But I really did tell you so, and fairly recently.. There is a holiday for everything, I said, and December 16th was National Ugly Sweater Day. When that day came last Saturday, the giant brains at Starbucks decided they wanted to commemorate the event. If you entered one of their coffee houses and bought a Fruitcake Frappuccino during NUSD, your drink came dressed for winter.
The concept tickled me so much I decided I had to have one. Apparently, I'm one of the sixteen people in the Western world who admits that they enjoy fruitcake. (If you're wondering, I think Costco sells a terrific fruitcake. Glynn, who feels he should detest fruitcake but doesn't, really, ate his share of the treat when I brought one home a few weeks ago.) So, fruitcake-love was the first reason. Secondly, none of my previous Frappuccinos have ever come to the Pick-Up Window wearing any kind of apparel. No sweaters, no jackets, not even Mom jeans. Venturing out on that freezing Saturday -- not the best of weather conditions for a cold drink -- I waited excitedly until my order was complete. The not-very-good cell phone photo to the left is proof that such wonders as a Fruitcake Frappuccino actually existed, for however little time.
While I was at the Starbucks, I didn't see anyone else order the drink. If I had...well, I'd have pretended not to notice, but I would have. Oh, yes.
Maura Judkis, from the Washington Post, was not a fan of Starbucks ingenuity, but that's because she dislikes fruitcake in all of its forms. If you're wondering why the Washington Post would send a fruit cake-hater to review a fruitcake-based beverage, I can't say. Perhaps all of the WP journalists hate fruitcake. With a story this big, this important, somebody had to do the write-up. They sent their best man and, as so often happens, their best man was a woman. Maura Judkis probably viewed this article as a major feather in her cap.
That's what I care to believe, anyway.
If you'd like a less negative review, you should know I enjoyed my Fruitcake Frappuccino...except for one thing. When I tried to suck its deliciousness up my straw, the straw would clog. It clogged with bits of fruit, and bits of nut, and bits of cake-something. This occurred with very single suck of the straw. It became annoying fairly quickly. It took me a rather long time to finish the drink -- and I intended to finish it, because: deliciousness -- and I took that time, even knowing that this might mean I'd be unable to finish the 30-step novel outline thing I wrote about last week.
Okay, so that's not true. You, me, Glynn and the Good Witch all knew I wouldn't finish the outline by the end of this week. It's tough stuff, this outline. So many of its 30-steps are bizarrely random! After I post this blog, I need to move onto Step 22. Step 22, if you're wondering, is: The hero is forced to incapacitate a friend. But there is no reason why my hero would do this. She's on a train steaming through the middle of nowhere, destined for the fairly empty lands of North Dakota, and her only friends are those people who she's just met. Nice people who don't deserve to be incapacitated.
I have no idea of what to do next. *sigh* But if I'm going to get this outline completed before 2017, I'd best roll up my sleeves and get to work. With company coming for Christmas, I know I'll be even busier soon. I'm just pleased that National Pfeffernusse Day is just around the corner. Everyone enjoys National Pfeffernusse Day!
May your holidays be merry.
The concept tickled me so much I decided I had to have one. Apparently, I'm one of the sixteen people in the Western world who admits that they enjoy fruitcake. (If you're wondering, I think Costco sells a terrific fruitcake. Glynn, who feels he should detest fruitcake but doesn't, really, ate his share of the treat when I brought one home a few weeks ago.) So, fruitcake-love was the first reason. Secondly, none of my previous Frappuccinos have ever come to the Pick-Up Window wearing any kind of apparel. No sweaters, no jackets, not even Mom jeans. Venturing out on that freezing Saturday -- not the best of weather conditions for a cold drink -- I waited excitedly until my order was complete. The not-very-good cell phone photo to the left is proof that such wonders as a Fruitcake Frappuccino actually existed, for however little time.
While I was at the Starbucks, I didn't see anyone else order the drink. If I had...well, I'd have pretended not to notice, but I would have. Oh, yes.
Maura Judkis, from the Washington Post, was not a fan of Starbucks ingenuity, but that's because she dislikes fruitcake in all of its forms. If you're wondering why the Washington Post would send a fruit cake-hater to review a fruitcake-based beverage, I can't say. Perhaps all of the WP journalists hate fruitcake. With a story this big, this important, somebody had to do the write-up. They sent their best man and, as so often happens, their best man was a woman. Maura Judkis probably viewed this article as a major feather in her cap.
That's what I care to believe, anyway.
If you'd like a less negative review, you should know I enjoyed my Fruitcake Frappuccino...except for one thing. When I tried to suck its deliciousness up my straw, the straw would clog. It clogged with bits of fruit, and bits of nut, and bits of cake-something. This occurred with very single suck of the straw. It became annoying fairly quickly. It took me a rather long time to finish the drink -- and I intended to finish it, because: deliciousness -- and I took that time, even knowing that this might mean I'd be unable to finish the 30-step novel outline thing I wrote about last week.
Okay, so that's not true. You, me, Glynn and the Good Witch all knew I wouldn't finish the outline by the end of this week. It's tough stuff, this outline. So many of its 30-steps are bizarrely random! After I post this blog, I need to move onto Step 22. Step 22, if you're wondering, is: The hero is forced to incapacitate a friend. But there is no reason why my hero would do this. She's on a train steaming through the middle of nowhere, destined for the fairly empty lands of North Dakota, and her only friends are those people who she's just met. Nice people who don't deserve to be incapacitated.
I have no idea of what to do next. *sigh* But if I'm going to get this outline completed before 2017, I'd best roll up my sleeves and get to work. With company coming for Christmas, I know I'll be even busier soon. I'm just pleased that National Pfeffernusse Day is just around the corner. Everyone enjoys National Pfeffernusse Day!
May your holidays be merry.
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