Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[OneFineAcre]

I used to be a die hard charcoal cooker... But it just took too long and was too hard to adjust or maintain a certain temp. And if the wind blew, the food got coated in ashes. With the gas grill, I don't have a real smoker's ability to cook low and slow like you can with charcoal, and it's even more difficult to "smoke" anything, but I do have a rotisserie that cooks fabulous meats, and I can soak and wrap wood chips in foil and offset cook so I get some smoke and can keep direct flame off the meats. But the biggest thing is like you said, time. I go out and fire it up, then come back inside to prepare what I'm going to cook. When I bring it out, it's up to temp and ready to go. When I'm done, I don't have to worry about hot coals and fires, I just turn the dial, and no more flame. Grill cools back down in minutes vice hours.

I have a propane assisted charcoal grill
Propane lights the charcoal

 

[Latestarter]

So when it's not too hot out, I like to sleep with a fan in the window blowing outside air in. Yesterday evening there was a rather chill wind so I turned the fan off and just left the window open. This morning I got up and though I was warm in bed, my sinuses are acting up and I couldn't breath through my nose so I said to heck with it and got up. Yeah, it isn't even 7am yet ?!?! OK, so I open the front door to allow more air flow, and the back slider and you know what? It's fricken cold! So I look across the way and there's frost on the roof! Under my porch roof the thermometer is reading 42 and my computer is telling me it's 37 When did summer end? I'm sitting here wearing a flannel shirt and fuzzy slippers... Mel's got plenty of energy... He's running all over the back yard. He wants to play. I need to get him a playmate that he can rough house with. I'm getting too old to be getting "body slammed" by a 130 pound dog.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It's not called crust
It's called bark

Around these parts, (said with my best texan drawl).... Just kidding...

You are exactly right - when it's got that thick, crispy, crunchy outside/ends it IS bark. Unfortunately, really good bark gives me terrible indigestion - don't know why. I love it - but my belly doesn't.

So, even though bark is delish - I don't let my brisket develop a true bark. Calling it a 'crust' is just my way of differentiating it from a true bark.

And, now I need to go the freezer and see what I can find to throw on the pit tomorrow. I can thaw something out, season it with a good rub and it'll be ready for the pit in the morning.

 

[OneFineAcre]

Around these parts, (said with my best texan drawl).... Just kidding...

You are exactly right - when it's got that thick, crispy, crunchy outside/ends it IS bark. Unfortunately, really good bark gives me terrible indigestion - don't know why. I love it - but my belly doesn't.

So, even though bark is delish - I don't let my brisket develop a true bark. Calling it a 'crust' is just my way of differentiating it from a true bark.

And, now I need to go the freezer and see what I can find to throw on the pit tomorrow. I can thaw something out, season it with a good rub and it'll be ready for the pit in the morning.

And I watch too many cooking shows

 

[frustratedearthmother]

And I watch too many cooking shows

I am soooo guilty of that!

 

[Hens and Roos]

yep cooking show are watched here too!

 

[farmerjan]

Haven't had TV hooked up in over 5 years, won't pay the high cost and an antenna will maybe get 3 channels here the neighbor says so I do without. Can't justify 30-60 a month or more for maybe 10-20 hrs that I might get to watch it. Maybe when I retire I will have time for it. I do miss some things, but not enough to pay that price of a dish. I'd stay up and watch it and then never make it to a barn to test cows at 2 a.m.!!!

 

[Latestarter]

So I've been procrastinating, and putting it off, and avoiding the necessity of doing it, and rationalizing that there's still plenty of time... Finally called myself on it today and beat myself into doing it...

I spent the last 4 hours under the house on my belly and hands and knees crawling, and on my back, working to repair the insulation and sub floor vapor barrier from the two broken water pipes. Thankfully all the insulation around the affected areas had completely dried out. There was however a major lake toward the back on the side where the breaks had happened. So I had to belly crawl under 2 axles to get back there and cut slashes in the ground vapor barrier to allow it to drain to earth. Nice that I'm on almost pure sand, so once the slits were cut, that water started draining straight away. So now all 4 of the repairs the buyer wanted done have been completed. I texted my REA and asked if the buyers trust, or want pictures, or their buddy the home inspector to come back by.

I had purchased one of those head band lights, the brightest they had at Lowes, and it worked great the first time I went under to take stock and estimate what I was going to need before going to buy it. I also bought one of those plug in high intensity work lights that has it's own little stand and the wire cage over the front to prevent burns. Well when I came back with the materials and started to climb down under, the head lamp wouldn't work. I was ticked! I'd only used it for like 10 minutes! But I wasn't going back to replace it after climbing back down under there, so I did everything with just the high intensity light. I figured I'd return it later. So after I'm all done and I've climbed out I start looking at it and find how to release the battery cover so open it and re-close it and of course now the head lamp woks just fine. Doesn't it figure?

Now I won't feel guilty watching football tomorrow For as cold as it was this morning, it still got up to almost 90 here today, though my computer is saying the high was 82. I have to say the sun felt good after the chill this morning. I'm getting old. Used to really like the cold and not care for the heat. Thinking more and more that TX was the right choice, aside from the great folks I've already met that I'll be calling "neighbor" down there. I got a haircut yesterday and I normally get it cut pretty short, not quite a buzz cut... Anyway, my hair has thinned substantially on top. Not bald, but I'm going to have to go back to wearing ball caps after haircuts when the sun is shining. I hate head-top/scalp sun burns.

 

[Latestarter]

Yeah, I don't sleep so well anymore, and it's even worse if I'm laying down. So I spend a lot of time in my recliner when I should be sleeping in a bed. I like to have the "white noise" of the TV in the background. That way I don't have to listen to the voices in my head... Actually it helps drown out the tinnitus ringing. Now that I mentioned it, both my ears are ringing pretty loud. Most times I can ignore it.

 

[Baymule]

You'll be far enough north that you won't have to deal with lovebugs that hang out along the coast. We went to Livingston Friday for a Mickey Gilley concert and hit lovebugs at Lufkin. They are little black bugs that fly united, hence the name lovebugs. They are extremely acidic, birds won't eat them and they must think exhaust fumes are aphrodisiacs as they swarm the roads and highways. They stick to your automobile and if not removed, they damage the paint. They come out twice a year, spring and fall. I sure don't miss lovebug season!