Snowman!

Me and Ziggy!

This year I am really hoping that we get a snowfall big enough for us to build a snowman.   Or maybe even a snow fort.  Over the years I have really enjoyed playing in the snow.  My main philosophy is that if it's going to be cold it might as well snow so we have something to play in.  Sometimes I even like to ride my bike in the snow... ooh yeah, almost as good as skiing! One year, 1975, my mom and I made a Ziggy snowman, he was cool! And his miniature self lasted in the fridge for several years.  Come on... let it snow!

Wish this was me!

Memories of Travels!

Being Knighted at Warwick Castle, England, 2010

Leaving Long Island, New York

Last night's post about Epic Journeys made me think of the memorable travels I have had the opportunity to enjoy in my life.

Cape Cod; Aunt Nancy, Mom, Basil, Me

Thinking way, way back, I remember one of my first travels when I was around five.  Grandma and Grandpa had a regular place they liked to rent in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  It was a small two or three bedroom cabin about four or five houses down the road from the beach.  I remember the walk to the beach was long for a five year old, but short enough for me to enjoy pulling my wheeled "truck" full of sand toys along with me to the beach.  I remember the tall pine trees that surrounded the cabin and one particular night where everything smelled horrible because a skunk sprayed near the cabin.  Of course I remember the salt water taffy that my mother loved to bring home with us.  One year my grandparents surprised me with a rocking horse from the area for Christmas.  To this day that rocking horse is hanging in my friend LWAC's garage awaiting room in my home.  One of my fondest memories of my childhood was traveling from home to my grandparent's home in Merrick.  The final leg of the journey was down a tree lined cement road that would drive our dog, Basil; my first, absolutely nuts due to the prospect of being able to run around the yard at grandma and grandpa's.  I remember every detail about my grandparents home; especially since we moved into that home when I was eleven or twelve.  But my fondest memory was going to Friendly's ice cream for an ice cream cone with my grandpa!

Me and Grandpa at Friendly's!

 I do not remember too much about my grandpa since he died when I was seven years old.  He needed a bypass surgery; a risky endeavor in 1978, and did not survive the operation.  He and my grandmother both died from heart conditions.  This is the main reason why I decided to be an athlete when I was a teenager, to take care of my heart.  My grandfather was an artist for the advertising department at Met Life and rode the train (Long Island Rail Road) into New York City every day.  My grandmother was a probation officer for Nassau County.  They worked hard, lived well and took great care of their family.  They enjoyed traveling and took many exciting vacations every year.  They actually took separate vacations once a year.  I remember the year my grandfather went to Italy and my grandmother brought me back souvenirs from England!

My first trip to Disney!!!

There was one year, after my grandfather's death, that I remember my grandmother flying us all to Florida for an exciting trip to Walt Disney World!!  I remember many great and exciting details from that trip! Especially spending some personal time (about 5 seconds probably) with Winnie the Pooh and his friends;  Memories are more colorful from my younger years!  The grandest memory is of our time at the contemporary resort and the great space station with the monorails running in and out of the building all day long.  There were a few short trips to upstate New York to see family and a random trip or two to New York City, oh, and even one to the eastern tip of Long Island, but there weren't any major trips until high school.

The big dork, me, in Hollywood, California!

