Brew days are always an adventure. Regardless of how much preparation I put in, it always seems there is some bizarre catastrophe. Forgetting ingredients or tools, boil-overs, spilling ingredients, etc., etc.

Sunday morning was no different. I had already soaked my grains for sixty minutes and had just added my dry malt extract. Out of nowhere, my floating thermometer started bobbing sideways. WTF? How is it floating sideways? I was thinking that perhaps the DME had somehow altered the buoyancy of the thermometer, so I pulled it out and put it back in the pot. Immediately it started floating sideways again. Then it dawns on me. Duh! The weight on the bottom of the thermometer must be broken. Sure enough. The damn bottom is missing. How? How the hell should I know. It was floating along nicely one second and bobbing like a dead fish the second. So, what to do, what to do. I poured the shit out is what I did. Five gallons of Fat Tire Ale clone down the sidewalk. Weee!

I always look forward to photographing this cute family. Why? Why, not!? They are so stinking cute and have miles of personality. I love how Marcee let their character determine the clothes they wore. I am constantly telling my clients to let their children pick out their own clothes. “Well, they won’t match,” is a constant remark. “Good,” I say. We don’t want them to match. We really don’t want a photo of all white and khaki. We want real style, real personality, and real photos. Of course, you can help them pick cute clothes and, definitely, help them accessorize. Accessories are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Can I tell you that I am in love with the tie? I love this look on little boys (and not so little boys too). Don’t over-do it though. She did a great job with just adding the tie to one of her boys. It creates contrast and contrast makes for great photos. Just saying.

Adorable. There is something to be said for a mom that has all boys. (Nothing against you mother’s with boys and girls, or all girls.) It is just so cute to see the boys surrounding their mom. Remember, contrast. I love this picture with little Sammy and his mom. I want to print it and put it on my wall! It makes me so happy.

And, we wouldn’t be finished with out a fun photo. I love how everyone’s expression really tells a story. I have no idea what I said to get such a reaction from Dion (the dad), but it is hilarious. Marcee’s smile is contagious and you have to smile with her when you see this photo. Oh, and, the light reflecting off the bugs flying around in the background is so cool.

Cruising the interwebs the other day, I came across the above engraving by Rossini. It is incredible. I was so ready to hit the buy it now button, but it was already sold. I loved the perspective and it reminded me of the photo I took the night I proposed to my fiancé on Ponte Sant’Angelo. You can read about it here. It seems like a dream, even though it was only one year ago. Rome is the most amazing place I have ever visited, and it is kind of cool to think that you can stand on the same spot that someone else did, see the same sight, and be inspired by what you see, almost two centuries apart. Amazing. An interesting read about the splendor and horror this bridge has witnessed can be found here.