Pliny the Younger

Aparently in the world of beer there is a 'Hope Diamond' of beers - known as Pliny the Younger. Shaun and I tracked down this limited release brew at a pub in Alhambra, 38 Degrees. I enjoyed the Allagash beer flight, while he sampled the Russian River flight. The food was great - I had a 'Kaliwild' burger, hold the onions. It was a-ma-zing-ly good! Then we walked a little and went to see the latest 'Underworld' movie. Not a very good movie I'm afraid, but probably much less disapointing since we had a decent buzz going at that point.... Ah well, it was still a really nice grown-up day out!

South Pas Outtings

Aunt Pat and Carlean and Mia met Eli and I down at Abuelita's Yarn Shop in South Pasadena, at the Mission Street Station. They had a great sidewalk sale, and we all picked up a bunch of new project fodder.

After this, we walked across the street to a little boutique nursery. They had interesting plants and it was pretty. I think I will stick with Green Arrow for my veg, though.

Family Dinner

Before Matt and Jacinda and my mom and dad had to leave, we had dinner in the feast hall joined by Aunt Dee and Joan. Aunt Pat made salmon wraped in puff pastry, and we had a whole buffet of good things.

 

 

 Abigail and Zeph entertained each other. By the time he left, Zeph had a new word - "Abi!"

Tori Yen Dinner Party

One big family dinner at Tori Yen, our favorite little sushi joint out in the boonies of Tujunga. And you can even get chopsticks on training-wheels...

Adventures in Home Brewing!

I picked up a cute littel book in Urban Outfitters about small-batch beer brewing which, conveniently enough, used the same equipment that I had for mead. Shaun and I had picked up malt in Idaho over Christmas for a couple of the recipes but had left the yeast forgotten in a fridge, unfortunately. Well this week, I took my brother to the Eagle Rock Brewing Supplies Store and picked up some more, then enlisted him and Shaun to help me get a batch started. It took longer than I had assumed it would to start - about 4 1/2 hrs to get it through the first 4 steps: Mash, Sparge, Boil, and into the carboy for fermentation.

This recipe is called 'Rosemary Scotch' because of the added herbs and the use of a peat-smoked malt which gives a hint of scotch. Such a gorgeous amber color - I can't wait to try it in 4 weeks!

Opera for the Gr'ups

Uncle Bear, Aunt Pat, Carlean, Mom and Jacinda had a cultural afternoon out this weekend. They went to see Simon Boccanegra by Verdi. The costumes were reported to be superb - but I thought this party's attire was also pretty smart :)

Mission Station Outting

Matt and Jacinda and Zeph finally made it to California for a quick visit, even though the rain and snow had closed airports in Seattle and Portland in January when they had first scheduled the trip. We celebrated by making several outtings - the first to one of Eli's favorite Metro stops, Mission Station. Shaun, Abi, Eli, Papa, Matt, Zeph and I walked across the street from the station to Busters for ice cream and snacks. Zeph decided their ice cream was pretty good. He kept asking for 'more' !

Silk Scarf Dyeing

Aunt Pat had out her lanacet dyes and Jacinda and I got to do some test patterns on her blank silk scarves. Jacinda's were bold and beautiful - she's a natural!

 

Late Night

Abi got to camp indoors this weekend, since Matt and Jacinda are visiting. She didnt' mind.

Even Zeph thought it was a pretty cool clubhouse. He explored everything - even Router!

Matt and Shaun were busy trying to assemble their remote control helicopter toys the second night. Jacinda introduced me to a neat site called Pinterest, for posting images from online sites.

It's Official!

I am now Teryl J. Basinger, M.S., CCC-SLP! My membership cards for ASHA and CSHA came in the mail a few weeks ago, but I just got my certification ID card - my golden ticket!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our local bakery, Patty Cakes up on the corner of Allen and New York Ave's, has a great cupcake selection, and even does some specialty cakes on a large and small scale. I picked up this chocolate cake that I assumed would barely serve 6 of us for Valentines Day. We could have sliced it into 10 pieces and been happy - it was so rich!

In Bloom

The random fruit tree in our back yard is blooming! Very pretty, but what is it?