Last Post of 20 Fifteen

Susan and I both got the afternoon off and met at the Hub about 1:30. We stayed for a while but I really needed to get home by three. I had a project I had to get to before it got dark.

We have had issues with this part of the roof in the past. Snow melts and collects in that little valley and slowly creates a giant icicle. As the icicle gets bigger, water begins to pool behind and then manages to find it's way down the inside of the wall and destroy the dining room wall and ceiling.

I have strung heat cable up there but have not come up with a good way to wire it in other than attaching an extension cord to it.

So we got home and hauled out the ladder and climbed up there and got it plugged in. There was a sizable icicle already forming when I drove up to the house. But by the time we got out there, it had fallen, so no picture.

But here are some others.

I received great news today on the Answering Machine. The Snow Blower is repaired and ready for pickup. I am really impressed he got it done in a week and for $75.00. I didn't have time to pick it up today but he'll be there Saturday morning at 9, and so will I!

Mo'Sno!

Another three inches of snow fell last night and continues to fall this morning. It's cold out so the snow is very light. That's a plus for me, who is already having trouble just moving the light stuff.

And of course, I am without snow blower so I am hoping my neighbor will take an interest in my sidewalks as well as his.

Today is back to work for another short week and then another nice Holiday repast. I'm hoping Susan will try to take it easy but that is not in her DNA.

She is having some of her girlfriends over tonight for a Holiday gathering of the girls. I don't have a piano lesson tonight but I may just hang out at the Hub or some place like that so they can be totally free of male influence.

I have a couple of projects involving Doctors to handle today. I should be writing about this on my Health Blog, and I probably will. But I felt like adding it here as well in order to create more content. True, it's forced content...but sometimes, content is just content.

Christmas Update

We have survived Christmas Day and now are enjoying Boxing Day. Since I am un-Canadian, I am not participating. I'm not even sure what I would or should do.

I am presently warming a piece of left over prime rib, which we had for dinner last night. It's my second prime rib that I have cooked and my first good one...meaning the first one that came out tasty and delicious.

Yum! That was delicious AGAIN!

With the help of my neighbor Lou, I was able to get the snow blower into the car and up to the repair shop. I have my guy, Richard, who operates a small engine repair shop up in the Garland District. He said he would have to order the axle and that would be the most time consuming part of the repair. 

I'm probably going to be without it for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, the snow will be sparce in that time.

We had a great Christmas Eve and Day. Susan and I took Mom to the Christmas Eve service at Plymouth and then to dinner with the Jensen clan. 

We managed to get home by 9 and did our traditional Christmas Eve reading of "Christmas Day in the Morning" by Pearl S. Buck.

We had a lazy Christmas morning, opening gifts, having breakfast, opening a few more gifts and laying about.

We went over to Mom's about 1:00 and started the Prime Rib.

At some point during the afternoon, we made video contact with Susan's sister and family in Iowa. We had a nice 20 minutes video chat.

We finally sat down to dinner around 5. It was Mom, Susan and I, as well as Evy and Jeff.

In the middle of dinner we were visited  by the Ghosts of Christmas Future when all the DuPree kids came ambling in for a visit. It was a great surprise and they stayed for about an hour.

During clean up, I carried a Christmas plate out to the car and slipped on the ice. There is a little water drop falling onto the walk from a corner of the roof eve, and conditions were just right for it to hit, splatter and freeze in a really wide area.

I hit it and my feet went right out from under me. I don't know how, but the plate did not break and I was essentially uninjured. I scraped a knuckle and banged my right forearm, but I am okay considering the state of the rest of my health. So I have logged my first official ice crash of the season. Hopefully, that will be the last!

So now the Holiday is behind us and we can relax a little. Susan went in to work for a few hours and then will be joining me shortly at the Hub for the Sun Bowl Football Contest featuring the Washington State Cougars.

They are playing the University of Miami Hurri-Bastards and are favored by 2 1/2 points.

I guess I'll update this post a bit later.

