u/Spiritual_Taste_8358

My wife & I drove down from Dallas to San Antonio for the show on 09/29. This was like my 7th or 8th time to see Maiden live & since they were playing  the songs that got me into Maiden back in the late 80s / early 90s, I decided to splurge & get VIP package tickets. Gotta tell you…hearing them play Rime of the Ancient Mariner live was pretty freakin' epic.

I figured I'd show you guys the goodie bag that came with the tickets.  Here's the order of the pics:
> The clear arena-approved bag that everything came in
> The VIP Trooper T-shirt (front)
> The VIP Trooper T-shirt (back)
> Trooper VIP lanyard
> A commemorative coin & the case it came in
> A set of 4 Trooper coasters
> The coaster set with the case it came in
> Four stickers
> A bottle opener
> A tin Trooper sign (6" ruler for size context)
> A cardboard thing (its sized similar to the sleeve that would come inside a cassette)
> It came with two coins you could trade in for drinks at the Trooper lounge. I'm not a huge drinker so I used one & kept the 2nd one. The Trooper lounge had some appetizer food (sliders, hot dogs, etc…) & a cash (or VIP coin) bar. It was kind of a cool place to chill for a bit before the show started.
> A photo op thing in the Trooper lounge
 
So…there you have it. Was it worth the extra money? I guess that's in the eye of the beholder…for me I think so.  Got two sets of some cool swag…had a fun experience, made some memories with my sweet bride of 28 years & got to hear a show filled exclusively with songs that took me back to high school played. Yeah….I think it was worth it.

It’s been a nice leisurely day. Early Morning Pipe to start. Deku Nut as a midday smoke & now winding down with Nightcap.

What’s in your pipe?

Enjoying this blend with in my Peterson Short Army pipe! Happy Thursday friends.

This is my first post on this sub… I hope it’s appropriate.

I finished a fun, small weekend project for my vinyl with some scrap from a tobacco pipe rack I’d recently made. I glued a piece of purple heart wood between two pieces of walnut. Sanded 120 to 180 to 220 + three thin coats of water-based clear coat poly & it’s done. Nothing too fancy…but it’s a nice way to post up the sleeve of what’s turning at that moment.

I decided to use an original pressing of Iron Maiden’s Powerslave as the first sleeve to be placed on it…in light of the 40th anniversary of the release of this epic album last week!

Fun little Saturday project with some scrap from the pipe rack I previously posted up. Walnut + purple heart + walnut. Sanded 120 to 180 to 220 + three thin coats of water-based clear coat poly & it’s done.

Some some C&D Midnight Orchard in my Peterson Short Army pipe. I’ve been enjoying this blend…probably my 4th or 5th bowl this week. Lovely citrus notes.

What are you guys enjoying this morning?

Two boxers.
One bowl.
Zero personal space.

Enjoying some Lewis’ book, a 1962 edition taken from my dad’s bookshelf. He’s now running with Aslan. Paired with some Cornell & Diehl CPCC 30th Anniversary 2026 tobacco in my Peterson Short Army pipe. Not a bad Monday midday break…

This squirrel was having a lot of fun taunting & chirping at Moose!

Hey gang,
I’m going to make a tobacco pipe holder similar to this.  I’ll be using Purple Heart wood which I’ve never worked with. Before I dive into this I thought there would be some prudence in seeing if you guys could help me avoid or at least not get swallwed up by the idiot tax. I’d put myself in the category of “novice +.” 
 
Some info / questions I’m thinking about:
> I’m planning on using a forstner bit to create the circles at the bottom for the pipe to rest in.  I purchased a new one the size I want specifically for this project
> For the top rack I’m planning on drilling the holes in the wood AND THEN cutting that strip in half to create the semi-circles where the pipe stem rests.
> What’s the recommended sanding order (start with ___ sandpaper, then move to ___, then finish with ____)
> I’ve read in this sub that it burns easy so make sure blades are sharp
> Thoughts on finishing options to help bring out the beauty of the wood. I’ve read in this thread that the wood will fade to brown over the years.  And about folks putting the wood in the oven / letting it sit in sunlight before finishing to bring out the purple.
> Unrelated to woodworking, but since we’re here I’ll ask - any idea where I’d find something similar to those little black posts connecting top to bottom…not even sure what those would be called to search for ‘em.
> Any other tips or helpful things to keep in mind?
 
Appreciate any help.

It's Friday baby! Enjoying some C&D Apricots & Cream in my Savinelli 626 Arcobaleno! I sure love the 626 shape...I've got three of them & they're such good 30-45 minute pipes!

Hope you guys are all getting your pipes ready for the weekend!

Moose & Melbey are ready-ish for Saturday!

Enjoying some Blood Red Moon in my Savinelli Arcobaleno 626 paired with a dark roast from Starbucks!

Peterson Mixture 965 in my Savinelli Miele 626

I'm super bummed but we'll be taking our daughter to school in England & can no longer make this show (to be clear...I'm excited for her, but bummed for me). I've seen Maiden every time they've come through Texas for a LONG time.

These are Trooper VIP Tickets (Sec D, Row 7, Seats 12-13). The image shows what's included with the VIP package.

Tickets are currently listed on Ticketmaster with a bit of an upcharge to them. I'll sell them at face value to anyone from this Reddit thread - just let me know you're interested & I'll go in and lower the price.

Here's the listing:
https://my.ticketmaster.com/gfs/ds/vQGAkk219e/event/3A0063540A2590C8

Smoking some C&D 2026 CPCC in my Nording Hunting series churchwarden.