Thanksgiving Things

Thanksgiving. K and I started working on the T-day dinner the weekend before. I made cranberry sauce and it was lovely. I made it on Sunday. During the rest of the week I picked up various things for the dinner. We were having Nic and Angie, Damian and Ava, DeDe and Ted. I called Laurel but no answer. Wednesday I picked up the turkey at Evertt's Meat market and picked up some bread from New French Bakery. K and I made dressing that night and put the turkey in a cooler to soak up brine. I brined it with trappist beer and salt water.

Thursday morning, T-day the rest of the stuff was being prepared. We put the turkey in at 8 am and prepared the rest of the stuff. DeDe arrived on time with Ted. They had made a lovely bruchetta appretizer of melon, and tomatoes with poppy seeds. DeDe made a spinach salad that was very delicious. Nic and Angie and the kids arrived. We checked the turkey not done. I increased the temp. We had dressing and sweet potatoes with maple syrup heating in the oven. Nic made green bean cassarole and Angie made a pumpkin pie. Potatoes are done. Salad is ready and all the fixing except the bloody turkey, literally bloody on one bloody side the other side was nicely done. Go figure. So I cut the turkey on the done side and we slipped it back in to finish off cooking whilst we ate dinner. Everything was perfect. We stopped before we ate and gave thanks for our family. I got choked up. DeDe was thankful for everyone being healthy. Nic was thankful for his family. Katje was thankful to be fully accepted into the family. DeDe said "We love you." She is a sweety. What a good meal. Afterwards, we talked around the table about all sorts of things. Family and the world and the economy all were discussed. We even talked abit about religion and judaism. When DeDe left we laid around and talked some more. We ate so much food. That evening K and I made a lovely delicious apple cabbage salad for the party at Brad & Linda's home. Nic told me that Ava had said it was a delicious dinner except there were no cranberries. I had left the homemade cranberries and the two cans of jellied cranberries in the refrigerator. What a dolt!!! The homemade cranberries tasted really good. I have been eating with the dressing for two days now.

Next morning, at 5:30 I went shopping and I went to Holiday to wash my car at the Minnetonka & 100 station. I then went to Kohl's and spent. Then to Target and spent more. I checked out Best Buy but no money was spent. Barnes & Noble was checked out and I spent more there. I started to head home close to 9am and K called me. I was driving so it was hard to talk. I went home and they followed me and picked me up. We then went to Mike's home and proceeded to Litchfield Brad and Linda's home. What a beautiful day and what a feast. I didn't yhink I ate that much but I must have as I was completely and totally full. I took two naps. I finally got up sometime around 3 and went for a walk downtown and walked around some antique stores. When I went home around 4:30 - 5 pm they were ready for the journey home. We arrived home around 6 pm and I headed out to Brent's BAR game. Chris, John, Mike and Ron were there as was Brent. It was Ok but I really wanted to get out of there by 8:30.

K and I walked to the store the morning so she could get some presents for jenn her former step-daughter. Then off to fencing and what a work out. Brandon said we should try to break up the bout into increments. Jeff said I should try and not to concentrate on scoring points but relax and play. The points should come, essentially they both said similar things. It felt good to fence and work out and fencing is a good work out.

Uptown Tattoo things

Uptown Tattoo party at Surly Brewery on 15 November was really cool. Thom and I poured beer for the evening and played bagpipes a couple of times. I met lots of old friends, family, and friends of Nic and Angie. Ava was decked out like a little lady. Damian had his hair spiked. Nic and Angie were dressed to the nines. I wore my kilt with tux shirt and bowtie and katherine was dressed in a very nice dress. Bartending was very cool. I was able to see almost everyone. There were alot of beautiful tattooed women there. The food was awesome with roast pig and turkey from John and Cara. Brasa supplied the sides creamed spinach and baked mashed yams, yum, yum. The beer was Surly and people loved it and were drinking alot of it especially the Cynic, a saison formulated by Todd Haug. A good time was had by all!

Election things

Well, the election is over, sort of. I just wish that Obama had had significant coattails to bring in some more Democrats. Franken & Coleman are still locked in a recount battle. Bachmann won her seat. The district deserves someone that stupid and polarizing. Paulson won in the 3rd district against Madia. Can you believe it that old sod felon Tad Stevens was reelected? Unbelieveable! Alaskans are dumber than I thought. I sat and watched the election results drinking twenty year old Port and hoping for better results in other races. The concession speech by John McCain was very good and showed his true nature. This was a different person than what was on the campaign trail. It was a very good and heart felt speech. Obama's speech was really good and just struck a cord deep inside me. I am looking hopefully for the next four years to a new world. I stayed up an extra half hour watching a special on channel 2 about Isle Royale. I do hope I go there and get to hike.

