Thursday, May 29, 2008

ROAD TRIP!!!!!

Well, sort of.... The Marquise and I are heading out to Goldsboro to see My Three Kilts this Friday night (see link on the left). They are going to be playing at the Flying Shamrock on N John St. (It almost sounds like I know where I'm going. Isn't MapQuest wonderful?) Not to long ago, a trip to Goldsboro would not have been considered a road trip at all because it's only about an hour away. However, with gas the way it is, it is now a bona fide road trip. It'll be fun to see the Kilters in their home bar. Hopefully, I won't have to teach everyone in the audience the correct responses for the songs.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

What Not to Have for Breakfast

OK folks, whatever happens, do NOT have a Cinnabon cinnamon roll for breakfast. It will destroy your entire day. I was fine for about 2 hours and then everything went to hell in a handbasket. My sugar levels went up, then they went down. I ate some fruit, they went up. Lunch time came around and I had a massive Big Mac Attack. After lunch was nap time, only I couldn't nap because I still had to work. I made it home and fixed dinner. Safe and sound, right. Wrong. I am now trying to stay awake long enough so that I can go to bed at a time when I won't wake up at 4 am. And it is not like I have enough energy to do anything even remotely productive. No walk for me (or the dogs) today. It all started, or didn't start, with breakfast!

Add my name to the list of people who say "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". I'm staying with my oatmeal or Cheerios from now on. Or at least a good protein packed serving of bacon and eggs. I'll keep the sugary mess that is Cinnabon for a rare treat; when I can sleep the rest of the day.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Done!

Done! Finished! The End! I have finally finished my first crocheted sweater. It's a v-neck cardigan (well, sort of v-neck). It took me about 5 weeks to finish it. Not bad for a first timer. My original plan was that I could wear it at work. (I'm always cold at work) However, it's gonna be to heavy/warm to wear at work. I'll take it with me to Grandfather Mountain in July. It is usually cool enough in the evenings there. I guess I'll have to start planning my next one!

It's in the washer right now, I'll post pictures of it soon.

btw, this was my third "first attempt". I got so pissed at the first two and the yarn I was using for those that I stuffed it all into the back of my closet and am refusing to even look at it. One of these days I'll throw the whole damned mess out. Never, ever use crappy yarn!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I'm in a kind of weird mood right now. One of my nephews signed up for the Army National Guard about a year and a half ago. We all knew when he signed up that he would be shipped out relatively quickly and most likely to Iraq. His training took a lot of time (field medic and occupational therapy) so he stayed in the States a lot longer than most of us thought he would. Well, he is now in Iraq. He's probably been there a little over a week. You know the military, no firm answers on when's and where's. Now, I'm not a big fan of the war in Iraq and haven't been since about 2 weeks after the invasion. I have enough background in analytical chemical analysis to know how chemicals are detected in the environment. I knew relatively quickly that if we weren't finding traces of weapons of mass destruction by then, that they probably never existed. I know how easily modern instruments can detect concentrations in the parts per trillion (not million, not even billion, but trillion!).

So, I now have a nephew who is very motivated and pretty much pleased as punch to be going to another country to take part in a "war" (what do we call it now, since the Pres has declared it won?) that we never should have started, but we can't really abandon without causing more chaos, misery and destruction than we already have. How do I react? I want to be supportive of my nephew. He knew what he was getting into. He was not steered, cajoled or coaxed into it. He firmly believes in what is going on and that we (the US) are making a positive impact there.

All of this was different when it was "someone else's" family member. It is quite different when it is one of your own. Up until now, it has been fairly easy to listen to other people dissect the should have's and the could have's. The why's and the why not's. Now, however, those discussions have a lot more personal meaning. We are no longer talking about strangers or faces in someone else's pictures. We are talking about the little boy afraid of the water at the beach. We are talking about faces in my pictures.

I realize that my nephew chose this career. I am extremely proud of his choice and the man he has become. However, this whole situation sucks.

Monday, May 12, 2008

I Love Spring

Spring is the best time of year. The days are getting longer, the temps are getting warmer (except for this week. Cold front came through), the flowers are blooming and my very favorite plant is growing like the despicable weed that it is: poison ivy. Ever since my first encounter with PI one summer a long time ago down in South Carolina, I have had a hate/hate relationship with PI. I really, really hate it and it, being the damn plant that it is has absolutely no feelings at all. Now, I am a veteran; a skilled spotter of all things PI. I can spot the stuff in the dead of winter. I don't need any leaves to warn me. Unfortunately, at least once a year, I miss it and it is all over but the weeping and the itching. I don't quite know why, but the first bout with PI each spring is always the worst of the year. And this year is no exception. I have had PI somewhere on my body for almost 2 weeks now. The original spots are still going strong and they have recruited others. A couple of them I know where I got them. The others are a complete mystery. Sometimes, I think they just materialized outta thin air. My own demonic version of spontaneous generation. Now, I realize that once the oil has been washed away that you cannot transfer the stuff around. However, it seems like the oil is a lot more difficult to get rid of this year. I am fairly certain that some of the blisters are the results of transference from a pair of shorts (the oil was on the seam around the bottom of the shorts; blisters right behind the knee, oh what joy.). I got a couple of small spots just by walking underneath a huge branch that had just been pruned from a tree. The remaining stalk was about 20 feet up. Those weren't bad and were gone quickly. One of the places I haven't gotten it yet, strangely enough is on my hands. Usually they are the first to go.

And yes, I have tried just about everything there is out there. The best I've come up with so far is Benadryl at night to help me sleep and just leave the stuff alone the rest of the time. Time will eventually take care of it. That and some Roundup!

Monday, May 5, 2008

It Finally Happened part Deux

Well, it has happened. The sad state of affairs that I knew would someday arrive. The good folks over at Beginner's Luck Brewing have finally hit a couple of potholes on the road thru brewing experience. That's right folks, the Marquise and I have hit a rough patch these past two batches. The bloom is off the lily. We have shot our wad. I have already elucidated the problems with the previous batch (waaay to sweet), so here goes with batch number 5. We think it died. We had a blow out a day or so after we pitched the yeast. The wort blew the cap off the airlock and gummed everything up. I advised the Marquise to remove the airlock, cover the hole and hope for the best. She put another airlock on Friday and there was no sign of activity. I went out to her place on Sunday to see what we could do. I was thinking that maybe the fermentation finished up earlier than we had anticipated. Well, when I looked at the mix, there were no green thingies growing in it, which I considered a good sign. We did taste the mix and it tasted bad. I could tell that the fermentation had at least started (there was some alcohol in there). We decided to add some sugar, for priming and to sweeten it a little (the mix was really bitter) and bottle it. I thought the yest might have bit the big one, so I added another pack of yeast before we bottled. This is gonna be one interesting batch.

Wish us luck.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Bad Beer

It was bound to happen.

I had hoped it would have been much much later but, sadly, no.

The Marquise and I produced our first batch of really, really bad beer. I'm not talking about "I can only manage one beer a day" bad. I'm talking about "I can't finish one beer a day" bad. Horrible. Yech! Somehow, we managed to make syrup sweet hefeweizen beer. Sweet beer in general is not preferred. Some can be OK for one drink, kind of a special occasion moment. But that is about it. Hefe beers are definitely NOT supposed to be sweet. They are supposed to be, as wine enthusiasts would say, dry. Not bitter, just not sweet. However, we concocted some super duper sweet obnoxious beer and I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to drink it. I may have to use it in the slug traps out in the garden. At least I wouldn't have to pour it down the drain. Hmmmmm.

Something tells me the beer is gonna get dumped.