Every so often life throws each of us a lot to handle all at once. The past four weeks or so have been one of those times for me. The behind-the-scenes events in my own life are nothing sensational. Or traumatic. There are, however, a number of shifts taking place that have required more attention than I’d expected to give. And so, I went quiet here for a month. Though I do not have a thrilling narrative to share, I still have a few things to say.
Read MoreDoing investigations for House Cocktails is fun and not just because there is drinking involved. Many drink creation stories have the same veracity as fables or parables. Maybe they hint at the truth of where a drink originated but no one can say for sure who thought it up. Even when a particular drink can be attributed to someone, other interesting history about its ingredients or where it was developed can often be found. This week, my search bot got two stories that make mention of some New Orlean classics while tracking “cocktail history.”

I just finished an article and handed it off to the editor. While I do have a few other pitches out, I await clarification about which idea that publisher wants and by which deadline. This kind of lull usually causes me to go on an inbox tidying frenzy, which I did earlier this week. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the search bots gots nuthin’ but Black Friday sales promos for me today.
Read MoreI can be the queen of procrastination when I have research to do. Thank goodness there are Google Alerts to help me out when I would rather be polishing my silverware by hand with a toothbrush than actually investigating a story idea. Let’s review the array of topics found by an alert I have set up to look for “coffee Portland” once a day.

Photo courtesy of David Haines. Some rights reserved.