Here and Now

 Right now I am...

Listening: to Preservation Hall Jazz Band the Marching Down Bourbon Street album. My parents recently took a trip to New Orleans and hearing about their adventure inspired me to pull this one out. 

Tasting: Maple Bourbon Lemonade - a wonderfully refreshing cocktail that is perfect for warm nights on the patio. I have to make plenty because the boys love it almost as much as I do (sans bourbon, of course!)

 Watching: old episodes of King of the Hill. It's a guilty pleasure but it sure does make me laugh!

 Smelling: the warm sweet scent of the jasmine that is blooming along some of the fences we pass on our daily walk. It comes and goes and always catches me by surprise.

 Feeling: content. I am pretty happy with where and who I am right now.

Anticipating: a new and exciting season of Red Sox baseball!

Enjoying: my standing date on Thursday nights with a sweet friend. Her three kids are quite a bit younger than my 3 but they all truly love being together. It's a joy to see!

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  Maple Bourbon Lemonade

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
2 1/2 cups cold water
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
mint leaves
good bourbon
ice

 Mix the lemon juice, water, and maple syrup in a 1 quart container. Fill a glass with ice and add a shot of bourbon. Gently bruise a mint leaf or 2 between your fingers and add to the ice and bourbon and swirl. Fill the rest of the glass with maple lemonade.

Cheers!