Clean Clothes Finally

On Wednesday Mike helped me transport our new washer and dryer from ApplianceSmart to home. The old units were heavy! It was tough to get them out the door. Fortunately Minneapolis will pick up the appliances on recycling week for free.The glorious new washer and dryer! Front load, energy and water efficient! Had a couple of problems getting them running, but now they're good to go. As you can see, the wall was partially painted. I'll finish the rest of it later.
The pedestals were a nice addition. They made the washer and dryer more pleasant to use, and let us get rid of some ugly storage that was hanging from the ceiling.

Basement Done

Well, almost. The carpet was installed on Wednesday, and one of the doors was installed. No trim yet, but it was done enough to have the inaugural party on Friday. Which entailed the inaugural beer spill, as well as the inaugural dent in the drywall. It wasn't much of a party, just some poker with Mike, Kevin, Jon, and Jake. But we had a good time. Here's what the basement looks like now, pretty much.
Any bets on how long it takes me to finish the trim work? Then I get to start on the basement hall, and possibly bathroom. Houses are soooo much fun.

Appliances are Dumb

Yeah, you read that right, appliances are dumb. My house is full of them. The only one I'm on good terms with is the dishwasher, and I'm sure I've now jinxed that. My refrigerator leaks water from the freezer section, which I wetvac up every few weeks. My range only has two real burners, is electric, and the oven won't hold a consistent temperature, causing pizza to burn on one side and be raw on the other. The disposal is loud, and likes to jam a lot. My washing machine has never really been able to wash hot. It was mostly cold or freezing cold water. And Wednesday, the dryer decided to stop drying. Well, it will dry, just not tumble. Yes, it's just a broken belt. But while investigating the fabulous Whirlpool brand LDI 7801 W1 model dryer, I found that it's a week older than me (purchased June 1, 1978), and that parts don't really exist anymore. The washer is only slightly newer, having been acquired by a previous owner in 1980.

So the decision now is, fix or replace? If I replace, I might as well do the washer too, because Murphy's Law says it will break two days later if I don't replace it. And then it will probably just cascade to the fridge and range, leading me to remodel the whole kitchen. I mean, I'll already be in there, right?

Chad, I'm warning you about this home ownership thing right now.

Brewfest

Kelsey and I drove up to Superior, WI on Saturday to attend this "brewfest" her friends had invited us to. Turns out this is somewhat of a big deal in the area. The Gitchee Gumee Brewfest has been going on for 10 years now. You need to get the tickets ahead of time, as they're big sellers. Kelsey had reserved tickets for herself, Lil, and I three weeks ago, but the guy said we could pay when we picked them up. Saturday morning, no tickets. Something about they're all sold.

WHAT!? Well, they don't sell the tickets at the door, either. Looks like it's go home, right? We head over to the arena, where I find someone to plead my case to.

"We drove all the way from Minneapolis!"
"They said they would hold the tickets."
"I'm wearing a shirt that says 'I enjoy drinking beer'."

In the end, some soul took pity on us, and we worked a deal to get in!A large number of area breweries were represented. The farthest was Rogue Ales from Oregon. I've had their beer before, it's quite good.

It didn't take long for a beer fault to occur. Penalty box for you!
Viking Brewing had one of their seasonals, the Hot Chocolate Beer, and turned it into beer floats! Very tasty.
Of course, with so many brewers and varieties, we HAD to narrow down a winner. The highlights for me:

• Surly. These guys are in Brooklyn Center, and absolutely the most delicious beer I had all afternoon. Both the Coffee Bender and One beers were awesome. One is a limited release, maybe I can find it. Neither is a beer you could drink a lot of, though.
• New Glarus. What more do you need to say, after Spotted Cow.
• Fitger's Brewhouse. A Duluth micro. Not the best, but the most unique beer of the night: Wildfire Lager. A lager infused with peppers. By no means subtle, either. It was almost like drinking the juice from a jar of peppers.
  

Overall a very good time. I found some very surprising new breweries and flavors to check out.

This guy also agreed that it was a success!