The Big Bang

We have always been fans of the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory, about a group of science nerds trying to adapt to life in the real world. But a few days ago, we came way too close to having our own Big Bang, and not in a good way.

We have a large stainless steel gas grill that we don’t use very often, but several months ago, we rolled it outside for a get-together we were having with some friends. A couple of the guys were cooking burgers and hot dogs and such, and at the end of the day, when it was wheeled back into our attached garage, the propane tank did not get turned off. So it sat there for months with no problem.

But at some point last week, one of us apparently bumped one of the grill’s gas valves and turned it on, and we never noticed it. I have almost no sense of smell, so little that I often don’t know what something is when I do smell things. Late that evening, I went out into the garage for something, and as soon as I opened the door, an overpowering odor hit me. I didn’t know what it was, so I went and got Terry. At first, she thought something had gotten inside the garage and died, or else something had died outside directly under the air conditioning outlet. I went out and checked, and there was nothing there, but by the time I got back inside, Terry had realized that it was the smell of propane. A lot of propane! We opened the garage door, hoping some spark wouldn’t ignite it in the process, and used a couple of fans to air the garage out. You can bet that propane tank is turned off now!

I had hoped to finish making corrections to the last few chapters of my new book yesterday while Terry went to the grocery store, but a few minutes after she left, the power went out. Well, darn it anyway. I got some of it done, but I will have to finish the rest today before I print it out for her to start editing and proofreading.

In the past, I have mentioned that our neighbor Jesse Bolton is very handy and is always ready to help us out with projects around the house. Jesse is also very creative and loves to work with wood. I showed you this picture of a bowl he made for Terry on his lathe a couple of years ago.

Check out this space-saving wall-mounted desk Jesse made for Jennifer out of old wooden pallets. How cool is that?

Even though my new book is not technically finished, I decided to reward myself with a trip to Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet yesterday. The place was really busy, and as always, the food was delicious. But we had to laugh when Terry opened her fortune cookie. Who knew?

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. Thanks for this one, Jim Harper.

Congratulations Carol Zack, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of Watching Over Me: A Psychological Thriller, the first book in the heart-racing Crime After Crime series by M.K. Farrar and M.A. Comley. Trust me, this British crime writing duo know how to keep readers on the edge of their seats from the first page to the last! We had 32 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

Thought For The Day – Nobody gets me like you get me. There might be something wrong with you.