Oh, dear reader. I swept, I swiffered, I squirted down countertops. I did a lot of things that I have been Meaning to Do, including washing my couch’s slipcovers, paying my billz, putting a pan of water in my piano’s baseboard, and (finally, finally) hooking up my record player. And I did a little spring cleaning for myself and the people I love: a new haircut, some letters written, library books returned, Mom’s birthday present bought. Because spring cleaning shouldn’t just be for your house!

And, finally, I made mulled wine, and drank it as a reward every time the whole thing got a little overwhelming and I needed to just sit down and read for a little while.

This mulled wine came together spontaneously, inspired by the box of wine that has been sitting in my apartment from the Superbowl, and which needed to be Spring Cleaned itself (boxes of wine do go bad eventually). At first, I was following recipes for mulled wine, and the whole thing just kind of tasted like hot, slightly burnt wine, which, if you’re guessing, does not taste good. Then I poured some sugar in, and voila! Delicious, and it just gets spicier and nicer the longer you let it sit (I think I had my pot on the stove, even with occasional wine-drinking assistance, for about four days).

Mulled Wine

- 2 to 3 bottles of cheap red wine (or leftover box of wine)

- 1 orange, peel cut off roughly (you don’t have to zest it, you can just stand the orange up and cut the peel off in four big chunks with some flesh attached)

- 2 cinnamon sticks

- 2 cups of sugar

- Optional: 10 or so cloves, tied up in cheesecloth (or free-floating, but then you’ll likely be scooping cloves into people’s drinks)

1. Pour wine into a large pot. Heat to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer. Add cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and cloves. Let simmer 20 minutes or so.

2. Add sugar: First add one cup, then taste. Then another half-cup, then taste. Then another half-cup, if you still want it sweeter. Two cups should be enough.

3. Drink with maple cookies and good company, and a sparkling clean apartment, and no anxiety.