Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I've been bad...

I know, I have neglected my blog here for a while and for that I am very, very sorry.

Now, get over it.

I'll have some knitting and beer updates soon.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Beer and Knitting

Heaven, I'm in Heaven........

There is a new group that just formed here in Raleigh that combines my 2 favorite pastimes, beer and knitting. It is a group called Carolina Flyers and we meet at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh. Yup, we meet a beer tavern, drink beer and knit. How cool is that? (when was the last time/first time you went to a bar and there was spinning wheel there?)

I went out for the first time last Sunday and had a blast. I got there about 1230p and did not get back home until about 9p! And no, I did not knit the whole time. I knitted for about 3 - 4 hours and the rest of the time was spent talking with the other folks in the group. The most we had there was 11 people, but it dwindled down to 4 of us for the last couple of hours. Which is just perfect for me. Any discussion with more than 4 or 5 people and I tend to turn into a wall flower.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I watched a movie

Yes, I , the non-movie watching person, watched a movie tonight.

As a Christmas present to one of my roommates, I set up a subscription to Netflix. So we have been getting about 2 movies a week from them. Most of them have been horror movies, which I can't stand (I shrink and hid like a little girl). Every once and a while, we would get a gay or lesbian themed movie from them. OK, we would get a gay themed movie fro them. Most of which have been just this side of horrible. Well, tonight I watched one of the Donald Strachey mystery movies with Chad Allen. I must say I was quite impressed. Most of the acting was very good (Margo Kidder was in the film also). A couple of the scenes were over the top (they had Margo Kidder after all). The story lines were brought together in a memorable way and with a pretty good twist on everything at the end. There were enough clues so that you could figure out who the "bad guys" were about 3/4 of the way through the movie. Which I like, I'm not that much into thinking during a movie. But not enough clues to give the ending away.

All in all, a good movie. No Oscars in sight, but a good movie.

Oh, and there was the obligatory naked man (rear only).

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Martinsville Speedway


The Marquise and I went out to Martinsville Speedway for the NASCAR race last Sunday. I have to say it was an adventure. We left the Marquise's place Sunday morning about 630a so that we could get up there by about 9 - 930a (which we made with plenty of time to spare). When we got to the parking lot, we took a quick "power" nap to rejuvenate and the headed out to the midway. I know that is a carnival term, but it fits better than anything else. On the way out there we had to walk past all the camping spaces. That should not have been a problem except that it had rained the past 4 days there. The entire place was one big mudpit. I mean one BIG mud pit. Considering we had about a mile or so to walk, it was not a pleasant experience. The midway was packed with people. All of the drivers had their own semi-truck ( some had several) full of stuff for people to buy. The Marquise kept muttering stuff about capitalism, Marxism and other -isms. I didn't quite follow it all. About 12p we decided to head to our seats, thinking the race started at 1p. It actually started at 2p. We ended up sitting there from 12p to 6p. A really long time. Once the race got going, it was actually OK. It took me about 100 laps to get used to watching the cars and figuring out who is who. I kept trying to look directly in front of me. Bad Idea. They move to fast. I finally figured out to look to my left and up to the turns. I think we were sitting by turn 3, maybe? After that, things got about as clear as they are gonna get for this Non-NASCAR person. The Marquise brought a notepad and we exchanged notes all through the race. Talking was out of the question.... we were on row 4. I have told her she has to post the notes on her blog, with as little editing as possible. They are a hoot.

My overall impression: this will probably be my one and only race. The reason will probably surprise you...... NASCAR fans are pigs. They do not pick up any of their trash and they don't even try to keep it contained. Beer cans, wrappers, bags were blowing everywhere. I actually could have put up with that, however, if that was all. The real killer was the ashes that kept blowing on me for 6 hours from people smoking nearby. The smoke didn't bother me, it was the ashes. I felt like I was sitting in one big ashtray. Unless there is a (large)non-smoking section, its gonna take a whole lotta persuasion to get me to go again.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Facebook

Facebook can be a great resource for connecting with people you have lost touch with. I recently chatted with a former co-worker from many years ago. I had crocheted a baby blanket for her daughter who turned 14 this year. This would have been one of my first first projects (probably second or third). I was quite surprised to learn that she still has the blanket! I have asked her to post a picture of it, if she can. It would be interesting to see it again. Sometimes, I tend to discount how other people view these gifts. I tend to see how I could have done it better, while they see a family keepsake to pass on. It is humbling to know that someone thought so much of my gift that they kept it for 14 years (13 of them with no contact). Especially considering how mobile today's society is.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Beer Done Bad

