Oh Lordy, it’s been a weekend! My last day (technically) at my old job was Thursday. We’d planned to eat sandwiches but Ash asked if I wanted to have lunch so we met at the mall. I went home after and worked on some stuff. The kids were here and trying to wring the last few drops out of summer. Ash got home around 4 and around 5:30 we got the car packed up for brew club. We had 3 commercial beers and nine homebrews! It was a very long night; lol. But a good one. If a couple other regulars had come, we’d have had 25 people, which is the most we have had post-covid. Pretty proud of us for growing our numbers. Below, part of our group.

Friday was my first official day home after leaving the job and I utilized my time best I could, in and around the stuff we had. 8 am – high school orientation, which was a drop in type thing. Isaac and I walked to each class then headed out. 10:30 – middle school orientation, same thing. Dakota and I walked to each class then went home. Ash and I had lunch at a new-to-us Mexican place with a friend. Got home and did a little more beer fest prep and then took Dakota to her doc appt. Neither kid was in a good mood for orientation but whatever; it was probably just nerves.

In between all those things I had papers to grade. Once home after the doc, Ash and I gathered our beer stuff and at 430, our friends came to help us load up and take it down to the civic center. I love that they allow Friday setup, especially since we bring our kegerator and it is better to let them sit and settle overnight. Once the majority of it was set, there was a VIP tasting event with a bit of food. Good times. Love talking to all the commercial and home brewers.

Saturday was beer fest! This one is pretty huge compared to most; at least 2-3 thousand people, I’m pretty sure. We left the house by 10 but the morning was all running a quick mile or so, hair and makeup prep, then getting into our costumes. We at Bromidic (that’s our homebrew name) like to change up our theme each year and we settled on rock n roll.

We look pretty awesome, I have to admit. This was before we found out that one of our friends and helpers had to bail out. Oh well! We had three others so it was fine. We got the rest of our stuff packed up and headed to the arena.

I think we were all set up by 11/11:30 so we got to go around and chat with other brewers. We all get from 12-1 to do that but more time if you’re early. VIP started at 1 and Ash and I always opt to work that first hour, since it’s our homebrew. Our friends rotate in for other hours and we walk around once more. It was a cool event and I was happy in how it all went.

I have never shared just one video but I’m inserting the link below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jVCUy1q9snkzteEMA

That’s a preview of how our tap handles worked. The first one didn’t fire but the second one did. On our table (see photos) we ran old music videos on huge speakers and then each time the taps were pulled, they triggered a rock related sound bite. Ash wrote the program and we built the thing so that it understood when a “button” was essentially pushed. It worked most of the time but as the day went on and the magnets moved, it got weird but hey, it was still cool.

We made about 25 dollars in tips, which was new for us but I figure, we can’t sell our homebrew so why not have a tip jar?

Finally, the event ended around 6 and it’s always a mad dash to head out. All the brewers and vendors trying to leave at one time is crazy but we managed! Once home and out of the shoes and costumes and all, we were just happy to sit down! We went to Momo’s for some pizza and then? I did NOTHING.

I vowed to do very little on Sunday but I’m like a shark – have to keep moving. Got right up and hit Target for a couple last minute school supplies then got home and snagged Isaac after he mowed and we hit TJ Maxx for a backpack and shirts. Made breakfast for lunch (who doesn’t love eating breakfast foods for a different meal??) and in the afternoon, I mostly just did laundry and watched movies. In fact, we watched 3: Hoarder, Tenebrae, and I Saw the TV Glow. The first was WEIRD, the second was amazing, and the last one was dumb. But it rained all afternoon so it was what we had.

Anyway, kids are all gone to their first days of school, 6th, 9th, and 12th, respectively.

It’s weird being home alone; that rarely happens! I am excited, though, for this new schedule like I had from about Fall 2019-Fall 2022; it was nice being able to catch up on house stuff AND do online work. Today, my plan is to take a quick run, work on getting my classes ready for fall, then in the afternoon, get some Chipotle and then wait for kids to get home and cook dinner for them! Happy Monday, everyone.

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This week’s theme is songs that make you think about being in nature or outdoors.

This one came to mind first: