Perfect Way to Spring Forward

Folks, as I lay awake and try to capture the ever elusive sandman, I reflect on what was a wonderful weekend.  It all started Friday when Blake, my brother three and a half years my junior, brought up the idea of having a barbecue on Saturday.  To those of you who don't know, in my family, barbecuing is an all day event-  of course, I happily obliged.  Not only was the forecast perfect with highs in the mid-sixties for Saturday, but also the idea of being at the family lake house.

View of Lake Sinclair from the sun porch

After a night out with the guys, Saturday finally arrived.  As Max was looking at rental property with father Ron,  I decided to head out to Kroger and gather some essentials for a day of barbecuing; after all, you can't have just barbecue for dinner.  So, Kroger trip #1 consisted of the necessities:  pimento cheese for a quick lunch, wood, apple juice to keep the barbecue from getting dry on the smoker, apples to make apple butter for a Sunday breakfast treat, and the smooth pilsner with all natural flavors, Natural Light.  Shortly after my arrival, Blake was ready to start cooking.

Blake loading wood into the smoker box

After a little while, Gordon arrived with goodies of his own:  sweet potatoes, sundry items for a blue cheese dipping sauce, chips and salsa for snacks, and a quick lunch for himself.  The intent of the afternoon was to watch one of the split squad Braves teams play while the barbecue smoked on the grill.  Unfortunately, the fine folks of the MLB network did not award us this opportunity, so we watched the Blue Jays take on the Phillies, instead.  

While watching the game, we received notice from Max that he and father Ron were finished with their inspection of rental property and were headed our way.  Seeing Ron is always a pleasure, because of his wonderful personality.  Besides, how many of your friend's parents quote Key & Peele by saying "DO YOU WANT TO GO TO WAR, BALAKAY?" to your little brother?  After Ron left, the decision was made to make Rat Toes and jalapeno poppers in addition to our other items-  commence Kroger trip #2.

Prepping of Rat Toes, poppers, and sweet potato fries.  

Later on, friend and volunteer fireman, CJ, came out to assist in the enjoying the festivities.  The five of us enjoyed a wonderful meal while watching the classic Martin Scorsese film, "Goodfellas".  

Rat Toes, sweet potato fries, poppers, blue cheese dipping sauce, 

green beans, shells n' cheese, and the smooth pilsner with all natural flavors

Unfortunately, due to a faulty meat thermometer, the barbecue wouldn't be ready until we were all sufficiently full.  No worries, we enjoyed a wonderful barbecue lunch Sunday afternoon.  Apple butter and pimento cheese were also used to make a stellar bbq taco that was slap your mama good!

Making apple butter

Follow me on Instagram at phspence3 for photos and much more.

What Davis Love, III and I Have in Common

Above:  Davis Love, III with assorted cast iron cookware.  Photo compliments of Garden & Gun.

While thumbing through one of my favorite magazines, Garden & Gun, I ran across an article about PGA Tour golfer, Davis Love, III.  Whether on the stove or over open fire, I have long been a fan of cast iron cookware.  Little did I know, Mr. Love, III is too!  As a matter of fact, aside from love of cast iron, Davis and I have a lot in common.  First, we both boast the suffix, III, in our names.  Secondly, we're both avid golfers.  Lastly, with Love having a house on St. Simons, I'm sure has indulged in many a cold beverage at Brogen's, just as I have. 

The way I see it, all four of our commonalities can easily be summed up with one word:  Tradition.  I believe that tradition is instilled in all Southern gentlemen from a very early age.  As both of our grandmothers did, Love and I both prefer cast iron cooking to most any type of food preparation.  Having skillets dating back to the 1930's and 1940's, I find it particularly interesting to know someone may have fried bacon in this skillet 70 years ago, just as I am in 2014. 

Many who know me understand that I often attempt to link the past with the present.  Cooking from cast iron while listening to old 33 1/3 RPM vinyl albums isn't a particularly uncommon night at my house.  I find that the crackle and pop from both the skillet and the records provides a nostalgic link to yesteryear.  

The search for different pieces of cast iron cookware is a thrill in and of itself.  I've scoured through dozens of antique and junk stores, trying to find another piece for my collection.  My goal is to have a fairly expansive cast iron collection one day.  So, if you never know what to get me for Christmas or my birthday (hint, hint), I'll gladly accept an old skillet, waffle iron, or corn stick pan, even if I already have a couple in stock.  By the way, I found one last thing Love and I have in common...

Davis Love, III said, "You can cook on a pan that someone used in 1925.  I think that's really cool."  

So do I, Davis, so do I.    

check out the original Garden and Gun article HERE

Like a Good Neighbor...

Big changes are coming, folks, and these changes are going to be great!  Over the past couple of months, I have interviewed, been offered, and accepted an agent aspirant position at Karen Rowell's State Farm agency, right here in the Old Capital!  I've been keeping my eye out for this position for several months now.  Finally, the time was right, so I took a shot at the opportunity.  One thing I've learned while holding different jobs through the years is the only person who will help you reach your next opportunity is you.  If you don't care to better yourself, no one will do it for you.

As for my position at The Cottages, my successor has already been named.  My residents are sad to see me go, but they understand that the job change is purely a career move.  I start work at State Farm in June, but before I start, I have to obtain a couple of insurance licenses.  I'm currently working on both of those, and I should be finished with the coursework and exams in a few weeks.  As an agent aspirant, I'll be selling State Farm insurance, banking services, etc. for three years; meanwhile, I'll be trained on the different aspects of being a State Farm agent.  Assuming all goes well, I'll be prepared to become a State Farm agent and will have my own agency somewhere in the state of 

This is a dream come true, indeed, and I'll be sure to keep y'all posted.  

