After weeks in the crock, it’s time to get the Asian Pear Wine off the lees and into the you know what.
Here is a shot of the process (or two):
To get the last bits out it was time to strain through a bamboo towelette, actually had to switch half way through as the first one got plugged up:
Sort of looks like baby poo.
Tonight’s cocktail plans with my ex and his parent’s imploded as we both thought it was at our respective houses… oh well, and I couldn’t leave my house because I was running the you know what.
But on a bright note, my dinner date shut down his garage sale early and was at the house by six for the pupu platter I’d made for cocktails with the ex. Just as an FYI – this is an ex from 30+ years ago. Wow.
Dinner was steaks and a salad since we are both on the let’s keep the weight off kinda thing.
Fun evening in many ways.
Final result of the run as a little less than a liter of 100 proof brandy.
Today is wine cooler moving day. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of it in its assembled form, but here is a shot of it in its disassembled form on the front porch that we were using as a staging area.
Turns out the guy is ex-Microsoft, not unlike myself – and when I mentioned MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) he commented on the fact that I’d shown up with assembly instructions (or in my case, disassemble instructions).
Missy was along for the ride – I’d neglected to say there was work involved and she was in pretty clothes and open toe shoes – but really what I needed her for was the truck, not her back – though she did help with some of the cleaner pieces of the puzzle.
Now it’s stacked in my garage — $350 if you come pick it up and reassemble, $500 if I have to deliver and assemble (Seattle only). If I don’t get any offers by the time I’m done with my birthday travel-about, then I’ll reassemble it in the garage (which will me reorganizing the garage, hence the reason I’d like to sell it).
Dinner with Daniel who is back in town to finish his PhD after his wife said she didn’t want to be with him anymore. I chalk it up to her dealing with aging parents, one of whom is a serious Hollywood Star even today, a decade after a liver transplant. He couldn’t stay more than an hour as he had a friend in critical condition that might not make it through the night. Lots of stuff on his plate, and I’m not talking dinner.
Got a little closer to packed for next week’s trip – got the wine bottles filled with whiskey and resealed for the Princess Cruise from Vancouver to San Francisco, now it’s just time to decide on wardrobe.
Paul had the beef sandwich (he usually gets the combo beef/pork) with fries; I had the rib tip special, no fries:
After lunch is was back to the condo for a bit of work, then off to the airport for my 4:20 flight – with a stop in Briarcliff for a quick cocktail, too bad this place was closed during the mid-afternoon., but how’s that for one giant wine bottle:
At least I think it’s a wine bottle, could be a booze bottle.
At the airport, checked by case of BBQ Sauce (personal, not for the shop) and settled in for a flight that was running twenty minutes late. I did have time to discover that there is now a bar/restaurant in the secured area of the airport, up on the second floor where I had this cocktail:
Royals Manhattan (as in the Kansas City Royals as in baseball):
Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey, agave nectar, fresh lemon and orange juice, shaken and served with a float of sweet vermouth and garnished with an orange twist.
Well, my sweet vermouth was blended in and there wasn’t an orange twist – and it really tasted more like an Old Fashioned than a Manhattan.
Uneventful flight home, was at the apartment at 8 or so to drop off half an order of rib tips (my leftovers) for Swanda and a bottle of sauce to drown them in. Stayed chatting about his weekend visit from his new BF and then it was home for me.
[204 but on an antique analog scale so I’m dubious]
You wouldn’t think at 10:40 flight would require getting up at 5:30 (after going to bed at 2am), but once you add driving to the apartment, light rail to the airport, getting there early… it all adds up.
Plenty of time at the airport for breakfast. Still didn’t get upgraded, I missed it by 1 person – which is odd because I have already been upgraded for the return flight and when I landed they were selling upgrades for the return leg to Seattle (the plane lands, dumps people, gets serviced, adds people, returns to Seattle).
I started out with the Smokin’ Choke which is applewood smoked Four Roses Bourbon, Cynar, Maple Syrup and Peychaud’s Bitters, then followed up with the KC Streetcar which is Olver Overholt Rye, Lemon, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, smoked bitts and Boulevard Wheat Ale. Both were outstanding, but at $11 each, a little pricey.
