#TLC Libations

[mkdigi]

JOIN US FOR HAPPY HOUR- FEATURING TLC LIBATIONS!

Our Happy Hour series kicks things up a notch with this month’s installment as we partner with Barrel & Flow Fest,  bringing you three beverage creators, two vendors, and a DJ, all in one outstanding new addition to our local restaurant community, Kûlcher Kitchen.  We take a closer look at one of our beverage creators each day leading up to the event, starting with TLC Libations. TLC Libations…

[nncastle]

June 24, 2021 :: We arrived in Arpino at 2pm on June 24th and stayed for three days.  Although we were there for business, the day soon turned into a party. We began our culinary tour at a local trattoria where we were treated to wonderful dishes of fresh pasta, patatine al forno, and veggies. Once the wine and champagne began to flow, it kept flowing into the night. Yes, you heard that right. We went from the trattoria to Bar Sport where more libations were served, to another trattoria where we ate beautiful appetizers. I counted 16 bottles, but there could have been more. As the sun set, the whole square was lit up by a terracotta glow and I just smiled. Arpino is what I needed! This amazing food and this amazing piazza and these wonderful smiling people who surrounded us. Arpino is not high on the tourist hit list, but what it lacks in star power, the city of Saturnio makes up with genuine charm, warmth, and vibrancy. This town is so alive, so full of passion. It’s not too large and not too small. No throngs of tourists, just authentic Italian awesomeness, with a good helping of culture thrown in. Life in Arpino struck me as good. People seemed happy to be alive, there was a sense of community, but also of worldliness. The piazza is like a grand living room where you can drink, eat, cheer during soccer matches, dance, and play. It’s a quaint town with meandering streets also the birthplace of Cicerone, Gaius Marius, Marco Vipsanio Agrippa, Giuseppe Cesari (Il Cavalier D’Arpino), and Pasquale Rotondi. Stilas of carved poems waxing poetic about the city dot the facade of houses and street corners. Flowers grow in pots and cascade down balconies. This hidden gem hasn’t seen the last of me. 

Arpino is said to have been founded by Saturn, the patron god of harvesting. Its first inhabitants have been identified with the mythical Pelasgians, the pre-Hellenic people who are believed to be the builders of the huge fortifications called “cyclopean or pelasgian walls which are still to be seen at Civitavecchia. 

PS That big palazzo with the rows of windows in the third photo is Palazzo Miani on Via Pio Spaccamela. It’s currently for sale for 175K€ and in need of some TLC. Shhh...but it will sell for less. It’s 500sq meters and enormous; three huge apartments with grand cellars. If you’re interested take a look here. 

Photos ©2021 Narcisse Navarre. Do not use without my permission.

[juno73]

Dodging the Galactic Empire is tough work! Fortunately while visiting Terra, Luke & Co. can stop into the Offshore for a quick libation & droid fluid. Of course a little TLC from the beautiful Chelsea doesn't hurt either!💆😉 Ok, citizens of the Republic, gear up for Star Wars Day this Tuesday! May the 4th be with you!🍻🤖🤖🤜🤛🤙🙌💯 #starwarsday #maythe4thbewithyou #genonestarwarsfan #gen1starwarsfan #offshoretavernandgrill (at Off Shore Tavern & Grill) https://www.instagram.com/p/COTt6DzDNC0/?igshid=pc7tpgyf20uj

[reddieaddict]

You’re Gonna Live Forever In Me (4/6)

Prequel to Richie’s Eulogy

Official Cast

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I’ve been really busy and anticipate I’ll be just as busy the next week, but I hope to post the next chapter in exactly one week. I know I already said this before, but just in case some of you didn’t know, I have decided to extend this fic by two chapters. I hope you all enjoy! :]

Pairings: Reddie with a slutty side of Stenbrough and tipsy Benverly

Summary: It’s senior year and Eddie has began to notice Richie exhibiting strange behavior. He is worried he might be hiding something, but doesn’t know how to confront Richie about it without setting him off and making matters worse.

New Years Eve 1994

“Hey, Bev! Do you know where Richie is?” Eddie had been searching for his boyfriend for the past ten minutes, instead of enjoying the heat of the campfire Bill and Mike had ignited for their annual New Year’s Eve celebration at the Quarry.  It was almost midnight and he didn’t much like the idea of welcoming the New Year without the most important person to him by his side. “I’ve been looking for him everywhere!”

“How did you lose him? There is only seven of us!?” Eddie ignored her deflective sarcasm knowing Bev was a little tipsy from the libations they had been indulging in since the kickback (if you can even call it that) had begun at nine.

“I dunno! We were sitting by the campfire a few minutes ago, but I left to go use the restroom and when I came back he was gone. It’s freezing, its almost midnight, and I need to find him!” Winters in Derry, Maine weren’t all that bad, hell it didn’t even snow, but for two scrawny boys it might as well have been Antarctica. Sometimes Eddie wondered how they had decided on starting this stupid tradition and why he always agrees to come, but then remembers that there isn’t anything else to do in Derry and spending the holiday with his mother seemed much more unbearable than the December cold.

