Beer tasting

Just about ready to get started.

A holiday beer-tasting event was held at our place on December 27.  Lots of work by all involved in the planning and execution, with N taking the arranging-lead and PJ taking the hostessing-cooking lead.  And K coming through with some spiffy tasting glassware (complete with a few professional-looking taster “paddles”).

K-supplied tasting hardware.  ("Duck with boots" just eluded the photographer at far right.)

Results - click to enlarge.  Left column lists participants in order of finish.  CPG and me were the most
generous graders.  EPG was the toughest grader, becoming noticeably more discriminating as he went along.  

It all really turned out well.

Remarkably good logistics handled by three supposedly impartial non-beer-drinkers – this involved handling two beers per person for a dozen tasters, maintaining scoring, keeping things moving, preserving beer-secrecy, etc.  Not a simple process, though they made it feel that way.  Participants were tasked with bringing two beers and an appetizer – yes, this worked very well.  Folks clearly were diligent about their beer shopping, and also were thoughtful about app choices.

Instagram #1 (borrowed from N).  Medal stand honorees
in bottom right photo (gold-silver-bronze top to bottom).

Each participant ranked the beers, and the beer-submitter with highest aggregate score was declared the victor.  Our administrators reported on lots of interesting and occasionally on-target commentary as the participants worked through the list.

Pretty sure we’ll do this again in the future.  I’d be happy if we use pretty much the same approach again, though we likely will do some sort of beer-by-category ranking at least for scoring purposes – we noticed that lighter/cleaner tasting beers suffered in the comparisons, as did the porter/stout submissions.

N Instagram #2.

The path to victory in this first tasting:  focus your two beer submissions in the realm of fine-tasting IPAs or the like (this strategy worked for #1 winner: PJr, #2 runner-up: Mike Barbeau; #3: me (yes, on the medal stand, if barely!)).

N Instagram #3.

Christmas concert . . .

We started off the holidays right – a most enjoyable concert attended by PJ, just-arrived EPG, and me.  This was the Phoenix Chorale’s Christmas concert – at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix on Saturday evening, December 20.

Some reasons for attending:

• We've been big fans of the Phoenix Chorale for quite a while (see for example, this discussion of perhaps my most favorite concert).
• We know or have sung with several current and former members; also, director Charles Bruffy conducted portions of this Chanticleer event.
• The concert featured Christmas music arrangements by Ola Gjeilo – we like his stuff, he is a regular arranger-composer for the Phoenix Chorale, plus he married our former Choral Union conductor.
• EPG had identified Gjeilo’s music earlier this year via youtube or however (per his own instincts, no recommendation from us, a neat more-than-coincidence in terms of overlapping taste).
• This group is really good.  There's a reason they've already won two Grammy awards.  Entirely a cappella performance, constant completely exposed lines with nowhere to hide unless the singers are just nailing the notes.  Which they do.

Yakking with Ola, post-concert.

Gjeilo did a Q&A before the concert – quite interesting to hear him discuss the challenges of coming up with fresh arrangements for songs that have been arranged literally thousands of times.  (Occasionally we could remember snippets of his thought process as we listened to the concert.  But mostly we just listened.)

There’s something about sitting there with your wife and son – in a darkened church – every seat taken, everyone entirely focused on the performance – listening to Christmas music – especially the familiar-warm carols! – the music moves and floats above and around and through the church – in addition to appreciating the present one cannot help recalling other times and places and singers with these same lovely, reverent songs across the decades.

Who knew Christina Rosetti (of pre-Raphaelite eminence) wrote the lyrics for the so-lovely "In the Bleak Midwinter?"

The effect is pretty powerful, and builds as we go along.

By the time we get to the closing/climax of the concert – four Gjeilo arrangements of familiar Christmas carols – it's of course difficult to use words to describe this portion but EPG was kind enough to find the audio tracks for these songs  that very night (very nice online versions, very similar to what we heard at the concert).  So I’m going to post two of the songs here (I added a photo or two to support posting the audio tracks via youtube; this is a common method but new for me, and I should re-post later with more photos, or not).

