Back from India

Just dropped in to say that I finally got back from my week and a half trek to the other side of the world. Had a really great trip but missed the states. I'll post more later but wanted to direct you to some of the pictures from Mumbai/Bombay - the city of a population of New York and LA combined!! That's a lot of peeps!!

check it out here: Mumbai

micro trends?

I like my beers.
No question that Belgians are the best. I'm actually looking into a beer trip to Belguim. Who wants to join me??
Micro brews are everywhere. Heck, there's even one in my backyard! Thanks, Thielen!!

There is something interesting that I read in the Union Tribune. First, I didn't know that San Diego is such a hotbead for brewing. Damn, is there anything about this place we don't like?? But second of all, a lot of microbreweries are now using their facilities to branch out into the distilling business. Great idea! Got facilities make more alcohol.

The first one that I tried was from Anchor Brewery up in San Fran, makers of Anchor Steam. Gotta admit, I'm not a big fan of the brew but I am a fan of gin so when I saw that a well known brewery was trying out a distilled spirit, I had to give it a go.

Gin is definitely an acquired taste. Thanks to Troy Saliba and Aaron Werntz making the best damn gin martinis in the world, I've gotten accustomed to the juniper drink. Bombay Sapphire the libation of choice thank you very much.

Well, Anchor did a great thing by making a juniper of their own and I have to tell ya. It's really damn good. I mean REALLY damn good. Called Jinipero Gin, it's a relative newcomer into the spirit world. The juniper is strong but not overwhelming and the aroma really helps flood the taste buds. Mix 2 parts gin with 1 part vermouth. If you like it dirty like myself, 1 part olive juice. WOW is that good.

careful, as I have yet to learn, gin is more potent than beer...I'm getting better. Please try it out and lemme know what you think. It is definitely a part of my growing bar. Next up - Cabo Wabo Reposado!!!

The healing finger

Who said making beer wasn't dangerous? This is what happens when you drop a 7 gallon glass carboy on the concrete and try to catch it before it shatters into a million pieces.

First of all to allay any fears, the beer is fine. I had already transferred it to the keg and was cleaning out the carboy (huge jug). It was filled with water weighing around 30 pounds. I decided to put it on my retaining wall and then grab it and flip it upside down to get the water out. This is something I have done about 100 times without problem. This time was a bit different.

I thought I sliced off a few fingers right after I dropped it. For some stupid reason, when it slipped out of my hands, I thought I could catch the jug. Blood was spurting everywhere. Good thing I take aspirin every day or I would have bled forever....wait...I did bleed forever.

The Urgent care in Oceanside was packed and they told me to go to the ER just down the street. After waiting for only 2 hours (I know others have horror stories of 6 to 7 hour waits) and bleeding THE ENTIRE TIME, I finally got in to see the doc.

I did realize one thing that I'm sure a bunch of you have known for a while - I am a humongous baby. I mean, I was squirming like a worm freshly plucked from the earth. Dude put 3 shots IN MY FREAKING FINGER. One I swear was going in one side and poking out the other. OH and good thing Heather was there to laugh...I mean witness this fun day. The doc wanted to see if I had tendon damage so I had to flex my finger - something I had been avoiding for nearly 3 hours because it hurt so damn bad!!! Heather said she could see everything in my finger - tendons were fine...


6 stitches later and it was off to home. FLASH FORWARD 4 weeks later (present day) I had to get the stitches out last week. Good thing Heather's a nurse, right? Holy CRAP did that hurt. I took 2 vicodin BEFORE she pulled and I mean PULLED those suckers out. Wow, I was writhing in pain, my palms were sweating...something that should have taken 5 minutes took about an hour because of my whining. Even Reece was calling me a baby (not really but she would have).

I have regained full movement but the scar is still taking it's own sweet time to heal. Still hurts like a mother and my pointing looks a little weak but hey, at least the beer tastes good.

And man is it gooood. Now I just need to think of a name...

Back from Palm Springs

We got back yesterday afternoon from beautiful and warm Palm Springs. Only took a little over an hour to get back but what a drive it was. First, we got to see the miles and miles of windmills. What a kick that was! Its truly other wordly when you drive through the varying heights of these energy producing machines. We're very interested in supporting those power companies and are looking into switching to the companies that rely mostly on wind for energy.

The coolest was driving on the 60 on the way home. We almost quite literally drove through flames! The mountain was on fire and I think the firemen had just arrived. Smoke was everywhere and the traffic slowed. We then saw why. Flames were shooting up the sides of the mountain. They had even gotten to the side of the road. We drove through a part where the you could feel the heat from the flames - our windows were up even! Pretty scary yet cool as all hell.

anyway, Summer did great at her first Odyssey of the Mind competition. Her team could only participate due to her age but she got a great experience. I even got to judge a problem. Pretty weird being on the side where you help determine if someone's dreams come true or crash and burn. Love the power!! well, not really but it was fun anyway.