Sisters

Our chicken Sally was forced to spend the brutally hot summer all alone in our backyard because we butchered her sisters when we found out they were actually her brothers. She was very lonely.

Four weeks ago we got Sally two sisters. We found a pair of three month old Delaware hens in Seminole, just down the road from Phelps Farm.

The new girls are white with black tail feathers and gray feathers at their shoulders. They are still smaller than Sally but growing fast. It will be another month or two before they give us any eggs.

Ben was allowed to name the new hens and he dubbed them Phineas and Ferb after his favorite cartoon characters. For the sake of cuteness, Lauren tweeked their names to Hen-eas and Ferb. I still call them 'the white chickens'.

The girls had a good childhood, growing up surrounded by other chicken and hens. However, they had very little contact with people and as a result they are still skiddish. It was tough to get near them for a good picture. Heneas and Ferb are not mean at all, just shy.

DIY: Beer Making Update

I have been conscripted into blogging.

Today we bottled our fourth batch of home brew. Making the first three batches was the equivalent of making a cake with a Duncan Hines mix. The results were very good and I felt ready to take the next step. This latest batch was made using actual grains and hops instead of canned ingredients.

I chose to make a continental pilsner, a dry beer with a straw color that can be fairly hoppy.

The bottles must be washed and sanitized before they can be filled with beer. I enlisted my sons to help with this time consuming chore. They loved it.

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After all the cleaning it was nap time. Both boys went down fast. Lauren and I finished the process by filling the bottles with beer and putting the caps on. They batch yielded 54 bottles. It will not be ready to drink for two more weeks because the sugar we added today needs 14 days to turn into delicious bubbles.

How to Make Beer at Your House

Brad Schatzel

Guest Blogger

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -Benjamin Franklin

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

All the supplies you will need to make beer at home are readily available at your local homebrew supply store or at various online vendors. It is common for supplies to be bundled into a starter kit. The Brew Shop OKC sold me such a kit at a very reasonable price.

Step 2 Making the Wort

For this batch I am using Cooper's Lager hopped malt concentrate which is a bit like using a Duncan Hines mix to bake a cake. You are making it yourself just not exactly from scratch.

The malt extract and malt concentrate are super sticky and must be heated to be removed from their cans.

The hopped malt concentrate (green label) and the malt extract (yellow label) are mixed with 5 gallons of water in the primary fermenter (a big plastic bucket).

I drove to Seminole to get high quality water from my in-laws' well. Chlorinated city water makes bad beer.

When the malt/water mixture is about 65*, yeast is added. The bucket is then sealed for one week.

Step 3 Racking the Beer

After seven days the beer is 'racked', which is beer dork terminology for moving the beer from one 5 gallon bucket to another 5 gallon bucket. This is easily done with a cane and hose which create a syphon to suck the beer from one bucket to the other.

I believe racking is necessary to separate the beer from a layer of funky yeast the settles to the bottom of the fermenter (remember, big plastic bucket).

Step 4 Bottling

After seven more days (we're on day 14) the beer is racked again. Then dextrose is added to the beer in order to stimulate carbonation. Immediately after this the beer can be bottled, which is the most labor intensive and fun part of the process.

Before being filled with beer, the bottles must be sanitized. This is very easy to do as most dishwashers have a 'sanitize' setting. Do not add soap, this will make your beer taste like soap.

Empty bottles can be purchased at any homebrew store, but bottles can also be purchased at liquor stores and gas stations FULL OF BEER. Twist-off bottles will not work, but all other bottles can be reused.

For bottling the cane and hose are fitted with a bottle filler which is a hard plastic tube with a spring loaded valve on the end.. Lauren is the primary bottle filler in our little operation. I am posing in the photos below because her hair "looks all weird".

This process can be intense. I needed to remove my sweatshirt.

Bottle caps must be purchased and are inexpensive. The caps we are using were included in my kit from The Brew Shop. The red machine is a bottle capper, it was included too. The capper is very fun to use.


The batch yielded forty-seven twelve ounce bottles of beer. This is a bit low and is likely due to some sloppiness on my part during the racking process.

