The Writer

 
Something a little different. I thought by now I'd have the HDRs from Provence and Paris up on Flickr, but I've been distracted by this and that.

Adventures with taps and Q

The main "this" was a leaky faucet on the kitchen sink that went from bad to worse after I 'repaired' it. It leaked more and somehow the cold and hot got mixed up. When you pushed the lever to the right, hot water came out. At the time, I had no idea how a single-lever faucet "knew" hot from cold. But I do now, and it's fixed, thanks to some research on Moen's website, a very kind fellow at Home Depot who supplied we with spare parts (I was eyeing the new faucets), and an email to Moen on Saturday. It works better than new and even the parts work better together.

The "that" was the purchase of a new BBQ ... Er, excuse me, "Gas Grill". This thing is too huge to just be called a BBQ. When you only have bicycles to transport your propane cylinder between the Q and the refill station, you eventually realize a natural gas hookup is the way to go. Appropriately, my old propane Q gave it up just as I made this decision (and I only had to beat on it a little to help it succumb!).

I did some research on gas fitters and Qs and found someone who would hook me up for half the price of my gas provider. I ended up choosing a Vermont Castings gas grill and was delighted to find Home Depot sold them. My local store only had one left and as they were having a four day weekend BBQ special. Jule, after I mentioned this to her on the phone Friday afternoon, biked over and bought the thing.

I thought we might bring it home on one of the bike trailers, which shows you my naivety regarding its size. The thing is HUGE! Even in the box. And heavy. We biked over to the HD together after work and rented their van, a beat up, scraped and dented and filled with dirt gas guzzling beast - just what was needed to haul this thing home. It took two HD guys and me to load it. Getting it out was easier, thankfully, and J and I managed to slide its butt to the ground and stand it up and then walk it back a few feet into the garage.

We spent Saturday afternoon and evening putting it together, me shaking my head the whole time wondering what had gotten into me. I swore I'd never buy anything sight unseen again. It didn't look all that big in the pictures on the Vermont Castings website. For the most part everything went well.

The instructions were reasonably clear and most stuff fit together like it was designed. I was a bit disappointed to see I didn't get the exact grill I saw on the web. I think I have a 2007 model. But that's OK. The one thing the newer model had was a lamp to see what you're doing after dark, especially useful in the spring and fall. I've been outside with a flashlight, so I know what that's like. I'll have to get a stand-alone unit, or, take Jule's suggestion and wear a headlamp. :)

I've since realized it's not THAT big and am getting used to being on the patio, which we've rearranged to help it fit in.