(I mean, I promised to take her to the doctor tomorrow. I just don't want to hang around the ER for hours tonight.)

Ginger beer -- yum! Vodka -- yum! But not so great together. Why?

Hmmm. My guess is that because vodka tends to intensify fruit flavors, and also tastes a bit medicinal. Ginger, though I love it, can taste medicinal if it's too strong. So I'm thinking maybe the vodka intensifies the wrong flavors in the ginger, and you end up with a very antiseptic-tasting part that totally clashes with the sweeter parts of the ginger beer.

No thoughts on the eye infection. Maybe you could pour some vodka on it. :-)

Chamomile teabags soaked in warm water and used as a compress on the eyelids will help with the irritation.

Ginger beer is good with dark rum -- it's called a Dark and Stormy if you throw a shot in and I think it's delightful.

Don't know what ginger beer you're using, but voddie and ginger beer (usually Bundaberg) is a staple at my yard.

Try adding a dash of bitters.

Pull out the contacts, rinse well with the saline, and take her, as planned, to the doc tomorrow.

On the other front, I hear Scotch and ginger is the way to go. Since I'm in the USA, I mostly just mix my various whiskeys with a splash of water and ice. With rum, I'd say a Dark and Stormy sounds great, with a dark rum.

Smirnoff are currently running an ad campaign here featuring the Moscow Mule - perhaps the lime is the magic ingredient that stops it being horrible?

Heh, thanks, all. We (daughter and I) had a huge fight because I wouldn't take her last night -- her claiming that I don't care about her, "because I'm white," (??) slamming doors repeatedly. With the late-night door slamming (I have really, erm, sensitive neighbors with the landlord on speed dial) I exclaimed, "bitch!" (not helpful, I know) Then she started following me around with her cell phone trying to record me "calling her a bitch." So THAT was really funny so I started laughing.

She's 18 so I gave her cab money to take herself to the ER.

Late to the party, but heeeraldo nails it. If you're making it yourself, put the rum in last, and don't stir. It will resemble its name, and gets tastier and tastier as you drink.

Ain't kids great?

as said by a woman with an 18 and 17 year old stepkids, plus a 15 and 11 year old of her own.