New Horizons: Shared Journey
Mead Updates
Phew, where to begin… So I forgot to update in August – I was slightly distracted by life! I’ll begin with the meads. (FYI only bottles that have synthetic cork and heat-shrink wraps will be stored long-term)
The strawberry meads came out EXCELLENT!!! TBH, Fiery Strawberry Fuel shoulda been called Fiery Strawberry Afterburners. Whooo! I’m particularly proud of these batches, as I was warned I would barely get any strawberry flavor.
Strawberry-Kiwi Meadness: I can smell the strawberry, but cant taste it; I can taste the kiwi, but I can’t smell it. Overall: 8/10! I’d have liked more strawberry flavor, BUT I have 3 500ml bottles left that I’m aging for a year.
Fiery Strawberry Fuel: holy fuckaroonies, the earthy tones of Serrano peppers really comes across, barely a hint of strawberry… the spicy is subtle at first, but comes on STRONG then fades out nicely. Overall: 9/10, and I also have 3 500ml bottles I’ll be aging for a year.
Dune Spice Mead: Damn good! the cinnamon and clover really stand out strongly. I thought it would taste better warm, but cold crashing it made them SO CLEAR and, in my opinion, tastes better. It’s definitely not something I’d want to drink on a hot day, though. It’s most indubitably a cold-weather holiday type drink. Overall: 7/10, I have some 750ml and 500ml bottles I’ll age for a year as well.
Somebody Special
So, there’s been this particularly special lady in my e-life lately… I’ve known Amy for about 5 years, and always admired her strength, independence and bluntness. We have kept in touch through the years after I moved back to California, and she was one of the few who checked in on me when I broke my leg. Back in February, we just started FaceTiming each other on a near-daily basis… Then, lo and behold – she had plans to travel for the summer, and wanted to include a visit to lucky me! I picked her up at the airport on July 27th, and she stayed with me for a month! I had to head to the Bay Area for a week for work, and let me tell you… I will delegate all packing and loading the car to her from now on. She was right, I was wrong. She managed to pack up the back of my Expedition with all our stuff, plus supplies/gear for work, as well as dog food/supplies and my 3 dogs!
We took the long route to the Bay Area – I did have a wee bit issue with my brakes overheating, but she got to see the glory of the redwood forest, as well as coasting down the scenic rt 101S. The dogs did well, hanging out and taking in the views! Oh, I forgot to mention – Capt’n tends to be ubershy and will bark like crazy at new people (STRANGER DANGER!!!) but she was quiet and warmed up to Amy super quick… girl, you tryna tell me something??? Anyways, the trip was loooonnnggggg BUT excellent! We arrived to our hotel, and got settled in. La Quinta by Wyndham hotels, thank you for taking in dogs!!!
Bay Area Buddies
Of course, a visit to the Bay Area requires seeing old friends! The first folks I got to see, of course… Frank and Sandra! I realize we didn’t take pictures together… damn! Frank and I are big on OneWheeling, and we both have suffered quite major injuries… AND we kick each other’s asses in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe often!
Seeing my dear friend, and employer, Jane and her wife, Laurie – it was too short and sweet. Wish we had more time to hang out!
We swung by Adam and Sam’s place, and got to see Mark as well (before he moves to Europe!). We used to play board games a lot, and they all were my former roommates as well.
Of course, everybody got to taste the strawberry mead! Now I’ve gotta figure a way to send them the Dune Spice Mead…. another roadtrip mayhaps?
Homeward Bound
Frank and Sandra gifted me their two couches that were sitting in their garage (THANK YOU!!!!) so I rented a U-Haul, loaded the enclosed trailer up with the couches and a lectric 3.0 e-bike (purchased from Frank). Amy drove back the shorter route, taking i5N which was a fairly uneventful drive. Yes, I slept while she navigated the crazy curves of highways up here, I’m not sure if she was impressed or thought something was wrong with me. When I sleep, I pretty much switch off, so…
This wasn’t the end of her stay. Oh no, she spent two and half more weeks up here, and man oh man… it was a surreal, epic time! She helped me fix my place up, and it’s looking so much more inviting and comfortable now. I still need to do a lot of work on the walls in the main room, as well as paint the kitchen. Now, I have an idea of what direction I want to take with the interior decoration of my home – it’s gonna take a while to achieve all this work, but I’m here for the long term. She helped me with many things around the house, including bottling all the strawberry mead and dune spice mead. She made a 1-gallon batch of T’ej – I’m going to be bottling it soon! Need to get more ink for the printer so I can print more labels. Damn, this new printer comes with an ink subscription… WHYYYYY!?
I most especially enjoyed the openness, transparency we had together – we did hurt each other laughing a lot, and it was an amazing time. Looking back at how we met, all that has transpired since – I can safely say, I’ve met my match. I’ve been fully, truly smitten like never before. Parting truly is a sweet sorrow, but I’m excited about seeing her again! The future truly holds exciting times to come, and I’m looking forward to this shared journey with her. MAJOR BONUS: The dogs love her!
