Well, here I am, up at the crack of Ethel (why should Dawn have all the fun?). And why would I be up on my day off, you ask? Well, if you can tell me the secret to deflating an air mattress that takes up one's entire computer room without awakening the other person sleeping on it, you let me know.
Bear has to work today, and all of his work stuff is at his desk, on the far side of the room. The air mattress gets inflated between that stuff and the door (the room is quite long and narrow) so in the morning he needs to be able to walk freely back and forth, especially since his poor back has been out of whack for over two weeks now.
Happily, the new air mattress is proving substantially better than all our previous models - it's actually HOLDING AIR! It also has a built-in inflator. You just unroll the electric cord that has its own little hidey-hole in the side of the mattress, plug it in, and flip the switch. In four minutes, the bed (double thickness so it's nice and high) is ready to be slept on. We've decided to protect it from kitty claws by covering the entire thing with an enormously thick sleeping bag of Bear's. So far, so good.
Mom's visit has been going well - we've burned our way through two seasons of "Downton Abbey" (we only have the Christmas special episode left to watch), munched our way through several large bowls of popcorn smothered in grated parmesan cheese and chili lime powder, and I happily discovered that my mom loves hard cider!
I've only just become acquainted with hard cider through the influence of "Withnail and I" (you didn't seriously think you were going to get through a post without hearing that said, did you?) and I gave my mom a swig and she loved it. So we've been drinking cider (ice in the cider) and eating popcorn and watching Downton. Excellent!
I was surprised to see that cider only has 4% or 5% alcohol, compared to the 13% or so found in wine. I have a feeling ciders brewed and served in British pubs might be a bit higher in alcohol content than those sold in American grocery stores, but I'm not sure. Any Brits that want to weigh in on that score, leave a comment! I'd love to know.
Today's plans include breeping about, grazing in local antique and thrift stores, if the weather doesn't prove too miserable. It's supposed to be less bitterly cold here today, but with lots of rain and thunderstorms. I'm hoping the weathermen are as wrong as they usually are. Would be lovely to get some sunshine today. Here's hoping.
Tonight we are traveling up to the north shore of the island to have dinner with one of my mom's oldest friends, who also happens to be babysitting her very young grandchildren. Bear and I are looking forward to it almost as much as we would a tongue shaving. However, one of her other friends will also be there, a lady who is hysterically funny, extremely eccentric, and often blurts out completely inappropriate things. This will make the entire evening bearable, if not enjoyable, as the friend with the grandkids is nice, but about as exciting as fat free milk.
This particular visit (of my Mom coming to see me) is the end of a chapter. When I left the airlines back in 2002, I received a benefit of ten years' worth of free flying for myself and my immediate family. That benefit ended on January 1, 2013. Gone are the days when we could just hop any plane that had an empty seat and go see family, or Scotland, or Ireland, or Italy. Needless to say, visits will be fewer now. And more precious.
Oh wow free flights for ten years! I'm sure you earned them, but very sad for them to be over now.
ReplyDeleteCider in many parts of England is fairly tame stuff, but down in rural Somerset and Devon watch out for the scrumpy - a lethal vinegary substance that can literally knock you off your bench!
Kit - look at the rest of the comments - see what you started! Always knew that you were a rabble rouser, deep down. 8-) Now I, too, must find some scrumpy. Sounds scrumpy-dilly-umptious! Or, at the very least, effective. 8-)
DeleteI don't know what the percentage is but I do know one of the three times I have been totally rat-arsed was when I made the mistake of having scrumpy (cider) in a pub in Somerset. Never again. It was also the first time I ever saw a ghost. it turned out to be a goat,
ReplyDeleteA GOAT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAhhhhhhhhrrrrrggghhh! I would have given SO MUCH to have been there for that!
