Nice huh?

Hopeful

With the warming trend here this week (temps in the 30's) some snow has started to melt. I have a three day weekend (MLK Jr day) and am hoping that the temps are warm enough for me to get the Guzzi Stelvio fired up and take a ride!

Lager goes to secondary

This evening I transferred the lager we brewed last weekend from primary fermentation (6 gallon white plastic bucket) to secondary fermentation (glass carboy).

It looks pretty good. Certainly much lighter in color than the ale we made last month, as it should be. It's is a golden color. Here are a few pics.

Can't a guy catch a few winks under his desk?

Just a couple more weeks.....

.....and we'll be tapping into our first home brew in several years, a hoppy ale. The chosen date is January 24th, during the NFC and AFC Championship games of the NFL.

I drew a little bit from each party pig tonight to check on clarity, head retention, color, smell and taste and I think we have a winner.

SnOmaha and a visit from the Shark

Just another snowy day here in Omaha. We are expecting 4-6 more inches of the white stuff and it is collecting on the ground as I type this. Worse though is that tonight and tomorrow we are expecting bitter cold (possibly down to -20F) and strong winds, creating blizzard conditions.

As I left to head home and brushed the 3-4 inches off my car I was dreading having to shovel the driveway and sidewalks at home. Imagine my surprise and delight when I turned into my driveway and the whole thing, sidewalk too, was already cleared of snow! Woohoo! I saw my neighbor out with his snowblower and suspected maybe he did it for me, but then I spied a clue left in the snow on my front stoop....the word "Shark" written into the snow! Haha my pal Mark "the Shark" Tolan had stopped by with his snowblower and did the whole shootin' match for me. Now that's a heckuva good pal! Thanks Shark! The pizza's on me at Oscars!

EMU to the rescue!

Ever since my move from Florida and my subsequent fall off the moving truck onto my right shoulder, I have been experiencing increasing pain and discomfort in my right shoulder and upper arm. I have decreased range of motion and sharp pain if I move the arm in certain ways. Additionally, in the morning I sometimes hear and feel what seems to be a clicking sound when I move the arm in certain ways.

I think maybe I have torn something in there that is supposed to keep things lined up and working smoothly. Luckily I have a great friend in Bruce the Spruce Goose, who recommended I try a product called Blue Emu. It's made with real emu oil (7%) as well as many other helpful sounding ingredients. I am supposed to liberally slather it on for a couple weeks. Prolly I will be healed by then. If not, I will whip out my Tiger Balm and then I will be better for certain.