twothirds

Finally. Google has opened up imap access. When tethered to a desktop/laptop I prefer the web client, but phone access to email over POP has–well sucked!

Lars has just tipped me off about a drink to fuel my Campari obsession:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/12/WIAESHSJV.DTL&feed=rss.wine

Sappho

Makes 1 drink

Adapted from a recipe by Rafael Ballesteros, Spain.

* Green Chartreuse, to rinse glass
* 2 1/2 ounces gin
* 1/2 ounce Campari
* 1/4 ounce Cointreau
* 1 orange twist, for garnish

Instructions: Pour the Chartreuse into a chilled cocktail glass, and by tilting the glass and rotating it at the same time, coat the entire interior with the liqueur. Discard the excess Chartreuse. Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full of ice and add the gin, Campari and Cointreau. Stir for approximately 30 seconds, strain into the prepared cocktail glass, and add the garnish.

Given how much trouble I have ordering a Negroni, I won’t dare order this in a bar. By the way, what the hell is Chartreuse? Ahhh–I think I am gonna like it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartreuse_(liqueur)

Green Chartreuse (110 proof or 55%) is a naturally green liqueur flavored with extracts from 130 plants with its coloring coming from chlorophyll and from which the name of the color is derived.

My Home Depot and Lowes trips are getting out of hand. When I got my first place out of college, I was scared of Home Depot. The store was so big and I had no idea where anything was. If I could find what I needed, generally, I had no idea how to use it.

These days I know the layouts of at least three different Home Depots, one Lowes and I actually enjoy walking the isles. If I keep up my current rate of shopping, I might even get to know the names of employees!

My unbilled credit card statement shows 15 trips to Home Depot or Lowes over the past ~20 days.  Yikes!

I have just started a redo of my bathroom. I am using a contractor that I have used for some random handy man work and a 1/2 bath redo. I am convinced there is something wrong with him. After all:

• He shows up on time, if not early. If he says he will be there at 9AM, he generally shows up around 8:45.
• He does not disappear for days at a time. When he starts a job, he sticks around until it is completed.
• He knows how to “scope” a job. His final costs have never exceeded his estimates. He has also spotted potential issues before the job has started. For example, before he installed a pedestal sink, he noticed the plumbing would have to move over a few inches to properly center the sink with the light. Other contractors that bid on the job did not mention the detail.
• He’s clean. The job site is not a dump at the end of the day. I have done enough DIY jobs around the house to know how difficult this is.
• He listens to classical music on the job. I thought classic rock was the stable of the construction trade

Damn. I’m lucky.

So far, everything has gone pretty smoothly. Today I got a call saying, “Two boxes of tile do not match.” What!?! It appears the tile company gave me ~60 square feet of what I ordered and ~20 square feet of something else. Thankfully, I ordered “in stock” tile that was still in stock and replacements were available. Hopefully things remain uneventful.