Halloween things

Ale Saints Day at the Blue Nile on 2027 E. Franklin Ave. in Minneapolis's beautiful Seward neighborhood. Al the bar manager had put together an mazing selection of great beers (porters and stouts) for an extravaganza. At 4 Pm he opened a cask of Bell's Porter ***, 5 Pm cask of Summit Great Northern Porter with black treacle ***, 6 pm keg of Bell's Expedition Stout 2007 ***+ (this had matured so nicely and was so tasty it was a beautiful beer) and a 2008 keg ***, 7pm Surly Smoke Baltic Porter **+(not as good as at the brewery on Darkness day. The other beers on draft were Surly Darkness Russian Imperial Stout***+, Leininkugel's Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout **, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout***, Moylan's (CA) Ryan O'Sullivan's RIS***, Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter**+, Summit Great Northern Porter**, Salopian Entire Butt English Porter**, Furthermore Three Feet Deep Smoked Stout* (too astringent, smoke not appealing), Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout***+(this was so amazingly good), Surlyy Coffee Bender*(Too much coffee with my beer), Flat Earth Cygnus X-1 Rye Porter**+, Southern Tier Oatmeal Stout ***, Lion Stout(One of my all time favorites)***, Bell's Java Stout (too astringent coffee had a bad effect on this beer)*. Thom and I played some bagpipe tunes and had a good time. We were joined by Damian & Jen (preggers), and Doug.

After awhile we went over to Town Hall and had some food and you guessed it - more beer. I had a pint of stout (always good). We were joined by Katherine, Colleen, and Brent. The menu has changed and it was all very good. I had half a walleye sandwich with Brent, sweet potato fries, and deep fried green beans with spicy dipping sauce.

I worked on DeDe's yard on Saturday with DeDe, Damian, and Ava. Greg the electrician switched the boxes and updated the electrical for the house. On Sunday, Katherine and I worked all day on the yard and started to put the yard away for a long winter's nap. I visited Mike in the hospital and dropped off presents of leaves for everyone. Whew!!!!

More things Fall

It has been awhile since my last post. I am spending far too much time on watching the election polls and all the superfluous news articles related and sort of related. I want the election over with and done and Obama as president.

On a lighter note, I played bagpipes at the Darkness release at Surly and had loads of fun. Nic, my son designed the labels, t-shirt, poster for the Darkness this year.Josh Krage and I piped up and down the waiting line and at the gate. Just before the gate opened I played Darth Vader's March. We played some more tunes and then I drank just a bit too much. I need to stop that and rein in my consumption on that. The smoked Baltic porter was amazingly delicious and big. The oak-aged Bender was very delicious as well. Way too much fun for an old guy. In the evening, we had some friends over to try some of the West Coast beers. Brent, Karen, Doug, Phil, and Tina. We drank some very good ones Roots oragnic IPA Woody, Laurelwood organic IPA Green Elephant, Peak organic Pale Ale (not very good, very bland tasting), Ninkasi Double Believer Red Ale, Pelican Brewery Doryman's Dark Ale (my favorite), Fitger's Black Eye lager (not West Coast but very tasty), Lost Abbey Judgment Day (Belgian style quaddruple, cloyingly sweet, should have been laid down for at least a year), Lost Abbey ? Belgian style saison, very good tasting, delicious but big, and Surly Furious ( this beer is not nearly so hoppy in the can as it is on draft. This weekend at the Blue Nile will be Dark Ale Days featuring a host of dark beers. I will be getting a ride to and from this event. I have been lobbying my comrades as to sharing these big dark beers so we can try several of them. I hope it works. I do want to hang out with Katje after.

The garden is ready to put away for the winter. I was able to score some lavender from the grounds people, very kind of them. Now I have to protect them and bed them down well for the long winter. I will be digging up the parsley and oregano and bring it inside so we can have some fresh herbs. Lots to do yet before the snow flies. The election is six days away. I can't wait.

Things Fall

I love the Fall season. It was during this season 38 years ago I wooed Ann. I love the smell and feel of the Fall. There is always a certain time that the light is different than Summer. The smell and taste of the air is different. Pick apples, drives in the country looking at the leaves change. Getting the gardens tucked away for the winter. Preparing for winter. The smell of a fire with wood and leaves burning is one of my most visceral memories of Fall. Sunday dinners with roast beast, potatoes, veggies, cooked rolls. Racking the leaves and listening to Gopher football. Playing touch football. Bike riding the Cannon Falls trail or around the river road as it is amazingly beautiful down there.

Things Fall

Nic ran the TC marathon today. Damian and I volunteered at the food booth. My were we lucky, it rained really hard and if we had been any where else we would have been soaked and cold. Otherwise, we were cold. Volunteering was good. I was wiped out for the day though.

Ann's birthday was Friday and I thought about her quite abit. After work, I went to the Campuc Club as the guest of Phil Platt. I saw Thom, Omar, Dustin, and Cathy pouring. We listened to Doug Hoverson and had a great time. Afterwards, I went to Doss's house and gamed with Gary, George, Walter, Nick, and Greg. We played Catan. It was Ok but I would have rather played the History of the World. Ate far too much snacks and had a couple of beers. Saturday, I gave a tour at Summit. I need to work on my tour and make it a bit more coherent. We then went to James and Martha' home for a homebrew tasting party. Good beers and good conversation all around. We stayed till about 10:30 then headed home. I awoke around 6 am to prepare for the Marathon. Whew!!!