1. I enjoy doing things when visiting Eugene that remind me of when I lived here -- it's been eight years since we left. So, we didn't really go on a shopping spree at Market of Choice, but we purchased bread baked in Cottage Grove that's delicious and not widely available; we purchased Cafe Mam, another product that's pretty local. I get kind of excited about putting Umpqua milk in my coffee, so I bought a half gallon of it. Our host does her best to stick to a vegan diet, so we scanned the dairy free ranch salad dressing options and picked up a bottle. I'm happy in Kellogg buying Darigold milk, Dave's Killer Bread, and Silvercup coffee, but I have a long history with these Oregon products and with shopping at Market of Choice and it's fun to relive those bygone days.
2. My afternoon social plan dissolved, so I was relaxing here at Anne's house. Debbie went out to do some thrift store shopping. Suddenly, Debbie texted me that she'd accidentally landed in 16 Tons. I responded that I was very happy for her and she almost immediately mandated that I hire a ride from Uber and join her.
So I did.
I joined Debbie and ordered a perfect 3:10 p.m. beer: Baerlic's Dad Beer Lager. It was refreshing, light, and full of flavor, a superb craft lager beer. In conversing with today's beer pourer, she revealed that her husband is the head brewer at Eugene's mighty ColdFire brewery. Once I finished my lager, I checked the tap list to see if any beers from ColdFire were available. Yes! I ordered a six ounce pour of ColdFire Live! Apricot/Tangerine, a most satisfying sour beer -- and a perfect 3:45 p.m ale.
I loved being in the tap room this afternoon. The conversation was good. The house music was awesome and played at a comfortable volume -- Van Morrison, The Talking Heads, Lou Reed, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other great stuff came up on whatever shuffle was playing. A couple or three bona fide beer geeks came in the house. They peppered today's pourer with geeky question and she was ready with quick and learned answers and great beer talk ensued. I even got to have a brief geek out as our beer server and I reminisced about the good old days of Logsdon Farmhouse Ales.
Great memories of drinking those great bottles of Logsdon beers rose to the surface, leaving me feeling warm and dreamy, longing not for the return of those days, but definitely for the beer.
3. Debbie and I are staying at Anne's and tonight she hosted a dinner party featuring a delicious variety of roasted vegetables -- radishes, asparagus, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, among others -- and a radicchio salad that Debbie assembled. Attendees popped open several bottles of wine and sparkling conversation ensued.
Once we'd finished eating, it was game time. Debbie introduced the party to a funny game called He Said/She Said and we finished the night playing a written word/drawing picture game. I can't explain either game briefly -- but I can report that we enjoyed a lot of laughs and exchanged some sharp wit.
No comments:
Post a Comment