A Small Adventure

We took advantage of the long week-end to take Jack (and ourselves) on a field trip to some new El Dorado County wineries today.

We tried Miraflores which we both agree is now one of our favorites in the area. Very good Syrahs and good Barbera and Petite Syrah too.

Here are Steph and Jack enjoying the day.



We then went to a couple of wineries further south that were fair but neither the wines nor our experiences were great. Mark Winery by The Creek down as a low priority as well as Charles B. Mitchell/Conti Estates.

Jack's favorite part about winery trips, as you might recall, are the tractor sightings.



On the way home we ran across a somewhat rare car for these parts. A real Mini.

The Dog Days

The latter half of August has been a fun one in CA. Dad came out to visit flapJack and it was a fun visit. Here are the three of us taking a dip in the pool.

We also had a "California" dinner of wine and cheese.



Jack got some good Grandpa time in and enjoyed the extra attention. Like he doesn't get enough as it is.



We found a day to build a workbench for the garage.



And of course celebrate Dad's 68th!



The cake was a new one: a Deluxe Duncan Hines Carrot which included a package of raisins an carrots to include in the mix. The verdict? Pay the extra buck to get the deluxe if it is available. It was a good cake.

GT Football 1 Day Away!!!

While likely to be a bit of a long year with a new coach and a new offense this may be the most exciting point of the season for a Tech fan!

The Fitzgerald Theater

I wandered past Minnesota Public Radio's famed Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul tonight. There were signs for various upcoming performances including, of course, "A Prairie Home Companion". The thing I couldn't figure out is why they had so many pictures of dad posted all over the place. If you don't know what that last comment refers to, CLICK THIS LINK.

Jack as a 1 year Old!

A couple of milestones occur when you turn one.

First, you get to learn how to make French Toast - at least in a Tangeman household. Jack did well in his first lesson. Kodak even participated.



You also get to turn the car seat around and see that a whole new world exists in the car beyond the back of the backseat. He's sporting his new Raider hat.



Finally - one of Jack's favorite gifts from his birthday was the stuffed weasel (or ferret) he received from Bill and Erin.



We pulled out his scale today and managed to weigh him before we gave him a bath. Official weight is now 20.6 pounds.

The Party's Here! Jack's First Birthday

Jack celebrated his first birthday with a party today. He had a great day!

Mom and Jack were both excited before the party.


A friend made his cakes - he even had his own cake that he got to play in. He was a bit confused at first but eventually got the hang of it. As you can see these were no ordinary cakes and they tasted as good as they looked!






Jack waited with great anticipation for his cake.

For some reason, the girls who attended the party were infatuated with Jack while he was eating his cake. There could be worse problems to have I guess.

Beating the Odds

About a week and a half ago Steph noticed that her eternity band was missing a diamond. Yesterday, while preparing for a workout in the company gym, she noticed a shiny spec in the floor. Sure enough - it was the missing diamond!



Occasionally, even a blind squirrel finds a nut!

You've Come a Long Way Baby!

Jack turns one year old tomorrow. A year ago we were nestled in the hospital somewhat oblivous to what would happen or how much our lives would change. We were soon blessed with Jack - a pretty incredible baby and we still haven't recovered :)

His favorite toys these days are remote controls, pots and pans and water bottles.



He received his birthday present from us a day early - a water table - it was something he tested a few days earlier at a friends and loved.

Lakeside Vista

Here's the view from the living room windows in the new house Erin and I just bought. The neighbor lady says she has recently sighted a gaggle of Canadian geese splashing about on the water. I haven't noticed them yet, but if I do, I'll try to snap a picture.

New Candies Reviewed

Yet another new Snickers has emerged. It's a rocky road flavored Snickers that they have dubbed the "Rockin' Nut Road Bar". This is perhaps the best Snickers incarnation ever. It has almonds, caramel, and marshmallow-flavored nougat and is covered in dark chocolate. If I have any complaint, it's that that almonds could better be described as "tiny almond bits".
Recommendation: Buy

The next new candy is the marshmallow filled Hershey's Kiss. This sounded like a sure winner to me, because I love marshmallow. I was sad to discover that it isn't actually filled with marshmallow, but rather a thick, partially hydrogenated coconut oil and corn starch paste that really doesn't have any marshmallow flavor to it. The texture is unmarshmallowlike. The flavor is off. Great concept, horrid execution.
Recommendation: Avoid

Little French Place in Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood, NYC

Brasserie 52

A pretty good place. You could do much better in NYC of course but you could do much worse as well.

