What made you smile today?

[Forgottendanfan]

Hearing from my sweet friend, who's gone to the seaside.

 

[Sidewinder]

Making some primo spicy meatballs for dinner... the kind that are already prepped and ready to put in the oven.

"Carando: Mozarella Rustica" meatballs, should be pretty ******* good in a bed of mashed potatoes with brown gravy, fresh green salad on the side... 

Yesiree, I'm going Eye-Tie tonight, and LOVIN' it, lol... could be worse, I could be STARVING THE **** OUT like I once did as a 10-year-old, after my dad abandoned my family overseas, AYE? 

When ya ******* lose 20 or 30 pounds as a youngster, it's a different deal from losing weight as an adult... ya only weigh 80 or 90 pounds to begin with, so serious weight loss is critical.

Meh, those days are long gone, and I'm thankful to simply be alive here in the high desert---"HI DEZ!!!" My glorious meatball dinner looks to be shaping up nicely, might have to do this again with the prepped ground beef, lol. 

Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'M OFF TO MACK AND ******* CRASH, LOL... CHEERS!!! 

 

[Sidewinder]

Uh-oh... looks like I was drunk last time I visited, lol. Meh, I'll get over it. I was just reflecting upon how fortunate I am to live here in the high desert, even though I'm no longer near the ocean. Small town life suits me to a T at this stage in my development: I'm SO thankful to be out of the Big City for good. There's a trade-off, of course, it's harder to find work, but I'm gonna keep trying, that last outfit changed their tune and pulled ye olde 'bait & switch'---advertised full-time work in one position, offered part-time work in another. So I keep looking...

As for what made me smile today, the sight of quail out front, they're such comical and goofy birds. We have plenty of wildlife here, even though I'm several blocks from the edge of town. All the washes which lead to the San Pedro River (dry right now) are corridors for wildlife, and we have a huge wild bird population as well. So I get to see all these critters on a regular basis... a short drive puts me in the wilderness, where even more wildlife abounds. Definitely my kinda place... and the weather here is primo, this morning was absolutely perfect!

 

[Sidewinder]

Just made a delicious fresh fruit smoothie in my blender... I'm still gonna make a traditional breakfast later, probably for late lunch or dinner, but that smoothie was AWESOME! I started by pouring some raspberry lemonade into the blender, then I added blackberries, strawberries, a banana, two peaches, and some pineapple chunks. Hit the ol' switch and boy, oh boy, was that smoothie good! Mighty tasty, and I made a full blender, so I saved a pint for tomorrow. I always make food or drink in batches, as I like leftovers... for instance, when I BBQ I don't cook just one portion, I cover the grill with meat and veggies so I have heaps of leftovers. Cheers!!!

 

[Finished]

^ Good food and good scenery. AND.... a great pool table! It doesn't get any better then that.

 

[Sidewinder]

I keep tellin' ya to get over here and play pool, lol... it's HOT here today though, must be scorching down there in Phoenix, aye? Ugh... I don't envy you if you're dealing with more humidity than we have here in Benson. It's not TOO bad here, but you can definitely feel it.

 

[Sidewinder]

Met a cool couple at the store while I was waiting in line... they also live in this area, over by Pomerene which is not far away, so once I determined they were like-minded folks, I invited them over to play pool sometime. I'm still looking for competition, you understand... and this guy said it had been awhile since he played pool, but no worries, I told him it was all about kicking back and sipping a beverage while having a good time, no pool sharks or hustlers to worry about on my property, lol. So maybe I made some new friends today, we'll see... I'd like to see my 8' table get some more use, it has been awhile since I played, I don't like shooting stick alone, that's no fun, lol. Anyway, I'm gonna keep asking folks who are cool, the only real rule here is NO TWEEKIN' CRACKERHEADS, lol. Dude laughed when I said that, and so did his gal... my kinda folks! Hmm, guess I'll read a book till I get hungry, it's gonna be another hot day out there, no sign of a breeze yet either. Hopefully one appears this afternoon... Cheers!!!

