After a few weeks off I made my return to the ice rink for a charity hockey tournament over the weekend.   I was filling in for a team that shares a few players with my normal adult league team.   The action started off on Friday night against a team that I’ve played against regularly.   The problem was that normally our team plays in division C, and the team I was playing on for the tournament normally plays in division E.   Take that fact along with a few ringers that our opponents added to their normal team, and it’s easy to see that we didn’t stand a chance.   I was just happy that we managed to get a couple of goals in the 7-2 blowout.

One nice thing is that the team I was playing on was loaded with defensemen, so I was able to actually play offense for once.   I nearly scored one of the goals in our first game, but one of my line-mates got to it first.   However, I was able to add goals in the following two games on Saturday.   Our first game on Saturday was against a team that was more on our same level.   The game was a good one, but in the end it was a 3-1 loss, with one of the goals being an empty-netter in the last-minute of play.   Obviously, our lone goal was one that I scored for us fairly early in the game.   It was a disappointing loss.

We had quite a bit of down time between the first and second games.   Most on the team stuck around for a few cups of free beer and some free brats.   After awhile a handful of the team headed over to one of the guys house to watch some of the NHL action.   I would have hoped that our team would be inspired to win a game after watching the pros.   But as most were rooting for the Blackhawks, I think the Hawks poor performance rubbed off on us.   It was either that or all the beer.   The second game on Saturday night was rather brutal.   I don’t recall the final score, but it wasn’t close.   I did score one of our goals, which I think there were only two.

Saturday evening’s game wasn’t over until midnight.   Unfortunately our poor performance caused us to be scheduled for our last game at 7am on Sunday morning.   In the first three games we always had a solid number of players, perhaps too many as we often filled up three lines.   On Sunday morning we were lucky we could field two lines of skaters.   I was moved back to defense due to the absence of some players, and was hoping I could help to keep the scoring down and finally get a win.   Unfortunately, this game ended the same as all the others.   As this game featured the worst two teams in the tournament, we matched up with them well, but their goalie played amazing.   I’m sure we out-shot our opponents, but they went on to win a rather close one.

Even with the four loss performance it was still a good time and I was glad to be back on the ice.   Summer league starts next week.

Last night I finally saw my first SoundRabbit performance of 2010.   It had been quite awhile since I last saw them play, so Kim and I headed to The Walnut Room last night after a benefit event for Colorado CASA.   This was my first time at this venue, though we recently ate at their newly opened second location.   The main room of the place feels very similar to the newer location, and that is all that is visible from the front door.   I asked the employee at the door if this was the right place, and we soon realized that the concert room is behind another door in the far corner of the dining area.

At first I didn’t think anyone was playing, but after we opened the second door we were greeted with the sounds of music.   It was amazing how sound proof the walls must be.   I didn’t catch the name of the duo that was playing when we walked it, but we listened to a few of their songs before they were finished.   The concert room was nice, with an abundance of high-top tables and chairs, and the sound system was really good.   Before long SoundRabbit took the stage and quickly setup their equipment.   They had told us earlier that they arrived too late to get a sound-check before the show, so it all had to be done on the fly.   Obviously the mix wasn’t the best ever, but they still sounded really good.   We took our neighbors along with us and they both seemed to really enjoy the show as well.   I hope I don’t wait too long to catch another of their performances.

Over the weekend, I poured a couple of glasses of my latest homebrew for myself and a few friends.   Overall, the reactions were mixed, but I think the majority thought that it still needed more carbonation.   So we only had a glass or two that day, but over the last couple of days I’ve tried it again and I think it is much better than before.   The carbonation really helps bring out the bitterness of the Pale Ale style and gives it a nice crisp taste.   I’m the only one who has tried it again, so I may be a bit biased, but I’m sure it won’t be long before Kim or some friends decide to give it another try.   Cheers!

My progress has been a little slow, but I just finished the sixth book in the Alex Cross series, Roses are Red. I don’t recall exactly when I started reading them, but it was likely around this time last year. A post from last July indicated that I had finished the first two books and was waiting for the third from the library.   Not exactly a blistering pace, but at least I’m reading more than I once was, which added up to zero books per year.   I’m still really enjoying the series, and I have the seventh book, Violets are Blue, on hold from the library.   At this rate it will only take me a couple more years to finish the entire series, as long as James Patterson doesn’t write too many more.

