I've made a real push to reduce the amount of stuff I have. I really have just gotten to the point where I feel like I have too much clutter, and it's making me a bit uneasy. Every time I've gotten ridden of something, it's very therapeautic.
So, with that in mind; I started posting all of my things on Craigslist. What I didn't anticipate (although I should've) was the amount of , ahem...interesting people that I've met while unloading all of these items. I wanted to tell you about all my new craigslist friends, before I forgot about them. Starting with:
Sue decided to buy my jackalope. I posted it for $40 and Kari never thought it would sell. About a week later I get an email from Sue saying "I've been looking for one of these!" I met her in a Spires parking lot in Long Beach and she gave me the money, grabbed the jackalope (it was for a friend of hers) and peeled out in her minivan. But she wasn't nearly as quick as
rivertrash@yahoo.com, who wanted to buy one of my Muhammad Ali posters for $5. He emailed me about 5 time asking for details. What's the size? What is the frame made out of? Is it in good condition? Sheesh rivertrash, it's $5. If you come over and ask if you can have it for free, I'd give it to you. But he came over, said "hi" slapped the 5 bucks in my hand, grabbed the poster and left. I was laughing as I shut the door. I never really knew his real name. I did get to know
Ernie & Jene, as they were interested in the aquarium. If fact, their emailed response to my add said "we are Ernie & Jene, we are husband and wife who would like to buy your fish tank." They came over on a Friday night to take a look at it, and 45 minutes later we were still bullshitting about what kind of fish they have, and their respective jobs as nurses. Then, they gave me a $40 deposit so they could come back and pick it up later. Ernie came back on Monday with Jason, his neighbor/friend who asked me if I was a bodybuilder for a living. Whaaa? If, by bodybuilding; you mean I fill my gut up with beer every few days, then yeah...I'm a bodybuilder. But they ended up taking the tank, and drove to my house to get it. Unlike
Jamie Lou, who was interested in buying the corkboards I put on sale for $10 for three of them. She wanted them, and then conned me into believing that she wasn't sure about how to get around in L.A. So I met her at a Winchell's parking lot in Hollywood. She gave me 9 $1 bills, and the last dollar in nickels and dimes. Thanks a lot Jamie!
(Side note: I've got a tip about selling things on craigslist. If you want to sell it, then agree to meet someone somewhere, preferablly closer to their house than yours. That way, they have a sense of guilt, and they feel that since you've come all that way, then they just have to buy it.) Case in point...
Orpha, who wanted Kelly's ottoman and pillow, we talked and she was supposed to pick it up the next day. She seemed to flake, and didn't call me back for a couple of days. When I called her, she confessed that she got her wisdom tooth removed, and didn't want me to see her with a fat face. I assured her this wouldn't be an issue, and even offered to meet her at a Starbucks, near her home in Hawthorne. Up pulls Orpha, wearing a medical mask over her face so I can't see her swollen wisdom face. She was so happy that I did meet her that she gave me $25, even though we only asked for $15! She said it was because "I seemed like such a nice man." I'll show her, trying to flake on me. Although I did get flaked on by
Alton, who agreed to buy my nunchuk's that I had posted for $10. Then he didn't call to come pick them up when he said he was going to. Oh sure, he phoned me later that he was at church and "couldn't break away"...is that supposed to make it right? I agreed to hold nunchuks for you. Which didn't put me out nearly as much as
Tormo, who came to look at my mountain bike. Tormo had a good french (or was it spanish) accent, and 3 cigars sticking out of his army jacket breast pocket when he looked at the bike. He road it around and said "this looks good. I will buy your bike. However, I have a slight problem" You see, Tormo drove over in a convertible 2-seater with virtually no trunk. "I don't know how I am going to get your bike home." Tormo looked at me, and I shrugged my shoulders. "Meeetchell, can you drive this bike to my house? Why don't I pay you extra to do." Clearly, I have a problem saying no, because I agreed. I put the bike in my car for an extra $10 and drove it up to a bike shop in Venice for him. It only took me 45 minutes round trip. Ridiculous.
I still have several other things I'd like to sell, so stay tuned. The money is nice, but these characters I'm meeting along the way are even better.
Final note: NONE of these names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Loma Wines...the final step
Tom's landlord and friend, Jerry told him "be careful when you bottle."
