Christmas Pictures from Scott

We had a very nice time in Duluth with Nick, Randee and Scott. thenks to Nick and Scott for hosting. We know its lots of work having people stay with you over the holidays.
Scott sent a few pictures and I thought I would share a few with you all.

Merry Christmas To All

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas to all who read this! Nancy and I will be leaving for Duluth in the morning and we are very excited to see our kids. Christmas at Nick and Scotts then Back to Bemidji.
Nancy and I each have 10 total days off so we gotta make the best of them! Maybe we will see some of you over the holidays.

Top 10 lists

It's that time of year again, when everybody and their brother makes a Best Of list for the year that only has a week or two to go. I've managed to find one that was actually worth the time to read and made me laugh. It's a list of the best movie trailer mash-ups of 2006. For those not familiar with the genre, ordinary folks from the internets who have video editing software and no life recut bits of movies to make a trailer that is completely unlike the original movie, or they combine two movies to make one new movie. Probably the most well known example of this is the mash-up of Brokeback Mountain and Back to the Future, appropriately titled Brokeback to the Future. So, without further ado here's the list. Get a beverage and visit the restroom, because each of these vids is about 2 minutes long. 2 minutes times 11 videos (Why don't you just make 10 louder?) = you wanna be comfy.

10 best trailers

My favorites:
Must Love Jaws (a mash-up of Must Love Dogs in concept and the classic Jaws)
Office Space Recut (really, can you go wrong with this movie in any form?)
Martin Scorsese's Sesame Streets (f*$&!)
Shining (finally, a Stephen King movie with a happy ending)

Blog management

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of something called RSS. If you're like me and you read more than one or two blogs, RSS has the potential to make your life much easier. When I first started reading blogs, and blogging, I would log onto blogger once per day and check each of the links in my sidebar. This was a gigantic waste of time, because on any given day only about one third of the people I linked to had a new post. Then I learned that there is a better way. Enter RSS.

RSS is an acronym that stands for Really Simple Syndication. Simple, huh? You may have noticed a little orange symbol with white curved lines on many websites that you visit. That's a symbol that the site has an RSS feed. Blogger doesn't seem to have this feed symbol, but that's OK because the feed still exists. Here's how to make RSS work for you. First, you need an RSS aggregator. This is a tool that will go out and check all the blogs you tell it to, on a minute by minute basis, and see if there's anything new there. Kind of like what I was doing in the old days, but without all that manual checking nonsense. I personally use bloglines.com but there are many choices out there. Once you log on to bloglines (the process is similar for other sites) it will ask you to create an account. You'll need to complete some basic info, much like any other site.

Once you have your account set up, you're ready to start using the service. On the left half of the screen you'll see the bloglines logo and some tabbed folders. Start with the folder titled Feeds. Beneath Feeds you'll see a link titled Add. Click this and you will see the following:



Now, open another browser window and go to the blog you want to subscribe to. Copy the URL from the address bar and go back to the bloglines page. Paste the URL into the box labelled Blog Feed or URL and click Subscribe. You may get more than one choice of feeds or you may just get one. If you get multiple feeds, the first one listed should be fine. Select the feed by putting a check in the box. If there is only one then this step isn't required. Skip all the other settings such as folder, display settings, etc. For me anyway, the default ones work fine. And you can always change them later if you choose. Click the subscribe button at the bottom.




You should now see the name of the blog you subscribed to over on the left underneath the Add link where you started. Click the name of the blog, and all the new content will be displayed in the main portion of your window. It's as simple as that. Now you can continue to add other blogs as well. But it's not just about blogs. Many sites have RSS feeds that can be tracked in bloglines. I track flickr accounts of friends and get notified whenever they upload new pictures. I also track various newspaper columnists (you'll see James Lileks' feed in the example above) and even some news sites. The world, or at least the RSS-enabled world, is now your oyster. Enjoy.

Our Christmas Plans

I saw Lois' post and I thought I would give you an update on what we are doing also.
Nick and Scott have decided to host Christmas for our family this year. This will be the first time we are not hosting our family. Because we are going to Duluth over Christmas we decided not to put up a tree. That's a first also! Less stress for us.
Randee is flying into Duluth on Christmas eve and we will leave for Duluth that day also. We are very excited to spend a few days at Nick and Scott's house alone with our kids.
Nancy and I are taking the week off between Christmas and New Years this year. We should be returning to Bemidji on Tuesday evening with Randee (we think). I don't know for sure but I think Nick and Scott will be coming to Bemidji on Friday evening for the weekend. I believe Randee will go back to Duluth with Nick on Monday or Tuesday and then she fly's back to California on Wednesday.

