The Beginning:

    Why did we want to do this?

Good question; complex answer.  At one level, we simply love to entertain friends and family, and this extends our ability to do that.  At a much deeper level, we have been given a wonderful gift (thus the name), and we want to share it, use it well, and let others enjoy it also.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."-- Luke 12:48

  And it doesn't hurt that Del used to be a caterer and Diane loves decorating and making people feel welcome.  We host several events of 50-75 people each year for the church where we serve as well as numerous smaller groups.

So, given the California weather, the amazing view, and our desire to do more of all of that, we decided an outdoor kitchen and entertaining area was the next step.  We can comfortably handle about 50 people in the house for informal buffet meals, but this should allow us to comfortably take that up to at least a hundred.  At the same time, it's an area that's also comfortable for a few couples to enjoy some pizza, a little BBQ, and maybe some fresh grilled veggies on a fall evening.