I got back this afternoon (Sunday) from a really nice Thanksgiving holiday with my family. It started Tuesday after getting home from work. I packed up the car and got to bed somewhat early. I wanted to get to sleep earlier but I ended up turning off the lights between 10:00 and 10:30.
I set my alarm for 1:40 AM, showered, made coffee, let the dog out, and started driving around 3:00 AM. This lets me miss all of the holiday drivers and worked out pretty well. I got to Toledo around 9:00 AM.
The new car was great on the highway and I was really able to load it up with stuff. One large greyhound and the requisite lounge area and space for him to standup, his kennel, two suitcases, laptop bag, wort chiller, stainless steel brew kettle, 15 gallon garbage can, 3' long plastic instrument sanitizing trough, and 14 bottles of homebrew.
Took a little power nap once I got to Mom and Dad's and hung out with Dad and my nephew and just relaxed. Mom got home in the late afternoon if I recall and then I followed them to the daycare to pick up my niece and then on to my sister and brother-in-law's place.
We drank homebrew, had snacks and then Tony Packo's (rhymes with smack oh, not taco) hot dogs for dinner. Tim and I made a beer run anticipating the good beer stores would be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
The weekend before Thanksgiving I made a batch of dough, punched it down a few times and then froze it. Thanksgiving Day morning I used it to make hard rolls for dinner. Tim's deep fried turkey was probably the best he's done yet. Every thing else also turned out perfect and was delicious as usual. I know I am biased but I think my family has the best Thanksgiving food!
Tim and Lisa had to work Friday morning and while they were gone the rest of us decorated the house, picked up a cake, and set out presents for Tim's month-early surprise birthday party. We got him everything he needed to start homebrewing!
That night some of their friends came over to give him a birthday present and then we proceeded to eat pizza and drink a lot of good beer and had a great time.
Saturday morning I guided Tim in brewing his first batch of homebrew. It was a Brewer's Best IPA kit and everything went smoothly. It should be ready to drink for Christmas. Afterwards he picked up an extra ounce of hops to dry hop next week when he racks it to the secondary fermenter.
After that we went out to lunch at a neat place in downtown Toledo. Then we went to the homebrew shop to get a few things Tim needs to connect the new Corny keg he got to dispense his homebrew and I got a few hundred bottle caps. After that we went to an army navy surplus store to see if I could find a new parka (I didn't) and then to Anderson's for a wreath for Lisa.
Saturday night we just chilled out and had a blast playing with the kids. Katelyn is at an especially fun age to play with. I also loaded into my car over 150 beer bottles that Tim has been saving for me! He didn't think we would be able to get them all in my car but we did. And they traveled very well. None of them shifted and there was no rattling which I expected a lot of. Now I have to scrub the labels off from over 150 beer bottles. I will be able start to brew more regularly with the extra bottle capacity so I will always have fresh beer waiting in my basement.
I got up early this morning so I could start driving back and try to miss the winter weather that was promised later in the day, and to try and beat everyone else coming back home from the holiday. It worked and I didn't encounter any traffic jams at all.
I unloaded the car as soon as I got home, but didn't do any unpacking, or decide where I am going to store my bottles while they wait to be cleaned and filled. I took a little nap and then showered, set up Mitch's cage and did some general neatening up downstairs. I am going to brush my teeth soon and try to get to bed early in case I need to get up early and shovel snow.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of my new car today while I was out doing errands.
It was the first time I put gas into it and I was so thrilled that it only took 8.5 gallons to top it off.
Lots of extra room in the garage now.
Here you can see the window wind deflectors I installed in action. I can be cruising down the road with my window open like that and no rain comes inside.
It was the first time I put gas into it and I was so thrilled that it only took 8.5 gallons to top it off.
Lots of extra room in the garage now.
Here you can see the window wind deflectors I installed in action. I can be cruising down the road with my window open like that and no rain comes inside.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Lots of updates to write about over the last few weeks.
