The Boilover

The Second Thing You Do When You Move In…

theboilover — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:49:52 +0000

…is make a beer!

Bottling in 1-2 weeks.

Feels good to start getting back to life.

The First Thing You Do When You Move In….

theboilover — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:35:01 +0000

….is set up the stereo system to facilitate the moving process with some good tunes. Now this won’t be the final set up (that will be mounted to the wall) but I had to get something going so I could rock out.

But wait….where are the speakers?

Oh yeah, got rid of the ugly old towers and put the sound in the ceiling.

#Declutter

And even though I wired the whole house for speakers, I need to finish things like window trim before any more toys go in. Still, it feels great to listen to my own music in my own house out of something other than an iPod dock.

2 Years and 4 Days Later…..

theboilover — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:18:33 +0000

…almost to the hour…..I officially have a Certificate of Occupancy for Race St. That’s only 96 weeks over my original “schedule” and 150% over my original “budget”. But damn is it a sweet house.

And yes I realize you don’t type out air quotes, but I just have to emphasize how much of joke my original budget and schedule were.

I can no longer call myself a hop head

theboilover — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:03:12 +0000

No, now I’m a full blown hop shoulder!

Happy Beerfest this weekend!!!

Guest Bath 2011

theboilover — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:49:56 +0000

How it started the year:

January 2011

How it finished the year:

December 2011...down to the details

The 5chw4r7zicorn

theboilover — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:11:51 +0000

Spotted here in the wild, one must be careful as the 5chw4r7zicorn may swoop in on your gathering at any moment, bringing with it good times and the call for another round.

Drywall

theboilover — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:27:55 +0000

I swear when it’s done I’ll be back to posting some of the awesomeness from the old days, but at the moment I’m trying desperately to turn this into a kitchen:

Cain-Tuckee

theboilover — Wed, 18 May 2011 22:07:41 +0000

First post in almost a month and all I got is a stupid picture. Baby Steps.

Lobby the Lobbyist Lobsta

theboilover — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:31:49 +0000

Lobby the Lobbyist Lobsta lobbied for his life.

Luckily for me, Lobby lost.

Lobby’s cow friend didn’t even have the chance to argue his case….Eckerlin’s (or their supplier) took care of that one for me…

And that is how you treat yourself to a once-in-a-blue-moon surf & turf dinner.

1 Year In

theboilover — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:01:54 +0000

For most people last Saturday was probably like any other. Some woke up with hangovers, others watched cartoons, and I’m sure there was no shortage of people lamenting the pouring rain that soaked the city. I spent the better part of the day with ~40 people at Venue 222 for a Brewery District planning workshop, discussing potential catalytic projects that could provide the spark needed to jumpstart real interest in the northern part of the neighborhood.

I actually didn’t realize how fitting it was at the time, but at some point this week it struck me that I have been working on Race St for over a year now. Low and behold, Saturday was in fact the one year anniversary of my first (and only to date) property purchase [Do I hear $5,000]. I have over 600 hours of blood and sweat (amazingly enough I haven’t cried over this yet) and a whole bunch of money invested in my future abode.

So for this Friday’s update (since at this point I’m posting once a week) I figured I’d share some progress photos. With plumbing and electric 90% complete rough in inspections are around the corner, and I can’t wait to board it all up and start working on the stuff I’ll see everyday.

1st Floor

View from the front door when I bought the place

Old shitty plumbing run up through the middle of the space

New awesome plumbing in one stack run correctly and off to the side of the first floor

My supply storage on the first floor

It definitely smelled like there was a dead body in there

At least it's clean...still need a new door and a new staircase...

2nd Floor

The crack den

Aptly named

The Dill

At least the junk is gone....still about 1,000,000 roaches in there at that point....I almost threw up in my respirator a number of times....

The only thing I kept was the furnace that was actually pretty new

I've been framed!

Utilities in....this might actually work....

Size does matter....200 amps baby!

3rd Floor

Compared to the 2nd floor this was gold

And I thought I was gonna patch it and move in....

But sledgin' got the better of me

I feel so exposed!

That oven has lived through the entire demo process as my upstairs toolbox...

Framed again!

More utilities

Other gems that remind me that I’ve been working my ass off and I wouldn’t trade this project for the world.

The very first pic that I took at race about 3 hours after I bought the place

The old roof

The new roof

The building was once owned by one of the city's most powerful brewers...and 100 years after that it was home to some of the cities most powerful guns...

And while it's been a mostly solo effort...

....a project like this doesn't happen without dedicated friends...

...and lot's of planning...

....all done with a (tired) smile on my face!

Cloud/Sunset/Rooftop Chillin Season is Back!

theboilover — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:57:56 +0000

Stopping at Race St the other day to check on plumbing and electrical progress (I finally bit the bullet and paid an actual plumber and electrician to come do the work), I rolled upstairs to find pink tinted clouds looming over some neighboring buildings. I guess it hasn’t been all that long, but Ohio winters can be a bear, and seemed like forever since I had hung out on the roof, just taking it all in. So much going on, so much on my mind, and it all just slides to the back burner for a few when nature throws me a little something to stare at.

Riding Again

theboilover — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 19:29:00 +0000

After the crack heard round the world (really around the block) it’s been a while since I’ve had consistent two wheeled propulsion. Until two weeks ago that is, when I finally joined the 700c club so I can rocket around town without big knobbies and full suspension. That means longer rides, more distance, and most importantly a huge grin on my face.

