so what started out as a modest birthday celebration involving about 20 people is now blossoming, bloating into a party with a guestimated 100 people showing up. including neighbors and folk I havent heard from in a decade (since the last big birthday party, in fact). Today was crazy we decided we needed a tent for Saturday so I got one and a very friendly guy delivered it and put it up by himself, which was impressive! we rented chairs, and tables too as our small house can barely hold a dozen people, and the weather in this part of the world is dicey this time of year. actually its dicey year round with the exception of dead winter, when its flat guaranteed to suck.
then I took a relaxing break and went to two consecutive and contiguous board meetings that would have been more efficient if theyd been in the reverse order. I had to spend 45 minutes explaining how paypal works to one group, which was exasperating and sort of breath-taking at the same time. I mean, wtf? dont these people use the interwebs?? theyd never heard of it!
then off to PT which helped me some, and then the fun part of the day began. My long time fellow tippler (tipplerette?) and I walked into the local package liquor store to lay in supplies for the party. We are a known item there, as you will see. The owner was on his way to the bank, spotted us in the parking lot, and turned around to follow us in. We went straight to the Whisky section, happily followed by the owner. Without any hesitation we bought
Ardbeg 10 years
Edradour 10 years
Aberlour 12 years
Caol Ila 12 years
Talisker 10 years
Bunnahabhain 12 years
Clynelish 10 years
and
Oban 10 years.
Then things got difficultshould we splurge Glenmorangie 18 years? or the 21 year old Ardbeg? how about the new 18 year Laphroaig? or should we go nuts and get all three?
well, we settled on the 21 year Ardbeg, and decided to go on to sherries and wines, about which I know next to nothing. Fortunately the owner, a whisky man himself was happy to fetch out his best wino (yeah, I know theres a fancy name for him, but Im not gonna look up the spelling of sommelier or oenophile or whatever), who sorted out 5 bottles of white and red, sweet, dry and somewhere in between for us to add to the table. Then on to the sherries; after tasting and turning down a white port (Welchs grape juice anyone?) we were given a couple of bottle of Bodegas Dios Baco Jerez Amontillado Sherry just because its mah birthday! [plus also if you adds up the price of the Scotch, they werent exactly taking a loss.]
We finished off our terrifyingly expensive spree by going over to the grocery store where a thin woman with iron grey hair spotted us sniffing all the cheeses. We told her what booze wed bought and her remark was: well then, you need some cheese with some guts to it. So we added some aged gouda, aged provolone, a round of Stilton and a few little boxes of Pie Anglais (the Englismans Feet) to the cart. We tossed in some Guiness, Old Peculiar, and Grolsh for the heathens and now all we have left to do is build the bonfire and await developments!
and why Im writing about this: is because I get high, really high, when Im around people who love their drugs and their senses and have no trips about it. The Whisky-man is happy that he owns a liquor store and takes pleasure in his whiskybut hardly looks a boozer. The wine-guy (okay, I do have issues with wine, but getting past that) was happy to share his knowledge with us and match his wits against Mr. Whisky and me, making our wandering journey through the wine racks a real treat for all concerned: we mostly stood back and let the two men argue out what went with which, and then I picked, not by what they said, but by following their line of sight the last bottle they looked atthats the one I bought!
and the same with the Cheese lady: she went and got us a hunk of cheese the stinky Englishman cheese which I have no idea about but I trusted her, and I enjoyed just watching her mind work with our wine/whisky/sherry list, sorting through the options and coming up with a modest (well the amount we spent on cheese was modest) dessert tray. In the end, Ill likely toss out most of the cheese, or give it away, and I already know that Ill be giving away the undrunk wine, should any be left, as well as a bottle or two of the Scotch; it was the happiness and open sensuality of these shopkeepers that gave me my pleasures today, for I have learned that we must take our pleasures when we can, and every time I do something which is once in a lifetime (like drop $600+ on booze for one day) it invariably opens the door into another once in a lifetime opportunityand one that simply would not have come about had I not taken the first foolish, irresponsible step off the straight and narrow path of common sense.