Our 30th

As some of you may remember, it was 30 years ago yesterday that Nancy and I were married. We had a pretty nice day together but just a bit busier than I like. We started off by having coffee in the hot tub and just having a relaxing for the first couple of hours. Then things got busy. Nancy had a hair appointment, and I had some things on the "honey do" list while she was at her appointment. We then went out for lunch at about 11:30 at T-Juan's and had an early cocktail knowing it would be a full day of Christmas shopping. We must have hit every major store in Bemidji. We finally quite about 5:30 and stopped by the Northwood Steak House, had some appetizers and a beer. I was glad the shopping was mostly over. We had a light dinner at home and called it a night!

Our Holiday Journey

Everybody must be busy as our blog is experiencing little activity right now...& that is to be expected!

Getting ready for the holidays is a journey...be it a short one, but a journey, anyway. I am in the midst of the journey! I am a insufferable list maker, indicative of my age & the busyness of my life. Today, I am on the 15th or so list...& it includes things like, water the plants (which normally I don't need this chore put on a list!), dust, make meatballs, (the little bbq ones that you eat with toothpicks!), make my cheeseball (a Goodyear tradition), pick up some last minute gifts for our parents, & maybe make some dipped pretzels...oh, and I forgot my wonderful, best toffee (both items will suffice for office goodies)...& , &, &....! See why I need lists!

Next Friday, Dale & I head out about 4 to pick Katie up from UMD & from there we will head to Alicia & Ryan's to spend the night. In the morning, we will head to visit Dale's family in RWF, & then come back to Bemidji on Christmas Day. Alicia & Kane will go with us just for the day, because they have plans in Bemidji with Ryan's family on Christmas Day. (Ryan has to work...he is in retail so he is unable to join us in Redwood).

I am looking forward to connecting with my family sometime during the week after Christmas...something that has gotten more important to me each year! It is so exciting to have such great Christmas plans...it really makes my holiday special. And, before we know it, this holiday will join our other memories of special times with special people. Enjoy!

Not much new here

I've had a busy week at work, with another looming. I took my laptop home Friday because I have a big presentation on Thursday with some of our leaders. I'm sure I could get it done before then during the normal 9-5, but it will be nice to be able to spend some time on the presentation with no time constraints. I'm making it in powerpoint, which isn't one of my strong suits, so it's also nice to work in powerpoint and not have a deadline. I like what little I've done with powerpoint, and think it's a good application and the skills will serve me well. Speaking of skills I'm now an officially certified Project Manager, courtesy of St Thomas University. Doesn't change a thing about how I do my job, but it certainly looks good on paper. And unlike most corporate training classes I actually enjoyed going to this one!

Not much else to report here on the home front. Still no snow in Eagan. Does this mean we don't need to write the annual christmas letter?

Traveling Home

I have been in Mpls most of this week. Its good to be home!

Winter Has Arrived!

Doesn't this look nice? It is so beautiful out...I took this picture around 8:00 this morning. Our cross country skiis will be unpacked this afternoon for sure! We have been patiently waiting for this...enjoy!

Poll Question

When the temp is 5 degrees with a wind chill factor of -14, what happenes when you get out of the hot tub ?

This is not a multiple guess question, please leave your responses.

(kids...you'll have use your imagination on this one)

Splish splash I was taking a bath...

Well our first part of our dream is here. We bought a 6 person hot tub and its installed outside in the back yard. Next spring and summer we will build a deck or patio for it to sit on. Nancy and I will be married for 30 years this December 16 so we thought we would treat ourselves. We don't go on vacations or treat ourselves much and we are not getting any younger...so phase 1 is complete. It really feels great! Alica is right...the more jets, the better!

Happy Thanksgiving

I look forward to this Thanksgiving. I'll get a 4 day weekend and be able to spend time with Nancy and see some of the rest of you on Friday.
Its going to be warm and we are planning to grill this year and just spend time with each other.

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In-Box."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Smuggling Diamonds"

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8. Don't use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......

Share this with Someone To Make Them Smile. Its Called therapy.

