A story of fire and ice (in the scotch)
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It's been a relatively nice day today, sunny mostly and blue-skied, some heavy cloud here and there and about 20 degrees. I've spent most of the day driving my wife's uncle and aunt around to various places so they can shop for essentials. They live in the country, about 450 kilometres away from Adelaide, and come down periodically to pick up a lot of supplies and things they are unable to get locally. It's always an interesting weekend as they are a lot of fun, love to eat and shopping with them is an experience; Today there were three of us trying to control 4 big trolleys at Costco. Comical!
Tonight we're heading out for dinner to my favourite Vietnamese restaurant with them and my mother in-law and then are planning to head back here for some coffee and cake and a drink or two. I'm not much of a drinker but am happy to have a couple here and there and today I bought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Double Black scotch. I've not tried it before however Im told it's pretty nice. Garry and Cindy like a drink so I'm sure they'll give the scotch a hammering. :)
We're also going to sit around the fire pit I have built in my yard. Well, to be honest my wife did most of the work out there and I only helped with the heavy lifting. She's a great gardener. We spend quite a bit of time around the fire in the winter months and tonight is going to be perfect, 11 degrees and clear skies so quite cold for Adelaide. There's something special about sitting around a fire with friends and chatting, sharing stories and in between the talking listening to the crackle of the fire. I find the fire almost hypnotising and quite relaxing. I think most people do. My wife's mum and sister (the aunt) have just lost their other sister to cancer and mother to old age (my wife's gran) so I'm sure talk will come around to stories about them and the good old days and other family stories that will have us laughing and recalling those people fondly.
In our real lives my wife and I are quite private and very selective with who we let into our lives so we rarely entertain at our house. We have occasional gatherings with a very small group of friends for a cook-up and that's about it. It's not like we're anti-social, we just prefer to select our friends carefully and we're very protective of our personal space (home). We look forward to these fire-pit-gatherings though as they are always so much fun.
I hope everyone has something great planned for their Saturday night: A nice meal with some good company, a quiet night in with a loved one or the family, Netflix or maybe a night out on the town with friends? No matter what you have planned do it with passion and make sure you're 100 percent present in the moment because life has a funny way of getting away from you. It moves forward relentlessly and it's what you do with it today that you'll look back and remember; Don't allow yourself the chance for regret to creep in. This isn't a dress rehearsal. Take your life and own it!
[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default -]
Johnny Red and I have been estranged for 25 years. I hear the Black is excellent. Let us know.
Hi @mattclarke, as promised I said I'd give you an idea on my thoughts of the Johnnie Walker Double Black. Now, I'm no scotch connoisseur of course so I won't get too technical. As far as I cal tell it's a little more smokey than standard Black Label and sweeter also. The burn seems to linger for less time compared to Black Label (we compared the two last night). Overall I like it and would buy more.
If a person was one of those who adds cola or dry to their scotch then it's probably not worth the extra money however if, like me, a small measure of water is all you add to your scotch then I believe it's worth the extra money. It's about $10 or so more than black so not a lot I guess however if a person was a regular drinker it would add up.
Anyway, that's my assessment. Give it a try. If you like Black Label, you'll like Double Black I think.
I lean toward the stronger stuff when the temperature starts to drop.
Usually rum; or as I call it, "Sorry about last night" juice.
:) Funny!
I’m such a non-drinker usually. I’ll let you know though; It’s supposed to be good. :)
NB: Meets are inside for the Winter months, hope to see you (both?) on the 31st :)
Might see me, (A) works Thursday nights. I’ve been busy culling Thursday’s so haven’t been able to get there.
As long as you know the door is open.
I brought @amandaclarke to the last one, and her friend @wildflowerjessi :)
I plan to come along. Enjoyed the last one I went to.
There is something so very therapeutic about relaxing next to a fire. Some of my favorite times with raising my daughter center around evenings around a fire in our backyard.
We used it to celebrate the good times, heal the bad times, and as inspiration for our dreams for the future. Thanks for sharing.
Nothing quite like poking a fire with a stick or boot and shootin' the breeze in my opinion. I'm fortunate enough to have the room to have a fire pit and well...I'm good at fires. (Not a pyromaniac or anything though.) :) We had a good night, some nice Johnnie Walker Double Black, some snacks and a few laughs. My wife's aunt, uncle and mum also spoke about her dad who died when my wife was 11. I never met him. It was nice to hear some stories and see my wife spending some time with her mum like that. An overall good night.
