The neighbor dogs helped me build. Mostly by barking at the saw.
Mercedes enjoying the nice weather.
The sawhorses can stack on top of each other.
The two horses, Iggy and Manuel. Scott got on to me for not updating the blog, so this should get me caught up. My students have decided that since we got back from Christmas break I've become "mean" and "not cool," so that gives me some indication that I'm doing something right. Like I tell the kids, I'm not terribly concerned about a 13 year old thinking I'm cool.
Beer brewing is still going well. I got a counterflow wort chiller for Christmas from the brothers, so I brewed a German Lager to test it out. It worked really well, except for getting clogged a few times with hop residue (I think the brewer's name for that is "trub"). I think I figured out a way to filter, so next time there should be no problems. I'm glad the weather finally got colder, since to brew a "true" lager you have to let it ferment at around 50 degrees (which happens to be the temperature under the house). It takes a while at that temperature, but I'm hoping the beer is better for all that time!
I got to use my new Christmas power tools yesterday. I need a big table for when I brew, so I built a set of sawhorses and got a sheet of 3/4" plywood to put over the top. The pictures are of my new creation. Sometimes any tool is the right tool, but having a real circular saw makes a huge difference.
Track season started two weeks ago. I've got 20 or so kids on a daily basis for pre-season. Most of them are middle schoolers who are "sprinters" and don't like to run further than 100 meters. I think Cross Country spoiled me, since they actually like to run for more than 30 seconds. This week the other coaches will start, so I can go back to coaching distance, middle distance, and hurdles. It's still fun, though.
Erin's finished her month on OB this morning. Tomorrow at noon she starts a month of working in the Emergency room. It's shift work, but the shifts they gave her are mostly noon to midnight or midnight to noon. Oh well. She does get a week of vacation at the end of the month, so that will be nice. It's hard, tiring work, but she still enjoys it!
