Ending with a Bang

For the holidays I have been concocting some interesting beverages in the traditional colours of the season. I'll admit that the intriguing shape of the bottles had something to do with my choice of flavours, but the green sour apple and red cranberry are both delicious. A little of either poured into a glass filled with seltzer or diet tonic water, ice and a dash of bitters, makes a zesty, low-calorie, non-alcoholic drink that's tasty but not sweet.

Diet tonic water is very hard to come by in small quantities, so when I buy a big two-litre bottle, I decant it into two smaller bottles that will fit into the tiny fridge in the family room. Last night I was doing just that. Did you know that tonic water at room temperature behaves much like champagne when the top is removed? I was doing my best to be careful, but some spillage was inevitable. I topped up the smaller bottles, capped them and put them away, and then Ron arrived.

"You spilled," he observed.

"Yes, just a little."

"Clean it up," he ordered sternly. It was only a little liquid, but I got a paper towel and swiped it over the bar. When I was finished Ron picked up the empty plastic bottle and held it by the top, brandishing it at me. I turned around, bent over and put my hands on my knees. Whack! Whack! I got a half-dozen swats on my bottom with the bottle. I felt the sting through my clothing.

"That makes a pretty good whacker," Ron commented. (He rates implements according to how much noise they make.) He kept the bottle in his hand and took it upstairs - whether he was taking it to the kitchen recycler or the bedroom toy box, I couldn't tell.

I'll find out soon, since it seems we are still celebrating the twelve days of Christmas.