The Time We Got a Boat

As we on Lee Street have so much free time, on a Saturday Jim decided we were ready to invest in a sailboat.


On a Monday we spent 15 hours getting it. You see, Jim couldn't possibly have found the perfect sloop somewhere local to us, we don't live anywhere near a major body of water or anything. Nope. Jim found his perfect sailboat just North of Northport Michigan. At the tip of the mitten's pinky.

So, we woke up at 5 am, loaded Hunter in the car and took off. We ate at great places like McDonalds.


Getting there was easy.


Then Jim had to make sure his sloop passed the float test.

It passed with flying colors. Hunter and I enjoyed the marina, I think he was more in to the geese than me though.


Then, we headed back... We could only go 50 miles per hour, and of course the AC in the Buick is out. The return trip took seven hours. Hunter took full advantage of the window.


And then peaced out in the most uncomfortable position ever....


The Buick passed 200,000 miles.



And now we own a sailboat.

Cubs Day Game

Thanks to the major corporation I work for I luckily had the Friday before Fourth of July off work. I decided to get off Lee street and head to Chicago with Adrienne to visit Jen. We started the day with bloody marys and mimosas.

Then, we headed to Wrigley.

We had some beers and had a blast!



The Cubs... well they didn't do too well...

Fortunately, I'm a Tigers fan.

Paws on the Pier

Ever since we got Hunter from Al-Van Humane Society here in South Haven I've tried to keep up with the upcoming events raising money for the shelter. So, I knew MONTHS ago about the greatness that Paws on the Pier was sure to be.



It did not disappoint. There was a great turn out, and we all got to enjoy a sunny day of walking our dogs down the pier, visiting some great dog-centric booths, and raising money for Al-Van.


Well, it was mostly amazing... except that it was way too hot for poor Huntie and he stopped and laid down about every 20 feet. So, I bought him some "Frosty Paws" to cool off. Hunter did not care for, and to be honest, I had a taste and didn't like it either.


After Paws on the Pier Hunter could not make it all the way back to our house, so we stopped at Joe's Bar to have some lunch with his buddy Bodie.

The Bottling of Jim's Man Overboard Ale

Bottling was much simpler than brewing beer. It wasn't as interesting, but it was arguably better because we got to drink the beer.

The beer tasted great! Jim did an excellent job of recipe selection and execution.

First, we had to wash the bottles. Since we like beer, we used 22 oz bottles.



Then, we had to add the Jim's Man Overboard Ale labels, complete with the surgeon general's warning.



Then, the beer went in to the bottle.


And we put a cap on it.


Come on over.... we've got beer here on Lee Street

The Making of Jim's Man Overboard Ale

For Jim's birthday I arranged for us to go to Saugatuck Brewing Company and have him brew his own beer. We brought some good friends to help.

I wish I remembered all we did well enough to give a better step by step account of the process.

Here Jim measures out barley to start his amber ale.





Jim adding the barley mash to the beer kettle.



Taking a break to drink some brews while Jim's beer was brewing.



Adding the first batch of hops.

Group picture.
Before beer is fermented it is called WORT. Here, the wort was ALMOST ready to begin fermenting. Jim partaking in an old German beer brewing tradition that translates to "kicking the shit out of it."

In two weeks we were to come back to drink (and bottle) Jim's Man Overboard Ale.

Jim's Birthday Celebration: The Food & The Clothes

Look at this guy.... HE LOVES AMERICA. Even when it is NOT Independence Day, he still reps the Red, White, and Blue. This is what he wore for his birthday celebration.



For his birthday cake, Jim requested a homemade chocolate cake... so I found a recipe for a Chocolate Stout Cake and topped it with an Irish Whiskey ganache.



With the help of Lindsay, Jim's bday meal turned out PERFECT. Perfectly crispy asparagus, Greek salad, shish-ka-bobs, pita bread and a grilled peach. Amazing.