The top three are made of mahogany, and the bottom two are cherry, with brass on the right bottom one.

 

It's been cooler this past week, as if Cambridge has realised that it's autumn. I wanted to make hot mulled cider, so I gathered my ingredients.


Orange rind, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and assorted peppercorns.


I toasted the dry ingredients for a couple of minutes in an empty saucepan until the kitchen smelled like spices.


Then I added a half gallon of cider. Oops! This pan is a little too small.


Much better. I added a little bit of brown sugar, and brought it to a boil before adding the orange rind. Then I simmered it for a while.


In order to strain out the ingredients I put a cheesecloth over this pitcher, and poured everything in. It fit exactly. Then I removed the cheesecloth and poured it back into the pot.


A couple of orange slices for a garnish (who am I trying to impress? Just myself. Besides, I had the orange after using the rind).


A glass of hot mulled cider, perfect for a cool autumn day.

Ever since I moved into this apartment my silverware has been loose in the drawer because I couldn't find any commercial inserts to organise them. I finally decided to make one myself. I've put the first coat of stain on it, and need to give it a couple of goes with the sandpaper. I tried to be careful while gluing it up, but there are some bare patches because the glue sealed the wood.



Now I wish I'd taken the time to go with real dovetails. Oh well, once it's in place it won't really have a chance to come apart.

Well I took a week break from pushups, but decided to jump back into the middle of Week 2. I did column 3 (16, 13, 11, 11) and then did a final 25 pushups at the end! I'm definitely tired.

First of all, I don't recommend starting day 1 on the same day as you do the initial test to see how many pushups you can do. Ouch! Today I completed day 2: 12, 12, 10, 10, and then 14 pushups, all with 90 seconds of rest in between.

I came across the site One Hundred Pushups and decided to give it a try. My initial test was 25 pushups - already a quarter of the way there!

My friend T-Bird spent all winter living up at Sunday River, so PreDawn and I drove up to hang out with her. PreDawn hasn't skied in a long time, and I'm just getting into snowboarding, so it was a great opportunity for the end of the season. The day was warm, and the snow was like mashed potatoes, but at least that meant that when I fell it didn't hurt at all! I'm definitely getting more comfortable with going faster - I won't win any races yet, but there were a couple of areas where you needed to bomb down a hill so you could ride through a long flat traverse, so I had to just do it. We rode and skied all day, and it was tons of fun.

I went snowboarding for the second time ever today. After warming up a little bit I was starting to get the hang of it. I'm getting much better at toe side turns, and I still need to work on heel side turns, but I was making smaller turns, and not coming to a stop before each turn. Even better is that I didn't hurt myself this time - the last time I think I fractured my tailbone after falling hard on it twice. I definitely fell this time, but I was more graceful...maybe. Anyway, I fell better, and a lot of my falls were because I was pushing myself, not because I was just doing things wrong. One fun fall had me sliding down the mountain head first on my back. A few more times out riding and I might even get good at this thing!

The beer is bubbling away merrily. A little too merrily. The kruesen is workings its way into the airlock, and I've had to clean it twice. I hope I don't come home from work today with a mess all over the place.

A few years ago I brewed a Scottish 70/- (70 shilling) ale with malt extract. Today I decided to brew it again with all-grain, and while I was at it I changed the recipe a little bit, toning down the hops and making it a little less alcoholic (now it's a 60/- ale). It still has heather in it to give it that little je ne sais quoi.

5 lbs. pale 2-row
0.5 lbs. biscuit
0.5 lbs. roasted barley
0.25 lbs. peated barley
0.5 oz. Willamette (a Fuggles clone) hops (bittering)
2 oz. heather tips (aroma)
Target O.G. 1.035 / actual O.G. 1.030

Late last night, an hour before close, a kid sat at a table in my section. I'm not exactly sure how old he was, but I'd guess 18 at the most. Now this is a time when the restaurant was slammed with drunk idiots after the Patriots game, so I was getting a little frustrated at everyone. Then I saw this kid. He was sitting at a two-top with his back to the room, examining the menu. I approached and asked if I could get anything for him. He ordered a water, and asked timidly if we had baby back ribs.

"Oh yeah," I replied.

He broke into a smile. I asked what he'd like on the side, starting to list mashed potatoes, onion rings, fries. He interrupted, asking if he could just have vegetables. No problem. He'd been cautious before; now he'd discovered heaven.

When the food came he dove right in, and it wouldn't have mattered if the room caught on fire because he wouldn't have noticed. He was loving those ribs, and taking his time with them, savouring every bite. Finally he finished, and I dropped the check.

"Can I pay with my debit card?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course," I replied, and went to swipe it.

When I brought it back he motioned me closer. "I wanted to leave you a tip, and didn't know if I could do it that way."

I explained how to write in the tip on the slip. He thanked me, and I went about checking on the rest of my section.

I just loved that guy. He totally made my night. He also left me a great tip.