6:01 PM: The Cougars won 20 to 14. Susan her boss, Bill joined us after the first quarter and stayed until the end of the third quarter. The she went back to work.

The funny thing was that they where playing in El Paso, Texas in the Sun. Bowl. Prior to the start of the game, they had to clear the field of all the snow. During the game, it rained, or sleeted or snowed the whole time.

Holiday Diaster

It snowed off and on all day yesterday, so when I got home from work, I had some snow blowing to do.

I had done some blowing in the morning prior to leaving for work but the snow throughout the day had pretty much negated everything I did. Plus, I had a lot of clean up to do and get to some areas I hadn't been able to.

I like to keep my end of the alley clean. It makes it better for the garbage collectors and everyone who uses the alley to access their garage. Plus, I feel obligated to clear the alley because I blow all the snow from my driveway into the alley.

So I got the driveway and the alley cleaned off and then I proceeded to the sidewalks. I did up the block behind me and then down the Wall Street sidewalk to Waverly Place.

I suddenly heard this rumble behind me and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a snow plow.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA!

 They did a great job of eliminating the berm that I wrote about yesterday. They also did a great job of creating a berm in front of my driveway.

But that is of no consequence to me. I have a great snow blower. It's a two stage monster with 6 speeds forward and two speeds reverse, electric start and a 26 inch wide hopper. But then it suddenly seemed at that moment to be not moving so well. I noticed the drive wheels were a little katty wumpus. Upon closer inspection, I came to realize that the driveline axle broke. Into two pieces.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Shit! What horrible timing! Not only was I going to have to deal with the berm without a snow blower, but there is still a ton of snow forecast for the NEXT SEVERAL DAYS!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I won't be able to get it into a repair place until Saturday and then I bet I'm a week out at least!

This is going to be disastrous for me and my neighbors. I'm hoping to be able to use my neighbor Lou's blower in the interim.

CRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!

Snow Season Abides

A couple of inches of snow fell last night and I was up and out there with the snow blower at 6:30 this morning. I didn't do the whole job I would have liked to do but I just didn't have the time. 

I did some additional clean up when I got home last night. Somebody with a blade on his truck had run down Wall street at some point. It was a nice gesture but they did a really crappy job. They plowed a swath just wide enough to create one lane. In the process, they left a berm of snow well into the road that has since frozen and become quite impenetrable. I tried to chew it up with the snow blower and at least eliminated the berm in front of the driveway.

I hope the city plows will have the ability to decimate it when and if they ever come by. I saw evidence of them in the neighborhood as I left for work this morning. However, there is a great deal of snow coming down as I write this which means it will be even longer before the plows hit the neighborhood.

Happy Solstice

I can already feel the days getting longer!

Snow Season 2015

We received our first substantial snow fall in two years last night. There was a good five inches of heavy snow on the ground.

Even with my bad knee, I got out the snow blower and took care of my domain. It took about an hour to cover my domain and I still have more to clean up, but that can wait until tonight...or tomorrow.

Snows and Knees

We had the second snowfall of the season over the night. I didn't really look at how much we got other than removing it from the cars. It was heavy, wet and about two inches. Maybe three. I did not have time to break out the snow blower, let alone the shovel. I'm going to pay for that later as it will be that much more difficult to snow blow when the snow has been walked and driven on and had a chance to harden up.

It's pretty chilly out today and the sun is out, so I can't really tell yet if I'll have some clean up to do when I get home. I'm not very excited about doing any work because my left knee has locked up on me again, and this time, it does not seem to be letting go. This is the third day now.

The Conclusion of Sky Walk Season

Pictured above is Susan painting the final snow flakes of the Painting Season.

We have been decorating sky walks since the day after Thanksgiving. It's a loooooong day when you go off to work at your day job and then you come home, change, load the car up with paint bags, and head downtown to spend a lovely three to four hours in one of 14 sky walks.

The good news is that we are finished. 

