Brrr

Last summer when I bought a new charcoal grill I imagined using it all winter long. But winter started out strong and fast, and with a new puppy I haven't gotten out a single time to grill meat. Marco used to love going in and out with me as I'd check on the progress of the dinner. Now it's Perry's turn to learn how to cook meat.

So last night I fired up the grill. The cover had frozen to the surface, and it ripped as I took it off. I also had to shovel a platform for myself in the snow. The iron grill had some surface rust; looks like it's time to re-season it.

I have a week off from work, and thought I'd spend the first part of it ice climbing. I wanted to do Homer's Odyssey in St. Paul, which was out of condition last time I checked. Then I wanted to make my way further north and hit places like Sandstone, Duluth, Cascade River, Nightfall and perhaps get as far as Orient Bay. I'm off climbing for a while though because I dislocated my shoulder a few weeks ago, tearing the labrum and rotator cuff in the process, and now I'm waiting to have it surgically repaired. My winter belay jacket does just as good a job keeping me warm while I'm grilling as it does while belaying, so I can put it on and pretend I'm doing more adventurous things.

Grilling in the winter does have its advantages. For one thing, your beer stays cold. Then again, so do your feet. The biggest advantage, of course, is the resulting food and the compliments you get from your family. In this case we enjoyed angel hair pasta with grilled chicken and sun-dried tomato pesto sauce. Mmmmmm.