This past few days I have had the opportunity to drink copious amounts of New Glarus beers. To easy the tastings, they have a sampler 12 pack, four packs and large bottles.

Here's the run down so far:

Fat Squirrel Brown
Fantastic! My new favorite all time beer. Not sweet, but nutty, low in alcohol, and very, very drinkable. Great aroma!

Edel-Pils
A great Bavarian pils. Seems like a mix of new and noble hops. Crisp, with a strongish malt backbone. Nice!

Hop Hearty
A non-West Coast IPA. Similar to Summit IPA, but a little less bitter on the finish, less copper and a strong hop aroma.

Spotted Cow
Strong malt backbone. Yum. Fruity, yeasty esthers.

Organic Revolution
Fruity ale -- would guess it's made with a Lager yeast. Tasty, clean beer.

Road Slush
Great, astringent stout. Lots of chocolate notes, crisp, clean finish. Surprisingly tasty on a warm summer night.

Smoke on the Porter
Part of the unplugged series. This is a mildly smoked porter. I LOVE it. Would love to try a straight porter.

I'm pretty sure these guys can do no wrong -- amazing, straight froward beer. No "extreme" to be found, but incredible, style-true, tasty beers. The rest of the week will have me hunting down the Belgian Cherry, Bock, and tasting the Raspberry Sour I have in the fridge.

I also have a new favorite lager -- the Berghoff Lager. Really, really yummy -- fruity lager, with hints of the complexity of a steam beer. Old stand by's of Summt Extra Pale have kept me happy, too.

"Habitat", 32"x36",acrylic on panel,2006 painted by Bob Stang

And an important fact for this story, though unrelated, really, in topic is that we "let the yellow mellow" in hour house -- meaning, we don't flush after every pee.

ANYWAY.

I was shaking out several Turquoise Blue Gel capsules and one overshot my hand, and landed on the floor. We haven't cleaned that bathroom floor in weeks. So I picked it up and plunked it in the toilet.

A bout twenty minutes later I wondered where Liv was, so went looking for her. I found her just in time to find her about shoulders-deep in the really stinky, yellow pee bowl of the toilet. As I said "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING!" she jerked back, pulled her yellow/wet toilet-paper encased arms out of the bowl, holding a single, shiny turquoise pill in her hands, and said "Look what I found!"

That was a disastrous mess to be cleaning up when you have a 104 fever.

[cross-posted on Liv & Henry ]

Ahem, so I thought I sold a laptop on Ebay. I listed it, it was bought about 5 minutes later by a guy in Arizona. A few hours later, I got this:

Subject: MC143 A29 TKO NOTICE: Secure your computer -

Dear (me),

We recently learned that someone was using an account to bid on items without the account owner's permission. For this reason, we have canceled all bids on the following listing:

130218859721 - Macbook pro 15" 2.5ghz, 2 gb RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M

All associated fees have been credited to your account. Please note that we're working with the account owner to prevent any additional unauthorized activity.

Unfortunately, we're not able to automatically relist the above item for you. To relist the item, you'll need to use either the Sell Your Item process on eBay, or another listing service.

If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact us by clicking "Help" at the top of any eBay page.

I immediately went to ebay to view my message inbox, and this was a legit email. Ugh, they took the listing down, and I'd have to recreate, but whatever.

The next morning, I get this:

From: transaction_verification@AccountantEmail.com Subject: Notice: Administrative Technical Error

Dear (me),
 
This email is to inform you that our recent notification sent to you from eBay was a technical error.We are sorry for any mix up we might have caused both you and the buyer. We realized that the bid initiated from this account (metscot) was from the true owner.

If this person was the winning bidder for the transaction then the transaction in question should be reconsidered and completed. You must end the auction if the item have been re-listed.We therefore urge you to go and ship the item or take the necessary step if the buyer has paid for the item.

Thank you for being an asset to the eBay trading community. We wish you continued success with your transactions on eBay.

Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

Obviously ebay has outsourced the email support. So obviously, I sent off the laptop, no questions asked. Right? Right. No. No. No. Actually I didn't.

