Ouch! That's Ugly

Jon is smiling even though he has a huge scratch on his face.

It wasn't a self-inflicted accident. If you know Jon you know that happens a lot.

It was Brighton! An ugly scratch on Jon's face via Brighton's fingernail.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, it's ugly. Brighton was so excited he grabbed Jon with all of his might. Jon's being a good sport. I think he is secretly enjoying his wound and potential scar. I think we need to stop and buy some Mederma.

A Fifth Month First

Brighton's First Swing Ride

He loved it. Thanks for the swing Dokters! We expect him to enjoy many more rides. Too bad the days of warm enough weather are probably over.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween!

I did something this year that I've never done before. I sent out a few Halloween Cards. It was easy and inexpensive, so it's my fabulous find for the week. (I only sent out a few, so don't feel bad if you didn't get one.)

I realized a few years ago that thanks to digital photography, Christmas cards are tons easier than they used to be. It came to my attention this fall that you can do digital photo cards for just about any holiday or for no reason at all. You can get photo cards at a variety of places. Sam's Club, Snapfish, and Kodak Gallery are just a few. I've received photo post cards and note cards from some of you - super cute. I know some of you that design and print your own - impressive. You can even make postage stamps with pictures on them now. I love receiving photo correspondence in the mail, don't you?

Saturday School

To all of our loyal readers, this is Jon. I have something post-worthy to share with you.

Lindsay gave me a gift certificate for my birthday to attend the brew school at Saugatuck Brewing Company (Saugatuck, Michigan). I drove to the brewery and pub before they opened on Saturday and met the brewers that make the delicious beer there. Barry is the president and head brewer, I asked about his background and after 20 years as a traveling salesmen, (tasting the local beer in more than 50 countries) he enrolled in a brewing college in Germany to learn the craft. He shared with me a wealth of knowledge and a whole lot of in depth science behind the brewing process.

First things first, I had to sample a variety of Saugatuck Brewing's beers and appraise them. I had in mind to make a classic American Pale Ale, so Barry made me a custom reciepe based on all of my input. I weighed four different grains(23.5 lbs) and ground them up. Then I steeped the grains in my assigned brew kettle. We weighed out three varieties of hops for bittering, flavor, and aroma. With the reciepe and a timer everything is added at the proper time. When the wort (unfermented beer) is cooled and settled, we transfered it to a fermenting vessel and before adding the yeast I measured the original gravity and sampled the brew. It tasted like sweet tea with hops. Right now my batch of brew is sitting in the kitchen of Saugatuck Brewing. In one week they will transfer it to a conditioning keg and after two weeks I go back to bottle it. I can make custom labels for the bottles, but I am struggling with what to name it, any ideas?