Beer, Beer, Beer

Last October I went out to California to visit my sister. Each year I go out to visit and we drink this fabulous local beer called Pliny the Elder. When I would come back home I would look for it and never find it in the liquor stores. So on that trip last year I decided I needed to ship a case back to myself. One hundred dollars for the beer and $100 for the shipping later (and a little lie to the shipping store to get liquor mailed back to me) I had it in my living room!

But why would I go to so much trouble to get a case of some microbrewed beer to my house?

Zymurgy magazine, the official publication of the American Homebrewers Association, has released its ninth-annual list of the 50 best beers in America. To assemble the list, its editors ask readers to submit lists of their top 20 favorite beers.

Russian River's acclaimed Pliny the Elder beer won the top slot for the third year in a row. At least many of the others on the list (like Sierra Nevada) have strong national distribution. The top-ranked brewery, as measured by total votes for its beers, was Delaware's Dogfish Head. The brewery's highest-ranking entrant was the hop-heavy Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, which tied for third.
Here's this year's full list (with the ones I really liked highlighted):

1. Russian River Pliny the Elder

2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

3 (tie). Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

3 (tie). Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

5. Bell’s Hopslam

6. Stone Arrogant Bastard

7. Sierra Nevada Celebration

8 (tie). Sierra Nevada Torpedo

8 (tie). Stone Ruination

10. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

11. Stone Sublimely Self Righteous

12. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

13. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

14 (tie). Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

14 (tie). Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale

16 (tie). Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

16 (tie). New Glarus Belgian Red

18. North Coast Old Rasputin

19. Bell’s Expedition Stout

20 (tie). Deschutes The Abyss

20 (tie). Left Hand Milk Stout

20 (tie). Odell IPA

20 (tie). Samuel Adams Noble Pils

20 (tie). Surly Furious

20 (tie). Troegs Nugget Nectar

26 (tie). Rogue Dead Guy Ale

26 (tie). Samuel Adams Boston Lager

28. Anchor Steam

29 (tie). Bear Republic Racer 5

29 (tie). Ommegang Three Philosophers

29 (tie). Oskar Blues Ten Fidy

29 (tie). Three Floyds Alpha King

29 (tie). Three Floyds Dark Lord

34 (tie). Avery Maharaja

34 (tie). Dogfish Head Indian Brown

34 (tie). Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

34 (tie). Three Floyds Gumballhead

38 (tie). Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

38 (tie). Lost Abbey Angel’s Share

38 (tie). New Belgium La Folie

38 (tie). New Belgium Ranger

38 (tie). Oskar Blues Old Chub

43 (tie). Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

43 (tie). Great Divide Yeti

43 (tie). New Belgium 1554

43 (tie). Russian River Blind Pig

43 (tie). Ska Modus Hoperandi

48 (tie). Alesmith Speedway Stout

48 (tie). Dark Horse Crooked Tree

48 (tie). Green Flash West Coast IPA

48 (tie). Summit EPA

48 (tie). Victory Prima Pils
I couldn't find any of the Bell's beers. I'm still looking for someone I know who lives somewhere it's available!

If you'd rather have an import...here's their list of Top Imports

1. Rodenbach Grand Cru, Belgium

T2. Fullers ESB, England

T2. Guinness, Ireland

T2. Rochefort 10, Belgium

T5. Duvel, Belgium

T5. Saison Dupont, Belgium

T5. St. Bernardus Abt 12, Belgium

T8. Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Germany

T8. Cantillon Gueuze, Belgium

T8. Chimay Grande Reserve, Belgium

T8. Orval, Belgium

T8. Samuel Smith's Nut Brown, England

T8. Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Canada

Oprah Loves You

Agree with the Supreme Court decision or not THIS is funny.

I'm Melting - Already

Yesterday my Godson came by for "chore day". He did something he wasn't supposed to do. In order to repay me he spent the day with me doing household chores.
I had a list of things I wanted to get done for a while and thought it would be great to have him help me.

But cleaning out the garage in 102 degree heat just wasn't going to happen. I did however need to get the new wine rack painted - I wish I had chosen the blue now. Oh well...
It couldn't be done in the house and the AC so we opened the garage, turned on the ceiling fan out there I installed when we had lots of friends who smoked and weren't allowed to smoke in the house and we painted. I guess we really melted. Wow! We should have done our best Wicked Witch of the West imitation.

So as summer slams down on us all keep a few things in the front of your mind. Like how to recognize heat stroke and how to choose the best sunscreen and don't think that heat index is just another silly thing weathermen talk about - it's serious and can kill you.