During high school I had several trips to some snowbound areas for ski adventures, but the greatest trip of my high school life was when I traveled by airplane to visit my godmother in Los Angeles, California.  With vivid detail I remember Dorothy picking me up in the airport and transporting me across the mountains and through the "valley" to her condo in Studio City. This was the first trip of my life into a foreign land.  And what a strange and wonderful place this California was.  We went to some very different and interesting places during my short stay.  Universal Studios was one of those fun places.  My first "adult" experience in a theme park.  Quite fun, and embarrassing I must say.  Embarrassing, because I was a "cool dude," too cool to be seen with my dorky godmother (what an ass I was!  Seriously!  Look at me in the photo!  And I look like a tame dork in this photo!).
 California was such an eye opener and I really enjoyed being there!  Then time was changed by my educational pursuits.  Spent a great deal of time either visiting cousins in upstate New York or traveling to and from school in Cortland, New York.  I loved the mountains so much that I decided to leave Long Island, but I did not want the harsh upstate New York winters!  After visiting relatives in North Carolina, I decided that was the place to be!  After College I moved in with cousin Peter in Raleigh, NC for a short period of time.  Cousin Randy, also in NC, and I traveled to Asheville on vacation; here I learned that mountains, forests and hiking were the greater things in life I had been missing all along!  After this journey, she and I decided to move to Asheville.  She soon found the love of her life online and moved to Connecticut after marrying Dawson and I remained here in Asheville!  I guess I missed California, because the next great adventure of my life took me on a multi-week journey across the United States with a station wagon and tent!!
I spent a year in California enjoying the mountains and the ocean all in one day (literally many times!!!!!!!!!) and them traveled back to settle in Asheville, North Carolina.  Here I finally found my passion an my wife and a beautiful lifestyle.

Me and Hyper at Zion National Park!

Have traveled to New York and Florida many times to see family and in the process have toured many fun places in Florida!  I have run out of time, but want to remember some of the fun places I have been:  Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Edisto, Hunting Island (every year), Savannah, Little Talbot Island, Emilia Island, Cape Canaveral, Disney, Disney, Disney, Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, Key West, The Carribean, The Bahamas, England,  Atlanta, Oh, and Costa Rica!!  Some day I may blog about these places, or not, but I do want to not that traveling and experiencing new places has been one of the best experiences of my life!!

Epic!

When I read articles that tell the story of one man's epic journey, I am encouraged to embark on one of my own.  Sometimes I read novels about such adventures and feel a stirring inside.  A longing if you will, to have my own adventure.   To ride a bike from Stockholm to Bangladesh summit everest and ride home; Ultimate High by Goran Kropp.  One book I am reading right now is about a couple driving to the tip of Chili; Drive Nacho Drive. I have had adventures of my own, but they seem short and insignificant in comparison to the ones that seem to inspire my need for more adventure in my life.

Devastating snowfall!

Chains were awesome!!

One inch of snow cripples North Carolina!   On the way to work this morning we were surprised by a more enthusiastic snowfall than the weatherman predicted.  Throughout the day we watched the snow accumulate and started to worry about the roads.  For some reason they over treat a no snow and under treat a real snow in this area, which leads to disastrous conditions.  It never ceases to amaze me to watch them dump tons of salt on  dusting and do nothing when we get a few inches.  We got less here at home than in other areas.  When walking to our car we noticed that the little snow (any snow here is a big deal, but where I am from this was just a dusting!) we got was packed down and turned to ice underneath; mostly because it was not treated properly.  After watching my Manager repeatedly fail to make it up the hill and out of the parking lot we decided it was a good idea to put the chains on the vehicle.  Better safe than sorry!  Throughout our journey home we realized that this was the best decision, since most of the roads were covered in snow covered ice.  There were some hills with cars in the ditch on either side.  Those of you who live in areas that receive lots of snow an ice may laugh, but many people here are injured or worse due to the road conditions during bad weather.  Throughout the WNC area schools were closed today, and throughout the day businesses have been shutting down to enable their workers to get home safely.  Even the Asheville Mall closed early!! Upon turning onto our road home we were glad to be away from those other motorists.  After pulling in the driveway we walked with Abby to the mailboxes and were slip sliding on the road in our boots.  We only slipped in the car once and that was on a steep downhill that was covered in ice.  We took the long way home to avoid any traffic and perfectly cleared roads due to the chains.