 

[Just Games]

Memories...Good Times.l used to play pool in the pubs alot when I was younger mostly near work ,an enjoyable liqiud lunch and showing off smashing the ball into the pocket when I could have tapped it in..what a show off what was I thinking. I blame Hurricane Higgins my favorite player he was so fast round the table.One advantage of working in the office in London ah well,good times.

 

[Sidewinder]

Liquid lunch... I may have one of those later, lol. Stopped by the library after paying my electric bill (in person at the office), and I found two more John Hawk tales written by Charles G. West. I enjoyed that one Hawk tale I read so much [MONTANA TERRITORY], I went ahead and searched the library shelves for more stories. And I found 'em too, along with some other Westerns which looked interesting. Ever since I moved to Arizona roughly five years ago, I've worked my way through Westerns from the libraries in Show Low & Benson. Good selection of Westerns in both libraries, I reckon they're popular with all the ranchers, trail & rodeo riders, Western history buffs et al. For me, they're free entertainment, I get burned out on watching movies. I like an occasional flick, but I don't overdo it, I strive for quality over quantity, lol. Cheers!!!

P.S. Titles of the two Hawk tales I picked up from the library: HELL HATH NO FURY and NO JUSTICE IN HELL, lol. I'm thinking this author Charles G. West was... er... preoccupied with the struggle between good & evil. Great characters though, even the bad guys make ya want to hate 'em, lol.

 

[Finished]

Memories...Good Times.l used to play pool in the pubs alot when I was younger mostly near work ,an enjoyable liqiud lunch and showing off smashing the ball into the pocket when I could have tapped it in..what a show off what was I thinking. I blame Hurricane Higgins my favorite player he was so fast round the table.One advantage of working in the office in London ah well,good times.

OMG! I too remember drinking and smashing the balls around on the abused bar tables. That has fun! I got good at jumping balls over other ones as well. Sometimes they landed on the floor. Oh well. Ha! Ha! I don't think Sidey would appreciate doing that on his table. Ha! ha!

 

[Abstamyous]

Watching a baby horse playing with a cow

 

[Sidewinder]

Memories...Good Times.l used to play pool in the pubs alot when I was younger mostly near work ,an enjoyable liqiud lunch and showing off smashing the ball into the pocket when I could have tapped it in..what a show off what was I thinking. I blame Hurricane Higgins my favorite player he was so fast round the table.One advantage of working in the office in London ah well,good times.

OMG! I too remember drinking and smashing the balls around on the abused bar tables. That has fun! I got good at jumping balls over other ones as well. Sometimes they landed on the floor. Oh well. Ha! Ha! I don't think Sidey would appreciate doing that on his table. Ha! ha!

The Pool Room has a carpeted floor, so no worries... I'd be more concerned about the felt being ripped, lol.

Watching a baby horse playing with a cow

Young horses are always cool to watch... we have heaps of 'horse folk' here, ranchers & trail riders with more money than I have, but I still get to see the horses on the trails and in the fields.

What made me smile today? After an absence of four or five days, tough ol' tomcat Fathead made an appearance at the ol' hacienda... I thought maybe he was a goner, and he was looking pretty scruffy, but I fed him a good meal and gave him some catnip, so he's now a happy camper. I have no idea where he has been, but if he could talk, I bet it would be an interesting story, lol. For those who don't know, Fathead was evidently abandoned by some **** who moved away, so I've been taking care of him... he's a tough ol' cat, looks like 40 miles of bad road, but I still like the ornery critter. Cheers!!!

 

[Finished]

A letter from my friend.

 

[Just Games]

Memories...Good Times.l used to play pool in the pubs alot when I was younger mostly near work ,an enjoyable liqiud lunch and showing off smashing the ball into the pocket when I could have tapped it in..what a show off what was I thinking. I blame Hurricane Higgins my favorite player he was so fast round the table.One advantage of working in the office in London ah well,good times.

OMG! I too remember drinking and smashing the balls around on the abused bar tables. That has fun! I got good at jumping balls over other ones as well. Sometimes they landed on the floor. Oh well. Ha! Ha! I don't think Sidey would appreciate doing that on his table. Ha! ha!