We didn't really know what he meant by that, but the time finally came for us to bottle our wine. Really, the hardest part for us was to coordinate weekends that we were each free. Between weddings and family reunions, it was tough for Tom and I to pick a weekend that we were both free. But finally we nailed down a weekend, and it was time to put our prize into bottles.
The first order of business was to have enough bottles to put all the wine in. We re-used bottles, which meant drinking, and asking friends and roomates to save any bottles that they drank. We were specific too...green bottles, with high 'shoulders' and punts in the bottom of them. What I learned was that it seems that no two bottles are alike, so while they all look similar, they're not exact.
Tom was in charge of filling the bottles, we used our siphon hose that he kinked after each bottle got filled. We filled our tasting glasses before the first bottle to make sure that it was palatable.
He was good, but if he overfilled it a bit, we'd have to pour some in our tasting glasses to get the wine just up to the necks of the bottles.
We rented a cork machine from the brew shop, and it held the bottle in place with a spring-loaded platform.
When you pull the lever, a vice tightens the cork down until it's no wider than a pencil. Then the punch pushes the cork into the bottle with a satisfying "thwunk." We toasted our first corked bottle.
We didn't want to bottle the "lees" which is the thicker sediment that was in the bottom of the barrels. But hell, we weren't just going to throw it out. We ended up all drinking it, and although we had done enough 'tasting' to warm us up, the lees wine still tasted delicious, if not a bit thick and pulpy.
We bottled 55 bottles, and drank the rest of the lees down at the beach afterwards. This is where I realized what Jerry meant when he said to "be careful." I couldn't tell you how much I drank (since it was usually straight from the hose,) but I can tell you that I was feeling pretty damn good by the end of the day. And had a truck-sized headache the next morning.
We designed the label the next day, and Tom and I both had a similar design in our minds when we started the design process. We wanted something clean, sharp, and bold. So here is the label:
I have 26 bottles, and I'm going to enjoy them over time with friends. I want to see how the taste evolves over the next couple of months, and save some to age for years.
I had my first bottle with Kelly at Frito Misto, my favorite neighborhood italian restaurant. After Kelly told our waiter that it was our wine, we poured them a glass and the staff tried it. They gave it rave reviews, but I suspect they were just being polite. Whether they were or not, I still know that it's the best tasting wine I've ever had, and I can see why winemaking is such a great thing. Tasting the fruits of your labor, there's nothing finer.
We didn't really know what he meant by that, but the time finally came for us to bottle our wine. Really, the hardest part for us was to coordinate weekends that we were each free. Between weddings and family reunions, it was tough for Tom and I to pick a weekend that we were both free. But finally we nailed down a weekend, and it was time to put our prize into bottles.
The first order of business was to have enough bottles to put all the wine in. We re-used bottles, which meant drinking, and asking friends and roomates to save any bottles that they drank. We were specific too...green bottles, with high 'shoulders' and punts in the bottom of them. What I learned was that it seems that no two bottles are alike, so while they all look similar, they're not exact.
Tom was in charge of filling the bottles, we used our siphon hose that he kinked after each bottle got filled. We filled our tasting glasses before the first bottle to make sure that it was palatable.
He was good, but if he overfilled it a bit, we'd have to pour some in our tasting glasses to get the wine just up to the necks of the bottles.
We rented a cork machine from the brew shop, and it held the bottle in place with a spring-loaded platform.
When you pull the lever, a vice tightens the cork down until it's no wider than a pencil. Then the punch pushes the cork into the bottle with a satisfying "thwunk." We toasted our first corked bottle.
We didn't want to bottle the "lees" which is the thicker sediment that was in the bottom of the barrels. But hell, we weren't just going to throw it out. We ended up all drinking it, and although we had done enough 'tasting' to warm us up, the lees wine still tasted delicious, if not a bit thick and pulpy.
We bottled 55 bottles, and drank the rest of the lees down at the beach afterwards. This is where I realized what Jerry meant when he said to "be careful." I couldn't tell you how much I drank (since it was usually straight from the hose,) but I can tell you that I was feeling pretty damn good by the end of the day. And had a truck-sized headache the next morning.