The plaque reads: “Al Capone Pissed Here”
At 7:30 we headed upstairs to the restaurant where I was having a devil of a time deciding between the rabbit and the goat for my main course. The goat finally won out but it was a close call, decided ultimately by our server.
After that it was home and to bed for Paul and Gail, whereas I stayed up a little later.
Noon to two, Elliot Bay Marina for a tasting of a couple of hundred open bottles (I was too lazy to count the catalog):
And then Jim I were off to McCaw Hall for another couple of hundred bottles from Noble (a distributor):
Both tastings had major appetizers out to soak up the wine – even with sniffing, swirling, spitting, you still need something to soak up the remaining booze.
The second tasting I only made it an hour before I gave up after only doing all the whites (with one red that Jim is planning on stocking). I needed a nap as I’m off to Darcie and Jeannes for dinner with Jill tonight. That many hours on my feet on concrete floors and my dogs were killing me.
The next shot is of the deck we had appetizers on – a deck that’s going on the market next spring – think 180 degree view, double lot, orchard, barn, tennis court, pool, cabana. The girls are thinking of a little place in Seattle and a bigger place in the East Bay (as in Bay Area, California):
In addition to Chimayo Cocktails (think tequila and apples), homemade empanadas, chorizo (those would be the appetizers), then it was onto grilled vegetables, salad, and steaks the size of the dog’s heads. Forgot to snap a pic of the meal, but did snap a shot of the two stunning wines Jill pulled out of the cellar (she’s been barrowing space in the girl’s basement.
A French Gran Cru (2002) and a Ridge ATP (Advanced Tasting Program) from 2003. Finish it off with some of my Grappa and a trio of sorbets… well, you don’t want to look at the scale in the morning.
Yesterday morning (before I got there) a guy came into the shop and asked if we wanted a free 500 bottle wine cooler. Jim offered it to me as it’s way too big for the shop. And I mean BIG:
Garage? Instructions say you aren’t supposed to, but I’m not sure if I have a choice – that thing would overpower my living room.
As for the day at the shop, the adage was correct, it was a good day at the shop. The last hour was a mad house for some reason, not that I’m complaining.
Home for a steak and slaw dinner with the remains of today’s tasting bottle – a perk of working Sunday, you get to bring home everything that’s open.
Maybe it’s the Huskie Football game, but the traffic flow in/out of the shop has been just plain odd, and slow. At least we didn’t have a distributor’s representative pouring wines today. That would have been painful.
By the end of the day we were a little short of four figures, but Wednesday-Friday were relatively good sales days – and the adage amongst other shopkeepers on the block is: “if you have a bad Saturday, most likely you will have a good Sunday”. Time will tell.
Ribs and slaw for dinner – guess that would make ribs for lunch and dinner since I picked them up on the way to the shop for the tasting.
I lazy day around the house working on the computer, reading the New Yorker – I even got Dan to chill and just read. My flight wasn’t until 8:20 so it was a lazy day.
Took the Toll Road back to the airport – rush hour, no traffic, full speed (75), made good time, worth the $5 or so it costs.
Why imagine – just as much luggage coming home…
Box of towelettes which I have to carry on (though checked at the gate), the styro shipper had five bottles of booze and a jar of strawberry jam, the Porter case held two half gallons. And, of course, the computer case.
Had a dinner of snacks and drinks in the Admirals Club at DIA – the couple of hundred I spend on the Alaska Boardroom membership pays for itself in food and booze alone.
In my favorite seat on this leg – 1C, sitting next to the owner of Canyon Hydro so if you find yourself in need of small to medium sized hydro turbine equipment, he’s your man. Seems his private plane is in the shop – damn.
Was back home a little before midnight, and in bed not too long after than.
Around 1875 a bitters based on the damiana plant was sold under the name of “Aztec Damiana Bitters” as well as “Liquor Potencial de Damiana”. The damiana plant was often used as a nerve tonic, as well as a purported aphrodisiac. This recipe comes from the Standard Manual of Soda (1899) so it was probably used in drinks and the following recipe shows a flavour profile similar to other aromatic and cocktail bitters.