Once home Abby had a great time playing in the snow.  She likes to run with her mouth open ingesting as much of the wet white stuff as she can.  She personally sees it as her job to chase the birds away from the bird feeders and out of our yard; she takes this job seriously.  I was glad to see that the birds were taking advantage of our free buffet today in the snowy conditions.  Now sitting inside my warm home I am contemplating what to do for the evening.  If it were warmer out I would be headed out the door for a run or something.  This year I have begun to lose all motivation to venture out into the cold.  After a couple warm days I am done with the cold and ready for the more comfortable weather where one does not have to worry about silly things like frostbite and wind chill.... tonight it will be 10 degrees with a windchill of 1 degree... bring on spring!!!

Abby at work!

Mmm... Beer!

 My first six pack!

My first case!

 Getting ready to produce my own beer!

What my wort looked like before bottleling.

Making beer, as I have learned, is an extensive process!  Once it transferred from the boiling pot into the fermentation barrel, one can relax for  a week or so.  Then, the bottling process begins.  First, all of the bottles and equipment needed to be cleaned and sterilized.  Afterward, I needed to boil some priming sugar to be added to the wort before bottling.  From there all i needed to do was add the wort to the bottles and mash down the caps and presto... Wait several weeks and that wort turns to beer... yay! cant wait!!

Hot Chocolate 10K!

Mission Accomplished!

When we signed up for the race a few months ago we knew it might be cold, but after a couple of mild winters we did not know what we were getting ourselves into.  When I woke up this morning it was 11 degrees outside.  At race time it was 19 degrees.  The preparation for running or biking in the cold weather is time consuming. .. As well as the clean up! Walking out the front door and starting the race were the hardest parts, we'll maybe that last half mile with the killer climb with my cold wheezing lungs would be the worst part.  The great part was that we had some friends who signed up for the race and suffer the cold along with us.

It was an exhilarating start with a nice downhill to provide the confidence needed to propel me for the next six miles.   There was a marching band serenading is from above during the downhill provided extra motivation to have a good time.  Once next to the French Broad River, which was starting to ice over, I was glad to be prepared for the cold weather.  At the turn around it was fun to see our friend Nan who cheered us on.  Once past the halfway point I was sure to finish!  Then rounding the 5 mile marker things started to get rough!  Cold wind hit med dead on and I was facing the uphill part of the course.  Halfway up the hill my nose and lungs started to complain about the cold.  The two lovely female runners passed me and I was motivated to pick up the pace to follow them instead of the sweaty dudes that were previously in front of me.  Then I started to think that I was going to be beat by a couple of girls, only to find that around the next corner the hill we were climbing got steeper, so I said to myself ladies first!  Around the next turn I saw the finish line and was sucking wind through my mouth and knew that if that finish line was not there I would be finished regardless!  So, unwilling to let the girls beat me, I dug in my heals and decided to finish strong with a sprint.  My wind sucking got stronger and I proudly ran as fast as I could across the finish line.  The heavy breathing continued for a couple minutes, but now that the race was over I was proud of myself for giving 100%!  I was greeted by Steve, who finished a few minutes before me, and his fiancee Jeanna (who did not run).  Then we waited for Jennica and then Megan to finish.  Afterward we enjoyed some Hot Chocolate and cookies before heading out to breakfast at IHOP, where I consumed more calories than I burned  All the while we were all suffering from cold lungs.  The coughing did not last more than an hour or so...  But we decided our next race should be a warm one!

Ready to brace the cold and race!

Pandas in Atlanta!

Fun times in Atlanta! Last night we ate at Max Lager; thankfully because they are closed for a special event tonight.  Might have started a new trend when I took the vanilla ice cream from our fried cheesecake and added it to my chocolate coffee stout!  Today we headed out to the Atlanta Zoo and saw the Panda Cubs live and in person.  They were sooo happy to see us or visa versa.   The 7 month old cubs were adorable.   We hurried over to see them as soon as we entered;  luckily we were the only ones there and had the entire zoo to ourselves. .. including the pandas!  We spent 45 minutes watching them... finally they fell asleep and we were able to go into the gift shop to warm up!  Usually people go to the zoo and see tons of animals, due to the severe cold we saw a handful of animals outside and enjoyed the warmth of the reptile house; first time ever for Megan to enjoy the reptiles! Back to the Pandas until the cute kids went inside.

