Roasts, Races and Bases

So there I am, minding my own business and BAM! A lifeless cow comes swinging in my general direction. There's blood on the floor and a man is getting ready to cut off the steer's leg. Further down, there is another cow with a contraption hooked to it. This device pulls the skin off of the cow in one swift motion. The next cow is getting ready to have its head and insides removed, and the last of the group is getting ready to be pulled in two. The night before these four animals were being graded by myself and the other conference attendees. They were much alive. Welcome to the Beef Summit. That was three weeks ago to the day. Since the trip to Stillwater, I have gone to Asheville, Hendersonville, and Charlotte, North Carolina. I shopped, hiked, ate, drank, and cheered for the Red Sox. I even attended a NASCAR race while I was in the area.

The Bank of America 500 was amazing. We made it into the infield before the race for driver introductions then we watched the race from a suite, a suite with wait service. It was nice. (Said in the voice of Borat.)

Without further ado, here are some photos of the trip:

Meg and I at the Poplar Lodge.


Phil and I at the Poplar Lodge.


Me at the beginning of the hike down to the base of the DuPont National State Park Falls (some of them at least).


The falls from afar.


The base of the falls.


With Kasey Kahne at the Klub Picnic.


With Kasey in the infield of Lowes Motor Speedway.


The group with David Gilliland before the race.



No, there aren't any photos of the Summit for me to display. Sorry to disappoint, but the one photo I do have isn't very appealing. I wouldn't want to turn any of my readers into vegetarians. ;)

Until next time ... GO SOX!

Give me a J, give me an O, give me a B

Here it is folks. September’s Blog. I know it’s sad that I’ve gone down to a blog a month, but let me tell you that this one is well worth the wait. As most of you know I have been working at a local non-profit as a volunteer coordinator. Although that job is for a noble cause, a few weeks ago I was asked to join the marketing team of an internationally known business. I accepted. From this point on I will be learning about all things related to food. This could mean one of two things: my blog entries increase due to the new journey I will embark on, or they could stay the same with monthly highlights. I’m not sure which. I suppose it will be a surprise for all of us.

With that said, let’s look at September’s highlight’s:
Errr, perhaps I should say “highlight”. In any event, this month brought about many changes, the new job, a new hair cut, and a new dining room. When we moved into our little house it was full of periwinkle colored walls. That is all about to change. We started working on the dining room, that had a two-toned periwinkle look on the walls and the ceiling. To update this room, Phil and I chose a bold color that would stand out and add a little “umph” to our home. This look took a single coat of primer, three coats of the new color “Old Burgundy”, and three coats of “Caribbean Walk” on the ceiling and the molding. I could have found at least 30 better things to do with two consecutive weekends, but it was worth the effort.

Before


After


To come:
The first week of October will be an interesting one. Mid-week I will be attending the Oklahoma Beef Summit (for work) where I will fabricate a carcass. That’s right a carcass. For those of you who are not aware of the terminology: fabricate roughly means butcher. I may or may not become a vegetarian after this week. Wish me luck!