The Right was Right

Now that the election is behind us, and the Democrats control both houses of Congress, there's no reason not to admit it: the Right was right about us all along. Here is our 25-point manifesto for the new Congress:

1. Mandatory homosexuality

2. Drug-filled condoms in schools

3. Introduce the new Destruction of Marriage Act

4. Border fence replaced with free shuttle buses

5. Osama Bin Laden to be Secretary of State

6. Withdraw from Iraq, apologize, reinstate Hussein

7. English language banned from all Federal buildings

8. Math classes replaced by encounter groups

9. All taxes to be tripled

10. All fortunes over $250,000 to be confiscated

11. On-demand welfare

12. Tofurkey to be named official Thanksgiving dish

13. Freeways to be removed, replaced with light rail systems

14. Pledge of Allegiance in schools replaced with morning flag-burning

15. Stem cells allowed to be harvested from any child under the age of 8

16. Comatose people to be ground up and fed to poor

17. Quarterly mandatory abortion lottery

18. God to be mocked roundly

19. Dissolve Executive Branch: reassign responsibilities to UN

20. Jane Fonda to be appointed Secretary of Appeasement

21. Outlaw all firearms: previous owners assigned to anger management therapy

22. Texas returned to Mexico

23. Ban Christmas: replace with Celebrate our Monkey Ancestors Day

24. Carter added to Mount Rushmore

25. Modify USA's motto to "Land of the French and the home of the brave"

From www.rightwasright.us

Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone~
I have been thinking about coming up to Bemidji the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving week. I work PM and Night shift on Thurs, so I would leave on Friday around noonish. I was just wondering if people are going to be around to see. If people are around, that will help me with my decision :) Have a great week!

Today is Veterans Day

Thank a Vet! Bryce really comes to my mind today. He and 10's of thousands more, were deployed for "as long as it took" not just a year or for a few months... WWII vets were there for a long time without any idea when or if they would return. In WWII there was over 16,000,000 total US service members in uniform and of those there were over 400,000 deaths. That war lasted about 4 years (1941-45).
The Gulf War there was about 2.2 million in uniform with just 147 deaths ( about 100 combat related) and lasted less that a year.
Todays War on Terror will be an ongoing war for "as long as it takes". Since 2001 the US has lost over lost 2000 serrvice members and hundreds of thousands have served. Thank a vet of this combat...No matter what your politics are!
A Little History...
Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day
World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

The Departed

Has anyone seen The Departed yet? Mandy and I went last weekend. It was a good show, although VERY violent.

Mike Hatch Dreams

Funny item discovered on E-Bay, since we're of a political mind today.

Brownies

The girls have officially become Brownies! They started in October with their first troop meeting. Since then we have gone apple picking (you get a badge for that). This Wednesday they had their second meeting, complete with a bonfire, fire safety lesson and smores. And last Saturday the troop went to Home Depot for a building project. Here are the happy builders in their HD aprons:


Here's a better shot of their project. They built wooden fire trucks that are also a coin bank.


It's a pretty cool program Home Depot runs, and it's not just for Brownies. The first Saturday of the month anybody with kids can attend the session. The kids get to choose from several different projects (fire truck bank, birdhouse, picture frame, etc.) and then they build the project with help from mom/dad and a few HD volunteers. And the entire thing is free. Unless we have plans that day, we're going back in December.

Happy Halloween

I've been remiss about posting in general. But here are some photos of halloween from our house, 10 days late. :)

Emma in her costume


This was the best shot I got of Morgan. She was preparing for the cold weather almost immediately.


Putting jackets on.


Did I mention that it was cold that night?

Elections Scandals

Rememer the election of 2004? Scandals everywhere! Lawsuits in many areas, voter intimidation, etc. Why did that not happen this year? Was it because non of these things happened this year?
Clean election-dems win...
dirty election-republicans win???
Just a thought.

The first 100 hours

WASHINGTON -- Franklin Roosevelt had his first hundred days.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is thinking 100 hours, time enough, she says, to begin to "drain the swamp" after more than a decade of Republican rule.
Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."
Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds _ "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.
All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.
To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.
"We believe in the marketplace," Pelosi said of Democrats, then drew a contrast with Republicans. "They have only rewarded wealth, not work."
"We must share the benefits of our wealth" beyond the privileged few, she added.

Returning Troops

With the Dems taking control of both houses we should start to see lots of this kind of pictures of returning troops from Iraq. My guess is that anytime after the 20th of January this will be a very common picture in the news. But what kind of pictures are you going to see coming out of Iraq? Will there be celebrations there as well?

Happy Days are here again!

Just what is your fair share? The more you make the more they take. Will us guys in the lower bracket see our taxes go up or down under thes new politacal leadership both on a local and national level? I know I enjoyed my taxes going down...remember the checks you got for surpluses in Minnesota? Did you send yours back to the treasurer?

