Brewfeeds

Good morning readers, the week is almost up and I’m ready to start more adventures outside the hub again and as I debate this idea, i’ve been thinking about the raging prices of things and what ways to combat it. For instance groceries? I don’t know about you guys but besides utilities and rent, groceries break the bank. Let’s brew about it!

I remember when, and this makes me feel like a character in the cartoons when the older timer would start with,” I remember when,” and now I’M saying it, but I remember buying groceries and 200 dollars would like for two weeks and then some. Nowadays I’m almost pushing 400 every 2 weeks. Mind, you I TRY to eat healthy so expenses for supplements and vitamins come into play, but I noticed eating healthier seems to be more expensive, eating chicken over ground beef, adding more vegetables to your diet. Also, side note I tend to get picky on where I get my veggies because some places the vegetables look okay but end up expiring rather quickly.

So, you ask, what are my plans on cutting corners when it comes to groceries? A few ways, first, I am renewing either with Sam’s Club or Costco because the bulking buying for things like detergent, dish packets, paper towels, toilet paper(teepee in this house) last for months and I do mean monthssss. The other thing I think that will curve that ugly ass bill would be to grow my own vegetables.

Now, when I first sat down to talk about all this I felt a sense of reservation because I don’t necessarily want to talk about the mundane or struggles of real life but rather things to escape it. However, I wondered what maybe you’re doing to make it more feasible. Is there a different way to go about things? Or is my solution to grow vegetables and fruits a pointless plan that will be fruitless? I’m definitely not an avid gardener and have planted flowers and grown herbs, but vegetables and fruits? I never had much luck and I do blame watching the tv shows and homesteaders onYoutube for this little brain baby. But currently, I am a proud owner of strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers. Already one of the cucumber plants has been snuffed(laughing as I’m typing here.)

But I plan on getting more cucumber and then some blueberry or blackberry plants as well as grapes. I had wanted to grow zucchini but I didn’t see any at our local garden center. What are your thoughts? Any plant suggestions or should I altogether nix this crazy idea? I’ll keep you posted on what survives!!!

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers, I hope you are doing well so far this week. I know I am, I started the week off by taking a stroll through a festival. I talked about the Strawberry Festival last month. So, don’t talk about it be about it, right? So let’s brew about it.

It was the perfect day to go to a festival here in Plant City. The air was crisp with fried goods, the sky was clear and the sounds were filled with rides and excitement. It was jammed packed just getting into the area! People were lined up along the road gearing up for the parade that afternoon.

I expected rides and games of course but it was much to my delight that there was a warehouse/ massive structure to view the animals that participated in the contests. Beautiful roosters and hens. nestled or crowed in their enclosures. I’ve never seen a fluffy rooster before and I mean fluffy, not feathery. They also, had various bunnies in various sizes and colors. Sheep were also, getting groomed and bathed for the upcoming for the costume and jumping contest.

There was even a butterfly enclosure, it was a blown up space with a long tabled laden with numerous flowers, such as Penta, Milkweeds, Lantana, and a Shrimp Plant. They had sugar sticks available to purchase on a q-tip to entice the butterflies to land. I got covered in butterflies, beautiful buttery Apricot Sulfur, bright spotted Gulf Fritillary and the large Monarch. They even, had chrysalis underneath in plastic bins and tiny caterpillars inching their way along the foliage. I WISH I could have snuck them home with me, but I definitely made note of what flowers to coax these lovely creatures into my backyard with.

Of course, there were rides and even two rollercoasters. Nothing too intense since it is a pop-up festival and has to be dissembled. There were a ton of games with prizes worth spending some money on, I had my eye on a pastel rainbow alpaca, but no dice, I wasn’t able to snag one. The food smelled delicious they had the usual faire fried corn dogs, burgers, pretzels, and popcorn. However, they did have french fries with all sorts of goodies to add to as well as funnel cake, but there was other interesting things like burritos, tacos, and even meat kabobs. I was a little taken aback at how pricy the food was, for instance the turkey leg was 20 dollars. I will never be aghast at the Renaissance prices for turkey legs, they usually run 6 or 7 bucks.

