World Wide Stout

World Wide Stout
"YES! This is the beer you've heard so much about. Dark, rich, roasty and complex, World Wide Stout has more in common with a fine port than a can of cheap, mass-marketed beer. Brewed with a ridiculous amount of barley. Have one with (or as!) dessert tonight!"
18+% ABV

Perfect Margarita

The perfect margarita
2 1/2 oz Tres Rios Anejo Tequila
1 1/2 oz Cointreau
Juice from 1 1/2 limes
Shake with ice and strain into a festive cocktail glass
Garnish with a lime wheel

Bijou Cocktail

Enjoying a Bijou after work

2 oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz Martini and Rossi Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with twist of lemon peel and a cherry

Bird Feeder

Finally Set up the bird feeders in the backyard.

American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis)

House finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) Black-capped chikadee (Poecile atricapilla)

Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

First real snowfall 1/27/2009

Foreclosure - Part I

The house we moved into at 404 was a foreclosure. The good thing about buying a bank-owned property is that the price was right (well below anything else for sale in the neighborhood) and we were able to take advantage of incentives like a lower interest rate and, in effect, no closing costs. The bad news? Well foreclosures are sold "as-is" so there is no negotiating repairs or upgrades etc. No big deal right? When we looked at the house and had it inspected there was a water stain on the ceiling of the family room... Looked like it was just a slight roof leak and sure enough, when we had a roofing guy take care of it problem solved. Until we had the painter come in and paint the entire house. He did a great job and when it came time to repairing the damaged ceiling our trouble started. The little roof leak? It had basically destroyed one end of a load-bearing beam. We tried making a claim on our home insurance policy: bzzzzzzz - pre-existing condition. We tried contacting the builder: bzzzzzz - Thier warranty is for the first two years from building. We tried the extended warranty company - 10 years for Major Structural Damages): bzzzzzzzz - the damage is the consequence of a (uncovered by the policy) water leak. So apparently we are on our own to get this fixed. Updates to follow.