I promise there are no pictures of bras or underwear in this post…

I learned a few things from my last blog post. First, sometimes the beautiful words “Your post published” is a complete lie and you later find absolutely nothing published at all. I don’t blame WordPress for this, it’s merely one of those hiccup moments that’s bound to happen from time to time when technology is involved. It’s one reason I’m glad the whole flying car thing never quite panned out to be a normal part of everyday life.

Yep, this is an actual flying car…from the 1950s.The technology has existed for decades but as someone who regularly grinds their teeth in Atlanta traffic, I’m quite happy I don’t have to worry about texting drivers overhead. This particular pic shows in a lot of places online but the best source of info for inquiring minds seems to be The Smithsonian.com.

I also learned that when you frantically copy your pseudo-published post in attempt to get it to actually publish, any captions you wrote for your photos apparently don’t go along for the ride. Yet another nugget of gained knowledge is the fact that if you include a generic Victoria’s Secret lingerie photo while also mentioning you purchased something from the aforementioned retail peddler of  bras and underwear, it’s very likely readers will presume it is your delicate dainties that their eyes behold. It’s merely one of those hiccup moments that’s bound to happen from time to time when I’m allowed access to technology (and again, am very glad the whole flying car thing never panned out). I re-added a few captions to the post’s pics after my dear sister sent me a text inquiring why my near nothings had graced Facebook but alas, the damage was done. This also serves as a lesson that one should simply not post pictures of bras and underwear in the first place but I again sum that up to a combination of technological and human hiccups (along with bluntly not thinking things through) and bestow a sincere apology to everyone’s eyes.

But now that we’ve cleared the air on that little mishap, what shall rightfully follow an underthingy photo blunder on the eve of Valentine’s Day? How about one of the best movies of all time…

Even if you’ve never seen this movie, you’ve probably heard the catch phrases 1,000 times.

 

This movie is one of those perfect V-day flicks because its has everything you could hope for in a great story – adventure, comedy, and of course tru wuv!

It’s prime snuggle on the couch material but what’s even better is when you can see it with your sweetie and a bucket of popcorn on the big screen. Since this particular flick was released in 1987, that’s typically easier said than done but the fine folks at the Aurora Cineplex decided to do a one-night showing of The Princess Bride this past Saturday. As if that wasn’t sweet enough, they served up a free bakery treat and flowers for all us ladies (yes, just the gals…though one guy did try to beat the system and convince the theater staff that his girlfriend wanted two cookies). Romantic adventure, cookies, and a pretty flower…you had me at as you wish!

How can one say no to a heart-shaped Snickerdoodle? It’s cinnamon and sugar goodness in the shape of love! Hmm, I wonder if they’ll have chocolate covered miracle pills next year?

My lovely rose safe in its new home…which because of how I took this picture, appears to be growing out of our kitchen floor.

My lovely rose after our lovely cat Chloe discovered it while I tried to get a better picture. I initially thought she just wanted to give the poor thing a curious sniff…until a second after I took this pic and she started trying to eat it. Bad kitty – my rose!

I mentioned that this movie is a few decades away from being recent and so it pains me to know that there are many who were born before this masterpiece came out. As such, the wonder that is The Princess Bride is perhaps a visual treasure not yet experienced. I thought about doing a snappy synopsis of my own but honestly that guy who does the Honest Trailers does a much more better job via YouTube: Honest Trailers – The Princess Bride.

So whether your Valentine’s Day includes cutesy cards, sugary sweets, or cats trying to eat your flowers, may I suggest including The Princess Bride in your Hallmark holiday festivities – whether you’ve seen it 100 times or have yet to be amazed, it’s inconceivably awesome!

Expensive Underthingys, Craft Beer, and $1 Soap…Yeah, Typical Saturday…Right?

[Apologies to anyone who might get an accidental  double dose of this post – WordPress told me it published yesterday but that was apparently a lie…so hopefully second time will be a charm!]

This Saturday I did something rather uncommon for me which is go shopping. Now Saturday may be a day that most normal folks go out to the mall and other familiar weekend watering holes but I’m typically not the type and also tend to be working to some degree this day. But with the day fully off, a bit of a wild hair up my butt, and a little cash in my pocket…I had what I suppose is a somewhat normal Saturday. Except perhaps for my purchases.

