Cuckoo for Clocks

When Mom died last year, I inherited her Cuckoo Clock. She never had it running so I was surprised when I set it up and it ran beautifully.

Susan also had a clock that had been a gift from a German Exchange Student who lived with her family when she was growing up. It has been sitting in a cabinet in pieces since we got married. I took it to my local clock guy and he put it all back together.

Mom's clock is upstairs on the landing and Susan's clock is in the living room. They can both be heard throughout the house. One of my jobs every morning is to wind the clocks (the weights keep the clock going for one day) and keep them ticking. 

I have become a little anal about getting them to Cuckoo as close together as possible. At the present moment, they are right on!   

Summer Musings

We have just ended and cool and rainy Spring. On the first day of Summer last week, it was a summer day and we broke 70° for about the third time this year. It's been nice warm summery weather ever since. It looks like we are heading into a hot Fourth of July weekend.

I got out and mowed today. Including the front, back, side yards and blow job, (Leaf Blower) it took me about two hours. I'm much slower than I used to be. 

I'm heading for the dump shortly and then meeting my friend Geoff for a beer. There is likely a visit to the pool in my future as well.

1:25PM: Back from the dump and off for a beer.

10:16PM: The wind has been pretty gusty all day and that kept the temperature down a bit. I still find myself sweating no matter what I'm doing. I think I need to change clothes about twice a day. At the very least, I need a set of clothes for when I'm working around the house and another for when I go out.   

Skunk Family Update

What we have suspected for a while has come to fruition. We have baby skunks.

Along with Mom Skunk, there are four cute little stink bags as well. They're very timid, running for their hole whenever we make the slightest noise when they are out.

My plan is to wait until they're gone and then fill in the hole really well. Better than I did last year.

They are cute but they are quite annoying as well.    

Kegerator

Today I took a road trip half way across the state to purchase a kegerator. I have been after one for years and I finally connected on a nice one for a reasonable price, $150.00. They can cost an easy grand and up for a new one.

Although the price of gas is as high as it is, I decided to make the trip. It cost me another $100.00 to pick it up, not to mention the better part of my day.

The guy that sold me the beer fridge lives in Orondo, a small town on the Columbia River about 15 miles north of Wenatchee. It was a nice day for a drive and it took almost three hours to get there.

I got it set up in the Carriage House for now. The next move is to brew some beer. I'm planning to do that soon.

In the meantime, I have a half keg of beer that has been sitting (unrefrigerated) in the basement. I hooked it up just to see the thing work. I got nothing but foam. 

After the foam dissipated, I took a small sip and was pleased to find the beer drinkable. I am currently in the process of adjusting the CO2 pressure to eliminate the foam. 

It is a work in progress. 

Solstice

It’s the first day of Summer and the weather matches the season. After a very wet Spring, Summer looks like the sun is finally here. 

Today’s major task is to power wash the deck. It is finally nice enough to do it. I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right day and it appears that this is it.

So far, it’s slow going because I have stop and rest often. Gotta pace myself if I want to be allowed to do stuff.

Another Brisket

I'm going to cook another brisket today. This time I bought just the point. The roast is only 3 1/2 pounds so I think it is going to cook pretty fast...probably less than 5 hours.

I got the brisket on the grill at 12:25 and once the Meater program calculated the time to get to 170°, it indicated an hour and a half. Then I need to wrap it in aluminum and get it up to 205°. After that it needs to cool to 160° and then it will be ready to eat. Hopefully around 6PM.

I have discovered that the Meater lies. It starts out by giving you a time but as the cooking progresses, it does not recalculate. It slowly counted down to an hour and then it stayed there for quite a while. The actual cooking time to get to 170° was 3 hours. This is fine but I wanted a more accurate estimate of time.

The brisket cooked much quicker than I expected and it was quite tasty. Another successful cookout.