Craziness

Things have been a little nuts lately. Some highlights:

Geek Boy cut down a tree yesterday. He then told our neighbor that he was putting Miracle-Gro around the the stump in the hopes it would come back. That's because she laughed at us last year when we said the obviously dead tree might still come back.

Even though it's not necessarily their "signature beer," I think New Belgium's Trippel is their yummiest!

Our most recent cooking club theme was chocolate. Early responders took the dessert or mole option, so I needed to find something that could be a side dish. Strange as it may sound, roasted parsnip and vanilla chocolate soup is quite tasty.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Cranford, can't believe how Torchwood ended, and will go nuts if I don't find out soon who the fifth is.

Oliver Wyman may have just become my favorite audio book narrator. I'm even enjoying him more than Jim Dale. (Which reminds me...is Pushing Daisies coming back?)

I have a big meeting tomorrow afternoon, and forgot to get my hair cut last week. I'm heading into deranged poodle territory, and my hairdresser is closed today. So, I may have to go to a drop in place, which has never been a problem before, but this time there will be no wiggle room.

Very little knitting has been done.

B Is for...

...Beer.

(Please don't say this surprises you.)

I sometimes feel funny about my beer snobbish-ness. There's something very high-falutin' sounding about going to visit a winery or going to a wine tasting. But a brewery tour or beer tasting just makes you sound like a lush. Probably a hold over from way back when, when those who ruled were from the wine-producing countries like France and Italy, and those up in the malt-growing, beer producing area were the "worker bees."

It's something that I enjoy and I'm learning not to apologize for it. Sometimes I get to use my beer knowledge for things like impressing my uncles. Like yesterday when my uncle was talking about a case of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA someone gave him for his birthday. I suggested he savor it, since the hops shortage means it may not be around for much longer. My mom just shook her head. "It's hard enough to see you drinking beer. But now you're an expert."

I don't drink a lot of it, rarely more than one or two in a sitting, but I drink what I enjoy. Monk's Sour Flemish Ale is right at the top of my list. Along with Dogfish Head Peche (once again, thanks, Tina).

We took a tour of Flying Fish Brewery in New Jersey yesterday. Lots of fun. The guys who own it are very down to earth and make a great product. I've always liked their Abbey Dubble (Belgian beers are always a favorite). One of their current seasonals is the 4-pack pictured, Imperial Espresso Porter. It's delicious. Roasty with a little coffee and chocolate flavor. It almost matches the memory of the holy grail of beers (we need another trip to Toronto).

Most interesting thing I learned yesterday, and a good reason to continue my affection for small breweries, Flying Fish employs Goodwill workers for all of their package assembly. They send all of their packaging materials to a local Goodwill employer and the people in the program put together the boxes and carryalls. It's not a huge thing, but it's nice to know they look for ways to be part of the community.

We'll be heading to a mid-winter brew fest in a couple of weeks, and even managed to score tickets to the Meet the Brewers "after-party." Can't wait for that. In the meantime, I'll head down to the cellar and see what's good for Super Bowl watching.

Things That Warm a Knitting Beer-Geek Girl's Heart

So, when last I posted to this blog, I had just had the meal of my life at Brigid's. Well, on Monday, the Geek Boy went back (without me *sniff* I had a work meeting). On Monday nights they have a beer tasting in their upstairs room, and he stopped in to find out how they did it and if we could arrange an event there. He only stayed at the tasting for a little bit, then it got crowded and hot, so he made his way down to the bar for a little something to eat before heading home.

While sitting at the bar, the guy next to him struck up a conversation, asking what he had tried and what he thought. Geek Boy mentioned a few beers and said he was particularly impressed with an offering from the new Dock Street. Good answer. Apparently Random Guy at the Bar was their brewer. It seems that when Brigid's offers these tastings, many of the brewers hang around. So, not only did I miss a trip to my new favorite place, I missed a chance to meet some well-known local brewers.

