Julian Hard Cider Hoodang or how to make your own cider

Sara 6 Comments

From apples to alcohol, and DIY. I was not going to miss out on this event. At the end of October, Julian Hard Cider put on a one-of-a-kind event to learn how to make your own cider. Wow. Seriously, you missed out not being there.

First thing after your ID was checked and payment (only $40) was handed over, each person received a 22-oz bottle of Julian Hard Cider and you were escorted through the recently picked Julian apple orchard.

Once you reached the clearing, bluegrass music and the smell of barbecue filled the cool mountain air.

Jeremy’s on the Hill (located in Wynola just before you reach Julian) catered the event with pulled-pork sandwiches, roasted corn and coleslaw that makes my stomach growl just thinking of it. It is another farm-to-table restaurant you must check out if you are headed in that direction. Speaking of farm-to-table restaurants, the entire staff of our favorite local on 30th and Upas, Sea Rocket Bistro closed the restaurant for the day for a retreat to the Hoodang.

So the two educational portions of the event included a tour of the press and a session on making cider. We started off with the tour since the lunch line was long and we weren’t starving. It was interesting to watch them demonstrate the steps of pressing apples as it happened right before your eyes.

Yum, apple juice! For making at home, a juicer should do just fine.

After the tour, a local bakery (I forget who ’cause the cider was kicking in) provided apple turnovers for each person. Dessert before lunch = WIN!

After the tour we sat down for lunch and picked up another cider. The next cider came in a refillable glass mug (see first photo). Yep, and we got to keep the mug too.

After a delicious lunch, we went to our session on making cider. Paul introduced his staff who shared the history and details of making cider. Knowing their audience had been drinking for a couple of hours by this point and no one was taking notes, they placed the instructions on their website after the event.

This trip is still coming back to me… after my recent visit to Home Brew and Gardens, I realized how awesomely inexpensive making hard cider really is and how it is far simpler than brewing beer. So there. Expect great things.

Rocktoberfest, a formal affair: 10/23/2010

Sara 1 Comment

It was only a month ago that FM94.9, together with West Coast Tavern, pulled together an awesome lineup of mostly local bands for their take on an October tradition at Rocktoberfest. The event got off to a slow start mostly due to the misty weather and an odd schedule. The event started around noon but bands didn’t start playing until 2 or 3 p.m. 

Speaking as an avid North Park community advocate, this event was a pleasant boost for many of the businesses since it allowed in and outs, bringing people and sales to many of the North Park bars, restaurants and stores.  Taking place on 29th Street, alongside and behind the Birch North Park Theatre, organizers made use of the space as best as they could. The stage near the entrance was apparently placed backwards and the stairs ended up in the walkway rather than in the back stage area. But other than those details, the flow seemed fine. It was definitely an awesome day for music. 

Before the bands, German folk dancers entertained the few who were awake and down to have an early brew.

Little Hurricane opened up the event. This was my first time seeing them and was pleasantly surprised. Their energy was enough to get me pumped up for the day ahead.

Check out the attention to detail. An amp made from an old nightstand, complete with lamp and cowboy boots placed just so.

For sure, this was a day for bands donning suits, vests and ties… with The Styletones, Fitz & the Tantrums and The Silent Comedy all sporting the formal looks. Here is Steve Harris of the Styletones, dancing with the crowd.

After a bit of a break at Bar Pink, North Park Sushi ($9 happy hour pitchers) and West Coast Tavern, we came back to enjoy the rest of the event.

This is one of my favorite photos of the day with Fitz and the Tantrums (aside from the guy’s head in front of me).

Another great shot…

Get Back Loretta continued to heat up the crowd. I tried to capture the steam coming off Steven’s neck but no luck. I did get Isaac in action though.

Finishing off the evening with a bang, The Silent Comedy killed it. Fans and new-comers danced and sang along as one of our favorite bands brought it home (again).

Note: by this point, my picture-taking skills had deteriorated and I mostly just enjoyed the music, so this is the best I got. Artsy, no?

A mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood…

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“A gruffalo? What’s a gruffalo?” “A gruffalo! Why didn’t you know?”

This phenomenon of a children’s tale has somehow escaped the United States entirely. The catchy rhymes and witty storytelling have made “The Gruffalo” a sensation in the UK since 1999. Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated
by Axel Scheffler, the book has been translated into 40
different languages. When I went to the UK this summer, I picked up a copy and quickly it became one of Thomas’s favorite books.

Last Christmas,  Magic Light Pictures produced a half-hour animated
special based on the book and BBC aired it in the UK. And now the short film has qualified, along with 33 other films, to be considered in the category of Best Animated Short for 2010 Academy Awards. Members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will vote to narrow it down to the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film Oscar. Pretty cool.

What I Learned Today… the classics

Sara 1 Comment

Composer John Williams wrote the theme songs for Indiana Jones, Star Wars AND the Olympics.

When tasked with finding the Olympics theme song (full title: Bugler’s Dream and Olympic Fanfare Medley) at work, I discovered this little factoid. I never really paid much attention to the similarities between the three works, but now it is crystal clear. The man is a genius. Take a listen for yourself:

Raider’s March (Indiana Jones theme song)

Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner (Star Wars theme song)

Bugler’s Dream and Olympic Fanfare Medley (Olympics theme song)

Other great works of John Williams include scores for Jaws, E.T., Superman, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Harry Potter films.

What I Learned Today… haunted fonts

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Free Haunted Mansion fonts are available and great for holiday decor.

Really this post was an excuse to show off my “decorated name plate” at work. Our organization has a name plate decorating contest each Halloween to give us a chance to decorate but in limited quantities. On a side note, before we had rules limiting decorations for Halloween, staff would construct monstrous sets that would take half a day to complete. One year our team erected a large circus tent in the office with a gypsies theme and “stole” other items from people’s departments to sell back to them later. Over the top.

Anyhow, I have mostly received positive comments from others about my simple decorations, with only one person who indicated that I cheated by not actually using my name plate. Whatever.

So to make this all happen, I decided to go with the Haunted Mansion theme since I had the frame hanging around (someone had left it on the freebie table months ago).

After a bit of searching I found the original Disney’s Haunted Mansion font, Mansion  by David Occhino Design. But I am not one to pay for my fonts (especially for these types of things) so I found the font for my name at a scrapbooking website. HERE you can download several free Disney fonts including the knock off of the official Mansion font called Gracie’s Curse.

The crows actually did come from David Occhino Design in a free font called Mansion Crypt Bats. This Webdings type font gives you a variety of Disney’s Haunted Mansion characters and designs. You can download it for yourself HERE.

Now that I have finished my name plate, my boss wants me to do hers. Sigh.