vastateofmind

Recording these for the crafty brew lovers out there. Grabbed each of these in a four-pack on a Costco run last week. I was really looking forward to trying the Old Bust Head stout and it was...interesting. And not in a necessarily good way. I think there's a little too much going on for me to truly fall in love with it -- for my taste buds, I'd keep either the caramel macchiato OR the orange vanilla in the stout presentation, but probably NOT mash all four together. I'll "hate-drink" the last three cans of it, but won't buy again. (BTW, this impression does not apply generally to OBH's stouts -- we've had several from there in recent years and they are generally top notch.) The Adroit Theory hazy IPA was perfection, as their IPAs usually are -- phenomenally good. Perhaps I'll hide the rest of the Adroit Theory's and let Mrs. V work on the rest of those Old Bust Head stouts.. While it's not necessarily convenient for all in the sub, if you have the chance to visit the mothership locations for OBH (in Vint Hill) or Adroit Theory (in Purcellville), I strongly recommend that you do -- each brewery keeps an outstanding selection of fresh/interesting taps at all times.

Yeah, but....such a gorgeous piece of land right now! I know I've said it before, but that firepit area is just a drool-worthy addition to your yard (ANY yard).

UGH. My final bitch/moan about the neighbor's maple spinners....but the LAST of 'em came down last night all over the perfectly trimmed lawn. It's just like when I leave the dog out immediately after mowing, and she absolutely MUST engage in #2 on my freshly-shorn lawn. Can't the results of my hard work stay pristine for at least a few hours??

Spent about six hours mowing, weeding, mulching, trimming today....it was an absolutely perfect weather day, wasn't it?

Yep, just got the wx radio alert. Hardly anything on radar though??

Hopefully being added to the HWW will bring down the rest of the maple spinners (or most of them) and clear off the driveway and patios. Definitely seeing an uptick in winds over the past hour.

Oh, yes! Actually, we forgot to adjust the thermostat last night before bed, and between its arctic setting due to yesterday's heat AND the 2nd floor ceiling fans, even my wife was buried under full covers this morning...THAT'S when you know it's really cold in our house!

Yep. Even with AC on just the past two days, I can feel the dreaded drainage thing kicking in, which is a joy in combination with allergies. Was sort of hoping AC season would hold off a bit longer...Mrs. V is always too warm, I'm always too cold...UGH.

That makes for perfect fire pit wx...minus the wind, of course. And BTW, good luck with the big move this week!!

Can someone explain why that "stray" Air Quality Alert has been issued in the Winchester/Martinsburg area?

Same for me. Sidebar -- a co-worker recommended Pataday eye drops to me last week; they used to be prescription and are now over the counter. I have more sinus-related issues when it comes to seasonal allergies, but I have to tell you -- I picked up these Pataday drops, and they've helped me immensely this week with symptoms. Only needed once a day, too.

When I was actually going TO work at Fort Belvoir a seeming lifetime ago, I'd do a lunchtime circuit walk several times weekly between my building to a waterfront rec area that the MWR maintains on Accotink Bay, where starting around this time of year dozens of osprey would return to start nesting. Belvoir puts up a lot of tall poles with large nesting platforms near the river/bay for the osprey, which they love...but they're not above taking up residence at the top of the softball field lights near my building, where some of the nests look they were built by pterodactyls. Osprey are a hoot to watch when they dive-bomb for fish, but their constant scolding tells me that they don't like me milling around being a spectator.

Currently 90 IMBY, though RH stands at 36%, so doesn't feel too oppressive out there (to me).

LOL. I will always enjoy snow, but the only accums I want to be cleaning up in a few years are dead palm fronds from my front yard.

90 with, apparently, an incoming stiff tropical breeze!!

With you 500%. We have one major move (southward!) left in the tank for us, and I vow NOT to have any deciduous trees within 100 feet of my next home, if possible. I'm all for shade, especially when facing southward, but the root damage that trees can do to underground pipes, along with all of the annual messes that we've covered here, has turned me off from having mature trees close to my home...with the possible exception of palm trees.

WOW, this looks incredible....and TY for linking to the recipe, totally trying this!

It all looks amazing (as usual), but that corn pudding looks particularly tasty....haven't had that for many years, and it was a staple growing up in northern PA! Is your Brussels sprouts salad a cold or hot presentation? Regardless, I suspect @wxtrix would like that sprouts salad a whole lot...

Awesome, TY for taking the time to share!! I'm so jealous, your beds are well on their way to a good-looking summer....our front beds currently are a sea of chickweed and maple "spinners," but that will change shortly with the landscaper visiting in the next week or two with a crap-ton of mulch and a couple new perennials to try....

Pics, plz, @Mrs.J.....either here or over in the lawn/garden thread! (If you don't mind sharing) I love to see what folks got growing, and have picked up a lot of ideas in here over the past couple of months. In their late teens, my sons had iPhone SE's back in the mid 2010s...which ALWAYS had broken screens because those knuckleheads were never careful with them. I tried ONCE to replace a broken screen on one of them (and the battery, since I was conducting surgery anyway) and completely hosed the innards. Got everything reconnected and put back together, after studying five meticulous DIY iPhone screen replacement videos, but the damn thing refused to power back on. Learn from my bravado -- unless you're really handy with microelectronics, I'd definitely take it to a repair shop, which I eventually did with the iPhone SE that *I* ruined. My guys paid for numerous other screen replacements out of their own pockets, and they typically paid ~$100 several years ago....though I'm sure it's saltier than that for the more current, larger iPhone models. (And yeah, might as well pony up for a battery replacement if you need it, since it will already be apart.)

Just picturing your maters a month or two hence, makes my mouth water for nice, fresh BLT...

Yeah, way windier than I expected today. Given all of the outdoor yard work and mowing yesterday (and resultant seasonal allergic reactions TODAY), I stayed in and finished TWO books. It was an enjoyable afternoon....

Feels a lot chillier, too! Only down around 53, but man, the dampness....

Spot-on obs. Partly sunny just before noon, turning into increasingly cloud-filtered sun as the afternoon went on. Our temps seemed to go just slightly higher than forecasted here...hit 69 just after lunchtime...and have been hovering in the mid 60s most of the rest of the afternoon under building overcast. Rain moving in from SW, appears to be between Stafford and Dale City right now. Bring it on....I got ALL of the mowing done within the past hour.