Procrastinating...

Still stalling, not quite ready to shut down this blog for good.

I have to go off on a little aside. Denise commented on our impending status as "empty nesters", an expression that I find more than a little distasteful. The phrase conjurs a pathetic image; otherwise perfectly functional adults, doddering aimlessly through the dreggs of lives bereft of meaning because their children have grown...come to think of it, that sounds kind of familiar.

Still, empty-nesters?! It suggests that next spring we'll be incubating a couple new eggs. I think of us more like salmon; having struggled mightily upstream, fulfilling our reproductive responsibilities, we will float, metaphorically, belly-up down the dwindling stream of life. Kind of romantic, don't you think?

Empty nester is a lousy metaphor, but I struggle to think of a better one. What other animal sends its offspring into the world, worrying that they will be back in a couple years, living in what was supposed to be the guest room?

Whatever, Jacob is apparently doing well at Humboldt, at least we haven't had any calls from their emergency services department to this point, knock wood. He has not felt the need to call home, but Denise has been able to speak to him on occasion, enough to confirm that he is attending classes and probably not studying as much as we might like.

Nick, on the other hand, is still hanging out in the general vacinity of home, at least until next week. He is entertaining his friend Bird (nickname) for a few days, getting ready to head up to UC Davis (via Las Vegas?) sometime in the near future.

Today Nick, Bird, Denise and I went to Escondido for a tour of the Stone Brewing Company. The tour was both informative and tasty, leading me to believe that I may have fatally erred in my selection of careers. Turns out that employees of the brewery are entitled to a keg per month, plus a case per month, plus an allocation of 2 litres per day on the job, plus...I'm not sure because by that time my eyes had glazed over and I couldn't hear over the chorus of heavenly hosts echoing in my ears. The tour included tasting and, because our guide offered additional tastings to anyone asking a question, I was one of the most inquisitive attendees. They had a Chipotle Smoked Porter that was really amazing. I expected a hint of chipotle peppers; Wow, this was intense. I had to buy a one litre growler to bring home.

Speaking of growlers, this has been a pretty recent phenomenom for me. Never heard of this until my previous visit to Stone, but apparently this is the hot tip with craft brewers. A growler is a large, refillable bottle of beer. Last visit I bought two 2-liter growlers, one for me and one for Nick, each filled with Ruination IPA. Today I bought a 1-liter of the Chipotle Smoked Porter. Refillable beer bottles! This is a great idea; why recycle when you can refill.

We had lunch (which was delicious) at the brewery's restaurant. I had the "Tempeh 'Fuego' Burger" which according to the menu came "hot or incredibly hot." Considering the fact that this place produces a beverage called Arrogant Bastard, a reasonable person would have taken "incredibly hot" as fair warning. I, of course, assumed that they did not know who they were fooling with, so incredibly hot I ordered and incredibly hot it was. Delicious I might add, but hot none the less. My eyes were actually tearing up, but it was entirely well worth it.

Unfortunately, Nick and Bird opted to head south and visit friends in the San Diego area following lunch, so Denise and I are, once again, empty nesters for the evening.

Sigh...belly-up is not my best side.