Happy Birthday James!!!!! or "Ode to the Grill"

No............... his birthday is not for another month. But we couldn't help ourselves!

This is James' grill. We received it as a wedding gift from his high school friends eight years ago. It has seen many, many barbeques and also has noticed a vast improvement in the meat that it's produced over the years as well.

This grill could tell a lot of stories too, like the story about the time I tried to help James out by pre-heating the grill and pretty much melted it. (I since repainted it and fixed it up, but that is why the handle is missing)

Or the time I asked James to make a pork loin and a few hours later we had a small brick the size of a chicken breast?

Or impromptu gatherings with friends from far and near that have visited us over the years? Brian and Stacy, Doug and Bonnie, Jen and Eric, Caleb and Elisha to name a few. It seems like all good gatherings are around the grill.

I remember once we had been married a little over a year and my parents were visiting us in our little duplex in Northeast Minneapolis. I was preparing a cranberry-raspberry marinade for the chicken and my dad turned up his nose at the idea of fruit and chicken. Well - he went out to grill and after enjoying quite a few pieces while he was grilling he eventually admitted that was some good chicken.

And remember the big surprise 30th birthday party that you totally figured out, James, because your friend stunk at keeping you away from home for the day? And Ken Habel grilled up a vast array of chicken on that tiny little grill?

Yes- call me sentimental but that grill has been the center of many meals with many friends over the past decade.

But now.......... (drumroll please!)

Now

we have a bigger grill! To make more memories with!

When do you want to come over?

(this was supposed to be for James' birthday in August. But we found one at Target clearanced from 199.99 to 49.99. So now James will be able to grill his own birthday dinner.
And Aidan has a fort.)

Hydrangeas and Beebalm

The other day I came home and found half my hydrangea's had been broken to the ground. I quizzed Aidan, "Did you- ? Did your friends-?" But when I looked more closely I saw all my bushes were knocked to the ground and I realized my blooms are so large this year they are literally breaking the branches! Apparently this cooler summer must be what they like because they are now taller than my head. They are so large, in fact, that they are preventing my clematis from getting sun, and so this year it only bloomed at it's tip - where it actually sees the sun's rays.

My beebalm has also spread like wildfire this year. I love the hot pink in contrast to the white.

Don't you?

Do you need more time in your day?

Yes. This is a commercial. Sorry, but when I find a good thing I just have to share.

See the fort Aidan is coloring?

Do you like my product placement?

I tried a new service recently, Alice.com. All you have to do is go to their website, open an account and shop for your non-perishables like shampoo, laundry soap, cleaning products etc, and it will be delivered in 2-3 days, in fun boxes like you see above that are perfect for little boys forts. You can choose how often you need new products: monthly, bi-monthly, etc, and they will kindly send you an email reminder. The prices are comparable to most of the stores around here (obviously not the same as Costco or Sam's) but you don't even have to get out of your car! Amazing! I am sure in the long run you save money on impulse purchases as well! Personally when I run to Target for laundry soap and milk I usually come out with two bags full of great clearance buys.

I also decided to start having grocery service too. I know... James is unemployed. But grocery shopping for him is pure torture and even if I provide the most specifically detailed list he usually comes home with only half of what I needed, and lots of bargains from the scratch and dent aisle. And while grocery pick-up may not be the cheapest route to go I have saved lots of money because there are no impulse purchases. They also regularly email you coupons and gift card offers, and you can add things to your cart as you run out of them, so you don't forget things.

I know this may not work for everyone but I feel like in the past few weeks it has saved me considerable time and effort. I pick up my CSA boxes every week, pick up groceries and now have non-perishables delivered? I think I just saved myself 4- 5 hours this week! No wonder I have been able to squeeze in some extra time for reading! I think a girl could get used to this!

Weekend in Review

We covered a lot of ground this weekend, and I feel like we accomplished a lot too! I weeded all the flowerbeds, James mowed the lawn, and we both did some projects around here that have been waiting for us - although I have yet to finish painting the trim. I was hoping to have it completed before Val comes this week, but it's not looking good.

