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Gentlemanly Restraint Until End of Lent (GRUEL) 2023

After morning prayers and Rosary, this morning's shave using MWF followed by a splash of Myrsol Formula K.

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Was a little "tuggy" so this evening I took it back to the stone using Koma followed by a finish using Nakayama Kiita Tomo then laps on water only.

I won't know what the result is until probably Wednesday during my shave.

Peace to all.
 
No temptation for me here yet.
Is one allowed to fail here? :lemo:
Interesting how the present restraint somehow helps to atone for and assuage the guilt that I probably should feel for buying this razor.
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...but now when I see who the e-mail is from, I just delete it. No temptation.
THIS for me too. I extend the GRUEL to a flat "no buying myself anything I don't truly need during Lent" and it's just easier that way. I'm talking about new "toys", not about stuff like toilet paper and deodorant hahaha!
By the time Easter comes I have a short list of Books, Pipes/Tobacco, Shaving stuff, EBay stuff, Amazon stuff etc. etc. ETC. that I want. Makes it a little sweeter after successfully waiting to get them, maybe more appreciated.
I heard a Priest say (paraphrasing), during Lent, eat for strength - not so much for pleasure.
Good blanket rule, I think!
 
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I get the e-mails from shaving websites like Italian Barber and Pasteur Shaving, and I was looking at them, but now when I see who the e-mail is from, I just delete it. No temptation.
Yeah, I was ~75% joking, the sale did make me raise an eyebrow though. Besides, I don't need it at all. If I decide to purchase one someday, they'll be around.
 
Yeah, I was ~75% joking, the sale did make me raise an eyebrow though. Besides, I don't need it at all. If I decide to purchase one someday, they'll be around.
I really don’t need any new shaving stuff for probably the rest of my life. It’s all wants. I’m happy with my razors. No wants there. If I ran out of blades, I have two straight razors that don’t need blade replacements. I do want to try different aftershaves and some soaps. I like scents. Do I need? No.

I was wondering what to pray for for my Evening Prayer. I always offer it for some intention. I was scrolling through FB, and I saw my friend from high school, Tim, had posted an info-graphic about ALS, which he has. There was my intention. I offered Vespers for mercy for my friend Tim and for a miraculous healing. If you ever want to pray for someone, Tim could use your prayers. He entered the Church a few years ago and asked me to be his sponsor. I was happy to. At this point he is wheelchair bound, a power chair, because he can’t roll a manual chair. He doesn’t go to Mass anymore. The deacon takes holy communion to him.
 
Three pass shave today, since I haven’t shaved for three days. All Proraso red products. I’ll score it a 9/10. I retired the vintage Schick Krona Comfort blade. I started using it in December, so I got a lot of shaves out of it. It’s the best blade ever made. They should never have stopped making it.
 
March GRUME and all over Acronyms I signed up for this month : 3
2023 GRUYERE : 36

Razor : Merkur 34 HD C
Blade : Gillette Silver Blue (0)
Pre Shave : none
Soap (SOTM) : Palmolive classic
Brush : Semogue 1305
Aftershave: Aqua Velva
 
Still using Proraso red and the Omega brush but on to a different razor and blade: RazoRock SLOC razor and Gillette Rubie razor blade.

Three passes. Very close, a 9/10.

I’m not very disciplined with my reading this first week 1/2 of Lent.

If you wouldn’t mind offering some prayer or other for me. Three months out from the accident, and my back still hurts. A million thanks.

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Sunday's shave before afternoon High Mass. The Gillette balm is pretty much dead and though I may have another container of it somewhere in the house, it has officially been replaced with Stirling Coniferous, because (oddly enough for a Stirling product) it has very little scent - and because the BIC3 and canned goo continue to disappoint, haha! Shave rating: 7/10 :p
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I’ve always been curious about Coniferous. I think I love woodsy scents, but I think it turns out I like lightly cologne-oriented woodsy scents, because a couple of straight up “pine tree” marketed products sent me packing.

Final (hopefully) bit of travel for the foreseeable future here, and I finally discovered I could get an injector through TSA without anything being confiscated. So, a fresh blade in my Type M and I’m off to the races. It’s also pretty aggressive compared to my day-to-day, so a little extra penance!
 
I’ve always been curious about Coniferous.
Me too, and y'all sold me on Vespers last year, so when Pasteurs had a 20% year end sale, my research was done and I got both. Maybe someone else with Coniferous can tell us if theirs is as subtle (I doubt it). Vespers of course, is the opposite of subtle hahaha.
Congrats on the travel injector, that still sounds like a nice companion for your adventure 😀
 
Proraso red products
Omega boar brush
RazoRock SLOC razor
Gillette Rubie razor blade (2)

Two pass shave. I’m posting in the evening. I shaved in the morning. I didn’t feel around to check smoothness. Just shaved and went, so no type of score.

Prayed the Evening Prayer. Made a mint tea (hopefully will settle my stomach). Sitting down to read Gaudium et Spes., a tad over 1/3 of the way through it.

Good evening, gentlemen.
 
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