Congrats Midnight Blue! 6 years is just awesome, an insirpiraton for sure!
Regarding my BBQ skills and gas grill efforts, I need to give you all some back story about my cleaning it up and putting it away. :-)
When my husband was alive, we had a "normal" size grill. Just big enough for 2 people - fit nicely out on our deck. Could cook 6 burgers at a time if you needed that many. It stayed out on the back deck all year long and was covered in the winter. If we wanted to cook out in the middle of winter, it was quite easy to do so and he handled it. After his death, I just left it out there and I actually used it quite a bit! Even in the winter.
Fast forward to after he died. I still kept the "normal size" grill, used it a few times, but when I moved to a new place, decided to get rid of it as my new place had a screened in porch and you could not put a grill on the porch due to being a fire hazard. So I used my George Forman indoor grill a lot. Yeah yeah, all you grill masters do not need to comment on that one! But for a single gal, it was perfect. Was fine for years and years.
About a year and half ago, I started dating a guy who prides himself on being the worlds' best grill master. He could do it all. He could cook a full meal on the grill, never having to use the stove or oven inside. He thought it was an absolute crime that I did not have a grill, so he wanted me to buy a new grill. (Note he did not want to buy it, he wanted me to buy it!) So I said okay but I didn't want anything too large as I have very little outdoor space in my new place (it's a deed restricted community with lots of common ground areas, great for me as I don't have to worry about lawn care and snow removal.) That said, I have a SMALL patio area behind my garage.
He shows up with a MONSTER grill, one that cooks 26 burgers a time and has a side searing burner for searing steaks. There is some kind of grate that is elevated to put more food on it. You could put a large pot on this grill and boil water or make chili. I could feed the whole neighborhood. It has a warming tray, drawers for all of the grill accessories, all the bells and whistles. Several temperataure guages. There is no way in heck I needed something that size. But, he tells me that it was such a great deal, it could not be passed up. And of course, being on sale, it was not returnable. Now, I guess he was thinking he was probably long term in the relationship so why not get what he wanted. I will add this grill appeared about 3 months into the relationship.
That minor "issue" right there was probably the start of the end of said relationship. He either didn't listen, didn't care, or just didn't respect my wishes. I pointed out that I could not keep a grill that size outside all year long on that small patio. He said so what, just move it into the garage and if he wanted to grill in the cold months, he could just push it out into the driveway. Without going into further details about that, the relationship was over in a year and now I have this monster grill sitting outside on the little patio space behind the garage. In the winter, I'd have to walk outside and around the house to get to it. So I decided it is just a spring/summer thing.
I am thinking I should probably just sell it or give it away. I am sure there is someone out there who would love something like this to perfect his/her grilling skills and has a large family or circle of friends where something this size makes sense. It is quite comical to see me out there cooking my one hamburger patty or steak on this thing.
Maybe in the Spring I will post it on the community bulletin board for sale. I cleaned it up as best I could, but someone probably only needs to buy some new grates and it will look good as new.
For now, I have my trusty George Forman grill here in the house and will actually be using it today! All have a great day!