Blackstone Grilll

On Friday, I cooked a few steaks on the new flat-top gill,  as kind of a road-test.  Yesterday, we were busy entertaining, and the grill didn't even get hot, but today, I went to the grocer and bought hamburger stuff. 

I cooked a dozen good burgers on the grill, then rolled them into a crock-pot with bee broth.  This is a trick I learned at the church, running the concession stand at the rodeo.  (Yeah, our church has rodeos/).  If you're not sure when the customers will show up at the window, you don't want your burgers getting dried out, so one trick to keep them moist is to put them in a crock pot with beef broth.

Then, I put some sliced mushrooms and sliced onions on the grill to saute. 

About the time they finished getting a good caramel color, the kids showed up.

Mushroom, Swiss, suteed onions, on a burger grilled, then soaked in beef broth.    With leftover baked beans and 'tater salad.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Oh, The Horror!

It seems that while I was entertaining family this weekend, our President was on a state visit designed particularly to insult the reigning monarch of Great Britain.   He inadvertently stepped in front of her while they were inspecting the Guard (an ancient and elite unit).  And, apparently, he failed to bow to her upon meeting her.

It was over in less than 20 seconds, but even some casual followers of the monarchy were aghast at the uncomfortable interaction. Yes, it is a royal no-no to walk ahead of the queen.

Did Donald Trump forget to bow to the Queen?

As to the walking-ahead incident, from everything I've read about the Queen, she is a gracious and gentle hostess.  I'm sure that the lapse was momentary (from all reports, under 20 seconds), and I'm quite sure that Her Majesty didn't give it a second thought.  Tradition and courtesy go both ways, and I'm sure that they include giving visitors the benefit of the doubt.

As to the failure to bow before the Queen, our President was quite right.  Americans don't bow to anyone.  We put an end to that nonsense in 1776, and again in 1814.  Unlike the Lightworker's embarrassing compunction to bow to everyone with a title,   Americans bow to no one but God.  The Queen should know that.  Everyone knows that.

The entire outrage from the media is quite amusing. 

Memaw's Party

Today, we celebrated the birthday of Belle's mother, Memaw, on the occasion of her 97th birthday.  She still keeps her own house, and is sharp as a tack.  We hosted them in our shop.

Memaw herself with her cake.

We had about 30 people in attendance, all family, from all over the state.   The menu was eclectic, with everyone bringing something.  From pizza to pulled pork, to shrimp salads, we had more food than anyone could possibly eat.

The tables are laden with food

Everyone thought that the shop was a resounding success.  It did get a little warm inside during the heat of the afternoon, but the A/C units were pumping as hard as they could. 

Of course, for those unable to walk on broken ground, we were opening the bay doors so that they could enter the festivities on solid concrete.  It's hard to fault the A/C when the bay door is open.

We had a great time, visiting with family, hugging necks and talking with each other.

Oh, we had a heck of a time, and even the dawg got in on the fun.  I think that he ate as much pulled pork as I did.

All-in-all, the day was a great and resounding success.  The shop project performed as palnned, and everyone left here safely. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap.

The Flat Top

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had purchased a flat top grill today.  I was walking through my favorite lumber yard today and saw one that I liked, the Blackstone 36" grill  I had looked at them on Amazon, and other places, and the local store had it for about what I expected.  And, it was ready to load into the truck.

We loaded it, then when I got home, Zach helped me assemble it.  No problem at all, about 30 minutes.  I was showing it to Belle and she mentioned that she had some little filets in the freezer.  In just a few minutes, we had them thawed and seasoned.

That's one way to season a grill, by using it.  Everyone knows that I love to cook and this thing is ust too handy.  I have to go to the store tomorrow morning, early, to get some last minute supplies for the party.  I suspect that a pound of good bacon and a dozen eggs will find their way on to the buggy.  Maybe some link sausage.

Prepping

The project is almost complete.  We still have some decorating that Belle wants to do, but we can function with what we have now.  My drop-dead, must-be-finished suspense date is today, and we started prepping for Miss Reba's birthday party.

Miss Reba is Belle's momma, born on July 16, 1921.  Tomorrow, we're gathering to celebrate her 97th birthday.  Miss Reba still keeps her own house, she loves to dance, and is known to take a shot of whiskey on an afternoon.  We love her, we do.

Belle has been decorating, out in the shop, and I bought a flat-top grill today, only because I wanted one, and the lumber yard had it on sale.



I have a small list to accomplish tomorrow morning, and we have some pork butts to put into crock pots tonight before bedtime, but I think we're ready for the family to descend on us tomorrow.

Yellow Jackets

Yellow Jackets are little buzzing, stinging insects.  We had a couple of nests several years ago in the back yard, and I set traps or them.  WHY traps, just like these at Amazon.  This stuff murders t hem.  In a short while, my yellow jacket problem was solved.  It's a pheromone trap that lures them in, then drowns them.  Works great.

