It does a body good

Warm sunlight, that is. We're being spoiled by a preview of springtime weather. I spent a good hour yesterday afternoon sitting outdoors in the sun. Callie loves being able to hang out in the grass, chasing the odd tennis ball and hunting lizards along the stone wall. I can see the smile on her face when she's out there.

A neighbor's fruit tree in full flower on Saturday morning.

The bbq grill is working wonderfully. I roasted a whole chicken (split into halves) outdoors on Saturday and it turned out delicious. Today I'll grill some spicy sausages for lunch. It's not quite nice enough to eat out on the deck yet. For one thing, the table and chairs are still in their winter storage down in the garage. I won't be bringing them up until after I've power-washed the deck.

I won't be surprised when the chilly weather returns. It is still winter for a couple more weeks.

In fact it's a gas

Yes, it's all right now. I spent a frustrating Friday morning trying to get the new bbq grill set up for use. The major problem was that the documentation (which came in twenty-one European languages) was not at all helpful. The French and the English (the only two of the languages I can read) did not say exactly the same thing. Similar, but not close enough to be helpful.

This photo has nothing to do with this post. But there's still a point. LOL.

The procedure described for connecting the gas hose, accompanied by drawings, did not correspond to the actual grill parts I had. The instructions showed one type of hose connector, but my grill does not have that type of connector. I banged my head against the table several times trying to understand why I had instructions for someone else's grill. I thought I must be misunderstanding something and, like a perfect example of the common definition of insanity,* I kept reading and re-reading the instructions (English and French), studying the pictures and my grill, then banging my head in utter frustration.

It became clear, earlier to Ken than to me, that I needed to give up on the modern screw-on coupler as per the instructions and use the old-style compression collar to clamp a hose onto the gas nozzle (that may not make sense to you, but I know what it means). I had already been out to the store once to buy the gas bottle. I didn't get a hose because I had at least realized then that the hose with two screw-on couplers was not going to work. So, after discovering that the regulator on the gas bottle could be used with either type of connector, I went out to the hardware store for a plain gas hose that thankfully came with the correctly-sized compression collars. Interestingly, the plain hose is a third of the price of the hose with screw-on couplers.

Here we go, I thought, almost done. But nooooooo. "Slipping" that hose onto the gas nozzles (one at each end) was like stuffing a baseball bat into a tube of toothpaste. We pushed, stretched, and twisted that hose for half an hour before we finally were able to force it onto each of the nozzles. The compression collars worked fine.

Once again, I was convinced we were finished. But nooooooo. I couldn't get the burners to light. A trip back to the internet made it clear: I had bought a bottle of butane, the gas we use in the kitchen, which apparently loses pressure in temperatures at or below 10ºC (high 40sF). The internet site said that it shouldn't matter, because who wants to grill outdoors in temperatures below 10ºC anyway? We were at around 11ºC as I was reading.

I finally got the burners lit and the grill heated up, as did the outside temperature, and we were able to cook our lunch. The grill worked great and lunch was delicious (and not too late). I'm going to grill again today and tomorrow -- both days are going to be warmer than yesterday. The butane should work fine through summer, then, when the bottle is empty, I'll trade it in for a bottle of propane.

* Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Sunset with jetliner

I may be crazy, but I want to use our new barbeque grill and this weekend's weather forecast is nice. If you consider temperatures around 15ºC (about 60ºF) to be nice. I'm still building a fire in the wood stove every afternoon to keep the indoor temperature comfortable. But the clear sunny weather is screaming "barbeque!" I'll bet I'm not the only winter-weary guy out here who is itching to cook on the grill.*

Sunset on Wednesday.

To get the new grill working, I have to get a gas bottle and the connector hose. Those are sold at all the local supermarkets so that's not a problem. Except, of course, when we were out yesterday I saw that I had a choice between butane and propane. I wasn't expecting that (I thought the default was butane) and I had to come home to re-check the instructions. Turns out I can use either.

We have a chicken and some beef in the 'fridge; we just need to decide which to cook first.

* Roseanne Barr once said (and I'm paraphrasing) that men are only really good at two things. One is barbecuing. The other is reading maps. "Because only the male mind can understand the concept of one inch equaling a hundred miles." Remind me to show you my map collection.

Sun!

It sure is nice to look at the forecast and see nothing but sunny days ahead. By the weekend our high temperatures should be around 15ºC (near 60ºF). Very spring-like. We're considering firing up the barbeque soon.

Sunrise on Tuesday. There were still some clouds in the sky then, but this morning it's all clear.

We think we may have found a new stove that has all the features we want. The only problem is finding a place that actually has it on display so we can look at it. Getting it won't be a problem; several dealers around us offer the brand and the model, but looking at it first anywhere other than the internet may not be possible.

A week of spring-like weather

The week ahead is predicted to be sunny, relatively warm, and most importantly, dry. If the forecasters are correct, our collective spirits will rise a few notches. I'm hopeful that we will be able to get a few outdoor chores done in a few days, if the ground does indeed dry out a little.

Blossoms on a plum tree that Ken planted in our yard a few years ago.

Some of the flowering trees in our neighborhood have started blooming. A sunny week will accelerate the flowering both on the trees and on the ground. I'm planning to get tomato and eggplant seeds started (indoors) in the next few days. I'd also like to have a small section of the vegetable garden tilled up so I can plant radishes, chard, and spring herbs. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Lichen

To me it rhymes with liken, but to Sir David Attenborough it rhymes with kitchen. Either way, these symbiotic fungus/plants can be found on just about every tree around us. I understand that, for the most part, they are not parasitic and don't do any real harm to the trees they inhabit. They also grow on rocks and stone walls and directly on the ground.

The union of fungus and algae.

The weather people tell us that high pressure is building into France right now, a high pressure system that's been absent for over seventy days leaving the way clear for upwards of thirty-five low pressure systems off the Atlantic to move through France in that time. If the forecast holds, we are in for at least a week of dry, sunny days. That will be nice.

Lookin' back to see

Can you see Callie in the road? She stopped and looked back to see what I was up to and why I wasn't close behind. She's used to the photo stops and normally stops when I do. But this time she got out ahead and didn't realize that I had stopped.

The grass was a little frosty on Sunday morning, but the sun was out and there was no wind. It was quite pleasant.

It's nice to have the kitchen put back together and all the kitchen stuff out of the dining room and den. We took advantage of the upheaval to reorganize a little. Small changes can make a big difference.