New Job New Job New Job

I got a call back!

I got a new job!

I want to dance!

And sing!

And run around!

Dog Olympics

Lacey went to the Spirit of St. Louis Canine Games yesterday.

She had a blast!

She tried being a sled dog:


and did the agility course:




She got a "speeding ticket" for running 20 miles per hour.

Then she ended the day by winning a gold medal!

Interview today

I had an interview today.

I am excited about this one.



Now I have to jet to my "other job"...

Hop in the City

Dennis and I went to Schlafly's Hop in the City event today.

Mmmmm, beer!

We only made it about half-way through, sampling 16 beers. It is good to do this event with someone you don't mind sharing a glass with.

We find common ground in beers like the Imperial Stout and Spiced Porter.

Dennis liked the high alcohol Quadrupel, which I did not care for because it had a definite alcohol aftertaste. I liked the American Brown Ale, which he found too hoppy for his tastes.

Speaking of hoppy, the festival beer this year was an American IPA. Whoa baby, it tasted just like chewing on a sage leaf out of the garden.

Symphonic Dog

Lacey went to the symphony.



Classical music outdoors is a good thing.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra played a free concert in Forest Park last night. We had a nice picnic dinner and hung out with our dog. They played songs everyone must know, like the "beef commercial" song (Hoe-down from Copeland's Rodeo) and the "Bugs Bunny song" (Overture from The Barber of Seville). Oh, and the Star Wars theme too!

Then there were fireworks. Lacey jumped in my lap and hid her head in the crook of my arm for that part.

Router Reboot

For the next time my modem takes a dump:

Reset the modem by holding in the reset button on the back for 30 seconds.

Go to 192.168.0.1 and enter the set up wizard.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Success!

Not that I'll be able to access these instructions when the modem isn't working. That's why I've also written them with pen and paper and put them next to the computer.

What I'm Reading

I'm listening to The Canterbury Tales on my iPod. I don't think I'll ever read the book, I've failed twice already. This is my first book on tape on DVD going whoooo!

Five years

It's been five years since I quit smoking.

I haven't had a single puff since that day.

I don't think I'll ever start again, but I do still have cravings for my dear friends cigarettes sometimes.

Dim Sum & Ansel Adams

Dennis and I went out for dim sum at Mandarin House on Page. We had sticky rice, bbq pork rice noodles, some tofu in a wonderful savory broth, shrimp dumplings (har gow), almond jelly (which I absolutely love), taro shrimp fritters, mung bean cake (which Dennis couldn't get a taste for), and this yummy sticky rice flour ball that I think is called haam sui gok. It is sweet with a savory filling.



Then we went to the St. Louis Art Museum to see a gallery of Ansel Adams photographs. I can't remember ever being on the thrid floor of the art museum, which I find weird, but we were up there today.

Apple Butter

I'm making apple butter from the apples we picked Monday.

Start with about 5 - 6 pounds of apples.


Peel, core and cut them into chunks. Put into your slow cooker with 4 cups of sugar and spices. I've got about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves, nutmeg and allspice, and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt in mine.


Put this on high for about an hour to cook down some. Then switch it to low and set your timer for stirring intervals. I was up three times last night stirring this batch.


To finish, remove the lid and bump back up to high heat for about an hour. Whisk a few times to break up any remaining apple chunks and to remove more water. You can cook it down until it is the consistency you like. Remember it will thicken up a bit more as it cools.


I've got a mixture of Johnathon, Golden and Red Delicious apples. That's what is ripe right now.

Peach swirl ice cream

I had left over peach filling from my fried peach pies.

I made a six-egg-yolk vanilla ice cream and swirled some of the filling in.



My "swirling" technique needs work, but the taste didn't suffer. This is very rich and great!

Apple pickin'

Chris, my parents, and I went to Carlinville today.

We ate at Dairy Queen and then went apple picking at Broom Orchard.

DuQuoin State Fair

We went to the DuQuoin State Fair today.



Chris made friends with these two calves.



We ate a lot of good food and went into a lot of RVs on display.

Then we watched the World Trotting Derby. Chris learned how to read the racing programs and picked quite a few winners this evening.



I knew when they first announced a driver change that a new world record was unlikely. When they hit the quarter pole I knew it was not going to happen. It was still a good evening at the races.