The first shopping venture occurred due to a certain upcoming holiday  (or shall we call it a Hallmark-iday since that’s really more the case with all the cards that get taped to boxes of candy). Yes, since “V” day is hovering around the corner, I figured I’d try to find something a little beyond my usual Wal-mart and Target modes of romantic apparel. That being the case, I  darkened the doorway of a Victoria’s Secret. Now, I have nothing against VS or anyone that more regularly frequents such fine stores mind you but , again, I’m a Wal-mart gal – which is not typically the kind of place where a kind and somewhat overly helpful sales lady will offer to size you and help you pick out a bra. I succeeded in completing this particular trip without being sized but can’t help thinking that my purchase should have had more fabric included considering the cost. Then again, I am used to being able to buy a pack of cozy cotton briefs for under $10. Victoria’s Secret seems to be lacking in the pack of briefs department.

Not what I bought but my actual purchase still leaves me to wonder if the price actually goes up as the amount of garment decreases. If anything, it should be cheaper since half the underwear is quite literally missing.

Next stop was my local home brewing shop, Schoolhouse Beer and Brewing.  I’m tinkering with ideas for my next home brew and what better way to accomplish that than with drinkable inspiration?

Here we have pictured from left to right:

Joey Pepper from EvilTwin Brewing ( a Belgian Blonde style, just tried it with dinner tonight and it is awesome, as is pretty much everything made by EvilTwin).

Dragon’s Milk Reserve from New Holland Brewing ( a Bourbon Barrel Stout Aged with Vanilla and Chai Spices – have not tried yet but this just sounds interesting. I think the link goes to the non-reserve version but I think only difference may be the spices).

El Camino (un)Real from 21st Amendment Brewery (as their website says, this is “a dark strong ale that floats between a stout and an IPA” but I got this one also mainly out of curiosity – it’s made with fennel, chia seeds, and peppercorns. Oh, and dried mission figs.  Odd how a beer label can make me suddenly hungry).

Big Creek from Jekyll Brewing (a Koslch style flavored with pear – got this one mainly out of curiosity about how it tastes because of the pear aspect but it’s also a local one, made in Alpharetta, GA).

Athena from Creature Comforts (a German-style Wheat Beer, which is always a winner in my book, and it’s another local brew since it hails from Athens, GA).

Old Monkeyshine from Nimbus Brewing Company (an English Strong Ale, which is a bit of a stretch from what I usually go for but figured I’d give it a try. At 8.2% ABV though, this is definitely I one to have with a big and hefty dinner…hmm, maybe some good ole English fare even like fish and chips!).

Hop Manna IPA from Shmaltz Brewing Company (as the name implies, this is obviously an IPA. I admittedly got this one because of their rather unique account of Pharaoh finally letting the ancient Hebrew people go in the book of Exodus and how manna sustained them in the desert. They paraphrased a bit and took a little literary license on the label. If you click on no other brewery link than this one, it is definitely worth a looksie and a couple chuckles if you check out their other beers/descriptions).

Ahem, as a quick side note – yes, I realize I just complained about the price of lingerie and these are obviously not the cheaper type beers that one could purchase (most of the above were in the two dollar and change bracket). That being said, there is an art that goes into making good craft beer and while I’m sure the same holds true for mostly-not-there underwear, I just happen to have a great appreciation for the more drinkable of the two. Besides, bras and underwear don’t pair well with dinner.

My last stop was Dollar Tree (yes, Dollar Tree). Why? Because of soap (yes, soap). You see, Shugar Soapworks is a wonder I happened to spot at a Dollar Tree back in December and they initially had me at the words “Oatmeal and Coconut.” But then a quick perusal of their label revealed they also happen to be cruelty free and naturally a bar quickly found its way to my basket. Basically, this soap hits all the happy me check points when it comes to cleansing and it seems like something that would be a sad price of $5.00 a bar in the organic/health section of a grocery store…but it’s only a dollar of course at Dollar Tree.

Moisturizing soap that’s made in the US, has no weird unneeded stuff added to it, and has no animal products/doesn’t do animal testing – AND I can get it for $1.00 a bar? Time for the cleanest happy dance ever!

Fast forward to today. I’ve only been able to find this soap at Dollar Tree and that one bar I bought in December is a memory. So stopping by there today was of course mandatory. Added to this the fact my husband has been somewhat successful in making me more prepared for unforeseen circumstances (see previous post on how my long journey home during Snowmageddon 2014 helped instill that), I also thought of the fact today that Dollar Tree is one of those stores where you might find something cool/useful/needed only to find it gone the next time you shop. So naturally…I bought eight bars. Or in other words, enough to make what appears to be a miniature soap fort when stacked together and zoomed in with our cat Wobbles in the background. Yes, I was that person and didn’t care a lick. Besides the purchase included a little more excitement than just getting oatmeal and coconut soap…I branched out and got a bar of their Oatmeal and Verbena too. Man, am I wild or what?

