Hi folks!

Hard to believe February is almost done! I know it’s a short month but I swear it just started and now after next Sunday, it’s over. It really makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs “STOP!!!” and somehow make this nutty passage of time come to screeching halt or, at the very least, slow down a little.

Silver lining? Yes please!

This weekend finally found us walking around in 60 degree temps and we couldn’t be more pleased! It’s as if everything was cracking from the thaw, joints in both buildings and their inhabitants popping back into place, loosening and opening for spring’s warmth. This late winter hasn’t been all bad though. We’ve had plenty to keep our chilled minds busy.

For instance, I decided to hop back on the home brew hobby train again!

Years ago when we first moved down here a good friend of mine and I jumped in on a neighborhood beer brewing group that involved us and a few other residents. It was loads of good fun not to mention a GREAT way to get good tasting, much more affordable beer that had a much higher alcohol content than anything you could find in the store.

We got together frequently and brewed quite a bit in it’s heyday but, eventually life happened, folks moved away and the group dissolved. Fast forward to 2009 for our annual Christmas/Birthday gift giving situation that involves Mel and I picking out our own stuff (I know, we’re kind of odd this way… but it works)! Mel snagged something right away but me? I was absolutely stumped.

I researched the hell out of ebook readers and while I have every intention of snagging one eventually, I’m finally getting to the age where I don’t buy things for the sake of buying them anymore. In short, when ereaders get better (on a lot of different levels), I’ll buy one then. But in the mean time, I was stuck for an idea! Then, one day when Mel and I were chatting, I brought up home brewing haphazardly and the idea hit me between the eyes like that rock that hits Forrest Gump when he was a boy with “magic legs”.

It made perfect sense! It’s sustainable, it’s something we can do together and it’s nice on the budgie!

SOLVED! :)

So I bought the equipment and bought a pre-made recipe kit (baby steps people…) for my first batch. Now 5 gallons of potentially tasty English Pale Ale sits in our bath tub fermenting and bubbling away happily! In couple of weeks I’ll get to taste the fruit of my labors.

Mel’s been up to no good as well! She’s kicked her photography up a notch and at the start of this year she jumped in on a “365, picture day” project on Flickr! She’s kicking much ass and it’s been an excellent creative pursuit for her.

Feel free to check out her pics so far here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/purlingplans/collections/72157623344579828/

Mel’s also stepped up her yoga regimen! She’s researching the area was pleased to find a whole slew of new yoga studios that have opened since the last time we took classes! I’m really excited for her as the practice offers her a lot peace mentally and physically. I may jump back in with her and join her in class but I’d be doing it for different reasons I think. We’ll see.

February also brought the Nevermore Film Festival!

Those who frequent our sites know that I LOVE attending this horror film festival that’s hosted annually in downtown Durham (right across from my office actually).

This year was bit of a resurgence of the event and a lot great independent horror films were on display as well as some true classics for folks to catch on the big screen (ReAnimator, Night of the Demons, Witchboard… seriously)!

This year, time was limited as well as fundage but we were able to catch two flicks. One was a foreign vampire film rooted firmly in Romanian folklore called “Strigoi” and the other was an American micro budget indie called “Dawning”. Both films were incredibly different from today’s megaplex offerings and they definitely both fell into the “slow burn” category, which I’ve been digging quite a lot lately.

Really entertaining and very well made. It depresses me to see good films like this face a serious uphill battle getting wide distribution. They deserve much better.

To get more info on them feel free to click on their corresponding one-sheets below. I recommend them if you are looking for something blessedly different. Neither were particularly gory at all.

So! Those are only some of the highlights from this month. We’re really yearning for spring folks! But it’s always nice to acknowledge that being cooped up inside doesn’t mean being dormant!

All the best,
Tad

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Now playing: Matt & Kim – Lessons Learned
via FoxyTunes

Tags: day to day, Nevermore Film Festival, spring

They forecasted it for about a week: “Large snow storm will be coming into the Triangle area this weekend…” and of course, everyone was skeptical. I mean, they’ve predicted a couple of these this year and all of them have ended up being rain or a dusting at best. Nothing to worry about and certainly nothing compared to the storm we had the first year we moved down here (14 inches I think). So when they said it would start at around 6:00PM Friday evening and at around 6:30 we saw this:

And then an hour later saw this:

… this weather suddenly had our attention! The local reports said this would continue until midnight the next day and that travel would be “impossible”. So we dug in and ate lots of comfort food!

We woke the next morning we saw this:

And before we knew it, the snow turned completely from big heavy flakes into a bajillion little ice marbles. It continued that way for the next 8 hours.

Now before my northern brethren scoff at what they consider a “dusting”, please consider that this much snow and ice hardly gets touched when it lands. NC has an incredibly small road crew, so whenever enough falls so that it actually sticks, everyone stays home until it melts, which is usually the next day ;).  This time around it stayed below freezing for two days after, so none of it went away really until today. The sun came out (the sky was SO blue) and it was a little warmer, so, needless to say, the neighborhood kids had a blast!

North Carolina kids don’t get to see this stuff very often.  So whenever it does come, it’s somewhat blog-worthy!

So now the real question.  Has enough melted today to make it Durham tomorrow for work?

We’ll see…

Tags: events, winter