Binkomonster!

Satan's Whiskers and a Calm Soul out on the Ver-Ahn-Da

 
Ok that there? Is one happy little VeePee.
He's had a whole day of grand adventures. Dim Sum. Getting dirty at the park.
Napping at Whole Foods. Extra long bubble bath with the CEO. And now? In his little office filing things. Bizzy, and happy little man.
Which brings us to the other staff. What have we been busy doing?
What else? Researching more cocktails!
Behold, our new recipe last week.

Hello my friends. So nice of you to stop by on a Saturday night to pay a visit. Mr. Glass? Meet Ms. Peychaud's Bitters. Oh and over there? Oh that's The Honorable Tanqueray Rangpur. Just in from Bevmo. We don't know much about that Vermouth guy. Always see him hanging around, but well dressed. And well mannered. Now you'll excuse us as we have to pay our tributes to Mr. Hendrick's. Well, maybe drag him into a dark room when no one is looking and....

The ice. We always start with the ice. Interestingly enough, whilst perusing the intarwebs this week, we came upon a gem of a site. Not only cocktail recipies, but little instructional tidbits on things like zests, mint, straining techniques, and (lo and behold) ICE. Turns out, ours is perfect. Hee.

Sigh. The lemon. Citrus addict. Can't help it. Goes in EVERYTHING.
Made a promise this week however, to try and expand the skills to make things that require ingredients other than lemon. Or lime.
And it's proving not as difficult as originally thought.

Sustenance. Before and during cocktail imbibing is usually a pretty good thing. Costco? You are evil. Bulk size nuts. With salt.
We've had to hide these. Otherwise things would get ugly.

Ingredient one. Hangar One has apparently been busy of late. Turns out they have a spiced pear vodka. And a chipotle one! (That apparently is really good for Bloody Mary's, we'll have to put that to the test).
But spiced pear vodka? How can you go wrong?

Aaaand our good friend, Canton. Potent to be sure. But SUCH a good mixer.

We'll skip with the pleasantries of the mixing and go straight to business. That would be 'the pour'.

 

Final product. Cloudy enough, but if you squint real hard, you can see the luscious little maraschino cherry (the REAL kind from Italy, not the neon red crap you get at your local A&P).

 

The verdict? The CEO seems to like it. Good enough for us. And now, to retire to the rest of that cocktail we have 'marinating'. Happy Saturday.

You Should Take Some Pictures of the Veggies...

Uh. Ok.
This is my best modeling impression. With said fresh vegetable. Well, leafy thing anyway. And of course the glass of wine. The sweater? Courtesy of Marina Rinaldi. Shirt? Eileen Fisher. Skin? Water when I remember to hydrate. Creme Ancienne by Sugar, and the occasional facial. Wine? Binkomonster Syrah (2005). Bags under the eyes? Heh. Oh, that would be 'tha man', and well, life.
Need to go put that glass of wine away. In my digestive tract. And search for some food to go with it. The CEO is making some lovely Bolognese, so that should fit the bill. Another 24 and the weekend will be here. With promises of having some steak on the deck (and smores), and good company with debriefing on recent vacations. Another reprieve from the anxiety. Another block where I get to put the never-ending stream of overhead, and red-tape, and to do on the shelf. And just simmer in home life and friends.
Happy Thursday internets.

On the Deck. Really.