“Um . . . I don’t know. I didn’t see him leave or anything, but honestly it’s not like I’ve been monitoring him. I’ve been kind of distracted with Benny. Sorry.” Bev’s words were genuine and Eddie knew that if she knew anything she would have told him without hesitation.  “Why don’t you try asking Mike? He’s been by Richie’s truck for the last half hour manning the radio. Maybe he knows where he ran off to.”

“Okay, yeah. Thanks, Bevvie.” Eddie agreed Mike seemed like the most logical person to ask next.  The only reason he had asked Bev first was because she and Richie were best friends (after him) and often went of smoke breaks together. There was no point in asking Ben; if Bev didn’t know where he was then Ben wouldn’t either. Bill and Stan had been drunkenly giggling and making out all night, so he doubted they knew anything. They barely came up for air, so if Richie had walked passed them, they wouldn’t have fucking noticed.

He made his way over to Richie’s truck, spotting Mike right away. He was bobbing his head to TLC’s Creep, obviously enjoying the effects of his fifth beer. “Hey Eddie! Are you having fun?” He asked cheerfully before noticing Eddie came alone. “ Hey! Where is your Latin lover?”  

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. I went to go use the restroom and when I came back he had vanished. I was hoping that he had told you where he went off to.” Eddie was beginning to get worried. Before he was just being a needy boyfriend, but now he was beginning to get concerned by Richie’s absence.

“Sorry, little dude. I haven’t seen him since he left me on mixtape duty to go hang with you.”

“Eddie! Buddy! Are you looking for Richie!?” Stan had snuck up behind Eddie, startling him with his booming tenor. He cackled at the high-pitched screech Eddie let out. “Oh my god! I feel bad for every dog in the county that must have heard that!” Even intoxicated Stan was witty. Witty and slutty. Funny enough that is precisely how he ended up confessing his feelings to Bill, by drunkenly giving him a lap dance at one of Greta’s party’s sophomore year. Speaking of Bill, he came up behind Stan and wrapped his long arms around his petite boyfriend’s narrow waist and rested his chin on his shoulder.

“Shut up, you he-bitch! You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack! I didn’t even hear you come up behind me! Jesus Christ, wear a fucking bell around your neck! HOLY FUCK!” Eddie screeched as he leaned onto Richie’s truck and clenched his jacket with both gloved hands over his heart, attempting to calm his racing pulse.  Bill laughed at the insult and promptly got a slap to the front of his thigh by Stan.

“Whatever. Didn’t you say you were looking for Richie?” Stan was too inebriated to come up with a clap back, so he decided to change the subject all together. “We saw him head up the cliff like fifteen minutes ago.”

“O-O-Oh yeah! He j-just walked p-p-passed us and d-didn’t s-say any-th-th-thing.” Bill’s stutter gave away just how drunk he actually was, which by Eddie’s guess, was more than any of the other losers. Neither of them seemed at all worried by Richie’s strange behavior. “I was s-s-s-surprised he d-didn’t tease us for m-making out.”

“And you didn’t bother to ask him where he was going or why?” They were testing his patience, which he was already on short supply of, after getting scared by Stan.

“Okay! A.) How could I ask him anything, if I had my tongue down Bill’s throat? B.) I figured you already knew WHERE he was going and WHY he was headed there! You two had been together all night! How did you even lose track of him? There’s only seven of us!” Stan shot back without skipping a beat.

“My fucking god! As I have told literally every other person here, I went to the restroom and when I came back he was gone.” Eddie decided that instead of explaining the situation any further to two drunken idiots, he’d rather just go find his boyfriend.  “Whatever. Thank you for the information. You too, Mikey. I’m gonna find Richie.”

“Maybe you can find a better attitude while you’re at it, too? Yeah?” Stan yelled as Eddie walk away towards the cliff.  

“Why don’t you go give Bill another clumsy lap dance, you messy whore?” Eddie shouted in rebuttal, without turning back to face his friends.  

“Yeah, b-b-babe why d-don’t you?” Bill whispered into Stan’s ear mischievously.

“It’s 20 fucking degrees out here, Bill! Do you want me to get frostbite on my dick!?”

“Fair enough. L-Later?” 

“. . . Okay!” Stan turned at wrapped his arms around Bill’s neck and kissed him with a smile. Where Eddie liked to play hard to get, Stan was a little more shameless.

“F-f-fuck yeah!”

Hiking was not one of Eddie’s fortes and his winter attire wasn’t helping in slightest.  He didn’t much care at that moment, though; he was determined to find his fucking boyfriend so they can share their new year’s kiss. It was still difficult and he toyed with the possibility that Richie might not even be up there. Would Stan be that much of a bitch to send Eddie on a pointless excursion? Yes he would, but Bill wouldn’t. Either way, Eddie had to make sure.