Probably the biggest is I had to buy a new (to me) car. The van was pretty sound overall, but I took it in to have a few things fixed and it turned out the repairs were going to be a couple thousands dollars. I have had it for almost nine years and it had 140,000 miles on it so I didn't feel bad about getting rid of it. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. In city diving I was getting around 20 MPG, sometimes less, so I was also very excited to have the excuse to bump up my fuel economy too.
My list of required must-haves was pretty short. I don't think I've seen a car that doesn't have air conditioning in the last decade so that was kind of an assumed requirement. Automatic transmission. It had to have cruise control and it had to be able to haul Mitch, his collapsed cage, a couple big suitcases and a few extra boxes, bags, etc. More than 99% of the time it will just be hauling me around and commuting to work so nothing flashy, reliability was important, and looking to minimize purchase price.
I didn't have a specific fuel economy rating in mind but I was expecting something at least in the high 20's. Obviously low miles and late model is good but also didn't have an exact cutoff in mind. Wanted a stereo system with an audio input jack on the front to plug in my MP3 player but that is something you can always add yourself for not too much time or money.
I loved the Scion xB. It is HUGE inside. However the xB's prior to 2006 or 2007 didn't have cruise control as an option, and the later model xB's had cruise control but they also put bigger engines in them which really dropped the fuel economy; almost to the mileage of the old van! So unfortunately the xB was out.
I test drove a Honda Fit and I was comfortable behind the wheel, but at the same time I felt like I was ducking my head and was being forced to lean to the right away from the side of the car even though I did have enough room. Just something subconsciously didn't work for me. With the back seats folded down it did have a good amount of cargo space, but I could do better.
Long story short I ended up going with a 2007 Toyota Matrix with only 3,400 miles. It is basically a new car. I love it! Very fun to drive especially compared to driving a van for almost the last decade. It feels very big inside for a small car. Tons of room for cargo when the seats are folded down, and the front passenger seat also folds flat so you can get some really long things in the car and still close the hatchback. It is rated at 29/34 MPG but I have not calculated how I am doing so far.
I already bought some wind deflectors for the windows from the WeatherTech factory showroom (no shipping costs!) and love those. I went with this brand because everyone on the internets had good things to say about them AND more importantly they installed without using adhesive tape like a lot of the other brands. I also bought their all weather floor mats for the front. They fit perfectly. I highly recommend their products.
The stock Toyota radio that came with it does not have a front input jack so I have been looking at my options for that but that is not urgent for me. I have also been looking at, and hearing really good things about, the ScanGauge. It plugs into the OBDII computer port of your car and lets you monitor pretty much everything the computer monitors in real time as well report error codes that make the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" idiot light come on. The primary feature I want it for is for keeping an eye on real time and average mileage since my car doesn't display that, but all the other stuff would be really fascinating too.
Enough car stuff. The other big change is my hair style. I have started shaving my head. My forehead has been slowly creeping back to meet my bald spot and I wanted to beat it to the punch. I have gotten mostly positive feedback and I feel pretty comfortable with it.
My Norelco electric razor I've had for probably six or seven years finally died and I replaced it with another Norelco. It performs even better than my first one! This one is designed to be rinsed out under hot water every day so you are always using fresh clean blades. I would buy it again in a second.
I have a three pound pot roast in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots for dinner tonight.
I have a batch of beer that I need to bottle today. That will bring me up to three batches (15 gallons) that is conditioning in my basement. I've met another homebrewer at work that kegs his beer and doesn't need bottles so he is saving his empties for me so I can get my bottle collection up to four batches worth. Tim-In-Law has also been working on increasing my bottle count. Four batches of bottles is about 200 bottles or eight cases!
I have almost a pound of Centennial, Cascade and Northern Brewer hops in the freezer for upcoming batches. My last two batches have been single hop batches so I can get a feel for what each type of hop contributes. My next batches will probably be an all Cascade an all Northern Brewer batch.
I'm in the process of getting quotes for a new roof on the house. I'm not looking forward to that expense.
