One week to get the Weiner Wagon on the road. Today’s progress, got another drawer made for under the steam table:
And then mounted the “seat track” on the trailer:
And then got the generator mounted. I was amazed that the seat track hole were at the right position…
So then it was time to pick up Julian from the BoltBus. He is beginning a seven week trip starting in Vancouver, then China, then the Tran-Siberian rail link… bastard (that would be my jealous side speaking).
Dinner (burgers) after work with DancingBear and BreticusMaximus before DB heads for the Oregon Country Fair for a week. Got off at 7, made it to their place by 7:20, and was out by 8:10 so DB could hit the road for Portland.
My printed boarding pass doesn’t say pre-TSA. So sad. No quick security.
Got to the airport in plenty of time – and when I checked my bags they issued me a new boarding pass… pre-TSA approved. Yahoo! And I learned something else – the Premium check-in lines (not the bag drop lines) are at the South End of the West Terminal…. With one short escalator ride to the pre-TSA line. Next time I’ll get dropped at the end of the terminal.
Had a lovely chicken Caesar salad and a couple of Manhattans at Elway’s (as in John Elway, the sports dude) in the B Concourse. Spendy, but right up there with the Brooklyn in Seattle, food-wise and drink-wise. They made my Bullet Rye Manhattan with Carpano Antica Formula red vermouth and those expensive cherries that my mother loves so much.
And they had the most unusual salt and pepper grinders on every table – mixed black/green/pink peppers in the pepper mill.
Landed a little before 5, was home a little after 6 after some dinner shopping.
Nice to be home, nice to be able to sleep in my own bed. Nice not to have gained a ton of weight on the trip.
Another day in the suburbs of Denver, Broomfield to be precise.
Another day of home repair projects:
Finish working on the fence
Install a range hood vent to the outside
Range hood removed, hole cut in wall:
Then add the vent:
Went a little quicker than I had anticipated since the range hood was actually on a plug rather than wired directly into the house. Vent and hood don’t match up exactly – there was a stud with wiring nailed to it that we had to dodge, but works great even with a little restricted airflow.
By the early afternoon people started showing up, some for a board game afternoon, some for burgers, dogs, and fireworks. Dan’s deck has a great view of the cities fireworks.
The folks that stayed for the fireworks were gone by 10 and I was in bed by 11 (for once).
How nice to have no schedule other than helping Dan around the house – which means sleeping in until whenever I want. Bliss.
On today’s chore list:
Swap the garage fridge for the kitchen fridge
Run water to the new kitchen fridge
Stabilize the backyard fence
But first it’s off to Home Depot to return some things, then King Soopers for tonight’s steaks, back to Home Depot for a Depot Dog and the waterline for the icemaker hookup, then to Total Beverage for some discount booze:
Wild Turkey Rye –$19.98 (was $21.98), a lovely Rye to make Manhattans with
Downslope Vodka — $15.48 (was $26.98), it’s a Colorado Vodka, must share with Swanda
Glenmorangie Qunita Ruban — $43.98 (was $69.98), Scotch that’s been “extra matured” in Port Casks
They had a Glenmorangie that was “extra matured” in Sauternes Casks, but that would have been another $25 or so. Felt like I was splurging enough on the Quinta Ruban.
Back at the house fridge moving is the first task – to which BOTH refrigerators need their doors removed, one of which has a front panel display with ice and water.
Here is a shot of both fridges in the kitchen/dining room:
With both fridges unloaded of their contents and moved it’s time to install the water line for the icemaker… which was going well until I broke the t-handle off the self-tapping valve. And then no water coming out so removed the self-tapping valve and drilled a hole (after turning off the main water supply), reassembled and ‘viola’, water. After getting the doors back on (can’t move it back in place with the Fridge door in place) and getting the fridge reloaded…. Another problem – the window sill juts out – time to pull the sill and put a bull nose on that corner. Dan declined my suggestion of just ripping it down and making it flush with the wall. But it’s done.
Success. Time for a round of Martinis made with the limited release Tangueray Malacca Gin which they haven’t made in at least 10 years. A Souder family (Mom, Jon, Me) favorite.
