Absinthe.......

Yesterday, Cindy presented me with a bottle of Absinthe.  This lore-laden potion has an incredible history---filled with tales of extra-sensory experiences, other-worldly bad trips and warnings of ghostly premonitions.

Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic (45%---74%) beverage.  It is an anise flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia Absinthium, or "Grande Wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel.

Wormwood

It is sometimes mistakenly called a liquer, but since it is not bottled with added sugar it is therefore properly referred to as a "spirit".

Absinthe achieved its greatest popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, especially among writers and artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire and many others.

Absinthe has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug.  By 1915, it was banned in the United States and most of Europe.  By 1995, it had been removed as a banned substance in most countries, recognizing that it is no more dangerous than ordinary alcoholic beverages.

The partaking of absinthe is often a fun, ritual-filled event involving specially made spoons and drinking glasses, sugar cubes and cold water for preparation.  Enjoy!

Prepared in a Special Glass, With Special Spoon, Sugar Cube and Cold Water

Ruminations and Reflections on My Birthday.......

Frankly, birthdays have for some time now lost their charm for me.  When I was young, I can recall telling folks that "I am seven and a half; or, I am nine and a half".  But, when one is fortunate enough to live a good life into one's sixties, one would feel pretty damn silly remarking "I am sixty-six---and a half".  Ha.

But, here I sit, contemplating the past 67 years.  The overriding feeling I have is one of thanksgiving to God for my time on earth...being able to experience life, and love, and all the emotions that go with it.  I thank Him for giving me good parents, a good gene pool, a guardian angel who has delivered me countless times from sickness, tragedy, death...I often wonder, as I give thanks, why the Big Guy wants to keep me around.  I mean, this dream could've ended at any time along the way, but it keeps on going.  And, why is it that so many others have had their lives cut short while I have been permitted to continue on my journey? 

I suppose we'll understand it better by and by.  Or, as is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:12: "Today we see as into a cloudy mirror.  Tomorrow it will be face to face."

Over the years I have wondered what the meaning of life is.  I have wondered what I am supposed to accomplish, what impact I am supposed to have on society, and on others.  I think I finally figured out that I am supposed to enjoy my life and look to God for leadings.  I am supposed to pray and give thanks for all I have and try to love my neighbor (just about impossible) and love God and remember to be humble and be an example for others.  If I do that, the Big Guy will say to me, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Much love to all.

Will You Marry Me? Quack Quack Waddle Waddle.......

The east Tennessee social event of the year occurs today at the duck pond in Fountain City, a part of the city of Knoxville.  Everybody who is anybody will be in attendance.

Click to Enlarge

Yes, my peeps, a gentleman by the name of Scott Crown will be married today.  The blushing bride is a duck---an inhabitant of the  the poop-filled waters of the town lake that is known as "the duck pond".

Undoubtedly, the ceremony will be officiated by a quack preacher.

While New York and other states pass laws legalizing homosexual marriage, Tennessee blazes the trail legalizing marital unions between man and beast.  Is this a great Kauntry, or what?

Far and Near.......

Didja' ever see something every day and not really give it much thought?  And then, maybe even years later, stop to examine it closely and discover to your astonishment that the object in question was not at all as you assumed it to be?

Maybe it was lovelier than you thought.....maybe the details of the object, when viewed up close, were incredibly and unexpectedly---even breathtakingly---beautiful or ugly.

Maybe it was another person you had taken for granted for years,  that now you have gotten to know him on a personal level, and found that this person is not as you imagined as you viewed her casually from afar.  Up close, maybe she became alive and unexpectedly vibrant.  Or maybe he disappointed, and was much less than you expected.

Have you ever looked at a part of your own personality---I mean really examined it up close---and found that it is something that, unexpectedly, needs improvement?

Such is the theme of a great short story by Thomas Wolfe, one of America's greatest writers. The name of the story is "Far and Near".     It is included in a collection of his short stories entitled "From Death to Morning".

He is a writer that will make you think deeply about his themes.  I like that very much.

Comfort Food.......

We've been dieting.  Eating healthy.  Losing weight.  Workin' out.

So, I guess it came as no surprise to us last night that the topic of conversation turned to comfort food.

Comfort food.....we all know what that is.  It is those foods that make us feel so incredibly loved and content while we are eating them but make us feel guilty and dislike ourselves after we have swallowed the last bite.

But, I have put some thought into this, and I think we all need to partake of comfort food from time to time. 