Yesterday, the Marquise and I went out to a new brewpub that has opened up in Raleigh. It is the Boylan Bridge Brewpub. I had been watching this place take shape for about 2 years it seems and I was excited when I saw it was finally open. Since we were going to be in that area anyway on Saturday night, I suggested that we try the place out. Not the best idea I have had, unfortunately. Their beer menu is limited, which is not all that surprising for a brewpub, they are supposed to serve their own beer, not other brewery's, but it didn't help that they were out of several of their own beers. When you only have 6 beer styles and you are out of 2 or 3, it just doesn't look good. I had the Southbound Stout and the Marquise had the Rail Pale Ale. Mine started out OK, but had a really long bitter after taste, which got worse the more I drank. I didn't finish mine. The Marquise's take on the Rail Pale Ale was that it was kinda 'Blah". Not exactly rousing endorsements. Usually, if we both order 2 different beers, one of us will get one we like. It is really unusual for both of us to be so unimpressed with our beer.

The other major complaint we have concerns the food menu. The types of food offered is pretty much "standard" upscale pub food, but the pricing/portion size is out of whack. The burger and fries that I got and the fish and chips that the Marquise got were both 9.00. However, given the portion size, the price range probably should have been 7.00 - 8.00 .

We will probably give them another try, but it'll be a couple of months. Maybe this was all just a slight stumble ........



Oh yeah, what's up with the floors?. All the woodwork in the place is great, but the floors look like leftovers from an old community center.

Beer, again...

Its been a while since my last post concerning beer. No, I haven't stopped brewing, just had a slightly longer break between batches than I would have liked. Oh, well.

This new batch of beer is an American Irish red. I got the kit from American Brewmaster. They have started putting together their own brew kits. Each kit contains grain, malt extract, hops and yeast; everything needed to brew a batch of beer. The difference between this kit and the others that I've used is that the others already had all the hops added and they did not contain any grains. They were all extract. The first thing I noticed was the really great smell that came up from the pot as we were boiling the grains. The second thing I noticed was the even better smell once we added the malt extract and the hops. We did have a slight boil-over during the process. I kept looking out for it, but it somehow snuck right on up. It wasn't to bad though ('specially since it wasn't my kitchen!). Its all in the fermenter now, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

The Voices Are Getting Louder

The other day, I had to take my truck into the shop for some long neglected clutch work. I took it in there after work on Tuesday, so I asked one of my co-workers if she could pick me up at my place Wednesday morning and take me to work. She was happy to help out (I have great co-workers and she only lives a hop, skip and a jump away from me). What I forgot to mention was that the truck would be in the shop for a couple of days and that I would need some help, probably until Friday. So, the next morning I got up and started repeating to myself "Sue, The truck is gonna be in the shop for a couple of days, can you help me out?" I was repeating this over and over, so I wouldn't forget to ask her. Soooo, when she finally arrives to pick me up, I get in and we say our hellos and other Good Morning pleasantries. All was going well. After about 5 minutes, I asked her if she could help me out the next couple of days. The conversation from there went kinda like this:

"Ricky, you just asked me that! Not 3 minutes ago!"
"Did I? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I said I would help out."
"Oh" I said in a rather strained voice. "Thanks."

Evidently, I had been concentrating and repeating the question so much to myself, I had not realized I had actually vocalized it.

Should I be worried?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Where did the week go?

Wow, it is amazing how quickly a week can go by.

A few quick updates.

A week ago Friday I was at the Flying Shamrock in Goldsboro watching Hercules Mulligan and MY Three Kilts perform. It was a great nite. Both bands are chock-a-block full of great performers and good friends.

Last night, I went out to Napper Tandy's pub here in Raleigh and listened to Eire Lingus play. They play there most every Friday, but I don't get out there anywhere near as often as I should. Those guys do a great job.

Today I just spent enjoying the beautiful weather.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Bad Day at Work

Well, actually not a bad day at work, more like a bad day-end at work. Most of the day was actually pretty good. The bad part is that we had another round of layoffs at work this afternoon. Another 3 people were let go. Over the past year or so, this makes about 10 people who have been let go. Given the numbers reported in the news, this is small fry, but it is a big deal when there are only about 300 or so employees here. It is always sad and demoralizing to see your co-workers let go, especially when you know that everyone was working as hard as they could to prevent this.

