I’m definitely a strong supporter of getting my hands dirty, both literally and figuratively. Rolling up my sleeves and doing whatever it takes to make it happen: the job, the dream, the dishes, the groundwork, the coffee.

Today is one of those extra dirty days. I scrapped my earlier introduction here because I just have to keep it real. I let the basement flood last night. This actually happened. I was home alone, happy to have an unexpected evening off. I had been catching up in the garden, planting the last of the peppers, and I walked inside the front door. I heard a fluttering sound coming from the vent. I jiggled the lever and figured that something like a piece of paper was lodged in the ducts. No big deal. I had a shower to get after.

Fast forward to midnight, when I picked up Steve from work. As I was unlocking the front door, I casually mentioned the odd sound coming from the vent in the living room. I was excited to lead him by flashlight through the front yard, so he could see the peppers I had planted earlier. He tossed his backpack to the side and briskly walked downstairs to further investigate.

“Oh, my God.” I heard Steve’s words bellow through the house, and I knew the problem was far worse than I’d imagined. I ran down the stairs to the basement, and I took my first step onto soaking wet carpet. That rattling noise I thought was a flapping piece of paper? That was the sound of water spraying onto our furnace, pooling around our puzzles and games, seeping under our storage boxes, and collecting in the laundry room. A connecting hose on the water heater had sprung a leak, and the pressure behind it was too much to contain. No wonder the cats were acting weird all night. I look back, and it all makes sense.

Our hot showers never happened. The late-night garden walk was forgotten. Instead, I collected some cold tap water before we shut down the water for the night, so that I could take a cold shower in the morning.

I couldn’t get to sleep until past 3:30, so when I woke up this morning, all I could think about was coffee, coffee, COFFEE. Temporarily forgetting that we were without running water, I turned on the tap. Not even a drop came out from the faucet. I had an important decision to make with the water I’d thankfully set aside last night: I was either going to make a pot of coffee with it or use it to take an awkward, cold bath.

Coffee won.

Of course, it did. It always does. Before I get ready to leave for work, I’ll jump on to the recipe I’ve been excited to share with you for a few days. I’ve been on a gin fizz kick here lately, either with or without the addition of egg whites. This particular recipe is a riff on the classic Ramos Gin Fizz. It was the very first egg white cocktail I made. I think it’s also the most complicated of the egg white cocktails.

My rendition follows the classic recipe almost identically, except for two things: I swapped out rhubarb liqueur for the simple syrup, and I subbed – wait for it – brut rosé for the splash of soda. Next level deliciousness.

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rhubarb + rosé ramos gin fizzes

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• 1 1/2 ounces gin {I used Aviation. Yes, I’m on a bender with it.}
• 3 to 4 dashes orange blossom water
• 1 organic egg white
• 1/2 ounce full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 ounce rhubarb liqueur {see this post for the recipe}
• ice
• 1 ounce rosé {I used Chandon Brut Rosé}
• 1 strawberry, sliced, for garnish

1. Fill a tall flute with the rosé and set aside.
2. In a mixing tin, combine the gin, orange blossom water, egg white, coconut milk, lime juice, lemon juice, and rhubarb liqueur.
3. Without adding ice, shake these ingredients well for a full 30 seconds.
4. Add ice and shake again hard for another 30 seconds.
5. Slowly double-strain the mixture into the prepped flute.
6. Garnish with sliced strawberries.

• If you don’t have rosé, you can always substitute soda water. But why?
• Don’t want to make rhubarb liqueur? You can deliciously substitute Art in the Age’s Rhubarb, if you can find it.

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→ get the recipe for the rhubarb liqueur right here ←

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So, I’m proudly going into work without a shower. I’d rather be fully caffeinated than squeaky clean. And on a more serious note, I’d appreciate any thoughts and prayers you can offer for my dad. Just moments ago, I received a phone call from my sister that he fell and hit is head this morning and is in the hospital in ICU. His blood-thinning medications caused bleeding in his brain. It has affected the movement on his left side of his body. I’d clean up a hundred flooded basements to fix his situation and be there for him.

I’ll close with a few photos from the garden I took this weekend, and I’ll add a few to-dos for all of us:

• Don’t be scared to roll up your sleeves and deal with what’s at hand. We are all stronger than what we give our selves credit.
• Go out and try something new. Like a Ramos Gin Fizz. Making a superb egg white cocktail is like a rite of passage in the cocktail world.
• Most importantly, hug the ones you love and tell them you love them. TODAY.

Big Xs and Os and much gratitude,

Jayme