My motto is "Moderation---even in moderation".  Ha.  So true.

Some of my comfort foods are:

---Chocolate or pecan pie a la mode
---A heaping bowl of guacomole and chips
---Really greasy, crisp onion rings
---Cindy's cheese grits and sausage balls
---Almost any kind of Mexican food---tacos, enchiladas, burritos, chile rellenos, etc...
---Homemade fried chicken
---Fried chicken livers
---Raw oysters with sauce

What are some of your favorite comfort foods?

Livin' off the Land.......

Click to Enlarge Photos

Date:   July 4, 2011
Time:  7:00 AM
Place: My Back Yard

The previously announced discovery of a precious natural resource growing in the hedge bordering my back yard has necessitated the harvesting of said resource. 

Precious ripened blackberries dot the innards of the thick hedge.  They must be gathered and presented to woman for processing.

It has been decided that a cobbler will be forthcoming.

And Now.......Into the Oven!

Following a holiday dinner of baby back ribs and baked spuds, the berries are whipped up with whatever else woman uses to construct said cobbler, baked in the oven and presented to her hunter-gatherer husband for consumption. 

Ahhhhhhhhhh.  Woman has done good.  I think I'll keep her around a while longer.  I hope she doesn't read this.  :)

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Brain Overload.......

Good friend, my brain is on overload and the only way to discharge the buildup, which is a dangerous condition that can lead to schizophrenia and other terrible conditions that no doctor in the world can cure---not Sigmund Freud,  not Mother Teresa, not Bob Dylan---is to unload the burden that has accumulated on an unsuspecting Blogger audience and pray that they too, like moi, are not adversely affected.

I awoke at 3:30 this morning to the sounds of heavenly warbling, trilling, chirping, and singing of a member of the avian species that calls my backyard her home, although she has never made the first payment toward same.  I shall overlook that fact, however, as her singing is as precious and wondrous a thing as God hath ever wrought.  I closed my eyes in the predawn darkness and, for an hour, was mesmerized by her repertoire of highs, lows, and wafting musical bits of bird genius.   Mozart himself would be a mere elementary level student in the presence of this heavenly master.

I decided over the course of this day that the crooner must be a mockingbird, a species, I am told, that boasts over thirty different, distinct sounds in its considerable book of psalms.  This morning was the second day I have heard this angelic concert, and I hope to hear many more such in the days and months to come.

On another note---pun intended---I was shocked and amazed later in the day when Cindy casually asked me if I had ever heard of something called a "Katydid".  You coulda' knocked this po' boy over with a feather when I heard that question.  I've known about Katydids all my life and am wondering where this poor child has been.  I don't think I'll ever get over that one.

At the local supermarket, I was astonished to find that a new sign had been erected in the parking lot---advising that a spot has been set aside for "parents with children".  This establishes, along with the handicapped, those pregnant and employees of the month, a  new class of priviledged individuals.  I suppose that I could park in that space if I had my 40 year old daughter with me.  Hmmm.

Let it be known that my beloved Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, my favorite sauce for the past X number of years, has now been displaced from its number one position by the Blues Hog brand.  Ain't nuthin' like it.  You prolly can't buy it where you are, because it is not widely distributed....but trust me---it will be.

Then, along around noonish, following a nice, leisurely workout, I was surprised to discover that, in the thick hedge that borders our backyard, a considerable mess of blackberries is growing and is ready for harvest, which Clint has tentatively scheduled for tomorrow morning before the heat of the day makes life outdoors unbearable for man and beast alike.  Visions of blackberry cobbler have been dancing through my head all afternoon.  With vanilla ice cream, of course.  That goes without saying.

I have come into the possession of a book that is truly great writing with great insight.  Well, that is what great writers do, and ThomasWolfe is certainly one of this country's greatest writers.  Name of book:  From Death To Morning.

It occurred to me this mawnin', after my usual two mugs o' joe, that the inground sprinkler system we had in our front yard in Texas is a far inferior way to irrigate neighborhood grass that the simple, yet highly effective and cheap above ground hose and oscillating sprinkler that I now possess.  Inground systems require constant expense and repair.  The cheap thingie I got now requires nothing, and that is something I excel at.

Also, while roaming the backyard today I realized once again how  lucky I am to have shed myself of swimming pool ownership.  No more chlorine, pumps, electrical systems, filters, pool cleanings, Kreepy Kraulys that don't work and wives that are not happy because more money must be spent on upkeep. 

Good friend, thank you for listening.