Then I get this email:

From: makingme03@gmail.com Subject: I won this item on eBay: Macbook pro 15" 2.5ghz, 2 gb RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M 130218859721

Dear Seller,i've purchased your item on ebay,i will be sending your payment via paypal shortly.Moreover,i want you to aware that am sending this item to a colleague and i will prefer it mail directly to his location so as to meet the need.Therefore ,i will like to know your shipping option and also its cost to the location provides below :

Name : Adebayo A.S
Address : 58/60 Awolowo Ave
City : Abeokuta
State : Ogun
Zip code : 121101
Country : Nigeria

Note : I suggest shipping via USPS Express Mail(EMS),it is cheaper and reliable.

Thanks and get to me ASAP.

to which I responded:

To: makingme03@gmail.com Subject: Re: I won this item on eBay: Macbook pro 15" 2.5ghz, 2 gb RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M 130218859721 Sure.

Shipping to Nigeria is 1 million dollars, plus 3,000 ducks, a small bus, two cars and three chickens.

The cars need to be Mercedes Diesel station wagons.

You can freight the above to 123 Main Street, Anytown, CA, 94702.

Thanks!

to which they responded:

From: makingme03@gmail.com Subject: I won this item on eBay: Macbook pro 15" 2.5ghz, 2 gb RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M 130218859721

What is the meaning of this! this is outrageous.

to which I responded:

To: makingme03@gmail.com Subject: Re: I won this item on eBay: Macbook pro 15" 2.5ghz, 2 gb RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M 130218859721 Hey -- have you not read the news?  The dollar's value has dropped significantly, and I need hard goods like ducks (ducks don't lose value). And 1 million dollars for shiping is my actual USPS express cost. Things are bad here, man!

Thanks!

I'm wating for the next volley.

So, music is a big part of our house, and we don't generally listen to distinct kids music (except for Music Together stuff and They Might Be Giants). We listen on the radio (KALX), XM (XMU), the car stereo, the ipod, and the computers. And I listen freely -- I don't sensor what we play, because for the most part naughty stuff didn't register. For a long while Liv's favorite song was Falling Through Your Clothes buy the New Pornographers -- which repeats "god damn" over and over. She loved Lily Allen's Alfie, which is about a teenage boy who smokes weed and masturbates in his room, and Vampire's Weekend has a chirped 'Whothefuckcaresaboutanoxfordcomma" which starts the lyrics to the semi-eponymous Oxford Comma. Oh, and who can forget Magnetic Field's Too Drunk to Dream's repeated use of "Shit-faced"?

At some point, and I hope this is a while off, she's going to ask me what all of this means. And then perhaps we'll need to talk about strong words and their place in Art and Music and not in casual five-year-old conversation.

All but a very few of these cars has some issues. I bought this as my first 2002, and I made some mistakes with the price I paid. I love this car, and it's super fun to drive, but I want to be perfectly clear on what the issues with it are, and I'm taking a loss on the car (the work, the parts and my purchase price). I have two kids and now I need a kid friendly car. I intend to be perfectly up front about what the issues on this car are, and make sure whoever buys it is in love with it, too. I paid too much at $5600, then put in $1900 at Bavarian Professionals. Asking $3200.

Answer #1"No, I didn't name it."

Had been maintained through Bavarian Professionals in Berkeley. I had my work done there, too. Interior in great condition. Still has that delicious horse hair smell. Carpeting, black, in OK condition. Seats, brown, in fine condition. Bus-size steering wheel. Front and rear seat belts. Extra set of tail lights (had intended to do the refurb job on them -reflective silver spray paint, etc. but then had a kid). Dash cover. Rear hat rack has two speaker holes (with speakers). No door holes. Fog lights mis-matched, but work well. Wired outside of harness for maximum fire safety. Has 10 foot paint job. Get many thumbs up on the freeway. No smog checks. It's exempt.

It's a pleasure to drive -totally linear acceleration. Takes bumps like a BMW, fast, leaving you in control.

Question #2 Rust?

Yes, there is some rust. Passenger-side rocker panel has significant rust. Shock towers are fine, some paint bubbles on rear hood. Also in common areas, around gas tank (though structurally sound). Bottom of doors.