Yep. 3 day weekend, and finally, on the last day, Im on the deck in the morning, with a cup of tea, and the sun shining on my feet. Those them there plants? Yea they aren't dead yet. Hee. No in fact they are growing quite nicely. It's a little on the cool side this morning, but quite comfortable. Taking the opportunity to relax before what we know will be another killer week. Yesterday, finally able to get the castle SCRUBBED clean from top to bottom. Laundry is done. Veepee's quarters are organized. We are set until the new desk comes and we have more upheaval. And today? Cooking at home, going to checkout a new park, and then of course, doing some work later tonight. The castle cleaning was certainly theraputic on a number of levels. The OCD itch got scratched, but more importantly? It allowed a chance to think and reason through all of the anxiety being felt about the new gig for 'tha man'. The anxiety continued this morning of course. For some reason, just reading through email seems to set it off. Don't know why. The formula for success is still the same (boil it down to simplest parts, fix it, make everyone see). Yet for the first time in a long time... there is nervousness. There is the feeling of 'gosh, do I have to do this all myself'? There is the 'oh man, gotta get this done in the next 5 days, YIKES'. And really? These are all self-induced. No one is waiting with a checklist in hand to see it all done by Friday. Well, except maybe for the peer set (but that's another challenge). Maybe it's the fact that the new gig is going to eat away at Binkomonster time, which is more precious than gold, diamonds or platinum these days. The VeePee is picking up new skill sets faster than the blink of an eye, and the desire is strong to not want to miss one microsecond. Ahh the tug. Isn't this what the 'Mommy Wars' are all about? And yet, it is important to skirt the literature and not pay attention. Once you get sucked in, the opposing points of view do nothing more than to create more consternation and confusion, which is not something that is needed right now. Clarity. As much of it as possible. Funny, the thought was 'if we could bottle clarity and sell it, think of the riches!' Yet, in some sense, is that not what 'consultants' and CEOs do? Consultants, Life Coaches, Lifestyle Organizers... this is what they are all shilling no? Decluttering your life, getting down to simplest pieces, and getting to the 'answer'. All for $n dollars an hour. Hmmm.
Last night? Made 4 different (very small) martinis for the CEO.
1. Candy Apple Martini
2. The Can Can Martini
3. Regular Martini
4. Um... don't remember now, some kind of fruity martini..
Numbers 1 and 2 were a big hit. (and that's probably because actual other bottles of liquor were pulled off the shelf to make them... some St. Germain, a bit of Chambord...)
We'll have to do some more experimentation next week. Like say, with some rum (been craving Pina Colada's and Mai Tai's for some reason lately... probably so that we can use those awesome Shag Tiki mugs which are collecting dust).
But for tonight, a nice mellow Chardonnay should do the trick.
And a few chapters of Umberto Eco.
Happy Monday.

Little Man. Big Cute.

Oh Mr. Veepee. This week now marks your 10 month anniversary in office. Yippee! Just when we think  you can't get any cuter. You do. Those teeth. That laugh. Those edible toes and feet. That killer smile that could melt rocks. Sigh. Our collective hearts ache with love. You have been 'bizzy' this past month. You zoom around in your little spaceship practicing this thing called 'walking'. And when you are let off the tether, you crawl, and pull yourself up on anything you can. You like to bang on things. And the CTO is noticing you have a disturbing tendancy to gravitate towards toys that are more like tools (i.e. hammer). You like to take those toys and use them on household items. Like the B+B glass cabinet. Um. No. And the fascination with wires? Oh please, just let it go. Its just electricity in a copper and rubber conduit. Not tasty. Not interesting. You take as much joy in the little laser toy meant for the furry staff as they do. Funny how a play session turns into an attempt to nab the small point of light and avoid being run over by you at the same time. You keep it interesting. Spring is here, and summer is slowing approaching us. Soon it will be time for you to take to the skies and visit the corporate offices on the East Coast. Some very important meetings are all lined up for you. You know it's important that you check on how things are going, and offer encouragement to the enterprise in these crazy times. Hee. In the meantime, the CTO/CEO are digging in their heels and trying to keep it all on an even keel. We do better some days than others. Always trying to keep it all in perspective and, as they say, count and savor our blessings. The castle is quiet of late. No renovations or improvements (well, except of course if you count the Laundromat disaster, but that wasn't planned for so in our books, it doesn't count). We do have a new desk on the way for your room. One that is of course, modern, Italian, fits in with your decor, and most importantly, takes LESS space. But other than that, the digs seem to be holding up pretty darn well.
Happy Saturday little guy. Stay happy. Keep curious.