It’s true! Well, kind of …could be … depending upon … whatever!

Arguably, the Midwestern English accent is the most neutral in this country. And of course, we have our bucket load of funny words, too, dontcha know! Holy buckets, we Minnesotans know how to speak correctly. If you don’t agree, ask one of us, and we’ll be happy to inform you of our specialness. Oh, for sure!

I enjoy going to the local library. These institutions have always been a favorite of mine, and the other day I entered and was greeted by one of the staff. I was asked how safe the sidewalks were, and our conversations continued with us falling back on humorously wise words and phrases. I mentioned how we had to be careful walking, and as we parted, I popped out the ever useful phrase of how it could always be worse.

That led us to the topics of tornadoes, flooding, winter storms and hurricanes. Yep, it could always be worse!

With those thoughts running through my head, I began reading an article about good winter time cocktails, and came upon one called an Alimony. I like a cocktail with few ingredients, and this one had three of them. Interesting …let’s try it.

The Alimony consists of one and a quarter ounces of sherry, one ounce of Campari and three quarters of an ounce of gin — nice and easy to make. I did so, and, Uff da, it was good!

In case you haven’t read about it, an extremely old comet is going to fly by Earth this week. The last time it greeted this planet was over 50,000 years ago, but it will be many millions of miles away from us so there’s no need to worry. Jeez Louise, can you imagine what our planet was like those many thousands of years ago?

I expect you know the Super Bowl is coming soon. Although I have family members who are died in the wool Kansas City Chiefs’ fans, I hold no loyalty nor interest this year in the event, but do wish the teams and the fans a safe enjoyable time. However, if I do tune in and watch a bit, please know I’ll have a nice soothing glass of 14 Hands Chardonnay in my hand.

The wine’s soothing green apple taste combined with aftertastes of vanilla will help me get past all the hype of the game. Oh, for sure, it will help!

Honestly, I can’t wait for baseball season to begin so I can be enthused, hopeful, gradually disappointed and, maybe, just maybe enjoy my Minnesota Twins in the World Series. Yea, you betcha!

With that thought, I will pour myself a bit of Chateau Ste Michelle Gewürztraminer and chill out. I think we Minnesotans believe that things can be good until proven otherwise. The wine’s stoney fruit taste that ends with a bit of clove is so reassuring

Uff da! I have to have the oil changed in my car today — the coldest day of the year, so far. Let’s hope that’s all that needs to be changed in the vehicle — oh my, now I am worrying. So…

Tonight I’ll have a bit of Hardy’s Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny. This special dessert wine can comfort any anxieties with its nice nutty flavor. Oh for sure, it’ll be good!

So, have you noticed I’ve wandered all over the place with subjects in this column? It was done on purpose to show, that even though we Minnesoootans (multiple letters of “o” done on purpose) are sensitive people (you betcha!), we use our sayings based on our Nordic heritage to bring us through the things life throws at us. And when in doubt, we just add lots of “o’s” to the conversation and laugh!

Holy buckets, it could be worse, dontcha know????

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!