Gas Prices and The Republicans

I hear a lot of people suggesting the Republicans had something to do with the falling price of fuel prior to the election. Now that the dems are clearly in charge, gas should start dropping fairly quickly. Many people said it was to keep the Republicans in power...We'll it did not work so lets just keep track of this trend. My guess is that the gas should be on a downward spiral starting about the 20th of January 2007. We'll see!

Reflecting...Remembering...Reflecting

I woke up this morning knowing that "today is the day," for a couple of things...voting & turning older. I share my b-day occasionally with our patriotic duty & right. For a couple of months now, I have been reminded of this day through emails, posters &, of course, the media. Won't it be nice to have November 7th behind us?

I have spent some time just reflecting...remembering...& reflecting again. I know that we hear people say, "where did the time go?" & I have been asking myself this question over the last half of this year.

The second half of my life is so different than the first half, not better, nor worse, only different. There are a couple of differences that I thought I'd share with all of you...& I am curious, does anyone else notice these differences?

The first difference has to do with the amount of people that are going through our doors on a daily & weekly basis. I used to think the door would fall off of its hinges due to overuse. The difference now has to do with the nest being empty...& when the nest was full, there were always kids, activity and noise around. Not bad, just different.

Another difference has to do with family get togethers and holidays...and getting our family to come together peacefully can be stressful. I heard something today that made sense to me...all families feel stress when everyone is together & there probably isn't a family alive that isn't dysfunctional to some degree. What does that mean? Does it mean that we are "normal" after all?? That is an interesting thought to me. Not different, not bad.

Reflecting, remembering...all the fun times that we had together...and hoping in the future there will be more times to reflect and remember. I guess that is what birthdays are for...to reflect & remember. Another difference, all good!

"Get out and Vote...what don't part don't you understand?"

Two down-One to go!

With Sadam sentenced to die by hanging-that's two down and one to go...what about Kim? and Iran? and Saudi? There must be more...Darfor...

Lounge About and Beer

The time is flying by...I was looking through emails and noticed that we had an email from Carol. Lounge About already? Well, we are going to go and I hope that everone can go as well. Lots more fun when lots of people go!
Anyway I was wondering if you beer makers would want to start planning to make camp beer. I know these days I like to have the dark, rich beers but in the summer time lighter beer is easier to enjoy on a hot day.
Here is what I propose. Each of us make a beer of choice for camping to share (about a 12 pk). Then I would also like to get together some evening and make a brew with Scott, Pete and Matt and myself after work some time and make a camping brew. I know scott would love to do a brew with us. (we could even make some spent grain bread) Maybe that could be a light brew... fruity...hmmm...so many choices. I just had a apricot wheat beer that was wonderfull.
Maybe part of the lounge about we could brew a batch as well...I already bring the kettle and cooker...
Any takers?

Bird Feeder??? I don't see no birds!

Grandma Emma

Well, I think most of you had met my Great-Grandma Emma at least once. I just thought I'd pass on the news that she passed away last night. She had a massive stroke the end of last month and has been in the hospital and nursing home since that time. I guess last night she decided it was her time to go be with my Great-Grandpa again. She was 96 and she lived a very good life and I feel honored that I was able to spend so much of my life with her. Prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Nancy and I decided to get our cat Boo at climbing tree. We shopped on the internet...Prices started about $99 and up, so we decided to make our own. Cost was about $25 and about 3 hours of cutting and trimming. Cat tree anyone?

Tulips

We are going be planting our Tulips today. Last year we had about 100 planted around our yard and garden. Each year they are supose to grow more bulbs and get better beds and more spring flowers. I just I can't wait till spring!

Apples!

The girls and I went to the apple orchard last Sunday with the girls' Brownie Troop. Man, do we have apples. This is going to be a photo post, so apologies to anybody on dialup. Here's Morgan, a happy apple harvester:


Emma didn't want to pose, she was on a mission. She ended up collecting nearly twice as many apples as Morgan. Here's Emma's back on her way to find more:



Here's the entire troop (plus one Brownie's brother), on a break from picking apples:


We had an absolutely gorgeous day for it. I thought that this picture with the Honey Golds on the ground turned out especially well:


After we had way more apples than we really need, the girls all played on the hay pile:


And then they went through the shrub maze.

The girls all agreed that the maze will be harder once the shrubs are taller.

