Scarlet O'Hara

I'm at the point in the year when monotony dominates. It seems like my life consists of waking up, going to work, picking up my daughter from preschool, preparing dinner, spending a little bit of quality time with the family, giving my daughter a bath, and before I know it, I'm ready for bed. Then I get up the next day and do it all over again. Of course, I'm not alone in this. The rest of my family follows the same routine, and many readers of this blog probably adhere to a similar schedule.

When this monotonous funk afflicts my soul, I rebel. I, like Dylan Thomas, will not go gently into that good night; I will rage, rage against the dying of light so, I seek out activities to reclaim my mojo. I know life is just a series of mostly ordinary events. However, I believe we have the power to occasionally make the ordinary extraordinary. We can slow down the sands of time and savor the gifts life has bestowed us.

This is why I'm resurrecting our cocktail of the week ritual. Two years ago I gave my wife a cocktail shaker for her birthday, and every Friday we tried a new cocktail. This was a healthy way to unwind after a hectic week. However, this ritual got lost in the daily grind of life. After a seven-month hiatus, today marked the triumphant return of the cocktail of the week. After a seven month hiatus, this week I'm resurrected this ritual.

This afternoon we mixed up a batch of Scarlet O'Hara cocktails, a refreshing drink that had us speaking in a sweet, syrupy Southern drawl after a few sips. We perfectly ended our week - sipping drinks, grazing on chips and salsa, talking about the events of the wek, and planning our weekend. We successfully made the ordinary extraordinary.

Scarlet O'Hara

Things You’ll Need:

• 4 ounces Southern Comfort
• 2 ounces lime juice (approimately 2 limes)
  
• 4 ounces cranberry juice
• Cocktail mixer and strainer
• Cocktail glass
• 6 cranberries for garnish
  
• ice
  

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and all teh ingredients except the cranberries. Shake vigorously until the outside the shaker is beaded with sweat and frosty.

Strain into cocktail glasses, garnish with cranberries, and serve.

Makes two 5-ounce drinks, or you can you make yourself one 10-ounce drink.