So, how did this warm my heart? One of them, who happens to be from the brewery that makes on of my top two favorite Saisons in Philly, commented on the Geek Boy's scarf.

(Pardon the crappy photos...I'm never home when it's light out these days.)

He told him it was custom made for him. Brewer guy thought it was very cool. Brewer Guy thought my knitting was cool!

And this comes just two weeks after another random compliment.

Last spring when we went on our cruise, I made myself a pair of Peekabook Mittens. And they were great. Kept my hands warm on deck, but I could easily pop my fingers out to take pictures. On our way home, Geek Boy asked me to make him a similar pair, but "the kind with fingers and the mitten part over the top." So, I made him a pair back in October out of Socks That Rock mediumweight.


So, a couple weeks back, Geek Boy goes into the coffee shop one morning and the guys there comment on his gloves, wanting to know where he got them. He told them they were custom made (I love the fact that he refers to his hand-knits as "custom-made," one of the 16 gazillion reasons I love him). Apparently, that morning they were having a conversation about convertible mittens, and were trying to decide if they were manly enough to be cool. These were. I wonder if I can work a deal with them to make them all mittens in exchange for a year's worth of free coffee. I think we'd make out in that deal.

Most Amazing Meal...EVER

So, this past weekend, Geek Boy and I headed to the Art Museum with some friends for a scavenger hunt. What a blast. If they are in your area, grab a bunch of friends and go! It was well organized and so much fun.

After the hunt, Geek Boy and I decided to head over to a new-to-us beer bar. We've known about it for a while, but we don't venture downtown very often. That may change. Brigid's is a small little bar in the middle of a Fairmont Park neighborhood. Parking is tight, and we lucked out with a spot right across the street (bonus, it's a neighborhood, so no parking meters). They describe their cuisine as "homestyle." But your mom would have to be Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Alton Brown all rolled into one to have this kind of homestyle food. The menu isn't extensive, printed on just one side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. And you have to order everything at once; no ordering an appetizer while you decide what you want. We went all out, ordering appetizers, entrees and desserts. When the waitress stopped by to ask how we were doing I pointed at my empty plate and told her that first, I never eat all my vegetables, and second, I would never order this type of entree anywhere else again, because it will never be as good. Apparently this made the chef very happy.

Brigid's is also a great place for beer. They have a great selection of bottled beers from around the world (especially Belgium). On tap they had some local stuff, Victory and Troeg's, as well as some new-to-me stuff. I had a tripel, the name of which I can't remember, and it was very tasty. Then I ordered a Blanche de Bruxelle--somehow, wheat beers have grown on me this summer. Geek Boy also had some great stuff, but I can't remember what they were (reminder: charge the Palm Pilot and actually carry it with you!).

We're already planning to take my folks there for dinner one night, and to get our good beer friends to try Brigid's brunch with us. This has become my hands down favorite restaurant in Philly. If you're inthe Art Museum area, definitely check it out. Hey, it's even made Philadelphia Magazine's list of 50 best meals under $50 (for two). (The Grey Lodge is also on that list...another great beer place in Philly.)

As for knitting...I finished the raspberry tomato.


Obviously, it needs to be blocked. I'm hoping to have it ready to wear when we go to Tria this weekend with some friends. The Mission Falls Cotton went the distance. I didn't have to dig into the "2nd dye lot" skeins. To make it last, I decided to do the neck edging in a different color. I also really liked the look of doing the last two rows of the edging in a different color. Kinda wish I had thought of that before I bound off the bottom. Oh, well. I still really like it.

Drinking Our Way through Belgium, Eating Our Way Through the Village

Geek Boy and I have had some fun culinary experiences this week. When we took the class with Lew Bryson at the Fermentation School, we put ourselves on the waiting list for the Belgian Beers 101 class. Tuesday afternoon, Geek Boy got a call that two spots had opened up. So, Wednesday night we headed back downtown (driving this time, since it was close to 100 that day). The class was led by Volker Stewart, one of the founding owners of The Brewer's Art in Baltimore. He offered a great selection of beers and lots of great information about the brewing tradition in Belgium.