Then we finished up the afternoon with a hayride:


We had a great time. But we're a little appled out. We've had an apple crumble, an apple crisp, and just plain apples. I've given some away to friends. And we may make the rest into applesauce and freeze it, just out of sheer self defense.

Flag of Our Fathers

Dale & I just returned from seeing this movie...In our opinion it gets four stars!

After watching this movie, I feel even more honored to be a daughter of a WWII veteran. I know that Dad wasn't in Iwo Jima, but I still was moved with the notion that my life could've never existed, if Dad had been injured or died while serving in WWII.

I was also touched when I heard (again) that this generation of men went to war, saw & did what they had to, came home, got married, & raised a family...& not only lived a "normal" lives, but raised a decent generation of kids. Wow...that really is big!

If you have a notion, see the movie...you won't be disappointed. And, don't forget your kleenex.

First Snow

I woke up to a suprize this morning in Bemidji, The first snow that may stick??? Its a nice bit of snow, perfect for a hunter tracking in the woods. It sure is prrtty out there, with pine trees white and a starlit morning!

Our Newest Dream

Nancy and I think a hot tub would be a great addition to our back yard (out the kitchen door) and I was wondering if anyone has much experience/feedback about hot tubs. It could be our 30th Anniversary Present (Dec 16, 1976)to each other!

"Dog Movie Star"

"Nevis collie chosen for 'Lassie' movie remake" reads the the secondary headline.

The Pioneer (Bemidji's own daily newspaper) reads:

It's a secret that was bound to come out, at least in northern Minnesota. A local collie named Mason is starring in the new movie, "Lassie."

Producers for the movie flew to Nevis to view Mason and he was chosen immediately because they were looking for a dog with four white socks, a nice blaze on his face, a white tip on his tail and a full white collar ruff. Mason was flown to LA for three months of training, and then went on to four months of filming in Ireland. He appears in about 85% of the film, with a second dog, Dakota, doing the stunts.

Mason has now returned to his former status of being a farm dog, but with a frequent flier miles!

Lucky Mason...I wonder if he knows that he is a movie star?? I wonder what Morgan & Emma think about that??

Leaves Leaves Everywhere

Tis the season...not for shoveling inches of snow, but mulching feet of leaves. This move has been a "little" wake up for the actual time and energy it takes to care for a large, beautiful yard. We went from a single tree, to a yard full of maintence. We are enjoying it (as is Kane) but can't seem to keep up~~

Beer Delivery Systems and the Enjoyment of Homebrew

I copied this from a Web site about home brewing.

If you have been to Leener's you have seen the large variety of drinking glasses designed for beer. First impressions might be that every brewery is trying to look different and all the fancy shapes and sizes are nothing more than marketing. While marketing and presentation is a factor, it is not the reason for so many drinking vessel choices. To understand the beer glass we must understand glass and its influence on beer.
Drinking beer requires the delivery of beer to the mouth. Who would think that something so simple would need to be engineered, that’s right engineered! God gave us cups, cupped hands that is, and they work fine for gulps of water. But their not very practical for beer. Hollowed out gourds work a little better but they are not durable. Clay pots hold up better but if you have ever had three or four clay pots of beer you know that all that lifting can wear you down. To avoid such unpleasant exercise during an activity who’s purpose was not to exercise, the ancient Egypt’s designed a beer delivery system which allowed multiple individuals to suck beer directly from the fermenter. An invention that later became the hookah and thus the phrase ‘sucking down a few beers?'. May be.
The stone jug eventually gave way to the wooden bowl. Light and durable but requiring two hands. At this point in history beer drinking became a ceremonial function as well as a good time. The need to use two hands to drink left the drinker defenseless in a time when life was cheap. With both hands full and all vision obstructed by the bowl, the offering of drinking to someone health was actual a show of trust. Ceremony and protocol lead to embellishment. The wooden bowl became as important as the drink itself. The rim of this bowl was inlaid with gold and the vessel was called a mazer. For the connivance of the drinker the mazer was fitted with two handles at opposite sides of the bowl. This was great for protocol but the problem of two fisted drinking while trying to enjoy a roasted boar and watch your back, all at the same time remained. A stem and foot were added and mazer began to look like a chalice. Witness the birth of stemware?
At this point it must be noted that this is not a world history of the invention of drink ware. Different cultures certainly developed different solutions to this common need of delivering beer to the mouth. I tend to get lost in history and lore. Home brew will do that to you. Lets get back to the glass.
Until the Industrial Revolution, when the mass production of glass came about, beer was served in clay, wood or metal vessels and it was a good thing. Beer was not an attractive beverage and the vessels concealed the hazy, murky liquid within. Then came glass. The advent of glass put the beer on display. Suddenly the beer drinker was forced to look at what was being consumed and it wasn’t pretty. The brewing industry was about to change.
All beer is brewed by the consumer. If the consumer likes it there will be more. If not, there will be less. Brewer’s had to respond to the demands of drinkers with cleaner, brighter beer. This resulted in new technology such as secondary fermentation, laagering, cold conditioning, filtration and improved mashing methods. It is obvious that the brewers did their part and a lot more. Glass is a flexible medium for the artist. Any shape, any size, any design. Beer is a flexible medium for the brewer. Aroma, flavor, texture, alcohol, body. Why not match the design of the glass to the character of the beer. Why not let the glass punctuate the brew, accent the colors, highlight the high points and accommodate the flaws.




