2006 Hyundai Elantra

With the Vibe gone. The plan was to assume my Dad’s old car. He had a lot of cars throughout his life. Originally we were going to push the Vibe and see how long it would last but that didn’t make much sense. The Elantra had at least 260,000 less km on it and my Mom preferred the car go to family. So… it really was the perfect scenario. I drove it home on Saturday in a horrible rain storm. The tires are nearing the end of their tread so I drove home very conservatively. Still… I found the car comfortable and handled quite well. It isn’t a power house but felt a little peppier than the Vibe. I expect it will be dependable transportation for awhile. Once again a thank you to my Mom, as the car really helps us out. While the car itself is wonderful… changing it over to us and the bureaucratic run around required to do so has been pretty frustrating. We thought we were prepared but missed the words sworn statement on one of the required documents. Well… it was just our luck that the woman that does the sworn statements was sick the day we went to Service Ontario. No problem. We were told the office in Fonthill was open to 1. So we boot it over there and arrive just after twelve WHEN THEY CLOSED. Sigh. So we tried calling Niagara Falls. No answer. We figured we try it. It was open but no one to take the sworn statements. The clerk was still pretty helpful and we were told we could submit separate sworn statements. Basically this not being done is preventing us from using our own plates on the car. I can see this dragging on for some time. Blah.

We spent most of Sunday chilling at bdot’s sister. We were invited over to help move a massive desk. They fed us well and we caught up on geeky gadgets and what is good to watch. We might get a chromecast. It seems like a useful HDMI based way to easily stream content. It was a relaxing afternoon surprisingly the nephews were pretty quiet.

Update!

Mmmm burgers.

Since we moved in, many years ago, we have used natural gas to BBQ with. Last week we bought a traditional charcoal BBQ. Yesterday I BBQed homemade burgers for the first time. I have a lot to learn about cooking with charcoal. That said… we both thought the burgers tasted noticeable more flavourful than they were on the natural gas BBQ. I should staple this incredible list of BBQing tips somewhere near the BBQ until it is automatic. Still… yummy. Sure there is the slight smoked taste…but I also felt the taste of the meat and seasonings was much more prominent too.

As for the list…. My reminders:
1) I’d never use lighter fluid…. ever.
2) Spread coals AFTER they are fully gray. Ok. Busted.
3) Pre-heat grill for 10m. Yes.
4) Clean the grill after it has preheated… Forgot – was so hungry.
5) Ok here. I don’t burn the meat with too much direct heat.
6) Yeah I futz a bit…
7) See #5
8) Yes vent control is certainly an art. I’ve had hit and miss results so far.
9) Apply BBQ sauce final 5-10m of cooking. Only once. Hmm.
10) Agreed. Cooking multiple things is always a gong show.
11) Don’t use a thermometer.