may you all do likewise, today, and twice again tomorrow!
then I took a relaxing break and went to two consecutive and contiguous board meetings that would have been more efficient if theyd been in the reverse order. I had to spend 45 minutes explaining how paypal works to one group, which was exasperating and sort of breath-taking at the same time. I mean, wtf? dont these people use the interwebs?? theyd never heard of it!
then off to PT which helped me some, and then the fun part of the day began. My long time fellow tippler (tipplerette?) and I walked into the local package liquor store to lay in supplies for the party. We are a known item there, as you will see. The owner was on his way to the bank, spotted us in the parking lot, and turned around to follow us in. We went straight to the Whisky section, happily followed by the owner. Without any hesitation we bought
Ardbeg 10 years
Edradour 10 years
Aberlour 12 years
Caol Ila 12 years
Talisker 10 years
Bunnahabhain 12 years
Clynelish 10 years
and
Oban 10 years.
Then things got difficultshould we splurge Glenmorangie 18 years? or the 21 year old Ardbeg? how about the new 18 year Laphroaig? or should we go nuts and get all three?
well, we settled on the 21 year Ardbeg, and decided to go on to sherries and wines, about which I know next to nothing. Fortunately the owner, a whisky man himself was happy to fetch out his best wino (yeah, I know theres a fancy name for him, but Im not gonna look up the spelling of sommelier or oenophile or whatever), who sorted out 5 bottles of white and red, sweet, dry and somewhere in between for us to add to the table. Then on to the sherries; after tasting and turning down a white port (Welchs grape juice anyone?) we were given a couple of bottle of Bodegas Dios Baco Jerez Amontillado Sherry just because its mah birthday! [plus also if you adds up the price of the Scotch, they werent exactly taking a loss.]
We finished off our terrifyingly expensive spree by going over to the grocery store where a thin woman with iron grey hair spotted us sniffing all the cheeses. We told her what booze wed bought and her remark was: well then, you need some cheese with some guts to it. So we added some aged gouda, aged provolone, a round of Stilton and a few little boxes of Pie Anglais (the Englismans Feet) to the cart. We tossed in some Guiness, Old Peculiar, and Grolsh for the heathens and now all we have left to do is build the bonfire and await developments!
and why Im writing about this: is because I get high, really high, when Im around people who love their drugs and their senses and have no trips about it. The Whisky-man is happy that he owns a liquor store and takes pleasure in his whiskybut hardly looks a boozer. The wine-guy (okay, I do have issues with wine, but getting past that) was happy to share his knowledge with us and match his wits against Mr. Whisky and me, making our wandering journey through the wine racks a real treat for all concerned: we mostly stood back and let the two men argue out what went with which, and then I picked, not by what they said, but by following their line of sight the last bottle they looked atthats the one I bought!
and the same with the Cheese lady: she went and got us a hunk of cheese the stinky Englishman cheese which I have no idea about but I trusted her, and I enjoyed just watching her mind work with our wine/whisky/sherry list, sorting through the options and coming up with a modest (well the amount we spent on cheese was modest) dessert tray. In the end, Ill likely toss out most of the cheese, or give it away, and I already know that Ill be giving away the undrunk wine, should any be left, as well as a bottle or two of the Scotch; it was the happiness and open sensuality of these shopkeepers that gave me my pleasures today, for I have learned that we must take our pleasures when we can, and every time I do something which is once in a lifetime (like drop $600+ on booze for one day) it invariably opens the door into another once in a lifetime opportunityand one that simply would not have come about had I not taken the first foolish, irresponsible step off the straight and narrow path of common sense.
may you all do likewise, today, and twice again tomorrow!
VIEW 24 of 24 COMMENTS
_holden_:
I completely agree. If I were to get married it would be a pretty non conventional wedding. I'm happy for my friends and plenty of other people I know who are in great marriages, but I'm not ready for that big of commitment in my life. You always seem to understand me. 
annalee:
You know, I will actually do that at some point then, I adore his work. Hope things are happy and well with you :-)