In days of yore, when STEEM was a buck and 
It has been 12 days so let's see what I have been up to!
'Tis the season to be traveling the highways and getting together with family for many. We are no exception and there is a yearly Christmas gathering where a growing side of the family gathers, reconnects, and yells at each other like only a Maltese family can do. New babies, wedding announcements, golf stories and enough food to put me in a coma. I always cherished cousin time as a kid and this is perfect for that whether the cousins are 1, 13, or 50. Gifts for the little ones while the parents feign disappointment at not being the youngest and receiving those presents. These are miles well worth the trek and I look forward to the next one already.
You may have caught my last post https://steemit.com/hive-114105/@zekepickleman/of-christmas-gifts-and-reducing-environmental-impact where I highlighted a little more seasonal subject matter and a little family victory. I have always hated creating so much waste for the sake of cosmetic dressing of presents with non-recyclable wrapping paper. I didn't do to much about it until this year when I voiced my opinion that the tons of gift wrap we tear and toss is such a waste and not good for the planet. To my surprise, my family jumped into action and found a solution with me. I LOVE what we have come up with and would love to pass this on to at least 1 person looking to be festive, yet a little more environmentally friendly.
The weather way the hell up north in Canadia has been pretty much perfect. Perhaps not perfect by southern standards but you take that as a concession to not having rattlesnakes and scorpions? Anyhow, it has been cool enough to have a little snow so it feels a little like Christmas. Still, it has hovered near the freezing mark so that we haven't the biting winds, mounds of snow to shovel, and high heating bills. For me, it has meant a delay in the freezing fingers while on top of a ladder driving screws and twisting wires. Internet installations in my contract have been a little slow, making me wonder why the internet company has not taken me up on my marketing proposal to drive sales and online presence. I am a little less frequent on my Ladders posts but here is a shot of an older neighbourhood in the center of town you will likely see on the next post.
Pictures keep filtering to me of the night we transformed from a hockey team into the Deegees for a night of disco and ass shaking last spring. "I really felt like a rock/disco star that night" was the comment on this one from a musician who is well respected in his real band. Reflecting on the smiles and memories of that great night is a good way to remember that life is really damn good. Not only that, we have been tossing around ideas for the show next spring. They include The Grateful Hip (Grateful Dead/Tragically Hip mash up,) ZZ Groove (Beards, fuzzy guitars and southern rock) Police Brutality (songs about cops and such) and April Whiners (Hockey players whining at the refs and playing April Win songs.) We haven't settle upon the exact idea yet but it is bound to be epic.
I did take another road trip to Windsor but not for festive reasons. My training partner had his 4th professional MMA fight and I was not about to miss it! If you are of the facebook persuasion, you can see the fight in its entirety here https://www.facebook.com/prospectmma/videos/475633086399147/ I won't spoil it for you but I was pleased with the effort and result....made for a great night and culmination of the 2-month training camp. We are working on another fight for the Feb if it is in the cards.
Let there be beer! You know, I could quit drinking beer but what fun would that be? I have so much fun exploring new beers and breweries, the social settings with a casual drink, having a beer while gaming at night, and being the resident STEEM Beerologist. This is one of the take-aways from my visit to Indie Alehouse in Toronto you can read about here https://steemit.com/tasteem/@zekepickleman/tasteem-e91837 You will have to wait til this weekend for the review of this one and a couple others on #beersaturday.
I wouldn't be a proper Beerologist without another bit of Beer Porn. I had a chance to swing by one of my dark horse favourite breweries Redline Brewing http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/ This is a shot I sent to my text group of local IPA fans. Clutch is not only perhaps my favourite band (https:/www.pro-rock.com) but perhaps my preferred APA (http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/clutch-american-pale-ale/) The problem is that is about all we get in the stores here. So, a visit to the brewery is always a treat so that I can raid their fridge. This time, I picked up a Double Clutch which is simply twice as good as the regular one, and a Rye Pale Ale which I have a soft spot for. I still have a couple of these in the fridge and saving them for the right moment.
As made popular by my Zeke Tasteem Revews and Steemfoodtours, here is an Extreme Dramatic Close-up© of some yummy cuisine. I wish I knew the name of this cool pub dish but it escapes me. They are quail eggs, wrapped in little sausage bits, with criispy breading deep fried, served with a fancy mustard! My buddy the owner of the pub busted them out during our marketing meeting and I HAD to share them with the blockchain. I may just have to pick a few of my favourite patented extreme close ups for an expose on a future post.
You can only have so much of a great thing and I can only expect my followers to read so many stories in a single post. Truth is they could be broken up into individual blog entries but I refuse to do things like that. Under promise and over deliver!
I will be traveling, celebrating and givin' 'er over the next couple weeks and may get another Zekely post in before the new year if the stars align. Until then.........
