We live in the Top 10!

Ranking of Most, Least Dangerous Cities

By The Associated Press Sunday, October 29, 2006 (10-29) 21:09 PST (AP) --

A list of the safest and most dangerous cities overall, as compiled by Morgan Quitno Press, which bases the rankings on FBI figures released in June. The list starts with the safest cities and ends with the most dangerous.

Only cities that reported crime rates were included in the list. For example, New Orleans was not included this year because its police department did not report figures.

1. Brick, N.J.

2. Amherst, N.Y.

3. Mission Viejo, Calif.

4. Newton, Mass.

5. Troy, Mich.

6. Colonie, N.Y.

7. Irvine, Calif.

8. Cary, N.C.

9. Greece, N.Y.

10. Coral Springs, Fla.

11. Thousand Oaks, Calif.

12. Orem, Utah

13. Round Rock, Texas

14. Dover, N.J.

15. Lake Forest, Calif.

16. Sterling Heights, Mich.

17. Simi Valley, Calif.

18. Roswell, Ga.

19. Lee's Summit, Mo.

20. Broken Arrow, Okla.

21. Chino Hills, Calif.

22. Gilbert, Ariz.

23. Edison, N.J.

24. Cranston, R.I.

25. Port St. Lucie, Fla.

26. Sandy, Uta"

Skidboot the Dog on Google Video

Watch this clip about Skidboot. He's quite a dog Video of Skidboot the Dog

Golden Pumpkin Pie Spice Ale

We finally opened a bottle of the 2006 Pumpkin Ale and it was good. I started with the basic Oak Barrel Golden Ale Ingredient Kit.
6Lbs Liquid Extract
Corn Sugar
Honey Malt
Willamette and Cascade Hops
Safale US-56 Dry Ale Yeast


I replaced the corn sugar above with 2lb of mesquite honey, added one large can of Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin and 2oz Penzy's Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Come on over for a drink!

How Microbrew Can Save the World

AlterNet: How Microbrew Can Save the World: "How Microbrew Can Save the World

By Chris O'Brien, Foreign Policy in Focus. Posted October 25, 2006.

Small-scale, homebrew beer production plays a vital role in sustainable development throughout the world.

The world's cup runneth over with living beer traditions. But this vast repository of cultural brewing capital is under attack by global corporations. The top five brewing companies, all of which are American- or European-owned, control 41 percent of the world market. Perversely, economists and politicians calculate the conquest by industrial breweries as economic growth while the value of small-scale traditional brewing goes uncounted. Much will be lost if this global 'beerodiversity' is lost to the forces of corporate-led homogenization.

The globalization of beer not only destroys the social, spiritual, and health-related benefits of small-scale ho"

Boy how they change in 10 months

February


October

The Downside of Home Improvement

The above picture is about 50lbs of organic Oregon raised grass-fed beef. When we came home from work today I noticed that the construction crew had unplugged our freezer. When? Good question! Long enough ago that we had to dump at least 50 lbs of goodness.

If you are interested in seeing the remodel in process here is the online gallery of Construction Photos

We also recently planted our uphill section of land - the land that has been an eyesore for our poor neighbors for years. Over the weekend we came home to this:

Poor plants.

So much love!

  

NYC Weekend

We got to spend the weekend with Mason.
He's helping collect the apples.

The night before apple picking we had nose-bleed seats at Yankee Stadium. So sad they got knocked out the the playoffs. Boo hoo.

Yankee Fan

Oakland Athletics : AL West Champions

Let's Go Oakland! clap clap clapclapclap

Last Friday night I went to a Yankee's game. Not to see or cheer for the Yankee's, just to see the stadium before they tore it down.


It was nice to see that it's just a ballpark. One big ugly crappy cement ballpark. Nothing fancy inside or out. I will give them credit for good $5 dogs and large $7 beers and especially the "beer man". You don't have to leave your seats for anything. In CA there is no seat delivery of alcohol - lame.

As an A's fan it was also a wonderful feeling to litter the house that Ruth built.

The A's are up 1-0 in the ALDS.

We can take the family car!

Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974

Click to see the whole collection of Weight Watchers recipe cards, circa 1974

If the picture of the freaky food isn't enough read the commentary.

The Steve Irwin Memorial Service :: The Courier-Mail

Watch The Steve Irwin Memorial Service

Lots of good things said about the guy. The crocs lost a good mate.

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

The official website for:Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

Thanks to Tripp for the lead on this instructional video:

How Quickly Plans Change

For the first time in months we had a mostly unplanned weekend. We've been spending a lot of time being together in the same space but not doing things together with purpose. So on Thursday I made a plan of activities - a date weekend of sorts:
- Friday night we would make dinner and watch a movie.

- Saturday we'd meet with a contractor to get a second bid, attend an apple festival buy fresh juice so I could brew hard cider, shop Target for garage storage solutions, I'd leave Jane for a few hours to go play soccer, home for dinner.

- Sunday I had an AM meeeting before church then I'd return home to shop Home Depot for plants, we'd garden, Jane would cook dinner. We'd relax and enjoy the fun we'd had.

What actually happened:
- Friday night we had dinner & watched TV.

- Saturday the contractor came & left, we smelled gas - called PG&E, waited around for PG&E to come fix gas leak, fielded panic phone calls from my mother who demanded we call 911 - we never did, I left the house for a few hours to distract Katie so Kath could rest (she's got some pregnancy illness that gives her vertigo), I shopped, returned home in time to change for soccer, went to Cato's for drinks & dinner after game (Jane joined us), home to sleep.

- Sunday went as planned with a few extra activities thrown in (see Jane's blog for details)

All in all it was a good weekend. Lots of stuff done. Lots of relaxation & good time spent with people who needed it.

I also learned that 4yr old Katie is a shoe whore and understands shopping manipulation. Most repeated statement of Sat "but I want shooooooooooooes"

What's Cookin, Good Lookin'?

We've posted a few new recipes on our other blog: What's Cookin, Good Lookin'? Enjoy

Colton

  

Become Republican

Funny 'cartoon' on how to Become Republican

Common Errors in English

I was raised by parents who would visibly cringe when a word was misused. They will enjoy this website: Common Errors in English

Beautiful Girl

Crazy Kid