6 Kids, 3 cats, 1 dog, Mom, and Dad

Dinner with friends or I wasn't feeling any pain

I've at least learned one lesson, don't post something to your blog when you're drunk.

We had dinner over at Good Friend's house. As always, the food was incredible and the company was inpeccable. Middle Daughter babysat for Other Friends and they joined us too.

I brought Louis Bernard 2000 Côtes du Rhône-Villages which scored a 91 from Wine Spectator. It was an incredible value considering that it only cost $11.

I brought a Hopler Noble Reserve dessert wine that was absolutely incredible. I think I paid around $26 for the half bottle. It had a perfect balance between the sweetness and the acidity and was a true pleasure to drink.

Other wines were had but I'll leave that up to others to report.

Speaking of risk or That turkey almost killed me!

I was driving down Rt. 89 the other day and was in the final stages of passing a car. This is a two lane highway and there is a guard rail along without much of a shoulder on the section I was traveling.

Suddenly, a large turkey exploded into flight right in front of my car. I swear the tail feathers grazed the hood but it made it safely to the other side of the road. I started thinking about it and realized that if it had hit my windshield, it would have been a pretty serious accident.

I celebrated life by stopping at McDonalds and ordering a large iced tea before checking my voice mail and solving the burning issues of the day at work.

High Radon Readings or If I wanted lung cancer I'd at least get a smoke break out of it!

We had to do another radon in the air test since the first go around we found one of the canisters turned upside down. Even so, one had a reading of 2 and the other was 9.4.

The second test was completed and the results were 12.5 and 12.7 with the EPA suggested limit of 4.0.

Interestingly enough the EPA has a risk chart for radon exposure. The chart skips from 10 to 20 making the risk 4-8 people out of a thousand that will develop lung cancer.

They equate these numbers to the statistics of other forms of death. The risk is still less than the chance of dying in a car crash or being killed in a violent crime.

See it works or What's a heating element between friends

We had the house inspection for the house we want to buy a couple of days ago. Beautiful Wife went to the house because she needed to pickup the radon test kits and was greeted at the door by the lady of the house.

Beautiful Wife attended the same aerobics class with her for a while and my Daughters did some babysitting for them too.

During the house inspection the inspector tested the stove and found that the incredibly dated, filthy stove didn't fully work. The bottom element didn't heat at all. We decided this was worth mentioning since the stove was part of the purchase agreement.

The woman had actually baked a couple of potatoes and told Beautiful Wife, "See it works." Beautiful Wife put her hand in and the bottom element was only warm because the oven had been heated but not because it was actually working. The woman heard the real estate agent coming and said, "Ok, good, it works." just when she walked into the room. I told the agent later that evening that it doesn't work and she's going to have the other agent check it again.

Also, there were two radon kits put in the basement. One of them had been turned over. They have kids so we hope it was just one of them not knowing any better.

We also mentioned that the inspector couldn't open the damper on the fireplace. The response, "Well, we don't use the fireplace." That's all fine and well but they are selling the house with that as a feature and we want to use it. Sheesh.

My agent gave them a copy of the house inspection just to show them that we're not being picky and expecting that every little thing be taken care of before we move into the house. In fact, I think we're being very understanding and accommodating.

Politics or Bickering on the playground

I am so sick of hearing yet another politician, pundit, or news outlet speculating about what President Bush did or didn't know and if he lied or exaggerated the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq.

Let's put aside the years of evidence including the fact that Sadam used chemical weapons on his own people. Forget about the fact that things went on in prisons there that should give any normal person nightmares. Can you imagine what would be said now by these same people if President Bush had opted to pursue a diplomatic solution and Iraq had participated in another terrorist action that utilized a weapon of mass destruction?

Of course he took all the evidence, no matter how slight and regardless of whether it was rock solid, and used it to make his case for a war.

Rather than poking and prodding the President, get over to Iraq and do those things there. Talk to the locals and follow leads with the idea that you want to find proof to substantiate the intelligence that the President used. Talk to those people who were liberated from prisons and see how things are now. Cozy up to a terrorist or two and find out what plans they had in mind and then report on that.

As for you politicians...spend more time on figuring out a way to improve our economy and increase the number of jobs. I'm not interested in your arm chair analysis of the war and don't want to hear how things should be done instead. If you think you have it solved, quit your cushy House or Senate post and volunteer to be the Czar of Reconstruction. Go ahead, volunteer to do the tasks that you think others should do so you can complain about them in the future if it fits your political aims. Do something, anything...please let NPR report something interesting again!

Mad Fish Chardonnay or my first online wine tasting

I just poured a glass of 2002 Mad Fish Chardonnay. The plus side for me is that this is a chardonnay that hasn't been touched by oak. I don't mind oak, per se, but I do like how the chard tastes when the fruit is on its own.

A High School Friend suggested this wine. It has been in the refridgerator for the last few days and is too cold to drink right off. I will take a sip and give you my first impression though...

My first impression is that I smelled pineapple which was very pleasant. The first sip gave me the impression that it is tight and that there is fruit there that hasn't opened up yet.

