Roasting Muggsy's Beans

Have you ever wondered who roasts your coffee beans? Or who roasts the best organic, fare trade coffee beans around? The answer is Muggsy of course. Muggsy has been roasting beans for years but I have never had the opportunity to witness the process. Before you look at the pictures, if you could brew a lovely pot of coffee that would help. The smell upon entering is divine, like a perfectly brewed dark roast. The process starts with the quintessential bag of raw coffee beans in burlap bags.

I had never seen raw coffee beans before, I am not sure if you have. Before they become wonderfully scented puffy brown bean they are heavier, green and lacking the obvious line down the middle.

Muggsy pours the raw beans into the hopper and begins roasting and waiting.

Shortly after the first pop (sounds like popcorn) the beans are ready.

Along with the steam comes the beautiful beans and delicious smell.

Again reminding me of popcorn, only a popcorn maker in this case, the beans are turned slowly until cooled.

Lookout below. . . at Quarry Park

I am a little embarrassed to admit this but here I am telling whoever is reading this. I have lived in St. Cloud for 10 years and I had never been to Quarry Park. I have heard about it. It has always sounded like fun but truth be told, I didn't know where it was and apparently did not feel the need to look into it until recently. Well, I am glad that I did! It is so great and it is only $14 for a year round parking pass. I talked two great gals, Maria and Amber, into coming with me.

Maria and Amber had been there before but it was many years and I would say a completely new experience for us all. We picked up a map and started walking. I wasn't sure what we would find but the walk was enjoyable.

Maria claimed that she had been swimming here and so we were all ready but I don't think I was quite prepared for what I saw. I imagined something less grand than this. I guess I was also thinking that there would be a graceful way to get in but no. We just had to jump in. It was great! Maria was the bravest of the three of us today. She opted to jump from one of the greater cliffs while Amber and I cheered her on. I am vowing to myself to get the courage before the end of the summer. Did you catch that? I am going back and taking quests:)

Jule's Bistro

Imagine the most amazing pizza you have ever tasted, and I promise you, the three cheese pizza at Jule's Bistro is even better. I admit that the rest of the food there is also great but I have a difficult time ordering anything else because it is so good. The ambiance at this great little place downtown St. Cloud is great. It is intimate, quiet, formal and informal at the same time and always filled with great art from local artists. The owner, Jules, is a former special education teacher in the St. Cloud district. I also have learned that she helped to start the St. Cloud Art Crawl. If the food and ambiance wasn't enough to love this place, Jules is. If you find yourself looking for a great local place to eat and enjoy St. Cloud, I vote you go here.

Freedom to enjoy for Free

Of course, one of my favorite things about St. Cloud, MN is the ability to celebrate the 4th of July for free! The fireworks show start at 10 pm on the Mississippi river. I think it is best to get there early and enjoy the festivities and people watching.

Monday night Jazz

Monday Night Jazz has become a semi-regular part of my life and of course I love it. I don't know of any other city that offers jazz music created by such an interesting and loveable group of guys. The best part is that I get to enjoy it with my great friend, Maria! If you enjoy jazz music, people watching, beer, wine or a cocktail and good company, check out Monday Night Jazz at the Veranda Lounge.

Project: Falling in Love with St. Cloud

I just back from Greece and was surprised that I felt artistically uninspired and restless. After meditating on the problem, the solution hit me. I love living in St. Cloud. It is a great place to live but I realized that I may not be experiencing or appreciating all the amazing, unique and fun things to do around here.

This is where the new project comes into play. The project is titled, "Falling in Love with St. Cloud". My goal is to re-experience St. Cloud. I plan on visiting places and events that I have loved since I moved here 10 years ago as well as exploring new venues. I have started to come up with a list but I am looking for more. I am asking for any places you love to eat, places you love to bike, hike, swim, etc., any artistic events, historical sites, and anything else you can come up with.

This is the list so far:
1. Munsinger gardens
2. Quarry Park
3. Jules Bistro
4. Lake George- music, paddle boats, splash pads
5. Baseball
6. Skating at the Mac arena
7. Art crawl
8. Hula hooping
9. The Red Carpet
10. Monday Night Jazz
11. Paramount
12. Frisbee golf
13. Kayak the Mississippi
14. Library
15. Stearns County History Museum
16. Riverside Park
17. Rock climping
18. Air Max
19. SCSU
20. Walk at St. John's
21. Powder Ridge
22. SummerLand
23. Beaver Islands Trail
24. Lake Wobegon Trail
25. St. Cloud State University's Outdoor Endeavors
26. Molitor's

I have received more suggestions or ideas and am adding them to the list: 27. Cold spring bakery 28. St. Cloud Auto car show and swap meet 29. Bernick's Pepsi Arena- Sartell (open skate) 30. Territory Golf Club 31. St. Cloud Stake Place 32. A & G Produce- St. Joe 33. Two Rivers Campground & Tubing (18 mi. N of St. Cloud) 34. Metro bus 35. Lake Maria State Park- Canoe rental 36. Bumbledee's 37. Northernbrights 38. Mind body spirit 39. Biology 40. Brothers 41. Lake Wobegon bike to Avon Fisher's Club (425 Statford. St. W) 42. Hemker Park and Zoo in Freeport 43. Fiddler's Festival in Annandale (Aug. 19) 44. A maze'n Farmland- Eden Valley 45. Millner Herritage Vinyard and Winery in Kimball 46. Atwood Gallery and Kiehle at SCSU 47. Art and Heritage Place at St. Ben's 48. Benton County Historical Society- Sauk Rapids 49. El Rancho Manana Campground, Riding Stable and Recreational Area- Richmond 50. House of Pizza 51. Anton's 52. Muggsy roasting beans 53. Sawatee 54. Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival-Richmond My commitment is to visual document my experiences and share them on this blog. Your job, share your thoughts and ideas. . .

Exhibiting!!!

As the title indicates, I am finally exhibiting the work I created in Ireland. Well, clearly not all of it but I was recently accepted into an juried art exhibit. I attempted to enter the nosy donkey and one of the smaller pieces that I created when I finally gave myself permission to never paint a landscape. I really didn't think it would get in at least not in St. Cloud but wouldn't you know, I was wrong. The donkey which I thought was a for sure thing, didn't make it. Clearly, I was wrong again. The best news however is that someone is interested in buying the nosy donkey! I hope it works out. At this rate, I would be a leg up on van Gogh. He sold only one painting in his lifetime and it was to his brother. Sure, I have not even sold it yet but if I do, I know I get some bragging rights since I won't be selling it to a sibling.