Life gets in the way

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shecky

Just an old guy
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I hate when that happens.

Today is my day off. I was planning to brew seeing as it's been nearly a month. Of course, it rained like crazy all weekend and my lawn, which hasn't been cut in 10 days, badly needs to be attacked. So that's my job for the day. :( I am not happy.

Worse, the next time I'll be able to brew won't be until next Monday at the earliest. Stinkin' work and life. I need to budget my time better. :D
 
I have an acre and it takes me 45 min to mow! Are you mowing Rhode Island or something? :D

Brew anyway. I sure need to. It's been a bit over 3 weeks for me. I'm going to have to do 2 double batches just to catch up.
 
Mow during the mash. Take a break to do your runoff & sparges. Plan your mowing so that you can watch the boil (just in case) and mow during the boil. There's a lot of dead time in brewing. Dear god, man, where are your priorities? :p

Chad
 
Jeez, I'm getting killed here.:eek:

OK, here is my day. Physical therapy for my faulty back at 8:30. Back home by 9:45. I have my 4-year-old daughter with me every day until 1 pm, so you know there's no carving out brewing time with a 4-year-old.

Yard is only a half-acre, but it's on a hill and I've got all kinds of obstacles to deal with. Start to finish, takes ~2 hours. Have to do it well because I have lawn nazis on either side of me, guys with in-ground sprinkler systems that power up at 4:30 every morning.

And I have to be done by 5:30 p.m. when SWMBO comes home with the kids. I'll have dinner going so SWMBO can get to her exercise group by 6:30.

I simply can't brew and mow at the same time. Not enough time and, frankly, I'm not that talented.

Feel sorry for me yet?;)

Maybe I'll "work from home" Wednesday and use that time to brew.
 
+1 to mow and brew at the same time. Maybe hop with the clippings (just kidding!).

There are some days I'm glad I rent, when the grass gets tall is one of them (when rent is due is not one of them).
When I first bought the house, I loved mowing. I used a push mower then and it took a long time. It was great alone time to think.

Now I hate it with an undying passion.
 
When I first bought the house, I loved mowing. I used a push mower then and it took a long time. It was great alone time to think.

Now I hate it with an undying passion.

I love my ZTR. Actually makes mowing fun - and fast.
 
Jeez, I'm getting killed here.:eek:

OK, here is my day. Physical therapy for my faulty back at 8:30. Back home by 9:45. I have my 4-year-old daughter with me every day until 1 pm, so you know there's no carving out brewing time with a 4-year-old.

Yard is only a half-acre, but it's on a hill and I've got all kinds of obstacles to deal with. Start to finish, takes ~2 hours. Have to do it well because I have lawn nazis on either side of me, guys with in-ground sprinkler systems that power up at 4:30 every morning.

And I have to be done by 5:30 p.m. when SWMBO comes home with the kids. I'll have dinner going so SWMBO can get to her exercise group by 6:30.

I simply can't brew and mow at the same time. Not enough time and, frankly, I'm not that talented.

Feel sorry for me yet?;)

Maybe I'll "work from home" Wednesday and use that time to brew.

+1 work from home. I suppose you're spending the evening with the kids (which is good!) so no brewing then either, eh?

I feel for you on the Lawn Nazi issue, I used to mow a lawn for someone like that. He'd walk the entire lawn before paying me, but I did it well, so I usually got a tip. His tiny lawn took me twice as long as it should have though, which he never made up in the tip.
 
I have a rule about taking up time that could be spent with the kids to brew. I won't do it. I could start when they go to bed, I suppose, but I like that time to actually have an adult conversation with my wife.

I guess I just have too many rules. Chad is right. My priorities suck.

And with that, I'm off to rid the lawn of dog bombs before I mow. Ciao.
 
This is why I don't want to have kids. I value my me-time far too much.

And I hear ya - my lawn is a month overgrown, gotta tackle that ASAP. Wish I had a rider, but it's just a push. Stupid corner lots, having so much ground. And the dadgum hill, too. Bleh.

Just keeping up with all of SWMBO's family events that she wants me to go to, is enough to interrupt my brew schedule. :(
 
On the bright side, when the kid grows up a bit you can have a little brewer's helper! It's not slave labor, it's "bonding time.";)

But on a serious note, I think helped a friend put things in perspective last year. He was whining about work around the house and the projects in his garage and balancing that with time with his 7-year-old. I told him that he will probably never look back and say "I wish I had spent less time with my son and more time in the garage." Now he quotes me on that at least once a month and always has a story about what he did with his boy last weekend. And he seems a lot less stressed about the little things. Good on ya for spending time with the little one!
 
