Susanne

It would make travel between Schengen countries easier, and open up the possibility of relocating relatively painlessly to the EU if you were so inclined. Looked into getting my Italian citizenship; the only issue is time... Having a legal tax presence there, as well as property, it would be physically easy; earning a living and/or starting a business would be a major PITA, tho not insurmountable... My only issue (tax and legal wise) is the USA still has hooks into you - even if you live there.

Intriguingly explosive anticipation...

Umbria - Having 4 seasons, incomparably good food and (cheap) good wine, the people, hunting season, and outstanding health care. Did I mention (relatively) inexpensive CC's that don't have to be smuggled in? And driving... both the cars, and the SS/Autostrade system. US - Less bureaucracy to do business, cheap fuel (and travel), freedoms unavailable elsewhere (work to firearms to, well, life)... Good booze, the world available at your doorstep, and linguistic commonality, coast to coast and border to border. There are, of course, things I'm not fond of in either place, but nothing so bad that I couldn't / wouldn't want to live there.

I apologize - in advance - for my rant, but growing up in the 60's, the current nanny state loss of freedoms strikes a HUGE nerve... You only lose those freedoms and rights you're willing to let others legislate away from you by not opposing them. Right now we're all socially engineered to not stand out, because it "may hurt someone's feelings", instead of saying "enough is enough" and doing something - speaking up, running for elected office, calling the "ninny nannies" on their control-freakish ways... who purportedly have "your best interests at heart, because you're too ignorant to know what's good for yourself"... Remember as a kid - Riding bikes everywhere, going on campouts with your friends, knowing NOT to get into strangers cars, going shooting (strange, we never shot each other) and/r hunting... Remember NOT having a GPS tracking device or cellphone on your kid to check on them every 15 minutes like a baby monitor? Remember going to a friends house, then from there going out hiking in the woods, or downtown, or to the rail yards, or to the toy store? Now, EVERY OTHER HOUSE but yours is filled with child-molesting sadist serial killers, and every adult looks at every child wanting to do evil things to them (except for you, of course), and NO ONE ANYWHERE is EVER SAFE, because the evening news says so... and we'd better pass some more laws protecting us from ourselves... Sorry for the rant. But honestly (and it doesn't matter if you're in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, wherever, as long as there are elected offices to run for) if you're not (-a-) willing to make your voice heard, (-b-) speak up when these ninny nannies try to make you bend to their will, or (-c-) take a stand, run for elected office, become a community leader, and MAKE A DIFFERENCE rather than sit back and let the steamroller run you down, smash you flat, and take away the few freedoms you still have (for your own good, of course), then when you wonder why you can't smoke a cigar in your own living room, the only place you can look... is in the mirror.

Clean out the workshop, so I can actually do some work in it; while I'm at it, clean out the office behind the workshop, so it's a nicer place to enjoy a cigar or 2... :-)

Giggling, as it reminded me of the guys standing next to the on-ramp with the "will work for food" signs...

HQ or better Monte #4's. Irresistibles!

I have 2 guillotines (one is ready to retire as its getting dull)... I'll also use one of my "pocket" knives if somehow I don't have a cutter, but do have a good, solid surface as a cutting board. And if I'm out of luck there (say, at a dinner where I'm all dressed up), I'll actually score the cap with a thumbnail until it is liberated.

Unwrapping or crumbling wrappers right out of the box. I've had this happen with other montes; part of the reason I try to stay with HQ or better. But when it happens to a 4, it breaks my heart. Same with plugs (1) or unstoppable runners (3)... I have had one - maybe 2 - that were somewhat flavorless - as if the tobacco had had its lifeblood soaked out of it to make tea or something. Butter? I would have died for butter. This was a few years ago, but the memory still lingers... and stings... but nothing recent OTOH... I have also had the other end of the spectrum... On a road trip a few weeks back, I experienced one that went from mocha java to cocoa to buffalo grass to new mown alfalfa to"essence of cedar forest" to smoky maple syrup to cinammon cappucino to dark euro chocolate with a beautiful tobacco underpinning to finish to what reminded me of barbecued prime rib...I have had a couple come close to this (but this was just blowing me away) Probably the best hour and change I've had behind the wheel in memory. And BTW - I *did* burn my fingertips on this one, and i didn't mind in the least. When I get one like that... Its worth rolling the dice.

wood paneled office

With the vote turning out the way it did (strangely similar to the poll here... hmmm... ) I would say there's still gonna be a lot of strife after this. Notice how both sides are saying, essentially, "keep calm and carry on"? I suspect the real possibility of a somewhat less-than-peaceful reaction was expected had the vote gone the way it eventiually did. It wasn't an overwhelming majority either way. It's too bad we can't see the demographics of who voted which way, especially age-wise... Of course... had it gone the other way, I could see a repercussive elelemt flaring hard in a certain island west of Scotland/England... known for being voilently split in 2.

Typical day in sunny California... We used to have gummy worms at a corner bar I frequented... THOSE were fun. Those Chinese Gummy-does... seem to be kind of small. Wonder if the bag was marked "extra-large"?

Out in the shop, next to the heater or wood stove...

