Bringing In the Blackstone

Our most recent television upgrade came with bonus savings because I also bit the bullet and ordered a new 36-inch Blackstone griddle as well. Between small experiments with add-on cast iron grill plates, plus too many appealing Instagram posts, it had me hungry for this new venture in the grilling arts. People seem to really like this model, from the reviews I explored, and I was ready for its fun new challenges. When standing before it in its finished configuration, I realize it’s pretty sizable for this household...and yet the joys of entertaining will prove it a rewarding indulgence as I work my way into a state of fair competence in its use.

It was a pleasant Thursday evening (back on July 17th) spent putting it together in the front entryway of the house, albeit in light that this old man should have recognized was a bit too dim for such an endeavor. (After the grueling paces that the TV set-up put me through earlier that Thursday, this was nonetheless a calming pursuit.) A little less calming was realizing its eventual placement on the back patio pad would compel me to do a bit of backyard cleanup, long overdue, and so gone are the unwieldy butterfly bushes, the horrendous Tree of Heaven invader, and the wildly inappropriate ornamental grass I'd foolishly planted at the end of the firewood rack. (Click here to see a photo from 2020 when I was just beginning the back yard rehab; the shrubbery shows itself against the back wall of the house.)

One implication of the new griddle was I had to relocate the firewood rack, which had also been recommended by the pest control guys:

With ample YouTube guidance to steer me, I went through the multiple stages of seasoning and preparation in the calm and still-warm following Friday evening (that's the photo at the top of this blog post). I’d already secured some of the extra equipment to make my exploits come together more coherently. I gathered a few recipes I was hyped to try. I confess that I make myself feel better when I realize it cost in 2025 about half of what my Weber gas grill cost in 2014, and only two-thirds of what the less-than-satisfying kamado grill cost in 2013.

That meant tackling the arrangement of grilling equipment on the tiny patio pad that I had hoped (in 2012) would be just temporary. Maybe this new griddle will proved to be a lot more expensive, when I go back to considering putting in a patio back there.

That Friday had another overdue task on it: I sold my trusty but aged-and-high-mileaged 2010 Volkswagen CC. Just short of 228,000 on the odometer, it was due for license tag renewal, state inspection, and another six months of insurance. I knew it had to go and am glad to check this latest item off the too-long list.