Most interesting was a conversation we had before class. Geek Boy mentioned that we had been to Lew Bryon's class and Volker mentioned that he and Lew had similar career paths. They had both started out as librarians! I think I may have a new career goal.

Today, Geek Boy faced his fears about public transportation and New York city. We headed to New York and met up with some friends for a food tour of Greenwich Village. Oh, it was so good. We got to sample several pizzas, Italian pastries, cookies, cheese and olives, bread, olive oil and gyros. We came home with fresh coffee and some great olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

We got there a little early, and came across this place:


Too funny.

The train ride was great for getting some knitting done. And I did take some photos of the sock on location (our friends actually got the point of saying, "Hey, you need a picture of the sock here!"). Pictures will be posted when the pattern is ready.

Some other random bits. A big thanks to Tina for her suggestion to try Dogfish Head's Festina Peche. I was out with my mom yesterday, and we stopped at the best beer distributer within driving distance in our state. And they had a variety pack of Dogfish Head. I came home and put a bunch in the fridge right away. I'm not a big fan of their IPAs (I'm not a big fan of IPAs in general...the intense hops flavor makes them taste like potpourri to me). But this is wonderful. A great hot weather beer. Thanks, Tina!

And if you're looking for a reason to tip one back, or just take a swig of whatever is most refreshing to you, head on over to The Fairy GodKnitter, and read her beautiful tribute to her neighbor. It's late and it's been a long day, so I'm just having a Vitamin Water in Norma's honor.

Learning to Think Like a Blogger

I'm still relatively new to this blogging thing. This blog has been around for a year, but not until Summer of Socks started did I get down to really posting on a somewhat regular basis. So, I don't think in terms of an event's blogability.

For instance, Geek Boy and I like our beer places and beer events. So we were quite excited to see a Session Beer class at Tria, given by Lew Bryson. After a winter of big beers, we've been enjoying some quaffing beers, such as Booklyn Brewery's Summer Ale and Saranac's Beers of Summer. So, we were all over this class.

Tria puts on a nice class. The room is cozy, without being crowded. And the "tasty snacks," were indeed, quite tasty (can't wait to try and make my own fennel almonds). Lew Bryson was a riot. And is very devoted to session beers. The definitions offered of session beers always came down to drinking between 6 and 10 beers in an outing. I can't fathom that. But then again, I have slightly less body mass than Mr. Bryson.

Anyway, there were seven beers offered throughout the class. Some were okay. Nothing terribly exciting. Some were "old hat" to us, like Troeg's Summer Pils. Two were stand outs for me. The first was "1809." A little sour, but in the way that I really like a beer to be. Geek Boy noted that it is similar to my favorite beer, Monk's Sour Flemish Ale. The other was LindemansGueuze, an unfruited lambic, made by combining old and young lambics. Even without the fruit, it's still a rather sweet beer, but not in a cloying way.

Best of all, it was a nice evening, weather wise, so we walked from Penn's campus to the Fermentation School.

Before the class started, we were noticing all the beer geeks with their cell phones out, geeking away, including one iPhone...my first spotting of one in the wild. Even Geek Boy was in on it, playing his favorite cell phone game. Me? I had knitting in my bag, and worked on that while waiting for class to begin. I also happened to have Geek Boy's digital camera with me (still in my bag from Monday's outing with a friend from college and her twins, Thing One and Thing Two). Only after we left, did I think what a great location shot I could have had for Summer of Socks. Either the sock enjoying being surrounded by beers, enjoying fennel almonds, or, if I was really brave, Cable Rib Sock meets Beer Guy.

Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Weekend Fun

Lots of fun stuff this weekend.

