Punkin the Pumpkin

It all started on the way back in September on the way back from the eastern shore, camping with Ryan and Kristen. We passed a trailer full of the largest pumpkins I had ever seen in my life. Since we normally do up Halloween right around here we had no choice but to buy one. It took me and a farm hand using a sling just to get it in our car, and it barely fit it the car. I mean it's so huge we had to give extra distance braking.

So we get it home and put it in the back yard hoping it stays in good shape until Oct 31. Well today we are running all over the place and I'm cursing my self b/c I should have carved the thing last night. We get home at 5:00 and the kids start coming out at 6, so I have 1 hr to carve this behemoth and I'm standing on the pack porch with it trying to figure out how to get in the house. 10 min and one herniated disk later I have it in the kitchen.

No comes the fun part. I have so much damn fun carving pumpkins I have no idea why I sometimes skip a year. I think with a little effort I could go pro. Anyway... I break out the power tools. 10 Min getting the top out, I got slowed b/c the pumpkin was thinker than my sawzall blade. Cleaning it out took 10 min, and then came the fun part. The mouth took about 1 min and 1 swipe of the blade, another 10 and the first pumpkin was done. Another 30 min and a couple spade bits and second pumpkin was done.

I got it out just after the first couple of tricker-treaters were through. I've got t0 say I was a little surprised that a lot of folks thought they weren't real. I mean come on guys, just cause the look to good to be real, doesn't mean there not 100 Natural... besides they feel real too!

Beer Reviews - Update

Here are 4 of the promised beer reviews. At some point I'm going to develop a way of reviewing so I really cover the whole beer profile. For now this is what I got.

Blue Moon - Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Very nice and smooth, but Dogfish Head's Punk is still my favorite.

Saranac - Pomegranate Wheat
I didn't taste any Pomegranate, and as Wheat Beers go it was blahh.

Blue Moon - Full Moon Winter Ale

That was a damn tasty Beer. I want to say it was spicy, but there was no spice, just a really full flavor. I highly recommend it!

Leinenkugel - Red Lager (see picture)
I'm a Yuengling guy so to me all lagers are compared to that. This one was similar, but with a bit more hops flavor and bitterness. It's made in Wisconsin, and was pretty cheap. As a change of pace I think you should try it, A.

Sierra Nevada - Summerfest (Bottom Fermented)
What-a-damn tasty beer. I always new SN made a good beer, but this is delicious. It's a Pilsner style Lager, with a good hop taste. The hops is assertive in flavor towards the finish. I'll be buying this one next time I see it.

Wild Goose - Pumpkin Patch Ale
So I have never been a fan of Wild Goose beers. A fact which kills me b/c I can almost with the brewery with a rock it's so close. I once got comped a variety case a beer by a guy that worked there, and I didn't like but one or two of the 8 beers. So popping the top on this one I was really hoping for a winner. I didn't get one. I thought the beer was bland and barely tasted like pumpkin at all. I still pulling for the place. I'm gonna set up a brewery tour one month and give it a through shot. My taste have changed a lot since that first case (which was made under prior ownership) so maybe I'll like some of there brews now. But I can tell you now I don't like the pumpkin.

What a Square!

So this is the latest project at my place. It's the Square yard, a flying wing design that I found in Flying Model's Mag. I bought the plans about a year ago, but only started on it two months ago. I need to cover it, tweak the settings and do some ground test then its ready to fly. It's gonna Kick a lot of ass.

Diaper Dude

Ok, so there were 3 finds in WV today and this is number 3. You've heard of the man bag, well this is a man bag for men that have proved that their sperm are first class swimmers. Yes it's the Double D's of manhood, it's the Diaper Dude.

We found this in the back of a baby store in WV and I gotta say... I had to have it. It's got more pockets than Cargo Pants, comes with a changing mat and a place for your cell phone. While I have 5 months until I can give it a real test drive it looks like a winner. So all you future dad's out there pick one up for around $60, just don't put you Jack Daniels in the Baby Bottle compartment and you'll be fine.

Pick your 6

The pick six pack... So we are bumbling through Shepherdstown today trying to get the lay of the land when we made two great finds. A Chinese food joint that was awesome (get the Chicken and almonds) and A wine and some beer joint. I say "some beer" b/c in West Virginia you can only buy non-intoxicating beer at store with a standard Liqueur license. That would be Beer with ABV less than 6%. But the store did have a killer mix your 6 shelf and I scored the following

Blue Moon - Full Moon Winter Ale
Blue Moon - Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
Saranac - Pomegranate Wheat
Wild Goose - Pumpkin Patch Ale
Leinenkugel - Red Lager
Sierra Nevada - Bottom Fermented Summerfest Beer

Reviews to Follow.