Awhile back I uploaded a family tree to Geni.com.   At some point in grade school I created an electronic version of my family tree by copying a paper copy along with some help of my parents.   The file that I created is eventually what I uploaded to Geni.com, which is partially visible here.   The cool thing is that this site can automatically find matches between your tree and other trees, and if both parties approve the trees can be merged.   Over the weekend I was constantly merging trees and have emailed back and forth with a couple of distant relatives.   It’s especially cool to find out that you have things in common with some of these people, like occupations and interests.   I even found out that the Naked Cowboy is a distant relative, my third cousin once removed.

It’s been nearly three weeks since I last posted pictures from our trip to Arizona, and finally today I give you the last installment.   On our second day in Sedona we took a ride with the Pink Jeep Tours along the Broken Arrow trail.   Our group of five was assigned to a jeep, […]

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Wednesday night Kim and I hosted a gathering at our house for part of the group from our recent hut trip.   We were getting together for dinner and to exchange pictures.   Though I didn’t end up offering samples of my recently kegged homebrew, I prepared another hit at the party.   In addition to serving grilled chicken, I prepared this green bean recipe that I’ve used numerous times before.   Though it is very easy and requires very few ingredients, the results are very tasty and approved by our group of snowshoeing hikers.   In fact, it is so simple that I’m sure we could make it on next year’s hut trip as it doesn’t require more than the beans, a premixed sauce, and some garlic.   Give it a try.

Today is the 40th Earth Day, if you didn’t already know it.   I’ve recently been thinking about planting a garden for vegetables, and the first thing I’m trying to do is decide where I should put it in the yard.   I think it needs to have at least 6 hours of sun a day and daily watering.   The watering part is easy, as most of the yard gets watered a few times a week, and I can supplement additional watering as needed.   The difficult part is the sun.   I have an ideal spot on the southern edge of our backyard that I’d really love to use, but I’m not sure it gets enough sun due to a fence and shed.   So I just ordered this sunlight calculator to help me find out.   It should also help me in judging what plants to put in other places of the yard.   We already planted two new plants over the weekend, and I have plans to plant even more soon.

I recently kegged my third batch of homebrew.   This is an American style Pale Ale that I brewed on March 14th.   I then let it ferment from that day all the way until this past Saturday, April 17th.   So it sat for over a month, which may have helped increase the alcohol content.   In the past, I’ve struggled to get the final gravity as low as they recipe said it should be.   However, this time it started at 1.051 and went all the way down to 1.012.   That equates to 5.11% ABV making it my strongest beer yet!

I poured a small sample of the beer last night, and it tasted a little bitter but overall pretty mellow.   It definitely still needs some carbonation, so I’ll continue rocking the keg and letting it sit connected to the CO2 tank and hopefully it will be tasting great by this coming weekend.   I would have liked for it to be ready for a gathering at our house tonight, but I don’t think it’s quite there yet.   Though I may dish out a few samples anyway.   Since the kegging day was the day between my dad and my brother’s birthdays I am calling it Fabro Pale Ale, the combination of Father and Brother.

Friday night, after I had arrived back in Denver, Kim and I stopped for some dinner on the way home from the airport.   Initially we had plans to eat out near the airport, but after a delayed flight and little traffic on the highways, we ventured closer to home.   Our destination was Pete’s Central One, which we have dined at a time or two before.   I remembered that the Greek food was great, and that the little neighborhood spot would be just what we wanted for the night.   The tables are definitely close to each other, but I think that helps bring all the regulars together in a big conversation that often fills the restaurant.

We decided to split some hummus for an appetizer, which quickly arrived with warm pita slices.   I also decided to order the chicken kabob, which came with a side of tasty rice, and some vegetables.   Also served with it was a small cup of Avgolemono soup and a dinner salad as well.   It is a ton of food and it is all so good!   With a little of Kim’s help I was able to eat nearly all the dinner plate and even had room for a couple of Ouzo shots.   The manager of the restaurant is famous for giving away free shots of Ouzo after you have finished your meal.   If you stay long enough, we found out that he will keep pouring them for you too.   Dining at Pete’s is always a great experience and I’m sure we’ll be back soon.