I have news to share about the proud sovereign nation of Manstovia, and it's not good. A letter from our homeowners association explains that as of a couple of weeks from now, residents will no longer be permitted to keep grills on our decks. There is a regulation in New York State that disallows using grills within 10 feet of flammable structures, like decks. Apparently this has been the law for townhouses like ours for a long time, but it only recently came to light. So now grills must be stored on the patio under the deck, and rolled out to a safe distance when in use. In creating a new rule to cover this requirement, the board will now permit the use of charcoal grills. These were previously disallowed, but now can be operated if they are at least 25 feet from the deck. So why isn't this good news you might ask? Well, as I've mentioned before, we are lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic view of a pond. The bad news is that while there is enough room between the patio and the pond for a propane grill, the pond is close enough that a charcoal grill would have to be in the water to comply. And then there's the convenience factor. Our current setup has a beautiful path from the kitchen out to the deck. But going downstairs through the patio is at the opposite end of the convenience spectrum. And the shore of the pond is not really an even surface to park a grill on either. So there are several reasons why the new setup will be a huge downgrade, which is disappointing. I thought having to switch from charcoal to propane when we moved was the ultimate indignity. Now we are actually discussing the pros and cons of just getting an electric grill, since these can be operated on the deck. We've scaled back on the amount of meat we consume, so at this point I'm just going to work on MrsBlue to get her past her aversion to me potentially setting off smoke alarms by actually making the occasional steak or burgers in the actual kitchen. As you can imagine, the flags in Manstovia are currently flying at half-mast.

Smoldering Round-up
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