There are two reasons to drink beer and neither of them is drunkenness. The first is because you like it. The second is the sensations it gives you during the drinking. Think of the beer glass as a turbo charger on these sensations. Technically the beer glass is far more than a delivery system to the mouth. The sensations and enjoyment of beer are far more complex than the tongue and taste alone. They start with the eyes. The glass made appearance important and brewers made appearance impressive. Taste starts with smell. The nose prepares the taste buds.
Overtime, the matching of beer styles and drinking glass has been refined. Refined to the extent of being nationalistic and even trademarked. The word Pilsner automatically recalls the image of tall slender glasses designed to demonstrate the beers carbonation with rising bubbles and concentrate the delicate aroma of Nobel hops without overpowering the malty sweetness of a refreshing beer.
Belgium has been called the Disneyland of Beer and the Abbey Ale brewers accent that image by drinking from bowls, giant snifters and large chalices. The brewer monks who live on beer alone during fasting don't want to miss a thing. Their glassware is designed to put your whole face in the beer. Belgian Ales are actually felt with the eyes, nose and mouth.
Glassware is not without controversy. In England the traditional dimpled mug with handle is now near its end. Pub owners concerned more about space than beer, are using the mixer or top hat instead. This glass is the one used in most American brewpubs too. With it's wide mouth, slanted sides and narrow foot the mixer does offer the drinker access to the hop and ale yeast characteristics made famous by English Ales. But then their purpose is storage. When stacked upside down and right side up next to each other they take up little space compared with the dimpled mug but the mug is still better for enjoying English ales.

Poor Kirby-Poor Nancy and Gary

Kirby is a dog that loves to run and chase in the woods. Last night, he came home after being gone for almost two hours smelling pretty skunky. Needless to say, he is tied outside and I have to go to town to get "the remedy". He will be getting a bath in the following:
1-Quart Hyrogen Peroxide
1/4 Cup baking soda
1 TSP Dish Soap
Wish me luck!

This is where I have been this week! My back and butt is sore!

Back in the Brewing Biz

I haven't brewed since we moved from our old place in St Paul to our new place in Eagan. All the brewing supplies got put in a dedicated brewing supply room (more like a root cellar) and there they've sat since, nearly two and a half years. But over Memorial Day weekend I harvested some fresh hops from the plant I have at my in-laws and that put the brewing bug back. So this weekend, we're brewing!

I got the makings for an Extra Pale Ale tonight at Northern Brewer. The recipe is:
1 lb Dingemans Caramel Pils grain
6 lbs Gold Malt Syrup
1 oz Chinook hops
1 oz Cascade hops

My plan is that I'm going to try dry hopping with the fresh hops. So after adding the Chinook hops at the beginning of the boil and the Cascade at the end, I'll move the wort to the primary fermenter. Then, when it's time to move to the secondary I'm going to add some of the hop flowers to the fermenter. It shouldn't make the beer any more bitter, but it should make it an extremely hoppy variety. Should be interesting!