My husband suggested that I put a halo over our cat’s head and call it the holy soap because of the unexpected light gleaming down upon it in my photo. I thought that might be a bit much but who knows, maybe it is heaven sent…via Dollar Tree.

And yep, that concludes the major purchases of today. Normal weekend shopping trip. Nothing odd. Just your usual lingerie, beer, and several bars of soap. I’m sure everyone has those items on their list in a single day.

This is either a sign that I should get out more often or that I shouldn’t be allowed to go shopping when I do.

Expensive Underwear, Craft Beer, and $1 Soap…Yeah, Typical Saturday…Right?

So, this Saturday I did something rather uncommon for me which is go shopping. Now Saturday may be a day that most normal folks go out to the mall and other familiar weekend watering holes but I’m typically not the type and also tend to be working to some degree this day. But with the day fully off, a bit of a wild hair up my butt, and a little cash in my pocket…I had what I suppose is a somewhat normal Saturday. Except perhaps for my purchases.

The first shopping venture occurred due to a certain upcoming holiday  (or shall we call it a Hallmark-iday since that’s really more the case with all the cards that get taped to boxes of candy). Yes, since “V” day is hovering around the corner, I figured I’d try to find something a little beyond my usual Wal-mart and Target modes of romantic apparel. That being the case, I  darkened the doorway of a Victoria’s Secret. Now, I have nothing against VS or anyone that more regularly frequents such fine stores mind you but , again, I’m a Wal-mart gal – which is not typically the kind of place where a kind and somewhat overly helpful sales lady will offer to size you and help you pick out a bra. I succeeded in completing this particular trip without being sized but can’t help thinking that my purchase should have had more fabric included considering the cost. Then again, I am used to being able to buy a pack of cozy cotton briefs for under $10. Victoria’s Secret seems to be lacking in the pack of briefs department.

Not what I bought but my actual purchase still leaves me to wonder if the price actually goes up as the amount of garment decreases. If anything, it should be cheaper since half the of the underwear is quite literally missing.

Next stop was my local home brewing shop, Schoolhouse Beer and Brewing.  I’m tinkering with ideas for my next home brew and what better way to accomplish that than with drinkable inspiration?

Here we have pictured from left to right:

Joey Pepper from EvilTwin Brewing ( a Belgian Blonde style, just tried it with dinner tonight and it is awesome, as is pretty much everything made by EvilTwin).

Dragon’s Milk Reserve from New Holland Brewing ( a Bourbon Barrel Stout Aged with Vanilla and Chai Spices – have not tried yet but this just sounds interesting. I think the link goes to the non-reserve version but I think only difference may be the spices).

El Camino (un)Real from 21st Amendment Brewery (as their website says, this is “a dark strong ale that floats between a stout and an IPA” but I got this one also mainly out of curiosity – it’s made with fennel, chia seeds, and peppercorns. Oh, and dried mission figs.  Odd how a beer label can make me suddenly hungry).

Big Creek from Jekyll Brewing (a Koslch style flavored with pear – got this one mainly out of curiosity about how it tastes because of the pear aspect but it’s also a local one, made in Alpharetta, GA).

Athena from Creature Comforts (a German-style Wheat Beer, which is always a winner in my book, and it’s another local brew since it hails from Athens, GA).

Old Monkeyshine from Nimbus Brewing Company (an English Strong Ale, which is a bit of a stretch from what I usually go for but figured I’d give it a try. At 8.2% ABV though, this is definitely I one to have with a big and hefty dinner…hmm, maybe some good ole English fare even like fish and chips!).

Hop Manna IPA from Shmaltz Brewing Company (as the name implies, this is obviously an IPA. I admittedly got this one because of their rather unique account of Pharaoh finally letting the ancient Hebrew people go in the book of Exodus and how manna sustained them in the desert. They paraphrased a bit and took a little literary license on the label. If you click on no other brewery link than this one, it is definitely worth a looksie and a couple chuckles if you check out their other beers/descriptions).

Ahem, as a quick side note – yes, I realize I just complained about the price of lingerie and these are obviously not the cheaper type beers that one could purchase (most of the above were in the two dollar and change bracket). That being said, there is an art that goes into making good craft beer and while I’m sure the same holds true for mostly-not-there underwear, I just happen to have a great appreciation for the more drinkable of the two. Besides, bras and underwear don’t pair well with dinner.

