It’s been a bit crazy this week as takaza and I make preparations for the weekend. Mainly just getting things cleaned up, etc. but also running errands. yesterday I stopped by our favorite local butcher to order some meat to smoke this weekend. We’re going to have rather a lot of meat, since I wound up ordering two pork butts (yes, that’s a pork shoulder, and no I don’t understand the vagaries of butcher-ese) plus a beef brisket. Each butt is going to be 7-9 pounds and the brisket will be 8-10 pounds (with fat attached; probably more like 6-8 pounds of meat once cooked). If we see the 50% yield on the pork that I did the first time I smoked (this will be better quality, so I expect more like 75% yield) we’re looking at putting between 13 to 17 pounds of cooked meat on the table. Hope everyone is hungry! 🙂
The other big news on my mind is Anthrocon. Besides some slight changes to my staff (and welcome to woodychitwn as my second-in-command in Artists Alley/Con Store), I was taking a hard look at our travel plans. We typically leave the Tuesday evening before the convention, spend the night somewhere in Ohio, the roll into the con at around noon on Wednesday. First off, leaving Tuesday night after work means trying to leave town on the evening of July 3. I expect it’ll take at least double the usual time if not more just to clear Chicago and surrounds. Which leaves us driving way too far too late at night, or having to drive further than we’d like on Wednesday morning. Plus, there’s the expense of the gas (assuming $4-ish per gallon), the hotel Tuesday night, the tolls, the food along the way, and the parking at the Westin.
Then, the thought occurred to me: just how much is airfare? If we fly out from O’Hare Tuesday night after work, we can stay at the La Quinta near Pittsburgh International very cheaply due to Dan’s points there, then catch the express bus downtown Wednesday morning. Monday morning, it’s as simple as catching the bus back to the airport. And after totaling all this up, it’s actually cheaper to fly than to drive. Couple that with the kind offer from linnaeus to carry a few other items in his car for us (i.e. booze) and flying suddenly becomes a very attractive possibility. Dan and I will talk this over tonight and probably have a decision in the next day or two.
So, to do tonight: install the new shower head (which, according to Amazon, is currently sitting on our front porch), clean both showers (we have a stall and a tub/shower in the master bath), then start in on dinner. Busy busy busy!
Mmmmm… Dog likes showers… specially if they’re shared with someone-who-needs-shower-gel-rubbed-into-their-furry-parts and then afterwards to be dried off with floofy warm towels……
I’m afraid that I can’t comment on that, except to note that the new showerhead is indeed perfect for two people 😉
How are you smoking the pork, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m trying to nudge Charlie into doing that on ours, but I don’t know how it’s done.
I’ll be using our new grill that has a firebox on the side. I’ve been impressed with it so far and for the price ($150) it’s a fantastic deal. The only drawback is that the thing is a behemoth, and the firebox makes it weigh a ton. Some of the smaller smokers do a really good job as well, though you can’t smoke twenty+ pounds of meat at a time 😉
We’re looking at flights out of O’Hare for $123 round trip. Midway isn’t really an option for us due to the extra cost of transportation to get to and from there; at least we can take the train to and from O’Hare.
con store at AC
Duncan, this is chanur. I’ve tried sending a couple of messages to ya at AC.s inbox but keep getting it bounced from the addy you gave me. Anyway, put me down for some shifts working the Alley/store at AC this year, the only request I have for time is to be off for the fursuit parade. (Yeah, I’m one of em.:)
Chanur.
Re: con store at AC
Hmm, how peculiar. Sorry about the problem – you can also e-mail me at tabrady at gmail.com. I’m going to need some extra info from you, as well as your e-mail address to keep you apprised of schedules and such!
Hmm. Wednesday is the 4th, isn’t it? I’d planned to come in on Thursday like last year, but I actually have that day off “for free”, so I could potentially do something similar. I guess I should start asking around the forums to see if anyone has a spare room for that night. You guys could do with an extra pair of hands on Wednesday, right? 😉
I admit I’m not quite sure what the schedule is for convention setup is at the moment; is probably the authority on that. Given that they’re loading out the Anthrocon storage locker at 7 AM on Wednesday, I’m sure that there’ll be plenty to do, though!