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Act I: Because it’s on a mountain, the basement at the house in the foothills is only below-ground on one side and there are windows on the other three walls. We see wildlife of all sorts and deer are year round visitors. They’re pretty common up there. A few weeks ago, I was in the basement painting kitchen cabinet doors and looked out and saw babies so baby that they were still damp and smooshfaced.

Act II: Last week (back in the Bay Area), I wasn't even ten steps out of bed in the morning when the floodlights in the back went off and these deer and I startled each other.

Act III: We saw them a few more times during daylight hours over the next week and change. We realized that one of them was an older fawn, with spots barely still visible. Then another doe and her two fawns joined them for an afternoon of frolic and I had a very tense moment when i realized just how fragile the back doors are.

A few months ago, I started using an app called Doodl. It's a no-AI, no algorithm, prompt-a-day, all-levels, zero-stakes, semi-socialmedia app. I am not generally a drawing/painting sort but it seemed... neat. So i tried it and i love it. When I was telling someone what I loved about it, I said it reminded me of the internet of old, just a bunch of mostly-strangers doing the same, narrowly-focused thing and being super supportive about it. These two are from a recent prompt to draw something from your camera roll. One is Cupid's Span in San Francisco from the ground, the other is the same from my seat on a transbay bus crossing the Bay Bridge. Depending on how I commute to work, I might see one or the other or neither in the morning.

cupids span 1 giant art of yellow bow and gray arrow with red fletching seen from ground level

Cupids span 2 - giant art of yellow bow and gray arrow with red fletching seen from above

That feeling about Doodl got me thinking about how else i use the my devices, how i do now, how i used to, and how I want to going forward. i used to do this. More so over on ye olde livejournale but I did do that for years and years and am still in touch with some of the folks i connected with there. I've been popping in and out of dreamwidth to read and sometimes comment for the very many years ai haven't been posting but never managed to make a practice of it. I'm going to try again, knock the rust off and see if I can remember how to do this.

I'm going to resist the urge to do a major catchup post or a massive state of the emelbe post. I'll just pick up the dropped thread and give little background summaries when I think it might be useful context.

Apparently, I cannot be trusted to regularly cross-post between tumblr and here. One-line Whiskey now also has a twitter account which should make it easier to keep track of if you want to but aren't a tumblr user but I'm going to go on ahead and accept that the cross-posting always feels like I'm playing catch up because I'm always playing catch up and remove that (admittedly minor) stressor from my online life.

I can definitely keep up with the monthly book summaries. I'll see what else comes out of it, if anything.

Revisit: Hibiki Japanese Blended Whisky, 12-year
Nikka Taketsuru, 12-year
Templeton Prohibition Era Recipe Rye, Small Batch Rye Whiskey (and legos)
Revisit: Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky
Ballantine’s Finest Blended Scotch Whisky
Revisit: Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whiskey, 100 Proof

This happened.

Russel’s Reserve Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 10-year
My take on the American Rye Kerfuffle
Prichard’s Straight Tennessee Whiskey
High West Whiskey Double Rye Whiskey
Caperdonich - Batch 3 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company), Closed Distillery Sampler 4/5
Corsair Ryemageddon and a better picture of the same bottle from a friend

Aaaaand still.

Auchentoshen Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, The Unchillfiltered Collection, Distilled in 1992
The Hakushu Single Malt Japanese Whisky, 12-year and The Dimple Pinch Blended Scotch Whisky, 15-year
Colorado Gold Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Parker’s Heritage Collection Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Single Barrel,”Promise of Hope”
Revisit: Barterhouse Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 20-year
Kilchoman Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Sonoma Rye Whiskey

And still.

Henry DuYore’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Revisit: Prichard’s Double Chocolate Bourbon Whiskey
ColdCock American Herbal Flavored Whiskey
Revisit: Jameson Irish Whiskey
James Oliver Rye Whiskey
and
Compass Box Flight: Hedonism, Great King Street, Peat Monster

Still playing catch up.

Common chives sprout up all bent-like.

Oh, right. That's the thing I was going to post regularly. I'll get the hang of doing that eventually. Maybe.

Littlemill Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Cask, 21-year-old - 2/5 from the Masters of Malt "Closed Distilleries" tasting set
Revisit: Tin Cup Colorado Whiskey
Rosebank Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 22-year - 3/5 from the Masters of Malt "Closed Distilleries" tasting set
Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, Single Barrel
Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Revisit: Oola Waitsburg Bourbon Whiskey
and Eades Premium Double Malt Scotch Whisky — Blend of Ben Nevis (85%) and Clynelish (15%)

This angle doesn't get all of the pots but all of them have at least one teeny green thing it it. HUZZAH.

Our beloved bearded dragon, Issyk, passed away a while ago. Her enclosure is large and wired for both heat and UV light but I didn’t think another critter was a great idea.

Initially, I thought I’d do an elaborate carnivorous plant garden—and I still might—but, to be honest, I’m just not that good with plants and need some experience. So I’m going with herbs and veggies and flowers. Things with harvest times and very explicit modes of success (or failure).

This is the initial set up. If I’m bold I'll share further progress, success and failure, as events warrant.

Wish me luck.

I still need to put up part four of four of What I Did on My Summer Vacation but I don't feel like I've done it justice yet so I'm still sitting on it.

In the mean time have this:

You'd think being this well-matched in a scrabble clone would get boring. It hasn't.