This morning, mowing the front yard, I got wrapped up in yellow jackets.  They hit me twice, once on the shoulder, once in the middle of my back.    the one in my back feels like he hit me with an ice-pick.  I was considerable pissed.

After mowing, I had to run to Lowe's, so I picked up another of those WHY traps.  I'm getting ready to show them a little trick, and they ain't gonna like it.

The Coca-Cola Clock

In every shop, barn, or garage I've ever owned there has been a Coca-cola clock.  My grandfather worked for the Coca- Cola bottling company for as may years as I knew him, and he always had a Coca-Cola clock in his shop..  Because of all the things I learned from him, watching and helping at his elbow, I've always thought that a shop needed a Coca-Cola clock.

This one is a repo, not the original advertising that Coke gave away log years ago.  Still, I feel like it needs to be there, to pay homage to the old man, and to remind myself of his shop, where I spent so many pleasant and educational hours.

My mom bought the clock at a local auction and brought it to me today on her way to an appointment.  Thanks, Mom!

Universal??

Universal Basic Income is one of the pipe-dreams of the socialists.  Everybody gets enough money to live on, to drag them kicking and screaming out of poverty.  Where this income is supposed to originate has always been a mystery to me, because it must come from the government, and government has no money except what it extorts through taxation, yet this pipe dream continues to rear its ugly head.

The latest example is Stocton, CA, who wants to give its residents a whopping $500 per month so that they won't be poverty stricken.

Now, Stockton, California, a city nestled in the shadow of Silicon Valley, is experimenting with a UBI project. The city will give 100 residents a stipend of $500 a month for 18 months with no strings attached. The goal behind this $900,000 gamble is to see if free money will lift people out of poverty.

Wait...what??  100 residents?  Stockton has something over 300,000 residents.  Picking 100 at random isn't universal.  100 residents is a minuscule  portion of the population.  And who is going to pick the 100 residents?

This scheme seems like a perfect opportunity for graft, which is what Democrats excel at.  But, lets not kid ourselves.  This is not a noble experiment, this is not universal  It makes a mockery our of basic welfare.

My Day

Yeah, this is the way my day has gone so far.  A fifteen minute job turned into three hours, with two trips to the small engine guy.



I lose it when he rips the mailbox out of the curb.

I'm gonna drink a Diet Coke, take a shower and start over.   Hopefully, the afternoon will go more smoothly.

Unexpectedly

From Bearing Arms:

I opened my glove compartment, took out my Glock 17, and flipped off the safety

What?  The one between your ears?  Because that's the only safety on a Glock. (Yeah, I know about the trigger dingus...  that doesn't count).

I'm us' sayin'.  If you're going to write about guns, please try to let it not be total bullshit.

Old West Saloon

Over at Wirecuter's we find an intriguing photo from the Old West, which turns out to be a saloon in Randsburg, CA, circa 1900.

You can click on it to make it bigger, but it's fairly intriguing.  We notice the mill marks on the overhead joists, and the place actually has a wood floor.  Yeah, the place is a tent, but they brought the bar in from God-knows-where, and the rest of the furniture is cobbled together locally.  The fellow in front-center is sitting on a box.

It always amazes me when I see a movie and the set looks old.  These places weren't old, they were brand new.  Erected in a hurry, to take advantage of an opportunity.  Sometimes they lasted, but more often they didn't.  They were abandoned just as quickly as the opportunity faded.

It's a great photo.

Functionally Complete

The interior of the shop project is now functionally complete.    The door is on the bathroom, all drains and sewers are installed, the electrical installation is complete, and Belle has painted the place.

Zach and I installed the door this morning, finishing at about noon.  I spent some time straightening ad putting away tools, and feel good about this phase of the proect

I also found time to build a small counter-height table with lumber that was left over from the carpentry.  Belle says she can work with it, but she will probably cover it with a table cloth  I wanted to give my amused readers another chance to see those pink pre-cut studs which seem so odd to y'all, but are perfectly normal to those of us who grew up with such things.

This portion of the project had a hard-stop, drop-dead completion date of 0001, 14 July.  As this is noon, on July 9, I have beat the deadline by four days.

I suspect that some decorating will commence shortly, but that is beyond my scope o expertise.  I will leave such things to the distaff side.

Door Swing

When you're planning a room, or doing a remodel, it is important to consider door size and swing.  Doors come in a variety of sizes.  Most of the standard residential doors in the US these days are 80 inches tall, but widths vary from 24 to 36 inches. in standard sizes. 

One thing the handyman should consider is door swing.  When you get to the store, you'll encounter the choice between left-hand and right-hand doors, so it is important to consider.  The easiest way to explain door swing is to look at thus:  Put your spine against the hinge side of the door.  Whatever hand is convenient to the doorknob will decide whether the door is left-hand or right-hand.

Consider the photo of the lady.

Her spine is toward the hinges and the door knob is in her left hand.  Thus, we have a left-hand door.

I'm glad I could clear that up for you.