Cheers to 2013

We've been absent...for awhile.  But we're back!  Wishing everyone a happy & healthy New Year.

Playing around with our new camera:

An (almost) empty 5 lb peanut butter container.  (Don't feel sorry for Brewer - he gets his dad's empty yogurt container almost every morning)

 Gotta work on the zoom.

  Opening their gifts.  :)

The First Week

Well I'm on to my third week now as assistant brewer at Black Tooth Brewery. I have to say I enjoy it more than I did my desk job. The atmosphere and the pace is easy and enjoyable. Though I have a long way to go to become a master brewer, I am getting familiar with the down and dirty work of a brewery and learning more every day. Below are a few pictures from my first week. (Not shown: the keg washer. I have spent many hours with the piece of machinery, and I have a feeling we're going to see much more of each other)

Pretty new tanks all in a row! I pulled all the protective coating off these tanks the first morning on the job.  I doesn't seem like it'd be too bad, but they are crammed in against the freezer wall forcing me to think like a contortionist.

20 gallon buckets of tired yeast pulled off the bottom of the fermentors

 

Milling grains for a 640 gallon batch of Amber.  The white pipe has an auger in it the carries the cracked barley to the brewhouse

Filling kegs in the walk-in-cooler from a different 640 gallon batch of Amber.  This is a time consuming (and cold) process.  Notice the lovely yellow pallet-jack.  I have become quite proficient with this thing, and this week I learn to run a forklift :) !!!

All in all, the job doesn't suck!

Well that's one way to simplify

 

Well that was fun. Or not. I'm ok. The truck is not ok (at least we hope that's the insurance adjuster's opinion). I will forever be thankful for modern technology & engineering - the guardrail that didn't budge when a truck slammed into it at 55 mph & stopped me from going over the bridge, the truck built to absorb impact & decrease chance of injury, the air bags deploying like a gunshot & preventing my face from meeting the steering wheel, & the seat belt that harnessed me to the seat & stopped me from bouncing around like a rag doll.
To the three gentlemen camping down the hill that heard the crash, called it in, & stayed with me until HP showed up: thank you. To the gentleman that stopoed to make sure I was ok: thank you. To Kentz & Lindsey, for being there: thank you. Nothing I say or do will suffice in expressing my thanks & gratitude for all of you.

Lessons of the day: most trucks function in RWD when not in 4WD. And nothing is worth being in a hurry.

Simplify

I’ve had a strong urge to simplify as of late.  I don’t know where it came from but it was a mysterious, deep-rooted urge to step back, slow down, & simplify.  Reduce, reuse, recycle.  Or something like that. 

I began my venture by scaling back on my daily make-up.  Many of my friends are non-makeup wearing women & I appreciate their “realness” (or whatever word you want to use).  So I cut out my daily eye shadow.  Boom.  Make-up routine cut down to 5 min.  (Sorry, I’m not cutting out anything else.  I.love.mascara.)    

Not long after, Steve received word he was accepted into the position of Assistant Brewer.  *Ah ha*  In some cosmic, moon phase, low-tide-high-tide weirdness, my soul was prepping for big change.  With our new household budget, it’s without a doubt we will have to simplify.  And I’m ready.  We’re ready.  It’s time to batten the hatches, put on an eye patch, and say “yarr”…  Oh wait, wrong story.  It’s time to simplify our lifestyle.  (And if we get bored on our low budget, we just might be pretending to be pirates for entertainment)

I was inspired recently by the blog, Small Notebook.  I was particularly struck by her post, The Lost Rule of Organizing.  *Mental slap*  I wanted to add to my stuff with more stuff.  Do I have to buy a bunch of containers to hold my stuff?  Or can I reduce some of the stuff?  Why do I need more containers to hold our books when a majority of our books are novels that we won’t read again?  Can I donate those novels & find myself with plenty of bookshelf space?  Why do I need more containers to organize our bathroom closet when one of the reasons it's cluttered is because we have five bottles of sunscreen?  It’s the principal of the matter.

