Well, It's All Over, Sort Of. I'm back but it'll take a few days of adjustment. All explained in Skippable Drivel, for those enquiring minds who want to know. In the meantime, a few smokes of note, in no particular order.
. . . . in three of my very favourite pipes. All radically different in use and smoking qualities. From top to bottom,
Mr. Brog "Kaiser", which loves English Tobaccos. So do I. This pipe is a great outdoor vehicle, and is a nice, easy smoker, great at a picnic table, either my own or at a rest stop or park. Three great smokes, one with my own
Basic English, one with
Presbyterian Mixture, and a third with
TobaccoBarn's Traditional English, all fairly mild blends. Doesn't seem to like complexities, which is fine by me when I don't, either.
In the middle is my almost broken-in (had four smokes in that double rotation I've explained earlier),
Peterson Rhodesian Tavern Pipe. This is a company pipe, easy to smoke, great to hold. It seems to thrive on basic fodder, like
Borkum Riff Black Cavendish, SWR, Smoker's Pride Whiskey. I've got more than a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be my go-to evening pipe with company. Gives me a good hour behind the wheel. Perfect evening pipe.
Bottom is about my favourite
McQueen Longstem, the "'Russet" in ashwood. It likes Balkans, is biased for these, and is my go to pipe for this breed. It's definitely a "sipper." A fairly small bowl, it gives me (to my mind) the perfect smoke length of 45 minutes. A great smoke was had (several in fact) with
Arango's Balkan Supreme, which is a new star in my universe and I have lots of it. Gotta give a big "thumbs up" for broken-in ashwood. As good as it gets imho. 'Nuff said.
Skippable Drivel - well, it's all over except . . . . for the cleanup. My place is a total disaster. It'll be sweep, mop, wash for days.
My latest batch of Crabapple pickles. Two types, a simple salted, and a more complex waterbath sweet'n'sour traditional pickled crab.
I have enough pickle solution for three more jars, which is perfect because I've only got three jars left unused.
All my freezing, drying, processing of fruits and meats is finished. Got a box of crabs left over, but as Mom used to say, "Compost is always good to have." I'll put them in the compost pile when the bears go into hibernation. They're out locally now and are quite a pest. Leave mounds of their own brand of compost, all over the place.
I have absolutely no freezer or storage space left. Just cleanup. Even had time to do a couple of pages of commenting this morning, but just not gonna go back further. Will do the best I can until the place is cleaned up. I'm more than a bit of a slob, but the point of no return has been reached in my disaster area.
Time for a celebratory cigar. A
Phillies Blunt Chocolate, of course! And of course, with a pot of

or three. This time, hot off the press. Will be returning to normal, shortly.