Work I've done:

• Had transmission seals replaced.


• Stainless brake lines installed


• Rebuilt calipers, replaced rotors


• Flushed brake lines.


• Installed new trunk seal


• Installed hood liner


• Replaced thermostat. 75C.


• new hood roundel


• door latch sleeves


• new hood latch rollers


• New hood seal

Funny stuff:

• someone before me spray painted the valve cover silver. Obviously it's started to flake off.it seems to be original color, but clearly was repainted.
• has an engine block heater.
• Headlights. Wired in one circuit. May want to re-wire, or replace with HID.

Common 2002 issues and how they apply to this car:

• Dash. Yup, cracked. I have a carpet cover that fits reasonably well.


• Fuel gauge. Works. Bounces due to ground issue.


• Emergency flasher switch. Works.


• Wipers and washer. Works


• Turn signal switch. Works.


• Try the turn signal, and watch the temperature gauge. Bounces just like everyone else's. Minor ground issue.


• Horn. Works!


• Spare Tire Well -Minor Rust.


• Shock absorber towers. No Rust.


• Doors. Minor Rust along bottom on Driver's Side. Rust on passenger side.


• Seats -both flip up.


• Rear windows open. One does not latch.


• No drive train slack, recently had the transmission seals replaced, had the clutch checked and no issues.


• When releasing the clutch, it 's perfectly smooth.


• Car reverses smoothly.


• Backup lights, brake lights and turn signals all work.


• Rear defroster. Nope. Mine doesn't work either.


• Door Locks -work.


• Door brake -fine.


• Windows, all operational.


• Emergency brake, works fine.


• Heater/Heater fan. Works fine.


• Trunk latches, but you'll need a key made to lock it.

I haven't even heard it, yet I'm positive I'll love it.

Recipe:

4 Gallons Gravenstein Apple Juice (Santa Cruz)
1 Gallon Gravenstein
1/2 Gallon Apple/Cherry Blend
1 Packet Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast
3 Teaspoons Yeast Nutrient
1-1/2 Teaspoons Pectin Enzyme

I tossed this all in a keg and we'll wait until fermentation is complete, transfer to another keg and let it age. Depending on the tannins, I may add some oak chips.

In the future, I'd like to try Lalvin K1V-1116, which apparently many cider makers stand by -- it eats up all the bad bugs, and takes the cider to dry fairly quickly. I picked the champagne yeast, because it's similar to ciders produced in Brittany.

I picked Gravenstein apple juice for two reasons -- because it was easy to find and it's on the Acidic/tart end of the spectrum. I'd prefer to not end up with a super sweet concoction. I'd like to try the juice from the guy at the Berkeley farmers market.

I'm waiting to see what the results are, but this is WAY easier than my usual all grain brewing days.

I loaded up my stereo (still the carver/proton mix of hardware) and inserted a new CD I had been listening to in the car -- Blonde Redheads's 23. The initial sound I heard was an incredible let-down -- tinny, shallow, no imaging. And then I looked at my pre-amp and realized LIv has been twiddling knobs again. With everything reset, I started the CD again, and immediately noticed a world of difference between the Sony's and the Grado -- soft, quiet details emerged from the mix -- a much more open sound, where the Sony's sound closed and claustrophobic. I'd love to be able to side-by-side test the SR-80's or 125's, but these will probably be with me for the next three and a half years.

I realize now that the weight is actually a plus -- they're less noticeable when you're wearing them, and as you progress in a listening session, they pretty much disappear. Also, where the Sony's make you ears sweat (they do -- the seal is so tight) the Grado's just rest nicely without sealing on your head.

No on finding them: I bought these on Ebay -- haven't been able to find them available in retail for the last six months -- not sure if they are being phased out. There are usually at least a pair or two on Ebay every week.

Studio Tour.

I loved the warm nights f summer, with the sun setting still being able to walk about in shorts and a t-shirt. The sun sets at 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. I remember clearly mom walking around the yard picking weeds, tending to her flowers, giving the gardens relief from the day's heat.

