Hot Cup of Dickens Cider

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Sunday, Izzy & I met up with aunts & mom at the Cow Palace to go to the Great Dickens Fair… where they turn that space into turn of the 19^th century London but with slightly less child labor and definitely better conditions… because they have cinnamon almonds. Dozens of potteries, craft stores, haberdashers, cobblers, psychics, jewelers, clothers, and other various trades of the time… and a few choice food establishments offering meals ranging from meat pies, bangers & mash, fish & chips… to gyros, hot dogs & pasta. You can even enjoy some hot mulled wine (if you are looking to punish yourself) but there was also some Lagunitas handy. Hundreds of actors & patrons dressed in Victorian garb, yelling to show off their Renaissance Fair barking skills in Cockney accents, “Happy Christmas!” everywhere you turn, what’s not to love? We had a fun time trying the fares, Izzy bought a nice clay mug, good times. Here are some pictures…

 

 

Monday night was our CHAMPION Softball Team’s celebration party at Jillian’s and it was a lot of fun… a few drinks, some billiards, some great appetizers, catching a little football, pro basketball & college basketball… good times… here’s the team photo…

 

That’s really about it with the early week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday… but there will be plenty of pictures & stories from that. Also, this weekend is our first trip to & being a part of the Treasure Island Flea Market, so plenty of stuff coming from that experience as well. Until then though, have a great Thanksgiving everybody!!! And THANK YOU for reading!!!

Thanksgiving 2014

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

This year, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Aunts' house... and it was good times... there's really all there is to say about that... great food, great peeps, great times...

Izzy worked from 9 PM to 5:45 AM overnight... so after she took a quick six hour nap, we headed to the Dickens Fair at the Cow Palace... so there was plenty of Christmas merriment in good ol' Londontown... here are some pictures...

Can you spot the Jeep?

I'll give you a hint... it's not blue, white or grey...

Saturday, Izzy's sister Tess came by to visit... so we had some Caspar's hot dogs... and then we went to the family storage facility/house... and we found some more of Izzy's My Little Ponies... so our Saturday was taken care of. Okay, really we went and watched a few movies and stuff... but still... here are pictures...

Sunday morning, we brewed one of our favorite beers, the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter perfected by Heretic Brewing. This recipe is very similar to past porters... but this recipe called for a LOT of cocoa powder (half pound for 5 gallons) and then some hazelnut extract when we bottle in a few weeks... and she also made some wonderful chocolate sourdough muffins... so here are pictures...

 Hot sweaty delicious sacks of goodness...

 #homebrewselfie

We also transferred our Beet Pale Ale to secondary... and it actually looked pretty red/purple compared to originally thought, so it looks like it might be going out pretty well... here are pictures...

 Harvesting our own yeast from the Beet Pale Ale...

Gonna try it with the next batch that we make...

Fingers crossed...

Anyway, that was really the weekend... and there are a few movies but that'll probably come later this week... hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend... and make sure that you tell all the important people in your life how important they are to you & that you love them... because you never know when they'll be gone. Fact. Have a great weekend everybody!!!