My last stop was Dollar Tree (yes, Dollar Tree). Why? Because of soap (yes, soap). You see, Shugar Soapworks is a wonder I happened to spot at a Dollar Tree back in December and they initially had me at the words “Oatmeal and Coconut.” But then a quick perusal of their label revealed they also happen to be cruelty free and naturally a bar quickly found its way to my basket. Basically, this soap hits all the happy me check points when it comes to cleansing and it seems like something that would be a sad price of $5.00 a bar in the organic/health section of a grocery store…but it’s only a dollar of course at Dollar Tree.

Moisturizing soap that’s made in the US, has no weird unneeded stuff added to it, and has not animal products/doesn’t do animal testing – AND I can get it for $1.00 a bar? Time for the cleanest happy dance ever!

Fast forward to today. I’ve only been able to find this soap at Dollar Tree and that one bar I bought in December is a memory. So stopping by there today was of course mandatory. Added to this the fact my husband has been somewhat successful in making me more prepared for unforeseen circumstances (see previous post on how my long journey home during Snowmageddon 2014 helped instill that), I also thought of the fact today that Dollar Tree is one of those stores where you might find something cool/useful/needed only to find it gone the next time you shop. So naturally…I bought eight bars. Or in other words, enough to make what appears to be a miniature soap fort when stacked together and zoomed in with our cat Wobbles in the background. Yes, I was that person and didn’t care a lick. Besides the purchase included a little more excitement than just getting oatmeal and coconut soap…I branched out and got a bar of their Oatmeal and Verbena too. Man, am I wild or what?

My husband suggested that I put a halo over our cat’s head and call it the holy soap because of the unexpected light gleaming down upon it in my photo. I thought that might be a bit much, but who knows may it is heaven scent…via Dollar Tree.

And yep, that concludes the major purchases of today. Normal weekend shopping trip. Nothing odd. Just your usual lingerie, beer, and several bars of soap. I’m sure everyone has those items on their list in a single day.

This is either a sign that I should get out more often or that I shouldn’t be allowed to go shopping when I do.

Prepared for snowstorms, zombies, and creepy clowns.

Without my dear husband, I can safely say I’d be much less prepared for many things that fall under the category of “situations you hope will never happen but it’s good to be prepared for just in case”. One such example is the rather practical application of keeping a 48-hour bag in the car trunk with necessary goodies like food, water, and even an extra change of clothes (yes, including underwear). I admittedly gave a bit of a deaf ear to his encouragement on this until our first winter in Georgia, which also happened to include February 2014…a time which Atlanta not so fondly remembers as Snowmageddon 2014. Some may remember my post from that time, in which I was stick in traffic like this:

This actual picture was taken by another poor going nowhere soon motorist but it’s pretty much what my attempt to ride home looked like in the first hour…and the many that followed into the wee hours of the next day.

I didn’t make it home until about 12 hours later that time (not because myself and other Atlanta folk don’t know how to drive in the snow mind you but because of the sheer number of non-moving obstacles in my way…but that’s another post). After being stuck in a rental car for that long without even so much as a pack of Saltines at my disposal and then having to walk in the snow-ice mush with my flimsy office shoes…that 48-hour bag suddenly sounded like a dandy idea! So needless to say, there’s now always such a bag in my car even if it’s just a rental.

This is my actual 48 hour bag (please disregard the explosion of random crapola all around the table). Also, our cat Wobbles is apparently MOLLE-compatible.  🙂

Another topic of the “we really need to be ready for…” situations that I was initially hesitant on is also one that I thankfully don’t have a past experience encounter to share and I hope I never do – and that is what if it’s not the weather threatening my safety but another person (or persons). What if we wake up in the middle of the night because of a home invasion? What if I become the next person, like so many we’ve been hearing about on the local news here, who gets carjacked while trying to pump gas? Keeping stocked up on emergency supplies is one thing but now we’re talking self and home defense.

I’ve taken a self defense class through our church that was fun and informative but when faced with the fact that I’m just barely five-foot and my wet noodle arm muscles wouldn’t realistically help much against some thug, I gave in to my husband’s suggestion of starting to learn gun safety and getting my conceal and carry permit. Our first trip to the range a couple years involved me shooting a Glock 43 and basically castrating the zombie target I’d chosen…

The Glock 43 and I were okay friends but I just never warmed up to it as a potential conceal and carry choice. After trying different options when we went back to the range a couple times, I started to really like the revolver style for some reason. So yesterday, I attacked another scary intruder stand-in with a Smith and Wesson .38 Special for the first time…

I wish I could take credit for the head shot and two of the additional nostrils this guy got but those were admittedly my husband trying out my gun on the same target. The rest of the holes are me though and this is at least a clown who’s having a very bad day – and that’s what I want anyone threatening my life or any potential rapist to have.

