Every town has an iconic restaurant, bar, music venue or some other memorable hangout. The city I grew up in had more than one. One of my favorites was the original Ruth’s; up Emigraton Canyon. Ruth held forth in an old train car and like many women today - Ruth showed her guns every day. No matter how cold or blustery the weather, Ruth would stand behind the counter in a flowery sundress. Ruth would grill you a hamburger in an electric frying pan and serve it up on round Wonder Bread. Ruth was never shy in expressing her opinion regarding your opinion, dress or manners.

If you needed a 24 hour joint then Bill and Nada’s was just the ticket. Specials on the menu included “Brains and Eggs” and the always popular “Pan Fried Rabbit”. By the time I started to go to Bill and Nada’s, Nada was already gone and Bill was a frisky widower. There was one waitress who had worked there for a very long time. We used to joke that she and Bill had something going on. The story goes that one night the waitress’s husband came into Bill and Nada’s and shot Bill seven times. Of course, Bill lived to tell the tale. Bill always served Del Monte Catsup made with pineapple vinegar and you could get anything in a paper bag to-go.

Bill and Nada’s is long gone now, Ruth’s has been gentrified and enlarged, Snappy Service no longer sits on Social Hall Avenue but many of the hidden gems do exist. Try to search one out for yourself and experience the joy of a varied and surprising menu and the unique personalities behind the marquee.

The Northern Lights are probably the most impressive astronomical event I have ever seen. The only things that come close are the comets Halle Bop and Kahoutek. The Aurora Borealis crackle across the sky. They shimmer and wave with green, red and yellow colors. We don’t see them here in Prescott but I still imagine them. On a walk, on a cold, clear night it seems like they may be possible. The Solstice in on my mind. It seems to be little understood these days. When I was eighteen I worked in a new planetarium in Salt Lake City and we gave tours to school children and the general public every day. We had “moon rocks” which were a real novelty; since we hadn’t been to the moon yet. We would explain the solstices and the equinoxes, Northern Lights, nebulae, and the new concept of black holes. When you would get a group of kids in the star chamber, explain pitch and roll, and give one of them the joystick, hold on to your lunch. https://Northern Lights

When I was 18 I worked in a new planetarium in Salt Lake City. One of the best star shows that the engineers produced was the one about the Winter Solstice. Sometimes I think about living in the far North, seeing that low winter sun slide across the Southern horizon in midday, and I understand the fear that the sun won’t return to warm you. So, the celebration of the Winter Solstice ensures that the days will get longer again and crops can be planted and that they will grow. Perhaps the Solstice is the reason for the season. There was a rough cop show on TV a few seasons ago called “Low Winter Sun”. It was set in Detroit, in the winter, with very little light. The cops were crooked and brutal with each other and with the criminal class. There was little light or warmth and the story line seemed only too true. I miss that show.

This cold weather makes me think of things that warm me up. There is always the wool long underwear that is something of an anti-fashion statement and the lovely, internally warming Hot Buttered Rum. That is also the name of a charming winter song by Rosalie Sorrels.

The first time I had a Hot Buttered Rum was in Alaska during the pipeline construction in 1975. We were at the ski resort Alyeska for the day and then went to the Double Musky to warm up. Those warm rum drinks did the trick.

The other songs that remind me of winter are Johnny Mathis singing “The Christmas Song” and for some strange reason Lenny Welch singing”You Made Me Leave my Happy Home”. It probably has to do with making out in a cold car with the radio on. One of my boyfriends had a TR3 and the side curtains would get fogged up but if you wiped them from the inside if would leave permanent marks. That was one cold little English car.

All of this musing about the cold winters of the past has inspired me to create a warm drink for all of you. During December we are serving our house made Hot Buttered Rum. Our version is made with our Pear Spiced Rum, butter, brown sugar and a blend of freshly ground spices. Warm up your tummy.