Clarence and Verna

Clarence was one on the first guys we met after moving to Turtle River. He was a jack of all trades but made his living as a plumber and we were constantly in need of one. Clarence was the same age as Dad(Bryce) and he would work circles around most guys in the trades. When he was 72, he built his own house. Not "had it built" but he built it. I helped roof a big steel pole barn after he finished his house. The last full year he worked he plumbed 12 NEW homes and would open/close about 40 lake cabins for people plus run plumbing service calls. He worked up to couple of months before his death earlier this this year. Clarence loved his family very much and took care of Verna as long as he could. He had saved a bit of money for his old age and ended up using most of it for Verna's care. People told him he should put Verna in a nursing home, because she was in a wheel chair and it was difficult for him to take care of her. He would not have it. He privately paid for people to come into the home round the clock to help take care of Verna.
One of their favorite things to do was sit around the kitchen table and enjoy splitting a couple of beers and talking about the day. One day he invited me to join him and I did but I brought a home brew. Verna loved it and so I stopped by from time to time to enjoy a home brew and visit with them. She said it was just like her dad made.
I was called on Sunday about Verna's death (she ws 85) and was asked to help at the funeral, carrying the coffin from the church. This was a sad day for me.

CD Mix up

The pictures of the 60th that I sent out got a bit mixed up. Did everyone (except Bonnie) get two different CDs and are the different? Let me know and I can send you the correct one you may be missing.

Nice View

This is what you see when you are eating supper at Nick's and Scott's house! We had a great time and I just wanted to share these photos!

The Fair

Just to wrap up this year's State Fair, the good folks at Belly du Jour have a nearly six minute video homage to the variety of food on a stick available at the Minnesota State Fair. The boy at the end's comment about his deep fried candy bar is your reward for watching the whole thing.

The United Way

We had our "United Way" company auction today. Our company goes out and collects donations then auctions the items off.
Nancy and I donated 4-six packs of home made beer (some is not even cooked yet) and three bottles of Chianti. They auctioned them all off for a grand total of $137.00! Isn't America great!

Ain't it the truth!

Fall Gardens

This picture is NOT MY GARDEN but ours does look a bit like this. The flowers are still blooming and we have not been touched by frost. But you can see the life draining slowly out of the irises and petunias.The veggies are mostly done and the grass is not growing nearly as much.The trimming and mowing has slowed.
We are going to Duluth this weekend to see Nick and Scott (and their new home) and we hope to go up the north shore and see a few colors.

Wedding Pictures

Nathan sent me the link to look at wedding pictures. If anyone would like to see the pictures that the photographer took, leave me your email address and I'll forward the email on to you.
Anna

Beer, Beer, Beer....Wine

Nancy and I have made a couple more batches of homemade beer. The first one is a Strawberry Red Ale. We will bottle that on Sunday. The next one is a Winter Ale. It called for a Whole Pound of bakers chocolate. Lots of spices and it really should be great by Thanksgiving. The next one we'll brew tomorrow is an Octoberfest brew. We will get that one going a bit quicker the the month of October.
We also made 6 gallons of Chianti wine...so far so good. This was Hannibal Lechner's favorite with...you know ...us.

Yellowstone

We uploaded the pics from our recent trip to Yellowstone Nat'l Park. If anyone wants to take a gander, add a comment with your email address and I'll send you an invitation.

The trip was really nice.

Matt

More from Paul Bunyan Amusement Park

I remember going to the amusement park one year with Pete. I was young enough where I've forgotten the details, so Pete will have to correct it if I've messed it up.

Pete and I were at the amusement park by ourselves. We were trying to win goldfish at one of the booths and, as luck would have it, we won one (or two). When we were done at the amusement park, we had been told to give Grandma Saunders a call to come pick us up, but for some reason we couldn't get a hold of her from the payphone. I remember us walking home from the park along Birchmont Dr. with our plastic bag of newly won goldfish in hand. I believe we ended up naming them Jaws I and Jaws II. This began a trend, and over the next few years Jaws III through VII came along. We were very creative with the names, don't you think?

Interesting Reading

The Good Wife’s Guide

As Appeared in Housekeepig Monthly
May 13, 1955

A good wife:

Has dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
Is prepared. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.
Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc., and then run a dustcloth over the tables.
Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give him a lift, too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small) comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing their part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.
Be happy to see him.
Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of information are more important than yours.
Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquility where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.
Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor as compared to what he might have gone through that day.
Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or have him lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
A good wife always knows her place.

Deep in the Heart (disease) of Texas

I went to the fair this year and ate more than my fair share of deep fried junk. To be precise:
deep fried pickles
pronto pup
deep fried cheese curds
Sweet Martha's Cookies
tater tot hotdish on a stick
other stuff I can't (or don't want to) remember

But the Texas State Fair may have gone and outdone the Minnesota State Fair. How can tater tot hotdish on a stick be topped, you ask? Three words: Deep Fried Coke.

I'll let that roll around your brain a bit.

OK, here's what it is:

Abel Gonzales Junior's Fried Coke includes Coca-Cola flavored batter that is deep fried and with Coke fountain syrup drizzled on it.

