Big changes are afoot. New adventures are beginning. Cliffs have been jumped off. There’s so much to say, and I was just about to write a huge post about it all, when R.E.M.’s song “Begin The Begin” popped up on my iTunes. Even thought I don’t know the words (for me, the lyrics don’t just take a backseat to the music, but the way-back seat of a super-sized 80′s station wagon; I really don’t know the lyrics to most of my favorite songs), the emotions brought about by the music completely summed up everything I was feeling so much better than a multi-page post could.

Give a listen and know.

What I’m listening to: R.E.M. – Begin The Begin

Tonight I actually rated a beer, Ommegang’s Art of Darkness. Here’s my rating where I gave it a 4.0 out of 5:

   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20

ericnixon (733) – Northampton, Massachusetts, USA – APR 27, 2012

This is only the third beer I’ve rated in 2012, and the sixth I’ve rated in the past 12 months. A far cry from the mid-2000s when I would rate a few hundred a year. I guess I’m a lot more choosy about what I drink these days.

This is really neat.

What I’m listening to: Modest Mouse – Float On

Charlie waking up and being all twisty turny cute. What’s missing from the picture is hearing his tail thump-thump-thumping under the covers when he saw me looking at him.

What I’m listening to: Savoir Adore – We Talk Like Machines

Neon Sign, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

A few photos I took over the past week. Enjoy!

Charlie Parker in a sunbeam

Baxter bundled himself up

Strange clouds

An olde-timey horse-tie-up ring-thing on our apartment building

I’ve always liked the view from this field near the Lenox/Stockbridge line

Bike trail

Lonely li’l cloud above Route 9 in Cummington

Great Barrington

Above shot of a candle on a cutting board

Baxter

Charlie’s nose

C’est tout.

What I’m listening to: Ryan Adams – Note To Self

]]> http://ericnixon.net/?feed=rss2&p=1846 0 http://ericnixon.net/?p=1840 http://ericnixon.net/?p=1840#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:57:53 +0000 eric http://ericnixon.net/?p=1840 Continue reading →]]>

Wow! Two friends of ours wrote books that were released this week.

First is How To Rock Your Baby: And Other Timeless Tips For Modern Moms by Erin Bried. She’s a senior staff writer at Self magazine and the author of two other super handy books, How To Sew A Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew, and How To Build A Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew. I’ve found those last two books to be not only very handy, but also pretty entertaining, as she writes in a relaxed and fun style. While we don’t have a baby yet, I’m sure I’m going to learn a whole lot from her new book so I can be ready for when the time comes.

The other book out this week is The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying And Start Making by Alana Chernila. We’re pretty excited about this one because Kari was the prop stylist for it, and it not only has great recipes, but the photography is phenomenal. Seriously. It’s equal parts art and food.

Speaking of Alana’s book, we’re heading over the mountain to the Berkshires today to attend her book signing party at the Chef’s Shop in Great Barrington. She’ll be there from 1-4pm today, so if you’re in the area check it out. (Plus she’ll have samples of her homemade pop-tarts.)

What I’m listening to: The Sheila Divine – Spacemilk

A sunsety photo I took in Chattanooga a few years ago.

If you like great music, check out one of my favorite new bands, Of Monsters And Men on today’s First Listen at NPR. It’s such a good album.

Another good thing is the book I’m reading at the moment. Maphead – Charting The Wide, Weird World Of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings (the winningest dude on Jeopardy!…or you may know him as the guy with the really awesome Twitter feed ['tho it's sometimes a bit risqué]). As long as I can remember, I’ve loved maps. I can stare at a good map for hours on end, taking it all in. It’s kind of like if there’s a TV on in the room, and you want me to participate in anything, just forget it, because I’ll be sucked in and block everything else out. The same goes for maps. Earlier this month, Kari, my mom, and I went out to a sugar shack for pancakes. Our table happened to be next to an old map of western Massachusetts on the wall. It was all I could do to not completely ignore them and stare at the map. I had to settle for stealing quick glances here and there. Anyway, I’m only a third of the way through the book, but it’s nice to know I’m not alone in my love for maps. And, guess what? I’m learning stuff! (Books…who knew?)

Fun fact – I met Jennings when he checked into a hotel I used to manage. Nice guy.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go and re-listen to the Of Monsters And Men album.

What I’m listening to: Of Monsters And Men – Mountain Sound

You’d think this picture was taken in a dusty, deserty place. Actually, I took this last week when we went to go out for pancakes. It was super foggy out. I played with the tint on it in iPhoto and thought this looked neat.

Oh! It’s been a while since one of the pups was last seen on this site. Charlie Parker got his hair did and, well, here he is…

…and he looks like a completely different dog! In fact, when Kari went to pick him up the other day, the groomer said, “Here’s your brand new dog!” When his hair grows out, he’s at least 80% black, with a little silver, but when he’s freshly shorn, he’s maybe 60% silver. Weird.

On a sidenote, I removed the link to my Flickr page. I used to really use Flickr a lot, and uploaded something like 800+ photos there, but I havne’t used it at all in the past couple of years; at least not enough to make it worth the $30 a year for the pro membership. If you want to see some of my pictures online, get Instagram for your iPhone/iPad/iThing/iWhatever and follow me on there.

What I’m listening to: Scout – Good Enough For Now

Happy spring! Too bad we overshot winter and spring and went straight to summer. It’s going to be 85 tomorrow and almost 90 on Thursday. Kinda messed up since there’s normally a foot or more of snow on the ground this time of year.

On the plus side…I’m wearing shorts!

What I’m listening to: Oppenheimer – Saturday Looks Bad To Me

Maple day! Well, it’s not an official day or anything but we got up early and went to a sugar shack, nonetheless.

It was very foggy drive. I wish there was snow on the ground to make the whole late-winter tradition of sugar shacking more authentic, but there’s not much you can do about the weather.

We drove to nearby Westhampton to have pancakes at Steve (Holt)’s Sugar Shack (note: he’s not this Steve Holt). This was our third year going to his palace of pancakes, and we were excited to return.

We arrived a little after 8am, and the family-style tables were about half-full. We ordered at the counter and found a clear section of a table free by the windows.

Super-fresh, couldn’t-be-more-local maple syrup (plus ketchup, and a flower).

And, before we could blink, our food had arrived! Kari got French toast, I ordered pancakes (which were  h u g e), and we shared a side of eggs. Great stuff!

On their Facebook, they said they were done boiling sap for the season, and they would just be boiling water for the steamy ambiance, but since there was a freeze last night, they were able to collect sap and boil some more today.

A look inside the evaporator.

Steve, himself, wearing the Triple S coat.

We got there at a great time, because as we were leaving, there was a huge line of people, stretching out the door, waiting to get in. No wonder, it’s one of the best sugar shacks around.

What I’m listening to: Throwing Muses – Bright Yellow Gun

When I came out of the supermarket the other day, I saw that someone had left a banana peel (of all things) right by my car’s door. I looked around for any rascally cartoon characters who might have left it, hoping I would step on it and slip, but didn’t see any.

What I’m listening to: Tin Machine – Under The God