We now have our evening to ourselves to do as we please. That is going to feel like a huge luxury. 

I do have a project looming over me that I must get done fast. It's our Christmas card for this year. I have got to get it out. Christmas is 11 days away so I'm fast running out of time. 

I know the basic plan and design. I had in fact, been planning to work on it months ago. I took all the pictures I needed last Christmas. I had the design in my head. I just had to sit down and make it happen. But we all know that was never going to happen.

No Mariah

It seems we missed a bullet. The wind never materialized, at least not in the quantities and gusts that was forecast.

The good news is nobody lost power. The really good news is that we didn't lose power.

Another Day for Mariah

We have received a lot of rain in the last two days. Over an inch on Monday and about a quarter of an inch yesterday. It's raining right now.

The excitement on hand for today is wind. The forecasts call for the rain to let up and the wind to come in, with gusts up to 50 mph. Considering how wet it has been, the fear is the chance for more trees to uproot and take out the 'lectricity.

Fortunately, I'm getting this post in while we still have...

Whiteness in the Pacific Northwest

It's the first snow fall of the year. 

We awoke to only a couple of inches and it is still coming down as I write, but very lightly.

It didn't feel like it was enough snow to break out the snowblower this morning, so I didn't. Besides, I am expecting it will all be gone by this afternoon. That is usually how we roll this early in the snow season. 

Having said that, watch this snow hang around and build and make the whole rest of my snow blowing season a nightmare because I didn't blow on the first day.

Damage Assessment

I walked around the yard today and picked up a lot of branches. I also picked up a lot of shingles. 

The odd thing was that I was not able to readily see any problems with the roof.

I was out in the street talking to my neighbor Lou when I looked up at the house and saw the area of de-shinglization. I had not noticed it earlier because the light and the angle I was viewing from made it look like a shadow.

As you can see, that is not okay.

By the same token, it's not an impending disaster. There are still shingles up there and I am not finding any evidence that we have a leak. It is still too early to be sure so I will be keeping an eye on it.

Spoiled by Lectrik

Our power came on just in time. It was 18 degrees when I left the house this morning. Susan is still unable to go to work because there is no 'lectricity at her office. So she is again enjoying a day off but, today she can enjoy it in the comfort of a house with 'lectricity. That's new!

However, if the power had not come back on, it would have been a very long, cold miserable night. We were okay with the fireplace going but we have to assess what we need for the next time this happens.

Thinking about our future kitchen remodel, I have been vacillating between whether our cook-top for the kitchen should be an infrared electric set up or gas. This little crisis solved that problem for me very quickly. Gas still works when the power is out.

I also think we need to get a generator. It doesn't need to be fancy or elaborate. But it does need to be quality. I would only use it to run the fan for the fireplace and a light or two. It would also be nice to be able to power the fridge or freezer...at least part time.

Other than that, I think we weathered the situation pretty well. Everything in the freezer seems to be okay. I ate eggs out of the fridge this morning and I'm not feeling sick...yet!

I will be checking out the house more thoroughly this weekend for damage. There are a lot of shingles that got blown off the house and we will probably have to re-roof within a few years.

I Love being the owner of a money pit!

Fi-Fitty-Sis

The power was restored at 5:56 this evening. I was filling a travel shampoo bottle to take over to Mom's so we could take a shower. I was suddenly wondering what light Susan was bringing upstairs that was so bright. That's when I realized the hall light was on. 

Susan and I both let out a Whoo Hoo at about the same time. We then proceeded to go around the house and turn on every light, appliance and electrical device we had.

It is great to have it back and I will not take it for granted for at least the next few hours.

Good job, Avista Crews!

Blackout Day Two

It was the second evening of no power and we are getting along fine. I must say that I would prefer having electricity but we'll be okay until it is back. In the meantime, we have been enjoying the fireplace and sleeping in the living room.