We designed the label the next day, and Tom and I both had a similar design in our minds when we started the design process. We wanted something clean, sharp, and bold. So here is the label:
I have 26 bottles, and I'm going to enjoy them over time with friends. I want to see how the taste evolves over the next couple of months, and save some to age for years.
I had my first bottle with Kelly at Frito Misto, my favorite neighborhood italian restaurant. After Kelly told our waiter that it was our wine, we poured them a glass and the staff tried it. They gave it rave reviews, but I suspect they were just being polite. Whether they were or not, I still know that it's the best tasting wine I've ever had, and I can see why winemaking is such a great thing. Tasting the fruits of your labor, there's nothing finer.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Richness for my plants
I just fed my garden some of the richest, blackest composted dirt today, and I'm expecting beautiful results from my fruits & veggies since I did. These tomatoes better be huge, the tangerines better start growing, and my lemons better resemble mini-suns by the time they're ready to be picked, all as a "thank you" to me for taking good care of them.
I've been saving my food scraps for a while, and adding them to a wooden box that is my compost box. I've been doing this for almost 2 years now, turning the scraps over regularly and watching the food and leaves slowly turn into this black, rich, moist soil. Hell, it looks so good I wanted to try some myself!
I've been saving my food scraps for a while, and adding them to a wooden box that is my compost box. I've been doing this for almost 2 years now, turning the scraps over regularly and watching the food and leaves slowly turn into this black, rich, moist soil. Hell, it looks so good I wanted to try some myself!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
A weekend of Wine Chemistry
This past weekend was "Wine Chemistry" weekend that I signed up for in Sonoma. I spent two days learning about tartaric acid, PH, sulphur dioxide, etc etc. We signed up for the course thinking it was going to be for home winemakers like us. When we arrived for the class, the first surprise was that there was 50 people signed up for the class! The guy running is Clark Smith, someone who (apparently) is quite well known in the Napa and Sonoma area as a wine expert. His website is: grapecraft.com
Clark's first words of the class were: "Out of everyone here, there's only 3 of you that are home winemakers. The rest of you are either professional winemakers, or own a winery. So I'm going to make this a very high level class." What tha'? Tom and I were both there, so that's 2/3 of the home winemakers?
The discussion was high level, and I felt like my brain was on overload (not exactly what I had in mind...I figured I'd be sipping on wine and getting a tour of the wineries. Not exactly writing and being asked to remember complex formulas.)
In the end it was extremely stimulating. The first day was all about chemistry, measurements, suflite formulas, etc. etc. Tom, his Aunt Dorothy (a serious winemaker by the way, she owns a winery in Iowa called www.wideriverwinery.com) and I retreated to a tasting room nearby to review our 'homework' for the night. Our heads were spinning as we thought about everything that we went over.
Day 2 was better. The first exercise was for everyone to picture the wine that they wanted to make. Who did we expect the customer to be? Where did we picture them drinking the wine? What feelings did we want them to have when they drank it? From there we were supposed to work backwards to how we would make this wine, what type of grape we would use, what time we would pick the grapes, and how the design of the bottle and the mood of the tasting room would fit with this wine. Very interesting stuff. The weekend finished with a lecture on how we should be "artistic" with our wine. Let the wine go where it wants to go...nudge it in the right direction, but don't get caught up too much in the #'s. Think of it as a symphony that you're conducting, with many moving parts....PHEW! That's what we've been doing the whole time! Forget this chemistry crap!
The best part of the weekend was the connections we made, and we took advantage of it on day three. For those that are keeping track, day 3 was a Monday. Tom and I went wine tasting, and we first visited Alan Viader at Viader Wines. Awesome wine, and our boy Alan turned out to be the head winemaker (he was real modest the whole weekend. When we got there his picture was all over the tasting room.) We then went over to Madrigal Wines, where a classmate set us up with her boyfriend, who gave us a 3 hour tour of the winery, even though he's never met us. He pulled wine out of barrels to have us taste it, and asked us our thoughts. Shit, Tom even told him at one point that he thought one thought a wine smelled "Bretty." The winemaker agreed. Bret is when a wine has a little bit of a growth to it. I could tell you full word for bret, but that means I'd have to go look it up.
And now I'm home measuring the PH of my wine, and my head is still buzzing from all the info I learned. How am I going to remember all this? I guess we'll just have to make more wine...