I’ve found that, besides becoming educated on gun safety and other such things that come along with conceal and carry, there is also cleaning. Cleaning? Yes, all that carbon and whatnot can build up and cause problems (which would not be helpful in defending oneself). That being the case, gun cleaning is not nearly as fun as shooting zombies and clowns but it’s also one of those basic responsibility things. Below are pics from my cleaning session earlier today in all their glory…

Again, my hope is to never need to shoot anything other than a paper zombie or clown. That being said, I know as I continue to get better at shooting those guys, I’ll be more ready to defend myself against a real monster. It’s just another form of being prepared.

Merry…New Year? Or shall we call this the post of Christmas past?

I started a reading plan called Rediscovering the Christmas Season on YouVersion just a couple days after Thanksgiving and, as I write this post on the day after Christmas, am several days behind. Since the blog post right before this one hails from around Halloween, it’s obviously not just my reading that needs a little catch up. Whew, December 26th – how’d that suddenly get here?

Life has been busy again for sure and there’s also been random cases of the ick, like having pinkeye for the first time a wee while ago and the head cold that still clings to me like that little green guy in the Mucinex commercials. [Side note and minor gripe: Mucinex did not make my little green guy go away at all – overpriced sugar pills as far as I could tell].

Part of my busyness included putting up a tree of course and, since it’s both time to bid the Halloween post farewell and I can breath out of my nose today, it’s time to do a little updating.

Step one in decorating our condo for Christmas usually involves opening a big blue tote that contains the lights and other necessities. These items are usually thoroughly inspected by the cats before I actually have a chance to take much out of that tote.

One of our cats, Chloe, checks the tote sides for…shiny things maybe?

We have one of those some-assembly-required Christmas trees with the colored pegs on each branch and it rests in the living room closet for most of the year. That being the case, it’s not much to behold when I’ve first taken it out of the box and done the basic connect the dots (er, branches).

Chloe already has her eye on the empty box in this photo and you can probably spot Joey’s black and white head just over the table. He mainly watched in confusion and curiosity during the tree assembly process.

Before any actual decorating takes place, the tree also gets a cat inspection to test it for stability. Actually, it gets another inspection after decoration is complete (and this is why we don’t own any glass or otherwise breakable ornaments).

Chloe, this year’s primary inspector, can be seen still hard at work at the bottom of the completed tree in this last photo.

I did manage to get at least one photo sans cat…

Our tree has perhaps a bit more unusual dressing than most. Oh, we have lights and bits of garland of course. But there’s the bear wearing a red sweater and green bow tie that always plays the part of our angel/tree topper. There’s also giant snowflakes, a fairy that one of the cat’s chewed the hand off of, a frog wearing a Santa hat, and a couple more sentimental wonders to behold like this…

This “ornament” was actually a Christmas present from one of my nephews many years ago. The wrapping paper tube is open on one end – inside it are rolled up drawings they made with a marker (shown below with the help of a few magnets)…

 

It’s just a reindeer and an angel on simple piece of paper but I still dig it more than anything from the shelves of Target or Walmart. And since that same nephew is now in college, the drawing and its little tube packaging now serve the purpose of Christmas memories as well as decoration.

On the topic of paper nostalgia, I’m also one of those people that keeps just about every Christmas card that Mr. Postman brings me. I love looking back and reading the messages, quick scribbles of names, and paw prints (yes, in some). Some cards are the funny, some are gushy, and some are from family members that are no longer on this earth. One thing I did this year was make a card bench – I’m not sure what else to call it – next to our tree with some of the cards from my collection. It seemed like a brilliant idea to stand the cards up and display them on a lovely red tablecloth – but again we own cats so the whole standing up thing didn’t last long. I ended up laying them down to avoid having to pick them back up every 10 minutes.

See the three cards in the front? Yeah, that’s pretty much how they all had to be displayed to avoid the terror of Chloe.

So that was part of the Christmas preparations in our humble abode. Since Christmas is now passed and we’re steadily racing toward New Year’s, time for me to go catch up more on that reading plan!

Many wishes to all for a wonderful remainder of 2016 and a holiday season that is…

 

Our Trick or Treaters Really DID Have Fangs.

