Cigars and Humidity, Kids and Airedales

Cigars, Humidors, Kids, and Dogs___

I figure that might be as good as it gets today....it's humid out, and I received a new batch of Cigars from the Smiley Face Cigar folks at Cigar International{see Mr Smiley in the right hand column}.

We have had a bit more rain overnight, and the humidity levels remain high, despite the continued drought{despite the recent rain}. It got me to thinking about the 100 or so new cigars in the basement...Should I unwrap them? Leave them in the cellophane wrappers? Load them in the 3 cigar humidors I have in the basement, or leave them in the Antique Room with my grandmother's old salt shaker collection and some other remains of her and other long gone ancestors lives' that reside in that corner room of the partially finished haven beneath my Pine Floors that were laid in the winter of 1923?....The 8 x 10 room in the northeast corner has the small Antiques, some personal framed photos, officiating equipment and clothes that are in the off season stage, and mountains of paper work for tax purposes that I have to save from my 5 years delivering RVs around the country as a Private Contractor....Now I put a humidity gauge in there, to see if it meets the requirements to house my Cigar Stash without the hassle of putting them in the humidors:

http://cigars.about.com/b/2006/05/17/humidity-and-cigars.htm

68 to 72% the man says, and my gauge looks to be saying 71%...it usually is pretty constant below ground level, I like the look of a Humidor on my Antique Desk upstairs, but the Cigars tend to get stale and dry upstairs....The basement has been the place for the humidors, but now I think I'll leave them in the wrappers boxed in the Antique Room....Cigars remind me of the late 1800s and early 20th century, so this room seems a good fit, to go with all the other ghosts that may inhabit the items there.

No games for a few more days. No Sam, he's at OSU in Columbus...he actually text ed me yesterday wondering who Earle Bruce was...seems Earle was being interviewed by the Big Ten Network and Sam was doing the camera work...of course Bruce was the Coach that replaced the fired Woody Hayes in 1978 and preceded John Cooper, who was replaced by Jim Tressel. For the younger Buckeye fans, Earle is the lost coach, everybody knows about "Woody" and all despise Cooper for his poor record against Michigan. Earl Bruce was a successful coach for OSU, and finished with a winning record, 5-4-1, against Bo Shembechler and the Wolverines. Anyway, Sam now knows who Earle is. His classes finally started at Ohio State today.

Anissa has been away, she returns tonight, and Hal is busy with his life down near Dayton now that he has finished his Masters at Wright State...of course he still is working on another degree with on-line courses from Penn State...hopefully when and if the economy rebounds{not as long as arsehole Obummer is in office I fear}hopefully he'll bring home enough to pay off the bills...I don't envy the kids in these times, the days of the 3% Student Loans are gone with the wind.

Anyway a semblance of "Empty Nest" has hit, albeit not in total yet...you'll see no tears from me. I love my kids, and they are good goods who didn't or haven't given us any serious trouble, no outlaws, no out of wedlock children, and no drugs or refusing orders problems. But I have to say, and told Patricia so last night, I am looking forward to the final chapters sans the everyday drama the kids seem to bring...and I'm sure the boys are thinking the same. For now, during the school year, during the weekdays, it's me, the dog, and the stupid cat...I'm not sure how much longer Reagan the Airedale will be around however, she is past her 11th year. We started raising Airedales back in 1974 with our first one Rags...we've had at least one, and usually more, since then. I have decided that Reagan will be our last dog...I know better than to say never, but that is the plan. They are expensive to care for, they are a pain when you want to vacation, and of course the biggest pain of all is when you lose them and have to say goodbye. For now, I cannot see me doing that any longer. It will be just me and that stupid cat! Once Reagan is gone.

I think I'll go fire up a Cigar before I shed a tear....back later>>>>

Photos-The 3 "torpedo" cigar types that make up my new supply, one which will get me through the winter, well into next summer, unless I smoke more than usual, which isn't likely to happen in cold weather, being the "outdoor only" cigar aficionado I am. The hydrometer says 71% humidity in the basement...good to go for the supply of new cigars. And me and my first child, Anissa, back in 1979...4 years earlier, in 1975, me and my first pure blood Airedale Terrier, Reagan(1975-1987) camping near Higgins Lake Michigan.