HOW much beer have I had in the last 7 days?!?

September 25, 2003

Slow week. One thing that I suddenly realized this afternoon was that I’ve had more beer this last week than I’ve probably had in the last two months combined. Let’s see, a pint and half a pitcher last Friday, two large bottles of beers over the weekend (actually half of each of four bottles, but you get the idea), another bottle to myself on Monday, three pints of beer, a four-ounce sampler and a bottle yesterday, and four pints of beer today. I came to the conclusion that that’s a lot of beer, so I think I’m going to lay off for a little while–welll, except when I go out Saturday night.

That’s right, I’m headed out Saturday night for the old birthday celebration. Actually the big day is TODAY, but no one can do anything today for dinner, so everyone decided to postpone. I did go out for lunch with my sister today (at a McMenamin’s, surprise surprise) and then for a couple of beers at the Crystal Ballroom (another McMenamin’s, one I’m surprised I’ve never been to) with my Dad later in the afternoon. I got a nice book that I’d never heard of but my Mom gushed about as present number one, and my Dad gave me something that I literally didn’t expect–a pizza stone. Ever since I started making my own pizzas last year, I’ve wanted to try making pizza on a stone instead of just baking it in a pan. I like my pan, but I hear that pizza stones cook the dough much more thoroughly. I’m excited to try it out, but not this weekend. I’ve made pizzas the last couple weekends, so perhaps a week or two from now I’ll give it a test bake. He also gave me a gift card to Kitchen Kaboodle so I can get even MORE kitchen stuff. Man, I have stuff I haven’t even used yet! Maybe that should be my goal for the rest of the year: use all my major cooking appliances at least once.

And get my website finished up, perhaps.

Yesterday I went downtown to see my friend Katie on her day off. Well OK, ex-girlfriend who is now a friend. She and I have had our problems in the last few years, but heck, it’s nice to get out and see someone who I don’t share genes with once in awhile. We had lunch at a place downtown I went to with my Dad a couple months ago, “Good Dog Bad Dog.” They make great sausages and bratwurst, but alas, they were out of beer. Actually, the guy behind the counter said that the cooler broke the day before, and so they had nothing cold. Aack! Well, that was probably for the best. I tried something I’ve never done before, and I got my Oregon smoked sausage with grilled onions and grilled garlic. With the ketchup, it made for one messy dog. It also made for some serious breath issues for me, but I was able to wash my dog down with *Pepsi*.

After that we were going to catch a movie, but it was such a nice day out we walked through the park blocks, checked out the Portland Farmer’s Market, and then walked down to the waterfront. It WAS a nice day out, about 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and since we don’t have many more days like that ahead of us, it was better than sitting in a movie theater. When it got too hot out to walk, we stopped at the Newport Bay floating restaurant for a cold drink and some rasberry sorbet, then back to the waterfront.

The Portland waterfront is really nice. All along the river there are shops and docks bordering Tom McCall Waterfront Park, so it’s really a nice place to hang out. I gave my Dad a call as she was taking off and asked him if he wanted to get a drink. “Gee I don’t know,” was his answer, “I was going to take off before four….” Well good thing I was already downtown, then, so I just walked a few blocks over to the Rock Bottom Brewery and we had a couple of pints. Walking around Portland is thirsty work, after all. I must have gone at least 3-4 miles, so I didn’t go jogging or walking again when I got home. I was pretty tired already, so I just watched some TV and called it a night.

And that’s what I’ve been up to. Been out a few more times, but nothing terribly exciting. I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow, so I’ll have a nice exciting end to my week. Have a good night (or day if that’s when you’re reading this).

Posted in Beer, Geekery, General