Saturday morning they were having a Kidsfest at the McPhail Center for Music. We thought we would go and check it out.

The kids were given the opportunity to try out all sorts of musical instruments.

Aidan's favorite

Making his own little noise-maker.

Listening to the student's perform.

Afterwards we went to the Farmers Market and then walked along the riverfront.

Why do boys love throwing rocks so much? All he did was hunt for rocks and then throw them all in.

Flowers for me. That we left there. In the ground. Where they came from. Nice thought though guys!

Taking the short-cut back up the hill!

Enjoying some yummy Thai food at Kindee. I will learn how to make these lettuce wraps and share with you. The filling was so good I wanted to lick the bowl!

Someone loves peanut sauce so much he licked the bowl clean.

Saturday we had dinner with the neighbors. All the kids dressed up like super-hero's and ran around the neighborhood.

James impressed me this weekend! He finished up some little odd jobs around here AND he replaced the was seal under our toilet. (The previous owners had caulked around the toilet. And then rust stains would appear and I would scrub and scrub and re-caulk again.......... so if you ever are house shopping and there is caulk around the toilet..........

We also were having some leaking around our faucet and it was corroding like crazy. James installed this new faucet and not only does it look amazing in the bathroom, the stopper actually works! (Our old one never did.) Thanks so much. I think it went so well I am going to keep my eye out for a new faucet for the kitchen sink. Bet you just can't wait James!

4th of July Weekend

Where to start? We were busy with so many activities, half of which I failed to take photos of. We spent Friday at Wild Mountain riding the alpine slides, water slides and go-carts. This is the only photo I have, but I think you get the point. We were all sooo tired when we came home!

Saturday we went to the lake with the Rivers/Goetze family. The boys had a blast fishing. Aidan didn't catch any fish, but Ethan managed to land a whopper! Aidan also went tubing. I wish I had taken more pictures showing the progression of his face from "Wow - this is fun," to "Okay - I think I have had enough" and then to full blown sobbing.

(I did not mean to cut his head off!)

We came home that evening so we could watch the fireworks in Minneapolis off the Hennepin Avenue bridge. We decided to really be smart this year, and we rode our bikes down to the waterfront, thereby avoiding traffic and landing us a spot right in the middle of the festivities without having to fight the crowds. I think for the rest of our life whenever we want to beat the crowds we are going to hop on our bikes! I didn't take any good pictures of the fireworks, because quite frankly after last years display these were rather disappointing. Sailfest ruined them for us.

Sunday we had some friends over for a barbecue and apparently a little friendly competition. Someone went home that evening with blisters on their hands. And once again all the kids, including James and Josh slept soundly.

That about sums up our weekend! I hope you all enjoyed family and friends as well.

Strawberries!

We picked thirty-five pounds! I don't know why, but once we started picking we just didn't stop. I had not one, but two great berry-picker's with me.

We ate lots and lots of them in the field, and quite honestly after working on them all day yesterday I really have no desire to eat another for quite awhile. But hopefully I will recover from my aversion to strawberries soon because we have lots and lots of them in the freezer now to be enjoyed in smoothies and baking all year.

I did manage to enjoy a slice of fresh strawberry pie last night. This is my mom's recipe (with a few adaptations) and it is always light and refreshing. Now you can enjoy it too!

Strawberry Pie:

One 9" crust, prepared. (I like to glaze mine with a little egg yolk mixed with milk and sugar so it stays nice and flaky and it also gives the crust a pretty golden hue.)

3 cups fresh strawberries, in halves or slices.

Arrange these evenly on your crust

3 cups strawberries, mashed

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

3 Tbsp corn starch

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together until corn starch dissolves, then bring to a boil. When mixture has boiled until sugar is dissolved and juices are clear, (not opaque) your sauce is ready to pour over the berries. Chill 2-3 hours, or until set, then serve with whipped cream and enjoy!

(making jam)

Clematis