First song:  “Away in a Manger” – all in all a pretty simple arrangement (if anything like this can be considered so).  But Gjeilo enhances the melody line immeasurably by adding some gorgeous/wistfulness-inducing movement beneath it (via beautiful mostly hummed chord progressions).  I think it’s just fantastic:



Next was my clear-cut favorite of the evening - The First Nowell.  Very similar technique via the use of the underlying chord progressions.  But the soprano soloist’s descant line (if I'm using that term correctly) at the very beginning foreshadows much to come.  Listen for it against the male soloist as he starts into the second phrase of verse two.  Verse three might be (OK it definitely is) my favorite – Gjeilo alters  the melody (sung by the sopranos) ever so slightly – the men hum below (a basso continuo effect I think), the alto line moves so-warmly against the soprano-melody, then the solo soprano descant lifts and floats as the verse proceeds. . . after the “chorus” section of this verse three I was actually pretty worried that the song might be ending - doesn't it sound like it might?  But to our relief Gjeilo gives us verse four - entrusting the melody to the soprano soloist (with plenty else going on in the other voice parts)!  Hard to describe the effect in the church that eve as all these song-elements float around and enchant us, the oft-ethereal female voices evoke the 1st Christmas angel-singers about which the carol is written after all, the concert is winding down, memories flicker, and at that point the audience, certainly me, was let’s say emotionally ready, or vulnerable, or something, for just this kind of Christmas-song-moment – well, see what you think:



[And note that the arrangement returns full circle to the solo soprano descant at the very end.]

Chorale Christmas concerts always end with a crowd sing-along of Silent Night - my little wife's favorite - everybody sings and this was very lovely and I think of many things including David Clark Isele's beautiful ND Glee Club arrangement and Veronica Dockendorf Gales earnestly singing this with her grandchildren on the St. Joe hill farm 50+ years ago (including original German Stille Nacht verses once Sister Doris had taught these to we then grade-schoolers).

After chatting a while with singers and composer, we three moved onto a fine and quite late dinner, with thorough concert-rehash, at the St. Francis on Camelback Road.  And EPG (our chauffeur for the evening) played these very tunes for us in the car, all the way home.  Which was important and good because the replay for this sort of thing is best commenced in the exact moment.

Twas yet another fine+ event.

Iowa trip (December 11-15, 2014)

I like this view up the lane at the farmsite where we grew up.  Various grasses - now undisturbed by the
former parade of vehicles - nearly blanket the formerly 100% gravel surface.  Fog was rolling in, pretty much
obscuring the grove across the road on the old Merkle place.  (Taken Saturday, December 13)

Enjoyed a really-fine trip to Iowa (via MSP). Very fortunate that my parents remain in such great shape as they push along in their mid-80s.  Something unusual about this trip:  PJ unable to accompany me due to work schedule - so my first time visiting Iowa on my own since 2000.

It was a fine time for lunch at Day Block Brewing!  (Yes, you can tell who still has to go back to work.)

December weather was great - mid-20s with some flurries upon arrival at the airport, but steadily rising into the low 50s by the end of my visit.  (Though I didn't see the sun at any point on the trip (let alone any patches of sky).)

Mom and Dad standing in the passageway between parlor and dining room.  

This time, they are standing in the parlor.  The old green wallpaper is working its way
to the surface, slowly and steadily.

Thursday:  Therese and Cecilia & Steve were able to meet me for lunch - so that was very fun.  Went to Day Block Brewing - pulled pork and their own brews - would happily return.  That went all too quickly and I hit the road for Iowa.  Swung by Steve/Liz house in Mason City - they were dealing with repair folks but Liz was kind enough to take over supervision of that process and Steve and I went out for a couple stops:  (1) a bar place where a group of his buddies meet to sip and do football predictions etc.; (2) dinner at Quarry restaurant.  Yup, they know some very nice folks in Mason City - much enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time.  Then drove on to St. Joe.  We milled around a while; had a nice chat with Carol & Jim up in Nome; finally went to bed around 1a.