Damiana Bitters Recipe:
Damiana            1 oz
Angostura Bark        ½ oz
Bitter Orange Peel        ½ oz
Canada Snake Root        ½ oz
Lemon Peel            ¼ oz
Cardamom            1 tsp
Cloves                1 tsp
Coriander            ½ tsp
Dilute Alcohol (20%)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16 oz
Instructions:Â Reduce the spices to a coarse powder in a mortar and then mix with the dilute alcohol and macerate for 48 hours.
Or make the bitters, mix 1 fluid ounce of extract with 10 ounces of water and 5 of alcohol. Damiana Wine-Bitters may be prepared by substituting sweet catawba or sherry wine for the dilute alcohol.
Also went shopping for a few more things for dinner, a little swordfish, a couple of buffalo sausages – to go with the rib eye steaks, mashed potatoes and ensalata capresè. No guests tonight.
Just click on the above for a link to the .mobi file which you can just drag to your KenDoll (my spelling) and dump in the books folder and it will show up on your bookcase (assuming you have your KenDoll connected to a PC).
A great dinner with the Loveland (Colorado) crew. Much talk, much wine, much munching of pork, grilled peppers, broccoli, grilled onions, and yams. Yum. Sorry, no picture.
But we did get into the Grappa de Solear Manzanilla Extra Dry Jerez Xeres Sherry that I brought — though we did run it through their Britta first.
Maybe tomorrow I can figure out how to make a .mobi of a Piglettè upload – it’s much harder as each of the pages is a “graphic” rather than flowable text.
Funny how my odd act of patriotism is to fly in September 11th. Today I’m off to Denver to see Dan and Lisa – turns out it’s been almost a year since I’ve seen them. Too long.
Maybe that’s why I have this huge pile of luggage for three days…
Got to the airport way early using light rail and the Porter performed pleasingly. For the second time, I got to use the Pre line – which was open even though the First Class/Gold lines weren’t open. How nice to just stroll up to the conveyor belt with no one in front of you, and just take off your ring/phone/keys and proceed through the scanner (and not the full body scanner).
Plane was on-time, though I got a bit of a jolt getting on the plane – they’d moved me from 1D (my preferred seat) to 3D – at least it’s an aisle, but the food/beverage service is slower. Oh well, it’s still a free First Class seat.
Arriving at the far end of the A terminal, it’s about a 20 minute walk to the baggage claim, which started a little after I got there… but not quick enough for Dan and Lisa who were circling like sharks waiting for bait (that would be me).
A nice evening of conversation and whiskey before bedtime called.
There was a big wine tasting at Seattle Center today… but I missed it. I wanted to get the rest of the Asian Pears juiced and starting to ferment before I head out of town. Here is the end result:
While I was juicing the pears, I was also keeping an eye on my baby – and here is what baby produced today:
That would be half a case of Grappa which starting with this run I’ve run through the Brita Filter to take some of the edge off. These runs came out at 80 proof from 21 bottles of wine.
Rest of the evening was spent packing for tomorrow’s trip to Denver – at least after the steak was finished.
Another work Sunday for both me (the shop) and Jill (the orchard – well, two trees). While I worked the shop and hosted an Artist Reception for Tom Hoffmann (watercolors), Jill we busy clean up the droppings from her two Asian pear trees.
Here is a shot from the reception:
That would be Tom in the yellow shirt.
After work Jill came over with her two bins of dropped fruit and proceeded to start chopping and grinding fruit in Suze’s juicer while I started working on dinner. A lot of work and it didn’t all get done tonight – so I’m guessing that will be my chore. All this for “cider”.
The “cider” finisher broken apart waiting for its next run.
And “Murphy The Wonder Dog”:
Off to bed, apparently I have chores in the morning.
Have I said that I’m Completely Bemused and Thrilled by your new steampunk household arts acquisition? Will you be hunting down the makings for grappa?
My turn to open the shop this morning, complicated by a slightly trashed garage from an opossum who got locked in and REALLY wanted out – I shooed him from his hiding place, but unfortunately just moved him to another one – stupid beast. Knocked all the crap off the window sill trying to get the window open – even pulled out the drum stick I use as a security measure. I’m guessing he’ll be stuck in there for another day as if I come home tonight I’m going to be pooped.
