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This year, we didn't have a sled entered, but I did go to watch and see everyone else's creations. But after trying to wrangle two excited dogs and three wild kids, we cut it short and went back home after a few rides down the slopes nearby.
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Sarah and I were watching a movie last night, ("Off the Map", which I highly recommend), when we started hearing a plethora of sirens pass by on Chicago Ave. I noticed that they seemed to be stopping near by and went up to peek out the window. Sure enough, the end of the block was lit up like a Christmas tree with cops and firetrucks. And I could see thick billows of dark smoke rolling across the street. "Holy shit," I thought, "Someone's house is on fire!"
After throwing on a jacket, we walked out into the closed off street with the rest of the gawking neighbors to see what was going on. It was clear that the apartment building at the end of the block was the source of the smoke (which was thick, black, and dense at this point). One of the guys who lived in the building said he had seen what'd happened, and after giving a report to the police related the story to us.
Apparently the Angry Guy* had been evicted yesterday and was extra angry. So he started an abandoned car on fire that was parked between the apartment building and the garage. From there, the fire quickly spread to the garage and gutted it before the firefighters could quell the blaze.
After most of the police and firemen left, we made sure that the neighbors could return to their building and went back in to warm up and finish our movie. I guess we won't have to worry about mister Angry-Pants Guy anymore. Like Dr. Buddy Rydell says, "Repeat after me, goosefraba..."
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After experimenting with self-infused ginger vodka, I decided to try the first bottle after two weeks of infusing. This recipe is straight out of the Yazi book that comes with the bottle when you buy it, but I've adjusted the quantities a bit to take advantage of the slightly lighter homemade ginger brew.
After straining the vodka infusion through a coffee filter, I refilled the Yazi bottle with my own vodka. Then I mixed up the typical Gingertini I'd grown to love according to the Yazi label directions. The other flavors ended up overpowering the ginger flavor. So for the next batch, I think I'll double the raw ginger for infusion, (and probably muddle them a bit). And as previously stated, I've adjusted the other liquors so the ginger vodka shines through. My second martini was much better. ;)
Run the ginger slice around a martini glass edge. Shake all ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with the ginger slice.
Jessica's mother lost her battle with leukemia 26 years ago, so Jessica completed the 26 mile fundraiser marathon in Disney World on the 26th anniversary with her sister. So we had a celebratory surprise party at Pepito's for her.
Bob Carlson was a dear friend and will be missed by many. After his funeral, we met up at the Legion to celebrate his life and enjoy potluck lunchhand 7&7's, (now forever known as Bob's Drink).
We joined Kari and friends at Ansari's for her birthday on bingo night. We all had fun making dots on the cards while sipping martinis invented at the Manfort.
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Given my love of White Russians, I burn through a lot of vodka and Kahlua. I've heard that making your own isn't too difficult, so I decided to give it a try. It seems there are as many recipes as there are vodkas out there, but I wanted to use real beans instead of the instant coffee most recipes call for. In this case, I bought Caribou's Obsidian Dark Roast Blend knowing I'd get a wonderfully powerful rich taste from it.
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And since I was busy making my own booze, I decided to attempt to infuse my own ginger vodka. I (and others) have fallen in love with a delicious gingertini, but Yazi is $35 a bottle. So making my own from a ginger root and $12 bottle of Svedka is much more economical.
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So now these jars are busy resting in my basement. It'll be hard to simply look at them and shake them each day without getting to taste them, but it should be worth the wait. I'll definitely report back on this in a month to let you know how it all turns out.
Sarah and James hosted the second annual Totino's pizza party for NYE. After eating our fill of cheap pizza, we joined another party in the building periodically for even more shenanigans.
Santa came to the Manfort this year to bring presents for Maizie. She got all kinds of fun things to play with. And it was Luis's birthday, so he and Sid got ham.
Maizie is 8 now, so I baked her a jello cake (with the requested pink frosting) and we ate it at Chuck E Cheese with all of her friends.