Warmed it up in my hands a bit by cupping the bowl in the palm of both my hands...smell of pineapple very apparent now...tastes of pineapple and bit of something citrus. I checked the notes and they suggest grapefruit which is the citrus I tasted.

Mmmm...so generous now...opening up with only a slight tinge of acidity which balances nicely with the fruit. Feels like I'm drinking summer. It is a beautiful shade of color like light straw.

This wine definitely only needs to be slightly chilled. If you serve this too cold you will miss it all. Let it warm up a bit before drinking.

This is a great house wine and you could keep a bottle around for everyday drinking. The label is cool and I would feel confident bringing this to a friend's house for dinner. I think I paid around $13 for the bottle.

Gotta love a wine with a name like this or Give me a home where the goats do roam

I picked up a bottle of Goats do Roam Rose while I was browing in the Durham Market Place. It was around $8 a bottle and I think it will be a fun wine to try.

I also found out that they have a free wine tasting from 4-5 on Thursdays and I got to try Obsession wine made from the Symphony grape. I looked it up and found that the Symphony Grape is a hybrid of two other grape varieties, the Muscat and the Grenache Gris.

It was every bit as good as the tasting notes imply and I think it was going for only $7 a bottle. I walked out without getting one but I'm stopping by again tomorrow and will get one then.

Be Careful what you say or Google this you $@#%$

Good Friend let me know that many people found their way to my blog by searching on stuff that makes this father of four uncomfortable. I deleted a couple of posts that seemed to draw the most attention and will prune others as needed.

Peter Pan at Prescott Park or Maybe this should be a one act play

We went to see Peter Pan last night. It was a beautiful night and we had a great time. We enjoyed the play but the second half was definitely not as good as the first.

Home Inspections or Things you never knew you never knew

I ran into Real Estate Agent at the store yesterday afternoon. She excitedly told me that the buyers were going to "pump the poop" and that we'd just have to pay the difference in terms of having the septic inspected.

There's a whole poop ettiquette that I never knew existed: Pump your poop before you sell a house. They're also going to clean/service the furnace.

Things I hate or I'm in training again

Don't ask me a question if you're not interested in my answer or if you only want the opportunity to tell me what your answer is to show how "smart" you are.

Don't read into a question to prove your answer right and then complain if I read into the question differently than you.

Don't tell me that this is the way something works (which is patently wrong) and not expect me to verify if you are right or not.

When you are proven wrong admit it. Don't intimate in a mysterious tone of voice that I better heed what you said anyway or one day I might be sorry.

This is a shoe in or if only we didn't put in an offer on another house

Just think of the possibilities for a house like this one. You could add a deck shaped like a shoe horn or put in a pool shaped like a Dr. Scholl's heel pad. I can imagine a fence around the place that looks like big shoe laces...

White Lake or A nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon

We went to White Lake for the day. The lake faces the White Mountains and it is absolutely beautiful. The water was fairly warm but there was a stiff breeze so it was cold when you got out. It was warm enough out so that you were comfortable again after you dried off a bit.

I expected the drive home to be worse but really didn't hit any traffic until exit 16 on Route 16. I got off there and took some of the back roads home that Good Friend and I explored back in our Cabletron days.

Yo ho yo a pirate's life for me or I yam what I yam

Ever what wonder what your pirate name would be? Take this quiz and find out!

Iron Tom Vane

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you are that person. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

How do I love thee or Let me count the costs

So Beautiful Wife is so very happy because we are getting a house. She's left the financial headaches up to me and is very glad to have it that way. I've mentioned things like counters, a shower, lawnmower, snow blower and things like that as possible future purchases.

Beautiful Wife goes to a friend's house to take some pictures of their garden and comes home thinking it would be a good idea to buy their three used bedroom sets for ONLY $1,600!!!

Remind me to go over and pull some plants out of that garden.

Counter offer or Full Steam Ahead!

The real estate agents talked and the sellers countered our offer. They only came down a little since they had just substantially reduced the selling price. It was enough for me since I wasn't interested in a bidding war anyway.

My Buyer's Agent said, "I think you have a house!"...It was a great feeling!

Making an offer or do you have your checkbook with you

Well, we did it. Beautiful Wife and I made an offer on a house last night. Unfortunately, the owners are on a trip to CA so it is difficult for their agent to contact them. Now we have to wait and see if they counter and decide what we want to do if/when they do.

I knew we'd be leaving some earnest money behind but it still makes it a little bit more real when you make out the check and hand it over.

If all goes according to plan we'll be in the house in the beginning of September.

Naked Chardonnay or Naked is as naked does

I just bought a bottle of Four Vines Naked Chardonnay. We had it at a wine tasting a few months ago and I enjoyed it a lot since I'm not a big oak fan. I think oak has its place in wine making but sometimes it is nice to let the fruit speak for itself.

What is he saying or Hey, my bowl of food is almost empty!

Every day when I get up Storm greets me at the top of the stairs. He lets out a plaintive meow and then gallumps down the stairs in front of me. He anxiously circles my legs as we near the kitchen with the obvious intent that I not forget to fill his food bowl. What's strange is that it can still have food in it but he acts like he's going to starve if more isn't poured in immediately. I've just trickled in half a handful and he's contentedly started to eat. Go figure.