While this beer looks ready to consume it is not. The beer must sit in the bottle to 'condition' for at least two weeks (we're up to four weeks now).

I was only able to wait twelve days before I popped one open. It tasted very, very good.

To sum up, it is easy to make beer at your house. Just follow the four simple steps outlined above.

"Lord 'beer me' strength" - Jim Halpert

I Like This Beer

Behold! Sam Adams seasonal Octoberfest beer.

The Schatzels enjoy it with  a chili dog and a football game.

PS I have come to accept that you all will not comment on posts which lack pictures of Ben.

Ben Schatzel 10:08 AM Saturday November 8

Are you jealous?

Pandora

Every so often I jump  in and share something on the blog. After all, my name is right there in the title.

This is great.  

www.pandora.com

This website will create personalized radio stations.

The site is powered by the music genome project which analyzes songs in thousands of different ways.Based on your preferences, it anticipates songs you might like and plays them. The more you listen, the better in tune the site gets with the music your brain enjoys. I like it much more than iTunes playlists because the site will include songs you've never heard, expanding your musical horizon.

Recently, I find myself at pandora all the time. Check it out.

Brad

The Nightmare Before Christmas

A major ice storm blew through Oklahoma City last week leaving massive devastation in its wake.  More than two dozen people died both from exposure and traffic collisions.  People living in  600,000 homes were forced to endure the frigid temperatures without electricity, and many homes are still dark a week later.  Early estimates indicate that more than a million trees in the OKC metro area were killed when ice weighed down their bows so much that the trunks ripped into pieces.  Stories of extreme suffering as well as extreme heroism abound in this heartland community.  One such tale chronicles the trials of an impoverished young couple trying desperately to keep their three week old baby alive.  This is their story.

Freezing rain moves into the OKC metro area early Sunday morning.  Hoping for a day off from work, Lauren and Brad Schatzel watch the weather worsen with excited anticipation that public schools will close due to the dangerous conditions.  Snuggled safe and warm in their humble home, the couple spends most of the day doting on their new son, Benjamin.  They venture outside long enough to assess the damage to an oak tree in their front yard and move their cars out of the way of falling limbs.  They snapped these photos.

Sunday evening the announcement is made on local TV that schools all across the area are closed Monday.  Brad and Lauren rejoice.  Their happiness then boils over when another newsflash announces that Brad's graduate school final has been canceled due to the weather.  The three members of the Schatzel family go to bed for the night smiling about their good

 fortune.   Outside freezing rain continues to build up ice on power lines and tree branches.

Midday on Monday, power to the Schatzel home is lost.  The lights go out and the furnace stops humming.   Excited about the novelty of the situation, the couple happily builds a fire and locate some flashlights and candles.  Despite the duraflame fire, the temperature inside drops.  Baby Ben, not old enough to even remember Halloween, stirs in his mother's warm arms.

As night approaches, Brad is forced to hike to the nearest open store for more firewood.  Two nearby corner store are closed due to power outage, so he has to walk over a mile in blistering wind to a WalMart.  The store is as hectic as the Dow Jones trading floor.  Hundreds of panicked citizens clammer for supplies.  Brad waits in line for thirty minutes and then carries twenty five pounds of firelogs home to his family.

The night is long and cold.  The family bed is moved into the  living room near the warm fire.  Ben spends the night watching the dancing flames, cuddled close to his mother's heart.

Tuesday morning brings with it a new and darker attitude in the Schatzel house.  The sense of adventure has been replaced with the sensation of freezing.  School is canceled again.  The couple gets in the car and drives to their local Starbucks for some hot coffee and a warm environment.  On their drive, the young couple witness the unfolding tragedy the ice storm had wrought.  Tree after tree after tree is split down the middle.  Streets are blocked by fallen limbs.  Everywhere the power is out.  Even the local Starbucks is closed  due to power outage. The Schatzels are forced to drive to Bethany to find an open Starbucks.  Baby Ben begins to cry.

