August 2006 Archives

It is hop harvest time! I've learned 2 things: picking hops is a lot
of work but they smell great, and that I shouldn't smell them too much
because it sets off my allergies. I've got 4 kinds growing this year,
Chinook, Mt. Hood, Willamette, and some mystery hops Debbie's dad gave
me from NY. I got approximately three big bowlfuls (pretty exact huh)
and threw them all straight into a batch I just brewed. Using fresh
hops right off the vine is a big deal in homebrew circles because
supposedly you get extra flavors that you can't get from dried hops.

I'll call this beer "Mystery Hop, I think it's going to be pretty
hoppy cause I was just dumping them in by the handful.. and the beer
ended up a bit light so the hops will stand out even more. Maybe
someday I'll learn the origin of these hops..?

Here are some photos from our rafting trip we took yesterday, which
was great fun. It is a little hard to identify people but I'm wearing
orange in the middle-right side of the boat and Debbie is behind me.
It was a 10ft waterfall (class5) on the white salmon river where the
pictures were taken, although everything wasn't quite this exciting
there were lots of rapids to navigate. The water was 40degrees so we
wore wetsuits, serious lifejackets, and a helmet. There is a
"slideshow" button that can show the photos in sequence, which is
exciting because the boat completely dissapears at the bottom of the
falls...

http://www5.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?myphotos?a=315247&b=10201

Wheee! Hope you're all doing well.

I took Charlie on a hike the other day with Keith and Kendall, he got
a free ride for part of it. It was a nice hike, we should get out more
often.

Sorry I've not updated this in so long, it's just life gets so busy
sometimes. We're struggling with tons of work and planning a kitchen
remodel at the moment, and Charlie was sick the past couple days so
that's no fun for any of us. Fortunately he's getting better now..