grow, culminate art, music, literature, education....

At some point in life I decided that I was going to stop just thinking about these ideals and enforcing them in my home only, as though that was all that was in my power and start doing something.
I wanted to be a player not a spectator.
It's amazing how life works. You make a decision. You take the first step and that first step leads to another. You're walking, then you get into a steady trot until you are full on booking it.

I haven't reached running pace yet but I intend to.

It began with purchasing art, going to local shows, volunteering some shifts at our local community art center, and attending all of the local festivals. I don't go to all of the hip parties because I'm hip. (If you know me, you know this to be true) I like to support the arts. To do that you must do one of three things.

1. Make art. I do not do this because to be quite frank, I'm no good at it.
2. Promote art. Can't afford art? Pass it on. Social networking is a great aid in this. See an artists whose work moves you? I betcha he/she has a facebook page, twitter, etc. "Like", Follow~you'll get news on new shows, sales and events and can then share with your friends.
3. BUY art. Art doesn't have to be this unattainable thing. Prices will vary but the value is always the same: priceless. Surround yourself with art. It's good for the soul and insures that the artists can continue to make art. Art doesn't have to be a painting. It can be a pair of earrings, a sculpture, a magnet, a pillow, a photo, a book, music......the medium may change.

Want to see change? Growth? Positivity?

Get out there and make it happen. Take a step.

Now here are some photos from last nights Art Bus tour with Mayor Marilyn Strickland. Thanks to Miss Angela Jossy for bringing me one step closer to my running pace by recruiting me as an "assistant" of sorts.



LeRoy Jewelers/Art Stop



lots and lots of dog and cat bowls for auction for the Arf! event

Piece of cake

Wright Park Conservatory. A little piece of zen right in the middle of a city

Jewell Day Spa.

B2 Gallery

really a perfect walk to the bus.

The Manhattan Project

Get ready my friends.

I've decided to combine my favorite cocktail, my favorite drinking buddy and blogging.

It's called The Manhattan Project.

Each week we will visit one of many of Tacoma's finest establishments and indulge in their take on the mighty Manhattan.
Then I'm going to give you our thoughts.
After 8 weeks we will "vote" on our winner.

Who knows, perhaps with the hot summer nights appoaching we will choose a summer lovin cocktail and continue on our project adventure.

Just a Reminder

I can't say I practice each of these every day, but I try my darndest.

This hangs on our fridge for the whole family to look at every single day.

Picking up books on creativity are always a nice idea and tend to have projects, tips and ideas to keep you fresh. I am a fan of Stephen Kings "On Writing" and Julia Camerons "The Artists Way".

The Black Keys and My Little Family.

This is primarily a photo blog. I could do a music/concert review but did one the last Black Keys experience I had so well enough I don't want to sound redundant. You can read that review here.

these two will alway hold my heart.

<3's

Chris wasn't in any of the photos but he was there. This is Drew holding back his excitement. It's his first big concert. Boom.

great light show

shoes.

"this isn't a god damn rave" Dan tells us. Apparently it's a disco.

Filling this hour with nothing but absolute silence.

Save for the clicking of my keyboard.
The ice cream truck as it drives by (not entirely sure 55 degree weather warrants a chocotaco).
The crunching of Tim's Cascade Jalapeno Chips (it's deafening and delicious).

Not utter silence after all but a quiet that is rarely enjoyed during daylight hours in this home.

I'm thinking large thoughts, brainstorming big ideas, dreaming.

I'm also thinking about synchronicity.

What may seem absolutely coincidental and trivial may just be how the cosmos unite us. You are thinking of your best friend and they call that instant.

Your partner spouts the very sentence at the tip of your tongue that is unrelated to anything happening at that very moment. You are sitting there thinking "I'd really love and iced coffee" and they say out loud, "let's go get a coffee".

Maybe we tend to surround ourselves with like minds. Perhaps it's a good example of how you begin to pick up speech and body language patterns of those you most closely associate with.

Who's to say? You're explanation may be completely logical. Your logic may differ from mine. That's how logic works nowadays. The thought process may vary due to individual perspectives based on genes and predispositons, life experience, upbringing. That combination of nature and nurture that builds up our being and defines normalcies for us.

Meanwhile our motivation for different relationships evolve and come to be due to these. We can't always choose whos lives intertwine with ours but we can mold these interactions to desirable or not so desirable, meaningful or superficial, short or long term. But synchronicity is an organic development.
It's undeniable.






I'm going to start a zine. This is totally unexpected from me, oh.....wait, not so much, I mean c'mon. I've been dying to do something with all of my loose little ends lying about the house, on the bookshelves, in my journals. And synchronicity may prove to open an opportunity unforseen before. And I'm guessing, (as related to my last post) most certainly, an opportunity to collaborate. No this photo is not directly zine related. Except polaroids may come into play. <3 polaroids.

COLLABORATION

Tedx, if you haven't experienced some of these on YouTube or in person begin your adventure now. People, extraordinary speakers, inspiring and lifting us to levels that may otherwise seem daunting.

I've heard it's not the fear of failure that holds us back but the fear of success.

Seems a very backwards way of thinking.

But doesn't that have some truth?

I wanted to share this on Facebook and decided instead to save it here. This way I can come back to it with ease.

The art of collaboration in life.

Necessary to well being. Key ingredient of community. "There is no I in TEAM".

I quite like this~another moment of heart smiles.

obscenity

Okay, so this is not my usual ranting and carrying on.

The picture says it all for me.

I read a book titled "Cunt: a declaration of independenc" once, borrowed from a very rad chic I know (though borrowed may not be the correct term, it's still on my bookshelf) and even if I didn't agree with all of the views that lie within it's pages, it stirred something inside me.
I highly recommend it. You can read about some of her other titles and the author here.

Anyhow, saw this today and well worth sharing.