30 Minus 2 Days Of Writing

There are things.

That’s a theme? Really?

Well, yeah, of course there are things. They are all around you. Electronics. Cars. Trucks. Snow. Beer cans. Wine bottles. Diet Mountain Dew cans. Bottles of water.

Cracked roads. Potholed roads. Gas stations. Pizza shops. Sub shops. Hardware stores.

Shoes. Socks. Shirts. Pants. Underwear. Slippers. Pajamas. Robes. Towels. Cloths.

Boxes of pasta. Cans of spaghetti sauce. Boxes of cereal, crackers and cookies. Cans of fruit.  Bags of cookies, chips and pretzels.

Packages of cheese. Lunch meat. Mayo. Mustard. Bread. Rye bread. Rolls.

Books. Notebooks. Pens. Pencils. Paper. Printer. Sticky notes.

Phones. Tablets. iPhone. Android. Kindle.

Music. Rock. Country. Classical. 80s.

Things. All around you. Yes, there are things. Please add your own in the comments.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Despite all the snow outside, I felt this recent heat wave (nearly 50 today) brought me somewhere else.

Then I left the house and still saw mountains of snow. The sky was blue, though, so that was a bonus.

Still, it’s only a dream.

Hope you all have a wonderful and dream-filled weekend!

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Year after year, this writing challenge takes place.

Before the start, Nicky always asks for ideas. People send random themes to her and she then picks and chooses how to make our lives, as bloggers, just silly.

I always say “beer” as a theme idea. It’s always turned down. But when I submitted this theme – Yes, I made that – I had a feeling she’d pick it. It goes with the style of this challenge is seems.

And with that selection, she fell right into my trap.

I am writing about beer.  Why? Because yes, I made that.

Last January, I started the process of becoming a home brewer. I’ve been slow at it, making about nine or so beers. All have been small batches, probably 24 or fewer bottles and usually right around 9-12.

The best part? It’s beer. Yes, I made that.

For those who may be beer fans, let me tell you – being able to brew your own tasty froth is an incredible thing. Though I know my beers aren’t going to win any contests. I think they’ve all been pretty sweet. I’ve yet to create my own concoction, but I have the ingredients and plan on doing it soon. I need a bigger pot, though, as it’s going to yield me about a case or so.

I also received several kits for Christmas, so I need to get brewing.

In all, I think I have 8-12 things ready to go. I just need to sit down, go through the process and make some of these yummy beverages.

I started my path to brewing via the Mr. Beer system. It’s not the hardest of things as you just have to do the basics and not worry about much. I did a few beers with that before I graduated to brewing one-gallon kits, first with easy extract kits and moving onto all-grain. I haven’t gone past that yes – such as moving up to five gallons or doing things such as racking to a secondary or things like that.

I have attempted fruit beer and have had decent success.

For those who have absolutely no patience, if you are going to brew, you need the patience. That’s just fact. Brewing the actual beer can take you anywhere from an hour or two to several hours. Then you have to let the beer ferment – for at least two weeks. Some beers require much more. And during that time, you have to watch temperatures and such so the yeast keeps working.

Once the beer is done fermenting, you need to bottle/keg/carbonate, and that takes upward of another two weeks. And many say you should let the beer sit in the fridge for a week or two as well, but I don’t usually last that long. So we’re talking a minimum of four weeks and a few days.

But when done? Oh so worth it.

My first beer was an American Light “lager,” sort of like a Coors Light. I called it Pee Light. It actually wasn’t bad. I graduated soon after to a stout and I’ve dabbled in several beers since then, including an Irish Red, a porter and a brown ale.

I’ve enjoyed them all.

The best part is messing around – such as with ingredients, or bottling time. I leave beers out so they continue to age a little before I put them in the fridge. They often have a slightly altered taste, but it’s usually still good.

I’m not some super beer drinker. I have a fair palate and I enjoy the taste of a good beer. I’d prefer to sit down and have one or two with friends rather than go out and tie one on. I’m not in my 20s anymore and I just think it defeats the purpose of having a fine beer.

That’s the best part of brewing small batches, too.

I have a few people I give some to whenever I make a beer, so I don’t always have but a six pack for myself. I take my time with it as it’s nice to have. It’s also nice to know if I make a beer I don’t like all that much, it’s a small batch and not two or more cases worth of it.

Usually, too, I come up with some clever name and make labels for the beer. I also have my “home brewery” on untapped. So it’s fun to dream of this wonderful production as it being bigger than it really is!

And yes, I made that!

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

You ever had frog’s legs before?

No?

I hadn’t either until this past summer when I was on a cruise. They were an appetizer on the menu, so I figured I may as well try them.

In the past, I hear they taste like chicken.

I don’t agree.

In fact, I thought they were slimy and, well, a way too many bones – and definitely not chicken.

I’ve always wondered where the saying came from and what it meant – when people said it tastes like chicken.

Most of the time, it’s a blatant lie.

Wikipedia says this:

“Tastes like chicken” is a common declaration used when trying to describe the flavor of an unusual food. The expression has been used so often that it has become somewhat of a cliché. As a result, the phrase also sometimes gets used for incongruous humor, by being deployed for foods or situations to which it has no real relevance.

Apparently I could have merged this theme with yesterday’s “liar” theme as this saying appears to be built on a mountain of lies.

The history part of the Wikipedia page tells no real evidence for the start of this. It would be nice to know where it came from.

After all, not all chicken is good.

It’s true. Oh, it’s damn true.

But by using this lie when dealing with food, why would anybody want it?

Thing about it – you’re out to a fancy restaurant with your significant other. You’re celebrating something and want to splurge on something and show your love for said person.

So you go to the menu and see frog’s legs or escargots (snails) and decide to splurge. You ask the waiter what he thinks of them and what do they taste like?

Maybe he chuckles and then, in a French accent, of course, he says “It tastes like chicken.”

Doesn’t make me happy knowing I am spending prime-time money on something that will equal a Chicken McNugget.

What about you? That’s what I thought.

I do think, among friends and such, it can be rather funny. Especially when talking about something completely different.  Such as this:

Person 1: That lobster looks great. How’s it taste?

Person 2: Tastes like chicken.

If my lobster ever tastes like chicken, for the record, I’m finding the chef and doing something about it.

But, seriously, it’s a silly saying and should be outlawed.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!