The Erudite Mom Speaks...

Yeah, that'd be me, call it the three faces of Jenn.

Anyway, I just wrote a post on my daughter's blog Erudite Aspie, and rather than duplicate it here, I invite you to hie yerself' on over and read it there.

Erudite Aspie on the Hunt...

Summer School, Day 10

So...chatting with my daughter yesterday, she tells me it takes about US$75 to fill her car up with gas...so we're allocating today's paycheck to buying more gas in England, mebbe two tanks if we're lucky.

Now, I'd like to see as many of these as I can, but I'm thinking it's not gonna happen...

...this trip.

Erudite Aspie Rocks it Again

Go there.  Read it.  Yes.

Summer School, Day 9 (of 16)

Today's summer school bounty will go towards general fuel expenses whilst motoring about England and Scotland next month, it ought to get me about 3 tanks of gas or thereabouts, depending on how much Mark & Emily's car holds and how much it costs per gallon.

It might be for a day trip from Birmingham (where Mark's parents live)...

Birmingham collage

...down to the Salisbury Plain...

Typical Salisbury Plain (the one in England, duh) topography.

...to see Stonehenge...

Everyone knows what THIS is!

...or perhaps for a day trip from Hull...

Late 19th Century Hull

...to York...

York with the Minster in the center,

...maybe just to pay for the gas to and from the Manchester airport the four times I'll need to.

And this would be the Manchester airport.  

Whatever, it's paid for as of 1 PM today.

:)

More Beer Stuff?

Yes, yes, yes.

A couple days of summer school paid for this mess, and it'll be used for both mead and beer bye the bye.  Elizabeth is at Faire up in South Lake Tahoe today, and since she's not here to do the opening joy, I sent her a series of text messages documenting the Opening.

First...the doorbell rings.  I'm still in my nightgown, folding clothes in the laundry room.  Cooper whoofs.  I carefully open the door to peek out to see if it's the FedEx guy (or lady, I'm not choosy regarding deliveryman/woman gender ratios) without the FedEx guy (or lady) seeing me in my embarrassing state of dishabille.  I look to my left, I see the FedEx truck.  I look on the door, and see a sticker telling me I've a package on the porch.  I look ahead, and what I do see?  A BOX!  Yes, my order from Midwest has come, and it's tucked over in the corner over by the bush and behind the pillar where the FedEx guy (or lady) always puts it if I'm not home to take delivery.

Come to think of it, the UPS guy (or lady) does that too. Oh, how I love the FedEx and UPS guys (and ladies), as they always bring me something I want.  Unless it's something for Michael which I have to forward on to Norway, then it's not as much fun for me.  But I do get to at least open it, which is fun even if I don't get to keep it.

Anyway, this box is HEAVY, so I roll it into the house and get it upright.

Don't tell me that I can't roll something that isn't roundish, because I did it, thump thump thump.

Once I got it in the house I set it upright and scooted it into the kitchen/dining room area.  I did have a moment of crisis of conscience here,  because I knew that Elizabeth would be as excited to open this box as I was, and I briefly considered waiting until she got home tonight or tomorrow before opening it.

Only briefly, though.  My conscience is clear.

I grabbed a pair of scissors, cut the tape, and opened the box, which I clearly had opened upside down.  Yeah.  Story of my life, I tell ya.  But I'm nothing if not flexible and pride myself on my problem-solving skills, so I soldiered on in spite of the unfortunate start.

First I pulled out a brand new aluminum CO2 tank.  Glory!

Gorgeous.

Okay, it's not gorgeous, but I've wanted one for a long time, and it was on sale so I got it. I could have got a used steel one or the new aluminum, but giving my general state of wimpiness, I figured lighter was much better than heavier.

I dove back into the box, and voila!

I pulled out one reconditioned Corny Keg...

... and then the other!  And yeah, that's a beer kit there in the background.  It's for the wedding in August, we'll probably boil it tomorrow.

But CO2 tanks and Corny kegs don't work without all the magic fixings to connect them and make them work, so hopefully there is something else in the box...

There is! A box within a box within a box...etcetera ad nauseum.  But what could be in the box, sez I?

The anticipation is killing me...

Okay, not really, I knew what it had to be, and I was right, although this box was opened upside down too.

Feh.

There it is, all new and waiting to be hooked up.  Do I know how?  Absolutely not.

But hey, it comes with instructions, and Elizabeth and I will muddle around with it until we figure it all out and life will be good.  I did promise her I'd wait until she gets home for that part, at least.  I'm all noble like that an' stuff.

Will I make a blog post when we do that?  Probably.  I mean, duh.  This is a vanity blog. Of COURSE I'm going to bore you with useless ramblings.  Why else do you think I started this thing, anyway?

As an aside, I do shop extensively at my local homebrew shop, and although their prices are generally higher than Midwest, the convenience can't be beat, there's no shipping cost, and the people are really nice.  But they don't have everything and sometimes Midwest's price is lower even considering shipping, so I go there.

The nearest big place like Midwest is MoreBeer/Wine in Concord, and I order from them from time to time as well. It all depends on what I want, when I need it, and whether it's worth the shipping cost.

Busy Today...

...assorted chores and at my sewing machine making baby stuff to take to Norway.  I've a lot to do before I go, no time to waste blogging.

Heh™

I'll add more photos as it gets closer to being finished.  :)

Summer School, Days 7 & 8

No vacation jollies for these two days either, they're going towards the necessities of life.  Some days are just like that.

Next week we'll back to vacation dreams, I expect.  I hope.  :)