Author Archive

Good Cigars and a Week That Forgot It Was January

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jan 11th, 2026 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

What is one to do when January temperatures climb into the 60s? Spend time outside, of course. Last week’s weather offered a welcome break from the usual winter chill (yes, I know the real cold is still lurking). Along with some refreshing walks around…



A Morning of Smoke and Silence

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jan 8th, 2026 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

Most of my enjoyment of cigars takes place at home on the enclosed porch. In the colder months, I am usually alone (not lonely). So when I found myself sitting by myself in John B. Hayes Tobacconist in Winchester this week, it didn’t feel all that odd …



The Best Cigar Is the One in Your Hand

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jan 5th, 2026 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

The personalized license plate on my car offers a subtle hint at my enjoyment of cigars. Recently, while pumping gas, the guy behind me called out, “What’s your favorite cigar?” I hesitated, then stumbled through a reply listing a few brands I’ve enjoy…



2025: A Year of Recovery and Small Pleasures

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jan 1st, 2026 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

It’s time for the requisite year-in-review post. Although 2025 marked my first full year of retirement, it was a low-key and, at times, frustratingly sedentary one. After a previous year marked by chronic pain and ineffective treatments, I underwent ba…



2025: A Year of Recovery and Small Pleasures

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Jan 1st, 2026 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

It’s time for the requisite year-in-review post. Although 2025 marked my first full year of retirement, it was a low-key and, at times, frustratingly sedentary one. After a previous year marked by chronic pain and ineffective treatments, I underwent ba…



A Post-Christmas IDPA Match

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Dec 30th, 2025 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I’m not getting to the range nearly as often as I’d like. Even so, deciding to shoot the Cavalier IDPA match just two days after Christmas wasn’t an easy call. With family visiting for the holidays, it would have been easy to stay home — but instead I …



A Post-Christmas IDPA Match

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Dec 30th, 2025 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

I’m not getting to the range nearly as often as I’d like. Even so, deciding to shoot the Cavalier IDPA match just two days after Christmas wasn’t an easy call. With family visiting for the holidays, it would have been easy to stay home — but instead I …



Christmas Evening with a Padrón 1964 and Woodford Reserve

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Dec 26th, 2025 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

We don’t often have a white Christmas in this part of Virginia, and that “tradition” held firm this year. In fact, the temperature soared to over 60 degrees by midday. After a late-afternoon dinner — highlighted by a standing rib roast cooked to perfec…



Christmas Evening with a Padrón 1964 and Woodford Reserve

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Dec 26th, 2025 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

We don’t often have a white Christmas in this part of Virginia, and that “tradition” held firm this year. In fact, the temperature soared to over 60 degrees by midday. After a late-afternoon dinner — highlighted by a standing rib roast cooked to perfec…



The Joy of Christmas

By From http://www.musingsoverabarrel.com/ • Dec 25th, 2025 • Category: Blog Entries.Local

When the angels went away from them to heaven,the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehemto see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, …