I don't get to brew as often as I'd like. Mostly because my boy is way too younge to be out in the garage with me but, at least once a month I try to anyways. Usually I announce my intentions to the wife well ahead of the actual brewday in an attempt to let her know that it will be her chance to get plenty of alone time with the boy.

There used to be a time when I would brew on the back patio. I would mash in and go mow the back yard (half of it is a hill and I bag for compost). After the mash I would transfer to the kettle and go edge and trim.

While this does make brewing and mowing work together, it also makes clean up brutal as otherwise I'd be cleaning between steps.
 
Yard is only a half-acre, but it's on a hill and I've got all kinds of obstacles to deal with. Start to finish, takes ~2 hours. Have to do it well because I have lawn nazis on either side of me, guys with in-ground sprinkler systems that power up at 4:30 every morning.

Ugh, I hate those guys. I'm the young guy in the neighborhood, everyone around me is retired or semi-retired and out on their riding mowers (I refuse to call them "tractors") 2-3x per week. Meanwhile, I'm working for a startup with 2 toddlers at home. You don't like my lawn? You got 3 choices. Be patient, call the cops, or mow it yourself. I got no problem with any of those choices, Bubba.

And with that, I'm off to rid the lawn of dog bombs before I mow. Ciao.

Well, there's your problem right there! Set your blade low enough and you won't have to pick them up by hand! :D

J/K... Enjoy the time with your daughter.
 
Yay snow! Bring it on! Never too cold to brew! (Just might have to disconnect the washer to get thawed water for cooling)
 
I should have brewed. Rider (not tractor, Mr. Nate) got stuck twice. It couldn't get traction because the grass was so wet. Fell twice while using the push mover to get the nooks and crannies. Knees first in the mud. Fun.

And, for some reason, my dog views the push mower as his mortal enemy. Barks like crazy and nips at the thing every time I start it up. Today, finally, he got his right forepaw a bit to close. Got nipped by the blade. Nothing serious, just a little light on the fur on that paw. That'll learn him.

As for the family thing, I'll always ALWAYS choose them over brewing. My wife has taken the kids away a couple of times to let me brew. Once I brewed while they were home and I had to tell them I couldn't play, I'm brewing. Felt like the most selfish bastid on earth.

I suppose I could brew while mowing, but that would mix work with pleasure. I like to keep the two separate.
 
Mine gets all excited.... "Daddy, are we going to make beer today? Can I help? Please oh please?" Then I turn around and she's gone again. Oh well, she's 3. This summer it was OK brewing on the back deck with her running around and playing in the yard, but even then I get too wrapped up in what I'm doing to really pay attention to her.
 
Ugh, I hate those guys. I'm the young guy in the neighborhood, everyone around me is retired or semi-retired and out on their riding mowers (I refuse to call them "tractors") 2-3x per week. Meanwhile, I'm working for a startup with 2 toddlers at home. You don't like my lawn? You got 3 choices. Be patient, call the cops, or mow it yourself. I got no problem with any of those choices, Bubba.



Well, there's your problem right there! Set your blade low enough and you won't have to pick them up by hand! :D

J/K... Enjoy the time with your daughter.

My exact post. The average age in my neighborhood is dead. When we first moved in we probably had at least 7 Ambulances at night in the first month. I was like Holy crap where did we move to!! Ambulances have slowed down and I think we've only lost 3 people in the 3 years I've been there. My neighbors aren't Nazis about lawn care, at least they haven't said anything to me, but their "job" is taking car of their grass and flowers. My lawn is begging to be watered/mowed. I just run over the dog bombs. The dogs have dug up most of our flower beds and I just keep replacing mulch. The one planter I gave up on and accepted that's where my smaller dog lays to stay cool. My yard doesn't look "bad", just not Beautiful. And I am okay with that. It's friggin grass.
 
Our house sits on about 2 acres, but the lot is much much longer than it is wide. There'd be no way to mow it if I didn't have access to our neighbor's ride-on mower.

No lawn nazis here, but I enjoy weeding the flower beds and working in the garden. Jeez, I have more tomatoes and peppers than I know what to do with!
 
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