As he arrived at the peak the smell of cigarette smoke greeted his nose and quelled his doubts. He looked around hopefully and caught glimpse of Richie’s ebony curls and the bluish halo that emanated from them as the moonlight fell upon him. He was sitting at the edge of the cliff, with his gangly legs dangling over. Eddie took a moment to appreciate the sight.

Above them, the night sky was clear of any clouds. The stars seemed to dance as they twinkled in the sky, next to the full moon, which seemed twice as big as it usually did.  Richie’s dark locks floated and twirled in the gentle winter breeze, making them look so much more lustrous and shiny. Eddie wished he had a camera to capture the beauty of the moment. He almost didn’t want to interrupt Richie and just watch him forever, but he was a man on a mission. “Hey, Richie! I was looking for you everywhere! Why didn’t you tell me you were gonna climb up here? I would have come with you, babe.”

“Hey, Eddie. Sorry.” Unsurprised by his sudden appearance, Richie turned towards his boyfriend with a heavy smile as he stubbed his cigarette on the ground beside him. He never called Eddie by his actual name, and this marred Eddie with suspicions that all might not be right with him.

“It’s cool. Is it okay if I sit with you?” Eddie asked cautiously.

“Of course, amor. (love) Come here.” Richie patted the spot next to him, then turned back to look up at the night sky. Eddie didn’t wait another second to seat himself next to Richie.

“Is it okay if I hold your hand?” Eddie was growing more certain Richie might not be in the best of moods and didn’t want to overwhelm him with unwelcomed clingy affection. Since the argument they had on Christmas night, Richie has been trying to be much more open with his emotions, and Eddie tried not to pry or push Richie so much. He knew Richie would talk to him when he was ready.

“Of course, Eds. Dame tu manita. (Give me your little hand.)” A sincere smile spread across Richie’s purple lips and the sight of it filled Eddie’s chest with comforting warmth. He wondered if this is how Richie felt when he smoked. Is that why he loved it so much? If so, Eddie could understand why he was so addicted to it. He took Eddie’s right hand with both of his and rested it on his lap. He intertwined their fingers with his left hand, and began to play with Eddie’s knuckles with his right. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming up here. I just kinda . . . I dunno. I don’t really know why I came up here. I guess I just needed to be alone for a second and lost track of time. I’m sorry if you’ve been looking for me for a long time.”

“It’s okay, Chee. I found you and that’s all that matters. I didn’t want to welcome the New Year without you.” Eddie looked up at his boyfriend with big assuring brown eyes and Richie admired how beautifully the moonlight illuminated Eddie’s soft round face. It was in moments like this he wondered how he had gotten so lucky, to be blessed with a boy as beautiful as Eddie who loved him so unconditionally. He felt unworthy. “Te amo. (I love you.)”

“Que lindo. (How cute.)” Richie’s smile grew wider as he leaned in to place a chaste kiss onto Eddie’s smooth forehead, earning a giggle from the little man. “I love you, too. Your Spanish is really improving.”

“Thanks! That’s my new year’s resolution, to learn Spanish! I want to be able to communicate better with you. Well not better, like, not in that way. Just, like, in your native language. It would be romantic and I can have another way to connect with you. Do you know what your new year’s resolution is gonna be, babe?” Richie’s smile faded from his face as he shook his head as a gesture to signal he had not. He turned back towards the starry sky. Eddie immediately realized whatever he said had been a misstep and his instinct was to immediately backtrack. “Oh. I-It’s stupid anyways. It’s not like I need a holiday to motivate me to learn a new language. I can do that anytime of year.” The regret within Eddie grew stronger with every word. He didn’t want Richie to be sad on their first new years as a couple, because of him.

“It’s not stupid, bebe. (baby.) I’m proud of you and can’t wait to have entire conversations with you in Spanish!” Richie could hear the panic in Eddie’s voice. It wasn’t his intention to make the conversation so awkward. Talking about the future was just a sensitive spot for him, but he felt stupid for getting put off by such an innocent question, so he tried to comfort Eddie.  “I just don’t have a resolution. I don’t see the point for it.”

“Why not? Richie, contrary to what your mouth would lead most people believe, you are practically a genius! I know if you did decide on a resolution you’d kick its ass, babe!” Richie was amused by Eddie’s comical flattery, but still it did nothing to settle the unease that had made it’s home inside his heart. It wasn’t his intelligence he felt self conscious about.

“Eddie . . . do you . . . um. . . do you think I’m like my parents?” The question felt like a punch to the gut and left Eddie winded. It was so out of character for Richie to randomly ask such a heavy question and it left Eddie in erratic bewilderment.

“NO! NOT AT ALL! Why would you ask that?!”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I- I dunno. I just get afraid that as time goes on I’m becoming more like them. Sometimes I scared that I might hurt you.” Richie didn’t dare face Eddie has he spoke. He kept his teary eyes directed to the stars above him, as if the answers to his dilemmas were hidden somewhere behind them.