It also doesn't help that this is probably not the end............


I'm gonna go bury my head in some knitting.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

This comming weekend

Yes, I know it is a bit early to talk about the weekend, but I just wanted everyone to know that Hercules Mulligan and My 3 Kilts are playing this Friday night a The Flying Shamrock in Goldsboro. The marquise and I will be there. If anyone else can make, you should. Its gonna be a great party.

Days 5, 6, 7

Day 5 sucked - I had another sinus headache in the morning. No exercising for me. (yes, I know I have a lot of sinus problems in the am. Been trying to figure it out, but haven't yet)

Day 6 - Good day. it is always nice when I can get up when I want and then exercise. I am sooo much happier. It also helps that it was a nice sunny morning and I was looking out over the creek at my Mom's.

Day 7 - Another good day.

So, all in all, I managed 5 outta 7 days. Not quite my goal but pretty good none-the-less.


I'm gonna try for another week. Don't worry, however, I won't bore y'all with a day by day account.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Day 4

Felt Much, Much better this morning than last morning. Got up and did my 30 minutes of exercising.

Just so y'all know, I am going up to VA this weekend, so I will not be able to post on Friday and Saturday. Don't worry, I promise to be good and do my time!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Day 3

The good news - I got up early today, like I am 'sposed to.

The bad news - I had such a sinus headache, the mere thought of doing any type of exercise caused my head to throb.

I did walk during my lunch hour, though. I know, I know, it is at best a consolation prize.

Tomorrow is another day!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Next Project

Here is a picture of my next project. It is a cardigan for one of my roommates. So far I have the front and back and just a couple of inches on the right sleeve. The body is a k3p1 rib pattern and the sleeves are all stockinette. The yarn is my old standby, Caron Simply Soft. Nice and easy. Once it is done, it should be one of those "go to " sweaters.


I didn't realize how long my loose ends were until I took this picture. It's a little embarrassing, kinda like walking around with your zipper half unzipped. I'll worry about them later.

Day 2

Another day down. Yippee! (I know, I say that a lot). I have discovered, well no, confirmed what I already knew: I really hate getting up early. Especially during the work week. It just sucks. But, hey, I managed it this morning. Only 5 more to go.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Day 1

Well, I managed to get up for day 1. It helped that I had the day off for President's Day. I did set my alarm for 7a, however. Yippee for me!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Exercise, it's not a dirty word.

Exercise, it's not a dirty word. At least that is what I have been telling myself. So far it really has not been working. Soooo, in an effort to "better" myself", I have made a promise to myself that I will get up each day next week a half hour early and do some type of exercise. It doesn't matter to much what I do (anything will be an improvement). I just have to get up and do something. It will probably be something like easy yoga positions and other stretching. If you can't guess, "out of shape" does not really do justice to my physical condition. Right now, I am only looking as far as the end of this week. I can make it through 7 days! I promise, however, no pictures.

If you haven't guessed, you all are gonna get day by day updates. Isn't that exciting?

Finished!

I finally finished the sweater for the Marquise's birthday (which was last week). It would have gone much quicker if I worked on one project at a time. Oh well. I am really, really happy with this sweater. The color is great and it looks good on her. The fit is almost perfect (just a tad long in the sleeve) Yippee!


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Wow, where did the week go?

I just looked at my last post and it was all of a week ago. It seems like almost yesterday!

Well, Let me get you caught up on my life here. Last Friday I decided to head on out to Tir Na Nog for some after work music and drinks. The band, Barrowburn was there from 7 - 9p. I have heard them a couple of times and they are really good. They are all superb musicians. They was a new guy that played th guitar and sang while Barrowburn was on break. His first name was TJ, but I can't remember his last name. He was very good. Evidently he is new in town and Annie has been giving him a lot of opportunity to show his stuff. I am not normally a fan of "a man and his guitar" act. The music usually begins to sound all the same after about 4 or 5 songs. This was not the case with TJ. I was really impressed with his music. I was so impressed, that I decided to return on Saturday night when he had a chance to perform a full set. However, before I made it out to Tir Na Nog on Saturday night, I went over to Carborro and met up with Zoe. She took me out to lunch for my birthday. We were going to go to Milltown, but decided at the last minute to go to Tyler's Tavern instead. The beer selection at Tyler's is not as extensive as at Milltown, but the have a much wider variety. Milltown is really known for its selection of Belgian beer. They have some others, but it is mostly Belgian beer.

