So after many months, I decided it is time to prove I am still breathing air.  I am comfortably in Impatience Mode as I wait for the batch of Irish Red Ale I am brewing to be ready for consumption.  I have at least another month to go.  I racked to my secondary fermenter on Thursday and now need to wait a week or two before bottling.  Then at least two weeks before even thinking of trying one. Numerous homebrewers will ask why I am using a secondary when it is unecessary.  I answer: "Because the recipe from a certain home brew supply shop in Minneapolis said to, and because I can, and because I want to try it."  Anyway, I will be going nuts as I wait for it to be drinkable.

Irony, Sarcasm, and Ethanol

So here I am again after many many months off - blame it on apathy and lack of anything to say.  Anyway,  our family received a brief message today from a friend concerned about how America is sliding deeper and deeper into Socialism.  I guess this means he will be quitting his job that is entirely taxpayer funded.  Either that or he will need to find a dictionary and look up irony.  I actually have some of the same concerns, but allowing people to purchase their own health insurance from the provider of their choice is NOT socialism.  As far as the mandate part goes, look no further than the insurance companies for the blame.  The mandate was driven by them; they were the ones who have been using the mantra We will be happy to insure everyone if everyone has to buy insurance  for decades.  All the executive and legislative branches did was call their bluff with a little help from the judicial branch.  A smaller version  of this mandate related to senior citizens and catastrophic coverage was even supported by Ronald Reagan in a 1987 radio address.

It also seems that the NHL and NHLPA are working hard to save my family a few hundred dollars this year and are succeeding.  I may need to watch the Sun Dogs - tickets are half that of the NHL, the arena is an hour closer, the food and lodging there are cheaper,  and the players are there to play hockey.  So I save on ticket prices, gasoline, food, and hotel rooms.  There is nothing like millionaires arguing with other millionaires about who has a tougher life.  The employees who work the food stalls at the arenas feel the pain of the owners and players.

I started home brewing again about 2 months ago after a 20 year hiatus.  Fermentation still works.  Beer is still good.  Brewing  at home still gives great results,  and my 13 year old daughter brewed a batch of birch beer and is hooked. All we need is for Toby Keith to write a song about a red fermenter spigot.  It could start like this:

Red fermenter spigot
You're get me hot
Let's brew some more beer
The time is now near...

I'll await Nashville's call. 

THEY DID IT

Ken ewe spehl rownd too? HOWL!! HOWL!! HOWL! On to the conference semi finals!

HOWL! (again)

April showers do not bring May flowers. April showers bring PLAYOFF HOCKEY!

So with a win last night in St. Paul, the desert doggies earned the 2012 Pacific Division Championship. With this comes the third seed (instead of seventh or eighth) in the playoffs. They will face the Black Hawks in the first round. I suppose this might result in more separation of cash from my pocket.

Did I mention HOWL!

Hai-Yah!

Today our daughter broke this board with her bare foot and earned her yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.

As The World Orbits

I guess it is finally time to post after an absence of a few months. It seems that I have completed another trip around the sun. This year I celebrated by heading up to Snowbowl for a day (of a half day) of skiing. Awesome day overall - quintessential spring skiing. It was crusty/icy in the morning and turning soft as the day progressed. No lift lines! At this rate, Snowbowl's days for the season are severely limited. The good news is I still seem to be able to ski. The bad news is I am not 18 anymore. Heck, I'm not 25 nor 30, nor 40 anymore. The other bad news is that I can tell I missed all last season, and all this season till today. The day ended with munchies, beverages, cake (made by my daughter and presents with friends at a local bar/restaurant.

How to spell yum.

1) Go to the Cottage Place with the family.
2) Our 12 year old daughter ordered the Salmon Linguine with a sparkling cider - served in a fancy champagne flute. The cider, not the entree`.
3) Patty ordered the beef stroganoff
4) I ordered the spinach and goat cheese strudel
5) Wine was a Tobin James Zinfandel. Hey, it went with both mine and Patty's entrees.
6) Dessert: Daughter: Creme Brulee, Wife: Creme Brulee, Me: Pear Flambe`

7) It is so cool to have a daughter that has manners and a gourmet palate.