Any advice you have for would be chore boys in this heat, leave in the comment section.

Redneck Beer Run

Steve is not too bright...he might be resourceful when it comes to transportation. But not to sharp when it comes to interaction with local police. You have to listen all the way to the end....he has a warning for the officer that concerns Steve's sweet wife.

Kids Are Wicked Funny

A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!
The kids responses are in blue

1. Don't change horses until they stop running.
2. Strike while the bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but How?
6. Don't bite the hand that looks dirty.
7. No news is impossible
8. A miss is as good as a Mr.
9. You can't teach an old dog new Math
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust Me.
12. The pen is mightier than the pigs.
13. An idle mind is the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's pollution.
15. Happy the bride who gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is not much.
17. Two's company, three's the Musketeers.
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and You have to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you See in the picture on the box
24. When the blind lead the blind get out of the way.
25. A bird in the hand is going to poop on you.

And the WINNER and last one!
26. Better late than Pregnant

Footloose and Fancy Free

These are my shoes.
I didn't pick them out. Pickle did.
I am no longer allowed to pick out my own tennis shoes (really any shoes) since the first time I got caught choosing an old lady walking shoe.
I don't really like tennis shoes that have a bunch of color or flashiness. I stand at work 99.9% of the time and need something comfortable. I wear different colored shorts a lot and don't want some wild shoes clashing with my plaid Bermudas. I am not a canvas shoe girl either. So yes, I pick out plain ol' white, indescript and appearantly really ugly tennis shoes.
So I am no longer able to choose my own. I am given a few options and can choose between those. Okay. I get it.
So the top photo is of the current tennis shoes I chose from several I could. They aren't what I would have chosen but at least they aren't these...or these.
Now I'm not ready to take back my footware choosing rights. It's really one less thing I have to worry about doing for myself. Plus when someone doesn't like them I can blame Pickle!

On the wedding trip one of my best, dearest and most honest friends commented they were the ugliest tennis shoes ever. I smiled and said I didn't choose them because I wasn't allowed to do that anymore. Whew! Deflection of ridicule is a good thing!

Then just the other day I was leaving a friend's house - a friend who is a marathon runner and owns 1000 pair of tennis shoes and works at a fancy smancy running shoe store. As I was walking down the steps of her place she commented how much she loved me shoes.

Doh!

Patiently Parenting

When you are the Aunt or the Grandma or the God Mom you tend to want all your time with your precious kids to be happy and carefree and without that nasty parenting stuff they get at home. It's my job to take him to baseball games and let him stay up past his bedtime.


Every so often I have to take a deep breath and be the adult. I had a couple of those moments this weekend.

The one where we discussed internet safety I want to share here. I'm hoping for kudos or advice on how to follow up.

My Godson needed to be warned that there are creepy people out there on the World Wide Web. And that he doesn't need to have contact with those people.


One of these is a 52 year old fellow that he has shared "comments" with concerning videos of him drumming on his YouTube account.

My Godson has become a pretty decent drummer for a 14 year old.He posts videos of him playing on his YouTube account. I'm proud of him and his talent and am thrilled he not only knows how to drum so well but that he has mastered the YouTube technology. I am not so happy about who may be viewing the videos and encouraging him.

So when I finally put the pieces together that this "encourager" was a 52 year old man in Phoenix who was a bar band drummer I put my foot down. I explained to my Godson that even though his "friend" on line might be a safe bet he needed to discontinue his visiting with him and block him immediately.

There was a bit of a fuss from him and much defense of his "friend" who was just being nice.

I explained that if this older man were someone that wanted to lure him to Phoenix he wasn't going to be rude to him...he was going to compliment him and tell him he could come to Phoenix anytime. And that if my Godson had any thought about running away to get there and see him he needed to put those thoughts out of his head immediately.

Why? I told him why in no uncertain terms.

Because I was not going to enjoy finding him buried in a shallow grave in the sand in Phoenix one day. And THAT was a possibility if he continued to talk to this older man online.

I was not going to spend years looking for him while he's locked in some guy's basement in Phoenix being abused or murdered. And that since it I was an adult who loves him very much, it was my job to explain this stuff to him and to try and protect him from harm.

Not everyone online was a good person and not everyone who asks to be your "friend' on Facebook is your friend. Not everyone who looks at your videos is someone that cares about how well you play the drums. Not everyone needs to know who you are or where you live.

I explained that he needed to go through his friends list and delete anyone who his Mama didn't know or that he had never met or talked with in person. And that if he didn't whittle his friends list down from near 800 to 600 in the next couple days, his Mama and I would either delete his online accounts or stand over his shoulder and go through - one by one - his list of contacts until we felt comfortable with it.