I remember eating fresh veggies form the garden -- peas, green beans tomatoes and cucumbers.

Food is an important part of my memories of my mom. She loved cooking, never making just enough, but always making pots and pots of food that would undoubtedly end up in the back of the fridge with a thin layer of mold across it long after we were sick of eating it. I too, can't for the life of me cook for just my small family. We always end up with too much, and we almost always end up sick of whatever it was before we finish it off.

I remember her salads, garlicky from the fresh-cut garlic she used to season the bowl. The taste was always a surprise, hot on the tongue. Anyone who ever stopped by for a steak dinner will remember the salad, ever present on the table.

The things that I remember mom for that I wish I was half as good at always starts with her ability to always see everyone as a potential friend - she was mostly fearless in social situations. She never mistrusted anyone form the start, and she was always able to find common ground. Sometimes it took a while for her to thaw when she was thrown into new situations, but once she put her mind to it it would be tough to shake her. Once she was in your life, she was there to stay, with only a few exceptions.

She would try anything -- I witnessed her try water skiing, extreme rides at the state fair, new foods, hot peppers, and exotic concoctions and new dishes -- but please hold the sour cream, She wouldn't touch anything that shared the same plate with sour cream.

Her love of nature and nature's beauty. Hikes near lake superior, to Gooseberry Falls, along Baptism River, down south in Canon Falls, and along Ocean Beach in San Francisco. She loved to absorb local flora, stopping, absorbing. Her dinner plate dahlia's -- the biggest in all of Minnetonka -- we're some of my favorite of her cultivations. In the summers when I was young, she' arrange a bunch of flowers in garage sale-found vases and set me up on the corner, selling her arrangements, and let me keep the earnings. She just wanted to share her creations.

Her sense of humor. She could always find something funny in everything. She almost always stick her foot in her mouth, and there was almost always a good chance that she'd offend someone. She might feel bad about hurting someone's feelings, but she was almost never embarrassed. She'd just try to get the offended to laugh with her, so they could understand her good cheer.

She had a perpetual energy for everything and anything. She bought books on just about any subject, she'd leaf through or consume. She had hundreds of reference books on birds, flowers, accupressure, dieting, and spirituality to name a few.

I miss her ability -- or perhaps it was a need -- to use talking out loud to work through her thoughts. Talking, turning words and talking through it again. Anyone who had a conversation with her knows exactly what I am talking about.

Fashion sense of the 70's and 80's, applique sweatshirts aside (you really do need to set those aside, you should see the pictorial evidence we have), mom was a beautiful woman. You knew it when you saw her. No, I insist you take the applique sweatshirts out of the equation. Really.

She had perseverance. She went through so much (you have no idea), and always made it through. With only one recent exception. She just moved forward in the face of everything that was flowing in the current against her.

My daughter knows Grandma Connie in only a small way. A visit a few years ago, a week this past summer. Mom was having a hard time during our visit, but Liv just saw a source of fun projects, and the host of playhouse in the back yard. Just after Liv was born, Mom made Liv some blankets -- just simple fleece blankets with ribbon sewn along the edge. They were such an amazing source of comfort for Liv, Jenny and me. They were the only way we could get her to sleep on many nights. They're still used almost daily to wrap her friends, animals an cars to keep them warm and put the to "sleep." there are a source of comfort -- we even used them puke clean up. They are understated things, simple and comfortable , much like mom's meals, her gardens, and her house -- and just like mom herself.

It's been a hard few months,coming to terms with her death. It's occurred to me that I never properly grieved my fathers death seven years ago. A simple, meaningless comment from my cousin at her memorial reminded me that there are only four us us "Fowler's" left. And now we have our own families and our own priorities and our own traditions and our won direction. And I feel like it's a string direction, and my own family's traditions are strong ones. But I still can't help but feel a little untethered and orphaned without the ability and opportunity to learn from my mom actively, or to have my daughter learn about where I came from. But I guess I'll do my best in trying to mange all of that with memories and reminders.

Photographs taken by Dan in front of 3531 Steele, the house for part of my siblings youth and all of mine.