Summer Fun

Jen and Nathan at the Bellingham Reunion BBQ

This week has been so full. It started on Saturday when we had two parties to go to. Friends from work were having a house warming party/BBQ and there was also a Bellingham reunion BBQ at Gasworks Park. Then Sunday we went to my brother's to celebrate my nephew's birthday (Tucker). Monday we saw The Dark Knight, again (if you have not seen it YOU MUST). The rest of the week is just as busy. I have been documenting our fun.

Emily and Susan getting the BBQ ready

Root Beer Anyone?

Do you really get what you pay for when it comes to root beer or is it really all the same? I can tell you it’s not all the same. Have you ever wondered which root beer is the best? We got together with some friends from church who had been wondering the exact same things about root beer. We each contributed something, from different kinds of root beer, to paper cups for tasting, to palette cleansers (saltine crackers). One of the couples even set up an elaborate chart to track the voting, and ultimately determining the best root beer. We considered all the factors: sweetness, rootiness, aftertaste, carbonation, and smoothness. What’s rootiness? It is flavor, the “bite.” This actually became a major factor in determining the “best root beer.” So there were 8 competitors: A&W, Deerfield, Henry Weinhard, Mug, Thomas Kemper, Barqs, Jones, and Stewart’s. Take a second to rank them in your own mind…
Nine of us did a blind taste test (we didn’t know what we tasted) and voted. Majority rules. The results are in and they may surprise you. I have included some of the notes I took during the tasting.
1. Jones root beer – Highest scores in the rootiness category. Knock out flavor.
2. Stewart’s – Smooth, not too sweet. I could drink a lot of this.
3. Henry Weinhard – Sweet and smooth
4. Thomas Kemper – Has a lot of kick
5. Mug – creamy, kinda yucky after taste
6. Barqs – nicknamed “mini root” for it’s “bite” Weaker rootiness compared to Jones
7. Deerfield – Yuck (debated result, close call for last place)
8. A&W – tastes like it sat in a glass of ice over night. Bland across the board. Low carbonation.
So there you have it. Our research is incomplete. We plan to continue the search for the best root beer and will include new contenders: IBC, Dad’s, Hire’sand others TBA. After we have found the best root beer we plan to discover the best vanilla ice cream. We will then have all the ingredients necessary for the best root beer float EVER. By the way if you think we’re crazy there are people who have done even more extensive research than us, ranking over a hundred brands of root beer. (Bonnie and Nathan encourage you to always drink responsibly.)

Road to Recovery

Special Thanks to Jen and Nathan for taking care of me after I had my wisdom teeth taken out. After the surgery I woke up a little freaked out. Jen came in and helped me calm down. I barely remember the ride home. Once at home, we got comfortable and watched a couple movies. She got some socks for me and even helped me put them on. I remember she got me a yogurt…mmm gotta love soft foods. The rest of the details are a little fuzzy, but she stayed with me until Nathan got home from work. Nathan kept track of which medicine I took at which time. He got me ice packs and kept my water glass full. My cheeks were so swollen I looked like a squirrel collecting food storage in its mouth. Eventually I was able to eat solids again. When people asked how I was doing I happily replied “I’m on solids now!” I’m still not back to normal but it keeps getting better everyday. I realized just how much I take my mouth for granted. This experience has led me to commit to good oral hygiene for the rest of my life. I think having my wisdom teeth taken out actually made me a little wiser.