Ah Halloween…the night when adorable little ones dressed as sometimes unidentifiable forms of creature cuteness come knocking at your door and beg for candy. Well, generally in the earlier part of the evening anyway – after about 9:00pm, you pretty much start getting teenagers carrying Walmart bags with no costume and it’s time to turn the porch light off.

I am sadly not original and just free clip art that Julie found – but I’m scary cute!

That’s how it was in our old neighborhood when we lived in a cul de sac and were surrounded by a bunch of other decorated houses. Minivans would park in the middle of the street and  belch out hordes of trick or treaters. My husband and I even had a tier system set up – if you had an original/cool/homemade costume then you got the really good stuff like full-sized candy bars. If you put forth a minimal amount of effort to be creepy or otherwise memorable, you got something along the lines of a fun-size bar or little bag of Reeses. Walmart bag and no costume = maybe some smarties or that crappy taffy no one really likes just to ward off any potential egging.

When we moved to GA, we settled into a nice condo that has a wooded section behind it and is in the back part of the building, past a few rows of stairs. This provides the illusion of being somewhat secluded even though we have neighbors directly above us. I’ve always loved our additional hint of privacy and still feel we have one of the best spots in the complex – except for nights like Halloween. Living in a place where you can’t even see if the porch light is on until you’ve made an effort to go down the first section or two of stairs doesn’t seem to attract even the Walmart bag crowd. Add in the darkened woods just a few feet from the bottom of those stairs and I wouldn’t let any kids of mine go hunting for candy in our direction either. So sigh…no more cute trick or treaters come knocking at the door as we watch our traditional monster movies and feast upon junk food.

But ah, I’ve found the wooded section does have it own cute little ones. It’s not a mini van and they may not be dressed up like Disney characters or anything, but yes, still cute. [The below pics were taken tonight with my phone from the other side of the ghostly realm – er, glass screen door].

Hello Mr. Racoon, are you here for tricks or treats?

Nom nom – don’t eat it all before your bedtime Ms. Possum, you’ll get bad dreams!

So a little backstory. I started putting cat food out a while ago to coax an abandoned kitty into at least having an occasional home (ours). While I was successful in that endeavor, the cat food of course attracted other occasional…guests. And since I’m not one for wasting food, nights like this call for extra special treats – like the left over nachos and caramel apple I didn’t finish. The food doesn’t go in the trash and I at least get some form of trick or treater to come visit us.

Halloween WIN!

I’m Back and So Was Chalktoberfest!

Hello dear blog, it’s been a long time (a month I believe? Yeeek!) since I last paid you a visit and I’ve missed you terribly. But while life’s busyness has unfortunately kept me away for a while, time to get these fingers typing and end this silly silent treatment. There are still stories to tell, strange characters to animate, and beer to brew in our fine condo’s kitchen so there certainly shouldn’t be a lack of things to post about.

Since we just passed the weekend of Oct 8-9, what is quickly becoming one of my favorite early October events recently colored the streets in Marietta square – Chalktoberfest! Ever take chalk and draw on the sidewalk when you were a kid? Of course you did! And if your colored chalk creations looked anything like mine, it was probably a very good thing they washed away with the rain. However the fine staff at The Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, which hosts the event, knows who to find a few folks who can do this...

I went last year for the first time and was blown away. This time, I stopped by early Sunday morning before church and, since a lot of the artists were still finishing up, came back near the event’s end. One of the neat things about this was seeing some of the art transition from this…

To this…

If you’d like to learn more about these amazing chalkextraordinaires, here is a link to the artist bios from the museum’s event page: http://chalktoberfest.com/artists/artist-bios/

One thing I can’t quite figure out is how some managed to make the chalk art look 3D. I get that it had to do with shadows, perspective, and whatnot but..this is chalk on pavement we’re talking about (neither being what I would consider the easiest material to work with). For these works, each one had a little “stand here” sign where the 3D effect would show and well, it was pretty wild…

Sure puts my smiling stick figures of younger years to shame.

 

 

A Day Unlike Any Other Day

As they say, there are certain events that become so etched into both history and memory that you remember where you were when they occurred even after several years have passed.

Flag flying at half-staff today just past the entrance to the nature trail I walked on today.

