MeatLover’s Fest is set…
….and has been for the last 16 years.
We started this when we worked North Central University and noticed that over the Memorial Weekend our neighborhood was extremely quiet and peaceful. All our neighbors left to camp, be with family, or just go for a drive. That is when we thought we would invite the few students that were around for summer school and not gone for the weekend over.
What to cook? Well I decided to cook three turkeys. Two on the grill and one in the oven. The first year wasn’t technically all meat but that is when the idea came. We invited people back the next year and have ever since. We have been in four states and each of the them have had their unique take on the event. We are grateful for new and old friend and invite you again to come over.
Bring a stab of meat and I will cook it on one of the grills. Or fill your crock pot full of yummy goodness. We will see you on the shores of the Wisconsin River.
The Official 2013 Invite (surprising like the previous 5 years)
Digging lumber up from the snow
Got to my friend’s house to pick up some of his lumber he had in stock for my chicken coop. He picks up sales all the time and had some extra 2×4, 4×4, and siding for me. I figured out I will need to give him a dozen eggs every week for 10 years to repay him!
We designed it on his computer then went out to his shed and this is what we came up with. We needed to load it on the tractor from D & G Equipment (another friend of ours) to get it through the snow to the other side of his shop. With the side door slid open we pulled in the 2×4 and got them cut to specs. I then labeled each piece to make construction much easier…once the snow stops coming down.
I brought the lumber home in my urban truck, otherwise known as a mini van with the seats removed!
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- All the wood and fencing
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- The updated design
Cleaning the dust off
Yesterday was the day… i couldn’t take it any longer. I pulled her out from the back corner of the garage and into the light. What I saw was a bike badly in need of a cleaning.
The chickens I have growing in the garage, waiting for the snow to thaw, have stirred up the dust. So I got some window cleaner out and gave the tank a wipe. You can see the difference. I sprayed and wiped the whole bike down.
After that i thought, “what do I have to lose?” And put the battery in, charged it up and gave it a start. I took her for a spin around the drive way and out on the road. I didn’t get more than 100 yards before the gravel and snow banks became a nuisance.
I also just had shorts and t-shirt on and it was under 40° outside. And I never checked the tire pressure or chain. So back into the garage for a full night on the charger.
I needed to get that out of the way before it snows again this week.
Snow or not my girls need a home
There continues to be a steady outpour of snow here in the Northwoods but that cant stop me from getting my 20 chicks a better home. They are still doing great in the garage pen i set up but progress is still needed. These are my plans for the coop. My friend helped me lay it all out on the computer. Those that are local can probably figure out who would put a chicken coop through their CAD program. He has been such a great friend. Today I am filling up the back of the van with some lumber and will start building the walls in the garage very soon. If the snow stays any longer i might need some help chicksitting at your house.
Welcome Back Winter: Northern Tier BBQ
We are betwixt by the fire and by the ice. That oft volatile, yet seasonal line between winter's bond and that of a lush, green lawn. Of snow banks and sun burn. Of golf clubs and wind chill. Of spring in Minnesota. This evening, upon the outer crust of the midlands of April, standing over a beautiful bed of coals, working the pit, admiring a lawn full of grass whilst blizzards gather headlong in the west, I am reminded yet again, of the heady pleasures of Minnesota BBQ.
Ice Cream outside in the Winter like Spring day
This was the day we had been planning for months. The opening day of Nelson’s Ice Cream, April 2nd. We had visited last fall and it was already closed for the winter. I have been depressed all winter long and I blame it on that one day. We were not going to miss the opening (at 3pm) Tuesday.
Nelson’s Ice Shop in Stillwater MN is a place where our family has frequented as long as I can remember. Even at a very young age I remember reminding my mother about how to get there when she was lost. It is in a local neighborhood on Greeley Street. It is a place where you don’t feel like a wimp when you purchase a child size(and you get several flavors). Also a single scope size is way more ice cream than one should ever eat.
As you can tell from the pictures the weather not completely cooperating with our outside eating adventure. But on the bright side it wasn’t melting as fast as it does in the summer! AGrowingFamily had a great time with our parents (Bernie and MaryAnn) that we met there. Joseph and MaryAnn had licorice ice cream in honor of mom (Eileen). That was her favorite and would talk about it all the time.
The prices are great, the size amazing and the taste is beyond expectation.
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- Outside Snow
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- Child size as big as my hand
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- The workers don’t mess around
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- Dad still trying to figure out which of the 50plus flavors he wants
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- outside enjoying the sun
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- Downtown Stillwater still not alive like Nelson’s
