Monday, October 24, 2011

So Many Topics!

I will never have a successful blog.

The End.


It's true. Every article on blogging success leads with the same suggestion: maintain a focus, keep it to a particular, or few, subjects matters. Do not wander off course. The second bit of advice they should offer: include animals... cats, kittens, puppies, dolphins saving puppies etc.


A handsome kitty picture may be the salvation of this blog.

In other news, yesterday we combed the city looking for caramels, lost our apples, made chile rellenos, had a double blind root beer tasting, carved pumpkins, stuffed ourselves silly with rellenos, listened to banjo playing, and washed some dishes. And, so if a successful blog relies on focus, then *phttttttttt* I embrace my epic atypical blog.


Besides all the hub-bub and activity, the day was punctuated with Maria asking, "When do we bring out the beer?" "Is it time to taste the beer?" "Are we all drinking beer?" "There is so much beer. "Will I have some beer too?" And somebody, everybody, saying Root! Root. Root beer!


Do you like root beer?
Do you call it beer, or soda, or pop, soda pop, or fizzy water, or sugar juice, or battery acid, or old-timey bubble liquor?
Do you see a favorite in our line-up? There are two varieties missing: Barq's, and Hansens.*

*Regretfully, no one is paying me for promotion of any of this here old-timey bubble liquor. All selections were randomly, unceremoniously, yet respectfully, grabbed at our favorite market in the whole wide world: Major Market.**

**Regretfully, no one is paying me for promotion of Major Market, our favorite market in the whole wide world.

Focus, Chickenblogger. Focus!


Right. Okay. Where was I?

Double Blind Root Beer Taste Test. Almost. I sort of did know which sodas were which, but honestly my memory is flaky, and by the time we had the bottles wrapped, and dinner in the oven, I had no idea we were even holding a Double Blind Root Beer Taste Test, so it was pretty authentic as far as objective, scientific testing goes.


Folks, this was serious business.

Solemn. Science is not for the weak. The soda labels were hidden from everyone's view, the cups were numbered. We took notes. We nibbled saltines to cleanse our taste buds palettes.


Tasters:
Suki: artist, homecoming queen, musician, part-time sign flipper, likes loves chile rellenos.

William: artist, foamologist, welding student, sous chef, philosopher, can musically recant all the words to Albi the Racist Dragon, loves and prepares chile rellenos.

Alex: man of many faces, artist, can musically recant all the words to Albi the Racist Dragon, cook, tailor, robot designer.

Max: mathematician, cat whisperer, swimmer, reader, movie projectionist, artist, loves crispy tacos.

Maria: robot designer, fashion designer, pumpkin carver, member of FIRST 2102 Team Paradox, ballerina, song writer, sword fighter, artist, super taster.

Jessica: musician, grant writer, board member: Guitars In The Classroom, teacher, dog lover, procurer of one more root beer variety.

Geoff: programmer, artist, loves chile rellenos a lot-bunch-mucho, welding student, whistler, gamer, engineer, tennis player.

Natalie: Chickenblogger, cook, gardener, chicken wrangler, loves to laugh, easily amused, tends to lose her focus, dedicated... to all sorts of stuff.


Music provided by:

Eli: banjo player, ocarina player, guitar player, mandolin player, ukulele player, president of the ukulele club, robot designer, artist, not a soda drinker.


Shall we begin?

We sampled ten different root beers. We nibbled a lot of crackers.


By the time we got to root beer number ten, the bubbles were going to our heads. I was a bit worried that they would basically all start to taste the same, but we were noting distinctions, and detecting subtleties.


Utterances included: "I taste vanilla," "this one is soapy," "are those hints of spice?" Some varieties also inspired: "Chemically aftertaste," "I'd buy this," "super fizzy," and "blech!"


I don't usually hand over my camera. I can't believe I handed over my camera.

"Hey, you, guy with my camera, careful there."


I can't believe she let him use the camera.


Okay. So. I could tell you the results of our Double Blind Root Beer Taste Test, but then you might be biased by our tastes and preferences. Maybe you are thinking of hosting your own scientific-super-terrific Double Blind Root Beer Taste Test and you don't want our results to color your opinion. So. For now, we will withhold our analysis and statistics, until we hear from you.


And, while we are waiting to hear from you, we will eat chile rellenos, and we will carve pumpkins, and we will play our music, sing our songs.


Suki may compose a song for us, something about lost apples, a quest for caramels, and how delicious chile rellenos are for dessert.

Thank you. And happy Monday!

12 comments:

Amy B. said...

Your blog successfully puts a smile on my face every time I read it. Doesn't that count for something? :-)

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Ah! Amy B., thank you. That is a success I feel very good about! Hello, and nice to meet you!

Alison said...

I was going to say...depends on what you mean by "success." Those blogging articles can go stuff themselves into a chile.

Though the idea of a double-blind root-beer taste-off is tempting, I am not a root beer drinker, and Miss Chef--who IS--will probably not be available to sit in one place long enough to taste much of anything. So, please...spill the root beer beans, won't you? (And then you can move on to ginger ales!)

Miriam said...

Can I come to the next root beer tasting? Please? I'll even bring Kim, who loves playing the banjo as much as I love drinking root beer.

When I was a child I used to look forward to visiting our friends The Dawsons, who were the only people I knew who lived in the country. Their chief qualifications for coolness in my child's eyes: they stocked their pond with fish, they slaughtered their own chickens, and THEY MADE ROOT BEER FROM SCRATCH, which I still find amazing to this day.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

We will spill the beer... er beans, soon.
Miriam, Flartus... if you came to the Bird House there would be much music making and all kinds of bubbly beverage tasting!

CarrieMarie said...

i come to your blog & like it so much because of the lack of a niche, so to speak. you write about your family w/ such love, your chickens w/ such care, and robotics and art and life with such FLAIR. definitely a success! : )

also, suki's hair - LOVE! i have wanted blue hair for so long... but my office would not appreciate it. sad, truly sad!

test said...

Natalie, you are doing just fine with ur blog, I do enjoy all ur writing and can't wait for tomorrow the next entry.

Cheyenne -Millie said...

Oh! But I do think you have a very successful blog! And Natalie! Your blog does have a focus. At least for me it does. Family, friends, and a freedom to enjoy them.... but of course we here are partial to kitty cats!

Anonymous said...

Root Beer tasting and banjo playing. Life is good.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Cheyenne-Millie... smart Kitty! Thank you for reminding me about my focus, and thank you for being one of those friends.

Anonymous, yes. It is good. I get muddled about trying to maintain, improve, but you are right: Life is good.

Michael, I love that we can still be connected! Thank you for all the wonderful posts you have been sharing.

ivey@durangomom.com said...

i love your lack of focus and suffer from same! root beer taste test is a genius idea. stealing it now!

Kim said...

Staying on topic is boring! Why conform when you can have this much fun instead??? Banjos and rootbeer sounds like my kind of party!