Concern is starting to build over stuff in the freezer. It all has to be thawing and the latest info from Washington Water Power (Avista) is we could be out for 3 to 5 days. We opened the freezer in the kitchen once to get the ice out. We have not opened the big freezer in the basement and that is where a lot of meat is. I'm hoping the insulation will keep it cold for another day or so, but beyond that, I think we're in trouble.

Avista is saying this is the worst storm damage they have ever had to deal with in 126 years.

We sat in the living room in front of the fire, drinking beer and wine and listening to an audio book. (The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt) It's a very good story but it is long. We started listening to it when we drove to Iowa this past summer and we still have a good ten hours of listening to get through. I'm hoping this power outage doesn't last long enough for us to finish the book.

Wind Storm 2015

It is amazing what you can take for granted. Something that is so much a part of your everyday life can be absolutely paralyzing when it's gone. I'm speaking of our old friend, electricity!

The forecasters have been in a tizzy the last day or so reporting that the wind is coming. I awoke yesterday to moderate winds and a little rain. By mid day, the wind was howling and the rain was coming in fits and starts.

We ended up closing the office a little early and I made my way up to visit Mom. My car kept wanting to change lanes on the freeway because the wind was blowing so hard. It took a while to get to Mom's because most of the power on the south hill was out. The traffic light at 17th and Ray was out and traffic backed up all the way down the hill.

When I got up to Rockwood Manor, the wind was really blowing and the new tower they are building for apartments was echoing the loudest, eeriest noise I ever heard. The wind was blowing through the open structure of the building and it was very loud. It was almost as if the wind was resonating off the bare steel girders like a reed in a clarinet.

Mom's area was without power but they had backup generators running lights in the corridors and main areas.

We were supposed to have a meeting at church but that got canceled. As I drove home, most of the south hill was dark. Downtown was lit up like a roman candle and then it got dark again just past Boone Avenue.

I arrived home to a very dark neighborhood. Susan was already home and had the place lit up with all the candles, flashlights and lanterns should could find.

I got the fire going in the fireplace and we inflated a mattress we use for camping and settled down in the living room. We drank beer and listened to an audio book for a while. I think we crawled into bed around 9.

I had to get up several times during the night to keep the fire stoked and it was pretty much out when I got up a 6 this morning.

Susan's office is still without power this morning, as is our neighborhood. But the lights are on at my office so, here I am...with my hot cup of coffee and some instant oat meal.

Power is out everywhere so I'm not expecting to see lights on at the house anytime soon. It would be nice, but I know the Washington Water Power crews are very busy. So I shall sit tight and hope the fridge and freezer don't completely thaw.

The Joy of Home Ownership

Another weekend in the books where we did not work on the bathroom. We need to get the tile ordered so we can proceed to the next step of getting the tile in place. 

I also have just a little more work to do in the dry walling department. Actually, the cement boarding department.

We did do some work around the house this weekend. Susan ran the vacuum most of Saturday. She worked it so hard she wore one of the wheels right off the power brush unit. I worked last night to re-attach the wheel with some JB Weld (the Handyman's friend) but to no avail. The knob that holds the wheel in place does not have a clean break. It will not fit back onto the structure from which it broke away. This Hoover vacuum is about four years old and it really has been a piece of shit.

I finally got all the leaves off the ground. At least, all the leaves that I'm going to worry about before the snow flies. 

I got them packed into garbage bags that I will be adding to my garbage can over the next several weeks. I think I filled eight or nine bags. I don't think I'll be adding anything this week because I already emptied the grass catcher from the mower...from about a month ago.

The next project I need to get moving on is putting the rain barrels away for the winter. I know I don't want them attached to the down spout all winter. I'm sure they would crack if they freeze. 

I tried to get to them yesterday but just couldn't make it happen. Perhaps it's because I'm too lazy. Perhaps it's because I just wasn't motivated enough.  Or perhaps you should just mind your own business!

1,642

I am finally getting around to posting the results of Halloween.

The count was 1,642, which is ten less than last year. It seems we have peaked.