Worked the shop through the wine tasting then took off for the apartment to change into my evening clothes for the Great Art Party — that and help myself to Swanda’s booze for which in return I took out his recycling and garage and vacuumed the apartment.
Caught a cab to the Renaissance Hotel (6th and Madison) to the party and before you knew it my credit card was out and I’d bought a really nice black and white etching (about 18″x30″) for $40.
So, the basic jist for the party is you buy a ticket for $100 and when your number is called you race up to the piece of art you want and you claim it. I was about 2/3rds of the way through the numbers and I got my second choice:
My first choice is actually by a neighbor of mine – you could get any four letter word you wanted made in custom blown neon:
We (Jim and I) were thinking about having one that said “wine” for the front shop window – when it’s on, we are open.
By 11 Swanda and I were back at the apartment watching the news and then Saturday Night Live… needless to say I’m not driving home tonight – thank goodness for the rollaway bed I have stashed in the closet from years gone by.
Fridays at the shop are never dull, though usually not from the amount of people coming through the door, more from deliveries to inspect and write a check for. All wine must be paid for when received, no credit, not even putting it on a credit card which the state considers to be credit even though the vendor gets their money instantly.
Most of the deliveries cluster in the noon (when we open) to 1:30 range which means the shop quickly fills with boxes that need to be opened, priced and stocked. Stocking becomes an interesting challenge in a 500 sq. ft. when a new label comes in. Where to put it – the recent solution is to find something in that section with only a bottle or two left and put those out on the center of the glass rack and hope they go away, or that Jim or I take the orphans home.
Business starts picking up around 5, and there is usually another spike at 6:30 as some of our regulars try and make the 7pm closing time – you’d think we were a bar and it was last call.
Got out of the shop at 7 and by 7:30 I was back in South Park at a BBQ in honor of LopezLynne who was in town for yet more medical tests. Luckily she’s got a ton of friends and places to stay in town so it’s less financially taxing.
The party had started at 6, but they were just BBQing when I showed up and settled into a Lemon Drop. Before long the marinated flank steak and the chicken were off the grill, onto platters, and the masses lined up for food. The flank steak was stunning, especially with the reduction of marinade the hostess whipped up. And there was an amazing watermelon/feta/mint salad unlike anything I’ve ever tried before.
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese (goat or sheep milk feta is best)
Total Time: 20 Minutes
I don’t remember tasting any olive oil, but the link above explains the purpose (and prep instructions) for the olive oil and lime juice (which I understand more). Truly tasty.
Home by 9:30 or so as Lynne was pooped and the guests needed to either walk or drive home.
Its official – the Wall Street Journal has stopped coming to the front porch three months after it was supposed to expire. Oh well, a long run is now a done run. Guess I’ll have to use that code my buddy in Hong Kong gave me for the digital edition, and now maybe I’ll catch up on the New Yorker which I’m a month behind – and then there is the stack of books. For a guy that doesn’t have a full time job I don’t seem to have a lot of spare time for reading.
Today is all about getting the Great Art Party catalog out of the door and out of my life. Print, Print, Print. With one quick run to the shop to grab a check, then to the bank to deposit it and another it was back to the house to… print, print, print.
Dinner came and went while it was print, print, print.
9ish Wonderful showed up to start binding the catalogs and by 11pm we were done and he was out the door to probably start or continue packing boxes to move stuff into the ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel where the Great Art Party is scheduled for 6:30 on Saturday.
Finished the Premium Items for the catalog this morning… too bad I had to shut down before all the files had synced up so Wonderful could proofread them. Will have to wait for LAX.
Left the condo at 10:30 for what I thought was going to be a noon train. Turns out it is 1:40 – giving me time to pick up something for breakfast/lunch. Got to the station around 11, found the train, then went off in search of food. A spicy chicken wrap – too bad I didn’t see the anti-pasta salad before I ordered. More carbs.
