For the first time in a long time I am cooking on a grill. The weather is perfect to be outside – sunshine and 67 degrees – so I am taking full advantage of it.

I am using a hibachi which I was given a few years back. I had it in the trailer to use for trips, but I thought I’d bring it into my new back yard and use it at home. I have been thinking about getting a grill and was torn between charcoal or gas. I have used a propane grill before, and it is the ease of use that rocks with those. The purist side of me prefers charcoal for the taste, however, and the hibachi is pretty easy and inexpensive to use since it takes very little charcoal (and I already had it!).

Before I started grilling I trimmed the grass with a trimmer (yay small yard!) and added a new plant to the space…a 5′ palm tree that was left at work and given to me to start my own little tropical paradise. It looks pretty good next to the Japanese maple.

The maple actually opened up more in the last hour so it is going to be a spectacular  display. My strawberry basket is bringing on fruit, my tomato plant is doing good and the flowers I put in my brightly-colored pots are looking good. I am thinking I may still need to get a few more plants for my yard. I had some in my cart last week but put them back. I decided against it until I could arrange things and see what space is open to put plants in with the needed sun exposure.

My canoe is sitting across a corner on top of my fence so it makes the canoe a great sunshade to sit under and will help to shield my bicycle from the weather. It is also out of the way that way. I might get a canopy for the back yard to put up to keep some sun off of the house and make it cooler. There is pretty good western exposure to the sun and I think it’s gonna get warm inside the house and that won’t work for me. I cannot sleep when it is hot.

I have some bee and butterfly flower seeds to plant that will help give them some food. I need to figure out where to put them so they do not get too close to my yard. I want to spend time out there this summer but don’t want to take the chance on anyone getting stung. I might sprinkle them in front of my house and that should lure them away from my outdoor activities. I saw bumblebees in my yard this morning and maybe this will entice them to stay away from there. It’s good for the planet to help the bees. It’s good for ALL of us to help the bees.

My daughters were recently raving about a wine called “19 Crimes”. Their comments had me curious about it so I wanted to get some. The store I go to has been out of it for a month, but while I was there today I checked and they got in a shipment of the “Bold Red” so I snagged a bottle. I would really like to open it but it is only 2:45 in the afternoon and if I started now and REALLY like it I’d probably be shit-faced by 5 PM. Maybe I’ll wait and have a glass or two with my supper. Probably a better idea, and I’ll have the rest to drink with supper tomorrow. I do like good wine so I am anxious to give it a taste.

Work is going fine and I am anxious to get into the season to see how it is going to be. I am sure it will be busy but maybe not quite like the previous place I was at. I will be doing a few different things than where I last worked so it will be interesting when things ramp up.

Speaking o my trailer, this nice weather is giving my “travelin’ Jones” a workout. I am ready to get the Scotty out on the road now that things I needed to get done are getting finished up and my time will be mine once again. I’ve been a few places the last couple of weekends but that was to do errands. I should be able to get away within the next month for a road trip and I am also looking at another flight to KS to visit. Flight prices have been a bit steep between Seattle and KC but I really need to get a visit in soon. Maybe I can get a flight booked in the next few days.