“No, Richie. You’re nothing like them. I know it in my heart!” He took Richie’s hand and placed it over his heart, which made him turn to face Eddie revealing the tears that balanced themselves on his waterline and threatened to fall at any given moment. The very sight of it made Eddie’s heart struggle to beat. “I trust you Richie, completely. You would never hurt me.”

“I already have.” The tears that teetered on his bottom lashes just a second ago began to fall over his freckles, like waterfalls cascading over stones beneath a riverbed. “This Christmas. The things that I said . . . I feel so guilty. The look on your face, I keep seeing it when I close my eyes. I don’t want to hurt you but sometimes I lose control. Sometimes I can’t help what I say. What if I get worse? What if I hurt you again?”

“All couples argue sometimes, Richie. It doesn’t mean you’re like your parents. I know you love me. You’ve proven it to me over and over, before we even started dating. I know YOU and I know you’re not capable of becoming anything remotely like them!” Eddie took Richie’s hand and removed his black mitten, exposing the scar on it’s palm, the permanent reminder of everything they withstood and overcame in the summer of ’89, for both of them to see.  He proceeded to place a gentle kiss on the healed wound, never once allowing his tear drenched eyes to deviate from his boyfriend’s. “I know you love me, Richie. I trust you.”

“My parents were in love, too. They were once happy and in love and then I came along! What if I ruin what we have the same way I ruined their marriage? What if I really am . . . poison?”

“Richie, YOU ARE NOT POISON!” What happened between them has nothing to do with you. They are responsible for their own marriage just like we are responsible for our relationship. You are nothing like them. WE are nothing like them! So you lose your temper sometimes? It doesn’t mean you’ll turn into them.” POISON? Rage ignited and blazed furiously within Eddie at the sound of Richie’s words, the thought of how long he must have felt this way, and the sight of how broken he sat there before him. How dare they?! Eddie actively avoided the word “hate” whenever he described his disdain for another person, saying it was too strong a word, and that he could never hate someone. In that moment, though, he knew for certain he HATED those disgusting undeserving people Richie was forced to call his parents.

“Then why do we keep getting in arguments, Eddie? Because of me! I keep making things difficult for us and I can’t help it.” Richie voice was a gentle whisper.  

“Things get difficult sometimes, Richie! It’s not your fault! Plus, I’m just as responsible, if not more so for the arguments we’ve had.”

“No, Eddie, you’ve just been trying to help. I just push you way.” Richie furrowed his thick dark brows and shook his head at Eddie’s statement. He couldn’t understand what Eddie had to feel guilty about.

“I mean . . . I guess, sometimes . . . “ Eddie darted his eyes towards the floor between them, as he often did when he was nervous. His brows furrowed and his lips contorted into a frown as he searched for the courage to ask a question he dreaded the answer to. “Do you think I’m like my ma?” 

“Why would you ask me that? You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“How couldn’t I after the way I reacted when you said you were going to leave. The tears! The pleas! It was just like her! Most of me wanted you to stay so we could work things out. So I could help you . . . but a part of me . . . a part of me also selfishly wanted you to stay for myself. I didn’t want you to abandon me, which is exactly what my mom says to me. What if somewhere inside I’m just as selfish and manipulative as her? What if someday I lose myself like she did when my dad died? Richie, my fear of losing you is so profound it frightens me. My mom wasn’t always that way! She was normal until my dad died! What . . . what if we’re the same?” Eddie’s words reverberated in Richie’s head, echoing and spiraling, as they violently made their way to his heart and melted into sympathetic sorrow. How could someone as benevolent as his Eddie feel that that way about himself?

“Eddie, you might share some of the same fears . . . some of the same personality traits as your mother, but that doesn’t make you like her. It’s what you do with those things that define you, the motivations and intentions of your actions. When we argue, it’s always been because you care about me and genuinely want to help. Of course there is gonna be a part of you that fears I’ll leave. That just means you care about our relationship.”

Eddie wiped his tears onto the sleeve of his jacket and looked up at Richie with uncertainty. “Richie, I want to believe that is true, but if I were being as selfless as you say, then why do I feel so guilty?”

“That is exactly my point, Eds, because you’re not like her. What your mother did to you was all about her. Her fears and desires were, and are, more important to her than your well-being or mental health. Do you think she feels guilty for manipulating you? For making believe you were fragile and weak? Has she ever asked for forgiveness? No. She’s never apologized to you because she feels no remorse. But look at what you’re doing? The guilt you feel is just proof that you are concerned about how your actions affect me, which is something she is incapable of doing. You care about me.” Richie placed his ungloved hand onto Eddie’s cheek, affectionately caressing it with the pad of his thumb. He reciprocated his uncertainty with a passionate kiss that took both of their breaths away.  

“Our. Parents. Are. Shit, huh?” Eddie giggled in between kisses.

