It hit 40°F today. Time to fire up the grill. Actually, any temperature and any weather is time to fire it up. The grill is under our carport, so it’s safe from rain and snow.

The poor roof of the carport, though – and the wall of the house where the grill is located… Can we say soot, boys and girls?!? The next owners are the ones who are going to have to deal with it, though. Unless I feel really ambitious in my retirement, it’s going to be a part of the history of the house.

The history of the house… a fun statement. It’s pretty much a part of why we bought this house in the first place. Built in 1950, 2 owners, and the last owner lived here by herself for 20 years. It needed a bit of work when we got it.

Neither of us have ever really cared for new construction. I just see it as too sterile. I like the old, slightly imperfect, little dings and dents… Something lived in. I seriously don’t want interior designer fixer-upper stuff like you see on TV. I want to be surrounded by our stuff and things that have meaning – not stuff from Pier 1 or some “antique” mall rustic crap. That being said, I also want double/triple-glazed windows, good insulation, working heat and air conditioning – and double ovens. I want old but I also want to be civilized about it.

If I were 20 years younger, I’d seriously think about moving to Cairo, IL where friends of ours live and buy an old house for pennies and fix the damned thing up. As tempting as it is, I just don’t have the patience for it, anymore. Our next house is going to be smaller – and move-in ready. Hopefully with a covered area where we can grill year-round.

Tonight’s grilling started with a couple of strip steaks I picked up down at Reading Terminal Market a few months ago. They were huge – I really should have just cooked one for the two of us. Both of us barely ate half of them. But they were really good, really tender, and we have serious leftovers.

I made a quick marinade of garlic, white wine, green onions, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, thyme, and a bit of olive oil. Into the blender and into a ziplock for 2 hours.

They came out great. Thick-sliced potatoes cooked in the oven and cauliflower roasted with olive oil and parmesan cheese finished the plate.

And… There’s more pie for dessert, later….

I like my old house.