After the zoo we went back to the Sheraton for some R&R.  Then we walked around Olympic Park and decided to go to the Coca Cola museum.  Really awesome! There we got to view the secret formula for  coke and tasted sodas from around the world; burp!  Then we went to Meeghans Pub and decided it was too claustrophobic.   Across the road to Hard Rock Atlanta for fun and good eats!   Back at the hotel for some hot tub action and an even hotter shower. Great day!

Nothing to Complain About!

Driving through Atlanta in rush hour traffic; what a pain, right?  Avoided the interstate;  parking lot!  Making our way downtown towards the Sheraton inch by inch we passed through a depressed looking area.  On the side of the road there were several people sleeping amongst their possessions.   This week Atlanta is experiencing record cold weather and these poor souls are sleeping on the ground next to the road; right across from condominiums where rich celebrities live.  Yes, I am aware this happens every day in every city.  No, it is not the first time I have witnessed the sad sight of the homeless.  But today it made me think of how trivial my problems can be in comparison to sleeping on the side of the road in the freezing cold weather!   I might print and frame this photo and hang it in my hallway as a daily reminder of all the blessings and goodness I have in my life!

Uncle Teddy is Coming!

Teddy is Megan's mom's dog.  A cute 7 month old golden retriever puppy.  He is such a sweet and loving boy.  Since Megan's mom is called grandma to Abby, I find it humorous to call him uncle Ted.  Last fall, 2012, mom's old dog Wyatt was sick and miserable, so we helped him be comfortable again.  In the spring mom was ready and fostered a couple of 6 month old puppy's who needed homes.  Cricket did not work out and Auggie was a nightmare!  We all decided that another golden puppy would be perfect!  At the right time a sign appeared on the side of the road... literally.  
A breeder was selling golden puppies. 

 We went to his house the day after my friend Scott died and looked at his puppies.  We fell in love with Teddy and had to adopt him for mom.  We learned all about Teddy's family history and respected his method and the way he treated his dogs.  Oh Teddy was such a cute puppy and a life saver for me.  He helped me get through the worst part of my friends death;  the first couple of days.

It took a few months for Abby to accept Teddy and now they are best friends and will play and play and play.  I have begun to train Teddy to be a good hiking and running companion.  He responds very well to me and comes when called and other necessary behaviors are being shaped.  Each time he goes I miss him and look forward to the next time we will see him again.  Today is that day!  When I get home from work mom and Teddy will be there.   Can't wait to see how much he has changed and eat the delicious beef stroganof that Betsy is preparing!  He started out with a small face and then his nose grew and grew.  Megan likes to ask him why he is long in the face.  But he has little beady eyes and a big soft nose and the sweetest disposition.   He is becoming a great dog!

The wonderful Mister Ted and his mom; Betsy.

Dark at Fun Time!!

Today was a gloriously beautiful day.  20 degrees this morning and 59 degrees this afternoon.  Difficult to be indoors and know it would be dark at fun time!!  With the weather forecast for the rest of the week looking wet and cold, then colder (-10 windchill), today was the day to go have fun.  Lights charged, plans made, I was ready and set to go as soon as I could get dressed and get the bike mounted and Abby dog loaded in the car.  We went to a friends house and left for the wilds of Bent Creek from there.  We opted to do a gravel road ride to avoid the sloppiness due to the freeze thaw.  We rode a 1/4 mile section of trail to access the gravel roads from my friends house.  The mud pictured on the bike was gathered from 3 sections of mucky trail just before the end of our ride; approximately 40 feet in length total!! Despite the deep freeze around the watersheds we had a fun on a much needed night ride!  And Abby had a great run!  Yes, it was dark 90% of our ride.  Ooh, lions tigers and bears beware!!