The heat and caffeine lift Lauren and Brad's spirits.  At least for a while.  The return home to find many more limbs from the great oak have snapped and that the temperature inside their house has fallen further.  Fearing what another night under these conditions would do to young Ben's health, the couple decides to flee.

Close friends Micca and Joshua Rasp, offered the Schatzels shelter from the storm.  The Rasp's turn of the century farm house in tiny Arcadia, Oklahoma had become a refugee camp.  In addition to the three Schatzel's, three other people and two additional dogs rode out the storm at the Rasp's.  Tuesday night brings a huge spaghetti dinner and lively conversation.  It is announced that school will be out on Wednesday as well.

Wednesday  morning over coffee and donuts, Lauren and Brad decide to drive to Seminole to be with Ben's grandparents.  Further south and east, Seminole was merely grazed by the ice storm.  Anticipating that school will be canceled for Thursday and Friday, the couple plan to stay through the weekend.  Returning home before their trip, Lauren and Brad pack in the freezing cold as their house is now no warmer than the outside temperature.

Phelps farm in Seminole, Oklahoma provides warm sanctuary.  The new Angus beef being raised on the ranch dominates the conversation.  The local news announces that despite nearly 400,000 powerless homes, Putnam City schools will be open tomorrow, Thursday.  Brad will have to get up very early and drive back to OKC for work.

5:00 am Brad rises and leaves Seminole.   Lauren and Ben sleep soundly under a warm heating vent.

After work  on Thursday, Brad returns home to find the electricity is back on!  Overjoyed, he cranks up the heat.  Hungry, he heads for the kitchen.  All the food is gone.   The couple wanted to save it from spoiling so they took it to Seminole.  Disheartened, Brad heads back to Seminole to pick up Ben and Lauren.  He arrives in time for dinner.  After dining on chili dogs, the young family head out again for Oklahoma City.  They return to a warm house about 10:00 pm and go to bed. 

Brad goes to work on  Friday while Lauren stays home to prepare the house for a long awaited Christmas party.  Micca and Josh Rasp and Ashley and Zach Magic arrive about 7:00 for eggnog and laughter.  The friends are anxious to compare stories from the tough week behind them.  Outside it begins to snow...

Dog Eats Stick of Butter, Lives

Our dog can eat a stick of butter. What can your dog eat?

Closet Remodel

This weekend I remodeled one of our closets with materials left over from the construction of Mark and Judy's lake house in Eufaula. Previously the closet had only one droopy shelf and the plaster had fallen away in a couple places. So I lined the walls with cedar siding which makes the space smell great and keeps moths away. Next I trimmed the corners with some simple wood trim to cover any small imperfections where the cedar paneling comes together. Finally I build three sturdy shelves that slide in and out so you can easliy reach items stored in the back. BooYah.

Fourth of July

We hung out with our good friends Ashley and Zack for the Fourth of July. The four of us took our dogs Cali and Lucy to the dog park by Lake Hefner for some socialization and exercise. Everyone had a good time. Cali got in a scuffle with a strange dog at the park. It was more barking than anything else, but Cali did regulate a bit. Below see a photo of the other dog.
Thats how Seminole County does it.


After the dog park we came back to Casa Schatzie and ate some Pei Wei take-out. It was so delicious. I reccomend eating there if you like food that tastes delicious. After dinner, we took these pictures.

Zack is due a couple weeks after Lauren, so our kids will be friends.


During the evening Lauren and Ashley took several hundred pictures of the dogs in an attempt to capture them in an adorable pose. This is the best picture from the set. Those of you readers who are dog owners know how this goes.


After dark we drove out to Bethany for one of the largest fireworks displays in the Oklahoma. It was a lot better than we anticipated.

Harvest

Two and a half months ago I planted some tomatoes in the backyard. They survived a hard freeze in mid-April and finally this week began producing ripe fruit. We have one cherry tomato plant and two regular size tomato plants which have a silly name; "big-boys" or "super 100's" or some other nonsense. Lo and I have grandiouse plans for a sooped up garden next year with rows of onions, squash and more tomatoes. We figure it should be easy to maintain because we will be able to teach our son how to weed and water and such.

