There's a Spot That Ever Calls...

Can you feel it? The chills and sheer excitement of football season? I sure can!  We started the grand season of football last night like we always do by having a little get together with tailgate food, refreshing beverages, and good friends.  Like always, it was a good ole time.  We provided boneless buffalo wings and artichoke bread.  Others brought spicy pretzels (I'm sharing the recipe below), redneck caviar, tomato bacon biscuits (yum-yum), and blondie brownies.  We tuned in to the Southern Miss/South Carolina game which didn't have the outcome we had hoped (USC won 41-13) but we still had a blast talking about the upcoming season.

Spicy Pretzels
1 cup vegetable oil
1 package dry ranch dressing
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bag (20 oz size) round mini pretzels

 Directions:

Mix together all ingredients except pretzels. Place pretzels in large roasting pan such as used to roast a turkey. Pour mixture over pretzels, stirring very well to coat completely. Bake uncovered at 200 degrees for 2 hrs. stirring well every 20 min.

In just a few short hours, we will be heading to one of our most beloved places, Oxford.  I am almost too giddy to even type this post, hah.  We have our cooler packed and a huge tubberware bin full of our Grove supplies.  We are playing Jacksonville State and they are the gamecocks so naturally we will be serving up chicken dishes at our tent.  There will be a smorgasboard of yummy food to devour tomorrow.  Ok, I feel like all I have blogged about in this post is food so I'll move on. Oh the Grove, How do I love thee.  I'm sure plenty of people think Ole Miss folks are crazy for cherishing tailgating like we do. It's been said many times, but there really is no other place to experience a finer tailgate.  It sounds silly but there are many times on Saturdays in the Fall that I experience goosebumps in the Grove.  Frank Everett said, “There is a valid distinction between The University and Ole Miss even though the separate threads are closely interwoven. The University is buildings, trees and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion and personality. One is physical, and the other is spiritual. One is tangible and the other intangible. The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The University gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.” and it couldn't have been said any better.  There is a big ole spot in my heart for Ole Miss.  I had some of the best times of my life there. I made life-long friends and I even found my honey there, and so yes that little spot continues to grow.


So  tomorrow, when I am seeing old friends and watching our hard-working football players making their way down the Walk of Champions,  I will count my blessings and thank God for making me a Rebel.

Hotty Toddy Y'all!