DeleteAfter a quick rummage through the kitchen I can tell you that in this UK house the cider varies from 4.5% to 7.2%. The 7.2% is towards the top end of the range for ciders as far as I know. This one is specifically labelled as a strong cider, but hopefully it should be nice as it was bought at a shop that focuses on good food and drink.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK what you need to avoid are drinks such as White Lightning. These cheap ciders are designed simply to have a high alcohol content with no regard to the actual taste, hence they are sold cheaply. Probably better used for cleaning the floor or bleaching a sink than drinking. I guess the old adage of "you get what you pay for" relates as much to cider (and beer) as it does anything else.
Mark, thanks for the cider info - am currently buying and trying every brand available to humanity (in NY) and so far have only found one that I dislike. It was raspberry flavored and tasted like mold. AWFUL.
DeleteMy mother's side of the family comes from The South - and I regularly get packages containing mason jars of actual, real white lightning (moonshine) made by locals. I got one just last week, and it's sitting in my cupboard. Only slightly less full than when it arrived. I actually enjoy it! The moonshine my family's friends make is apple based, so while it has no color whatsoever, it smells and faintly tastes of apples. Once you've had a shot or two, you don't really give a rat's arse what it tastes like. 8-) I usually pull a Withnail... I'll have a slug of white lightning, and follow it up with a pint of cider (ice in the cider) to sweeten the palate.
I presume you know the song "I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler...". It was hearing that when I was young that I first heard the word moonshine. Isn't it a lovely word.
DeleteAh yes Scrumpy - lethal stuff but perfect for poor agricultural students back in the day! Do like a bit of cider downt eh pub with a great big pile of bangers and mash when its cold outside!
ReplyDeleteFor me, it'd be a cider with a plate of haggis, neeps, and tatties. Followed by a nice, peaty single malt scotch.
DeleteDamn! You've just reminded me I got some frozen haggis for Burns Night and then forgot to do my haggis, neeps and tatties. That's for this week-end then.
DeleteMy son and his girlfriend are quite into Cider....but not the cheap and nasty stuff which truth be told we call 'loopy juice'....they tend to collect all sorts of special bottles of the stuff...I've never liked it myself but then we are all different. I did wonder about you getting free flights...how sad to have lost that now...but how wonderful to have had it. Enjoy your visit up the coast.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't actually go up the coast - there were high wind alerts and storm warnings, so we got to stay home and watch the rest of Season 2 of Downton Abbey! Much more enjoyable, to my way of thinking! 8-)
DeleteI used to drink hard cider when I was growing up. Some say it's alcoholic, but in truth there wasn't enough there to put the Beadle in a good mood, let alone a tizzy. I drink gin, mainly, which is usually around 100 proof.
ReplyDeleteIn the colonies we have cheap wine (Yeah! Thunderbird!) that around 7 or 8 percent alcohol, but the good wine is generally around 3 or 4 percent. Mild stuff.
I don't think we have scrumpy over here, though I'd like to try some. We have Moose Juice up North, which is half Moose beer and half grain alcohol. There's also moonshine in some parts of the country, which is also known as white lighting, white mule or 40 rod. Some of it's pretty good.
Mad Jack - giggling about the Beadle and his moods - I tried to like gin, but the only way I could handle it was diluted with a nice big slog of lemon water and a few spoonfuls of sugar... basically lemonade with some gin in. I love the smell of pine, but not the taste of it. If I'm going for the "hard stuff", it would have to be single malt scotch (Balvenie double wood is my favorite), or the moonshine my mom sends me from North Carolina. Clear as water, smells and tastes of apples. Wonderful to soak raisins in, then eat the raisins.... whooooopeeeee!
DeleteDevon cider - as already said - lethal!
ReplyDeleteBalvenie double wood, eh? I spent many a happy summer as a student taking VIP visitors on tours of Balvenie distillery. One of the few distilleries left in Scotland with its own maltings. It's all on a miniature scale. Lovely.
I like cider as well. I started when I was hiking Hadrian's Wall and was bewildered by all the beers and ales. Cider was a happy find.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good visit. My Dad and his wife come down this week so I have been scrambling to get ready.