But all and all it was a great time and suggest you get there before the 9th as it will end this weekend. Tickets are sold online and at the festival itself and don’t forget to try their famous strawberry shortcake, it is divine.

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers! another month down and we are almost into March? It seems the year is passing by rather quickly, and as we wrap up the month I couldn’t help but think about what to get into for March? This week I talked about going across the US of A on the topic of Cryptids. I have been debating whether to vlog or write about it or possibly do both. I did say I’d be getting back into making videos again. So, as I sip on my coffee and pontificate on that I’d like to talk about a song I heard last night. I’ve always enjoyed hearing it on the radio and after actually LISTENING to the lyrics, I felt like I heard an undertone of, murder, so let’s brew about it!

So Take Me Home Tonight? Catchy song write? It was sung by the Eddie Money and was released in 1986. It’s a very bouncy love tune, but something in the lyrics caught my attention while I sang along. It all starts in the first verse,” I feel a hunger, it’s a hunger that tries to keep a man awake at night…” Now this could be interpreted as he’s feeling lonely and wants some company but then there’s ” it isn’t safe to walk the streets alone. Anticipation is running through me….”

Okay, now maybe he’s excited to be with this person in question, and then, the chorus, “I don’t want to let you go ’til you see the light,” which light is he talking about exactly? Is it the sunlight or is he talking about the light? I know I might be misconstruing the song a little but once I started to look at the song at this angle or should I say in this light? I was dying at the thought.

Anyways, you can find the lyrics on genius.com and you can decide whether it’s just a catchy love song or it just so happens with a little creativity it can be a serial killer anthem. I still love the song but I’ll laugh whenever I hear it now. What do you think?

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers! I got my cup of coffee fresh and hot, how about you? The air still has a bit of a nip in the morning and sitting outside feels meditative. Meditative to the point I started thinking about cryptids and mythical creatures, let’s brew about it!

Growing up we only had mythical creatures on our radar like Bigfoot, dragons, and Loch Ness Monster aka, Nessie. Mythical creatures are based off of folklore, storytelling with a moral behind it, good versus evil. Mythical creatures usually have powers or can grant wishes of some kind and they have a realm of their but slip into ours as easy as pie or are banished.

Cryptids however, live amongst us and are as mundane as you or me, take for instance the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, there have been sightings of her for many years but never full blown truth. My take on Nessie is that maybe she was a dinosaur that was trapped in the lake, which has always been my thought, what’s your take? Then there’s the Mothman, whom also, has been sighted throughout the years AND there’s a festival held annually in September to celebrate this cryptid( I desperately want to go, you’ll k now why soon enough). In essence, there’s a grain of truth more so over cryptids versus the stories made in Grimm Fairytales.

Which brings me to this, I’m thinking for the month of March I’m going to dub it cryptid month where I’ll explore each of the 50 states top cryptid and yes, each state has a cryptid of some kind. Besides March 3rd, where I’ll be attending the Strawberry Festival and will be writing about it for Tuesday’s journey, I want to take a crack at it across the states. I think it’ll be fun. What do you guys think? Would you be interested in me talking about them via video? Let me know!

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers! February is coming to a close and Plant City is bringing it to a close with a historical bang. I’m excited to get into this one today. So grab your coffee and let’s brew about it!

So, since 1930 Plant City holds the annual Strawberry festival due to the strawberries harvested here. This year happens to be the 90th anniversary, which is crazy to even write, it’s older than anyone that I know and was established by the Plant City Lions Club. Each year there are bands that play, one of which is Reba McEntire(she’s already sold out).

Beyond music there are exhibits which is a range of displays highlighting horticulture, crafts, livestock, fine arts, industry, agriculture, and commerce are available for visitors to view. These displays shed light on the agricultural history and cultural diversity of the area.

Then of course, food! And you guessed it, it’s strawberry based so if you’re allergic, well, you know what to do. The strawberry shortcake is the headliner, a delicious treat that attracts guests from far and wide, is a festival highlight. A variety of other strawberry-flavored dishes and classic fair fare are also available at the festival.

The Strawberry Festival has a lot to offer, whether your there for the rides or food or maybe the music, this festival has a lot to offer. I’m definitely hitting the road for this attraction and I hope to see you there!

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers, I hope your weekend was exciting, anything fun? Currently enjoying a piping cup of hot coffee and debating a different flavor or brand altogether. But neither here or there, if I find anything delicious worth writing about, you guys will be the first to know. What I really wanted to talk about is the movie Presence, so let’s brew about it!

I mentioned Presence back in January as being one of the ones I was interested in seeing and so with relish I sunk my teeth into it. Unlike my previous posts I”m going to divulge information, so spoiler alert. So, Lucy Liu is in this which is exciting as she’s one of my favorite actresses since Charlie’s Angels. Anyways, the movie is about a family buying a new home to start fresh. There’s a slight disconnect with the family but the parents seem to put on the brave front of, “everything’s fine!”

But it seems the camera revolves around an unseen presence as it paces back and forth through the house even before the family sees the house! Which was very interesting instead of us seeing the paranormal. I’m going to be honest, I have motion sickness and yes I had to hang my hat on playing video games for the mossst part.

Anyways, the presence seems to keep close to the daughter, watching almost trying to prevent bad things from happening specifically with the daughter. Watching the dynamic of the mother and son how, she pays more attention to him than the rest of the family and chooses to close herself with anything that has to do with her husband and daughter.

Everything comes to a head when the kids are left alone and the daughter is in danger. The end isn’t sudden but not much is to be explained and both the future and present intertwined together. It isn’t a bad watch, but have you guys seen it? What are your thoughts?

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning all! I’m back again with another movie watch. I wasn’t even expecting this until my social media feed started blowing up about a Valentine slasher film. Obviously, this tickled my fancy, so let’s brew about it!

The concept of Heart Eyes is pretty simple, a serial killer goes after couples, boom that’s it. Now, I get what you’re thinking, seriously that’s it? No under lying juices? No back story just straight murder of Valentines Day couples getting merc’d on V’Day? Yep, that’s it. BUT the comedy and cheesiness makes up for the lack of story.

It may not be Friday the 13th but I double downed on popcorn and enjoyed myself. So, what’s not to love? Jump scares, gore, hacking and comedy all the things I love wrapped up on a Valentines Day eve. Which is a nice change from the usual whimsical romantic comedy or period romantic piece.

How do you feel? Are you more the romantic comedy feels or are you in for the dark and laughter type love? Or nix the both altogether? Honestly, I like that horror/ slasher is elbowing it’s way into the holidays so it’s not just one wild sprint for the month of October. I really do feel it should be entertained throughout the year in my opinion, what about you?

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers! It is the month deemed for love! There’s a mixture of emotions I feel i.e. excitement and whimsy, repulsed and loathing, sadness and loneliness. How do you feel about the holiday? Let’s brew about it!

Valentines day, whenever it has come around started with the card giving in school with stickers and candy, which was always exciting as a kid. Who doesn’t like the mystery card of whom gave what and what character was on it and the treat that’s inside of it. Then, it evolves to getting it from a secret admirer or love interest, but there is the assumption right? That the other person is suppose to get you something and if they do will it live up to the expectation? It seems rather unrealistic and kind of entitled. Not that I’m knocking on Valentines Day or anything, but it does feel like it forces people to have to do something which I feel isn’t what it’s suppose to be about.

BUT what IS Valentines Day about? So I poked around. So, there are a number of theories regarding the origins of Valentine’s Day, which are somewhat mysterious. Saint Valentine, a priest in third-century Rome, is the subject of the most widely accepted legend. The story goes that Emperor Claudius II forbade young men from getting married because he thought that soldiers without wives were more effective in combat. Saint Valentine, however, disregarded this directive and carried on performing covert marriages. Valentine was apprehended and given a death sentence after his actions were discovered. He reportedly became friends with his jailer’s daughter while he was incarcerated, and prior to his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” which is thought to have served as the impetus for the contemporary custom of sending romantic notes.

Currently, the tradition of Valentines Day around the world is a little bit different but all in all the same concept, in Japan women give chocolate to men and they reciprocate by giving back a month later where as Finland celebrates by giving gifts to friends. A new one I noticed for the ladies giving gifts to other ladies is called “Galentines Day.” Which is really cool since you aren’t focusing so much on the romantic love and having the sense of community/ connectivity.; thus kicking the feeling of being “left out” to the curve.

Any which way you want to celebrate, it shouldn’t be just the month of February but any day and any way you choose to express your love. Most importantly don’t forget to love yourself and take time to nourish yourself.

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning! I hope all is well! Last month I talked about a couple of movies that appeared thrilling and after watching this one, I felt a mix of emotions and left with a little lackluster. So, let’s brew about it!

Companion in a nutshell is about an artificial intelligent (AI) robot that is geared to care or love the person that they are “synced” up with. These AI beings are able to think and feel to an extent of what their owner wants them to which is pretty creepy, very controlling if I might add. As a living human being that is creepy, because no one wants to be controlled but at the same time this AI being isn’t a “real” person. Humans and animals alike want to be treated with kindness and respect, but the movie really makes you feel for Iris (this is the AI being in question.)

I feel if you’re going to put feelings that are equivalent to a human being even with fail safes to keep people safe there are going to be some ramifications. There are safety precautions and warnings of what can happen on everything that is put out there to purchase. But what if the thing that has a safety in place starts to adapt and overcome wanting their own choices and their own path that isn’t dictated for them?

Companion was very interesting take on this scenario and made you want to root for Iris. However, I find it chilling if we as humans can create something that is close to being human. Do I think it is possible? Yes, but I think what gives me pause is the other question that pops in my head, are we disconnected from real interaction with other people that we would create something like this? We already have devices similar, but nowhere near the intelligence of a human so I don’t think this is so far off or science fiction that it isn’t possible. What are your thoughts?

As Always Keep On Brewin!

Good morning readers! I recently watched The Wolf Man movie and I have thoughts. Kind of scratching my head. It’s always good to switch things up and take it down another path, like vampire movies, there’s always a grain of similarity. BUT let’s brew about it.

The 1941 movie of The Wolf Man, story is about a guy whom goes back to his home town because his brother was murdered. He then, gets attacked and becomes a werewolf. Pretty quick to the point there? I mean it’s the bread and butter there’s more to it than that but that’s the story at its core.

The way to, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, but in order to contract the werewolf gene is by being bitten by a werewolf., not coughed on, not maimed without a bite, or an air contagion and definitely not by drinking the blood of a werewolf ( but there’s a rabbit hole, not going to go further down that path).

I say all this to say The Wolf Man of 2025 has some different traits to the original movie made in 1941. It runs parallel in a way, but takes a detour almost immediately. I like that in the beginning it uses a native term which sets the tone that this kind of wolf is different kind of like in the movie, Blood and Chocolate, they didn’t necessarily go ferocious wolf monster but actually a wolf and isn’t contracted like a werewolf and is more inherited.

Either way, the movie had some jumps as well as a supernatural or higher self going on beyond the wolf man part. THAT’S as far as I go in spoiler alerts but I wish they pursued it more. I digress though, what are your thoughts? Did you grab some popcorn and nestled into a cozy theater chair? Are you going to? It isn’t a bad watch so, if you haven’t anything going on for your Friday night I’d say go check it out, see where your inner wolf takes you.

As Always Keep On Brewin!