Al Fresco

This is my dining room lately. It’s my favorite place right now.

I’ve always wanted a screened-in gazebo. I need screening because bugs feast on me like no tomorrow, and I dislike smelling like DEET all the time. Seriously, as soon as I step outside, the mosquitoes and black flies descend upon me within minutes, sneering with their vicious blood-sucking needles. You’d think it was a paternity testing while pregnant, they dug into my blood so deep. Yow. It was really tough to be outside.

But here, while secluded in my screen, the bugs can see me but they can’t get in. Oh, it’s so nice. Muahahhaa!!!!

I got the gazebo on clearance at Kmart. It came at quite the surprise one day, totally out of the blue. The hubs and I had done quite a bit of searching for something affordable, to no avail. Most gazebos were out of our price range, topping $350 to $500 or more. But this was the LAST set at Kmart, on clearance for $149!!! I snapped it up, and we installed it in about an hour’s time.

I LOVE IT.

I grill the dinner and we have a buffet table in the house (to keep flies away). Everyone gets what they want and we sit out in the gazebo, enjoying the summer evenings.

I even got some tiki torches, too. I’m really loving it.

How’s your summer going?

Sidewalks Are Sizzling

After an outright rainy spring (we were literally deluged with rain), June is dry and HOT. Man, can’t it EVER just be 70 degrees and perfect for stretch of time? Things bob up and down too much.

Anyway, I haven’t been cooking much in this heat. My region broke records this week with 97 degrees and intense humidity. It’s way too hot to run the oven or stovetop (even when we make tea, it pumps more heat into the house). So I’ve hit the doldrums as far as dinner time goes. The heat makes me listless, and I can’t stop work at my job because I’m listless. By the time everyone wants dinner, I am pooped! And out of ideas.

Unfortunately, I’ve resorted to take-out Chinese or pizza at least once a week. That stuff is expensive. But at least it’s not MY kitchen that’s getting hot!

If we don’t do take out, I may grab cold fried chicken at the local deli or something (also expensive).

I guess I’m totally out of ideas this year. I haven’t had a chance to unpack the barbeque grill and set it up (but then again, it’d been raining since January). Even then, I dislike standing over the greasy grill, cooking heavy meats in the blazing sun outside. When I grill, all the grease from the grill sprays into my face and on my glasses. Ick, it’s disgusting. I have to stock up on acne cream all summer long. :-p

What do you do for summertime meals? I’d love to know. I’m a totally out of ideas!!

Grill Problems

Hm. I’ve only owned two grills in my life, and both had problems with the ignitor immediately after I bought it. Is it some flaw in the designs of these things???

The ignitor is a tiny, battery-operated ignition. It provides a small spark that lights the flame of the grill. The ignitor for my old Char-Broil grill died after TWO uses. And now I have the BBQ Grill grill, and the same thing: the ignitor died after two uses.

What the?!?!

I now have to light the grill by hand. With a match.

THE WHOLE REASON I GOT A NEW GRILL WAS SO THAT I DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT ANYMORE!!!!!

I hate lighting the gas burners by hand! I’d rather spend the day scouring the Inernet for jobs in healthcare, ykwim? It’s hard to light the burners manually. I have to crank up the gas, turn the dial, light the match and HOPE that the match doesn’t go out and that my eyebrows don’t blow off. And with thhis new grill, there are THREE separate burners to light. None of them are connected, either. GAH! So I have to light matches THREE times and light the burners THREE times.

*whine, moan*

I know, I know… I’m bellyaching. Children in Ethiopia are starving and here I am, complaining about my grill.

Well, anyway. I called the manufacturer, and they are sending a new ignitor. The grill is *only* a few weeks old. Oddly enough, they were very quick, processing my complaint. As if they had gotten numerous complaints about the issue, and were like, “Here’s another one! Send them a new ignitor!”

*sigh*

The only problem with this is that this stuff happens ALL THE TIME with things we buy today. My expensive Temperpedic mattress and foundation set showed problems 3 months after we got it– already it’s had 3 replacements (and due for another) because the foundation squeaks so much. My coffeemaker basket was defunct one month after I bought it. And I coul dlist a whole bunch of other things. Why is the market glutted with JUNK? And it’s expensive junk, too! I really miss good old, American made products.

So the new ignitor will be here in a week or so.