The joy of freshly squeezed lemonade

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Last week, Miss M made a request to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick some lemons and make lemonade. I told her that it was really far away, and we wouldn't be able to go. She looked so disappointed. I called my mom to ask if she might be able to bring a lemon with her when she came for J's big surprise.

I love the smell of citrus trees. As a child, I remember going to my grandparents' house in California and just standing by their citrus trees and breathing in the delightful fragrance. We would pick lemons and make the most delicious lemonade. My grandma would get out her old electric juicer. She'd put on her yellow rubber gloves that she does the dishes with and scrub the lemons. She'd cut them up and let my siblings and me juice them. The finished product was always refreshing and rewarding.

I still do the same thing when I get a chance to visit. At Christmas, Miss M had the pleasure of picking lemons with my grandpa in his yard. She stood by me as I juiced the lemons. She helped pour in the sugar and stir it up. Then she guzzled the lemonade as soon as it was mixed.

When my parents arrived this past weekend, they brought about ten lemons from my grandpa's yard for Miss M. She was so happy to get them. "Now we can cut them and get the thing (juicer) and make the juice with the sugar and drink it. Yum!"

Yesterday morning, we juiced the lemons. The smell was heavenly and instantly took me back to many of the wonderful memories from my grandparents' home in California. Since there were only ten lemons, it was pretty quick to juice them by hand. Miss M was trying to get the juice out of each lemon and then she would carefully pour the juice into the measuring cup.

I like my lemonade a little tart and on the strong side. Here's the general ratio I follow.

1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4 cups cold water

I don't like ice in my lemonade because it gets watered down once it melts. I just put the lemonade in the fridge until it's cold.

Freshly squeezed lemonade is such a treat for me. I'm happy Miss M has been able to experience a favorite little thing of mine.