I was a student at UNCG in the Fall semester of 2001 and had an 8:00am media law class every Tuesday and Thursday. Hardly a topic that should be tackled at such early hour in my opinion (and many apologies to Dr. Linder for the fact that my still half-asleep brain barely retained a quarter of her lectures as a result). It was in this still waking to the world and going through the motions state of mind I found myself in as I trekked across campus after class and back toward my dorm room. Now the time my class ended happened to be when a lot other classes either just finished or were about to start. That being the case, my journey across those sidewalks crisscrossing a modest patch of lawn in front of the McIver building was usually one of the “high traffic” moments as several other students made their way back and forth. From a bird’s eye view, it may have typically looked like a slightly disorganized ant colony in the works. On September 11, 2001, however, the bird got a much different view.

It took me a minute to realize that the sidewalks were more barren than usual and rather than zip zagging my way around other students in a hurry, there were clusters of people talking about a story that unfolded as I gleaned information while walking by. A plane crash? Something about the World Trade Center? Wait, did that girl just say a plane crashed into the World Trade Center? I was suddenly very much awake.

My boyfriend at the time lived in the same dorm as me and just a floor above. I greeted him that morning by banging on the door and saying “I need to see your T.V.” as he groggily let me breeze by him and grab the remote. I had by this point gotten more bits and pieces horror news from people along the way but it all sounded too impossible to be real. But in the next couple hours after I turned on that T.V., it was no longer just a normal Tuesday morning and it never would be just a regular day on 9/11 ever again.

I didn’t know anyone personally that lost their lives or any of the many heroes during the 9/11 attacks but I think it’s impossible to be human and not be moved by images of that day. One thing I didn’t quite think about until our pastor mentioned it at the beginning of today’s sermon is that since this did happen 15 years ago, anyone who is just now in high school or younger won’t have the same etched in memory situation with 9/11 that I described. They were either too young at the time to remember or not even born yet. For some of the youngest members of my family, like my great niece who just turned one last week, September 11, 2001 will be a date in her history class. I think it’s important that those of us who can remember the actual events unfolding before our eyes do so. Otherwise it may truly end up becoming a topic she yawns over in an early morning class.

I know several other people and places have written and blogged 9/11 today and I won’t rehash the event specifics. For anyone needing a reminder (or for folks in that too young to remember crowd), History.com had a good piece on it here.

 

 

 

 

 

Cucumber in beer? Of course!

When I first started typing this post, I did so while drinking a glass of Coolcumber (made by the fine folks at Wicked Weed) which is brewed with, you guessed it, cucumber. Yes, cucumber and beer can apparently happily marry and also included in this particular brew was basil and juniper berries. That may sound more like the ingredients of some healthy gourmet side dish but the result is a unique and wonderful oddball beer – the sort of drinkable creation that inspired me to try my hand at home brewing!. For now, I’m still sticking with recipes that have been declared newbie friendly but I look forward to the day when I’m sipping from a glass with my own beer brewed with cucumber. Or chocolate and cherries. Or chili peppers. Or maybe something like the mango and habanero double IPA currently in the fridge.

A sampling of what waits for me on our fridge bottom shelf…the mango and habanero one is the Terrapin in the middle (between an ale inspired by Star Trek and a chocolate stout, what else?). The Coolcumber was devoured before this countertop photograph session.

That all being said, there is such a thing as getting too creative with ingredients and there are admittedly some downright bizarre concoctions out there. Beer brewed with goat brains anyone? Mmmmm…no. Strangely (sadly?) I’m not making that example up. Here’s a link to beerconnoisseur.com’s post from a while back with some outlandish brews that have the more adventurous stomach in mind (including the goat brain one): https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/strange-brews-10-weirdest-beer-ingredients. I originally thought it easy to say that I’d never consider anything more than mundane additions until the idea of adding catnip to future brews entered my mind. Yes catnip. I have my beloved husband to blame for the notion.

You see, my husband has a wonderful mind that mixes creativity with business and this led him to suggesting that I name future beers after our many cats. Did I mention we have four cats? Well, two according to our lease and two other homeless ones that adopted me. (Plus one or two extra kitties that know where to find a bowl of water and dry food outside when in need). So, since I’m well on my way to becoming the crazy cat lady and have an interest in home brewing, my dear hubby has been encouraging me to combine the two loves. This is a wonderful idea and, once I’ve made a few more beginner batches, I aim to do so. But you see, I have a mind that does not combine creativity with business quite as well. So as I drove home from work today, I began having visions of how to take my nine lives brew to a truly cat-tastic level and this included thought processes such as Oh, what if I put a tiny dose of catnip in the beer? I’m sure it only affects cats…doesn’t it? Of course it does, it would just be another herb, like throwing in mint but cooler and…cattyier. Oh, oh, and I could do a cream soda as a non-alcoholic option because cats love cream…beer idea win, yeah!

