There are quite a few analogies about life and lemons out there, and my favorite is probably about opening a lemonade stand.

Or, a vodka lemon spritzer maybe?

Even though lemonade stands conjure up the idea of summer and sun-shiny days, it isn’t a foreign idea and for some reason comes to mind today on our first snowfall of the season. It isn’t completely impossible to believe that people were not ready for snow and wintery weather even though it is December and they have been warning us about the possibility of a polar vortex for a few weeks.

While today’s unplanned sour note had to do less with snow and more with a “SOLD OUT” sign at the tree farm where we headed to get our tree, I could only be disappointed for 5 minutes. (I allowed myself a “self-indulgent” moment…even though I shouldn’t have.)  The farm sells trees at a fundraiser and if they do not sell out, they do not make as much money as planned.

So, back to looking at the bright side of things…

What I love about the classic kid-crafted lemonade stand is the idea of the entrepreneurial spirit, the idea that you don’t have to have a degree to make something out of 3 simple ingredients and, that a little effort can result in fairly sweet rewards.

In addition, one of the things that is often left out of the “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” concept, is that the zest on a lemon really brings out the flavor in almost any dish…

Unless you are a trained chef, or were taught to use zest routinely, you may not think of using the zest all too often. Even though I know that it adds tremendous flavor, I still forget to apply this very simple culinary tactic.

So, today, when things have a way of happening, even when you are not planning for them to happen, I find myself thinking about endless possibilities.  There are a million thinks that you can do with your life (and lemons, probably.) To consider those options, I really am looking forward to 2018 and if we are really lucky, a White Christmas, too.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl