July 22, 2007 by ratcheer.

I had been holding back my Badger and Blade English Gentleman’s razor and finest silvertip badger brush since I bought them in January. I was waiting to use them to celebrate my birthday. So, last night, I took them out and used them.

Both have beautiful faux horn handles which range in color from light beige to deep brown. The razor has a nice, fat handle that is long and easy to grip. The hair of the brush is long lofted and quite dark looking for this grade of hair.

I used a new Swedish Gillette blade and St. Charles Shave’s Bay Rum With a Twist shave creme. I prepared my face with Pantene Pro V hair conditioner. Everything performed wonderfully and I got a close, comfortable shave. I finished it up with T. N. Dickenson’s witch hazel.

On a side note, I had lost track of my Swedish Gillettes for several weeks. I thought I had possibly thrown them away by mistake. But, I pulled out my large box of shaving supplies and found them in a separate location from all my other blades. I’m glad I found them, because they are difficult to find and expensive.

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July 4, 2007 by ratcheer.

I thought I’d weigh in on something I love - reading. I have been reading for a long time and I’ve had quite a few favorites over the years. My top favorites of the past several years have been Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Patrick O’Brian. As much as I love Stephen King, I’d have to say that O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series is the best fiction I’ve ever read. It is packed with historical accuracy, action, adventure, and well developed characters. I read the twenty books of the series, in order. I was sad that there would be no more when I finished the last one.
A couple of months ago, I was headed on a short vacation to Colorado Springs and I was looking for something to read, but I had nothing particular in mind. When I saw Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtey, I thought it would be perfect. I had seen the mini-series years ago, but I remembered nothing about it except the long cattle drive. Anyway, the book completely blew me away. So, I bought the other three books in the series. I am now about half way through the second one, Streets of Laredo. It is as good or better than Lonesome Dove and that’s saying a lot!

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