re-locating soon.

[Soulshine2]

My wife and I currently live in lower Chicago-land Illinois. My parents have lived in northern Alabama for the last almost 25 years.
Dad had a regular doctor appointment last week and while there had the dr look into a cough he'd had for the whole winter. Long story short on this - dr ordered a CT scan and one of dads lungs has a mass 5.3 cm ,the other lung has a few to several nodules . They go back this wednesday for another test, scope and biopsy same day visit. Dad said not to worry yet but it can't be helped.
Wife and I were already planning on moving down there but not for another 5 yrs when I am scheduled to retire early. We decided in short notice that we need to move now and give them as much help as possible. My 20 yr old son ,who just moved in with us, is coming too. I asked him if he was ok with the move and he said , how soon are we going? Hes got half his stuff packed already.
I work construction (union carpenter) for the last 24 years . Last few years have been slow to spotty and well, we are both tired of these IL winters and stupid Chicago biased IL politics.
I'll be looking for steady work down there as soon as possible . If anyone lives down there and knows any companies hiring steady I'd sure appreciate it.
Side note -New location is in a dry county ,so I'm taking my brew rig with so if theres a LHBS (or brew club south of Huntsville,AL)would be nice, dont want to have to rely on internet orders.

Thank you all

 

[Quadrupled]

I wish to your father and family good luck. I hope all turns out well.

 

[TorMag]

Huntsville is booming right now. Mad construction all over the place. You should find a job easily.

 

[bucketnative]

Best of luck to your family.

All of the "dry" counties in AL have "wet/moist" cities. So, you can still find beer/liquor within a reasonable drive.

http://www.abcboard.state.al.us/(S(41fbbcqhcxk4pa3mwghnfqnq))/wet_cities_list.aspx

 

[pshankstar]

I wish you and your family the best OP! I lost my mother in November 2015, so I can say you are doing the best thing you can do for yourself and your father! Good for you to moving across the country to be with him! I was lucky were my mother was about a 30-40 min drive away.

Good luck with the move and finding a new job while you're there.

 

[Soulshine2]

I wish you and your family the best OP! I lost my mother in November 2015, so I can say you are doing the best thing you can do for yourself and your father! Good for you to moving across the country to be with him! I was lucky were my mother was about a 30-40 min drive away.

Good luck with the move and finding a new job while you're there.

I have an aunt (moms sister) that lives in Canandaigua ,NY. you're in awesome wine country.
Thank you for the kind words.
Dad went through quite an ordeal yesterday , I talked to him briefly this afternoon . They scoped his airway and lungs .He says it feels like they took a roto rooter to him. He sounded pretty rough .
Our house bid was accepted , wife and I fly down in a couple weeks to visually inspect and get the rest of the ball rolling. I had a couple emails and phone calls already about jobs. I told the one guy my situation and he promised he'd try to get me hooked up on a steady job by the time get there. Seems like the people down south have more compassion for "family first" and people relocating to take care of family.

 

[Soulshine2]

Best of luck to your family.

All of the "dry" counties in AL have "wet/moist" cities. So, you can still find beer/liquor within a reasonable drive.

http://www.abcboard.state.al.us/(S(41fbbcqhcxk4pa3mwghnfqnq))/wet_cities_list.aspx

Yes, luckily I know a few places down there that sell alcohol. trouble is the tax on it is so high .
I guess home brewing then makes much more sense...like I need to justify what I'm doing.

 

[shelly_belly]

I'm embarrassed to say homebrewing is still prohibited in dry counties of Alabama with the exception of within said wet municipalities. Not something I would worry about, though.

 

[Soulshine2]

I'm embarrassed to say homebrewing is still prohibited in dry counties of Alabama with the exception of within said wet municipalities. Not something I would worry about, though.

where we're going is pretty rural. Out in the country and surrounded by horse pasture on one side ,pond and farm field on the others. House is barely visible from the road .Doubt "the neighbors" will even know.
I think my brewery name might just end up as "Soulshine Covert Brewing" after all.

 

[Soulshine2]

Dads test results came back ,they called me yesterday afternoon. Its NOT CANCER !!! It is of a bacterial infection type nature that although will take some time , it is very treatable.
Tons of relief to know.
We're still taking the opportunity to move down there .My parents can actually see and spend time with their grandson on a weekly basis instead of just once a year.
I'll just have to come up to work the big money jobs when they come available.
Thanks to everyone for concerns and kind words of support.

 

[Newsman]

So happy for you that it's not cancer!

 

[pshankstar]

What a relief! Good luck on the move and enjoy the time with family.

 

[Brewskey]

I just moved to the "Huntsvull" area from South Alabama. What area are you moving to if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Soulshine2]

Hey Brewskey, thanks for asking. The town we'd be moving to is just south east of you in Grant 35747. I'm trying to find employment in Huntsville . Construction. If you know of a company who would hire an almost 50 yr old, 24 year experienced commercial/industrial carpenter from IL ,I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Sorry to hear the unsettling news about your dad! And glad it's not a cancer! I trust with your help he'll get the best and most appropriate treatment possible and (maybe take better care of himself) Good luck with the move and finding what you need in AL.

 

[treacheroustexan]

My girlfriend just got back from the space center in Huntsville. She was there for quite some time for work. While I have nothing to contribute about homebrew, she said The Nook in Huntsville is an awesome place to visit (500+ beers and 80 taps).

 

[myelo]

The Guntersville area is really nice. I think you will like it there.