Then it’s time for a wonderful steak dinner with a bottle of the 2002 Bonny Doon Old Telegram – perfect for the steaks. It was as lovely as I remembered the Old Telegram to be.
After dinner (damn long days) it’s to start shoring up their back fence – got some of it done, so a little more for tomorrow is in order.
Again, stayed up too late.
[208.0] And it was a balance scale so I’m amazed that with all the carbs in Santa Fe that it wasn’t over 210.
Out of the condo a little after nine, another lovely stay at the WorldMark. Off to RonneyMacs for a couple of breakfast burritos – yep, more carbs. Bad Uncle Markie. 52 carbs to be exact.
Hung out with Mom for a bit before Jen and Karen showed up to run me to the airport. Mom mentioned wanting to do an 31-day Eldershostel trip, now called Road Scholar, to Hawaii and Polynesia, etc. starting this December 15th. Looks like fun.
Itinerary Summary
Arrival San Diego, Calif., 1 night; embark ms Statendam, 30 nights (ports of call include Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Christmas Island (Kiribati), Bora Bora (French Polynesia), Raiatea, Tahiti, Moorea, Rangiroa, Nuku Hiva); disembark San Diego, departure.
Got to the airport in plenty of time – and as they always do at the Santa Fe airport, they opened and swabbed EVERY checked bag. Can you say “too many TSA Agents, too few passengers”. Just in case they gave me grief about all the booze I’d printed out their regulations which say no more than 5 liters of hard liquor per bag – I had 4.70 liters.
After I checked in, walked over to this old Yugoslav jet parked on the tarmac (well, I was behind the fence). As you can tell from the Red Star it’s from the Tito communist era.
The other interesting aircraft, that was actually working was this baby:
Lots of aerial firefighting equipment in addition to this one.
Lisa met me at the airport – a little delayed because they parked us 3 feet from where we should have been – 20 minute delay, more reading for me – and the knowledge that my bags would be waiting for me on the carousel and they were.
Lovely dinner with Dan and Lisa:
Home-made carnitas, heirloom tomatoes and peas. Yum.
The “fed†part was at Bert’s Burger Bowl for a Green Chile Sausage Burrito for breakfast:
In time to walk the 20 minutes to El Castillo to drive to the airport:
Aunt
Cousin
Dad’s Cousin
Dad’s Cousin’s Wife
Easy trip to the airport. Hit the reservation gas station and filled up on $3.12 Regular — .45 cheaper than Santa Fe. Apparently the Res gas stations don’t pay into New Mexico’s Ground Water Fund (guess where sis-in-law works as a lawyer).
Back to the condo for reading, a little nap, then off to hang with Mom to deal with the dead phone, and accept a lovely gift of a liter of the limited release Malacca Gin (Tanqueray). To understand this amazing Gin you should read this: http://www.drinkspirits.com/gin/tanqueray-malacca-review/ There are very few Gins that make an incredible martini AND an incredible Gin and Tonic. My mother’s words from my teenage days were “don’t mix with the good stuffâ€. She changed her mind with the Malacca. And now I have a liter. And for Swanda – apparently it’s available at Hilt’s All Star Liquor – according to my brother who does all his shopping there.
Got to the house…. No wine. Apparently many days of many guests have cleaned out the place – off to the Agora Market for 1 white and 2 reds. Here is a sign I saw with an amusing typo:
That should be “Clos du Boisâ€, not Boise, as in Idaho.
More food off the grill for dinner – it’s what you do when you feed the masses.
Back to town early as I’ve got Mom’s car and New Mexico is finally cracking down on “drink/drive†as the say on the continent (Europe).
Time for laundry – turns out I didn’t pack enough clothes… free laundry, not problem, just a waiting line.
Now if I’d remembered to pack packing tape for the booze hauler.
This is the day that I haven’t been looking forward to – my Father’s Memorial/Celebration – the final bookend that started with CaddyDaddy’s Memorial/Celebration on the first day of the month. Not liking June much these days.
