Shake ‘Em Up

A friend stopped into town last week for a visit and handed me a paper handled bag filled with vintage books. “Here,” she said. “Teri found these at an Estate Sale and thought immediately of you!” I happily accepted them and tossed the bag into the trunk of my car.

A few days passed before I had time to sift through my lovely gifts. I love old books – the way they smell, the feel of the paper, the penciled in notes from previous owners, and most of all, the content. There were definitely some interesting titles here, “69 Ration Recipes for MEAT”, no publish year listed, but early 1940s assumed. “Living in State – The Adventures of a Foreign Service Wife” – published 1959. And my personal favorite “Shake ‘Em Up” – A practical handbook of polite drinking, published in 1931.

“Shake ‘Em Up” is filled with gems like, what to serve if conversation languishes and your party needs a “Shot in the Arm”. Haven’t we all been there?
Or, how to prepare a phony bottle of booze, a “Bottle for a Certain Purpose”, for that party guest who doesn’t know when to say when. I may know one or two of those sorts!
And one I’ve tried just recently, “Hot Weather Drinks” – which “consist of Juleps, Highballs and Rickeys, and also the magnificent John Collins, whoever he was.” My latest Summer soiree was a hit thanks in large part to the Joe Rickey, a whiskey, lime, and seltzer concoction that looked fantastic served in my tall vintage ice tea glasses!

This skinny little hardcover publication “made for people who fling parties, people who go to parties, people who just have a table of Bridge, people who don’t really drink but feel that a cocktail or two enlivens conversation – in short for the American people in the twelfth year of Volstead, 1930.” is chock full of drinking etiquette, recipes and menu suggestions that may have been written for a certain time, and even a certain American, but prove no less entertaining and valuable today. My parties and gatherings will indeed be richer for its discovery!

I’ll leave you with this final excerpt on the possible ways to stave off the impending hangover. Cheers to the party flingers!

“Try to impress upon your subconscious that you must not go to sleep or to bed while your head is whirling. The penalty is a marvelous hangover. Drink quantities of water and hot coffee and keep moving; take violent exercise if you can. An extremely hot bath is also recommended, though it induces drowsiness. Another successful antidote for imprudent absorption is a series of long and very deep breaths. Fill your lungs completely, but rather slowly. The amount of alcohol one can work off in this way is amazing.”

MadMen Yourself

Be Sleek, Be Stylish, Be Yourself…

At some point in high school – I decided that I was born about 40 years to late. I should have been a child at the tale end of the depression,  a teenager & young woman during the innocence of the 50’s, and a totally rockin’ housewife at the height of mid-century goodness in the 1960’s.

While I can’t time travel and change my destiny – I can definitely enjoy some of that 60’s deliciousness as served up by the AMC hit series ‘Mad Men’. Whether you consider yourself a Dirty Martini or a Classic Manhattan – this fun site lets you create a retro version of yourself, or whoever you’d like to be!

Design is Key

I’m always one for forgetting which key is to what.

 This seems like a surefire way around that!

Crackin’ the Whip

I took this pic of the “Bullwhacker” in Helena, MT earlier this summer.

He was erected as a tribute to Helena’s gold rush settlers as a symbol of their perseverance and dominance over the oxen leading their wagons. It’s been flashing through my memory in recent days and I’m beginning to feel that he’s crackin’ that whip in my direction. Enough with the gentle nudging…time to GET TO WORK!

Almost too late – but not quite.

Hemp-Hemp-Hooray!

Hot on the heels of Maine and Hawaii, Oregon looks to become just the 7th state to allow farmers to cultivate hemp, which still technically violates federal law. Here’s a brief write up of the hemp hullaballoo…http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/here_comes_hemp_and_oregon_is.html

stop motion beauty

This song was used in a Chevrolet commercial. Funnily though, Oren has never owned a car.

Remembering Les Sarnoff

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Les Sarnoff last week. His calming voice and keen sense of humor were always a comfort. A great loss for not only KINK.FM, his family and friends – but for the Portland community as a whole. Rest in Peace Les.

Two for your Queue.

My last two Netflix have been good ones – both French. One fun and flirty and sweet and touching. The other powerfully poignant and deep and haunting. I always thought I didn’t like French cinema…

PRICELESS

I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG

Rest In Peace

A dear friend lost his sweet Mother this week. May her rest be peaceful and filled with high white mountain peaks.

“With her passing, Diane escaped a body that had confined her for so many years, the world lost a generous humanitarian and vivacious lover of life, the Park City community lost an activist and many many people lost a dear friend.”