After a wonderful meal of Orange Chicken, expertly prepared by the ever beautiful Megan, we settled in for some family time before bed.  Going through a stack of books and magazines after finishing Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson, I decided to start looking through a recent reference acquisition from hops and vines.  My beer is still blurp blurping and will be ready for bottling soon.  It is my ambition to not have the brewing equipment sit idle too long. :) cheers!

Fantasy Home!

In 1998 I began a new career as a restoration painter at The CHANTELOUP Estate.  What is that you ask?  I was involved in the restoration of a home built in 1840 by a French Count.  The grounds landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted.  My job was to refurbish the trim walls, and doors to their original state with fresh oil based paint after stripping, sanding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding, filling, sanding, priming, and painting.  I also helped the carpenter with some of his various projects.

I even got to design the layout for the marble floor in foyer bathroom; Egyptian key design.
The carpenter helped me remake my swiss army knife with handles made from the original hand rail wood from the grand staircase!

 One of the biggest chores was moving things from room to room and cleaning up the house if Mrs. Oliphant (The owner and General Contractor) was having company.  Yes, it was a strange and interesting place to work.  I learned interesting phrases like "If it doesn't move, it gets paint."  And: "A little putty and a little paint will make a carpenter what he aint!"  And my favorite term was called "holiday."  That is when a painter missed a spot!  One of the biggest mistakes we made was to caulk the seams on the doors when we were told to.  This eventually caused all of the wood on the doors to split when the humidity changed.  Old doors were designed with panels that are meant to float when the humidity changes to let the door expand and contract without changing its shape.  Well, since we caulked the doors they all changed shape without the help of the floating panels and warped to big to close in the door frames.  So we worked with the carpenter to disassemble all of the doors and glue the panels and fix all of the problems and rehang and then repaint the doors.  It took a half day to repaint each door with each coat.  So if you click on the link you can see the finished product of the house I worked over a year as a painter in the restoration process.  I really enjoyed this job, but my body disliked the chemicals involved, so I was forced to retire early on in that career.

Speaking of fantasy homes, Megan found us the perfect home in Key West.

This HOME is absolutely lovely.  It has an outdoor pool and hot tub.  And is located in a quiet area of Key West.  Have you ever looked at the temperatures for this region?  Absolutely perfect.  The only drawback is hurricane season.  One of the great things to do in this region is snorkel.  Did I mention our recent trip to the Keys where I spent most of the time in the water snorkeling and even swam with one of those giant turtles?  Gosh!  I can't wait to go back a soon as possible.  And maybe we will win the lottery or someone will be nice enough to buy us this home and pay the yearly taxes :)!

Dream Homes!

Good times... great people!
Spent some time at the home of a work friend.   He spent 8 years restoring and decorating the 100 plus year old home in Montford. .. just north of Asheville.  Unfortunitely, he just sold this home and is moving next month.  This is the listing if you want to see all of the photos... they do not do it justice!!

Things that Blow Your Mind! Costa Rica Part One.

Pictured above is the Inter-Continental Highway.  What's that?  This is the major highway that connects the continent of North America, through Central America, to South America.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?  Yes!  It blew my mind!

Nine years ago, in the spring of 2005, my friend Alan and I took a spontaneous trip to Costa Rica.  Some interesting and very favorable circumstances led us to have the ability to fly to this tropical paradise for two weeks (Thank you Alan!).  I had just enough time to purchase a Lonely Planet guide and read up on our future destination.  We took only our backpacks and had no reservations or itinerary.  In fact, we did not decide where to stay our first night until just after the airplane's wheels touched the tarmac at San Jose International Airport.  At the airport we selected one of many ticos (what Costa Rican's call themselves) vying for our attention and money to take us to our desired destination.  During the cab ride we began to see a country vastly different from our own.  Beat up old cars spewing black smoke littered the highway; apparently this is what happens when you run leaded gas in unleaded engines.

