Today is mia_mcdavid‘s birthday, as lsanderson very promptly noted. We had a relaxed morning–the sort that is only possible with Tom away. Mia is out shopping for fun things on the west side of Minneapolis. She may also get together with botanicavix. After she left I racked the ginger mead I started last week. It will now sit peacefully in the secondary fermenter for at least several weeks before I bottle it.

After that I tossed the residue from the primary fermenter on the compost heap. The cherries are now quite pale, stripped of a lot of their color. I might also say “bled to death”, but perhaps that comes of watching too much CSI :-)> . Then I cleaned the primary fermenter and the hose, sterilized them in a bleach solution, and covered them until my next brewing project.

Next on the morning’s agenda, shoveling snow. Mia had done the front walk, so that needed only a quick pass. I then cleared the back deck. It is snowing now, so my work is already being covered up. That’s life in Minnesota. Then I went to Walgreens to get a prescription for our son James. He has a sinus infection that did not yield to Amoxicillin. We are trying another antibiotic.

I thought about going out this afternoon, perhaps to look for more old tools. However, it now well past noon, and I have things to do here. Mia and I plan to go out this evening.