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I don’t know how long outdoor grills are supposed to last, but we’ve retired one charcoal kettle grill and one gas grill since moving into this house in 1998, and are some years\u00a0into our second set. The charcoal grill, a Weber, is holding up well, but the gas grill, also a Weber, is giving\u00a0up the ghost: I went out yesterday morning to fry some bacon on the side burner only to find\u00a0the burner control stuck in the off position, and no amount of jiggling will free it up.<\/p>\n
I looked online\u00a0for a replacement burner control\u00a0but couldn’t find one,\u00a0even at\u00a0the Weber\u00a0parts site. There’s a store in town that stocks parts for charcoal and gas grills\u00a0and\u00a0I’ll swing by later today.<\/p>\n
We use\u00a0the\u00a0side burner\u00a0for things like bacon and fish, mostly\u00a0to keep from stinking up the house. Our first gas grill didn’t have a side burner;\u00a0now we have one we\u00a0can’t imagine\u00a0being without it.<\/p>\n
Donna knows how I think, and she’s justifiably worried I’m not going to be happy until I\u00a0buy a new gas grill. Right she is to worry,\u00a0because I’ve already picked one out. Ain’t she a beaut?<\/p>\n
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Propane and<\/em> charcoal, side burner and<\/em>\u00a0smoker box.\u00a0They stock ’em at Lowe’s\u2014if the parts store doesn’t have what I need, I’ll stop by to look at one of these.<\/p>\n If we wind up adopting a\u00a0combo grill (doesn’t it look like it needs a forever home?), I’ll have to store\u00a0the current\u00a0charcoal and gas grills on the far\u00a0side of the house\u00a0along with the\u00a0first gas grill, which we still have\u2014we repaired it years ago and have been hanging onto it for our daughter. I also have my old Fortress of Smoke\u2122, a Weber bullet smoker, and that would join the other retired units. Next time there’s a neighborhood garage sale, we can wheel all three units\u00a0out to the driveway. Someone’ll take them off our hands, I’m certain.<\/p>\n It’s a quiet Friday for me. Donna’s at work, so I suppose I’d better come up with a dinner plan. Earlier this week we came up short at dinnertime: Donna thought I was cooking and I thought she was, so there was no plan. I popped two big potatoes in the oven, chopped up some scallions and fried a little bacon, and we had stuffed baked potatoes for dinner. They were actually pretty great. Note to self: always keep a couple of potatoes and some sour cream on hand.<\/p>\n Last night while we were watching TV, Donna and the two dogs on the couch, me next to them in my chair, a huge crack of lightning hit just out back. All four of us jerked upright, then looked at one another to make sure we were all okay. We are all one, aren’t we? I bet if the cat had been there with us she’d have done the same thing … well, maybe not the checking to see if everyone else was okay part.<\/p>\n Speaking of TV, Rachel Maddow was on a tear last night, describing former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s contemptible behavior in court. I swear, these Christian “family values” politicians are charlatans through and through … if they thought it’d save their skins they’d throw Jesus himself under the bus. Never trust anyone who claims to be morally superior to you.<\/p>\n Speaking of morally superior Christian family values: earlier this month the USAF discharged\u00a0an airman who refused to say “so help me God” when he took the\u00a0reenlistment oath<\/a>. This is shocking to me, a real step backwards, totally unconstitutional, and I’m astounded the evangelical wing of US Air Force leadership thinks it can get away with shit like this.<\/p>\n