The Libation Contemplation Thread

[TKI67]

Last night's dead soldiers. We rarely indulge in pricey wine, but this cab was a worthy splurge. Modern cabs are too fruity for my taste. This was the first bottle of Inglenook we had in over forty years, and it was very much in the old school style. I hope they survived the fires. We had it with steak frites and salad, a meal worthy of the red meat thread. Today we are back to moderation.

 

[Big T]

Well, today I shall be imbibing in a variety of beverages (under protest!). You see, I must attend a "diaper party"! At age 68, I must go to an emasculating, millennial gathering, and that is after I must attend a "baby shower"!

What is next? Wives and girlfriends spending the night at hunting camp, the night before the first day of buck season (any night after is OK, but that first night is strictly reserved for male bonding).

Woe is me!

 

[TKI67]

Well, today I shall be imbibing in a variety of beverages (under protest!). You see, I must attend a "diaper party"! At age 68, I must go to an emasculating, millennial gathering, and that is after I must attend a "baby shower"!

What is next? Wives and girlfriends spending the night at hunting camp, the night before the first day of buck season (any night after is OK, but that first night is strictly reserved for male bonding).

Woe is me!

I hope they serve something stronger than mimosas! Good luck.

 

[Big T]

I hope they serve something stronger than mimosas! Good luck.

Why, that's the bright spot! They're professional drinkers, always with a wide range of beverages, from the low to the highest pinky up stuff! Plus the grandfather-to-be, is a cigar smoker, with his minimum level of stick being Oliva (but he's the biggest buttercup of all).

I guess for the diaper party I must buy a box of diapers for the baby-to-be, but I'll also get a box of depends for the soon to be grandfather!

 

[FiscalDean]

As I sit here looking out at the snow falling on my boat (which is still in the water) I'm contemplating a pre - prandial martini.

To be followed by a ok pinot noir and a dry aged USDA Prime rib eye.

 

[Fading Fast]

Well, today I shall be imbibing in a variety of beverages (under protest!). You see, I must attend a "diaper party"! At age 68, I must go to an emasculating, millennial gathering, and that is after I must attend a "baby shower"!

What is next? Wives and girlfriends spending the night at hunting camp, the night before the first day of buck season (any night after is OK, but that first night is strictly reserved for male bonding).

Woe is me!

I don't particularly care if this generation wants all events to be mixed sexes; although, I think they are missing out on some of the fun and bonding of same-sex gatherings, but I will never go to another baby shower (obnoxiously referred to as a "Jack and Jill" shower) in my life and it has nothing to do with the sex of the attendees or rights or politics.

It is simply because they are awful events. At the one - and that will be the only one - that I went to, we all stood around the soon-to-be mother and father (she sat in a chair, he stood by her side like an royal attendant with a clipboard and pen, to be explained in a moment) as they opened an insane number of presents.

And this was not a rich group of people, but apparently, (as my girlfriend told me, firmly) buying gifts* (from a conveniently provided "registry" in advance) for events like this is what you do today.

Okay, so we're supposed to watch and act excited as rattles, stuffed animals, onesies, baby monitors and a million other things you apparently need today to have a baby were opened and fawned over. Meanwhile, the husband took the wrapping papers his wife sloughed aside and put them in a large garbage bag and, then - I did promise I'd get back to this - picked up the clipboard to diligently write down the gift and the name of the giver for each one, I assume, for thank you notes to be sent later.

This went on for what seemed like a day, but was about two hours. Yes, there was beer, but come on, I can drink beer in a million places where baby gifts aren't being opened, lauded, recorded and piled high.

This generation of women was very smart to include men in this ritual as why should they suffer alone?


*The gift-giving thing has gotten out of control. Now, when a couple gets engaged, you sometimes have to give a gift at the announcement, then again, at the engagement party, then, at her bridal shower and, then again, at the wedding. When I noted to my girlfriend that we were giving, effectively, two gifts for the same engagement and two for the same wedding, I was looked upon as a Scrooge. And if they have a baby right away, you can be up to five gifts in one year.

 

[Oldsarge]

That's one advantage to aging. If any of my widowed friends get remarried, they already have houses full of stuff and aren't going to have children. So whenever I go to their houses (Someday Vaccine Will Come . . .) I just bring a bottle of wine and everything is good. I'm not sure it makes up for all the aches and pains but since those come with the territory, enjoy what you can.

 

[eagle2250]

To those gentlemen finding themselves dragged off to attend all these beggar's bazaars by your significant others, the late, great Nancy Reagan said it best, "Just say no!" Mrs Eagle, realized a long time ago that I am an anti-social a**hole who frequently says no to such invitations...so she no longer asks if I want to attend such senseless functions, but rather, attends on her own! LOL.

 

[Big T]

To those gentlemen finding themselves dragged off to attend all these beggar's bazaars by your significant others, the late, great Nancy Reagan said it best, "Just say no!" Mrs Eagle, realized a long time ago that I am an anti-social a**hole who frequently says no to such invitations...so she no longer asks if I want to attend such senseless functions, but rather, attends on her own! LOL.

DW and I share a very similar disdain for these gatherings, but we're somewhat obligated to attend. Last night, I was asked if I was going to "slipshot", and I responded with a what. Again I was asked the same thing, with an explanation, of was I going to sneak off, without telling anyone I was leaving (as I did two weeks earlier at a different gathering). I replied, you're damn right, that I wasn't going to stay around for hours, risking drinking too much.

I survived yesterday and our decision today is do we take a nice fall drive somewhere to look at the changing colors of leaves or do we stay home to rake the increasing depth of leaves around our home. One of the very few benefits of COVID is driving somewhere without incidental stops, since few places are open. You're forced to look at what is abounding in nature!

 

[Fading Fast]

To those gentlemen finding themselves dragged off to attend all these beggar's bazaars by your significant others, the late, great Nancy Reagan said it best, "Just say no!" Mrs Eagle, realized a long time ago that I am an anti-social a**hole who frequently says no to such invitations...so she no longer asks if I want to attend such senseless functions, but rather, attends on her own! LOL.

We've pretty much landed in the same place where my girlfriend goes to a lot of those type events by herself and I only go to the "big" ones like weddings. As in your house, she doesn't even ask me anymore as she knows I don't want to go.

The funny thing is she doesn't like those events much either, but knows you can't maintain friendships if you don't go to, at least, a good number of them. That shower I was referring to was fifteen or so years ago and I haven't gone to another one since.

We seem to be in a nice "gap" right now in our fifties where we don't have a lot of events (or ones that I have to go to anyway - she goes to this or that one almost ever month) as our friends' kids are, mainly, too young to marry. I see a wave coming though, but I'll miss all the tangential wedding events and only have to go the wedding itself when that wave hits. Amazing that weddings now seem to have three or more "smaller" events around the big one.

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[The Great Garbanzo]

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Fading Fast]

You're getting pretty close to a perfect moment with that combination.

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Oldsarge]

 

[Oldsarge]

It's that time of year, again.