Still in the 80's here in Northeast California... praying for snow (and many meters at a crack); our water table is really low, and our well is having a difficult time keeping our transfer tank filled.... Just glad we had the sense of mind to put IN the transfer tank; our well is down to 12 GPH midday... that's right, Hour, not minute. We have another dry dry winter up here, we're gonna be in for a world of hurt!

Yeah, thanks. --grumble grumble-- Poverty, here I come.

(pauses to scan...)

From the faux-nohiba panetela infomercial site - "The band is a new, revolutionary design to protect the fragile wrappers of these exquisite cigars, employing both the newest trend in artistry and in bulletproof wrapper protection." They also released an advisory that the new bands of 24 rows of square dots will be implemented once the current stock have run out. Actually - the new bands look pretty good on the lanceros... appropriate sized.

The MUL ENE14 seems to be a banner month for production... I have (had?) 2 boxes (now just one left) that were HQ's and they were, and are, both spectacularly awesome... had I known I would have limited my credit card! :-) Then again - it's nice to have someone poke their nose into the box ahead of time so you know you're getting cane sugar, not splenda... :-)

Now you've done it... I'm in tears from laughing so hard. Why does this thread make me want to go to Confession... "Bless me father, for I have sinned, It has been 2 days since my last Monte #4, and I have smoked a Dominican. (Cigar, silly!!!)

This is tempting, however, these are one of those items that, were I to even consider it (and tho it's nice, it's outside my budget for now) I would have to do an in-person first hand inspection of the box and the contents. Call me skeptical, darn me, but when someone posts an internet picture of something they're selling, I get a little nervous. Especially something that approaches 5 figures. Huge investment, needs to be treated as such. I am NOT saying the OP is doing anything hinky, but I would exercise caution. Unless I'm buying from someone I trust implicitly (say, this guy outside Brisbaine I've heard of), and having been taken in my younger years on deals like this, I would treat this like buying a Super Viking... need to check the fabric, hear the motor, see the logooks, and pull the tubes, ya know.

Yay Marty!!! Am quite the fan of Womens Rugby (tho I'm not that crazy to play!) and knowing that one of our compadres is going to bring the Kazakstani Womens team to Victory... I will be looking for the matches, and urging your women to Victory!!! (Who woulda thought, eh?) Break legs! Sus

My 2 cents... for whatever its worth... I was a Mercedes convert, after getting a 2nd hand diesel (arly 70's) and not only driving the wheels off of it, but finding it the easiest car I'd ever owned to work on. I loved those cars... Heck, I even bought a Gaggenau Unimog for an off road vehicle (Oh, the memories of that truck!!)... until... The early-Mid 90's. I don't know what happened, but their QC went down the tubes. I had to replace 3 waterpumps back to back, the impeller on the transmission galled at the bearing (huh??) and the rear end locked up. (And yes, I follow maintenance religiously). I then (with trepidation) got a Beemer 5 series (525?)... night and day. That car ran, and ran, and ran... it was like my '71 diesel all over again, but with more speed and power. As to leasing... I put WAY too many miles on a vehicle to lease anything, and with most stuff out of Stuttgart/Munich/Wolfsburg, what you lose is what you drove it. And then not that much. OK, serious disclaimer time... I had to get a new car, as the old one burned in a parking lot. I decided on... a Subaru. BIG change for me, but the car handles like my 525, it is reliable like my 220D, it is thrifty like a vespa (OK, not THAT thrifty, but not bad) and they're surprisingly well built. Like I said, I don't lease... I like driving too much to pay the turn in penalty... for me it's like renting a house... but that darned AWD ricebuggy made me a changed woman. The bottom line is this. Asking about BMW/Mercedes leases... you're comparing 2 totally different platforms. Sure, they're both German Engineering, but honestly, the cars are like dusk and dawn. You need to decide on what fits YOUR driving style, what feels best holding the wheel, and THEN decide on a car. Otherwise, its like comparing a Chevy to a Dodge to a Ford. YMMV etc... Sus

I am so glad you retrieved it and shot pix... it looks like something I once bought sourced out of Mexico... or brought back from Honduras. Mind you, I've had excellent smokes from either place, but yeah. Flat disgusting. I would have never thought of re-rollong a substandard roll... is there a trick to it? Usually I just curse myself for not getting a good CC and take it as a lesson learned... By the way... I looked at the pix of you holding it (before you unrolled it) and thought "That is just ugly." Sorry, but it was almost comical.

For such things we have acrylic nails... (OK, I know, you guys will think its cheating, but all is fair in love and excellent cigars!) Catch it between my thumb and my index and middle finger. I've only scorched a nail one or two times doing this (and, oh God, catching a nosefull of burning plastic was *that* awful!!!) but when you get those sticks you just *can't* put down, it's worth the risk. There was this H. Upmann once (it was this Churchil or Toro or some ostentatious ring gage I almost never touch); a gift from a friend at a dinner... It was perfumed cream, scented of gardenia and leather and the slightest touch of... Some rare insence. the burn was *perfect*... the taste... beyond mere words. I was nursing it like one would nurse a extra strong adult beverage at the beginning of a party... and yet, 90+ minutes later, past the band stripe (where the band usually ends), I was *not* ready to give this one up. WAY worth the risk. And going to the nail lady for the repair. OK, so once it's done... with much regret (ha ha ha)... I will light a back-up. Because... well, I don't have to 'splain to you guys, you just *know*. :-) Sus