5 scary ideas from the freaky mind of Martha Stewart

My Fellow Inebriates,

Like anyone with a shred of common sense, I am freaking terrified of Martha Stewart. Just one glimpse of her faux-smile-concealing-untold-depths-of-cruelty and I get the shakes. So it’s no surprise that Martha knows how to make some scary cocktails, even if she doesn’t know she isn’t exactly pulling off that haircut any more (that’s for my Nana, who pretty much digs Martha except for the ‘do).

Was she hardened by the Inside, or is Martha Stewart just that naturally spine-tingling? Check out some of her creations…

Sinister Cider Cocktail

You need some weird stuff to make this martini, including sanding sugar, whatever that is (is it edible?) plus an apple, if you haven’t crossed over into the liquids-only territory we true alcoholics inhabit.

Lychee and Grape Eyeball Martinis

Martha tells you how to make frightening garnishes, but leaves the martini itself up to us. Let’s mix a triple.

Black Lagoon Cocktail

OMG, some people say this is the stuff that courses through Martha’s veins. But, hey, with four ounces of vodka in it, who’s quibbling?

Swamp Sips

It’s slimy! It’s murky! It’s rimmed with file powder, whatever the hell that is. And it has tequila in it. Gimme that swamp mix.

Pina Ghoulada

This rum-based coconut-cream cocktail is designed to appeal to blood-drinking monsters. Martha specifies “good-quality rum.”

Okay. Okay. I, er…OMG, I LOVE Martha Stewart!! I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT MARTHA STEWART!!! She totally rocks that hairstyle and, OMG, does she ever know how to mix a drink!

I would get hammered with Martha any day. Morning, midnight, whatever.

ASTROLIQUOR for June 1-7—What the stars say you should drink!

My Fellow Inebriates,

Here’s your booze horoscope:

You can’t solve everything by yourself, Aries, especially while on a bender involving rum and apricot brandy. Ask a friend to help, not to mention share the booze, which should keep you alert enough to deal with your mounting email. There’s an important message in it, so clear your head a little if you want to find it. Avoid public transit this week at all costs! (And since you’ll be too drunk to drive, that means stay home.)

Taurus, the urge to see an old Capricorn friend consumes you this week—someone who used to excite you but has degenerated into a tequila-soaked lush. You can still enjoy a satisfying friendship even if the sparks are gone. Don’t fall into this friend’s habits, though, or you’ll be lying outside the liquor store all day keening to yourself.

You’re stuck working on a project with an annoying coworker, Gemini, and the urge to vent your anger could inflame the situation. But don’t vent it at innocent bystanders! Everyone will notice your maturity if you take the high road. What you need is some coconut rum to take the edge off. There’s no problem that can’t be solved with Captain Morgan.

Traffic will challenge you more than usual this week Cancer, especially if you deviate from your normal route or routine. In fact, all change is bad this week; even at work you should stay in a low-profile rut where you can’t be singled out for new responsibilities. If you can manage to stay invisible, all threats will pass. So take the bus, work quietly on the Penske file, and put nice, clear, odorless vodka in your flask. No fruity craziness until next week! Oh yeah, and, get a handle on your electronics so they don’t start beeping at 4:00am.

Leo, think about inviting friends and family over to your home for a nice dinner. They tend to picture you in filthy underwear, swilling rum from a styrofoam cup, so they’ll be surprised and delighted that you’re capable of hosting a civilized social occasion. It’ll be good for you too, if only because it inspires you to wash those skivvies.

Someone from your past gets in touch, Virgo. How exciting! You thought this person was just a one-off, sordid one-night stand in a squalid motel, and here he/she is wanting to hang out. You should definitely find out more about this person. What’s his/her star sign? Do you both love vodka with madeira and cherry brandy? Does your friend have chlamydia? By June you’ll have at least one of the answers.

Libra, usually you’re difficult to prank, but work-related distractions make you an easy mark for mischievous colleagues this week. If you let them frustrate you, tempers will flare up and a fight will ensue, drawing unwanted attention from higher-ups. You have a sweet thing going at work with your vodka flask. Don’t wreck it!

