patience

Patience is a virtue,

Possess it if you can.

Seldom found in woman,

Never found in man.

That verse has been running through my head today, as I tried to finish up my shopping. I let people cut ahead of me in line and in parking spaces. I dealt with post office madness with aplomb. I didn't even freak out (that much) when I was rear-ended in traffic—the fact that there was no damage helped significantly.

I was doing my best to be that rare woman with patience. The virtue of patience fits the season in so many, many ways.

But from time to time, perhaps more often than we would like to admit, patience fails. That's where my friend M's sure-fire patience remedy might come in handy. She sent me this e-mail after a particularly trying day with her husband and a new (to him) snow plow. As you can see, I am not waiting until next summer to pass along the recipe. Some other deserving person might need it right about this point in the holiday season.

So...what does your friend do [after her husband tears up landscaping with his new plow because he didn't listen to her]?  I walk inside and make myself a Blueberry Martini at 1pm from my own homemade blueberry syrup.  Next summer, pass on this secret recipe.

Blueberry Syrup: Boil about 1 cup of sugar and 3/4 to 1 c of sugar to make a simple syrup (lighter on the sweetness if you don't like it too sweet); add about a 1/2 tsp of salt and a drop or 2 of vanilla; once boiling add in frozen blueberries (I usually add in about 8 cups of frozen blueberries); bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 mins;  use a stick blender right in the pot to blend together.  Cool and store in mason jars in fridge.  To use, I fill up recycled squirt bottles (ex. honey or similar plastic squirt bottles) and keep them in the fridge with the maple syrup. Delicious on pancakes, waffles or martinis (see below).

My Perfect Cure for the Inexplicable Stubbornness of the Male Species (OR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING)

2 shots of vodka
1 shot of triple sec
2-3 drops of Blue Curacao
2-3 drops of Rose's Lime Juice
1 shot of homemade blueberry syrup 

Directions:  Add all ingredients to shaker with ice;  shake for a few moments while you count to ten;  pour into a martini glass;  sit at a window with a nice view;  sip martini until it all feels better.  Repeat as necessary.