Short and sweet, the service. Learned things about my father’s Armco career about what he actually did. One of the speaker’s was someone who he had hired 30+ years ago. Learned about my Aunt and my Father’s developing relationship over the years – they were 10 years apart (Aunt under). Learned that it’s really a GREAT idea to hire a Jazz Combo to play upbeat music (custom play list) after all the speeches. Thanks Jen (sis-in-law, dead brother’s widow). Homemade snacks and Jazz, not a bad combination:
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After most of the people cleared out, it was back to the “Saints†house (My sis-in-law) for yet around hanging out, drinking, eating, swapping stories, catching up. There is definitely a benefit to scheduling something 6 months after the dearly departed passed. Cheaper airfares, people out of school, the works.
Again, home late, with too many carbs in my tummy.
Slept in… and then lunch at the New York Deli a couple of blocks from the condo. HUGE servings. I got the Reuben:
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I ate the bread, I didn’t eat the matchstick fries – should have gotten more cole slaw.
Next, Mike swung by for errand time:
Albertsons for:
(2) 1.75 of bourbon for mom
(4) 750mls of Evan Williams for me
(12) Diet Cokes for me
(1) Moscato – definitely not for me
(2) Limes
(6) Tonic
Trader Joes for:
(5) different salsas
(3) different chips
(2) tubs cookies for Mom’s book club
(2) lemonade for Mom’s book club
(1) jug premade Margarita’s for, you guessed it, Mom’s book club
(1) orchid – purple, to match the accent wall, for Mom’s book club
And then it was off to the Pre-Party Celebration at my sis-in-law’s place out in Eldorado. Trying to shuttle a dozen or so people in and out of town has been amusing. Thanks Jen (sis-in-law) for all the prep work.
Pre-made BBQ, salads, lots of good food. I didn’t drive so I worked on Bourbon, my aunt Gin, beer for some, wine for some.
Another late night…
[? ??] Who knows with all the carbs getting into my diet this trip.
Finally on a plane to SAF – and yes, this plane is running late as well coming in from ABQ.
Breakfast at the French place in the United terminal – after a mad dash back to security because in my morning fog I’d left my cell phone and hat behind. Maybe the mimosa and eggs benedict (on a croissant of all things) will help.
Jon and Obrad met me at the airport – and surprisingly, my bags made it as well. Next stop is to pick of my sis-in-law, abandoned at the Santa Fe Baking Company, then off to get me set up in my WorldMark condo. John and Norma took off, leaving me and Obrad to walk a couple of blocks to the Busy Bee Deli, which is all Mexican food so I’m not sure why the odd name. Fish tacos for both Obrad and I. Pinot Grigio for me, lemon water for Obrad. A light lunch as dinner is at 5:30 tonight.
Around 4:30 we set out for El Castillo (The Castle) when my mom lives. About 20 minutes to walk it – though the 30mph gusts of wind whipped sand and dust in our eyes and mouth.
Got to Moms, drink in hand, when the gusts of wind knocked out the power. Looks like Mom isn’t coming to dinner since no power = no elevator. Surprisingly the kitchen is serving food by candlelight (and emergency lighting), though nothing from the steam table.
After dinner I finished fixing Mom’s touch-tone phone so at least she’d have a landline that works – her cordless phone doesn’t do much good with the power out.
After I got back to the condo, Craig (a friend from LA) came over for a nightcap. Chatted well into the evening, though don’t think I convinced him to come of my birthday ramble. Still need to find somebody for that – at least I found a replacement for the Mexico trip.
9:30 flight this morning – lucked out, got the preTSA line which United was nice enough to print on my boarding pass so I knew what to expect.
A car-heavy breakfast in the Alaska Board Room, then off to the other end of the terminal for my United flight – frequent flier miles.
The Board Room in Seattle.
Portland airport.
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Lunch in the Eugene airport.
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They didn’t pack enough bourbon on the plane… and it was running late so my final leg, DEN to SAF won’t be happening today. Missed the connection by 15 minutes. Luckily I’d texted Dan and he was shortly at the airport to meet me and give me a place to stay for the night. No vouchers from the airline since it was “weather†related – Our plane couldn’t get out of San Francisco. When I enquired about getting my bags the Bag Lady said that if I really wanted them I could get them…but it would take 2-4 hours to track them down. Guess I’ll be wearing the same shirt tomorrow.