 

[Soulshine2]

Oh ,we love it there . Mom and dad have been there for almost 25 years. We almost were buying a house in downtown historical "G'ville" but it would have been a money pit. Checked out it had foundation and major roof issues. Which is how we ended up looking in Grant,by advice from my mom.
Hoppy- Dads health has nothing to do with his taking care of himself better or worse. Its something that had basically laid dormant for decades. Hes doing far better than any other 78 yr old down there. Its ok, its treatable.
Treacherous- The Nook, I'll definitely have to look that place up. Wife and I have found a few multi-handled places here that we'll miss terribly for sure once we leave.
4 days until we get to see our place up close.
its exciting.

 

[Brewskey]

Hey Brewskey, thanks for asking. The town we'd be moving to is just south east of you in Grant 35747. I'm trying to find employment in Huntsville . Construction. If you know of a company who would hire an almost 50 yr old, 24 year experienced commercial/industrial carpenter from IL ,I'd really appreciate it.

I live in Owens Cross Roads which isn't far from Grant, went to the little Ace Hardware over there last weekend. Unfortunately I don't know anybody in the construction business but I'll let you know if I come across anything.

 

[Soulshine2]

14 minutes by google maps...nice "to know" someone nearby already. I'll have to meet up with you sometime. I like hardware stores.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Glad to hear the Great News!!!about your dad! The SCB brewery landscape sounds like heaven!

Best of luck Sr.

 

[Soulshine2]

thank you . It'll be way better than looking at nosy neighbors , highline poles and listen to highway noise.
When I figure out how, I'll have to put up some pictures once we close on it.
Wife already has big ideas for the little stone house- fix it up as a little country store and sell goat milk soap and honey ...she already wants goats and bees. We already said we'd get chickens again so she'd probably sell eggs too.

 

[Soulshine2]

Before we pick up stakes and move , I'd like to hit my LHBS and grab a few things to have on hand . I'm thinking of grabbing a few pounds of DME anyway , might even get a couple full AG kits (Irish stout and Oktoberfest) so I have something to do if I have to wait for a job. Anyone thik of anything like that I should get. The county we're moving to is half wet and as far as i know theres no LHBS around for miles.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I'd bring a few sac's of base malt. Gotta be cheaper than shipping sacs. Maybe some packs of dry yeast too.

 

[Brewskey]

Before we pick up stakes and move , I'd like to hit my LHBS and grab a few things to have on hand . I'm thinking of grabbing a few pounds of DME anyway , might even get a couple full AG kits (Irish stout and Oktoberfest) so I have something to do if I have to wait for a job. Anyone thik of anything like that I should get. The county we're moving to is half wet and as far as i know theres no LHBS around for miles.

Theres a brand new shop in Huntsville called Wish You Were Beer at Campus 805. Its a nice place with just about anything you need. Just fyi.

 

[Soulshine2]

Theres a brand new shop in Huntsville called Wish You Were Beer at Campus 805. Its a nice place with just about anything you need. Just fyi.

Brewskey, I can already tell you and I are going to be fast friends. I'll be sure to look that place up.

 

[Soulshine2]

Just got back in late last night after 2 flight departure delays. If any of you were affected in any way by the rain storms ,you know what we went through.
We went to see our property and walk through the house. The house is very nice and structurally sound. With a few cosmetic fixes and changes we will have a nice home by summer time.
I'm not sure what the former owners did but there are sinks and countertops all over. The workshop area of the walkout basement garage looks like a perfect place to set up the home brewery.Its cool ,plenty of room for a brewcart. Water and electric are right there .With a refrigerator addition, it'd be ready to roll in no time. It even has a hidden stand up crawl that is used somewhat as storage and water heater space where I can see as a beer aging/conditioning room since it was about 10-15 degrees cooler than outside. The stand alone garage has a kitchenette in back . I think they used it as a party room when they had pool parties since they basically took away full use of the 2 roll up garage doors. Not something i would have done but not at all hard to get back to garage use. and if the small electric stove ends up working I'll move to the walkout garage for brewing use. If not I have the propane burner. The realtor took it off the market not long after we left ,so its becoming closer to being our new home. We're excited. It will be a big move, big life change but when you face the reality of parents health, being 12 hours away from them ,it all makes sense to do what we are doing. They get to see their grandson (my son)any time they want and vice versa. This house is now barely 25 minutes from mom and dad, and what a beautiful drive it is. Rolling curving country roads that wind through the wooded slow paced south and lead back to residential farm zoning. The town is little but has the essentials(with the exception of alcohol) . Fire protection ,post office, police gas station are all barely 5-10 minutes away. There are 10-12 horses right out back behind our property. Wife and I were petting them for nearly an hour. They all trotted over and hung their heads over the fence . My wife is so excited to be able to have chickens again. She saw the neighbors across the street already have chickens, goats, sheep , a cow, and 2 Great Pyrenees dogs.
The only boon to the whole works is the bonus stone covered house is a complete disaster looks like termites have destroyed the structure and we're looking to have it knocked down. Local prices are at nearly $6k to do so. Might take awhile to get to that point . Unless we happen to find a box of dynamite somewhere.

 

[Bailey_Brew]

Welcome to NOALA. The property sounds great.

As Brewskey said, you have a LHBS in Huntsville at Campus 805. When you get there, enjoy a local brew at Yellowhammer, Straight to Ale or Salty Nut. Three of several local breweries.

Good luck!

 

[brewbama]

We need to establish a drinking/brewing club in HSV. Any one interested? We can meet at a local brewery or bottle shop.

 

[Brewskey]

We need to establish a drinking/brewing club in HSV. Any one interested? We can meet at a local brewery or bottle shop.

Sounds like a good idea. How many Huntsville folks do we have on this forum?

 

[brewbama]

3 + that I can tell from this thread.

 

[countryboy]

I moved to Florence from California in 2011. I've lived in the county the whole time( even before the law passed making it legal in some places) I've been brewing the whole time. Just wish we had a Good Local Brew Store. I figured I'm a felon if I get caught anyway so I've even started doing a little run of shine here and there(for personal use)