The earliest Trick or Treater came at 2:41. That was a record. The mom had to work that night so she wanted to get him out early before she went to work. We didn't even have any candy ready.

The crowds started coming about 4:30 which is earlier than past years, but it was a Saturday and I think people were hoping to beat the rain. By the way, the rain never showed up during the peak Trick or Treating hours.

Here are some pictures:

We closed everything down about 8:45 and then enjoyed our little after party with chili, and chicken wings and sliders.

The amazing thing was getting everything cleaned up the next day. Mark came over to help us and we were a tight, efficient team and got it all cleaned up.

We also had a successful Punkin Toss except for the part where people were unable to hit the target...or anywhere near it.

All Hallows Rain

9:35AM: Good morning!

It is the day the spooks come out but they are being hindered by the fall of wetness in the form of precipitation known as rain. 

I already had to drain my 50 gallon rain barrels as they were overflowing from the deluge of the past week. Deluge isn't the right word. It's just been raining a lot for the last several days.

We are very limited in what we can do right now. We are hoping the rain will fall this morning and end before the Trick or Treating begins. Ideally, it would end in time for us to get some stuff out in the yard.

Some stuff can go out regardless of rain. However, we want to wait until the rain is done. If the rain doesn't finish, then we will wait until 5ish to get stuff into the yard.

Here are my morning photographs to share.

Here is cheesy, quick and dirty panorama of the front of the house.

2:42PM: We just had our first trick or treater. It's a record early time. I had to search around for some candy because we weren't ready. The mom apologized and said she had to work tonight.

Well, it's on now. Probably won't hear from me again today.

One Day Before Halloween

It does not look promising for the Spooky Holiday as far as the weather is concerned. It has been raining all night and continues this morning.

We finished our hay bales last night and we think they might actually work. That remains to be seen. At least the bales will be tested in battled hardened conditions.

I also finished the kid eating pumpkin last night.

We got these extra large pumpkins from our friends Randy and Karen. They have a friend who grows them. Anyway, I think he came out looking fine and very tasty.

Two Days to Halloween

It's two days before Halloween and things are not looking good for this year's event. The forecast is calling for rain. That is bad news for a lot of our outdoor decorations. As long as it is not too rainy, we should be okay.

We've been spending the last couple of days on fake hay bales.

I think they look pretty good but the big unknown at this point is if they are going to be very durable. 

We have glued straw onto Styrofoam boxes. It seems to be sticking but the permanence is what is at question right now. The plan is to put them in the yard and see how they endure. Hopefully, no fat ass will come along and decide it's a nice place to take a load off.

I spent last weekend getting the flying ghost working. So far, all is going very well but I don't know what a rainy night will do. I suspect I will not run it if it's raining Saturday night.

Sleeping Neighbor of the Year

We had an interesting event take place last night here in the neighborhood. The great thing is that I was unaware of what happened until I talked to neighbor Ted today.

The two houses across the alley from us are rentals. The one on the corner has three rentals, I think and the house next to it has two units.

The young woman that rents the ground floor apartment in that house has four kids. We met her last Spring shortly after she moved in. She seems very nice and she clearly has her hands full.

She has an ex husband with a restraining order against him but for some reason, she invited him over to see the kids. At some point in the evening, a disagreement took place and Dad began to destroy the house.

Our other neighbors Shelby and James said they heard something around 11:00 and it went on until 2ish.

Ted came by and took me over to the house. Every window on the main floor had been broken out, from inside the house. Furniture was turned over. The place was a mess.

All the windows are boarded up now. Somebody made quick work of that.

Best of all, Susan and I slept right through it. We never heard a thing. 

That makes me feel great about the prospect of ever waking up when something is happening at our house.

Lemberger Report

Tonight we transferred the wine into the primary fermenter, removing the must from the grape skins...the pulp. I was surprised the see that we had more than enough juice to fill the six gallon carboy.

We have been dealing with fruit flies for the last week. Hopefully, they will start to die off in the next couple of days.