Excellent post bro, very nice story caused me sad because at this moment I am separated from my wife she is in another country because of the political situation in our country. We used to meet as a family to share good and pleasant moments like those you describe ... thank you ..
Hey, sorry to hear that you've got strife causing separation from your wife. I can't imagine what that must feel like. My wife and I are so close and being separated like that would be so difficult. I don't what country you refer to @covapalm but hopefully you're reunited with lady sooner than later. Thanks for your reply and for reading my post.
my friend is not easy I have three children where a salary is not enough to eat I'm from venezuela. This feels that is not decrisible. I do not say it to anyone, it has not been easy, day by day not to cry, thanks to you for your words, very much congratulated for you and your family.
Ah Venezuela...Yes, you have many challenges to face there I know. It’s easy from here, Australia, to forget that around the world there are many less fortunate people around the world. We have many people here who accept (expect) handouts rather than earning what they get and it annoys me because there are many people in the world who work hard and yet still struggle. I’m going to follow your blog mate, and will go there now to throw some upvotes your way.
thanks for your support friend
You've got me here mate, you know how I feel about this kind of relaxation, it's blissful. I have very little family left alive, no parent or grandparent so really good friendships I also select very carefully, but add a great deal of value and comradery to them. Thanks for the beautiful message, God bless and I wish you guys a great evening to.
Hi @petesays, Thanks for your nice message. We had a great night. We don't often get to spend a lot of time with my wife's side of the family due to them all living far away and my family is spread all over the world so I have none here. It was good to swap some stories and feel that cathartic power of a crackling fire.
Sounds like a great time! I used to love those Costco runs back when I was a kid. My dad would get the big, flat carts and we could ride on them until there wasn't room, then we had to get off. We'd load it up with a bunch of stuff, until it was hard to push. That would last us for a little while. Good times.
Fires are a lot of fun. It's nice to just sit by them with a drink and some snacks and just watch the flames. It's enjoyable to have good company with you too. Have fun with the family. :)
Ah yes, memories of riding the trolley at the supermarket. I had some of my glorious fast and furious driving moments in the supermarket. We had a good night last night. just such a nice way to spend some time swapping stories around the fire. I have none of my own family down here but it was nice to spend time with some of my wife's. They are nice people, down to earth country people. Was a good night.
Lol, are we doing a word battle? I like it. At least you don't call it a buggy. :P I still like to hop on the back of the cart and ride it while I'm going out to the car.
Fires have a way of bringing out the best stories and allowing them to be presented in the best light (pun intended). It sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'm glad. You and your wife could use a little more of that right now. It has been a hard time on both of you.
Yes, it's been a tough time lately and moments like last night are most welcome. We are looking forward to our trip to the UK and to see my family in Finland soon. It will be a welcome break.
Shopping trolley is what we call them here, I think in the US it's typically a shopping cart right? We have many different words for things some of which are really funny. I might do a post on it someday. We could make it a joint effort maybe?
Example:
We call the trunk of a car a boot and the hood of a car is called a bonnet here. Seriously. :)
I might do a post about it. Back in the day I did a couple of posts about Aussie slang putting the words into a paragraph at the end of the post. Maybe I'll do something similar.
I hope the trip to see your brother goes really well! It's crazy to think you haven't seen him in a few years. My brother doesn't live close, but he comes back for a holiday every year. That's nice to have the time to catch up. I imagine it will be the same for you.
Sure, I'd love to help with your post! Just let me know what you're talking about (send a picture if it's too complicated) and I'll tell you what I call it. :) And yes, you got all of our words correct: shopping cart (or simply "cart"). You're also correct on trunk and hood. Words are funny.
I was reading a short story from an author here on Steemit and she talks a lot about not jolting the reader out of the story. Well, she's from the UK and was writing about some people walking by the road, but she called it the "tarmac." Here in the US, tarmac is the word I use for at an airport. Since it was a new story and I was just getting my bearings, I was very confused. I asked her about it and we discovered the difference. It's nice to be able to help someone tailor an article for a different geographic area's language.
Hey, yes that’s an interesting point! The tarmac one. We call the airport tarmac also. I thought that was universal. Words can be funny but when you add in differences between countries even more so! I may do a post on it. I’ve never been to the States but may get there in the coming years. I’m going to play up my AUSTRALIAN-ness. :)
One thing I can tell you about America if you come here is that you should totally play up your Australian-ness! It'll get you so far here. Your accent alone will make you popular. Ha ha.
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Nice roast mate!
Short and sweet bro. :)
Ha ha ha ha ha!
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Excellent post, I liked it a lot.