Nothing but blue skies, do I see
Blue days all of them gone
Nothin’ but blue skies from now on”

I have been singing this to baby girl lately. It adds an element of playfulness and starts our day with a spark of hope in the morning. I will continue to chant the Irving Berlin verse in hopes of it commandeering the approaching season I bemoan—the bleak washed-out interminable winter.So far it has done did us some good, particularly on this Sunday afternoon stroll. We even befell upon some water amid some concrete structures. It’s no Pacific, but it slowed us down just enough to appreciate the blues skies smiling at us.

I have even concocted up a shrub, a refreshing beverage I relish in sweltering months or when I am feeling a bit sullen or ornery.If you are craving something to hit the spot without a drop of alcohol, this does the trick with its dash of effervescence.

Enjoy it while festooning the nest with all that Fall has to offer, or while singing “Blue days all of them gone Nothin’ but blue skies from now on.”With the much-anticipating week in trope (not the literary one but the Greek origin tropos; turn, direction, way,) I’m also working on less vexing and more listening…let’s hope our next president will do the same.

The Making of a Shrub:

1 cup of sliced or mashed fruit (I used berries and pomegranates in this one, holding onto summer goodness)
½ cup to 1 cup of sweetener (I prefer to use honey closer to the ½ cup size)
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix fruit with honey in refrigerator for a couple of days. A significant amount of juice will form either strain it and mix with apple cider vinegar or if you are like me I prefer to leave fruit to ferment some more. Chill the shrub and drink with sparkling water or if there is reason to celebrate with some spirits. Stir, drink, repeat!