This happy eureka lasted only until I started studying up a bit more on how catnip actually affects non-cats (a.k.a. humans). According to WebMD.com’s wisdom under the side effects tab: “Catnip is POSSIBLY SAFE for most adults when taken by mouth in small amounts. Cupful amounts of catnip tea have been consumed without serious side effects. However, catnip is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when smoked or taken by mouth in high doses (many cups of catnip tea, for example)…It can cause headaches, vomiting, and a feeling of being ill…Because catnip can cause menstruation, it might make heavy menstrual periods worse…”

Say whaaaat?

Well…goodbye to that idea. I seriously thought catnip only gave furry felines the crazies but it can apparently cause a lot of bad news for us. Plus, catnip “seems to be able to slow down the central nervous system, causing sleepiness and other effects.” That…is…not…a good addition for anything alcohol. 

So, I’m guilty of at least understanding the aspirations of brewers who push the envelope a little too far. But, with the knowledge I’ve gained, I think we should all just say no to catnip.

And goat brains.

And poo (not kidding, if you haven’t checked out the beerconnoisseur.com link yet, there’s a brew made with that too).

 

 

 

 

 

Hooray I Bottled! Bottles Lack Carbonation Happiness…Boooo!

Hello Dear Blog – like an old friend from high school or college who promised to keep in touch after graduation and then dropped off the face of the earth, I am admittedly dropping a line now for the sole purpose of making amends. This unfortunately isn’t the beginning of your former regularity, however, but more of a case of me stopping by for a visit. With a wedding anniversary on Saturday (6 years with my better and often wiser half!) and company coming in from out of town on Sunday, I won’t dare make any presumptions of trying to make a post this weekend.

Ah, but what is a blog post without illustrations or pictures? Sadly incomplete. Never fear, for I’ve bottled the home brew and have a few pics to share…

Into a clean and sanitized empty bottle goes the auto-siphon…

Out goes the auto-siphon after filling the bottle with liquid magic…

Bottlecapper – locked and loaded!

Push down on bottle and then lift up…hmmm, does this count as push ups?

And Viola! (In hindsight, this bottle may be easier to see without the black tarp).

I started to type a caption about how after each bottle received its crown, it joined the rest of the royal family but the fact these particular crowns have American flags on them leads me to believe that may not be the best direction to take with that.

And since we’re somewhat on that note, you might be wondering what the deal is with the American flag caps. Well, partly because my husband found them online and I thought they were neat. Besides that, I actually brewed this round on July 4th weekend so it seemed fitting.

And into the box everyone goes to carbonate for a week or two!

Now since the time these pictures were taken, my second homebrew has had a little time to sit in the closet (the darkest place in our condo) and I’ve sampled a few…and have discovered one teensy weensy problem in that there’s not much in the way of carbonation. Not none, mind you but enough to say Ruh Roh. The brew itself actually tastes better than the last one but the effect is not quite what I was aiming for obviously.

As when I discovered my yeast boo boo from a few posts ago, I sought the wisdom of the peanut gallery via online forums for answers on where I erred (and equally important, for a potential solution). The somewhat relieving discovery is that I’m far from the first person to have this problem though the peanut gallery options for culprits ranged from 1) potentially not having used enough priming sugar or not distributing it enough through the wort, to 2) not having enough yeast left alive to eat up the sugar and belch out carbonation, to 3) simply storing the bottles in a location that’s too cold and hence making the yeast go dormant.

Option 1 is conceivable since the first beer I made came with a bag of corn sugar already measured out and this time I bought a bag from the home brew store with instructions to use roughly half. As far as distribution, I stirred my simple syrup concoction in to the wort with a whisk but admittedly did do a blunder in that I added it to the bottling bucket after I’d already put the wort in. If I end up with a few super carbonated bottles, I’ll know that’s the winner. I doubt it’s Option 2 because the bottles aren’t entirely flat and that means there was definitely still plenty of yeast to finish the party. As far as Option 3, I’m a bit doubtful but have migrated half of the bottles to the laundry room and other somewhat warmer vacationing spots than the closet. The general collective advice was to let the bottles sit for a bit longer to see if carbonation improves (and even shake a few in case the yeasties need to be reawakened from their slumber). So for the moment, I’m in experiment mode.

But hey, this is drinkable science so I’m not complaining. And worst case scenario, I’ll just go with one person’s suggestion in the forums and serve my brew with dry ice. It’ll add to the presentation!     :o)