Keep an eye on your health this week, Scorpio. The stars are looking vicious—don’t let them punish you for all those apple martinis. Baby yourself a bit. Dress properly instead of putting yourself at the mercy of the elements. Walk slowly and pay attention to those around you—no one is attractive enough to warrant extra risks right now. This week is all about stasis.

Sagittarius, you’ll pass a test this week, but only with the help of an Aries. Of all the star signs, you’re the best at picking people up, so hit the neighborhood pub and start asking “What’s your sign?” Eventually you’ll find an intelligent Aries, but it might take a while, so pace yourself. No hard stuff (that means no Jell-O shots)… Stick to apple cider.

You have large, global concerns, Capricorn, which make everyone else’s day-to-day worries seem trivial by comparison. So consumed are you by world politics that you can’t stop lecturing, expounding from a bar stool while pickling yourself with pear vodka. You feel like a voice crying out in the wilderness, but make no mistake about it, people think you’re a douche. The best thing you can do is drink yourself past intelligibility so your friends don’t have to listen.

Aquarius, you’re all about superficial relationships lately, but one of your new friends is going to stick around longer than expected. In August you’ll realize you’re smitten—not just romantically but in all respects: hobbies, business, politics, relentless vodka consumption… How the relationship develops is up to you. The stars are very controlling but you can still steer this thing.

Pisces, the urge to socialize is strong with you this week, but so is the urge to lie compulsively! You tell people all kinds of shit, sometimes contradicting yourself and setting yourself up for trouble. It’s very hard to conduct yourself this way when you start tossing Kahlua into your coffee at 6:00am and progress from there. Just wait till a handful of friends get into a room together and compare stories.

STRONGBOW APPLE CIDER—An artful use of apples

All kinds of things happened while I was sleeping today. First of all, my dad is changing careers. I had no idea because I never ask him about stuff like that. I should, because how we get paid is pretty relevant to how we buy booze.

My dad is shutting down his business and taking a management job for another company. OMG! This means booze. Doesn’t it? Regular paycheques, a predictable booze budget?

Maybe some celebratory booze right now?

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The next thing that happened: a message for me on Plenty of Fish! Check it out, my fellow inebriates:

hey, 😉 wanna meet up tonight , for a good time 😉 call me 604 4xx 6xxx

I thought nobody was ever going to message me on Plenty of Fish. This woman is lovely and friendly and she wants to meet me tonight. I think I need some advice.

  • Should I wear clothes? All I have is a bow tie. Will that make my nudity more classic? Or more suggestive or Chippendales? Neither, perhaps?
  • Should I tell her I’m an alcoholic or just bring a discreet flask?
  • What does bus fare cost for bears?

And—oh no!—what if she is just messing with me? I decided to answer her note:

I’d love to meet you. You look like a very nice person. Is it okay if I bring a flask with me? (I am a functional alcoholic.) Also, should I wear clothes? Although I usually go nude, I hear it’s cold outside. Perhaps the frigid air would help me detect some anatomical details that have always eluded me. But I wouldn’t want to freak anyone out, haha.

Looking forward to chatting more.

LB

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Another weird thing about today was waking up surrounded by apples with faces. The kids have been augmenting apples with facial features for a contest called Artful Apple. The winner gets a family trip to the Okanagan. There were apples everywhere after the kids were done!

When I looked at them I immediately thought of STRONGBOW APPLE CIDER. Ordinarily I don’t gravitate to cider products unless I’ve exhausted the other alcoholic inventory. They are typically sweet and artificial with little more than a hint of actual fruit.

STRONGBOW is an exception. Tart, crisp, and definitively apply, this 5.3% cider is infinitely more refreshing than would-be competitors boasting flavors such as glacier berry, apple cinnamon, peach (keep going; the list is almost unlimited). What differentiates STRONGBOW is its lack of cloying sugar on the tongue. Clear yellow-gold in the glass and lightly sparkling, STRONGBOW serves up genuine apples—think Macintosh or Granny Smith, and not the rotten ones on the ground but the fresh, shiny ones in the orchard.

Compared to STRONGBOW, other ciders don’t even seem crafted for grown-ups. And looking at the kids’ apple efforts, I almost wonder if they wouldn’t care for a cider. A crappy dealcoholized one! And I’d toast their artful apples with a STRONGBOW.

So I just need my dad to put cider in the budget. He shouldn’t mind prioritizing that right now, right?