 

[Just Games]

Must admit on reflection although was enjoyable it didn't help with my alcoholism.The culture in the office then was any excuse to have a few down the pub at lunch like pool,leaving drinks, Birthdays or even longer occasions in the evening were not good for alcoholics like me.They even had lunch drinks in the office itself ,for someone leaving with a drinks table piled high with booze.People were going back to their tables/computers with some alcohol down them,bet that doesn't happen today.I've lapsed and have a glass maybe or two about every week/ two weeks even on medication which I have to sort out because its not good for me could be even dangerous being on medication now,but lack of money is my main issue because my business not yet back to normal money wise after pandemic but I'm working on giving up again.

I gave up for six months because of the shock of my new condition..wish I hadn't read on the Internet that people still drink whilst taking medication for it.

What was the reason you started drinking and is there any likelihood you will give up or does it not bother you...addressed to all on a lonely life.

 

[Abstamyous]

Must admit on reflection although was enjoyable it didn't help with my alcoholism.The culture in the office then was any excuse to have a  few down the pub at lunch like pool,leaving drinks,  Birthdays or even longer occasions in the evening were not good for alcoholics like me.They even had lunch drinks in the office itself ,for someone leaving with a drinks table piled high with booze.People were going back to their tables/computers with some alcohol down them,bet that doesn't happen today.I've lapsed and have a glass maybe or two about every week/ two weeks even on medication which I have to sort  out because its not good for me could be even dangerous being on medication now,but lack of money is my main issue because my business not yet back to normal money wise after pandemic but I'm working on giving up again.

I gave up for six months because of the shock of my new condition..wish I hadn't read on the Internet that people still drink whilst taking medication for it.

What was the reason you started drinking and is there any likelihood you will give up or does it not bother you...addressed to all on a lonely life.

I didn't drink much until I started my first real, full time job. It was in a hotel. At the end of the day, I would walk into the bar to give my boss the daily report of sorts. Often, I was asked by a customer to sit and have a drink with them. The majority of the time in the beginning, I turned it down. But after a long day of work, the company was nice sometimes. It felt good to sit at that table, talk about the day and listen to others. That was when I could have one drink and go home. I can't drink normally, and I won't risk trying again. The last 3 years without have been the best of my life, even if they've had some of the darkest days of my life.

Today, I smiled because my son took two big maple leafs, put them against his ears, and told me he was Dumbo. He is turning 8 next Friday, and I can't appreciate his goofiness enough.

 

[Just Games]

Must admit on reflection although was enjoyable it didn't help with my alcoholism.The culture in the office then was any excuse to have a  few down the pub at lunch like pool,leaving drinks,  Birthdays or even longer occasions in the evening were not good for alcoholics like me.They even had lunch drinks in the office itself ,for someone leaving with a drinks table piled high with booze.People were going back to their tables/computers with some alcohol down them,bet that doesn't happen today.I've lapsed and have a glass maybe or two about every week/ two weeks even on medication which I have to sort  out because its not good for me could be even dangerous being on medication now,but lack of money is my main issue because my business not yet back to normal money wise after pandemic but I'm working on giving up again.

I gave up for six months because of the shock of my new condition..wish I hadn't read on the Internet that people still drink whilst taking medication for it.

What was the reason you started drinking and is there any likelihood you will give up or does it not bother you...addressed to all on a lonely life.

I didn't drink much until I started my first real, full time job. It was in a hotel. At the end of the day, I would walk into the bar to give my boss the daily report of sorts. Often, I was asked by a customer to sit and have a drink with them. The majority of the time in the beginning, I turned it down. But after a long day of work, the company was nice sometimes. It felt good to sit at that table, talk about the day and listen to others. That was when I could have one drink and go home. I can't drink normally, and I won't risk trying again. The last 3 years without have been the best of my life, even if they've had some of the darkest days of my life.

Today, I smiled because my son took two big maple leafs, put them against his ears, and told me he was Dumbo. He is turning 8 next Friday, and I can't appreciate his goofiness enough.

