Puppy Days

My parents recently paid us a mid-winter visit, with Cricket - as usual - acting as scene-stealer. She can't help that she's so darn cute.

We also figured that it was about time to take down the Christmas lights, and four hands are better than two. I think we're through with decorating the evergreen after this year. Even with our extension ladder, homemade light pole, and six strands of lights, we still can't quite reach the top. When we first moved in, we only needed three strands and a step stool.

Adam's do-it-yourself extension wand / home invasion weapon

Check out the Columbia jacket, ear warmer, and stretch gloves (2 pairs for $1 at Target). I'm bringing the early nineties back to Stillwater. That whole outfit cost me about $35, even after adjusting for inflation.

Cricket hasn't yet learned that TJ does not like to play. Especially with puppies.

Cricket also has not learned how to handle a leash. We spent much of the weekend untangling the dog.

Buddies, for a while.

 Time-out for Cricket. She needs to recharge and the rest of us needed a break.

Just so we didn't spend all weekend doing yard chores, we also took my parents across the river to western Wisconsin. We stopped by the Bass Lake Cheese Factory for some curds and then continued south to Hudson.

Adam got some rock chucking and ice cracking in on a stop along the St. Croix River. The ice was just beginning to break up.

I ordered a happy hour drink that was half red wine, half Coke. I was so appalled by this combination that I had to try it. Why would you ruin red wine with Coke, and vice versa? It tasted almost exactly like sangria. I guess it's good to know that I can just skip the fruit from now on.

The next day, Cricket was so obsessively focused on meeting the cat that it was all she could do to sit still. My dad was her protector.

"Watch out!" says the cat

The object of Cricket's affection

Time for treats! This is one game TJ knows how to play...and win. He will drool on your shoes until you drop the treat.

Next up...shedding season. We're trying to get a heads up on TJ's undercoat now. Cricket had fun with the leftover fur balls. It's like a free toy. TJ tried to prove to Adam that he doesn't care about grooming, but he does. He will fight us throughout the whole spring. Eventually, we will give up and take him to the groomers for his annual bath, where he will come back clean and sleek and trim and smelling like lavender and honeysuckle for another year. It's a lose-lose situation for everyone!

A New Brew Day

On September 23rd, 2011, I brewed an orange Belgian beer that comforted me throughout the mild winter. I can't believe it has been almost 6 months since my last brew. I still have a lot of beer in the basement, but with warmer temperatures, comes Brew Season. On Sunday, I fired up the burners and brewed a Belgian Dubbel. 

The first step was to assemble my new brewing kit. Nicole bought me a turkey fryer kit for my birthday and it has been sitting in a box all winter. TJ was there to supervise.

TJ may have been cute that day, but he was basically in my way at all times. 

We had enough sun to melt the roof snow, but it never got above freezing.

Here is the new turkey/beer frying kit, although no oil will touch this pot. It allows me to boil more water than my last kettle and the burner puts out a lot more flame.

TJ continued his masterful supervision. I assume that Wade Laughlin has the same expression when watching his kids during track practice. 

The kit was comprised of some liquid malt extract, a little dry malt, some hops, and a pound of dark Belgian candi sugar. My yeast was already cooking in a starter I had made a couple days earlier. 

What I love most about this new kettle is the small hole in the lid for a thermometer. Monitoring the temperature of  my water has never been easier. This gives me more time to drink the fruits of previous labors while engaging in more labors. It's a vicious cycle. 

Only 2 ounces of hops were added to this brew. I don't think I have ever used these varieties before. I might plant some hop plants this spring. 

The first hop addition is always the sweetest. I love ripping open that package and taking a big sniff of the earthy goodness. Honestly, half of the fun in brewing are the smells.

Things got a little dicey when I wasn't paying attention. I nearly boiled over.

In the picture below, you can see the boil reaching the very top of the pot. Close call, but I caught it in time.

Seriously, click on this picture and zoom in. 

Jeremy brought James over so the little one could get his first smell of brewing. 

TJ made sure to get his first smell of James.

Everything went great. I was able to quickly cool the wort down after an hour-long boil by surrounding the pot with snow. It was the first good use I've had for snow in years.

I should have taken a picture of my yeast starter, but I didn't. After only a few hours of pitching my yeast, those bad boys went to town on my beer. This one is going to be good. I know it. Since I am the Omar Little of brewing, I never take starting gravity; so I don't know what the alcohol content is, but (rest-assured) there will be alcohol.

Nicole only let me take one picture and this is it. There is really no good reason why she wouldn't want to be photographed since she is a really pretty lady. It was a little early in the morning, though. 

Thank you for taking the brew day pictures, Nicole.

Beer ready for consumption in two months!

Bad Hair Day

Along with his new Johnny Depps, Adam has really been cultivating a fashionable look lately. Although I am overwhelmingly jealous of the full locks, it may be time for a hair cut.

Yes, he is indeed reading the Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Edition, because I know you were wondering.
(Someone left a copy behind at our house.)

My Depps

Thanks to a hot tip from Slickdeals, I purchased some new eye wear online at the nice price of $40. The only aspect of the purchase to give me pause was selecting the frames. I only wear my glasses in the morning and when I am reading in bed; otherwise, I stick to my contact lenses. The website I ordered from had a thousand options. I could get anything I wanted. After five minutes of flipping through the options, here are the frames I picked out. 

Here is the reason I chose them. 

I am not sure if they are working. I'm a little afraid to leave the house for fear of TMZ on my lawn.

Here is what they are supposed to look like.

I know it is hard to tell the difference, but the picture below is me.

How could I not buy Johnny Depp glasses? I almost chose a pair from the Randy Jackson collection, but Nicole might have killed me.

I have a feeling that on a different area of the website the same glasses are labeled "Tom Selleck" from the Blue Bloods collection.