Reflections & Resolution

It is now the last day of February. Thoughts of the past year have been a humbling experience to say the least. In retrospect, it was well deserved and foreshadowed. I pray I reflect without bitter thoughts and institute with a sense of humor.

Spring lies just 'round the corner. My New Year's Resolution is "Finish the projects that I have dreamt but failed to initiate or complete." The house exterior is showing signs of completion, and the shed will begin this week. Beyond that………. a boat restoration project.

More to come,
JR

Irish Red Ale

In celebration of our favorite deceased presidents, and in preparation for the Gaelic event less than a month away, I brewed an Irish Red Ale courtesy of Austin Homebrew Supply. I chose the mini mash variety that comes along with about 3.5 lb. of grains, and 5 lb. of extract. I think the next time I brew it shall be all grain. I spend about the same amount of time doing the mini mash, and it seems like more hassle than all grain. I've said this to myself for the last 3 years though. Anyway, here is to a Happy President's Day!

JR

Boxer puppy

Look at this little guy. He strolled up to the garage on Wednesday night. I was able to track down the distraught and grateful owner on Thursday. He is 7 months old, and extremely well behaved. His name is Casper, the friendly Boxer. I could have traded two dogs for this one. Nevertheless, he is happily re-united with his master.

JR

House update 19-Feb-06

Howdy! This is the first installment of hopefully more entries. The siding replacement project is still dangling out there uncompleted..... Weather has been rather unfortunate. To that end I have focused on some of the issues inside the house. On Saturday I woke up motivated and feeling greenback frivolous. I embarked on a quest to replace the kitchen sink, faucet, and disposer. The locally available hard water made the existing stuff fairly awful, and also forced replacement of shut-off valves and such. My venture started out smoothly enough with a dismantaling of the sink and hardware. Visits to the local Home Depots proved futile as their stocked merchandise was nearly identical to the cheap apartment stuff of years past. Lowe's was just a hair more upscale and was willing to accept my credintials. Anyway, above are before and after's.

More to come later,
JR

Test run

Waaaaaassssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppp!
Just testing this gizmo.