Bad Weekend!

It is really quite astonishing how quickly a weekend can go from great to crappy. This past Saturday, I decided to move the Chimena (an outdoor fireplace thingy) up onto the patio. We hadn't used it so far this year and I decided that since it was one of those coolish days temperature-wise it would be nice to sit out back with a little fire going. Wrong! I moved the thing close to the patio, so I wouldn't have to carry it that far (It is relatively heavy) and then got myself into as perfect a lifting position as I could -back straight, knees bent, feet apart. (all the stuff you are supposed to do when you pick up heavy objects) The next thing I knew my lower back went BWOING! and I knew I was screwed. Yep, you guessed it, I pulled my back all outta whack. It took me about 15 minutes to get INTO bed on Saturday. Don't ask how long it took me to get out to use the facilities! I ended up spending the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday and most of the day on Monday in bed (yes, I called in sick - there was no way I could sit all day day on Monday). I went into work today and managed to make it through. The worst part was getting up out of my chair. After about an hour sitting, my back did not want to change positions. It is a good thing I sit right across from the restrooms - I didn't have far to stumble - er walk, ya, that's it walk.

The one bright spot is that since one of my roomies is home most of the time (he has a seriously bad back), I had gotten him a subscription to Netflix. I figured he had pretty much watched about everything on regular TV. With Netflix, you can watch movies immediately on your computer. So, I spent most of Sunday and Monday watching movies in my room from my computer. Which is way out of character for me. (you can stop laughing now). I am not really a movie person, but there is only so much you can do all by yourself laying flat on your back. (I still hear giggling in the back row) I watched 3 or 4 movies from their Gay and Lesbian selection, most of which were OK. Attempted a couple of Anime movies, which I didn't get at all. I even looked through their Sci-Fi section and didn't see anything that particularly interested me. There are a lot of not-so-good movies out there, many of which are now available from Netflix immediately on your computer! I guess these are the ones that get paid 1/2 a penny in royalties per viewing. It seems like all the good movies are still only available as DVDs. We did get the first DVD today, which is quite amazing since I set up everything on Sunday. I just have to see if my roomie actually uses it or not. At least Netflix is a present you can cancel if it is not liked or used.

Its Official

Yes folks, it is official... I suck at making cider. 2 batches, 2 failures. The first was not a total failure, it was at least drinkable. The second however, is a complete, total, horrid failure. I doubt I could even use it to make apple cider vinegar. Yes, folks, it really is that bad. To say that it is bitter is like saying Freddy Kruger just had long fingernails. I will put my apple cider attempts on hold until next year and go back to beer making. I have, so far, had much better success with beer. I may, however, try some strawberry wine this spring.