So that’s where I see us headed with our new adventure.  Life is going to simplify.  We’re going to simplify.  Our budget is definitely going to simplify.  But that’s part of the grand adventure, no?

We’ll keep you updated as we enter this new time.  Cheers to change!

A New Adventure!

As some of you may have heard, I have decided to make a career change.  This happens right at a time when I've reached a tipping point in my current career as a Civil Engineer.  Is this an early midlife crisis?  Why would somebody in a well paying job with loads of potential for upward mobility up and quit?  Is it the realization that they may never have another opportunity as they become further ingrained and dependent on their current financial situation?  Maybe it's looking at the mentors in their field and realizing that you're looking in a mirror reflecting your eminent future?  Is it simply becoming tired of the day-to-day monotony and dreaming of something different; even if it turns out that what you get is exactly what you've had all along?

The beginning of September I saw the assistant brewer posting at Black Tooth Brewing Company in Sheridan on their fb and began to weigh my options.  I have been brewing beer for the last 8 years on my own, and had to decide if I would be satisfied with making it my career.  Sure I've thought about it and even had lengthy conversations about becoming a professional brewer, but these were often after imbibing vast amounts of my own barley-hop pop.  Is it actually possible to make your hobby your career?  Could I be successful?  Would I tire of brewing beer?  Is the microbrew boom a phase that'll burn out leaving me scrambling to make ends meat (meet?)?  I had already applied for a different brew position on a whim the month earlier to no avail, and was perfectly comfortable with the outcome.  Would this be déjà vu all over again?  I decided it didn't matter and followed my heart sending in an application for the position.

Early last week I was offered the position.  After a brief consult with Chick I accepted the assistant brewer position at Black Tooth Brewing Company.  At present it looks like my first week on the job will be Oct 15^th.  Stay tuned as details unfold!!  Big changes, new adventures, life is good!!

June camping trip

Escaping to the mountains is a supreme way to get the hell out of the heat (of which we've had an abundance this summer).  "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen."  Ay-ay, el capitan.  We're outta here!

Steve working hard to cut firewood.  Me "working hard" to take pictures.  It's a rough life.

Pretty wildflowers!

We decided to make it a cushy camping trip & bring our air mattress.  What we forgot is a key piece for said air mattress...the inverter to plug into the vehicle cigarette lighter to turn on the electric pump to blow up the mattress.  Steve convinced me it would be ok to manually inflate the mattress.  I'm either passed out from emptying my lungs into the mattress or taking a nap.

 (An hour-and-a-half later, after switching back & forth, we successfully inflated the mattress.  Yay runners lungs.)

We're enrolling Brewer in modeling classes.  He's a natural.

Shell Falls

Porcupine Falls (200')

Who needs AC...

...when you can just chop off your hair!

I was ready for change.  I needed a new 'do.  Not to mention, Mother Nature is blasting us with an insanely warm summer & I was tying my (long) hair up every afternoon.  My hair (& neck) can now breathe.  (I won't dare show you what my hair looks like when I wake up, since it doesn't go into a ponytail anymore)

Creativity strikes

I'm not a handy[wo]man.  I can operate a few standard tools but I don't do carpentry (just ask Steve, I have a half-built new chicken coop taking up the garage...it's been there for several...months.).  I saw an idea to hang race bibs & medals, of which Steve & I have many piling in the dusty corner.  Certainly, I can purchase one for $40+ but knowing what goes into it, I just couldn't swallow the price tag.  So with a short trip to Ben Franklin & Home Depot, I came up with something I think looks rather nice...

(Don't mind the blurry pics.  Photography is also not my forte).

Sometimes, you just gotta...

...sit in the hammock.  And read a magazine.  Or get your ear scratched.

Hoop houses

We decided to experiment with a new method of growing a few warm-weather crops before the "proper" time - we hate waiting until after Memorial Day to plant, especially living in an area with a limited growing season.  After a trip to the nursery, we stopped by Home Depot to pick up supplies for three small-scale hoop houses.

A few feet of PVC pipe, zip ties, & barrier plastic (we chose one commonly used as a drop cloth that will last one season but it's possible to find more sturdy plastic).

