First, my last night's final smoke, then in "Skippable Drivel" I'll let you know what's going on - will be of some interest I think. Let's call them "growing pains."
Finished up the evening with my
Mr. Brog Nosewarmer, rusticated black, with it's first dedicated smoke, my h
omemix "Basic English." This pipe will be used only for English style Lats, which I enjoy especially in the afternoon. It has previously been broken in with five smokes, three with Captain Black Dark, and two with Borkum Riff Black Cavendish. It was ready for the "baptism of dedication." Excellent results!

Skippable Drivel: Thinking "when given a lemon, make lemonade." Being on some heavy meds over the last two months, and an especially aggressive antibiotic for bladder infection since my operation almost 3 weeks ago, I've had to do a changeup, that has worked for the better.
My original 4th of July celebration was going to be a pigout of my 7 favourite tobaccos, which I'd mothballed for over 2 months in anticipation. These included Mad Fiddler, Savinelli 140, Steamworks, Black Frigate, et al.
It's amazing how negative circumstances can lead to a positive, and that's what's happened here.
There is no sense at all in smoking these great and complex tobaccos with wasting their excellence on a temporarily limited sense of taste, so I'm continuing to keep them in mothballs until "the day."
In the meantime, I've concentrated on a group of tobaccos that I have in abundance, and frankly have neglected, the monochromatics, straightforward fodder like Black Cavendishes, basic Englishes, codgers and other such offerings that don't have much in the way of complexity, but have a lot to offer in basic substance.
Yes, I don't yet taste their fullness, but I do taste their substance and a couple of them, like
Borkum Riff Dark, Captain Black Dark, Smokers' Pride Black Cavendish, TobaccoBarn's Basic English, Brigham's English Mix and of course,
basic and cheap flavoured cigars, have not only risen in my estimation but if I could smoke ONLY them, I would still remain in the pipe tribe quite happily. And a few of them (those highlighted in bold) have ascended into the realm of my most favourite tobaccos, period.
So until the 'buds return, and I'm confident they will, I'll concentrate on breaking in pipes that still need the process, and fine tuning my collection.
I'm writing this, frankly, because there are many of you who will go through the same thing that I've been experiencing, (it's called life, eh?) and will get frustrated and depressed. Just letting you know, rather than that, get on with it, accept it,
and turn the lemon you've been given into a fine lemonade. That's what I've done, and I assure you, it's a win-win!
For the next while, I'll be keeping you abreast of my break-in proceedures (six pipes in progress), and the fine tuning of my stable.
Cheers 'till tonight!
