Primavera (or Happy Barfday)

Been a quite week in Lake Aggbegone.  Trying to catch up at work, dealing with all sorts of crises, planning next year's budget, laying out plans for our next round of audits.  Did a quite tally of the supplier audits we have queued up for the next 12 months and it turns out this year is going to be one of the heavy ones.  So far, we are up to 26 audits, not counting some of the new suppliers we are considering.  And they are pretty much all over the map - 4 on the east coast, 5 on the west coast, 7 in Minnesota, 4 in Europe, 2 in the far East, and that doesn't even include the local ones.  Glad we've got at least 3 lead auditors to spread the wealth.  Looks like I might be up for the European treks again this year.  I don't mind doing the trips (well, truthfully, I do), it is just all the hassles with long flights and airport headaches that make them a real pain in ass.  I've been stockpiling several good books for the flights and just got my hands on the inaugural compelling saga from Lotta Joy.  An spell binding story, but I'm hoping to save it for my flight to Amsterdam in May (that is, if Lotta Joy quits taunting us with excerpts).   

Hot off the press

I know this might be rubbing it in for some of my northern friends who are freezing their tails off, but spring has finally shown up down here, albeit a bit late.  Grass is starting to grow, the oak tree has started to shed leaves and is putting out its frond (here comes the pollen), the local hardware chains are pushing their annuals and plants, everyone is buying new mulch.  Not me.  Not yet.  I won't be fooled that easily.  I will wait until a week or so before I drop new plants.  I've been tricked before into planting flowers only to have mother nature come back with one last freeze.  Primavera is Spanish for Spring.  One local columnist I have followed for years used to take a road trip to south Texas to greet spring and he called it Primavera.  He and an old friend would drive south until they reached a point where the Mesquite trees were starting to bloom and decided that was the line where spring began.  They amassed over 20 some odd trips over the years with all sorts of tales.  The dogs are soaking up the sunshine and cooler temps outside.  This is what we call chamber of commerce weather we are enjoying right now.  Way more tolerable than the 99+ temps we will have by July.          

Enjoying the sun

Claire in her natural state

Of course, Thursday was one more milestone for me.  Another lap around the sun.    Momma wanted to take me out but had to spend more time over with her parents since her dad is in the hospital.  That's ok by me.  I've had too many birthdays before to really get all jazzed up about them anymore.  

I have been on the hunt for some of the newest St Arnold's batch of Divine Reserve.  The brew up a limited quantity of beer from a different recipe each year and bottle it for the public.  These limited runs have become a hard to find as an honest politician.  The day each batch comes out, there is a 2 hour line at our local liquor store for just one six pack.  I tried to score one of my own, but every place I tried was sold out.  Thursday night a local pub tapped several kegs of DR13 with a commemorative St Arnold's growler (refillable jug) as a promo for the place, so I made a run over there just to try it out.  Excellent Belgium quadruple bock style beer.  More in line with several of the Belgium ales I got to sample while in Brussels last year.  And at 11% ABV, it ain't a light beer.           

  

Growler of DR 13

Of course, my enterprising son texted me a picture yesterday where he stumbled across a stash of this beer in Austin.  Almost tempted to make drive to Austin.

    

Hard to find DR 13

Now that's how I would prefer to quietly celebrate a birthday.  However, when it's your birthday, why not go all out?  I figured I deserved something special so I picked up a nice upset stomach.  Not sure if it was something going around at the office, or from the Chinese food I had for lunch, the burger I had at the bar, or the DR13, but by 0300 I was up tossing my cookies.  By 0530, was pretty worn out and figured this was going to be a while so I e-mailed my boss and told him I was taking a pass on the day.  Was pretty much out of sorts for most of the day and did not really start to feel human again until Friday night.  Slept most of the day, drank lots of Sprite, caught up on several movies in the queue (Flight, Skyfall, Dark Knight Rises, Taken 2).  Yesterday was feeling well enough to take the dogs to the dog park.