The Bachelor Weekend

With N out in NYC visiting GT, it was a bachelor weekend for me and the dogs. It started out with shopping, of all things, but it was solid man-shopping as I bought a new grill and a new TV.

The grill is just the size and type I wanted. Charcoal/wood with a side firebox for smoking, and a grill top big enough to cook a suckling pig. The TV is the price I was shooting for, $500.00, which these days gets you a 26" HDTV flat panel with a PC input. Steelyard Commons is where I threw down the cash, and let me say that I really like having the Home Depot, Target, Best Buy and other places so close to home.

I hooked up the TV and was amazed to find that this new one can pull in HD channels through our rooftop antenna. I thought you needed cable or a dish for HD, but you do not. So now we have more channels than before and the HD and DT (digital, but not HD) channels come in crystal clear. So, we now have even less reason to even consider a dish or cable, because we can get everything we need (not want, but need) out of the free air. The HD channels are also not just copies of the analog broadcasts, but there are also weather/news channels, four different PBS channels, and even a music video channel that actually plays music videos.

The grill required assembly, which was how I spent part of Saturday. It was actually not too bad to complete, and I was able to do so on a pretty much perfect weather day--sunny, mild, and breezy. While I worked on the grill, the fence guy installed our new fence out front, and will put up the gates on Monday night, letting the concrete set for a couple of days. The fence looks great, but it is pricey. Combined with the TV and the grill, it was debt-inducing weekend to be sure.

So, I tried to eat like a pauper/bachelor, heating up leftovers that N had stored away and even eating them right out of the pan to avoid having to do too many dishes. This seemed to amuse the dogs.

Speaking of the dogs, they had a celebrity moment today. It rained all day and they were in big time cabin-fever mode, so I walked them in the rain around the library. For some reason, I went one extra block and stumbled on the Doggie Dip day at the Studio Salon on Fulton. For $5 they washed your pup for you and also helped out the Animal Protective League with the profits. Surprisingly, Zoe really enjoyed her tea tree spa bath, while Sammy was not quite as interested, as I am pretty sure he has never had a bath before. Add to that the fact that the Plain Dealer was there taking pictures, and Sammy was freaked for a spell as he is quite afraid of cameras and electronics of any sort. Zoe, though, literally and figuratively soaked it all in, and might quite possibly have her picture in the paper with the seven ladies all around her scrubbing away. Amazingly, Zoe never let out one growl and even licked one of the girls, which is as shocking as anything I've witnessed in a while.

Despite the rain, I fired up the grill and burned off any dangerous Chinese-sourced chemicals prior to smoking some ribs for a good six hours. Gotta love the smell of hickory smoke on a cool, wet day. I also made chicken stock, which is just one of the best things ever to make your house smell great. Combine that smell with the hickory smoke and you have just about the best cologne ever.

The pups miss N, and I miss her every moment she is away, so it will be great to have her home tonight. When you've got a woman you love, the bachelor life just doesn't cut it. Hopefully she's in the mood for some chicken broth and ribs.