The garden has a nice layer of mulch and has been put to bed for the winter. Planted some winter garlic that should be ready to harvest in the spring and just in time to transplant seedlings started indoors. The old adage is true, once you grow your own, store bought will be disappointing. With it being my first year of gardening I really didn’t expect anything to grow. Having those really low expectations and then to have an impressive crop had me frantically thinking of how to use all the cucumbers, jalapeños, bell peppers, strawberries, spinach, lettuce and tomatoes. Boy did I go overboard on the tomatoes! At least a dozen+ a day. Most I gave to my mother-in-law, some I snacked and ate off the vine, others I tried to preserve. Canning tomatoes and pickling cucumbers didn’t work out so well for me. The canned strawberry and blueberry/lime jams I made on the other hand, were spectacular! Having beautiful tasting jam had me wondering what I had been eating all these years that I thought was jam. The jam made me want some beautiful tasting bread to go with it. And if you follow me on social media you have noticed my rustic breads including a honey oat round loaf. Pick up a copy of “Make The Bread, Buy The Butter” truly inspiring how easy so many things are to make at home. I’m not going to put you to sleep discussing all the other fascinating books I’ve read this summer or their crunchy granola mantras. I will though leave you with this quote by Eckart Tolle that made me realize that I’m doing it all wrong:

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.” – Eckhart Tolle

Reindao Cigars “The Classic” – With so much expansion of The Empire it is always a nice journey to go back and spend time with the one that started it all. I’m talking about what I call, The Classic. Maybe it is unfair to label anything from a relatively new cigar brand as Classic. Maybe. I don’t see it as being unfair, I’m just ahead of my time. I’m confident that I will still be reaching for The Classic for decades to come. Both of the cigars in Antonio’s Empire Reserve line maybe what gets all the press and highly rated reviews but don’t sleep on The Classic. It is still the cigar that I grab when the now takes a toll on me.

Byron Reserva 3 Años – I don’t know much about Bryon cigars. And I’m okay with that. I like it that way. It is simply a magnificent cigar. The way it burns, the way it smells, the subtle flavors that tease your palate throughout. I spent the first inch with pen and pad trying to dissect the cigar and decode its flavor profile and all the delectable nuances. Then I asked myself, why? The perfect opportunity to practice The Power of Now. The rest of the cigar, I didn’t think…I just listened.

1502 Emerald – “Relax & Enjoy” – Enrique Sanchez … I couldn’t have said it any better. If you are a fan of books by Michael Pollan, the book pictured in the background, “The Third Plate” by Dan Barber is like The Omnivores Dilemma 2.0.

Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda – I usually don’t regret sharing cigars. I enjoy a room full of people smoking the same cigar and enjoying each other’s company…but as my jar quickly diminished I started having such regrets. Thankfully there are those who share in return and I am able to experience this illustrious smoke again.

CAO LX2 – A Week in Smoke wouldn’t be complete without a complimentary selfie of me and my glorious beard. The CAO LX2 was my companion through my Orioles playoff race. It did great during the Division Series against Detroit but did absolutely no good during the ALCS and those pesky Royals. Congrats to the SF Giants on winning another Word Series. As for the cigar, another instance of not being consumed with the latest and greatest just because the manufacturer tells you its the latest and greatest but rather take a moment and look inside; some of the greatest treasures are the things you already have.