Once we were on the border of the city itself the driver recommended that we stay in a hotel that a friend of his owned.  Wow! What a nice guy.  No, not really.  The travel guide warned about cabbies luring you into unscrupulous places.  Since I knew what to look for, we decided to see his friends place.  Alan stayed in the cab to make sure our bags would remain safe.  Once inside the hotel the driver talked with his friends and I ended up with a key and headed upstairs to check on the room.  The room was dark and musty, but the most alarming sight was the door frame.  It looked as if the lock had been jimmied over 1000 times.  Just what the travel guide warned about.  So, after a short argument the driver dropped us off at the hostel we were planning on staying.  We took a walk around town and found a decent place for dinner... although many places, especially the banks had armed guards with shotguns outside.

The next day we boarded a bus headed for the mountain town of San Carlos, home of Vulcan Arenal; pictured right.  The big disappointment was learning that someone stole my hiking boots from the cargo hold; they were strapped to the outside of my pack.  No big loss, they were 5 years old and nasty and worn out, but gone!  We acquired a room for $8. a night that had two beds and a great view of the volcano.  The room even had a bathroom with shower; although the shower was a pipe out of  the wall and a hole in the ground, nice tile though.  The first day we traveled by van to have a rafting adventure on the Sarapaquia River.  On our Journey Alan made some friends; pictured below, left.


We spent some time touring the city and saw a sloth on the way to a nature hike at the Volcano's base.  Then a visit to the hot springs resort! Beautiful women, beautiful tiled pools, one with a bar and seats around it right in the middle of the pool.  There was one pool, closer to the source, with a sign marking the water as too hot.  I stepped in and did not enjoy burning feet, but really enjoyed watching the teenagers dare each other into it and then run out screaming in agony with red bodies.  No serious harm, but funny!  When we returned to San Carlos everyone was excited about the big game!  Several times we passed a group of ticos gathered around a television set on a milk crate on the street corner so they could watch to futbol playoffs!

The next day we were headed for the small mountain town of Santa Elena.  This town was a days journey away.  We paid for a service that would take us by jeep to Lake Arenal, then by boat across the lake, then by jeep up the mountain to Santa Elena.  Along the journey we traveled up rocky dirt roads and needed to wait often for livestock to vacate the road for us to pass.  The small mountain town offered fun times day and night.  To the right is the only paved road to be had in the city.  Guards were in force at the bank; it was robbed by armed bandits the day before we arrived.  We stayed at a hostel and spent some time in the rain forest flying through the trees on zip lines and then partying at night with the locals at their favorite watering holes.

Then we boarded a bus outfitted with an armed guard, to protect against banditos!  Along the journey down the mountain we picked up farmers with buckets of cream and bags of freshly harvested coffee beans ready to go to market.  At the bottom of the mountain we stopped at the intercontinental highway in order to switch buses.  Wow, the highway was barely a paved road!!  After switching buses once again we traveled through a "suburban" area where kids ran up into the backs of farm trucks filled with melons and tossed them over the side to friends on the street waiting for free sweet nourishment.  This trip took us to the beach town of Tamarindo.  Our room was carefully selected to avoid the stench of a rotting Iguana in the ceiling; thanks to Alan's nose.  On the beach we rented surfboards and taught ourselves how to ride the waves.  Definitely not as easy as it looks!!

From Tamarindo we headed to the small beach town of Samara after I haggled for a private ride that would only take 3 hours instead of 9 by bus.  At this point in our trip we learned that spending an entire day traveling by bus was a  waste of our time.  Samara is a place where the locals stay and was quiet and beautiful.  The accommodations were the best and least expensive.  Right on the beach too!!  Here we made friends with a local dog, witnessed the power of a solar eclipse, kayaked to the cove island and saw sea turtles, ate like kings(pictured at top), and shot pool with the locals; with some interesting results.

