SUNDAY. Morning grilling! Coals starting now ... half chickens seasoned two ways, buttermilk marinade and spicy (commercial) rub I like. Can't think of a better Sunday church service.
H got her date mixed up for an art affair yesterday ... gallery was empty when she showed! Was a closing night deal, and now she has to track down her paintings, which she was supposed to collect. She had the date in her calendar wrong.
Man, I have decided I hope this RM goes through we need extra cash to do some local, area, regional travel, stuff we'd have to charge and regret later ... we still do fine once we sell the house. It's almost doubled in value since we bought it. So unless the real estate market crashes, we're okay ... and the best thing about an RM is, even if it does crash, you never owe more than the value of the house, even if it's less than the loan. But you pay for this, of course, Nothing is free. An RM is trading present tense advantags for paying the piper later -- for many, after you're dead! Let the heirs deal with it (even they never owe more -- that's why the federal insurance is expensive, so they can cover their ass). I think, for our needs and fading health, it's now or never for doing some things. But, in fact, we may not qualify. The house has to appraise high enough.
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Chicken is on ... check temp after half an hour, turning once ... can go an hour so we're fine. The design of this portable Weber has no easy way to add coals, so I am stuck with an hour of 350, another 20 or 30 above 300.
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Man, this is FUN! Cooking on a grill on a beautiful Sunday morning on a beautiful deck ... I mean, how could we sell this house as long as we are mobile? Normally the deck has been ignored most of the year, in bad weather, but this year I am grilling even in winter and rain! I am going for it, the cave man lifestyle that is ha ha. This is just too much fun.
I am reminded of my late buddy Tee, who lived by the grill -- even grilled for an entire neighborhood during block parties in LA ... host of the infamous pig roast that I based my award-winning short story on ... Tee was the grill master, hands down. He must have grilled 4 or 5 days a week, forever -- in SoCal not unusual to do that sort of thing.
My dad liked to grill. My brother has a famous line as a kid, seeing dad at the grill ... "Steak again?" Dad loved that story.
If we get the RM, with travel cash, I want to do little trips where we get there in an easy day, stay a few, and return. We had a great time once on the southern Oregon coast ... want to do that again. Also the southern Washington coast. Do that again. Check out the John Day area, which I love.
A big trip would be to four corners canyonville area in the SW. My favorite scenery in the world, which H has never seen.
Ice coffee with a new blend of beans, trying in out, Peet's African blend, I like it. Their House blend is my regular. Like their beans better than others I've tried.
Will throw some pre cooked sausage links on at the end to brown, not worry about cooking.
Ah me, what a start to the day! Rest of the day? Well, I should practice music! And maybe brood about the book ... it isn't flowing right but that is fine at this early part. I need to get the main narrative thread, the central story, right, I think, first and foremost, and once that is done I can tinker and add all the time travel embellishments and such ... but there are two narrative threads that need to be gripping. They fail, everything fails. Lots of time and no pressure ... so it keeps me as busy as I want to be with it. Perfect.
I ordered a copy of Canonizing Hypertext, with the section on my work, just to perk my ego, I suppose, and see what a scholar thinks ... the excerpts I read are flattering in the sense that my work is taken seriously. SERIOUSLY. That's really all I want or need. It is not mainstream and never will be "popular" but it is a serious contribution to a serious area of the arts, although an esoteric and elite area.
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Harriet is having a pretty good morning. Good to see. This is such a huge change for her but little by little she is realizing she is "an old lady" now and this requires a lifestyle change. Reality. I look forward to the change because then we can be old farts together and just explore hither and yon, in a slow old folks way. Get rid of her hyper activity mode, I hope. Well, by necessity the issue is whether she fights it or not.
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Coals are behaving beautifully ... had left over, partially burned wood, used it as well. I am getting the skills down to do what I want to do with this.
Eager to see how the chicken tastes! One trick is having a small cat food can of water next to the coals, to keep the humidity high. It works, food doesn't dry out.
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Wow, fire still hot after everything done ... I used more coals than usual, a tad, and it makes a difference. Nice to remember for longer grill times.
H's nice morning turning stressful as she tries to solve problems without success. Ah me.
Wish I had something to throw on the grill!
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What the hell, I threw a couple of zuccinnis on!
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Another problem: H spent almost $100 on magazine subscriptions she doesn't need or want. Trying to figure out how that happened and to cancel them.
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