These are times no one has ever experienced. We have no guidelines to follow that I know of except for our own hearts and wills and do what is right for ourselves and our country.

Lets take care of ourselves and keep warm. We are in the second half of one of the very cold months so we may need a few ideas to help us work our way through the weather with things like warm beverages. In the summer we like to top off a hot day with a cool drink and in the winter times a hot drink is a very good reward.

The Hot Chocolate Bombs that took over the Internet can be a great starting point. At first they were only available in a few stores and they sold out in a flash. Then molds for making them sold out. Then the both the molds and bombs became somewhat available online but at a wild, high price! The prices did come down a bit and molds became more available. Then we also realized we did not need a “special” mold, we may already have something at home that would work just fine to make the bombs. Then we realized that making the bombs was not rocket science and with just a few basic pieces of equipment, you could be a master of that craft. Wow, that was a lot of “thens”! The bombs are really fun to watch pop apart and then mix and enjoy. Do not despair if you have no molds and wish to make the bombs. You could just spoon in the chocolate, drink mix, marshmallows, candy pieces, caramel sauce, or whatever you wish into hot milk, mix and enjoy. I also used tiny gummy bears, sea salt chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, crushed Heath bars, crushed candy canes, mint cookies, and I got some wonderfully different flavored candy bars at Coborns that got crushed up. Go for it!

Hot milk by itself is sometimes a winter treat but I really like to add freshly grated nutmeg and a touch of brown sugar to my cup of hot milk. (Hot milk drinks are often called “Steamers”). Of course, there are lots of other things to add to hot milk besides chocolate or nutmeg. A short list includes turmeric powder, vanilla, apple juice, red wine, bananas and ground oatmeal. There are a lot of hot milk with liquor recipes online if you decide that is the route you want to go. Christmas time has a lot of traditional milk based Christmas treats. No reason to only enjoy them at the Christmas holidays that is already overfilled with lots of goodies.

Coffee drinkers can also go beyond the regular enjoyment of the beverage. Here again, a wide range of additives can be used for an occasional enhancement. There are a number of flavored coffees already premade and available at most grocery stores. You do not need to invest in a whole pound of a certain flavor; do your own at home.

You can add your favorite spices and/or herbs to make a one of a kind drink. Mint is especially pleasing in coffee. Yes, you could pop in some chocolate that did not make it on the bombs! There is a big world of commercial flavoring syrups that would work for both milk and coffee. I would think that there would be a flavor or 2 that almost anyone would like. My supply includes lavender and white chocolate. The lavender was gifted to me by Friend Jackie and I don’t do much sharing with it! There are several very good brands available with a wide range of flavors. Some of the flavors do seem kind of weird to add to milk, coffee or drinks but then it’s your choice. A number of the syrups are available as sugar free. I have had no problem keeping the syrups at room temperature to remain useful. Oh dear, my mind is slipping out of the winter model and thinking about a Lime Italian Soda. That is an excellent hot weather drink so I do not know where that slipped into my brain. Maybe its “Have Syrup – Be Ready for Any Season”. See how it works for you. Take care of you and yours!