“Are we both fucked?” Richie pulled away, and rested their foreheads together, still able to feel the warmth of Eddie’s breath tickle his face. He looked up into his eyes and smiled lovingly.

“How can you possibly say what you said to me and still believe that we’re fucked? It kind of undermines everything you just said!” Eddie’s soft expression made it evident his words were meant to be taking teasingly. Richie paused searching for an answer that would relay the conflicting feelings that floated within him.

“I dunno. I guess I feel better, but I still have my doubts. I mean, do you feel like I completely erased your worries?” Richie looked tenderly into Eddie’s eyes waiting for a response.

“No. I guess not. I mean, what you said was really made me feel better, but I guess I am always gonna be a little afraid I’ll become like her. Its like a fear that is going to always live in the back of my mind.”

“Exactly. I think we’re always gonna be afraid we’re like our parents, but you know what? I think we can be LIKE our parents without becoming them. I think it’s possible if we help each other. You already make me want to be better, Eds. You make me feel like anything is possible. Maybe, just maybe, a happily ever after is too . . . with each other.”

Eddie’s cheeks burned, his chest swelled with a warm joyful feeling, and his smile grew wider than he ever believed possible. He placed both of his mitten dressed hands onto Richie’s face and playfully leaned in to kiss his nose, then his forehead, then his cheeks, and then finally firmly on his lips. “I love you Richie. You bring out the best in me. You give me hope, courage, and strength. Things I never even knew existed within me. If I can’t have a happily ever after with you, then I don’t want one at all.”  

Richie, overwhelmed with emotion, wrapped his arms around Eddie and kissed him once more, but this time it was deeper, more passionate, but not craving or desperate. It was full of appreciation and love, and through it both boys conveyed and exchanged all the feelings they were never able to articulate, as words would never do justice and only get in the way. Eddie felt like fireworks were exploding within him like estrogen dreams, releasing blues, yellows, golds, and greens. Once they pulled apart, he realized it wasn’t just within him. Fireworks had begun to light up the night, signaling it was officially midnight. Eddie got to have his new years kiss with the love of his life after all; even if wasn’t under the circumstances he anticipated.

“Hey fuckers! Its officially 1995!! Whooo! Get your asses back down here! Lets party!” Mike shouted up at them, while the rest of the losers around him cheered and hugged one another.

“Hey, I guess I kissed you into next year!” Richie laughed at his own joke, as if he thought it was the most hilariously and original joke he’s ever said or heard. Eddie on the other hand, scowled, as he at the cringy joke. “Oh god! Richie that joke is so played out. Don’t ruin the moment.”

“Okay! Okay, Eds. Gosh, you’re no fun.” Richie released his boyfriend and raised his hands as a gesture of surrender. Eddie just rolled his eyes and began to walk back in the direction came in, then turned back with a mischievous smirk and an arched brow. “Oh really, I’m no fun!? I’ll try to remember that next time you spend the night and try to get in my short shorts!”

Richie’s eyebrows shot up and his eye widened at Eddie’s foreboding words. “Hey! HEY! HEY! No comiences con esas chingaderas! (Don’t start with that shit!) Depriving sexy-fun-time is not fair, ESPECIALLY on New Years! It’s just EVIL!”

“Hey, if really think I’m not fun, I’ll gladly live up to it.” Eddie crossed his arms smugly. “I can be a real killjoy, if you want me to be. Try me.”

“Eds, no! I’m sorry! Don’t do this to me, baby!” Richie ran up to Eddie then dropped to his knees and cupped his hands together pleadingly. “I’m sawry! I’m sawry! Please pardon my loose tongue, beautiful maiden!”  

“Maiden?” Eddie’s façade broke as soon as Richie switched into his terrible southern drawl. He wrapped his hands around the back of Richie’s head and leaned down connecting their lips. “Idiot.”  

Richie lifted himself back up, towering over him and enwrapped Eddie’s waist with his scrawny, but yet toned, arms. He smiled down at his boyfriend and devilishly wriggled his brows. “Soooooooooo . . .”

Eddie knew Richie wouldn’t let it go and it just wasn’t worth it to tease him any longer. Eddie wanted to get back down to the heat of the campfire. Besides, they both knew how this was gonna go down anyways. It was a worn-out routine. “Okay fine, Richie! Later, though. Right now we have to get back down; the others have been waiting for us for God knows how long. They probably already think we’ve been up here fooling around this whole time.”  

“I don’t give a shit about them. Show me what that mouth do.” Eddie glowered up at Richie.

“I’m gonna push you off the cliff.” Richie laughed at Eddie’s attempt to be intimidating. It was like an angry kitten and he found it adorable, but he knew if he wanted to get his way he needed rail in his mouth!

I love you, Eddie Spaghetti.

I love you too.