Then we headed for the great town of Montezuma.  Here we stayed in a hostel, slept in hammocks and hiked the beach.. One beach had sand made up of small rocks that were red, green, blue and yellow; I have a dish of them in my home today.  We were having so much fun that we did not want to leave!  But alas our trip needed to end. We took a ferry off the peninsula de nicoya and met some Americans who were willing to drive us to the airport once we left the ferry.

Although this trip was nine years ago I remember it like it was yesterday.  I could write a blog entry for each day we spent in Costa Rica and at some point I may.  Right now I have a one hour time limit for my blog and may spend future entries expanding on my favorite topics.  Until then Pura Vida!!

Ghosts of Holidays Past!

So, another year has passed.  Each and every year we all have our own special days and events we look forward to.  For some it is our Birthday!  For others it may be a  particular National holiday, like Christmas or the 4th of July.  Lately my favorite Holiday is Halloween.  Our new favorite thing is a race called the Wicked 10K! In 2011 we traveled to Virginia Beach for a foot race called the Wicked 10K.  This amounts to a total mileage of 6.2 miles; not too far and not too short.  I must compliment the race organizers since the entire event was perfect, fun and very well done!!

We stayed at a Hotel right on the beach (it was the off season after all!)

 And toured the strip on our non- race time.  Our favorite thing was running the race to see all of the people's crazy costumes!!  The centar pictured to the left was our favorite costume.  We hope to be able to run this race again soon.  Out of all of the races we have done, this on rates in the top two; of course Disney is the # 1 race organizer we have had the privilege to experience.  In 2012 Megan and I ran our first half-marathon in Florida at the Disney Princess Run.  Yes, there were many princesses in that race, but most of them were glowing!


The following year we participated in a local event called the Pumpkin Pedelar!  This was an Asheville based event where we were pedaling our tandem bicycle, in costume, with a couple hundred other people.  What a fun event that was to be in Asheville with a couple hundred other crazies on bikes that were just as thrilled as we were to be in costume and spread awareness about people on bikes everywhere.  This past year for Halloween we went to several events in costume, but neither involved getting to worked up like a 10k or pedaler, but each of them was fun and entertaining in its own right.


 So this year, 2014, we plan to run the Wicked 10K again and will absolutely attend the Monsters Ball afterward!

Waiting for Beer!

Sitting in the bike room is my bucket of wort; the artfully crafted concoction that will become my very first batch of beer.  Carefully prepared the other night over a hot stove, I boiled my wort with plenty of hops and yummy goodness.  The process took about six hours, which was twice the amount of time I was thinking of spending on the beer brewing process.  For Christmas Megan gave me everything needed to brew my beer.  First there is the equipment necessary to brew beer: buckets, siphon, hydrometer, bottle caper, kettle, and sanitizer.  Second you must have all of the necessary ingredients and a recipe to brew the beer.  Third you must have the bottles to put the finished beer into; those I supplied myself, well, almost there... I still have a couple weeks.

The first thing I needed to do was get all of my questions answered.  The first Thursday of every month Hops and Vines has a home brewer's night, where you can sample each others brew and talk about brewing!  Next, I needed to select a day where I would have plenty of time to brew my beer without having to worry about interruptions or deadlines.  So, Sunday, after my bike ride (bikes and beer!), was the perfect day for me!  After my ride, we went to Hops and Vines to obtain the kettle and ask a couple more questions; which yielded some very important information. 