Bonus Brad Blog!

Lauren and I have the Netflix DVD program. Yesterday Netflix sent us "Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium." That it rules goes without saying. While watching a section of the show during lunch today, I noticed something shocking. Queen's drummer Roger Taylor looks exactly like Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. I mean it is uncanny.
Check it out


First, Roger Taylor of Queen.



Now Lars from Metallica.


Roger taylor Again


And Lars once more.


See!
Now, clearly they are in fact the same man, perhaps named Lars Taylor or Roger Ulrich. This is the scenario I am proposing. Taylor (Ulrich, whatever) joins Queen when the band first forms in England in 1970. He rides the Queen rocket to fame. As Queen's popularity and wealth grow, the band can tour less. By the early Eighties, the band members are growing bored with their music and decide to branch out. Freddy Mercury begins writing disco/dance songs like "Another One Bites the Dust", while Taylor branches out into ... you guessed it Heavy Metal. With Queen's tour schedule increasingly open, Taylor is free to spend a lot of time in San Francisco with his side project METALLICA, which formed in 1981. Because he didn't want his Queen fame to interfere with Metallica's artistic vision, Taylor begins using the moniker Lars Ulrich.
Taylor's beats are so fresh and his syncopation so tight that Metallica's brand of ultra fast metal quickly earns them legions of fans, and by the 1990's they are the biggest band in the world. By this time, Metallica had gone away from speed metal, favoring a kind of pop-metal instead.(See "Enter Sandman")
Metallica became notorious for their grueling tour schedule during the late Eighties and early Nineties. However, Queen played very few shows during this time period and stopped touring all together with Freddy Merury's passing in 1990. So it would have been easy for Taylor to play live with both Queen and Metallica during these years.
It all fits together perfectly.

As a secret tribute to his homeland Azerbaijan, Taylor used words from his native tongue to name both his bands. "Queen" in Azerbaijanni means "rock" and "Metallica " translates to "-n-roll". See below.

Brad's Monthly Update

To the Magnificent Seven (Thats what the seven people who read our blog are called)(( If just one more person starts reading, we could call you'all the Elite Eight)),

Lauren is attending two baby showers today, neither of which are for her. During her absence, she requested I update the blog. Now, loyal readers, you know me. This entry could go one of two ways.

Prospective Blog Topic #1: Leftist political commentary about Oklahoma state representative Trebor Worthen's dirty, dirty relationship with Big Oil.

Prospective Blog Topic #2: Silly Pictures of Cali !!!!

Lets have show of hands. Okay, a 4-3 victory for Topic #2, Silly pictures of Cali. (You're safe for now, Worthen)


I left an empty box in the backyard. Cali thought she should destroy it and then did.
More Destruction of the box.
Silly dog nose.



Pregnant Lauren two fisting popscicles. (How did that get posted on here?)


Remember, comments show you care.

Gas Prices

This is Brad

Can you face another summer where a day trip to the lake or the beach costs you an arm and a leg? It's shaping up to be just that if we don't ask Congress to stand up to the oil companies now.

Good news! There is a bill in the House this week that could make gas price gouging a federal crime, so we don't pay more while the oil companies rake in record profits. I signed a petition to urge my representative ,Mary Fallin, to pass this bill this week. You can sign it too, just click below. It will automatically be sent to your representative, who hopefully is someone other than Mary Fallin.

Gas Petition

A note about Republican Congresswoman Mary Fallin. Her top four campaign donors during her successful 2006 run for congress are as follows: Chesapeake Energy, Kerr-McGee, Devon Energy, and BP capital. All energy companies.
Mrs. Fallin is pictured below with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.



A note about Condoleezza Rice. She was a Chevron Director from 1991 until January 15, 2001 when she was transferred by President George Bush Jr. to National Security Adviser. During her time with Chevron, the oil giant named a tanker ship after her. The tanker was renamed the Altair Voyager just before Mrs Rice' appointment by the Bush Administration.



Peace
bSchatz