The only constant is change? This too shall pass.

It's been far far too long since I've posted anything here. This site was created to fulfill my need to communicate things about my life and my thoughts to my friends; sites like facebook have slowly taken over that role. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I don't want to let this place die. I built this with my own two hands (ten fingers really) and I don't want to let it fade away so easily.

Anyway, I think this site will be changing or perhaps just becoming less tended as other things in my life change, priorities change, etc.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I think I just realized that just about everything I love to do is essentially the same; it's all creating or learning, and learning is basically creating knowledge.

• Making beer and wine: creating, learning
• Making cheese: creating, learning
• Cooking and etc: creating, learning
• Home improvement projects: creating, learning
• Gardening/growing food: creating, learning
• Web design: creating, learning

My life sort of seemed like it was all over the place but really it's always been one thing encompassed by many many sub-things. A missing the forest for the trees sort of situation perhaps?

Those grapes I picked were indeed Concords as I suspected. I got about 36 pounds or so, which turned out to be plenty for concord wine as you want to dilute it down with a lot of water because they are very acidic.

On Saturday night we cleaned and destemmed them all and Anne volunteered to give them the stomping of their lives. We learned that the machines that crush and destem for you are probably worth the money; destemming sucks and stomping isn't a whole lot of fun either.

Following the first recipe listed here (times 6), in addition to the crushed grapes I also added two and a half gallons of water and about ten pounds of sugar to the fermenter. Wow, that's a lot!

I do plan on doing the second wine recipe as well, where you take out the mashed grape guts about 5-7 days into the first fermentation, squeeze as much juice from them as possible, dump them into another fermenter and add more water and sugar and ferment again. Very soon we're going to be having a lot of wine in process around here.

The thing about concord wines is they have to age for a long time before they get good. This recipe says at least 3 years, so I guess in 2011-12 we'll see if this wine turned out well. (Maybe I should do the same thing with the cherry wine?)

Just an update: I got our faucet and drain hooked up about a week ago. Also over Memorial Day weekend Anne's parents came to visit and my father in law helped me install the microwave over the stove as well as put up the crown molding on top of the cabinets.

Microwave and Faucet

Here's what's left for the kitchen at this point:

• Replace hinges on the island flip out bar
• Install finished kick board below cabinets
• Get water service to fridge for ice maker and water thinger
• Connect dishwasher air-gap
• Tile the wall behind the counters, (we have found the tile we want)
• Paint the walls and trim
• Replace kitchen light switches and add switch on the other side of the room
• Find and install new lighting fixture

And here is a refresher of what we've already done:

• Peel/scrape up old vinyl tile
• Have floor refinished
• Get new appliances (Range, Fridge, Microwave (thank you craig's list))
• Install 220V outlet for electric range
• Remove gas line for former range
• Install Dishwasher
• Remove old cabinets, counters, and sink
• Install new cabinets
• Have new counters and sink installed
• Install new sink faucet and drain
• Install new microwave (plus outlet for it)
• Install crown molding on top of cabinets

Let me know if I forgot anything