All in all, a busy weekend during which I spent way to much money at Tir Na Nog. But, it was all worth it.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Mr. Beer,

Well, since it was snowing here and I had the day off already, I decided to pull out the Mr. Beer "keg" that my roomie got for Christmas and see what it can do. It was pretty much the same as the regular beer mixes I have been using from American Brewmasters, just on a smaller scale (about 1/3). The kit came with a can of mix and pouch of "booster". I thought the booster would be malt extract. No, it was just corn sugar. I have an idea how this batch will turn out; relatively weak tasting, with a distinct "apple" taste. It will probably have pretty good alcohol content, though. I'll know in about 2 weeks.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Happy birthday to me!

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday,
Happy birthday to MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(it's tomorrow)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Happy end of the weekend to you

Well, its the end of another weekend. This one was a little hurried because I had to go up to my Mom's and do the "great puppy swap of 2009". I take care of my Mom's dog while she is in Florida. I got to drive up there Friday night, which, as most people know, was one of the coldest nights on record for many, many years. I am so glad my truck heater works (my last truck didn't have heat). However, the cruise control decided to die about half way through the trip. It has an off-n-on short in it. Its been working pretty consistently for about 2 years now, so I guess I can't complain to much. It went off this afternoon, but luckily, only for about 1/4 of the trip.

Since my birthday is Tues (nice that Obama is throwing me such a big party!), we had my birthday Breakfast this morning. We would have had a regular birthday dinner on Saturday, but my brother and his wife already had plans for another birthday party that night. Instead of a birthday cake, we had birthday cupcakes. Itried to go for muffins, but Mom wanted something more cake-y.

Oh, By the way, I set up a Facebook account last Thursday. Y'all can now find me there also (as well as some of my crazy family).

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

New Beer

Well, its been a little over a week since the Marquise and I bottled the latest batch of beer and it is time for the first tasting. Just to bring everyone up to speed, the last batch of beer was a Munich Bock by Munton's. It is another dark beer. I think it turned out a lot sweeter than it is supposed to. It may not have completely fermented. We had some concern because it stopped bubbling about a day and a half earlier than expected. It is very smooth, however, and only marginally hoppy (however, that may be because it is a pre-mix). It is really not what I expected. It is actually very similar to the Irish Stout we made last time. It is pretty good so far. we'll have to see what the next couple of weeks brings.

On another slightly different topic, I have to tell y'all what happened Tuesday night! One of my roomate's Aunts spent a night here on her way somewhere else (farther east, I think). While she was here, she gave Ralph a slightly late Christmas present. She gave him a Mr Beer brewing kit! It is so cute! It is a 2 gallon container whith a spigot, some plastic bottles and a wee little can of beer mix! I advised her that while I knew she gave it to Ralph, it was actually mine. It'll be interesting to see what I can use it for. I'm thinking cider and maybe some strawberry wine.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Happy Thursday

Happy Thursday to everyone! One more day til the weekend. We have almost made it through another week. Yippee! Just a quick reminder for all of you that are in the RDU area. Hercules Mulligan will be playing tomorrow night at Tir Na Nog. Come on over for a pint and enjoy the music. It is a great way to start the weekend!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

I'm Back.

Sorry for the delay in posting, folks, but with my back being out and the holidays, I just let it slip.
Here is a quick update on what has been going on around here. Below is the scarf that I made for the Marquise. It is crocheted from a metallic-looking yarn called Chiara. While the scarf turned out wonderful, I really do not like crocheting this particular pattern. I made a baby blanket with the same pattern and should have learned my lesson then.

Below is my Christmas present from my Mom. It is a new book out by Drew Emborsky and has some really wonderful patterns in it.


Here is a sweater I made from one of the patterns. The yarn is 75% acrylic and 25% alpaca. Really soft and really comfy.

This is my next project. It is a sweater for one of my roommates. No fancy yarn here, just the good old stand-by, Simply Soft from Caron.


I am heading over to the Marquise's today to bottle the first batch of beer this year. It is a Munich Bock. It looked and smelled wonderful going into the fermenter, we'll have to see how it comes out! It's been waaaaay to long since we brewed out last batch (September, I believe.).