How'd I do? What else should I do?

You Can't Fix Stupid

A friend sent me these actual newspaper clippings. I thought I'd give us all a laugh!











And my most favorite because I am a little sister...

Semi Retired Social Drinker

That's what I tell people I do for a living. Yep.
I'm a semi-retired social drinker.
I remember how my grandparents planned for so long to retire and travel. They talked of buying the RV and seeing the country. Grandpa retired when he hit 65 and a few years later Grandma retired early at 62. They were ready to go!
Then Grandpa had a heart attack and died. Grandma never got her RV or her tour of the coutnry with him.
As I went through life and advanced in my career I thought often about taking her on those trips. But I was working - a lot. And as my career moved on to bigger cities and more demanding positions I finally forgot to think of those travels not just for her but for myself.
Seven days a week, 12-16 hours a day with no holidays off and obly a couple weeks vacation a year made trips tough. I watched friends make road trips on three days weekends and wondered what it would be like. I longed for the day when recreation was more than an event my job sponsored.
Then one day I was downsized from the job I had given up so much of my life to do. I never looked back. It was time to be a semi-retired social drinker.
So yes, I do work part time and I do squeek by every month on those part time wages. But ya know...I get to see stuff like this.

And drive through country that looks like this and fly to places where I can sit and watch birds and people I would never have gotten to see if I hadn't decided to not wait. If I decide to wait will the person I love and want to share it with still be able to go? Will I be able to walk or see?

What if Grandma and Grandpa hadn't done the "right" thing and waited to retire and buy the RV? Would the photo I post here be from their trips as well as mine? Probably.
I know not everyone can do what I have done. Decide at 40 to work part time and put a few trips on credit cards and pay them off over time. Many have kids or jobs they don't want to leave. But me? I'm pretty happy heading out to California once a year to visit my step sister and home to visit family and friends and take off for a weekend in San Antonio or South Padre.

The social drinker part is just gravy! Especially when it happens at a jazz brunch in New Orleans!

Get Out And Live

After yesterday's post about how my Mom prepared me for life by making me learn to drive in big city traffic, I think this open letter to the youth of today is appropriate not just for the young but the young at heart!

Ben and Kristin's "Secret Life"

I bet you recognize Kristen Wiig (left) -- in spite of the aging makeup job she's donning to make her look like an elderly woman. But who is that to her left? Believe it or not it's Ben Stiller. Wearing a mask of wrinkles and age spots, glasses, and silver hair with a receding hair line, Stiller is simply unrecognizable.
While also wrinkled, Wiig, 38, can still be deciphered as she wears an emerald over coat and matching hat. Both comedic actors were spotted on the set of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" as they filmed in New York on Wednesday.
Stiller, 46, is also directing the film, about a shy and imaginative photo editor who is forced out of his daydreams and into a real-life adventure when a negative winds up missing. (Photo: Angela Weiss)
"The Secret Life," due in theaters next year, is a remake of a 1947 film of the same name, which starred Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. And from the look of the wardrobe style on set, the remake will also be set in the '40s. (The story originally spawned from a short story by James Thurber.)
The new "Secret Life" also stars Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn.

Teach Your Daughter To Drive In The City

When I was a newly minted licensed driver my Mother never visibly flinched when I wanted to take off for "the city". The city being Kansas City, the largest metropolitian area near our little home town.
I thought it was fabulous that she allowed me to take my little 1976 Pacer X and head off for adventure. Off to Worlds of Fun I and my friends went. Off to KC Royals games we zipped on weekends. Off to the big city.
What I thought was just a very cool thing my Mom was letting me do was a very calculated plan to prepare me for life.
Many years later I found out Mom overrode my Father's objection to me driving into the city on my own. Why? Because she was determined I learn to drive in big city traffic. She never wanted me to be afraid, never wanted me to have to rely on someone else to drive me around and she sure as hell never wanted me to feel as though I was not capable of anything. The rush and crush of the traffic shouldn't be fearful. The thought process I'd need to navigate should be instintive. And the independence I'd have from mastering something as basic as driving in big city traffic would serve me the rest of my life - in so many other areas.
She was right.
Mom never learned to drive in traffic much bigger than her small town. I have seen her drive in busy traffic and honestly she is nervous, indecisive and frankly in over her head.
My Mom taught me many things. But one of the most useful was allowing me to learn how to handle whatever life may throw at me by making me learn to drive in rush hour traffic. At the time, I didn't know I was learning how to overcome most any crisis I'd encounter later. Those are the best lessons.
Thanks, Mom.

