winter potpourri/drink/brew

Into a small pot put

apple cider
pieces of lemon peel and/or orange peel
cinnamon sticks (the more cinnamon sticks you use, the sharper the taste)
whole cloves
a bit of nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

Simmer atop the stove on very low heat. Add more cider as needed. A couple of years ago, I forgot to do that and caused a stink (literally). Short of that, the above will make your home smell yummy and Christmas-y.


I am the only one in my family who enjoys actually drinking the above brew, but I make it even when I don't feel like having it because we all enjoy the fragrance. It blends well with cooking and baking smells, too.

If you don't intend to drink any, I guess you can use water instead of cider, or some of both.

I'll run it by her. Do you add a shot of gin? Maybe rum would be more in keeping with the season.

We would need to acquire all the ingredients. The ingredients are probably not available here in "town". If I had read this before yesterday afternoon we would have gathered up the ingredients then, when we did some grocery shopping.

Grocery stores in the big city have a wider range of products than our local store does. But they are around a thirty mile drive. The drive alone is a physical challenge for me. Then, walking in the store takes a toll.

I slept all night and most of the day to finally awaken feeling better at 3:00 PM! That is how I deal with physical pain, I sleep. About the only serious pain remaining is in the neck vertebrae—from steering the van. The stenosis.

I know, too much information.

But I will show her. Maybe we have exotics such as nutmeg and cinnamon.

except that I buy cinnamon sticks only for this purpose, so I should have known. (You can sprinkle in the powdered variety, I guess?) Nutmeg is not a necessity at all. I do like the cloves, but you could probably get by with only cinnamon and cider (or some apple slices, mabye?--never tried that, instead of cider. I did forget to mention to wash the outside of the oranges and lemons, though. That is not something I always do unless I am about to zest the skins with a grater for some reason, which I don't do often. I just assume that peeling the relatively thick skin will take care of any problems, but I probably should not assume that.

Sleep is how we all deal with physical pain and its causes.

The body can heal itself only while you sleep and are not requiring it to do things like digest, breathe often or fuel you as you go to the fridge to grab lunch or fix yourself a cuppa. When you are sleeping soundly, not eating and breathing less often, it can do its thing. So, basically, it knows how to conk you out when it needs you to stop hogging its resources with your waking activities.

I learned this after surgery. I kind of knew it viscerally because you will generally feel better with a cold or flu after you've had a few night's good sleep and both doctors and mombs prescribe bed rest all your life. But, after a pretty big surgery, I really "got" how necessary sleep is for healing even a small cut or a tiny burn.

No worries about too much info. I tend not to mention some things unless they are really pertinent, but only because being in denial works better for me than "sharing." If denial works for you, too, fine. If not, share away.