Brad came in for Christmas this year which was really nice. Everyone arrived at our house on Christmas eve and we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of assorted appetizers including such favorites as sauerkraut balls, shrimp, calamari, tuna-dill spread (Ruff family tradition started by my grandmother--I'm the only one that eats it), sushi, cheese fondue, fried zucchini, cheese, big stick-o-beef, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, veggie pizza, chicken wings and assorted cookies. After stuffing ourselves with the aforementioned junk and a few homebrews (delicious by the way) the kids opened gifts from Nana, Papa, Brad, and Uncle Ray and Aunt Marsha.
For Christmas, other than the 2 hours or so spent unwrapping loads of toys, we basically just chilled out. It was a much need relaxed day! Everyone stayed Christmas Eve, Christmas and Friday night, which was easier than driving back and forth and it was nice that the kids could rip right into the gift opening instead of waiting for everyone to arrive.
Back to work on Friday and brewed my second batch of beer with the help of Brad. This time I brewed a double IPA which is loaded with liquid malt extract (9.3 pounds) which is sugar food for the yeast. My airlock has been going crazy the past three days. It bubbles more than one time per second which is much more frequent than my first batch. That can only mean one thing; happy yeast farting out tons and tons of sweet alcohol!
The weekend pretty much was spent getting the house back into some semblance of order and running a few errands. I also installed a hanging television stand in Shawn's room that would accommodate the 19 inch tube T.V. we had in the playroom.
On Monday, I went for my annual eye exam and had a retina scan done. The doctor found an abnormality on my retina and has referred me to a specialist to get checked out further. She said it looked like I may have a couple of small holes and some fluid that she wants me to get check out. They may want me to have some sort of laser surgery but I will have to wait and see. I did purchase a new pair of glasses that are totally out of the box for me. I will post a picture after I pick them up in a couple of weeks.
New Year's Eve will be spent with Jill, Todd and their kids again this year. My childhood friend, John is going to be in Cleveland for New Years and he and my other friend from High School, Brian) are having a small get together on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately with the kids and having to work on Friday we opted out of that invite. I like being close to home for this particular holiday anyway due to all the drunks on the road. I really don't like to drive any further than I need to and Jill and Todd live about a mile away! Can't get much closer than that.
My brother Mike is coming for a visit this weekend, I'm looking forward to that. Over the past couple of years, Mike and I have gotten a lot closer. I'm 8 years older than him so growing up we really had very little in common and once he was of the age that his interests began to be interesting to me, I went away to college. Once our Dad passed away, we really have leaned on each other quite a bit. I wish he lived closer.
Speaking of Dad, I can't believe he's been gone for nearly 2 years now. I miss him as much today as I ever have. I catch myself daily being reminded of him. It's really crazy how a death of a close family member can leave such a lasting and profound change in one's life. And that's enough about that subject.
Have a very happy and blessed 2009!
First Home Brew
First Home Brew
Damn Santa
Who's the cute snowman in the middle?
Katelyn enjoying a home brew
Santa?
2 comments:
Your brewmaster mentor is certainly a handsome bloke.
I can introduce you to him!
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