Pale Ale Update

(me "racking" the beer before i bottle)

i finished my first batch of beer and was able to not ruin it ( i for sure thought i would contaminate something due to my severe lack of sanitation skills) but it actually turned out pretty good. it was extremely light - due to the fact i didn't boil the hops long enough i am sure, but still tasty nonetheless. i was so relieved that it was drinkable - hek - not just drinkable, but we only have about 6 bottles left of the 5 gallons! we have had guests over that took a fancy to the pseudo brew pale ale style.

there were so many steps that could have gone wrong - i tried to be as careful as i can with the sanitation, which i guess paid off since it didnt have a skunk taste to it.

i look forward to my next batch - the hefeweizen, but i am having fermentation issues...i will keep it udpated - i am giving it another week before i measure it with the hydrometer, but the guy at Steinfillers told me i didnt have to scrap the batch, that i could just pitch more yeast in, so that is encouraging at least...

Spirit Babies

i am currently reading, "Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife" and a story in there really touched my heart and i felt compelled to share:

(the author had just suffered through a miscarriage and her 12 year old son sees her crying at the kitchen table)

Colin asked, "Are you crying about the baby?" and when i nodded tearfully, he said, "Well you just have to have another one, Mom, because it's a Spirit Baby, and you should be its mother."

I must have looked puzzled because he said, "Don't you know about Spirit Babies? How could i know about them if you don't? I mean, you're my mom!" But he could see my perplexity.

So my first child, this not-yet-teenaged boy, pulled a woodedn chair to my side and draped his thin arm across my shoulders saying, "Well, Mom, here's how it is. See, I was one myself, so that must be how I know. Anyway, every woman has a circle of babies that goes around and around above her head, and those are all the possible babies she could have in her whole life. Every month one of those babies is first in line. If she gets pregnant, then that's the baby that's born. If she doesn't get pregnant but something bad happens before the baby's born...now listen, Mom, because here's the really cool part. It goes back into the circle, but it becomes a Spirit Baby, and all the other babies give it cuts. Each month, it's always first in line. Isn't that great?"

"So you just have to get pregnant again, and you'll have the same Spirit Baby. If you don't, though, then the baby circle will just beam that little Spirit Baby over to some other women's circle, and it'll be first in line for her. It keeps being first in line somewhere until it gets born."

"But it'd be a shame for you not to have it yourself, because I know how much you want it. So you just have to try again. Mom, remember that baby you lost before I was born?" I nodded wordlessly. "Well that was me. Really. I've always known Is was a Spirit Baby. I mean, I know what I'm talking about here, Mom."



That story brought tears to my eyes and lifted my heart and I hope it touches someone else out there as well.
My prayers go out to all the Spirit Babies and the moms who have yet to have their Spirit Baby.

paybe tomorrow

my 2.5 year old has the best saying - paybe. i believe it is a mix between probably and maybe based on the way he uses it. i am marveling at his language arts and the way he uses words in such an innocent and curious way. he really loves words - he never stops using them, but he also fixates on how something sounds and will repeat it over and over and over. this parrot-like behavior has caused much anxiety in ensuring my language sounds like a 50s housewife. i slipped and said "crap" the other day and then had to listen to bryson saying crap, crap, crap, crap all the way to his father who then looked at me like i am the worst mother in the world and then me immediately asking myself how we came to age like 50 years so fast. in between me fighting off being extremely annoyed, it has also fanned my flame for words and language. i love that we are all born little poets. i wish i stopped myself more and played with how words sounded. today the lady from the electric company came to check the meters and he asked me who she was. i told him she was going to check the electric meters. he thought it was hilarious and started saying "meters, meters, meters" until it did sound quite funny and i understood what he meant.

some of my other favorite bryson words:
panpakes=pancakes
buck-a-buck-koo=bar-b-que
noo-nos=noodles
foo-do rebels=pseudo rebels

some of my favorite bryson sayings:
it's not my bedtime, it's a sunny day (no matter how dark it is outside)
we're gunna have a good day
i'm going to go to disneyland on tuesday