Friday, December 15, 2006

I am sipping hot black tea at my desk this morning. No cream. No sugar. Never mind that I paired my plain tea with a gooey, chocolaty Christmas treat. . .I’d prefer a more interesting breakfast beverage. In fact, I’m craving a huckleberry chai.

I like to think I invented the huckleberry chai by asking for a shot of “authentic” Montana huckleberry syrup in a standard hot chai, but it’s quite possible someone thought of it before me. For the record, though, the girl behind the counter at Rocky Mountain Roasting in Belgrade, Montana, had never made one before
I ordered it. That was back in June, and I haven’t had a real huckleberry chai since. I’ve tried to recreate it with some powder mix from Sam’s Club and some huckleberry syrup I found in Colorado over Thanksgiving, but it’s not even close. :(

I discovered huckleberry chai when I first took my position with Heartsong Presents and had the great honor of traveling with Becky to the home of Peterson Ink. There I met Tracie, Jim, Jennifer, and Charity, who graciously showed me the Heartsong ropes. That trip was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only did I get to meet and work with very talented, wonderful people who treated me like a friend, I also got to enjoy the beautiful state of Montana for a few days. Then Becky and I spent the weekend “bonding” with a much-too-quick tour of Yellowstone and a horseback riding and whitewater rafting adventure. And, of course, there were the little perks like huckleberry chai.

I love my job, and I feel like I’ve settled in pretty well these past six months, but I don’t know. . . I think I need some more hands-on training from Peterson Ink! :)


2 comments:

Mary Connealy said...

I think you're doing a great job, JoAnne. And getting to see Yellowstone--well, I won't go into the perks of MY JOB!!!!
No national parks involved, trust me.

Anonymous said...

Ride 'em, cowgirls! You two look like naturals.