Gardening 2014

I’ve started a bit of gardening again. Previously, I’ve done kind of a lot of container gardening, but I’ve been pretty clear that it’s more for the joy I find in growing things than any sort of self-sufficiency. This is pretty good, because sometimes I only get three tiny tomatoes.

But I’ve taken to gardening on a larger scale. Sort of. I got a plot in a community garden near-ish my home. And then I promptly agreed to share it with a new friend, John. John promptly filled his half of the plot with tomatoes, peppers and basil.

My half of the plot promptly got a couple of mustard greens. And the sage cut back dramatically. But it still basically looks like this:

My friend Toni has sent me some seeds, as a gift.… Continue reading →

Visiting D.C. Jan 2014

Bill and I have been traveling again. 

Once a year, there’s a conference in Washington, D.C. that he always attends. We have friends in the area, particularly up in Baltimore, MD and so I usually accompany him. Typically, we land at BWI and he heads down to the con hotel and I head straight up to Baltimore for four days or so of putzing around with our friends up there before he joins me for about a week.

This year, it’s been different. A friend of mine has just moved to D.C. with her family. I have made numorous friends on Twitter, mostly (but not entirely) fellow beer bloggers. All of them wanted a chance to meet me, and I them. And staying in D.C., I had the chance to have a breakfast or dinner or two with Bill in those four days.… Continue reading →

“Beers that Taste Like Disappointment.”

“I just assumed you liked beers that taste like disappointment.”

This coming from Angelique. One of my best friends. A person who follows this blog and knows I’ve made something of a hobby of beer. A woman who loves beer, but has been known to ask me a question or two about beer and take my recommendation on beers.

Of course, all bets are off when it comes to pumpkin beers. As far as I can tell, there’s no more polarizing beer style. There’s a lot of love or hate for them, and a lot of opinions on what tastes good and what doesn’t.

Angelique and I both avidly try pumpkin beers and look forward to the season. This year, I have been particularly vocal on Twitter about liking “pumpkin-fruit beers1.”… Continue reading →

The MetaCookbook Challenge

Yesterday, my friend Corrine said to me, “So, you’re not a foodie anymore?” It was only half a question. When I asked what in the world she was talking about, she pointed out that the posts on this blog these days are often about beer, less so about food. She’s not wrong, but the food stuff isn’t going away entirely.

Bill and I launched this blog back in June 2010 to be a mutual project of cooking out of our many1 cookbooks. After a great start in 2010 for cooking and blogging, this space nearly died in 2011 and in 2012 came back sputtering, then roaring, back, but with a rather different focus. We launched a new (and substantially more attractive) design, by Angelique Weger, showcasing this new focus in 0ctober 2012.… Continue reading →

Let’s Be Honest – Sometimes Self-Care Blows Chunks.

I’ve mentioned once or twice in the past that I worked directly with Michelle Ward, The When I Grow Up coach awhile back. I still follow her on Twitter, among other things, and think she’s pretty swell.

She’s big on “self-care” and has written about it often, most recently talking about how it is more than bubble baths and yoga. She’s got a point, and I’m glad she’s dusting off her cabaret show and doing something with her need to make music and perform. She’s going to be stellar.

But what I realized yesterday, after thinking about it a lot, is that there’s still a lot of framing of “self-care” as a wholly good thing. And I began to wonder if there wouldn’t be some benefit in admitting that, really, it’s a net good thing, not pure good.… Continue reading →