We ended up with about a half gallon extra juice which I'm chilling in the fridge and drinking. It's definitely got some kick to it although it is a little sweet for Susan's liking.

It wasn't long after the transfer that the bottle started foaming and frothing, indicating that it is still got some fermenting to do.

Odds & Ends

We said goodbye to the old bathtub and sink yesterday.

The good news is that they are going to a good home and we got $550.00 for them.

The couple that bought them are rebuilding an old farm house near Davenport, WA. It burned this summer and has quite a bit of damage. They were very pleased to find our tub and I'm happy they are going to a place with people who appreciate history.

Phil has been working the last two days on the bathroom and it is nearly all dry walled. It's amazing the difference the drywall makes on the room. It seems a little brighter and a little warmer.

I have to get the Plumber back in to crimp on the connections for the bathtub and toilet water lines. I called them today and have it scheduled a week out for next Thursday.

Once that is done, we can start with the tile on the floor. That's our last big expense. It's probably going to run about $400.00.

Once the tile is down, then I can make the bathroom usable, even though it will not be finished. I can get the tub in, install the sink and the toilet and make it a functioning, working bathroom.

From there we can work on all the finishing touches.

Columbus Day 2015

Pretty much everything I first learned about Christopher Columbus 50 years ago is wrong. He did not discover America. The closest he ever got was Cuba.

He exploited the indigenous people wherever he landed. It seems he was a bit of a bastard. I'm beginning to think there should not be a day to remember him, let alone honor him.

However, this is a political discussion that does not really have a place in this blog. Let's talk about dry walling progress.

There is nothing to talk about as far as dry walling progress. Phil didn't make it over on Sunday, which allowed me the chance to do a bunch of other little chores.

I'm hoping Phil will get to the house sometime this week and get things started. Once the dry wall is done, I can get Rick the Plumber to finish putting the fittings on all the water lines. I might even be able to get a toilet installed in a temporary fashion.

The whole house smells faintly of fruit. The grapes are percolating away and if you were to smell the juice directly, you would notice a slight vinegar smell that translates into the production of alcohol.

We transferred the pulp into a mesh bag tonight. It had been creating a cap on top of the bucket that was pushing the lid loose. That attracted a herd of fruit flies that are all over the kitchen.

We decided we had better try and seal the vessel better and throwing the pulp into the mesh bag helped.

We have had the bath tub and sink from the main floor bathroom for sale since June. I put it on Craig's List and started at $800.

We finally sold it this week for $550. The people are coming to pick it up tomorrow. I have left the ad up but posted that the tub is sold.

Raking Leaves, Dry Walling Ceilings and Fizzy Wine

8:18AM: I have a busy day planned with the main goal being dry walling the bathroom. I learned last night from my telephone answering device machine that Phil, Master Dry Walling Guy, will be late getting to me today. We had planned to meet at 10, but he has another job to finish this morning.

I will not allow that minor setback to affect me as I have plenty of small tasks to keep me busy until the arrival of Master Dry Waller Phil.

Let's start with some nature observations.

I took this picture last week. Almost exactly a week ago. As you can see, Autumn is here. It has been a nice week since I took this picture. It has not been terribly cool and it rained pretty good on Wednesday.

This is the same tree this morning, just moments ago, in fact. It has dropped its whole load.

All over our yard! Well, there's one of the projects I may get to today.

But first, I have to get the deck cleaned up.

10:20AM: Not much time for chatting. I'll let my pitchers do the talkin'!

They say we can expect a visit from Mariah this afternoon so I have to get back out there and bag them thar leaves afore she blows them all to my neighbors yard. If you don't know about Mariah, I suggest you watch the classic Clint Eastwood film, "Paint Your Wagon" and get an education concerning what we call the rain, the wind and the fire out here.

11:58AM: Do you want to know what kind of genius I am? 

Of course you do! Because you'll want to employ this idea for yourself.