Howard Barton's kitchen cabinets actually still look pretty good.

Friday:  Visited Caroline in Algona in mid-morning.  She seems to be doing really great, was fun to visit.  Timing overlapped with arrival of Brian, Corrine and Marita - so nice to catch up with them a bit.  Then what was intended to be a short visit at the Capesius seed corn shed . . . but we lingered for three-four hours as various folks kept wandering in and the conversations continued.  Sitting around and talking with these folks is hard to beat, and Bill-Bob-Chris are great hosts.  But we did get a little hungry so were ready for a snack upon return to St. Joe not much before 5p.  Chatted, sat around, worked a bit on Grandma's Christmas letter, late supper, nice day.

I always liked this light fixture in the parlor.

Saturday:  Finalized edits and formatting of Christmas letter in the morning - there wasn't that much to do, but it was nice to wrap up.  In the afternoon we went over to the farm house and checked things out.  Wow:  that place is really starting to fall apart in various areas.  Might not be that long before it fails to be entirely safe.  But we enjoyed going from room to room and discussing whatever came to mind.  While inside, fog started building outside.  So felt just a little weird when we first stepped outside:  time machine effect inside the house, change of weather to foggy-mystery outside.  Back to St. Joe for a pretty quiet evening.  Nice to have supper with my Mom & Dad (three times).

Reviewing the loot from the prior weekend's "Cookie Bake" hosted per usual by the Haag family
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  Yes, I took home samples to Arizona.

Watching a Lawrence Welk rerun with my Mom - took the picture because the performers here happen
to include "Ralna" - who later lived across the street from us in AZ.

Sunday:  10a Mass in St. Joe - very large crowd, nice.  Talked to some folks after but then headed over to Livermore for the Legion breakfast.  Sat with Alvin Bormann but talked to others including John Gales.  We were in a bit of a hurry because we were planning to head over to Storm Lake and wanted to be back before nightfall given foggy forecast.  Had a very nice visit over there - just had a chance to say hi for a few minutes with Joe before he went to work; chatted with Dolores, Art, Clare; much enjoyed.  Intense fog along the lake, otherwise weather was a non-issue.  Back in St. Joe we went through maybe 200 audio cassette tapes that have accumulated going back to 1971.  We tested a few - generally seemed to remain in very good shape.  And it was quite interesting to hear voices such as Rev. Leo C. Schumacher, John Kohlhaas, among others. We organized all tapes by category; a useful start but much additional checking remains.  This - and dinner - pretty much took up our fine evening together.

EMG theorizes at Sunday pancake breakfast, American Legion hall in Livermore.

Dad and Mom are listening to one of the old audio cassettes we had pulled out of deep storage.  
  For the two of them - who have spent 80+ years building nothing but the finest
memories - it must be quite a pleasure to revisit them every now and again.

Monday:  Mass in St. Joe; drove 'round the cemetery; breakfast; miscellaneous wrap-up; packed some Christmas cookies in my luggage along with a ham sandwich and cinnamon roll for the road; said goodbyes, and that was it for a really fine visit.  Consistently busy with interesting things - but not too busy, the pace was really quite excellent.

Easy trip back to AZ, where PJ got to hear all about it over a late supper.

Yup, I'm lucky.

A few more photos:

Dad and Mom in the southeast bedroom, upstairs.  I recall when this was their bedroom - before
mounting numbers resulted in turning it into the "girls' room".

The three of us, in the "boys room" - southwest bedroom, upstairs.
The green paint job certainly held up well (though ceiling-fail is underway).

I was standing in the "yellow room" (aka "box room") when
I noticed Mom checking through the boys room closet.

Fog rolling in as we prepare to head back to St. Joe.

This gentleman no longer mixes his beer with orange juice.  Now it's prune juice.  (While I don't
foresee adopting the habit, I'll admit that it tasted surprisingly good.)

Milling around at back of church after Monday morning Mass.