Friday

Geek Boy and I escaped from work early with the intention of taking part in Friday the Fikenteenth at the Grey Lodge. We had gone years ago, before the Grey Lodge was so firmly established as a beer bar. It's been a really long time, apparently, because the crowd was out on the sidewalk. When we turned the corner and saw the crowd, we decided to go with Plan B. (Geek Boy and I do not do crowds.)

So, we did a weird loop and got back on 95. Luckily, shore traffic in our direction wasn't that bad. And we got off downtown and headed in the direction of our favorite Blegian bar, Eulogy. However, Triumph Brew Pub had recently opened a new location just across the street. So, we decided to head to Triumph for appetizers and sampler, and then to Eulogy for dinner.

Triumph's calamari is great. Their beer, like the beer in New Hope, is okay. We first found Triumph at a brew fest a few years ago, where they had brought their Jolie Blonde. And that was fabulous. They have never had it on tap when we've been there, and the rest of their beers just don't live up to the hype in my mind. I will say this, though. This was the first restaurant I've been to that has a unisex restroom.

Eulogy, however, never disappoints. The waiter did not laugh at me when I told him I couldn't remember the real name of the beer I wanted, but it translated to "Mad Bitch." Dulle Teve. And it was just as wonderful as I remembered. Their food is great too.

Saturday

I have started a new Saturday morning routine. I sit on the front porch listen to Car Talk and knit. This is he most relaxing part of my weekend. And I've been getting lots of progress done on my Cable Ribbed Socks from Favorite Socks. This was last Saturday's sock

Fret likes to help

And here's where it is this week.



This is my second pair for the summer of socks. I'm not setting any records, but it's good progress for me. I'm just four rows away from turning the heel. Unfortunately, the color does not allow good pictures of the cables. I did start this using Grumperina's method of cabling without a needle, in keeping with my attempt to try something new with each pair of Summer of Socks socks. However, this cable is a little different, in that you don't knit the held stitches in the normal order, so the new technique did not save any time. But the next pair of cabled socks will definitely use it. It's not as scary as other techniques I've seen.

Our niece, Chickpea, turns four this week. So we had her birthday party yesterday. Her mom invested in a slip 'n' slide for the occasion. But four year olds don't really grasp the "running start to slide head first" concept. The girls very dantily walked through the spray of water. Except Chickpea. She ran, and often slipped to fall on her butt at the end. It was very fun to watch.

Meanwhile, our nephew Geek Boy, Jr. (because he looks like a little version of his uncle) just gets cuter every time we see him. His new thing is the "boy growl." Everything he does is accompanied by a gutteral roar. I nearly fell over laughing while he carried his little bike up a hill and grunted with every step.

After the party we headed to Franklin Fountain for an ice cream party with some friends. I'm not a big ice cream person, so I didn't have anything, but, oh my goodness, the concoctions are amazing. If you're in the Philadelphia area and want a good ice cream experience, head down to Market Street.
Sunday

Today is the big day. We're going to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I can't wait. It's all leading up to next Saturday.

Meanwhile, I've started listening to The Book Thief. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite books of all times. The writing is just incredible. I find myself rewinding to listen to paragraphs over and over. When he describes the foster father and "the sheer brute force of his gentleness," I fell in love. Ive only just started, and hope that the author sustains this beauty through the end. This is also one of those books that I think is enhanced by listening to it. The narrator, Allan Corduner, brings the whole thing to life.

Friday Eye Candy

I can't imagine anywhere but Philadelphia...


...where straight men will dress in sequined costumes and march in a parade.

If you're not from around these parts, this is a small contingent from a Mummers String Band. After New Year's Day, they make appearances at smaller venues. From what I understand, if you didn't grow up around here, it just doesn't compute.

Photos from our little borough's Fourth of July Parade.

Now for a nice relaxing evening with the Geek Boy. Season 3 of Dr. Who starts tonight. And I just got a case of Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale. We haven't had this before, but Garrett Oliver has never let us down before.... And after a winter full of big beers, we're enjoying the lighter session beers this summer.