I began the process a little after four pm.  To begin, I washed and sterilized everything that was going to be used in the brewing process and some of my bottles (30 total... 18 to go).  Then I brought 3 gallons of water to 160 degrees and added my grain bag; basically a giant tea bag the size of a deflated soccer ball filled with yummy goodness.  On the side I brought 1/2 gallon of water to a boil to mix in my DME (dehydrated malt extract); this was some very sticky and difficult to work with material.  After the grain bag boiled for 45 minutes I removed it and left it on the table in a strainer... big mistake, next time it goes in the sink or out in the yard right away (which is where it sits right now :)).  Then I brought the water (now called wort) to 200 degrees and added my DME and liquid malt extract (like molasses but in a big bag).  Of course, when this mixture came to a boil we were distracted with a too late dinner and it boiled over and made a complete mess of the stove; we were warned about this but got distracted with much needed food at the wrong time.  Once boiling again I added my first bag of hops and set the timer for 60 minutes (during that time the stove was thoroughly cleaned (Abby loves beer, so she expertly cleaned the floor and the side of the stove; craftily switching burners), adding hops at 30 minutes, 10 minutes, then candi sugar at 5 minutes and finish hops at 2 minutes.  After the boil the pot was brought to the sink to chill it down.   Once cooled, the wort was poured into the 7 gallon fermenting bucket and some cool water was added to bring the water down to 70 degrees.  Next, I was to shake the bucket like crazy to aerate the wort before adding the yeast (the yeast was primed two days before with a boiling process that landed them in a growler in my neighbors house; because he keeps his house comfortably warmer for the yeast).  Once the yeast was added, the lid was sealed, the wort was shaken and moved into the bike room (Abby then cleaned any spilled wort off the side of the container).  At this point most people would attach an airlock.  What I learned at Hops and Vines about potential airlock failure (the guy showed me a big brown spot on the ceiling 12 feet above us) scared me into using a different method for venting the carbon dioxide created during the fermentation process; a tube that runs into a jar of water.

The next morning I awoke with fear that my wort was inactive and useless.  Upon getting out of bed I imediately went to the bike room to check on my fermenting wort (pictured above).  Blurp... blurp.... blurp... bluuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrp.  Yes!  Co2 was being released in earnest, meaning my yeast was actively creating beer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can not tell you how excited I am every time I hear the blurps!!  And everytime it makes a loud blurp I tell Abby, Beer!  And she gets excited as well!

Movie Night at The LaBoda Ranch... What Fun?!!

Since the new couch arrived (a triple recliner), movie night is forever changed.  The old couch was a queen sized sofa-bed.  We have very strict rules for  the animals here at The LaBoda Ranch.  Abby is not allowed on any furniture except for the couch bed, period.  Not so bad, considering she has two of her own very comfortable dog beds which she absolutely loves.  In fact, the first thing she did upon entering our house for the first time was to show us how much she loved her bed by going to it and rolling around on it.  No, seriously, she went from the shelter to the car, to the puppy store and then the first time in the door of our house she went directly to the dog bed.  I found it really strange and swore she was my old dog, Hyper, reincarnated.  Anywho, the cats are only allowed on the couch, and the furniture in the laundry room (of course sometimes they are on other things when we are not home; evidence).  So on Saturday we had our first official movie night since obtaining our new couch, which is not suitable for dogs.  To simulate the couch bed we drug the futon mattress from the spare bedroom out into the living room.  It is only a full size mattress and there seems to be more competition for space; as illustrated in the top photo.

When I look back to previous photos I realize that overcrowding was not really the issue.  The kitties just love being close to their big sister on movie night.  They always know and love movie night; the second we used to fold the couch bed out Abby would pounce onto it and "assume the position."  Sometimes Oliver would like to play sandworm; Megan would throw the blanket over the bed and let Oliver crawl underneath and explore.  Except for a few rare or brief times, Twix usually liked to spend movie night under the couch bed.  She seemed to have the worst timing and would decide to climb up and join us just before the movie or show was about to end.  Sometimes we would watch an extra episode or something short just to give Twix, and us, the satisfaction of the experience.   Abby was overjoyed that we were having our first movie night since the new couch arrived.  I think she has felt shunned with the way the new couch operates and especially since we have not had movie night in a couple weeks; we usually fold the couch out at least twice a week.  Sometimes movie night is quiet with books instead of the television.  In any event, despite the vying for position, movie night is always a favorite and a big hit here at The LaBoda Ranch!!

Abby loved her first bed!

Abby loves her outdoor bed!

Abby loves her new bed!

Abby and Oliver share the bed sometimes.