Metamorphosism

Perfect peach daiquiri

My wife and I were in a diner. Just sat down when I saw EeksyPeeksy at the next table. "Look," I whispered. "EeksyPeeksy." He was even eating French toast. "He writes so beautifully about French toast."

Then the six-year-old kicked me in the head and I woke up.

Yesterday we went to two abbeys/monasteries. Maybe one of each, I'm not good at telling them apart. One was in Melk, where "Name of the Rose" starts, you may recall. Great exhibition there. Not sure about what, but very impressively done. Many tour buses too, from all over. Got funny looks from Americans who heard me speaking American with the little one, and her answering in Austrian. She was after me to carry her on my shoulders all morning and I kept saying no, it's too hot today and you're too heavy.

We passed a fountain full of coins. What's that she asked me. You throw in a coin and make a wish. I gave her a coin, she made a wish and looked up at me. I picked her up and carried her on my shoulders.

Fancy library at Melk. Fancy baroque gardens. Nice view of the Danube valley.

Hot driving home too. Tired. It wouldn't be a family vacation, would it, without bickering in a hot car? Stopped at a roadside stand and bought two kilos of small, bruised peaches. Today, the next day, already looking soft, which means:

Peach Daiquiris tonight.

You can make them like this, Perfect Peach Daiquiris, but I've never tried that recipe because it has eight ingredients and requires a blender, which we do not have. Instead, I use our ice cream maker, add pureed peaches, lemon juice, brown sugar and a little water and mix until it freezes then either serve to kids or add rum and mix a little more and serve to adults. If you put the glasses into the freezer beforehand you get the extra frosty thing which is also a nice serving touch.

The six-year-old, whose life goal as I've mentioned is to run a disco and live upstairs prefers to invent her own drinks. Most recently, she had me mix blue curacao, lime syrup, banana syrup, lime juice, orange juice and fizzy mineral water in a shaker with ice cubes, served over ice cubes. Of course the fizzy mineral water squirts everywhere when you shake it, for extra entertainment, dad making everything green in the kitchen.

We call it a Gamma Fizz.