New table and new room arrangement.
Then we threw a wine tasting party.
Peter (not pictured) must have been so jealous he went out shopping for a table and skipped out on our party. Our plan is working perfectly.
Our friends Mandy and Dave have a child, Emeline, which means their bedtime coincided with the start of our table party. We had pre-party with them to taste some beer. The first thing I learned this spring when they had their baby was stouts are good for breast feeding. Interesting.
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. This is a seriously dark, seriously good beer. Looks like a can of oil. In fact a review I found online described this beer as an oil changed for your liver.
The bottom of last year's cans said "Dark is the Absence of Light." Upon reading this I held my glass up to a light, but all I saw was black. This time I just drank it and did not break out any AC/DC.
The Ten Fidy is a seasonal, so Sarah has the Jolly Roger and now I have the Ten Fidy. Jolly Roger Christmas Ale has been seriously delayed in its release because the Maritime brewery is in the process of moving. Sarah was jonesing pretty hard, and it was finally released recently. Her first taste was this Thursday at the Barking Dog; good thing she had Friday off. I also scored at Barking Dog thanks to Steve (no, not my brother but the guy we think may be the owner). I saw him pour someone a glass of scotch from a bottle not on display. All I saw was "29" on the bottle. I asked him if my eyes were correct, and it was indeed a bottle of 29-year old Cragganmore. We got to talking about scotch. Before I new it the bottle was back out, and he poured me a complimentary taste. Thanks, Steve! Definitely the best I have had in a long time.
Much snowboarding has already been accomplished this year. Baker had over 200" of snowfall in November, which is good news for an El Nino year (typically a year that is warmer and drier for us). We were all pretty worried, and one meteorology professor and blogger answered the question of "Should I buy a season pass this year?" with "Do you feel lucky?" Well I have used my pass 8 times as of yesterday (and ridden 4 out of my 5 snowboards based on the varied conditions), and I surpassed the break even point before Christmas. So, yes, I feel very lucky (and, yes, I do "need" 5 snowboards, Sarah).
Peter on our first day riding at Stevens Pass (before he was a pretentious bed owner). It was a very good powder day. The second day was a much better pow day, though. How do I know this? I did not stop to take pictures the second day.
At the top of Old Reliable.
Also, I passed the PE exam. That's a relief.