Taglist: 

@bloggingandstruggling @bitchardtozier @11stayradstaybad11 @breakmyreddieheart @reddieformeerkat @purejaeden @julietissue @greywatertozier

[tyleroakley-obsessed]

It’s that weekend, Memphis. You know the one that happens every October, where there are so many festivals and things to do in that the city seems to buzz with energy. So gird your loins and jump in with both feet to this amazing weekend in Memphis, starting with these five ideas. But first, be sure you didn’t miss anything on the blog lately: – The Best People Watching Ever at Memphis Comic Expo – Visit The Stax Museum For Free (+ live Music and Food Trucks!) at Soulsville USA Fest (this weekend) – See Jack White, Wu-Tang Clan, The Revivalists, DJ Paul and More at Mempho 2019 (this weekend) – People Are Turning Trash Into Clothes For The 2019 Trashion Show – Pumpkin Patches, Haunted Houses, and Halloween Parties for 2019 – 4 Food Trucks You Can’t Miss In Memphis Right Now 1. Memphis Comic Expo, Agricenter International, Saturday – Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 pm. $25+, free for kids 12 and under This two-day family event focuses on comic creators but also features vendors, cosplay contests, gaming tournaments, and guest panels. It’s featured guests list is stacked with big names who’ve worked on big projects like Uncanny X-Men, Black Panther, Wonder Woman, Bitch Planet, and so much more. 2. Soulsville USA Festival, College & McLemore, Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., free, all ages Enjoy the soulful music line-up, food and crafts from over 40 vendors, free admission to Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and much more during this festival celebrating South Memphis’ innovative and robust global contributions to music and culture. 3. Mempho Music Fest, Shelby Farms Park, Saturday – Sunday, $119 and up Mempho follows up last year’s explosive lineup with The Raconteurs, Brandie Carlisle, and the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. You’ll also be able to see hometown heroes such as DJ Paul, Valerie June, Amy LaVere, and John Paul Keith. 4. Cheer on the Home Team 901 FC v. Louisville City, Autozone Park, Saturday, 7 p.m., $15 and up, all ages/kid-friendly It’s the last home game of the season, so this is your chance! Thank the boys in blue pink for a kickass inaugural season in Memphis. First 5,000 fans will receive pink t-shirts from Baptist Cancer Center and the players will wear/sign pink warm-up jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you buy tickets before midnight on Thursday, you can donate to the cause. Memphis v. Tulane, Liberty Bowl, Saturday, 6 p.m., $20 and up, all ages/kid-friendly Memphis v. Errrrrbody. Let’s show the Tigers team that we’re on their side by filling up the Liberty Bowl on Saturday night.  5. Victorian Village Home Tour, Sunday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., $25-$30, all ages Enjoy docent-led tours of some of the city’s most beautiful historic mansions, including Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum and Mallory-Neely House, and view antiques and never-before-seen architectural treasures. Learn about archaeological history and preservation efforts in this gem of a neighborhood, as well as unique bits of Memphis history. Then head to Mollie Fontaine Lounge to sip Sunday libations on the new patio.  More ideas… Repair Days 2019, National Ornamental Metal Museum, Thursday – Sunday, free to attend, all ages Bring your busted, rusted, and otherwise damaged metal items to the Metal Museum for a little TLC. During Repair Days, the museum’s crew of blacksmiths and metalworkers will fix your items for a fee, which benefits the museum. The day also includes family friendly activities, workshops, and a dinner and auction. Harvest Festival, Agricenter International, Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free event, all ages The fall-themed fun of the Harvest Festival returns for its sixteenth year. Paint pumpkins, go on a hayride, learn about agriculture, and dance to some bluegrass at this family-friendly event. Beale Street Art Crawl, Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., free, all ages It’s not just folk art! Artists of all disciples from around the Mid-South come together on Beale to build community and showcase their works for this free event. Bring the family and discover Memphis heritage. Cooper-Young Beer Fest, 795 S. Cooper. Saturday, 1-5 p.m., $45-$50, 21+ If you didn’t already know, Cooper-Young is incredibly active in the Fall thanks to both Cooper-Young Fest and the Cooper-Young Beer Fest—featuring food vendors and beers from over 30 regional craft breweries. Goner Records will supply tunes and food trucks will be on site. (This might sell out!) Edible Memphis Dinner In The Gardens, Central Gardens, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., $200, 21+ Local foodie outlet Edible Memphis will co-host an impressive endeavor on Saturday, October 19 in Central Gardens between Peabody Ave. and Glenwood Place: a seven-course farm-to-table dinner for 1,000 people. Five local chefs will prepare unique dishes, and there will be beer and wine, plus a welcome cocktail from Old Dominick. If you donate $25 to the Central Gardens Association, you get a $50 discount on your dinner ticket. Read all the FAQs here and reserve your seat here. Art on Fire 2019, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Saturday, 7-11 p.m., $75+, 21+ If you’ve got $75 and are old enough to legally enjoy alcoholic beverages, then head to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens for this casually classy fundraiser. There’ll be live music and other entertainment, art sales, a silent auction, and great local food the Dixon’s south lawn. Proceeds benefit the Dixon’s art education and outreach programs. Time Warp Drive In, Summer Drive In, Saturday, sundown, $10 per person, parental discretion advised It’s a spooky edition of the cult movie marathon, featuring OG Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, The Monster Squad, and Clue. They’ll show them all back-to-back at the Drive-In, which is like going back in time TBH.  And even more ideas… All Weekend – Memphis Urban Laughs Comedy Festival at Cordova Event Center (Thursday – Sunday) – The Parting: Paranormal Pop-Up at Evergreen Theatre. (Explore what wicked weirdness lurks beneath midtown’s Evergreen Theatre in this haunted tour of the theater, where each room tells a different creepy tale) – HauntedWeb Haunted Attraction at 2665 S. Perkins – Paranormal Cirque at Wolfchase Galleria – Romeo & Juliet at Ballet Memphis Overton Square – Head Over Heels Musical at Playhouse on the Square – Zoo Boo at the Memphis Zoo – Monster Market at 618 S. Main Street – Mound City Corn Maze in Marion, Ark. (Fri. and Sun only) – CATS the musical at Theatre Memphis – Cedar Hill’s Haunted Farm in Hernando, Miss Friday – Food Truck Fridays at the Dixon – Penn & Teller at the Orpheum – Happy Glaze Donut Shop Grand Opening in Germantown – Laser Show at the Pink Palace Saturday – Memphis Farmers Market downtown – Cooper Young Community Farmers Market – Great Pumpkin Celebration at the Bass Pro Pyramid – Family Fun Day at the Metal Museum (part of Repair Days) – Engage Memphis Festival at River Garden – Tennessee National Period Day at Overton Park Sunday – Great Pumpkin Celebration at the Bass Pro Pyramid – Pumpkin Carving Competition at Lucchesi’s – International Sloth Day at the Memphis Zoo – Reharvest Memphis at the River Garden – LeMoyne-Owen College Homecoming Week Kick-off – Blues Brunch by Chef Fran at Slice of Soul – 2020 Mister & Miss Mid-South Pride Pageant at Dru’s Place For even more, check out the blog’s calendar. Are you a home owner in Memphis, with a broken garage door? Call ASAP garage door today at 901-461-0385 or checkout https://ift.tt/1B5z3Pc

