Continuing the discussion from Sinner's Alley Happy Hour (Part 1) - #13435 by ChoatieMom.
Previous discussions:
As from the original post:
Sinner’s Alley Happy Hour should be used to tell about something that went right, or tell an amusing anecdote, or maybe a joke. The emphasis should be on fun and if you want to be taken seriously, it is probably not the right place to hang out. (Can you hear the Cheer’s theme music playing in the background?)
It’s quiet in here and a bit early for drinks (mimosa, please, light on the OJ), but the stool is comfy, and I need something to help me unsee my neighbor’s handyman using the porta-potty in their front yard, door too ajar. They’re having work done and wish to keep the men outside as much as possible. Earlier in the week, I had asked the neighbor if he were adding an instant powder room or just experimenting with lawn ornaments which caused him to launch into a very defensive explanation of why the blue outhouse was necessary/temporary.
I guess a year of isolation has impaired the poor man’s sense of humor. Or, that second martini impaired my usually exquisite delivery. In any case, it’s nice to ponder some of life’s odder moments here in this COVID-free watering hole.
I have my nightly glass of wine at 6:00 p.m. If I’m feeling really rowdy, I’ll have it at 5:55. But I’m out of wine, so tonight, I’m going to go crazy and share a large bottle of raspberry cider with my daughter.
This bottle of cider had better be good, because it was expensive. When I first visited the UK during my semester abroad in the 80’s, cider was the drink of choice for people who didn’t have enough money for spirits or wine. It was cheap and a bit, well, trashy. (That’s how I would describe myself as a 20 year old California girl let loose on the world, 
.) And so tonight, I’ll be sharing my expensive and trendy drink with my college grad daughter who is living at home to save money, as she waits for the green light to move to the city where her full time job is located.
I’m going to enjoy my cider tonight. I’m going to enjoy the juxtaposition of being glad I have this extra time with my daughter living at home, while at the same time knowing that she would rather not be living at home. She’d rather be living the life of a 20-something year old, going out every weekend, sharing a cider with a friend in a fun bar or restaurant.
I know she’s going to enjoy the cider too, but I also know she is longing for her freedom and longing for her own life. She’s longing to buy herself a less expensive and probably not so trendy drink at a local watering hole with friends. I want that for her too, more than anything.
Raise a glass tonight to all those who are biding their time, hanging in there until they can find their own version of normal again.
Glad to see Sinner’s Alley revived 
H and I have been doing an almost-dry February (had a drink watching the Superbowl), but we splurged a bit for V-day, a Crozes-Hermitage and Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. Very much looking forward to tomorrow!
I went snowshoeing with my book club. Then we sat around a fire pit and drank hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. We eventually discussed the book! Very pleasant. 20s, sunny, and no wind. There are some positives coming out of all this!
Ooh, we all snowshoed today too! It was fun! But we should have brought a hip flask with Schnapps.
Our D & SIL have been working from “home” here, since Thanksgiving–avoiding some harsh midwest weather. It’s been terrific for this Mama, but I know soon, they’ll depart and get somewhat back into a normal life. One of the benefits of their being here is the exploration of many crafty cocktails. Last night’s happy hour was a true French 75 AND an Aviation. Both winners. Who knew that I’d like maraschino liqueur and crème de violette–I hadn’t even known of their existence!
Because we are detached from part 1 of this thread, I think it’s worthwhile to remind everyone that the purpose of this conversation is not to talk about alcohol directly but to share the stories the alcohol unleashes as we rub elbows with fellow sinners along the bar. From the OP (part 1):
Sinner’s Alley Happy Hour should be used to tell about something that went right, or tell an amusing anecdote, or maybe a joke. The emphasis should be on fun and if you want to be taken seriously, it is probably not the right place to hang out. (Can you hear the Cheer’s theme music playing in the background?)
Refer to post #1 for the rest of the “rules.”
Cheers!
With all the crazy stuff going on, I thought it might be fun to revive this thread and have a little fun. I’ve attempted to copy the original post below:
Curmudgeon and Mstee gave me an idea. (I hope Marite will return. Having Curmudgeon as a muse worries me.) I propose that we create our own happy hour here in Sinners Alley. Everyone is eligible to join since the primary qualification, i.e., being a sinner, is rather easy to achieve. In fact, I was taught that I managed to be a sinner even before I was born. See how easy it is!
I think we spend enough time planning, worrying, obsessing, beating ourselves up, and making our children crazy. I think we should have a place to go 24/7 for Happy Hour. Sinners Alley Happy Hour should be used to tell about something that went right, or tell an amusing anecdote, or maybe a joke. The emphasis should be on fun and if you want to be taken seriously, it is probably not the right place to hang out. (Can you hear the Cheers theme music playing in the background?)
Sinners Alley may be located in a disreputable section of CC town near Confidentlia College. It may even be the coffee house in Confidentlia College. I cant remember if we have one. (Do we have a bar?) Here in Sinners Alley we only have a few rules, and they will be flexible since it is unlikely that anyone will follow them anyway. I propose that we start with the following:
Rule 1. Do not post sad stories, complaints, express anger, frustration, etc. unless you can make it funny. And I dont mean ironic funny, better laugh than cry. At least I dont think I mean that there could be exceptions.
Rule 2. Jokes might be okay, but they should be good, and I suspect puns will be quickly outlawed.
Rule 3. Amusing personal anecdotes, stories about us or loved ones are preferred. These do not have to be current events, and they can be repeated from other threads. Most valued will be the anecdotes that remind us to keep all this in perspective and have a little fun along the way.