Listen to Radney Foster!!

I love love love me some Radney Foster and I am never ashamed to share that information or music and news from him.

“‘Don’t Say Goodbye’” is one of those bluesy songs that you can take a lot of differrent directions. On the original, we took it in a Waylon Jennings direction. When I play it live with the band,  I’ve been doing it really Stones-y.
But when we were doing this album, sitting in a room with just acoustic intstruments, it fell into a world I couldn’t even imagine. It got spooky and cool really quick. I just love the way it turned out. Listen and let me know what you think.” –Radney

Del Rio, TX: Unplugged and Lonesome comes out August 14, but you can pre-order here. And check his tour dates for one near you.

Going Postal

Houston as we know is a very international city. That's one of the things I most love about living in such a large metropolis. Every so often I am vividly reminded of that fact.

I had to go into the post office near my office yesterday. Usually I can just drive through and drop off mail. Yesterday, however, I was mailing some wedding photos to my Mom in a big ol' envelope and had to stand in line inside.

As I was standing there counting the minutes of my life I'll never get back; I started listening to the people around me. Two women were speaking in an African dialect, the woman in front of me was talking into her cell phone Borg ear mic in an Asian language, the woman behind me was talking on her cell in a different Asian language and the man at the counter was on his cell phone speaking in Spanish. Then a man came quickly through the door and directly to the counter. With a very thick Arabic accent he was demanding that the post office employees move their cars so his delivery trucks could park where they were.

The post office employees said that was their assigned parking and they wouldn't move them. He insisted a bit more forcefully and the entire post office business came to a skreeching halt. For almost 10 full minutes all other conversations came to a stop as we listened to the three tellers and the neighboring business owner with parking issues repeat the same things over and over.

"You must move your cars as I need to park my delivery trucks there to load them!"
"No, they're our assigned spots."
"We've parked there for years and the other owner of your business never had trouble loading his trucks."
"You need to take it up with the building management as these are our assigned spots."

Rinse - repeat.

Soon the appearant post office manager came out and directed the parking spot wrangler outside to show her what it was he needed. Whew! Now we can get our packages mailed.

No, the three tellers had to keep talking about what just happened and how they were determined not to move their cars until they were assigned other spots and that they didn't want those spots to be too far away because they weren't gonna walk around to the back of the building in the dark. (Like the post office is ever open when it's dark.)

Good grief.

Finally the African American woman who was next in line shouted, "Can ya'll get back to work now and let us get on with our lives?" She finger snapped and head bobbed and without missing a beat the tellers went back to their windows and we got on with our lives in the big city.

Wal Mart Bingo Card

Okay this is just funny. Make a few copies for your next Wal Mart visit.

You Dropped This

Remember this ad from 1970? I remember it vividly and it changed my life. I became much more concerned with the environment and my ability to keep it clean.

As an 8 year old kid it was empowering to know there was something I could do to change the world.

Don't litter it!

Even to this day I am careful not to toss stuff out my truck window and I've recycled for almost 20 years. No, I'm not out saving the oceans or sleeping in trees to keep them from logging. But I do what I do and every so often I am reminded it's so much more than many.
Monday I was walking out of the grocery store..with my re-usable grocery bags! I was loading them into my vehicle when I noticed the guy in the car parked next to me.
It was a small car and the window was down and the music was fairly loud. A young man, maybe 25, poked his hand out the open window and dropped several pieces of folded up paper.
They nearly hit my feet so I'm glad it wasn't a partially consumed soda.

It was one of those moments that instinct kicked in because you never know how someone will respond when their personal space is invaded these days. But I took the chance and reached down and picked up the papers. I dropped them back inside his car window and said:

Here, let me get this for you.

He may have dropped it back out the window after I pulled away.

But then again he may think twice about the strange middle aged woman who threw his garbage back in at him at the HEB.

Really Can't Do Math

The other day I started to do some short division, Ya know actually divide a number by another number on a piece of paper with a pencil. When was the last time you did that? I can't remember the last time I did. And ya know what? As I wrote down the math problem on the paper and started to work it I realized... I had completely forgotten how to do a division problem. I stood and looked at the numbers on the paper and laughed. Sad, embarrassed laughter. Oh my lord...I have no idea how to do this anymore. It has begun. I am now in the moving stuff out of my brain stage of living. Obviously I don't need that info anymore but it did seem like I should have recalled something so basic.

I got out my smartphone and used the calculator.

Because Laughing at Stupid Never Gets Old

And my personal favorite because he's not only a "moran" BUT A Cardinal fan...