Supposedly there are going to be 15-20 people on this deadhead run back to Los Angeles. Luckily I’m not the youngest (my fear), but let me say that the passengers were heavily weighted towards older than younger – though there was one hot 20 something train geek with his own train radio.
Some highlight shots:
The Tioga Pass is the “Business Car” that I’m booked on. Behind that is Silver Splendor “Dome Diner Lounge” and bringing up the rear (mostly out of sight) is the Overland Trail “Lounge” car.
Here is the living room area of the Tioga Pass:
Not a bad way to travel.
Here is our three cars hooked up (backwards) to the Amtrak train – yes, the platform will be getting A LOT of wind, but for $50 including snacks and cocktails, I’m not complaining.
Yes, the Amtrak train will be going all the way in reverse – I’m sure it will amuse passersby’s along the way.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for – video of doing 90mph hanging on to the silver grab bar (above), wind buffeting everyone:
Here is a link to all the photos and videos (at least while it works):
I was at the airport a little after 5 to get files synced up, deal with mail and negotiate a seat on the 7:30 (rather than the 9:10 I was scheduled on which would have made me miss the last lightrail I believe, or the 8:30 which was also available).
Made dinner of a couple of plates of salad, some meatballs and a couple of drinks – at least no carbs in dinner tonight.
It was 11:15pm by the time I arrived home – to continue working on the catalog project until 1:30am when I finally collapsed.
California, here I come, but must it be so bloody early. Yes is the answer. 5:30 out of bed, 6:15 out the door, 7:30 at the airport after dropping car at apartment, 9:30am flight. Gives me time to have a carb-laden breakfast in the Board Room. It’s really hard to be low-carb on the road. I fear I’ll pay for it in pounds upon my return – and we aren’t talking the currency.
Horizon flight to PDX:
Then onto SAN in a 737-800. No upgrade since I’m flying on miles, but at least the center seat was open in a very full plane.
$17.00 in cab fare later I’m at the WorldMark San Diego in a nice/large studio on the 4th floor. I should have taken public transit since it’s just a couple of blocks from the City College metro stop. Next time.
Speaking of time, enough time for a nap and to work on the Premium items to replace a couple of dupes and add six more items. I worry that we aren’t going to have enough time to print this beast in time for the event on Saturday night. We still don’t even have a final page count since I haven’t done the back matter yet. Oy!
Luckily Debbie, a high-school friend that I’d totally forgotten about until she tracked me down on FaceBook, was running late which gave me a little more work time after a much needed nap.
I’d picked up a bottle of wine for us, and grabbed a half pint of Jamesons when she stop for beer for her son – it seems that it’s going to be a family dinner with her two kids, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s daughter. A packed house with the couple of cats, couple of dogs, couple of birds – but she is looking happier than I’ve seen her on previous visits. The kid’s had dinner prepped and out of the oven by the time we arrived. Frankly, I had a lot more fun than I was expecting, and she does have a great view of the valley considering the social-economics of the neighborhood.
Back at the condo later, it was back to work. Damn catalog.
Got the catalog files this morning…. Cover, Front Matter, Amethyst Items ($300 ticket), Premium Items ($100 ticket), Back Mater, Back Cover. By 1:30am I had the Front Matter, Amethyst and the Premium laid out. Back Matter and Back Cover tomorrow.
This while tending to my chemistry experiments. The result of those experiments:
But before I could do that, I had to improve the control on the water jacket that cools down the distillate:
The nice about running this on a hotplate is that I just have to check on it every once and awhile, leaving me free to work on the damn catalog.
A nice lamb blade steak for dinner, and then right back to work.
Talk about Labor Day – missed the party at Drew’s place.
Another lovely Sunday at the shop – and not too bad money-wise.
Made even better by an offer for cocktails after work with Jim and Suze.
Home to a little Panko-breaded cod with a sorta slaw salad combo.
Still waiting for files to make the Great Art Party catalog… tick, tick, tick – the event is next Saturday and it needs to print on sloooooow printers. And we know how Wonderful deals with panic (not well).
Have I said that I’m Completely Bemused and Thrilled by your new steampunk household arts acquisition? Will you be hunting down the makings for grappa?
If it’s made with pears, isn’t it called perry?