Rule 4. Sharing wonderful news and inspirational stories will only be allowed if they are tempered by a funny twist. So if you came back from injury to make the winning shot, you had to get re-injured when your teammates leaped on you in their excitement. If you were crowned prom queen/king, you had to mount the stage with TP stuck to your shoe. You cant share these stories unless you can now laugh about them or your therapist makes you do it.
Rule 5. Truth is encouraged, but embellishment and exaggeration is supported if it makes a better story. And of course, names can be changed to protect the innocent (and guilty.)
(You will notice that many of the stories from the COWARD Awards will qualify. Thats great because they were wonderful. They can be repeated for those of us who missed them the first time.)
Additional suggestions for rules or anything else are welcome. Come join us in Sinner's Alley for Happy Hour!
Maybe someone is having a mimosa this morning?! 
Whoo hoo, at 10:15 am I’m drinking a mojito and DH is having a glass of stout beer, to celebrate successfully completing the first leg of our plane trip home!!!
Wow! I was just thinking of this thread this morning while lamenting that the prep forum version of it (Miscellaneous Ramblings) went off the rails into no-fun-land so long ago that I don’t think it can be revived. So, I was thinking about pulling up a stool here to see what cocktail-worthy tales might be brewing on the bigger board. Cheers, @1214mom, for dusting off the bar and opening the saloon. It’s still a bit early, so I’ll have a spicy virgin Bloody Mary with bacon and lots of skewered nibbles while we wait for a few others to wander in. It’s cool in here, plenty of empty seats.
While I’m stirring my drink, I’m thinking about what a great time we had with our son a few weeks ago when he was up this way for a conference. We were enjoying pre-dinner cocktails in a charming old pub and laughing about the first time he ordered a drink in a fine establishment such as this:
A few months after he turned 21, he and DH and I were having dinner at a lovely restaurant on the Hudson that we eventually chose for his graduation dinner. The ambience and food were outstanding, and we were having the very best time. We started off with a round of gin and tonics and a sample of appetizers (we were testing the menu). Three amazing hours later, DH looks at the bill:
“Holy smokes, son! Did you have FIVE gin and tonics?”
“I guess so. There were very good, so I just nodded every time the waiter asked if I wanted a refill.”
Refill? He may have been new to legal drinking, but we have no idea how he got that far in life thinking that cocktails were like soda. Perhaps that second one impaired his thinking. DH showed him how 5 x $12 had affected the bill–you know, just a little post-dinner math.
Now, every time we go out, DH or I will say, “Watch those refills, son!”
Last night my wife and I headed out to try a very popular micro brewery spot that had just reopened. Heard it was popular but were shocked when we arrived to find a line of about 50 people. I told my wife with that sort of line this place must be awesome so we waited.
As we got closer to the front I noticed many if not most people were being turned away at the door. My wife said what do you think is going on, what’s the criteria to get in, it clearly isn’t just being qualified as those people are over 21. I persisted saying anything that exclusive has to be worth it.
We finally got to the door and the bouncer explained they practiced holistic admission. I quickly responded that my grandfather attended this very bar when it was an Irish pub 30 years prior, I was a world class darts player and was only visiting from North Dakota. Of course we were put on a short waiting list and then allowed to enter.
Once inside we had a great time!! I bought a sweatshirt and car window sticker it was so great.
This once again proves that time spent on CC is useful and applicable in the real world.
Cheers and love the thread idea.
My sin drink of choice today is a crisp French rose. We are at an outdoor concert venue in western MA. and it’s about 95 degrees. Thankfully, as we arrived a bit late and all the shady spots were taken, there is a nice breeze.
I’m pulling up a barstool, brushing away the peanut shells, and ready to hear some good stories.
Huzzah!
Our drink of choice this afternoon is frozen, and includes an entire grapefruit, Cran-Raspberry juice, and Deep Eddy’s grapefruit vodka. A little lime juice and Cointreau make it extra tasty. We enjoyed them while we figured out a couple of dinner reservations for our upcoming bicycle trip to the Finger Lakes region of NY (where I’m already looking forward to highs in the 70s!).
@ChoatieMom ’s reminded me of a story here.
My son went to a party, and he seemed fine to me when he came home. A couple hours later my husband woke me up bc said son was throwing up. I went into the bathroom…
Me: Hey - what’s going on?
Kid: I feel terrible.
Me: Hm, any idea why?
Kid: I think it’s because I drank alcohol
Me: What kind did you drink?
Kid: I don’t know, but I drank a LOT of it.
Fortunately, that only happened once. I think he learned from his mistake.
Best line ever.
The night before I tested positive for Covid I had my first-ever gimlet courtesy of ds2. Tasty but now I will forever have the pandemic association. Maybe I should’ve stuck to my usual Jack and Coke.
So my daughter house sat for us this weekend while we were in Wisconsin. I told her if she felt like washing the sheets, it would be appreciated (we had a TON of dirty sheets from all our cabin guests a couple of weeks ago). I was visualizing coming home and finding them washed, dried, and folded in the linen closet - she’s a good folder because she worked retail.
When we got home, she said she had even stripped our bed and washed the sheets because we’d let her sleep in it since the AC is in that room. Wow, I was impressed!
I went upstairs for the first time since we’d flown home about 10:30 pm, ready to collapse. Much to my surprise, there was a huge heap of clean sheets and towels in the hall outside the laundry room. OK, not folded as I had hoped… Then I reached down to pick up sheets for our bed, and everything was still VERY damp. Ack! So I had to stick the king size sheets in the dryer and wait for them to dry, then make up the bed before we could collapse. Today I will have to run several loads of stuff through the dryer, too.
I just thought it was funny. I get excited that my kids are finally growing up and then… 