The Bathroom Floor Project

We finally finished the basement bathroom floor project tonight. Steps included cutting and laying tile, then lining it with sanded acrylic caulk and adding quarter round along the walls. I also repainted the sink cabinet and added more modern handles and knobs. The first picture is "before", the second is "after.

The Grand Gobbler

Yesterday we heard a tapping, a quiet tapping at the door.

Turns out our turkey friend had come to say hi. Though he became shy as we approached we snapped this shot as he reproached.

(click to enlarge for a better view of the bird)

New Mellencamp gets Decent Reviews; Dad's Birthday Gift "Taking Shape"

80/100 Billboard
Searching for a ray of lyrical light in John Mellencamp's latest treatise on the state of the world proves consuming—but largely fruitless. That, however, makes the album all the more compelling.

80/100 Rolling Stone
Mellencamp teamed up with producer T Bone Burnett to create a whole new sound--a set of textured, atmospheric folk and country blues that adds up to one of the most compelling albums of Mellencamp's career.

80/100 The New York Times
It’s a brave album in the way it sets aside all his old consolations.

80/100 Boston Globe
Eschewing any concept of "radio ready" and singing with a gruff immediacy, Mellencamp tackles all of the titular concepts on this folk- and blues-based material with a sense of liberation that is keenly palpable.

Yuki's Best Walk Ever

Yuki and I were on our typical night hike tonight when I heard him snatch something up in his mouth. It looked like a piece of trash so I told him to drop it, which he did. Turns out it was an unopened bag of teriyaki beef jerky. I examined the bag and saw no evidence of tampering. The bag was dry and clean, and the expiration date was safely in the distant future. I considered saving the bag to eat myself since I was 99% sure it was safe. Someone probably just dropped it by accident. Then I realized that it wasn't my jerky. It belonged to the rightful finder, Yuki. I ripped open the bag and dumped it on the sidewalk. Yuki ate it all in about 20 seconds. He proudly carried the empty jerky bag the entire way home.

The Yuki Plate

We were driving around town this weekend when we spotted this amazing personalized license plate. "Yuki" is not only a fine name for a dog, but it is also a fairly common name given to Japanese women. The word also means "snow" in Japanese. A logical assumption then, would be that this Toyota Corolla is owned by either a canine, a snowman, or a Japanese woman.

Public Safety Announcement

Please keep in mind, lions and tigers are not the only dangerous zoo creatures. ¡Las focas tambien te puedan morder!

Winter Does Cameron Park!

July 8, 2008 - Starbucks Everywhere Blog

After winning $300 in the Late Bird, I dropped Rebecca off at the airport, I headed out at 1:03 PM. My mission seemed Herculean. Get as close as I could to 30 stores a day in an effort to reach and clear Florida before any new stores closed. An so began The Implosion Blitz.

Got "frazzled" right away. I-80 was backed up in Truckee so from Tahoe City I went south to US-50 since I had to visit a store down that way, in Cameron Park. But I lost 15-30 minutes when the highway was reduced to one lane. Grrr...

Product of Arkansas

I bought a package of tomatoes in Nebraska this weekend and noticed this sticker proudly hailing the fruit's Arkansas roots. If you slap this sticker on enough stuff, maybe the "Product of Arkansas" slogan will achieve the fame of the big three: "Made in Taiwan", "Made in China", and "Hecho en México".

New York City Lowlight...M&M World

Generally speaking, we had a great time in New York City this past week. The low point came when Stephanie and our friend Kelly insisted we stop by the M&M's World Store. What a waste of valuable Times Square real estate! All this place does is sell M&M's Candies in various colors and containers. Really, the only difference between M&M's World and your typical gas station quick shop is that M&M's World's candy selection is worse, and they don't sell gas. As you can see from the photo, I wasn't having any fun!

Steph and Kelly were pretty excited though...