And this whiskey blog round up:

Littlemill Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Cask, 21-year-old
Revisit: Tin Cup Colorado Whiskey
Rosebank Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 22-year
Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, Single Barrel
Basil Hayden's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Imperial 17 Year Old 1995 - Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing) - From the Masters of Malt Closed Distilleries Set
Revisit: Westward Small Batch Oregon Straight Malt Whiskey
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey - Wherein I have now tried all the whiskies my watering hole has to offer
Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey
Revisit: Widow Jane Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Tastings from Whiskies of the World:

From Steve Beal's American Whiskey Tasting and Class
- George Dickel No. 1, Unaged White Corn Whisky
- Bulleit Small Batch Straight 100% Rye Mash Whiskey
- Revisit: Bulleit Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Bulleit Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 10-year
- Revisit: George Dickel No 12, Original Tennesee Whisky
- George Dickel Barrel Select Tennessee Whisky
- Barterhouse Kentucky Bourbon, Aged 20 Years
- Old Blowhard Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 26 Years
High West: A Midwinter Night’s Dram, Blended Straight Rye Whiskeys
Mortlach Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 15-year
Brenne French Single Malt Whisky
Balcones Rumble and Balcones Rumble Cask Reserve
Clyde May’s Alabama Style Whiskey
Cabin Fever Maple Flavored Whisky
Blue Flame Washington Wheat Whiskey
2 Gingers Irish Whiskey
Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, The Original, 10-year and Extremely Rare, 18-year
Kinnickinnic Whiskey
Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 12-year, Navigator, and 17-year
anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 16-year
Sullivan’s Cove Tasmanian Double Cask Single Malt Whisky and French Oak Single Barrel
Amrut Single Malt Whisky Intermediate Sherry
The Arran Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Sauternes Wine Cask Finished and Port Wine Cask Finished
Machrie Moor Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Blackadder Raw Cask 1991 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
GlenGrant Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 10-year
Ardbeg Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 10-year, Uigeadail, and Corryvreckan
Lost Spirits Seascape II Peated American Single Malt Whiskey and Umami Peated
English Peated Single Malt Whisky

I added a challenge question to my goodreads profile a while ago after growing tired of authors who ~~added me~~ invited me to follow them just to advertise their books without any other sort of interaction. Different than the author of x type of fiction who also read y type of fiction voraciously and with whom I had a great deal of reading taste in common*. It’s simple. “Why do you think we should be friends? —-OR—- How do we know each other?” and you have to answer it just to send the friends request. I still get the occasional “We should be friends because you’d like my book!!” but it cut down on the number of adverquests significantly.

Recently I got one from someone who has overlapping tastes and wrote a nice note regarding a review** I’d written for a book we have in common. Their answer to the challenge question was, “Because you read the type of books I want to read, not burn!”

And now we have a close second to how to get my eyes to roll right out of my head as the result of a goodreads interaction.

* I did eventually read a couple of her books. They were good!
** I stopped writing reviews on goodreads when amazon bought them out but I haven't deleted anything. Yet?

Booker's Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
High West Campfire Whiskey

And next time I post about whiskies it'll be a rundown of Whiskies of the World--a fancy whisky tasting on a yacht--before the queue started, I had this to say:

Gird your livers

The first of the Whiskies of the World posts will finally shake through the queue tomorrow. I am scrolling through and still agog at the sheer volume of them and quite pleased with how well I paced myself.

I’m also wondering how many times I managed to miss it when my fingers took over and I typed Whiskies of the Whorld because I’m pretty sure I did it on every single post and will be shocked if I caught and corrected all of them.

Four from an afternoon whiskey adventure in the East Bay with a friend and a bonus:

Corsair Quinoa Whiskey
Oola Single Barrel Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Dry Fly Washington Wheat Whiskey
Fighting Cock Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Sign on the Old Hotaling's Building as seen during an Emperor Norton walking tour of San Francisco

Turns out, I'm much better at regular subject-specific blogging when I can queue things up. The whiskey blog is still going strong and I think I need to find a new way to translate that to here. Possibly periodically in a batched link form? Let me know if that works for you?

52@40 ended. I do have the start for the next project but I'm still working out the kinks. It's very, very old instant film with a very, very old instant camera. Scanning is probably more involved than I'm likely to keep up with. Artistically sloppy images via my phone may work.

Conversations with my Teenager has stalled. I don't know if/when it'll pick back upagain.

And now for whiskies. This isn't caught up (one can scroll through One-Line Whiskey for that if one is so inclined) but I'll try to put up smallish batched doses until I've caught up.

Scotch Flight: JohnnieWalker Blue, Dalmore 12, Clynelish 14
Seven Stills Chocosmoke Whiskey
John E. Fitzgerald Larceny Very Special Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bender’s Small Batch Rye Whiskey
Some assorted novelty Jim Beam bottles

Today I went for a hike. Urban hiking, as it were. I went up and over hills, through pretty neighborhoods, skirted a race’s finish line and found myself at the Wave Organ. It’s one of my favorite places to take guests. It’s out of the way. It’s a gorgeous walk. And, well, it’s cool. If you’re a nerd. It’s one of the Exploratorium’s outdoor exhibits, an “acoustic sculpture” at the end of a jetty on the San Francisco Bay. I’ve only been there at high tide once or twice (and today wasn’t on of those times) but it’s neat regardless. Right now there are flowers blanketing and draping the installation in ways I’ve never seen before. I sat there on a day so much warmer than any other time I’ve been there and drank my tea, looking at the water to one side and the city to another.

I started this project with me at the Ocean. I’m ending it with me at the Bay.

To be honest, I’m a little glad it’s over. Not because I didn’t want to do it anymore but because the nice, clean end is giving me a chance to reflect on the last year as a whole instead of as a continuing thing. I’m considering more of what I want out of the next year.

I also have ideas another 52 project but I won’t be sure which project I’m going forward with until I start it. We’ll see.

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emelbe

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