 The bottoms easily detach from the sides, allowing us to break them down for winter storage.

I look angry because
1) My beer is empty
2) It appears I have a mustache

I look happier because
1) Steve is bringing me a refill
2) My mustache was just a shadow

Our new 'mater & pepper plants have taken swimmingly well to the hoop houses.  By day they soak up fresh air & sunlight, by night they turn into a warm greenhouse with the heat of the day trapped in the hoop house.  We cover the plants if it appears temps will dip below 40, otherwise they stay uncovered.  We'll report back at the end of summer if the new experiment worked...

My precious...

I have a strong penchant for peanut butter.  And other peanut butter-like condiments.  Such as Nutella.  When I saw this beautiful item in the grocery store, I couldn't resist: 

If you've never tried Biscoff cookies, you're missing out.  But the Biscoff spread...oh my...excuse me while I go grab another spoonful...

A day in the life of (spoiled) pups

"LOOOOOOOK!  DAD GOT HOME FROM HIS RUN!  I'M SO EXCIIIIIIITED!"

 Back-scratching roll in the grass

Sometimes rhino friends need a ride
(Or what used to be a rhino.  Guinness pulled the horn off the front of rhino's face)

Who needs two beds when you can squeeze onto one?  (Guinness looks like he's possibly being choked)

Pretending to be Jane Fonda

When it's nasty out & I don't have a run on the schedule & I don't feel like going to the gym, I'm not opposed to a good workout DVD.  I learned well from my mama - I remember trying to bust some Jane Fonda moves with her when I was little & she was getting her workout in while trying to take care of two active kiddos.  These two, however...

...think it's Wrestle-Mania time when mom clears the floor:

I eventually yelled at them to get out & they proceeded to pout.  Mom is no fun.

Spring is in the air! Flora & Fauna, part 1

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, weather-wise.  Summer can get a bit scorcher - unless you're lucky enough to spend the hot days by the water - but Fall is often dry, warm-ish, & beautiful.  Spring is my favorite for the fact that we watch as the world turns from brown & grey to lovely greens, pinks, purples, blues, oranges, reds...  Our yard is no exception - we've spent lunch breaks & evenings walking around the yard, cutting back dead brown plants & watching excitedly as the green baby shoots shyly peek out from hibernation.  A few warm days & plants magically double their growth overnight.  This year, as our yard comes to life, I'm trying to capture it on camera.

I added more bulbs last Fall for more color in front of the boring concrete steps.  This year, I'd like to add more late-season bulbs because the plants pictured below are early Spring-blooming bulbs.

Chives!  They were indoor potted plants that weren't doing so well, so I stuck them in the ground last-minute in the Fall.  The chives took well to their transplant before Winter blew in & when Spring rolled around, they completely took off.  Currently, they have flowers nearing bloom that are supposed to be pretty AND edible.  I love being able to step out the door & snip a few chives to throw in a dish.   

Hip hop anonymous! (Name that movie)
We have three hops plants (one in front yard, two in back) that have become very well-established.

One of my favorites...strawberries.  :)  We had them in a planter last year & they never did well, so we made another last-minute snap decision to move them in-ground pre-Winter frost.  It was apparently an excellent choice because these babies immediately took to their new home.  Strawberries can be invasive so we'll have to keep them from intruding on other plants, but we have them in a low-maintenance portion of the yard that we let go, so they're free to roam (& I'm not opposed to having a strawberry problem).

Said portion of the yard that's low-maintenance.  It's an area believed to be a gravel driveway in years past & we've never had luck growing grass & we made a decision to change it to an eco-friendly area of the yard that doesn't require [much] watering & no mowing, utilizing native plants & grasses that are sun-friendly & low-water.  We included plants that attract bees & hummingbirds - we have yet to see hummingbirds but we love watching the nectar-drunk bees enjoy the plants.  Two young aspens are starting to fill in & with a bird feeder, it's become a favorite for neighborhood birds.  It's my favorite part of the yard.  Interestingly, it stays the most lush throughout the hot summer.

More pictures to come as our yard continues to wake up...