Miller Time Friday: Dear Diary

I was a faithful diarist as a child and as a teenager, and then only sporadically in my 20s, 30s and 40s. 

If truth be told, I have used you all as my Dear Diary since June of 2012.

But late last year I began to miss the practise of writing it all down just for me.  It seemed so cathartic; soul-spilling in some ways, mundane-capturing in others.

I have, from time to time, kept a small journal in my nightstand for noting all of the things I am grateful for.  That has been a wonderful practise and it is has evolved from the typical rote "I am grateful for my friends and family" (which of course I am forever grateful for) to much more esoteric fare, such as being grateful for the way that the sunlight hit a certain tree that morning.

So in late December, off I trotted to the local bookshop and purchased myself a lovely diary:

 

I have been quite faithful to writing in it all month and it is nice to take the time to have a small remembrance of the day or to talk out something that is troubling me.

While I was at the bookshop, I spied this little gem:

Cook's One Line A Day is a variation of the company's One Line A Day, which assumes everyone can find the time to make note of one thing every single day.

I bought it as I thought it would be fun to track what I cooked when, and for whom.

You can see that earlier in the week I made homemade gnocchi, which was amazing by the way and enjoyed by Barry and I, our children, and our son's girlfriend, who is an honorary family member now.

I am thinking this will be very helpful for dinner party planning, as I am often wont to wonder if I've made the same thing before for a particular group of guests.  Since one of my happiest ways of showing my friends and family how much I love them is by cooking for them, it is fun (for me) to track this kind of thing.  Oh and it was $5 in the bargain bin!


Returning to writing in my diary daily is another step in reclaiming the full writer and person that I am.  Some days I write 2 or 3 pages, some days I write a paragraph.  But I always write.

I would love to hear whether or not you keep a diary and do you write in it daily or sporadically?

Since it is Miller Time, let's have a cocktail in honour of diaries, shall we?


F. Scott Fitzgerald liked a good cocktail AND he liked to keep a good diary. 

His preferred cocktail was a Gin Rickey which, while undoubtedly more of a summer drink, might make us all feel a little more summer-like as we finally wave goodbye to January and prepare for Valentine month, or as my friend Brian has so-named it: FOREVUARY.


Gin Rickey

2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. lime juice
Top with club soda
Lime wheel

Pour gin and lime juice into a chilled highball glass filled with ice cubes. Top with club soda, and stir gently. Garnish with lime wheel. Serve with two straws.

So long January - you've been a cold task master!

Have a fabulous Friday and stay safe out there!