Boo

Welcome aboard Mac. You've made a great decision. The process of quitting will reward you many times over.

I never met John Prine and he wouldn't know me from Adam's house cat. Yet I can't help but feel like I lost a friend today.

Nothing sets the mood quite like a roll call I guess.

Sounds a little kinky to me. That's where my mind went anyway.

And I just noticed when I reacted to this post, the comment below read "You and Mee reacted to this." Wait, what...who said that?

The state of Tennessee doesn't have a Major League Baseball team. The Atlanta Braves have more of a regional following. As for the Tennessee Vols, I don't follow college football that closely. That being said, I hope the Vols right the ship soon. Some good friends of mine are taking Tennessee's recent gridiron woes pretty hard. Of course right now, there is absolutely nothing going on in the world of sports. I hope we can get back to first pitches and opening kickoffs soon.

Dealing with difficult people is a perfect opportunity to practice detachment. It's something I've been working on a lot over the last couple of years. Mentally step back from the situation when you feel any stress, anxiety, anger, chaos...take a little pause for the cause, and calmly evaluate your options. You have no control over what they do. You have complete control over how you respond.

Dried tobacco leaves rolled up in paper with a filter on the end...nothing precious about that. The perception of what the cigarette is that we held as smokers compared to the reality of what the cigarette actually is was terribly skewed by addiction and the lies we agreed to accept as gospel truth. Don't give a cigarette any more credit than it deserves. The cigarette has as much or as little power as you give it.

It works every muscle in your body. It is a great cardiovascular workout. It can be done with little to no equipment. It works as a great stress reliever. It is an intense workout. It is a good bit of fun. It is boxing. I've been mixing things up on the days when I'm not doing strength work, focusing more on cardio and conditioning. Recently started doing some boxing work again and I'm loving it. There is a wealth of information online and several good instructors with videos on YouTube: Jason Van Veldhuysen, Shane Fazen, Nate Bower, Fran Sands...just to name a few.

Welcome back Rec. We missed you pig time (see what I did there?).

Welcome aboard AK. Good call on giving up the smokes. Cigarettes kill. They take everything and give nothing in return. Food provides nutritional sustenance and, done right, can be delicious. Looks like a good trade to me.

We offered support and advice. You gave us the opportunity to watch another quitter break free from the chains of addiction. It's a win-win situation for all involved.

The fear of quitting kept many of us smoking for years. The reality of quitting made us wonder why we didn't do it sooner. Congratulations Kate. Enjoy your newfound freedom.

We had a similar situation here in Tennessee a few years ago. A man referred to an Indian store owner as "chief." The store owner assumed there was some racist connotation to it. Locals explained that men around here will often refer to other men they don't know as "chief", "big guy", or "boss man" just to name a few. I'm a white guy, very white in fact, and I've been called "chief" many times by many different men. Learning a new language is tough enough. Making sense of regional eccentricities adds a degree of difficulty to the process. Also worth mentioning, if you're a man and come down South some older women will refer to you as "darling" or "honey." They're probably not flirting with you, that's just how they greet you.

Has it been two weeks already? Every now and again a quitter shows up who is just destined for success. Since day one here you have shown a good mix of commitment, grit, and humor. A great combination of attributes that will carry you through the process. We commend you for the way you are handling the process and congratulate you on two weeks of freedom. Everybody give it up for Helmethermit...

Thinking about beef brisket and wood pallets. This quarantine has given me time to focus on my obsessions and take up more along the way. With all this time at home, I can be very meticulous when it comes to grilling and cooking. Had a smoked beef brisket last night that was, if I may be so bold, perfect. I started the process on Thursday night, trimming surface fat and applying the rub. Smoked the brisket over the course of six hours yesterday, taking time to apply mop sauce and add pellets to the grill. That was some good eating. Added bonus: we're gonna have leftovers that will last for days. Building furniture for the nursery has rekindled my interest in woodworking. I was kicking around the idea of building a new coffee table for the back porch. Sugar Britches pulled up a photo of an outdoor table that someone built entirely out of wood pallets. Did a quick internet search and found all kinds of ideas for projects that can be done using pallets. This works perfectly for me. Through my work, I have access to as many used pallets as I want. We can't get rid of them...the things are stacked up everywhere. Do the whole "reduce, reuse, recycle" bit and save money along the way...it's nice when things come together. Boo the builder, can he fix it....

I've listened to it a few times now. Still hear "Laurel" every time. Are you listening to the Greek station? He's a national treasure over there.

I heard "Laurel" each time. Then I got distracted trying to remember if Laurel was the skinny one or the fat one in Laurel and Hardy. I looked it up, Stan Laurel was the skinny one. Oliver Hardy was the fat one. Watched a clip of Laurel & Hardy trying to clean a chimney. Spoiler alert...Hardy falls off the roof. Anyhow...what were we talking about again?

For me, it wasn't so much the frying pan as it was the threat of the frying pan. Just knowing it was there, hanging by a thread like the sword of Damocles, was added motivation to not do anything stupid. Fear the pan. Respect the pan.

Had been watching movies that I hadn't seen yet, but went back and watched an old favorite tonight: Office Space. Sugar Britches had never seen this movie before. Shocking, I know. She hasn't seen Idiocracy either so I think it's clear what we need to watch next. Office Space was damn near perfect. One area that could have improved the movie...more Lawrence.

Happy Birthday Tammy.