Once you have your leaves all piled up, make use of your other power equipment and mow up that pile of leaves. It not only bags them for you, but it shreds them so you can maximize your space.

I don't think it is going too far to say I'm an effing genius. AND the laziest man on the face of the planet!

In any event, I am pleased to have beaten the wind and the rain and gotten the yard presentable. It will look like hell again in the morning.

1:56PM: I am waiting for Phil to show. I could easily take a nap while I wait but I might not get up again.

6:53PM: Phil finally made it over about three and we got the ceiling dry walled. It only took us about two hours. I didn't bother renting a lift because it's such a small room but we sure did struggle with those first two full size sheets. I couldn't hit a 2x4 to save my life.

Tomorrow we start on the walls.

In the meantime, our latest wine is churning and bubbling. I punched the cap earlier and the juice that was in there was foaming. It ended up pushing the cap up and expanding it, lifting the lid just barely off the rim. Now the kitchen is loaded with tiny little fruit flies.

Dry Wall Disaster Day for Dumbass Driver

I am writing to you now from the front porch, having just unloaded 10 sheets of drywall and five sheets of cement board.

This could have very possibly killed me were it not for my best neighbor Lou. He saw me struggling and came over to help.

I was struggling because I'm stupid. I was taking two sheets at a time. Generally, two sheets of drywall are bound together with a strip of paper at each end. A person working alone would be wise to remove the paper and haul one sheet at a time.

I had no luck removing the strips in one smooth move the way real drywallers do it. So, I hauled double sheets, which was killing me. I managed two trips with doubles but it involved a substantial breather in between.

Another minor disaster I had was deciding to try and drive home on the freeway with the drywall loaded on my rack. I had two pieces break on me within the first quarter mile. I got off the freeway and drove surface streets home. I think I can save the two broken pieces. If not, they will work as fillers.

From the front porch, with a cold beer, I'm out.

Lemberger 2015

Today was Wine Day. It is time to get our Lemberger into the fermenter.

I met my friend John at his little Winery about 5:30. I had my grapes in the car and got them unloaded pretty quickly. I was a little dismayed to discover a mouse living in the ice chest among the grapes.

He must have come on board from the very start when we picked up the grapes in Prosser. He had clearly been eating them which meant he was also peeing and crapping on them. That's what we in the wine biz call...extra flavor.

I managed to prod the varmint out of the ice chest before anyone else knew he was there. Therefore, let's keep this information between us, okay?!

The crushing went quickly as always. It's the clean up that takes forever.

We got the grapes home and transferred them from the ice chest into our primary fermenter, a white 7 gallon bucket. I didn't have any yeast yet so we're just letting them sit and juice.

We did not place the grapes in the mesh bag as we have in the past.

I'm not really sure how we will proceed from here. It kind of depends on how much juice starts showing up.

In the meantime, here are the pictures of this years batch o'wine!

Quest for Grapes

It's October now which means the pressure is really on to finish the bathroom. At the very least, I need to get it working by Halloween.

To aid in the pursuit to complete the bathroom, we spent the weekend in Sunnyside, Washington on our annual Grape Quest.

We were accompanied by Randy and Karen, who we know from church. It was a great weekend and we purchased a crap load of wine. 

We also got 100 pounds of Lemberger grapes. 

We met Karen and Randy at Dolly's Cafe on Saturday morning and after a rib sticking breakfast, drove the 2 1/2 hours down to Washington Grape Country.

I think we hit five wineries by the time 5:00 rolled around and they took their toll on us. We were splitting tastings in order to pace ourselves, but we were still feeling the effects when we checked into the Sunnyside B&B.

It took all our effort and gumption to walk over to the local upscale Pizza/Brew Pub and have some dinner.

After a nice pitcher of beer and a pizza, we returned to the B&B, where we planned to gather in Karen and Randy's room to watch "Lincoln", but decided we had used up all our gumption on dinner.

Susan and I were in bed by 10 and out by 11.

Here's some pictures of Spider-Man enjoying the various stops we made along the way.