https://ilovememphisblog.com/2019/10/5-things-to-do-this-weekend-10-18-10-20/

[caiocostasouza]

Autumn-themed Recipes and Tips

 The leaves are turning red and gold and the woolly jumpers have been brought down from the loft. That can only mean one thing…it’s time to pick yourself up a pumpkin latte and get that apple pie out of the oven, because it’s autumn again!

Autumn might not be everyone’s favourite time of year, but there are a lot of ways to make it one of the best seasons in the calendar. It’s not warm – but you can get cosy. It’s not summer – but it’s almost time to get excited for Christmas. There’s a lot to look back on over the past year, but there’s still a lot to look forward to. It’s easy to blink and miss this special season, so make the most of it this year with some of our recipes and tips to help make your pre-winter months some of the best you’ve ever had.

Summer Sendoff

If you’re dreading the colder months, sometimes the best way to embrace autumn is to give summer a proper sendoff. And what better way to do that than to invite family and friends over for one last party?

Check the weather forecast and roll out the barbecue for one final round of burgers and bangers. Get the garden games out, and pour some refreshing cocktails. (See below for some great autumnal drinks recipes.) Don’t forget to give that BBQ a good clean before it goes back in the garage again.

If you’re feeling productive, now’s the perfect time to give your garden some much-needed TLC. Prune those trees and hedges, mow the lawn one last time and plant an array of brightly-coloured bulbs ready for next spring. See, autumn’s not so bad!

Autumn Libations

Change-up your drinks cabinet with a few autumn-themed specialities perfect for crisp days and chilly evenings.

Sloe Gin Sipper

The warming taste of sloe gin is perfect on a cool evening. Paired with spicy ginger, it’s divine.

You’ll need:

30ml sloe gin

50ml orange juice

Fiery ginger beer Angostura bitters

Add the sloe gin to a chunky tumbler, over a couple of ice cubes. Pour in the orange juice and top up with ginger beer. Shake in some bitters and stir. Add a twist of orange peel, if you like.

Sugarplum Prosecco

Sugar and bubbles – perfect for an autumn brunch.

You’ll need:

25ml creme de cassis

Dash violet liqueur

Prosecco

Hibiscus flower

To a champagne flute, add 25ml creme de cassis and your hibiscus flower. Top up with prosecco straight from the wine cooler, then add your dash of violet liqueur.

Mulled Cider

Mulled Cider

Too cold for fizz and cocktails? Treat yourself to an early festive treat – mulled cider is for life, not just for Christmas.

