I like your style, and agree with you 100%. But if you want your own Santa Maria Style BBQ, you gotta make our own grill brother. The grill should reflect the person that made it, and there's no shortage of 55gal steel drums, old metal tanks or sheet steel out there for you to use. After you build it, your only…

As much as I like this post, I mean really, REALLY like it, I'm going to stick with my favorite multi-tool, the Utili-Key.

I have approached this in a more simplistic way than TheFu, who has a skill set far above mine.

The 1 email forwarding to the entire family is another stroke of genius.... May have to set something like that up over the weekend.

Just to make sure, we ARE talking about garden tools here, right? :-)

I love that you give your family an email alias. I thought I was the only person insensitive enough to do that.

You are absolutely, 100% correct.

I fall asleep every night listening to an audio book.

Once you try it, you'll use it!

An allergist would would use a treatment ladder.

But the chile..... oh, the chile. Makes EVERY visit worthwhile.

Agreed. You are the kind of tenant nobody wants to lose. A little effort goes a LONG way; just make sure you get the kudos from the owner/manager you deserve.

As someone who does this for a living, there are some options. But like the article said, if you're leasing from a corporate entity, it's probably not going to go your way. My suggestions:

Stone fruits work the best, plums, apricots, peaches and nectarines. Cut them in half, remove the pit, brush lightly with neutral oil and give 'em the hot grill treatment for 2 minutes.

ANY stone fruit, sun ripened and fresh from the tree are my Summer Favorites. But the king of all stone fruit is just 1 month away - Cherry Season!

I read a book 2 years ago that addressed A LOT of the ideas addressed in this thread and more. The premise is simple: the more prepared, the less afraid you are of the unknown. I recommend anyone interested on the many facets (and extremes) of survival take a look. I found it informative as well as entertaining.

Three words: Hot Water Heater. There's 40 gallons right there...

The secret to storing nuts is limited OXYGEN exposure. PB stays good for a long time because it is protected under a layer of oil, under a sealed lid, giving very little exposure to oxygen in the air and preventing rancidity caused by oxidation of the natural oils. PB that has been opened goes rancid within a year, a…

I swear by these. My last overseas trip wouldn't have happened if it weren't for compression bags. Only one caveat, you'll be so efficient with space, you may have trouble keeping your bag under the weight limit (happens to my wife ALL the time).

NOT trying to start a troll war here, but is there ANY way to travel with business suits that DON'T require SOME ironing upon arrival?