As always, the camera comes with so I can snap along the way. Nothing like hauling ass up a hill with a good photo op as a reward.

As for Fermentable Friday (or Friday? BEER!) you can rest assured that I enjoyed a tasty brew after a ride like this.

Some People Eat When They’re Depressed

theboilover — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:15:59 +0000

I on the other hand, don’t have much to be depressed about. In fact, one of the only things souring my otherwise stellar mood is the fact that I can’t seem to make the time to post to this site regularly. It has nothing to do with retaining readership (what readership) or trying to be a premier Cincinnati blog (that just sounds ridiculous). No what’s got me down is the fact that I’ve always been a web/computer/picture/video guy, and doing anything semi creative on the computer is a blast for me. On top of that I enjoy writing and I have a lot of fun creating content for the site, it’s like a diary that I can look back to and go “man that was a good time” or “damn, what was I thinking?” Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the feedback from the Cincy interweb scene, but I really enjoy the process just as much as the end result and being part of this digital community.

Anyway….

It’s been so long since I wrote a food post, I thought, what better for blogging depression than pictures of delicious food! Even if I haven’t been posting, I can assure I’ve still been taking plenty of pics.

Right now I’m on a shroom kick with these amazing, super flavorful creminis from Daisy Mae’s Market.

They hold up so much better than their baby white counterparts, and they’re damn tasty…especially with peppers and onions.

Add that rice and chicken korma all of a sudden dinner and heaven become synonymous.

And for desert? How about Skirtz & Johnson’s decadent brownies and macaroons…

…with some moose tracks….

…and chocolate sauce…

….and perhaps some whipped cream….

….topped with chocolate chips!

Ok, I feel a lot better now.

Parade Season

theboilover — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:59:36 +0000

Bockfest and St. Patty’s day, all we need is Opening Day and the trifecta will be complete. And what better for Fermentable Friday (or Friday? BEER!) than pictures of parades for drinking-centric holidays.

Bockfest

Hops littered the ground after the parade!

All for this...Geneseeeeeee!

I might have to ride this in next years parade

St. Patty’s Day

The Square was jammed!

Good times had by all. If only we had that St. Patty’s (parade) Day weather all year!

Winter Beerfest 2011

theboilover — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:34:04 +0000

I don’t really have the time to write the narrative I did last year, but for this Fermentable Friday (or Friday? Beer!) I thought I’d throw some pictures up of my Friday excursion to the Cincy Winter Beerfest. You can check out Saturday’s action here.

I liked last years 1 night, crazy venue, tons of great-beer-I-had-never-heard-of event. This year just felt a little more corporate; big box space in Duke Energy, still plenty of awesome beer, but c’mon Bell’s no Hopslam?!?!

Still had a blast though, and went both nights to see the difference. Friday was way more relaxed, Saturday had lines snaking all through the convention center.

Good times, good people, life is good.

Plenty of selection, that’s for sure:

Like I said, more good times:

Oh yeah, and some friends had us over for homemade late night sushi afterwords….

Still well worth the price of admission!

Vine St from the Color Building to Downtown

theboilover — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:13:52 +0000

IH2SW? Weeks 6-9

theboilover — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:50:26 +0000

So I forgot to shoot a week 5 photo, the label for which was transportation. I should’ve taken one of my broken bike (Oh Snap), as that is the transportation I am missing the most as spring starts to roll in.

Anywho, here are weeks 6-9. Of course, you can catch all the zany photo action with the Flicker Group.

Week 6 Fragile: Broken Beverages

Week 7 Texture: Washington Park Dirt

Week 8 Unusual Perspective: Weird Beer at the Bells Tasting

Week 9 Get Out and Shoot: Trojan Goat*

*Plenty more Bockfest photos to come, I promise

Time Flies When You’re Drinking Beer

theboilover — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:13:14 +0000

Right around this time last year I wrote about 2010′s Bockfestivities. It seems that for this Fermentable Friday (or Friday? BEER!) it’s only appropriate to revisit that wonderful post full of lagered (or bocked) memories in prep for tonight’s Springtime/Beer/Sausage/Goat celebration.

The kicker for me was looking at last year’s post and seeing this picture:

A shot of Arnolds from inside the front door, it captures three of my favorite bartenders in one of the best establishments in town. My caption from last year read “What I imagine (or at least hope) Laura, Pam, and the other Bartender who’s name I don’t know were thinking.”

The best part is now “the other Bartender who’s name I don’t know” is actually my girlfriend….what a difference a year makes. At least now I should be able to get a drink a little faster….

Check out last year’s post for more pictures of Monks and Drunks.

And to the-bartender-who’s-name-I-now-know: thanks for being so awesome. While this won’t technically be our first Bockfest in each other’s presence, it should be even better than the last!

My Favorite Window’s Colorful Shadows

theboilover — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:35:25 +0000

Nice to see these ladies (they are Queen Anne windows after all) restored to their original beauty. If you follow this blog you know these windows are some of my favorite in the city (and in Southernmost Florida), next to a certain rose window….

Before

During

After

Rookwood Sneak Peak

theboilover — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:51:03 +0000

Who knows, some of these may show up in my house….