Clark's first words of the class were: "Out of everyone here, there's only 3 of you that are home winemakers. The rest of you are either professional winemakers, or own a winery. So I'm going to make this a very high level class." What tha'? Tom and I were both there, so that's 2/3 of the home winemakers?
The discussion was high level, and I felt like my brain was on overload (not exactly what I had in mind...I figured I'd be sipping on wine and getting a tour of the wineries. Not exactly writing and being asked to remember complex formulas.)
In the end it was extremely stimulating. The first day was all about chemistry, measurements, suflite formulas, etc. etc. Tom, his Aunt Dorothy (a serious winemaker by the way, she owns a winery in Iowa called www.wideriverwinery.com) and I retreated to a tasting room nearby to review our 'homework' for the night. Our heads were spinning as we thought about everything that we went over.
Day 2 was better. The first exercise was for everyone to picture the wine that they wanted to make. Who did we expect the customer to be? Where did we picture them drinking the wine? What feelings did we want them to have when they drank it? From there we were supposed to work backwards to how we would make this wine, what type of grape we would use, what time we would pick the grapes, and how the design of the bottle and the mood of the tasting room would fit with this wine. Very interesting stuff. The weekend finished with a lecture on how we should be "artistic" with our wine. Let the wine go where it wants to go...nudge it in the right direction, but don't get caught up too much in the #'s. Think of it as a symphony that you're conducting, with many moving parts....PHEW! That's what we've been doing the whole time! Forget this chemistry crap!
The best part of the weekend was the connections we made, and we took advantage of it on day three. For those that are keeping track, day 3 was a Monday. Tom and I went wine tasting, and we first visited Alan Viader at Viader Wines. Awesome wine, and our boy Alan turned out to be the head winemaker (he was real modest the whole weekend. When we got there his picture was all over the tasting room.) We then went over to Madrigal Wines, where a classmate set us up with her boyfriend, who gave us a 3 hour tour of the winery, even though he's never met us. He pulled wine out of barrels to have us taste it, and asked us our thoughts. Shit, Tom even told him at one point that he thought one thought a wine smelled "Bretty." The winemaker agreed. Bret is when a wine has a little bit of a growth to it. I could tell you full word for bret, but that means I'd have to go look it up.
And now I'm home measuring the PH of my wine, and my head is still buzzing from all the info I learned. How am I going to remember all this? I guess we'll just have to make more wine...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Could it be? Could our wine actually taste like...wine?
The wine has been aging for almost four months now, in 2 five gallon carboys; and we have an extra 1 gallon of wine also aging. Today was the day for us to "rack" the wine, the second time that we've racked the wine in the aging process. When you rack the wine, the goal is to siphon the good wine off of all the sediment that settles to the bottom throughout the aging process. The remaining sediment is called the "gross lees" and gross it is. It's a thick and sludge-like.
Look what a wealth of knowledge I am these days, huh?
Being that this was our second time doing it, Tom and I had our routine down and it was relatively stress-free. The big revelation for us was when we sampled a glass of each batch (we call each separate container it's own batch.) Now, the first time we did this and sampled the wine, it was cause for concern. the juice was cloudy, it had a slight smell of sulfur, and there was still a lot of fermenting still to take place. We were worried that the whole batch might be bad.
This time was way different. And waaay better. Each batch of wine tasted better than the one before it. Even our one-gallon jug of wine, which would be used to top off the big carboys; tasted sweet and reminded me off blackberries.
We also started to nail down the name of the wine, and what the label is going to look like. But I'll keep that one a surprise for now...
Look what a wealth of knowledge I am these days, huh?
Being that this was our second time doing it, Tom and I had our routine down and it was relatively stress-free. The big revelation for us was when we sampled a glass of each batch (we call each separate container it's own batch.) Now, the first time we did this and sampled the wine, it was cause for concern. the juice was cloudy, it had a slight smell of sulfur, and there was still a lot of fermenting still to take place. We were worried that the whole batch might be bad.
This time was way different. And waaay better. Each batch of wine tasted better than the one before it. Even our one-gallon jug of wine, which would be used to top off the big carboys; tasted sweet and reminded me off blackberries.
We also started to nail down the name of the wine, and what the label is going to look like. But I'll keep that one a surprise for now...
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