Two different stories about the American Civil War-a young man who passed before his prime & is wanting to join the fun but can't, & a well-respected & liked Confederate officer. The young man's tale is heartbreaking thinking about all he missed out on in life. The officer is sad but he got to live his life.

We decided to record this episode at one of our favorite wineries, one of our happy places-Ashton Creek Vineyard in Chester, VA. Good food and excellent Virginia wines. Their wines have received several awards. They let us record in the barn, their event space, but other patrons loudly interrupted us. Because of that, we had to cut it short. Sorry if the end was a bit abrupt but that's show biz.

If you're ever in Virginia, take a short drive south of the James River to Ashton Creek Vineyard for excellent wine & food. The staff is very friendly & knowledgeable. The wines range from dry to sweet in both red & white,

Remember to find us on FaceBook and Twitter. I'll post a link to merch next episode after I do some tweaking.

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We have a guest speaker in this episode-Ryan Billings. He's Henry's son and has had a fascination with mermaids since he was a little boy. One thing is for sure, we learned a lot about merpeople including how they reproduce. Think fish.  Merpeople definitely aren't like the ones in Disney movies.  We dive deeply into mermaid lore tonight while sitting out by the fire. I'll be uploading a video of the evening to YouTube also.

Tonight's cocktail-Neon Mermaid: vodka, melon liqueur, blue curacao, OJ, pomegranate juice, simple syrup

Remember to find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Patreon and we have merch on TeeSpring.

The Mari Lwyd-a decorated horse's skull on a pole, draped with a sheet that challenges people to a rap battle in order to gain entry to the house for food and drink. Any excuse for a party!

Wassail-traditional drink consumed during the winter. Hot cider, oj, spices, possibly spirits. So good on a cold day!

And a Victorian tradition that needs to return-ghost stories at Christmas. Henry tells one in this episode.

To go along with the theme for this episode, we're drinking wassail, at least my version of it. Honey crisp apple cider, oj, cranberry juice cocktail, pomegranate juice, mulling spices & spiked with Devils Due Rye. Damn near perfect. Of course, you can eliminate the Rye for those who don't or can't have alcohol. 

Devils Due Distillery is in Kearneysville, WV. All their ingredients are locally sourced. We discovered them the last time I was in the area for work. And I need to go back to replenish our stock of their products. They have some of the best Apple pie moonshine ever!

A little visit to Iceland and a peek into their lore. We talk about the Yule cat and Yule lads. Those guys have unique dietary needs along with their mother, Gryla. Their pet, the Yule Cat is interesting. 

Jeff attempted to pronounce the names of the Yule Lads, and well, please forgive his pronunciations. Like I said he 'attempted'. But please feel free to correct him. Even though he could've tried to find out the correct way, but he didn't.

Remember to find us on Facebook and twitter. Patreon, and merch on Teespring.

Krampus Nacht! Krampus is St Nick's evil sidekick or as I like to think of him-St Nick's punisher. Krampus has been around a bit in the Alps and Bavarian areas of Europe. Krampus is a half goat, half man demon looking figure who punishes naughty children by either beating them with birch switches or put in a bag or basket and taken to Hell to be eaten.

Krampus walks or runs are popular in  Austria, German, and in US cities. We attended the Richmond VA Krampus Nacht walk and you can see the video on YouTube. Our channel has the same name as the podcast. This one is tame compared to the ones in Europe but still fun.

Remember to find us on FaceBook, Twitter, Patreon, TeeSpring and now YouTube (only 3 videos so far, but more to come)

As usual, the language may get colorful

Drum roll, please! We did a video of this episode, which will be released on YouTube later this week, hopefully—just waiting on our video man to finish the editing.  

Please excuse the editing on this episode, I tried to remove as much unnecessary stuff as I could like rustling leaves, walking between hot spots and extraneous chat.

Grayhaven Winery, this week's sponsor, is one of our favorite Virginia wineries. Jeff and I got married there last year and in the course of the wedding planning we became good friends with the owners/winemakers. On one of our visits we were told that the winery and grounds are haunted. Need less to say that peaked our interests. Grayhaven is built on the site of a former plantation. Onsite there are 2 graveyards-one for the white folks, the other for the slaves. As was the practice of the time, the slave graves aren't marked, you have to know where they are & what to look for. We were told of the personal experiences of Max, owner/winemaker and she has had a few including being touched. 

Before going on our walk through the property, Max fed us delicious corn chowder and Grayhaven wine! BTW Grayhaven is just north of Richmond, VA and we strongly encourage anyone who likes wine to go visit them. When the weather is good with a chill in the air you can sit outside by a bonfire drinking mulled wine. Their mulled wine is the best!

As you can tell by the title, Henry doesn't like the woods or at least he didn't that night!

When the weather is warmer, we will return for part 2.

Sponsor: https://grayhavenwinery.3dcartstores.com

Remember we have merch on teespring, you can buy us a drink via Patreon (this alcohol is getting expensive!) Also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

On this episode we talk about missing or dead hikers in Russia and on the Appalachian Trail. It may get gruesome—a bit of mystery with unproven theories. Cattle mutilations were brought up in comparison to the injuries sustained by the Russian hikers. 

We were recording outside at Grayhaven Winery so you'll hear background noise like other customers, horses, dogs, fire crackling, wind, and one of the wine stewards coming to check on us.  The joys of recording on-site and outside

We were enjoying Grayhaven's mulled wine and a charcuterie board. Both are delicious.

Disclaimer: it may get a bit graphic, the topic is somewhat gruesome. So, you have been warned. 

We talked about the different theories and of course, came to no real conclusion, or maybe we did. Listen and find out.

As usual, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon.

And we have merch! on teespring

 https://lovewine-pirates.creator-spring.com

The infamous Crystal Skulls and what they mean or what we think they mean. This time we went off on a few tangents but we got back on track, somewhat. 

Today's cocktail is what I call the  Bleeding Skull-vanilla ice cream, Godiva White Chocolate liqueur, rum, vodka, ice. Throw it in a blender, serve it up. Garnish it with a skull ice cube made with pomegranate juice. As the red skull melts you get the 'bleeding'.  Pics on Facebook and Twitter. 

Merch on teespring

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Buy us a drink on Patreon.

Doing this more on the fly as usual.

Sorry for the delay in publishing, unforeseen circumstances.

This week is all about living again and again and again.

It's simply a brief exploration of reincarnation.

Remember where to find us-Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon where you can buy us a drink, a book, or gas for a field trip. And we have merch!

 lovewine-pirates.creator-spring.com