Trooper's Dead

8:58am our beloved Trooper passed and is on his way to his heavenly home where he can swim freely without the confinement of the glass container.

We'll miss you Trooper, I know you are looking down on us.

I bet it was the Swine Flu....

What a Trooper...

Our beloved beta fish, Trooper, has been in the family since October of 2008. He has survived many 'dirty water' transissions, but I fear this last one may be his last. You may not can tell from the photo that Trooper has somehow managed to loose some fins and has a rather large bald spot on top of his head. He now spends his days hovering at the top of his fish bowl starring blindly out into the distance. He hasn't eaten for awhile now, and looks hungry.

Well, we'll miss you Trooper. Now once I say that, he'll probably hang around for another 6 months.

Taste Better With Age???

Well, some months ago, I tried my hand at Beer making with my handy dandy HomeBrew kit given as a gift from the wife. The beer label was inspired by my Father-in-Law who likes the phrases 'Damn it Man' and 'Hootie Hoo'. Not quite sure if it is used as often as the past, but still inspired the label. After the brew was so-called finished by careful reading of the instructions, I decided to keep it cooking so to speak in the fridge and cabinets in hopes the taste will become....well, good. Unfortunately, this was not the case and the brew was donated to the local landfill. While fun in the making, will not be attempted again.

Sincerely,

Retired BrewMaster

Burning the House Down with Jimmy Dean Sausage

Needless to say, it was an interesting morning at the McKenzie residence....

For some reason, I haven't been able to catch up on sleep this week which makes it difficult to get up in the mornings for work. I finally make it out of the bed where then I take the dog out for his business. Meanwhile, Christin hurrys to get ready and pack all her things as she has to go out of town for a Wedding this weekend (Yes, she is in another wedding....)

Apparently, during this time of my awakening, she attempts to fry 3 pieces of sausage in the Microwave...This unfortunately, catches the paper towel holding the delicious morning treats on fire. She then opens the microwave oven to let out all the smoke and smell for the whole house to experience. I have the gut feeling at this moment to try and fan the Jimmy Dean smoke away from the 2 smoke detectors we have installed in the Kitchen. One being connected to the Fire Dept directly. I feel my attempt was a success and so I stoped fanning the alarms to help her carry her many bags for her weekend excersion out the door when i hear the screaming of the 2 alarms that I just abandoned. One alarm is bad enough, but for 2 to go off at the same time, was insane.

This triggers utter chaos around 7:30am. I instantly go into scamble mode to try to find the phone number for assistance on how to turn it off... At this point the house phone rings and they ask if it's an emergency. I tell the lady my wife was cooking in the microwave and everything is fine and tell me how to turn off the noise. I get the alarm reset and all is quiet again...or so I thought. Come to find out, it's my fault I couldn't find the number and my fault I was yelling. I'm sorry, I had to yell to hear myself over the loud ringing in my ears.

Thank you Jimmy Dean Sausage....

Plantar Fasciitis

So I bought this lovely contraption for Christin because of the constant pain and agony she (and I) have experienced for the past (so many) weeks. This is probably just one of those info-mmercial gimmicks you see on late night TV, but maybe, just maybe, it will relieve some of her pain in the foot area.

I have tried to massage the evil pain out of it, but with no luck. On the Internet, we found it may be a disorder called Plantar Fasciitis, which translates to (Husband needs to rub the feet disorder)

The gadget I purchased is suppose to relieve my hands more than her foot I'm sure... I think I have developed some sort of Handlantar fasciitisorehand because of all the massaging I have attempted on her to relieve her pain.

Let's see how long she will actually wear the thing...hahaha. It is SUPPOSE to be worn all night long, but I'll bet it doesn't last an hour

Something Good CAN Come out of Robertsdale, AL

Tim Cook is from Robertsdale, AL and is set to take over for Steve Jobs while out for health reasons.

(Fortune Magazine) - An intensely private Alabaman and Auburn University engineering grad (class of 1982), Cook is also a workaholic whose only interests outside of Apple appear to be cycling, the outdoors, and Auburn football. (Talk about tough years: Apple's stock is down 50% year to date; the Tigers, nationally ranked early in the season, were 4-5 at presstime.) What's more, there's every reason to believe that Apple would at least be stable for some years to come if Cook were to find himself at the helm. The reason: He's essentially been running much of the company for years.

A Home Brew...

For those of you who don't know me too well, I am a beer lover. Not saying I'm an Alcoholic, just love the taste of different beers and brews. My lovely Wife has supported this habit (love) for beer by buying me a Home Brewery Kit. This is my first ever attempt of making the stuff myself and after smelling the result after 3 weeks of waiting, may be my last. It still has quite a ways to go however...

Here is the Brew station that has been in the Wife's way for 3 weeks now. She has not been able to make a hot, home-cooked meal since I planted brewery in the kitchen.

The "Brew Master"

Here I am demonstrating the brewing technique of a Master. Carefully mixing the sugars and other stuff...

I don't remember this one, maybe from the College days???

This is our fish "Trooper" looking and wanting a drop of the brew... I don't know much about him, Christin brought him home from work one day. He doesn't do anything but swim in his fish bowl

And Tucker looking at me in the brewery

Here is the finished product. Well after sitting here for another 3 weeks, then will be the finished product. I haven't came up with a name yet for this brew, but after the first taste, I'm sure one will present itself.