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On the couch ad Dan and Lisa’s place…nice to be able to see them two weeks in a row.
But as Swanda pointed out in a follow-up email, I’d completely spaced him and Josh coming to dinner… must have been a long week. His take on the evening:
We had a MASSIVE storm hit last night out of the blue right about rush hour and what a mess. Instant flooding and the lightening. I was driving from my place down to Markie’s for dinner. When I left my place it was bright and sunny, even had the sunglasses on. By the time I got downtown, the glasses were off and the skies grew darker. The storm hit just as I was getting near his place.
He had planned to grill and have dinner out back on the deck. Plans changed. We enjoyed grilled veggies plus a variety of sausages, lamb, chicken and enjoyed a bottle of wine. His friend Josh joined us and so there was some fresh made bread as well. A salad of greens and tomatoes was simple and yet a perfect addition.
The big chore today before picking up SalamanderHellBender for dinner tonight is stopping by Fix Collision to see how much damage the woman who clipped my car on Friday will be. The answer surprised me. $1888.4.68, plus since it’s a three day job, $60 for a rental car. Ouch. Emailed her the quote with a picture attached (to show the rip in the bumper cover) and a note guessing that she’d be going through insurance rather than just paying me out of her pocket.
Here is a picture of the damage which I didn’t even notice until I saw her note under my windshield wiper:
Ouch, ouch ouch.
Blair got off a little early so we were off to the crowded I-5 southbound, but at least the entrance ramp had an HOV lane. 15 minutes of bumper to bumper until the HOV lane kicked in. Made it home before 6pm so it wasn’t too bad… and the top was down, so who cares if you are stuck in traffic.
Dinner was pork chops and a big salad, and fresh bread that I made before I picked him up.
Lots of talk during the evening of whether he can replace CaddyDaddy on my birthday ramble. He said yes tonight assuming he could get the time off work – but I’ll ask again tomorrow when the fog of alcohol has worn off.
Kept the shop open past 5 and snagged one of our regulars who had lost track of time. Might be a good idea to stay open until 6 during the summer months Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Dinner with Anne and Timmy – used to work with Anne at the Chicago Science Group 12 years ago or so. Great dinner of smuggled in camembert cheese, roasted beats with blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese hamburgers minus buns, and a nice big salad.
Didn’t stay late as it’s a “school night” for Anne, and frankly I was a little beat from work.
Got back to my car, loaded up a wine shipper and my bag, set off home… noticed something attached to my wiper after a couple of blocks… a note, apparently some woman had clipped the front of my car and left a note with phone numbers, insurance info, license… we’ll see how THIS goes. She wants to avoid insurance. Guess I’d better look up the rules about hit/run reporting.
At the shop today was my “euro” hitch for the station wagon – yet another piece in the puzzle:
Slightly erotic don’t you think?
Didn’t get home until a little before eight – last minute customers.
The lights which I thought would take half an hour… getting a good ground and abandoning their silly wiring clips for zip ties. And then I screwed up mockup of the 7″ riser I need to get the roller assembly at 36″. Just for fun I put the umbrella in the umbrella stand.
Wiring before dinner. Riser after dinner.
As for dinner – salad and leftovers. Got to keep that fridge clean.
11pm to Young’s Market, a Columbia Beverages store to open a wholesale account to avoid split case fees. Got some sake, punte mas (Italian Vermouth), and Regan’s Orange Bitters – but the two wines from Columbia that I wanted they didn’t stock so Jim is going to have to track down a sales rep since ours went to work for another distributor.
2pm at the dentist for the thrice yearly $300 fleecing
3:30 at home putting on the final coat of red paint on the trailer, and getting it’s fenders on:
Yes, that is the hot dog roller sitting about where it will go, though it will be raised about 9 inches so that the roller height is 36″ – and it will allow me access to the steam table drain.
Next up is the wiring for lights – got the brackets painted a nice matching black.
Just a quiet chicken breast over a bed of greens kind of evening.
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