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FLOW, Farmers Market and Fun with the Grandparents Romenesko

On Thursday I got ready for this year's Flow Art Crawl. This is now the third year in a row I've taken part. I was even on the advisory committee for the event.



 We got invited last minute to Dinner on the Farm. Really it was on Broadway in north Minneapolis. We brought Meadow along and she was quite popular. 


We ate a bunch of cheese at the start of the night.

Slowly people arrived for the main event.



Dudley (on the right) has been so much fun to work with over the years.

The first course was bitter greens salad.


It was kind of surreal to sit down for a gourmet meal along West Broadway.

The curry diva prepared the meal which was sourced from the West Broadway Farmers Market.

Erin from the West Broadway Coalition was excited to meet Meadow.

 The food was pretty darn good too.

The main course was lamb with farmers market greens and quinoa.


We finished the meal with mango sorbet with a melon syrup.

 Meadow slept through the whole dinner. At home she never lets me eat. Erin was excited to finally get to hold her I made her wait until I was done eating so Meadow wouldn't wake up and want to eat. 

Shaina from WBC didn't want her picture taken.

I shared my space with the very talented Leslie Barlow and a few other artists.


Being in a street level space on Broadway was an improvement from being tucked away on Emerson and upstairs at the JXTA co-op space.


I of course documented all of the interactions throughout the day.


These guys had barbecue and corn on the cob. I was definitely jealous.


It's always great to share your work.




 My parents arrived shortly before Scott had to leave. Once Meadow was fed and dressed we took the FLOW shuttle down by Scott.

I liked her artwork. 

 My parents and I walked around and checked out other artwork. I've always had to work during FLOW and only got to catch the end so it was nice being able to see more this year. 


Sean Kim (center) owns the space I was in. He was grilling out back while a DJ played some beats.

At some point I was really hungry. I got some Avenue Eatery, which now has great sub sandwiches since the new owner took over last year.

I actually would've preferred jerk chicken had I known it was being sold down the block.


I went up to the JXTA co-op space to see what was happening this year. Jamil from Mobilize Design & Architecture recently moved into the space Emma used for Flow last year. We had a great conversation on good design, the future of Broadway and the Bottineau light rail alignment. 

As everyone was leaving early to see Big Daddy Kane, I went down to check out the action on the curve.




Everyone was enjoying the old school rap.

Dean from Broadway Liquor, or BLO as we call it, had his annual beer gardens set up.

More good food that was out of site.

I walked the last stretch to my house. A revival has taken over the future home of the Broadway Flats.

I guess they'll be set up all the way through August. 

 Meadow was getting hungry and I haven't quite mastered nursing in the Ergo yet so we headed back. Scott joined us once the fest ended. 

 She's already trying to roll over. My mom thinks she's going to be a fast mover. 

 My parents ran to the grocery store to pick us up dinner.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and cheesy rice. It's what Mr. Mike calls a quick dinner.

 It's nice to have visitors so someone else can hold her. She loves being held and sometimes prefers sleeping that way. For some reason her grandpas are good at calming her down and getting her to sleep. 


It was bath night and everyone gathered to watch. 

If she's not hungry she enjoys her baths. Actually she enjoys anything when she's not hungry. 

I love this face.

My mom made us cinnamon rolls for breakfast. 

We feel bad that whenever my dad comes to visit we usually have a home project for him to work on. Since this was his first time meeting his new granddaughter I didn't want to bother him with any housework, but leave it to my dad to find something to do. He fixed our porch light. 

It had a bulb broken in the socket. I had tried to take it, but was afraid I'd electrocute myself. Leave it to the master to fix the bugger.

My mom enjoys going to the farmers market when she comes to visit. Scott had to help her get her seatbelt on. Such a good dad. 

In previous years we've always biked to the market. I never knew how crazy parking was. We drove around and around looking for a spot. 



Even though the market was going to close in a half hour the place was still crowded. 

I'm excited to see my favorite summertime vegetable start to come in season. 

I'm surprised you didn't get any.

Next time.


Even my dad found something.


Now that blueberries are starting to show up I think we need to go berry picking soon. 


"Do you guys want your picture in front of the skyline?"

"Okay."

They wouldn't pose. So this is what they got.

Hey Emma. Here's some gluten free pasta. Gross to me, but you might dig it.

Momma Gail and I ate sandwiches and chatted while Brooke fed the babe.

Don't worry. We still love Peanut.

My parents wanted to go do something so I suggested Como Zoo since its free and they hadn't been there yet. 

Everyone else had the same idea today and the whole park was packed. We gave up on trying to find a place to park and went to Dariette Drive-In for ice cream instead. 


I love this place. To bad we only got ice cream. I really wanted a meatball sub.

Meadow's first drive-in. I hope there are still some around for her to take her kids. And not A&W's or Sonic's. 

My mom ordered a small float. 

Meadow was hungry so we stopped at a scenic outlook so I could feed her. 

Is that a pot plant?

That's what Brooke's parents thought. I'm not so sure. It was just amongst the wild prairie grasses and flowers that dot the landscape along Mound Boulevard.

Then Scott said we should go see the Union Depot. I hadn't seen it yet since the renovation. 

My parents and I love history so it was cool to see this place. I like being able to imagine what places looked like during their prime. 

We all wished there were more rail lines so we could actually use the depot.

Either way it's a beautiful spot.

Meadow missed the whole thing. 

We were driving near the cathedral and decided to go there, but they were closing. We walked over to James J. Hill's house and looked at mansions on Summit Avenue. 

We walked down the James J. Hill alley until they decided they didn't want to go all the way down.

She loved sleeping on her grandpa. Dad even waited to eat so I could eat first without waking her. 

I made shepherd's pie from the recipe that METRO Magazine featured while I worked there. I substituted green beans and kale for peas and Jeff's home brew for Guinness.  

When my dad got to eat he said, "What is this seaweed?" when he spotted the kale in his food. 

She was super sleepy after dinner. 

Then we watched Breaking Bad my dad's favorite show and now ours. 


The next morning we woke up to clean floors. Mr. Mike had somehow moved all the furniture and washed them (by hand). We both didn't hear a thing.

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