Probably the biggest is I had to buy a new (to me) car. The van was pretty sound overall, but I took it in to have a few things fixed and it turned out the repairs were going to be a couple thousands dollars. I have had it for almost nine years and it had 140,000 miles on it so I didn't feel bad about getting rid of it. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. In city diving I was getting around 20 MPG, sometimes less, so I was also very excited to have the excuse to bump up my fuel economy too.
My list of required must-haves was pretty short. I don't think I've seen a car that doesn't have air conditioning in the last decade so that was kind of an assumed requirement. Automatic transmission. It had to have cruise control and it had to be able to haul Mitch, his collapsed cage, a couple big suitcases and a few extra boxes, bags, etc. More than 99% of the time it will just be hauling me around and commuting to work so nothing flashy, reliability was important, and looking to minimize purchase price.
I didn't have a specific fuel economy rating in mind but I was expecting something at least in the high 20's. Obviously low miles and late model is good but also didn't have an exact cutoff in mind. Wanted a stereo system with an audio input jack on the front to plug in my MP3 player but that is something you can always add yourself for not too much time or money.
I loved the Scion xB. It is HUGE inside. However the xB's prior to 2006 or 2007 didn't have cruise control as an option, and the later model xB's had cruise control but they also put bigger engines in them which really dropped the fuel economy; almost to the mileage of the old van! So unfortunately the xB was out.
I test drove a Honda Fit and I was comfortable behind the wheel, but at the same time I felt like I was ducking my head and was being forced to lean to the right away from the side of the car even though I did have enough room. Just something subconsciously didn't work for me. With the back seats folded down it did have a good amount of cargo space, but I could do better.
Long story short I ended up going with a 2007 Toyota Matrix with only 3,400 miles. It is basically a new car. I love it! Very fun to drive especially compared to driving a van for almost the last decade. It feels very big inside for a small car. Tons of room for cargo when the seats are folded down, and the front passenger seat also folds flat so you can get some really long things in the car and still close the hatchback. It is rated at 29/34 MPG but I have not calculated how I am doing so far.
I already bought some wind deflectors for the windows from the WeatherTech factory showroom (no shipping costs!) and love those. I went with this brand because everyone on the internets had good things to say about them AND more importantly they installed without using adhesive tape like a lot of the other brands. I also bought their all weather floor mats for the front. They fit perfectly. I highly recommend their products.
The stock Toyota radio that came with it does not have a front input jack so I have been looking at my options for that but that is not urgent for me. I have also been looking at, and hearing really good things about, the ScanGauge. It plugs into the OBDII computer port of your car and lets you monitor pretty much everything the computer monitors in real time as well report error codes that make the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" idiot light come on. The primary feature I want it for is for keeping an eye on real time and average mileage since my car doesn't display that, but all the other stuff would be really fascinating too.
Enough car stuff. The other big change is my hair style. I have started shaving my head. My forehead has been slowly creeping back to meet my bald spot and I wanted to beat it to the punch. I have gotten mostly positive feedback and I feel pretty comfortable with it.
My Norelco electric razor I've had for probably six or seven years finally died and I replaced it with another Norelco. It performs even better than my first one! This one is designed to be rinsed out under hot water every day so you are always using fresh clean blades. I would buy it again in a second.
I have a three pound pot roast in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots for dinner tonight.
I have a batch of beer that I need to bottle today. That will bring me up to three batches (15 gallons) that is conditioning in my basement. I've met another homebrewer at work that kegs his beer and doesn't need bottles so he is saving his empties for me so I can get my bottle collection up to four batches worth. Tim-In-Law has also been working on increasing my bottle count. Four batches of bottles is about 200 bottles or eight cases!
I have almost a pound of Centennial, Cascade and Northern Brewer hops in the freezer for upcoming batches. My last two batches have been single hop batches so I can get a feel for what each type of hop contributes. My next batches will probably be an all Cascade an all Northern Brewer batch.
I'm in the process of getting quotes for a new roof on the house. I'm not looking forward to that expense.