That's topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry.

Link for sharing with your friends

Friday Nights

Paul Bunyan Amusement Park & Friday Nights

I remember Dale & I taking our kids to the waterfront on Friday nights because it was not only a fun night for the kids, but the price was right. We bought 10 tickets for $1 & the kids got to ride for about an hour or more. Then the price went up...10 tickets for $1.50! I thought it was cheap when our kids were young. I think we celebrated Alicia & Katie's birthday one year at the Park...we rented a video camera & captured it on tape.

But, another wonderful thing happened on those Friday nights. While the kids were riding, the parents were visiting with each other, so an enjoyable night was had by all.

I loved the ferris wheel, too, because of the view. I also remember when we ate "Herb's Popcorn," and watched the Bemidji Belle dock.

And, this is going way back, but I also remember when they had the "bunyan bikes" & people pedaled around on the lake.

Another era put to rest...a bittersweet time for our community.

The Sun Sets on Paul Bunyan Amusement Park

For those who have not heard....The small lakeside amusement park located next to the statues of Paul and Babe near downtown Bemidji will close permanently after this summer season...the family that owns it are calling it quits.
My favorite ride was the Tilt-a-whirl and the Ferris Wheel. They have had lots rides and made lots of memories for me and many others. Please share you memories of this great little park! It's last day was Labor Day 2006. Soon they will be auctioning all the rides except the train. They plan to keep the train, miniature golf and concessions.

Some things I'm not going to do on Labor Day

Here are a few things I am NOT going to do today.

• Work in the yard
• Work in the garden
• Work Cleaning (anything)
• Building a fence/painting a fence
• Worry about what I should be doing (today is Monday, a workday)

What I think I will do is:

• Spend the day with Nancy
• Have a great cup of Good Coffee
• BBQ
• Drink (see Carols Margirita Recipe)
• Bottle my new beer (is that work or is that my hobby)
• Relax outside
• Talk with the twin girls next door
• Have a Campfire (great moon tonight)
• Relax

10 things to do before Labor Day

Here is a short list of things we all should do before Labor Day!

1. Hit the Beach
2. Go to the Fair
3. Have a picnic in a park
4. Take a summer drive in the country
5. Stop and smell the flowers
6. Shop at the Farmers Market
7. Go Camping
8. Wet a fishing line
9. Play ball with a kid outside
10. Relax

Carols Margirita Recipe

Subject: Margarita recipe

2 parts Cuervo Gold tequila
1 part Triple Sec
1 part Rose's lime juice
3 parts fresh lime juice
1 part sugar

Throw in blender with ice and pour into salt-rimmed glasses.


Carol's notes:

- Rose's lime juice is NOT regular lime juice--it comes in a bottle
- I've used bottled lime juice instead of fresh and it's ok

If you use 1/4 cup as 1 part, you'll get 2 generous drinks.

E-mail from Mike Lamon

Gary,
Hey, sorry I havn't been able to get back to you yet. It's nice to know that you guys are thinking about us back home. You may be interested to know that my squad leader was in the Gulf War with first AD. His name is SSG Chilson, probably didn't know him, but ya never know.

We don't really work with the Iraqi's too much over here. I've worked with some of the locals that come into base to work, some of them are ok, but more than half of them would steal your clothes if you weren't wearing them. I just got done with a month of patrolling. We had a pretty large area to patrol, we had to clear around 5 different routes, and partol 5 different towns. Patrolling in July and August was no fun at all, the temperature was around 140 every day, and we'd be out any where from 6-14 hours at a time. Normally it fell towards the latter though. Obviously the roads are dangerous, they don't always seem like it though. The first 2 weeks were completly quiet, then the last two were pretty eventful. In a three day period, we got blown up, found a huge IED making cache and then found a live IED (roadside bomb) So some parts were good and some really bad. We were lucky that the truck that got hit, nobody got seriously injured. Only one of the guys had to go to the hospital in Germany. He just got back tonight and he said he had a blast, minus the whole getting blown up part. I never thought I'd say that my whole squad has CIB's and 1/4 of it has purple hearts. Weird. But now we're working nights at the ECP which is almost like a vacation compared to patrols. So we have 5 weeks left of that, then we patrol again for a month. But somewhere on that next patrol set I get to come home for leave!!
Well I should get going, I don't think I have a public site that I put stuff on. I have a few pics on myspace, but I mostly use facebook.
I'll talk to you all later,
Mike