Happy Solstice

[Billy]

Happy Solstice :-)

[Frank]

Short day means long night - for drinking ;)

[Omelet]

Merry Yule... :-)

[Omelet]

It _is_ Saturday!

[Cheryl Isaak]

Don't mention drinking - not after that last bottle we opened last night - after three excellent merlots, the fourth was a dog and I have a tight head now...

[Omelet]

Vitamin B-12. And Milk Thistle. ;-)

[Cheryl Isaak]

Lots of juice and herb tea.

Should get some B Complex, supposedly it will help my insomnia.

But milk thistle - that grows here...

[Billy]

I'm as transparent as that, am I? Humph;-)

[Billy]

Fortunately, I never drink too much. I pass out first.

Not that I would know but you might try niacin. It maintain the levels of alcohol dehydrogenase, the first step in detoxifying, uh, so I've been told;-)

[Cheryl Isaak]

I assumed you never entered de-tox. ;)

I rarely have more than a glass or two of anything. And that last bottle didn't seem to be the quality of the first two. That's my position and I'm sticking to it...

Today - just good healthy food and drink.

C

[Omelet]

It also comes in Extract capsules at both health food stores and in the herbal section at Wal-mart. It has numerous health benefits, no side effects, and is especially beneficial in protecting the liver from alcohol abuse in many people. It's not 100%, but actual research on it has shown it to be promising.

I know it works for me. ;-)

It's also helped me with insomnia and, most surprising, my chronic issues with heartburn.

I DO want to grow it but have not seen any around for awhile. I need to order some seeds. Supposed to make an excellent salad green and the entire plant is edible. I'd like to try the young blooms. They are supposed to taste a lot like artichoke if picked at the right stage and steamed.

Considering Artichokes are naught but a giant thistle, it makes sense. :-)

[Omelet]

Niacin...

Do some googling for studies on Milk Thistle. It's better and it's not just anecdotal.

[Billy]

That is why you start with the best wine first. With any luck , you won't notice any defects in the last wine:-) Conversely, you may not appreciate the good qualities of the good wine, if it is served last.

[Jangchub]

When I was a practicing alcoholic and would wind up still drunk and hung over at the same time (for work as a dishwasher at the Chinese Restaurant) they'd give me black tea with salt. Worked every time.

[Billy]

Calm sweet lady, it is more than antidotal.

First, we are having some fun here and perhaps exaggerating a bit.

Ethanol is great fun for some of us, and a catastrophe for others. Some of us rejoice in it, at the peril of others. I work in wineries. Needless to say, there are no alcoholics. I don't say that derisively, if you have that weakness, you can't function in a winery. I don't wish to exalt ethanol. All I can say is that it is fun for ME. Hell, your the one who doesn't want to be PC. That's all:-)

I tried to grow some milk thistle this year but it fell victim to the "hounds from hell". We have a long front fence and the unfortunate plant laid along the shortest trajectory from one end of the fence to the other. Trample, trample, trample.

What was it that Hunter Thompson said, "Some people think of their bodies as temples. I think of mine as an amusement park."

Laisse le bon temps roulé.

Happy solstice :-)

[Cheryl Isaak]

Actually, it went good bottle (a split), decent bottle, really good bottle (just by accident) and then that not so good one...

[Omelet]

Alcohol abuse is no joke. I know that. ;-)

But there are (imho) many more that tend to depend on it for relaxation whether or not they want to admit it to themselves. Therefore, nutritional support is a very good idea and not hard to accomplish. Vitamin B complex, Milk thistle and other anti-oxidants are beneficial.

"Functional alcoholism" is second only to caffeine addiction as a very common factor in ill health in the US, and perhaps a good part of the world.

Except for maybe sugar addiction.

Sounds like you have a Border Collie, or something similar. I do too. Fortunately, it's not expensive to purchase.

A line from the movie "S.W.A.T." iirc. :-)

Indeed! :-)

[Billy]

So, just to make sure we have our nomenclature straight, you started with a 187 ml bottle of bubbly and, then proceeded on to three 750 ml bottles?

At the risk of appearing a wee bit of a debaucher, I have noticed, that with advancing age, on those occasions when I open more than three bottles, that invariably one of them is off. I know this because the next day I feel like hell.

Anyway, the Holiday Season is looming in the headlights. It will soon be past us. So if you are going to be imprudent, the next eight days offer the best window of opportunity. So, "laisse le bon temps roule". Your most embarrassing event of the year will be over and you can settle back in to your comfortable and predictable habits.

Yeah, Brothers and Sisters, don't forget the parable of Mark Twain and his Aunt Hattie. Mark had been laid low, very low, and was up close to death's door, when the doctor said,"too many children jumping on the bed". Uh, ah, humm, actually that's another story. What the doctor said was, "Mark, you gotta cut out your smokin', an' drinkin', and swearin' or you're gonna' die". Well sir, for a while Mark cut out his drinkin', an' smokin', and swearin' and, in good time, he was restored to health.

Shortly afterwards, Mark's Aunt Hattie came down with the exact same symptoms as Mark had had. Mark rushed to her bedside to comfort her, and told her the very same thing as the doctor had told him. Aunt Hattie, Mark said,"You you gotta cut out your smokin', an' drinkin', and swearin' Aunt Hattie or you're gonna' die". Aunt Hattie gave Mark a sharp look and said, "Mark, you know I don't smoke, or drink, or swear". Well the up-shot of it all was that Aunt Hattie died.

The moral of the parable is that it's good to have ballast that you can throw overboard in bad times :-)

Now, if the cognac will just last until January.

Happy New Year (Winter Solstice to Winter Solstice)

[Billy]

Right on, right on. A McNabb he is (a short haired border collie). Black and white in motion. When he runs out of hill, he continues rising for another three or four steps. Considering his foster sister is twice his size (ein Schaferhund), it is good that he can out run her.

They are both very intelligent. What irritates me is when they (a.k.a. "Hounds from Hell") sit together and whisper to each other, while looking at me, and chuckling all the while.

[Bill]

Glogg

1 qt Dry Red Wine 1 qt Port Wine 1 Cup raisins 3 T Orange Peel 3 Cardamon seeds crushed 9 whole cloves 1 stick cinnamon 1 1/2 cup Aquavit 1 Cup sugar 1 Cup Almonds 3 whole figs

Rest 13 hours

Serve Warm . You can use Rye if the fire of life aka Aquavit is not about. I make it with Tawny port.

Below a bit of more info as there is always more.

Yul!

Bill