A kid with a sense of humour that's what we all need when times are hard .If my kids found out I was drinking again I don't think I could  advise them on anything they would be so disappointed in me.My wife knows but seems to brush it under the carpet but she has so much pressure from work and knows its not frequently so just ignores it.
I've never been able to drink one and stop since I was 13 years old,I wish I had your willpower to stop for so long, every time I try the pressure brings me back again.Even distraction is not working for me now.Nothing really works even the danger of losing my liscense again for a year because of having a seizure from my condition is not enough with the risk of alcohol triggering it.l just hope something will bring me to the realisation that I have to stop drinking. Great you have given up for so long I wish you good luck.

 

[Sidewinder]

Back feels better now, and part of that is due to sipping some vino while watching a good Western on the 65" curved screen. This reclining leather sofa offers great support for one's back, so I shifted from the rack to the couch, lol. 

Anyway, I'm here to offer my $.02, and I'll offer it as an unrepentant sinner who loves his alcohol. Of course, I've had to learn some hard lessons about alcohol, when and where to use it, when and where NOT to use it. Alcohol has also cost me some romantic relationships... she's a sexy and alluring mistress, lol.

But a man has to have at least ONE vice, and I'm no tobacco smoker, tweekin' crackerhead, opiate chemical head, wife beater, ****, perv, scumbag politician, greedy globalist pig, etc. So ALCOHOL it is, lol... but no alcohol behind the wheel, no alcohol on the job, no making a fool of oneself in public, etc.

Moi, I drink in the privacy and comfort of my own home & yard, or I drink in the wilderness while camping and enjoying a good meal and a nice campfire under a million stars. This is how I do it, and yes, it takes control to turn down offers to drink elsewhere...

But I don't frequent bars, no need to do so with the 8' pool table in my home... and anyone who joins me in partying, shooting pool and firing up the BBQ can always crash on the other sofa or the carpeted floor if necessary, so as not to get a DUI.

That's just how it is... that's the sort of hospitality I always offered friends back in the day, and the same hospitality those friends returned. It was all about avoiding Johnny Law, and I guess it still is, but that revenue-collectin' ******** can't do **** about my drinking at home, or while camping.

Of course, I don't drink the way I used to back then, I was a heavy drinker in those days... and half a dozen of those friends I mentioned are already dead due to entirely unrelated reasons or causes, aye? Hard-partying generation, but Death comes in many forms & guises.

I also have a CDL-A or Class A Commercial Driver's License, and the BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) for a DUI is only .04%, which is less than a single beer, 10-4? Even in one's own vehicle... no ******* way I risk my license or my freedom, that ain't gonna happen.

Alright, I'm back to my entertainment, I just finished watching 'RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN' with Yul Brynner, now I'm checking out this Anthony Quinn flick called 'THE PASSAGE'---it's about some Basque who guides folks over the Pyrenees while Nazis give chase, lol.

Nice mountain scenery in the introduction, might hafta roll that back and see it again, lol. Got my vino handy and I'm feeling a bit better, sure had a stiff back this morning... but I ain't no spring chicken anymore, I'll be 59 at the end of the month. CHEERS!!!

P.S. Christopher Lee & Malcolm McDowell are also in this Quinn flick, lol. I always liked Christopher Lee & Vincent Price in all those old horror flicks they made, while Malcolm McDowell will forever remain famous for his role in Stanley Kubrick's 'A CLOCKWORK ORANGE'---a dystopian classic.

Edit: Damn, ol' Malcolm is pretty good as the evil SS officer in this flick 'THE PASSAGE'---should be pretty entertaining as I continue to watch, lol. Quinn & Lee are good too, I always liked Anthony Quinn as an actor, he was old school, yeah? Hey, old trains, badass mountains, some cool actors, a little action, what's NOT to like?

 

[Just Games]

I'm smiling now because I've spent 20 minutes trying to work out why we have to have a vice and its doing my head in :club: .I got my favorite customer today and that cheers me up no end so I'm smiling about the fact that i've spent 20 minutes trying............

 

[Finished]

^^^^^ I started drinking when I was young. I became an alcoholic in the Navy. I stopped drinking 10+ years ago. That is one vice that I cannot control and will not even try again. Thinking about drinking made me smile though. Ahhhhh, I really did enjoy it.