Writing this down so the secret doesn't die with me. Many years ago I was in my favorite bar, The Detention Room. It is, true to it's name, a cigar bar in a former detention room of an early 20th century highschool that had been transformed into a hotel. Different rooms had different themes, and The Detention Room was perfect for an anxious animal like me. In total, it has enough seating for maaaybe a half dozen people at most. Its dimly lit, extremely moody, the colors are all muted, and has a really cute little woodstove salvaged from a boat. This is where I invented the Honey Spike on an extremely cold snowy winter evening.
I'd come here for a date with a friend, and I arrived early, and without a jacket. Just utterly shivering in the distance from the car to here. I show up and the fire in the stove and sweet smell of cigar smoke instantly had me wanting a hot drink. I came here for beer but that cold had woken up something in me. The two hot drinks I know are the Hot Toddy and the Hot Brick. Both are...well they're okay, but I'm very much an Old Fashioned gal, and I for better or worse wanted an Old Fashioned, but warm. Being it was winter my brain made the connection of orange spice tea, and by the time I sat down at the bar, I already had the recipe in mind.
There was one other person in there besides the bartender. I ordered a moontrance cigar, opened my mouth, and asked for this drink. The guy sitting nearby heard me order, and he immediately asked for the same drink. When my friend arrived, he ordered it as well and over the course of the evening as people filtered in and out the drink eventually found its way onto a little specials blackboard for the evening. At the time, it had no name, so I just called it a sweet toddy. Now, I love to make this anytime it snows, and I try to keep a stock of Pendleton to make it when it gets extra cold. I've named it the Honey Spike. Enjoy.
Honey Spike
1.25 oz honey syrup
1 round orange slice
Boiling Water
1.5 oz Pendleton Whiskey
Garnish: 1 Cinnamon Stick
Add syrup, orange slice, and whiskey into an Irish Coffee mug. Top off with boiling water and a cinnamon stick. Serve with a wood fire.
7:50 -- Brittonfield. Mick’s infusion. Like nurse. Friendly. Attractive? Hard to tell w/mask. Tall, slender. Healthy looking hair. My age? Verify R-CHOP dosage. Full CHOP. Vincristine reduced.
Circa 10 AM. Back home. Mare joins Mick after 11.
KC -- Tin of CAO Moontrance. M & T Bank. Cash Corn Hill check. Overheard conversation. Young chick recounting bad Texas de Brazil experience. Terrible service. I chime in re restaurant inspection. “Had roaches everywhere.”
2 PM circa -- DD. Maria bartending. Always bubbly. Like her. Wild Turkey 101 & soda. Hefty pour. Small splash grenadine. Five dollar tip. One Peach High Noon.
Call from Matt V. Wants to fix amp. Will drop off tomorrow. Bring chocolate chip cookie.
5 -- Mare’s serves dinner hour early. Thinks it’s six. Another K moment? Or something worse?
Evening at home. Watch David Faster Wallace interview. Joan Didion audio book. Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
5 Star Members get 25% Off All Tinned Pipe Tobacco! Today Only! Sign up for discounts! It's free, only takes a minute, and there's no obligation! See store for details. Check out our website: drewstobaccoworld.com. Deliveries and curbside pickups are available. "The idea of living forever makes me uncomfortable, and at this point I've lived long enough and seen enough Twilight Zone episodes to know there's always a catch."--Mara Wilson #drews #dtw #drewstobaccoworld #okc #405 #oklahoma #oklahomacity #waterpipes #bongs #tobacco #medical #dab #marijuana #briar #lighter #humidor #pipetobacco #glasspipes #waxrigs #5stars #hookahs #vapes #steamroller #dokha #traditional #cigar #sale #moontrance #tinned #pipetobacco (at Drew's Tobacco World) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6LUzArWJe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Enjoying an afternoon cigar with my love 😍 #cigar #cigarporn #cigars #cigarsociety #smoke #fortmillsc #cigaroftheday #moontrance #caocigars (at Fort Mill, South Carolina)
Mermay, day 5 🌙 A moonlight bath for this lovely mermaid. I guess I went a little bit too far with hatching...or maybe not? I still have to learn how to master shadows and lines to avoid creating “dirty” pieces, but I like to overall look. 🧜 🧜♀️ 🧜♂️ 👾👾If you LIKE my art, COMMENT and FOLLOW me: I really appreciate it 👾 DM for commissions/collaborations 👾👾 (soon a commission chart will be uploaded) Remember to stay safe and stay at home. Everything will be all right! ❤️🌍❤️ . . . #mermay #mermay2020 #mermaychallenge #mermayartchallenge #mermay1 #monthlychallenge #monthlyartchallenge #mermaid #siren #fantasygirl #illustration #illustrationdaily #digitalart #drawingart #illustrationoftheday #artfeaturehelp #artmeme #artistofinstagram #instaart #fantasyart #artfeature #sketchbook #moonlight #moontrance #ocean #bluehair #magicmoonlight #ocean #landscape #digitalpaint https://www.instagram.com/p/B_z0-CBBEgf/?igshid=4xb2nrwpxfzt
Moments. They comprised lives, a person's character, their souls. This was her second moment.
Whatever training they had couldn't prepare them for her. The boy had fallen by the time they stopped, contemplating her. They were indeed werewolves. Large ones at that, but only one of them twitched as if he considered using his stronger form. Or maybe he was the only one able to do it on a whim. A potential problem.
One with a beard and eager eyes took a step just for the stronger one to grab his shoulder and spit on the ground between them. "We have no quarrel with you, Siren. This boy belongs to us."
Moontrance looked back at the boy too afraid to stand up, the boy with dried blood on his dark skin and puffy circles under his eyes as he watched with something between hope and resignation.
Was she a protector or did she only carry destruction?
Last night, completely by accident, I stumbled across the work of Lindsey Stirling. It’s amazing. But don’t just take my word for it - here’s “Shatter Me”;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49tpIMDy9BE
I’m going to take a wild leap in the dark here, and suggest that this might appeal in particular to fans of symphonic metal. It very much has that sense to it - strong instrumentals, full of energy, romantic through-and-through. (Also the video’s theme, of seeking freedom through music, felt quite apt.)
While “Shatter Me” was the first track I stumbled across, there are lots of others that are first-rate. “Moontrance” is another good one, or there’s also “The Arena”. In fact, let’s be honest, I haven’t disliked anything that I’ve listened to so far.