Boy...I have been slow about keeping my BBQ friends up to date on what is going on in our lives. Not much BBQ, but just wait...Brian is firing up the cookers this weekend. I really thought that The BBQ Guy had totally worn me out on eating BBQ for life, but it has been January since I have eaten any bbq he has cooked and I am ready.

Since we left Florida three years ago they’ve apparently changed the Health Department regulations for vending bbq because on the weekends in the Tampa area there’s bbq smoke on almost every corner!! I have seen everything from a man with a van older than me and in worse shape with a little Brinkman smoker and an igloo; to a 20-foot professional vending trailer with what looks like a flat screen TV hanging from the vending window. Both had people in line for the Que.

I haven’t tried any of those corner joints, but Brian did take me to a local place that people from his work like. In the world of Commercial BBQ it was fine, but I am a girl who likes her BBQ good enough to eat without sauce and this place was all sauce. It was like Sloppy-Joe-messy-sauce. And there was a long line out the door into the parking lot, which tells me one of two things. 1) I am no judge of good BBQ, or 2) that most of the population doesn’t know exceptional BBQ when taste it. Needless to say I have once again sworn off anyone’s Que but my husband’s and Que from a few of our BBQ friends.

We are settled in our house and have already determined we need a larger garage for all our BBQ accessories. As I take my afternoon walks around the neighborhood I look in people’s garages and what do I see? Tools, lawn equipment, antique cars, but so far I have the only one that could double as a kitchen!!! Well, technically not yet, but The BBQ Guy has some ideas as always. He is the idea man. Disclaimer: I only look in ones that are already open because I am not a Peeping Tom.

Our biggest dilemma so far upon our return to Florida is the BBQ trailer. Right now it is at its’ grandparent’s farm in Missouri. With the HOA rules everywhere there seems to be a shortage of places to park trailers, so we are on waiting lists hoping for the trailer to find a new storage home. I have had friends who put their kids on wait lists for daycare and preschool, but I am the first one in my crowd to put their trailer on a wait list.

We went to register the poor trailer today and that created a whole set of issues itself.

Brian went to bed last night talking about Spice Wine Cookers because they have a pull behind model that we saw at a contest in Michigan. That’s just what I needed...for him to get a reason to put a new cooker on his wish list and in the same breath evict my Explorer from the garage!!!

Looks like it will be fall before we do any competitions, but Brian plans on doing some judging because he can’t stay away from anything related to his favorite subject matter.

To all our friends in the North--I hope your spring starts soon. I can see from the weather channel that you guys have had it rough the last few weeks. Although I miss the friends we made there, I don’t miss the snow or the snow blower!!