Two words

Sinus crud.

Not much pipe enjoyment going on.

Smoking outdoors

Since moving down here to Florida, we have been strictly outdoor smokers.  It was hubby's only request of me (and applies to him as well) that we not smoke in our new house because despite its age, it smells like it has never been smoked inside of. (Yeah, bad grammar ... whatever.)  Most days, that results in pleasant pipefuls in the sunshine:

However, we have had two hard frosts (in different weeks) and a couple days of constant rain in the five weeks we've been here, and the first real rainy day made us realize our old carport roof leaks.  That means I have been stuck with quick cigarettes on the tiny porch while wearing the wide-brimmed straw "Florida tourist" hat in case the wind kicks up.

Last night, it was only a light drizzle with a light breeze, so we were able to sit under the old carport after a weekend of yardwork to enjoy a pipeful:

Yes, I enjoy playing with yarn.  I can only smoke my corncob pipes when I have my hands busy, because those and the small fruitwood pipes from rekamepip are the only ones I can clench.  Last night's little victory smoke was GLP Sextant, just because I hadn't had some in a while and boy did it sound just perfect.

Outdoor pics

Just a few pics before I go back outside to bask in the sunshine like one of my cats.  Smoking the fruitwood "cob" from rekamepip, with the rose swirl Forever Stem on it.

Inaugural smoke for the Buescher cobwarden

I finally selected the tobaccos (plural) for the inaugural bowl in the Buescher cobwarden.  I chose to parfait three Virginia blends: H&H AJ's VaPer on the bottom, then a generous middle layer of McClelland 5100 Red Cake, topped off with a few pinches of McClelland Virginia Woods.  This corncob pipe is smoking like a champ!

enjoying my Buescher cob-watden

tamping the Buescher corncob churchwarden

Odd cobs

The corncob mania continues here (hubby is still participating as well) and has expanded to include a few odd cobs.  First up is an unsmoked cobwarden I won with a minimum bid on the evilBay.  I'm not sure just how old it is, but it sure didn't roll off the factory floor in the past couple decades since it was made by Buescher.  A bit of Google-fu has yielded up the information nugget that Buescher shut their factory down in the early 1990s, although there is quite a bit of speculation the company was a subsidiary of Missouri Meerschaum the whole time.  It has ridonculous proportions, which is exactly what attracted my attention.

My Buescher corncob churchwarden

Double-decker two-cob bowl of the Buescher cobwarden

Buescher cobwarden unsmoked after all these years

For the record, I do intend to smoke this unsmoked Buescher cobwarden ... a totally unsmoked cob is an unloved corncob pipe!  I'm just trying to decide which blend would be the awesome inaugural bowl.  After this long of a wait, it deserves a gangbusters-great tobacco for the occasion.

Now, my next two cobs are NOT made of corncob ... although they are made in the style to mimic a corncob pipe.  I got a message over at PipeSmokersForum from a fellow who goes by the handle of rekamepip offering to send me a couple pipes to smoke, in exchange for honest and thorough reviews of them, as he is still somewhat new to this style of pipe-making.  It's an ideal trade for us both: I get pipes, and I have a blog and am quite the chatterbox over at that forum (along with being on two other forums).  Here is his favorite style, a red pipestone carved into a cob shape:

Pipestone bowl with pine cob-style stem

red "rock cob" by rekamepip

It's a nice pipe, and very interesting and downright neato ... but it's too heavy for me to be able to "clench" due to my whacked teeth.  I did smoke it once, but had to set it down to cool after it got below midbowl.  Hubby is wanting to give it a go this long holiday weekend, as he thinks it looks really cool.

Now, for the one rekamepip sent me that I absolutely LOVE: the fruitwood "cob".  It's carved from the wood of a cherry tree, but there is a shape in pipes called "cherrywood" which causes confusion when you have a pipe carved from cherry-wood but in a different shape.  So, this is my hardwood/fruitwood cob:

Fruitwood "cob" made from cherry

hardwood poker made cob-style

Let me say again: I LOVE THIS PIPE!  It is extremely lightweight and balanced, which means I can actually clench it and do other things with my hands ... like typing this post.  It's easily the equal to my old Hirschl & Bendheim Cobb when it comes to efficiently turning tobacco into ash - but it does stop just short of the "smokes itself" stage (which I feel is good).  Now, for the best endorsement I can think of ... I really want another one (and will be commissioning one after the holidays probably) and I won't even haggle over the price.

For those of y'all wanting to browse his wares for yourself, here is rekamepip's Etsy store.