Joining the #Instagram Craze

Folks, I know it's been a minute since my last post, but good things come to those who wait...or something like that.  Anyways, I've rejoined the Instagram world!  With the amount of going and doing I involve myself with, it only makes sense to share it with the rest of the world.  So follow me at @phspence3!

For a preview of my Instagram account, I've gotten savvy enough to post a slideshow of my Instagram photos on my sidebar.  Hope y'all enjoy!

No One Knows What Goes On Behind Closed Doors

Last night, a friend and I were at one of the local watering holes in Milledgeville, Georgia's Antebellum Capital.  As we sat and enjoyed our cold beverages, a woman, who Lewis Grizzard would describe as having "obvious quality", was enjoying a cold beverage with her girlfriends.  Being open mic night at this particular establishment, we patrons were dealt one card short of a straight flush.  As the night went on and different groups performed, my friend and I noticed a strange looking boy with a mohawk approach the woman of "obvious quality".  Now, I don't know which number this particular establishment was in her queue of watering holes for the night, but she and the strange boy with a mohawk got to talking.

My friend remarked, "Would you look at that?  What is he doing talking to her?!"  Minutes later, the duo on stage who could've been stand ins for Cheech and Chong finished their terrible hip-hop act.  Well, wouldn't you know it?  Our pal with the mohawk took the stage.  Thusly, he began his rap performance.  While her new friend was on stage, the woman with "obvious quality" had moved to the bar area.  At one point during his performance, we heard her tell some girlfriends, "He's soooooo sexy!"

Now, I've never considered myself a ladies man or anything of the nature, but I wouldn't think that a rap performance would lure in a woman like this.  My friend agreed.  He said, "What happened to songs like 'Behind Closed Doors' by Charlie Rich, The Silver Fox, being the best way to woo a woman?"  We couldn't come up with any other answer than that of popular music going to hell in a handbasket.  But I digress...

My friend and I were beside ourselves.  How could this woman of "obvious quality" be so attracted to this mohawk adorned boy?  After a few more cold beverages and minutes of pondering, we still couldn't come up with an explanation.  Finally I asked her, "Ma'am, I couldn't help but overhear you a minute ago, but my friend and I were wondering why it is that you're so attracted to that boy with the mohawk?"  The answer came long before she could ever make one up.  As she turned my way, I could see it in her eyes that she probably wouldn't remember this night.  What a shame.

After explaining the recent discovery to my friend, we sat and wondered what the scenario would be later that night for the woman and her mohawked boy toy.  I asked my friend, "When they're together later tonight and she asks him to sing to her, do you think he'll softly sputter out some rhymes from his rap music?"  My friend shrugged and said, "Unfortunately so, but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors."



 

Keep Cool, Even When It's Freezing

Days like today are the ones where I sit back and reflect on the days before and think, "How is it only Thursday?"  Everyone in the Southeast knows how cold the past couple nights have been.  Milledgeville experienced lows in the teens with wind chills in the single digits.  Being a property manager, this causes grave concern regarding water issues.  Having been a community manager for just over a year, the potential of frozen and busted pipes could very well have been my biggest test thus far.

Tuesday morning began with a 7:45 A.M. phone call from a resident.  "Philip," she said in her deep, southern drawl, "Sorry to bother you this early, but I have absolutely no hot water in my house.  The cold water works just fine, but I don't have any hot water."  I replied, "I'll call maintenance and have them take a look."  Now, knowing full well there wasn't anything I or maintenance could do about her situation, I still had to appease her by making the effort.  You see, when pipes freeze, there generally isn't anything you can do about it until they thaw out.  For those of you wishing to get technical, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that either I or maintenance was getting up in her attic with a torch to thaw out her pipes.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only call Tuesday.  By 9 A.M., I had received another 6 calls or so.  By 11, that number was probably closer to 50.  Sometimes you have to handle the things out of your control the best you can.  Keep a positive attitude, instruct those in distress how to best handle the situation, and make sure they know the signs of busted pipes.  Fortunately, a busted pipe has yet to be reported.    

Bundle Up, Folks. This One's Gonna Sting

Tonight, Florida State and Auburn will play for the last (thank God) BCS National Championship in Pasadena, California.  Although the weather at kickoff will be around 70 degrees in Pasadena, here in the middle of the Peach State, it will be a brisk 24 degrees.  Now, you know and I know that any temperature under 40 degrees feels colder than an eskimo's outhouse to us Georgians.  It's simply unacceptable.  Before I read the forecast, I had planned on grilling burgers and having a cookout.  But having a cookout in 20 degree weather is for crazy people.  Those folks up in Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota can have this weather.  The only good thing is the sun is finally shining again.  Had it been cold and wet today, I would've used my first personal day of the year.

Getting back to the game, here.  Lots of people are torn about who to pull for during tonight's contest.  The Seminoles have been rockin' 'n rollin' since week one this year.  After an undefeated season, their closest point margin was 14.  On the other hand, many are wondering if tonight will be the last night the lucky horseshoe resides in Auburn's hindquarters-- a home for the horseshoe since October of the 2013 season.  My belief is Florida State will be serving the said horseshoe an eviction notice, and thusly replacing it with a foot.