Ice Pack

The ice-pack image is a rather 'stock' image for New Year's Day to represent significant overindulgence in spirits the evening before.  Fortunately, I very rarely drink to a level where such an ice-pack is desired.  I believe I have had a hangover of that sort perhaps only a handful of times in my life.  Once when I started graduate school and was quite a novice, and the other few times typically associated with a robust wedding reception.  So, the ice-pack is just for show this morning.

Well, it is now 2019.  Last evening, my wife and I spent a quiet evening together examining our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year as we have done each year since we began dating so many, many years ago.  It was a gentle, quiet time of reflection and love. 

A tradition that was a bit different than in years past was in beverages.  My wife is a virtual "tee-totaler" and so typically in years past, I have coaxed her into having us open a bottle of wine on New Year's Eve, but truth-be-told, I would typically drink the lion's share of the bottle.  This year, however, because of my pipe fast, I was a bit hesitant about how much to drink as I anticipated that being slightly "sloshy" feeling would lead me to yearn for a pipe.  It had been my normal pattern to truly and deeply relish a strong bowl of dark tobacco in my pipe when I would become gently "sloshy" of mind.... it always has been a very beautiful paring that I would enjoy.

However, I did not want to have to work through the philosophical arguments in my mind last night about whether to have a pipe or not.  So, instead of a bottle of wine to "share" with my wife, I instead gently worked through two bottles of a pleasant I.P.A. style beer during the evening.  I do admit that there were a few moments when I *did* contemplate a pipe, but I was not "sloshy" enough to end up having a serious internal debate.

Happy 2019!

PipeTobacco