Hello Tuesday! It appears that we’re finally getting back to ‘normal’ temps here in the Pacific Northwest – mid/upper 70s to mid/upper 80s… none of the mid/upper 90s that ‘feels like 100+++’.

Ironically, we haven’t had rain since early June. I know, right?! Summer heat had a slow start (we even had a late April snow that thwarted getting any cherries off my three cherry trees – I wondered about that when we had an unexpected freeze and snow while the blossoms were fully bloomed. I’m waiting to see how my Quince trees fare – the fruit seems awfully small for this time of year. Though harvest usually happens late October, so there’s still time for development). But once that heat switch was flipped, it’s been crazy hot.

To cool off, I’m already thinking ahead for Christmas – I’ve been picking up gifts for family and friends already so I can be ahead of the major crunch that’s sure to come. Back when life was simpler (read: pre-kids, pre-husband) I always had my shopping and wrapping done by Thanksgiving so I could relax and enjoy the holiday season without having to stay up super late wrapping gifts (like I did the last couple of years – the night before those same gifts would be ripped open…heh!) I’ve got that same goal in mind for this year.

The finish in advance goal, not the night before goal. Just to clarify. 😉

Part of ‘thinking ahead’ is that every year I make homemade Kahlua to gift people at Christmas. Usually I brew a big batch over Thanksgiving weekend, but I think I’m going to start a bit earlier to make sure I have time to make the bottle labels and let it age more than the typical minimum one month timeframe. This year I’m going to make the Kahlua earlier so it’ll be more than ready in time for Christmas.

To that end, I ran across an idea via my Vanilla Bean group on Facebook (yes, there’s one dedicated to Vanilla Beans!) where someone else who makes Kahlua every year started steeping vanilla beans in vodka now, to get it ready for the Kahlua making in November. I loved that idea, so I followed her lead:

Way more vanilla beans than necessary, but I can always convert any extra into vanilla extract by adding more beans to whatever vodka is left over. If there’s any left over – I might have to start another bottle of vodka with vanilla beans to make sure I actually do have some left over to make vanilla extract. 😉

The vodka on the right, the Olympia Artesian Vodka, is fabulous – and it’s created/distilled/made by a local couple that live right here in our tiny town! I’m going to make a ‘special edition’ version with that special vodka, of course. I’m looking forward to seeing how that one turns out. The vodka on the left is a Texas vodka that was recommended by a friend – clean tasting, so it should also make a fabulous Kahlua. I’ll keep you posted.

Well, that’s enough of all that, eh? Let’s dive into the funnies! Labor Day weekend usually denotes the end of summer, so this is valid and cracked me up:

This is funny:

This is hilarious:

This cracked me up:

This is funny:

This is valid (except the spelling of ‘crocs’, of course):

This is funny:

I absolutely love this:

This is funny:

This is hilarious:

This is funny (hint: you gotta know your cocktails):

I love this:

This is hilarious:

This is crazy (look closely):

This is hysterical:

I love this:

And I’m just going to leave this right here for you:

That’s a wrap for this week – you know the drill, link up and join the fun, everyone is welcome etm. 😉  

Link up your Random (or not) here:

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Keeping the random alive (barely) – feel free to snag a badge and play along – one for my wino friends:

Stacy Uncorked

And one for my non-wino friends:

Stacy Uncorked

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