You’ll Need:

2 litres cider – try scrumpy styles, like Old Rosie

6 cloves

3-4 star anise

¼ tsp dried nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla pod , halved, or dash of vanilla essence

50ml orange juice

4–5 tablespoons sugar – try demerara or golden caster

Add your cider to a pan, and warm through on the hob. Add all other ingredients and raise to a boil before turning it straight back down to a low simmer. You don’t want to heat it up for too long, or you’ll evaporate all the alcohol out of it. Pour into mugs or serving glasses, and add a tot of apple brandy if you like. We won’t tell.

Autumn is the season for huddling under blankets, reading a good book and getting stuck into a new box set. Don’t wait until halloween to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Start now and you’ll soon become a convert to this changeable time of year.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook!

Until next time…

The post Autumn-themed Recipes and Tips appeared first on MyAppliances Blog.

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[pippabaileyauthor-blog]

Urgh... my libation of the evening. #sick #cold #cough #ineedtlc #tlc

[skitravellerscubanstyle]

Cigars, cars & rum....the mob & all that Jazz...

Fat Cuban cigars....use to be illegal to take thru the USA so I was told once after buying a box in some Caribbean port whilst sailing the Panama Canal on Carnival Pride back In 2009, think I bought them in Columbia....not sure what the status is now but I can tell you they are a dime a dozen & very cheap in Cuba....of course it's their mainstay! Although once a smoker many moons ago I was never into cigars however I am told, on authority, that genuine hand rolled Cubans are a sort after treasure.... One of our many jaunts around Cuban soil took us to Vinales, the tobacco growing region with a tour of a producers operation. The tobacco industry...and the rum industry are government controlled with 80% going into the government coffers, I guess they have to fund the free medical & education somehow. Was rather interesting watching the hand rolling process, also interested discovering the difference between a hand rolled & machine produced which is now quite obvious. Hand rolled cigars have high quality fillers that run the entire length of the stick. Machine made cigars use lower quality fillers that consist of chopped up tobacco that usually includes the stem and other undesirable scraps. Only hand rolled cigars have natural wrappers which can't withstand the force in the auto machines. No matter how well they sell it.....not for me! Another stop in the Vinales region was at a guava berry rum plant....conjuring horrid memories of a certain similar libation purchased in St Marteen....another Caribbean port stop years ago......which shall forever be known as the Old Man 2 buck chuck....oh my lord I was sick after indulging......never ever again.....so walking into this rum plant, not expecting guava berry the smell hit me like a ton of bricks.......I wasn't in there long so didn't get the full lo-down......fresh air was calling along with the urgent need to get the hell away from those nasty little blighters at manic speed.....I succeeded! That stuff is seriously dangerous to ones health. The mountains in the Vinales region are actually very pristine, villages intermingled with jungle & vast open tobacco plains, rock art, caves with flowing rivers all add to the diversity of the Vinales. Cubans are very arty, they love colour...it's not uncommon to see cliff faces decorated in artworks. They must be good climbers! Colour plays a huge roll in Cuban lifestyle...houses, buildings, walls, pavements, cars in addition to the typical canvas....bold colours abound in every nook & cranny. Old classic Yank Tanks are a dime a dozen although they are really nothing but rust buckets beyond saving, maybe they will start, maybe they won't....then there's coasting down the freeway to save on gas....the old classics are on every street, on every corner waiting for a fare, these are indeed taxis of sorts, safety standards do not apply in these parts so expect the unexpected. It would appear the only detail of these cars that is remotely genuine is probably any unbogged metal in the chassis, engines certainly aren't. I am sure if one looked deep enough into the streets of Havana one could probably find a serious collector with a pristine old classic ride under lock & key but there sure ain't none among the taxis! These cars flooded into Havana in the hey day of the swinging jazz era....the mob sent over top names such as Sinatra, Lewis, Martin, Liberace etc as smoke screens for mob business.....big names hit Cuba's night clubs The Tropicana, Havana Club, Copacabana, Hotel Nacional which was once the mobs headquarters amid carinvale girls & all that jazz......a regular who's who in the zoo effect permeated the Cuban social scene bringing more & more of the west including a never ending stream of cars. The hoards have long gone but the cars remain desperately seeking some TLC. It wasn't only the music & movie industries represented in Cuba glam days but also the literary world & as a lover of Ernest Hemmingway I was pleased to learn he once lived in Cuba, in fact he spent a few decades in residence writing or fishing, apparently it was here he wrote Old Man & the Sea, a fav in my youth....I once wrote a pretty in-depth paper on the old guy. Much has been written over the years about Cuba, mostly from a western perspective which as it turns out is so very far from what is & probably even what was....

Nasty 

Danger!

Tobacco drying a la naturale

Rolled in lightening speed

Tobacco farmer.......seen too much guava berry moonshine

So has the dog......I think the old guy was still breathing

Rock art

That is the biggest rat I have ever seen....the black furry thing

Amazing caves

Colours of Vinales

Our taxi

Copacabana

Hotel Nacional