not dead.

[ilanarama]

Oh, dear, has it been a month since I've updated? I have some photos of our last backpack of the summer (in which we got hailed on and snowed on and nearly lightninged on and cliffed out on our Mt. Oso approach attempt) but I am still trying to extract a small enough number that actually might make people want to look at them. I have some photos of the landscaping we've been doing, but I need to take some more so that you can see how beautiful it looks now that it's finished, except that it's not quite finished.

Stuff coming up in my life: Marathon in two weeks. Election. Hopefully going to get the boat out of drydock and go cruising this winter except there are all sorts of unforeseen complications. So, what's new with you?

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I finished my story (http://ennui.org/rone/axe-beak-claw.html). And i'm going to Ecuador on Wednesday for two weeks.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Yay for both. I can finally read it, then - I avoid reading serial WsIP until they are finished.

[adjudicated.livejournal.com]

Wow, the election is sneaking up on us, isn't it? I registered to vote in Denver County finally, about two weeks ago. It helps that the election commission is housed in my work building :P Have my Bill Ritter yard sign up, despite that being unallowable for state judicial employees. Bah, I say. Not to rudely stereotype, but my particular clientele probably don't give a fig about politics or whether their PO has a yard sign. Have you heard CPR's Ritter/Beauprez spotlight segments on the radio? http://www.cpr.org

We haven't gotten any snow here yet, but it was a nippy weekend, particularly yesterday. I do love this time of the year, though. It makes me feel cozy and snuggly.

We decorated for Hallowe'en last weekend (favorite holiday, yes!) and I did baking and writing this weekend. That's what's new with me.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

From my stint as an election judge I know that there are lots of people who move but forget to reregister in their new precinct! (And I'm going to be an election judge again for the general after voting early.)

I suppose you can always say the sign is your husband's, not yours! We have six yard signs, although honestly our yard is not very visible because of a hedge: Ritter, J. Salazar, the Dem state rep and state senate candidates, and the Dem county commissioner and county clerk candidates. (Even though I personally will probably vote for the Republican state rep candidate. I figure that sign is Britt's. I'm more lukewarm on that race though and not willing to actually put up a sign for the opponent!)

It was really cold here on Saturday, but yesterday afternoon I did yard-work in a t-shirt.

[alembicresearch.livejournal.com]

Seems like I've been doing a lot of beer related events lately ...
about a month ago I helped run the Samuel Adams LongShot Competition
Regionals in San Francisco ...
then last weekend I went back up to San Francisco for a fund raiser
at the Toronado Pub for a beer competition that is happening 2 months
from now in San Francisco. Which was pretty good, because they had 11 kegs
of beer there, of which 10 I had never had previously ... all you
could drink for $20. But with 11 beers, that was only a fairly small
sample of each, with a resampling of about 3 of the ones I liked best.

Then yesterday I ran a Beer Judge Certification Program Exam in San Francico
again, hosted generously by the same folks at the Toronado.
We had 7 people taking the same exam to hopefully become certified beer
judges, which was pretty good, since that was the most people I've
gotten to take the exam yet.

These were all that survived the 9 week beer class I gave over the
summer, which started with about 14 people.

Afterwards, all the examinees wanted to celebrate, and were buying
many rounds of beer. Lots of expensive rare Belgian beers too.
But I didn't drink all that much. I had a lot of little samples
of everything. But I really only feel like having to much to drink
only a couple times a year, and when I'm not driving.

But now that fall is here, the odor of things fermenting is in the air.
It is my favorite time of year.
People are starting to brew things. I'm starting to brew things.

I'm thinking of brewing a Raspbeery Lambic in a few weeks,
so this morning I've been shopping for raspberries.

Friday I saw some at a produce store here for $0.79 for 6oz baskets.
So I kind of thought that was a good price, but I couldn't remember
how much I needed.
So after running the beer exam Saturday, I went back to get some
this morning, because I need 5 pounds worth, and that seemed like
a really good price.

But I discovered that the price at the produce store was now $2.00
for a 6 oz basket.

So now I'm going to shop around a while, because I do not need
them for a couple weeks.

I also signed up for a trip to Baja over Xmas, for 2 weeks,
with the same group I went to Mexico with last Xmas.
So that looks like it will be my big trip for this year.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

We are having an Octoberfest beer thingy next weekend here! And the local brewpubs are doing porter again, which I love. I have a jug of some in the fridge.

Raspberries here get down to $2.50 at the height of the season - they are back to $3 or $4 now, so I am very envious.

[alembicresearch.livejournal.com]

So if I ever win the lottery and move to Durango and
open my own brewpub, I'll make a Raspberry Porter ...
and call it "Ilana's Envious Ale". :-)

Maybe ...

[(Anonymous)]

work. work. work. = pay. pay. pay. pay. Why does this equation not work??? :-(

Went to the beach Saturday for a "Farewell Summer/Hello Autumn" party. It was a beautiful day at Sunset Beach and we stayed until the rangers kicked us out...

Oh, and I'm preparing for my first competition at the Loch Lomond games in October (Great Highland Bagpipes -- grade IV slow air comp.) That should be fun! :-)

Eric W.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

That's 4 pays for 3 works! I like that!

And bagpipe competition sounds...scary! :-)

[(Anonymous)]

Sadly, the *pays* are ones I do to others rather than ones done to me... negative cash flow is so disheartening. humph.

Competition will be... interesting. My killer I-can-play-this-in-my-sleep-and-probably-do slow air has disintegrated into an oh-my-goodness-what-just-happened-THERE??? comedy of errors, compounded by an outside tenor reed that has decided to be cranky.

Fortunately there are still 7 days left until C-day.

I don't look to place, but merely to experience it this time round.

Oh, and my wife is still having trouble getting used to seeing me in a kilt. Probably my repeatedly telling her "kilts are chick magnets" isn't helping things any :-)

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

Good to hear that you're not dead! It sounds like it could be a while before you find time to post again. ;)

Not much to report from here. More people have left work, I'm doing a little voluntary work at a local nature reserve, and I'm off to the Sheffield beer festival this weekend. That's about as exciting as it gets.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, we have a beer festival this weekend as well.