Cheesy Poofs!!

So, lovely readers, how’s it hangin’? Hope all is well as you motor along through your deployment separations. Had to let y’all know that the hubby did something really cool the other day. He sent ME a care package! Now, how tremendous is that? Pretty damned AWESOME, is my answer!!

I know I’ve been chatting with all the Statesiders about how to make the deployment easier on your favorite deployers (sounds like somebody who has been “em-ployed” and now…isn’t – gotta love the English language sometimes!), but how about the flip side of that? In the vein of “what have you done for me lately?” it’s always nice to know that someone is thinking fondly of you. So why not send a little memento to your favorite Statesider once in a while? It really does make our days brighter, too, ya know.

It’s much easier than it used to be. If you are serving your country and want to send a gift back to a loved one, just to say, “I’m thinking of you,” you no longer have to capture your own silk worms, spin, weave, dye your own fabric, and then sew up a masterpiece. Whew! Sounds a little messy in the best of circumstances, and in the heat of the desert that my husband keeps referring to as the hair dryer, it would be made nearly impossible! Nor do you have to package up your favorite MREs and send them to us. (Thanks for thinking of us, and all…but you can keep those right where they are!) Also, we don’t really want your laundry…I’m just sayin’. But guess what, beautiful people?? There is a new-fangled device called a computer and it is hooked up to something dubbed “the internet” or “interweb” if you prefer. So, soldiers overseas, like that fantabulous husband of mine, can click a button, empty out their virtual wallet and send us…wait for it…



CHEESE!!! He sent me cheese that came directly out of the caves where it was being aged! I never thought I would say this next phrase in a public forum, but here goes nothing. “God Bless the French for their Cheese!!!!” I love cheese! Cheese makes me happy! Cheese makes the world go ‘round! Skip that, it’s not cheese, it’s a little temperature controlled slice of HEAVEN, people!!! It arrived at my doorstep better packed than the cats did (oh, yeah, did I tell you I signed up for a Cat-of-the-Month Club? :-> ) and once released from the packing material, the aroma of stinky cheese filled the house! Ah, life, what will you deliver next?

I’d love to say that’s enough waxing rhapsodic about cheese, but it just isn’t. That’s a state that can never be reached. So, I will pass the website of the cheesy goodness on to you, my wonderful friends, because I love you all so much. It’s www.ArtisanalCheese.com. You MUST check this website out! It has cheese wheels the likes of which I’d never dreamed, and people, I dream of multiple cheese wedges all the time. One is not enough for me. I’ll admit it - I am a cheese slut, in case that fact has escaped any of you. My love muffin does know the way to my heart; it apparently winds its way through caves in France where they store and age the most perfect manna in the world.

What’s cool about the website, other than the sheer variety of cheese, is that the cheese experts (man, I want that job!!) spend time extolling the virtues of mixing cheese with wine and beer. They even have something called a Cheese Clock – it takes the guesswork out of pairings for you. So, if you want to look like a wine and cheese snob at your next gathering…come on, you know ya do! Log on and check out their recommendations. They even have a discount for us military folk going right now.

So, to my adoring husband, thank you, I love the cheese! It is the perfect gift for a cheese-ball like me. Pat and Dani, you must check this website out. It’s like the coolest thing ever…and that’s how the cheese arrives, too – overnight and still “cave-cool” to the touch. To my favorite vegans, I love you and I’m sorry that I have to eat your portion of the cheese…well, mostly sorry, anyway. ;-> To Rich, I’m sure lots of these cheeses would pair nicely with the Vanilla Bean STOUT you texted me about from Ale Fest. And, to the rest of you who haven’t elevated cheese to the status I have, well…you suck! No, just kidding. What I meant to say was that I’m sure there are other items you can have delivered to your main squeeze that he or she will appreciate almost as much as I did the cheese. So, think about us once in a while, and we promise to do the same. And, really, it doesn’t have to be a gift, we like emails, too. Nice, sappy, ooeey-gooey, lovey-dovey emails. Nah, never mind, those would just make us wonder what you’d been up to…so, just tell us you like us once in a while.

And, Baby, finally, I don’t think the cheese will keep until your return, so I’m going to mix metaphors terribly, and jump on that grenade for you. (Groan!! I know, my jokes are still awful.) I’ll let you know how the selection is. I’m pairing it with a nice Chianti.