Fireside Friends – 5:00 Fridays

We’ve had glorious fall weather in North Carolina this week. Sunny days in the upper 60s/low 70s make for gorgeous dog walking weather. There’s a nip in the air in the mornings, but the sun is in full force with blue skies wrapping the day up in a picturesque package. It has been perfect boots and skirt weather, and that simple combination makes me deliriously happy. Bird has been playing football in the backyard, and Deal has been gathering sticks to make a sling shot for his camping trip. We are in the midst of fireside season. Our patio furniture is naked right now. The cushions were terribly yucky beyond repair so we guiltily threw them out. The naked chairs are uncomfortable, especially for a short person like me. If we’re really going to enjoy our outdoor fire and embrace fall, we need some new cushions.

Once Mac Daddy tastes this perfect fireside cocktail, he will want to invite over some friends to bundle up and breathe in the fall air with us. But those friends will know that the patio furniture is killer on the bum so they’ll turn us down with fabricated stories of sick kids or an inexplicable rash. Mac Daddy will even offer to turn the ginormous TV to face out so we can be totally first world and watch football while enjoying a fire outside. Still, said friends will say no, knowing darn well they need to spare their hineys.

Eventually, all our friends will turn us down, and Mac Daddy will be forced to spend every minute with me. This will surely turn him into Mad Daddy. I feel like he has some brand equity in Mac Daddy so I’d hate to see that happen. We will be forced to buy new patio furniture cushions, not that that’s my ulterior motive or anything.

Fireside Friends

1 ounce bourbon (Makers Mark is our bourbon of choice.)
Equal parts cranberry juice and Trader Joe’s Pear Cinnamon Cider (about 3 ounces of each)
Cinnamon stick

Heat the cranberry juice and cider and pour into a large mug. Add the bourbon. Give it a stir with a cinnamon stick.

Come on over for a fireside drink! BYOC – Bring your own cushions.