Ok now that I have had a few hours of sleep I can actually type something.
I was so dissappointed to be so sick this past weekend. Not for the scores or for the standings but certainly because there were so many bbq teams I wanted to get around and talk to. It just didn't happen. I didn't even get my midnight chat with Wittdog. :-(
Wittdog said it probably the best when he saw me on Friday that I looked like i usally do come Saturday ragged worn down bad mascara etc LOL - except it was Friday and I was just getting there. It took a lot of drugs to get me standing straight up on Friday to make the trip. It was still worth it for sure. Thanks to Lynn for even replenishing my supply of non drowsy cold n flu pills.
I got some really incredible surprises on Friday. The first being my beloved teammates John and Louisa showed up having worked some last minute miracles with their respective bosses to accomodate them making the trip. That truly was the best for us. Being together at least one more comp before the Jack was incredible. I will always say that I think I have the best team on the planet . Then another terrific surprise my dear friends Brian & Barb from Strodes BBQ showing up. That was great too then I got a really nice present from the entire BIG Sids bbq team - a bottle of single barrel Jack signed by the entire crew there to wish us luck. I also got to give a hug to a terrific guy John Pen. It was great to see him still cute as always. Another cool surprise was Smoking in the Igloos Adrian who gave me a foot massager to take home and use. My feet are always killing me come Saturday night. You know once again it just goes to show you that the BBQ community is truly one of the kindest groups of people in the world IMHO.
We had a nice group for the potluck. The food was amazing for sure. Lots of wonderful meats salmon from Griff, Mac n cheese, sausages homemade from Witt, a wickedly sinful bread pudding from Double D's,fresh salsa and a terrifc corn pudding from habenero Hog, pork shanks from bruce, sausages from Smoked Meats, a HUGE seafood paella from Grillin for a cure, Oasis made some BBQ nachos with all the trimmings, Skewered bacon jerk chicken from Oompappy etc etc. I am sure I am missing some stuff but it was all good. I wish I could have kept what I ate down. Vlad did his best as always to take care of me. Makes me realize how lucky I am to have such a caring thoughtful husband.
Great to see some friends though- Meeting Griff and his wife was just great. What a lovely couple as well as John (Unity) and his wife. I got some really lovely compliments from John and they meant a lot to me thank you. Such wonderful people. Simcoe County SMokers showed up on Saturday and provided a lot of comedic relief. (ask them how long it takes to go through the corn maze LOL-thought we were going to have to send in a search and rescue team) Plus the boys from Sids John and Woody - just adore those guys. Steve from Regal BBQ popped by for a chat and I was thrilled for his RGC. Earlier this year Steve was my neighbour at another comp. He is a great guy with a terrific family. Oasis bbq was right next to us and they made great neighbours at this comp. Seeing Rag's new chicken cooker and Dallas's geer pit made me drool a lot for sure. Had a good conversation with Mark D. from alabama (QN) he is a true gentleman of BBQ for sure.
Overall I had a rough time keeping focused on the meats it was not a good cook for me at all. Missed doing some of my regular things. Nothing seemed to be going right other than dessert and our sidedish which Louisa cooked most of thank goodness. I am positive I would not have gotten either sidedish or dessert done without Louisa and John.
I got a couple hours of rest on Friday night an felt pretty good on Saturday morning - had a couple of PB&J sammies that mostly stayed down. Michelle from Lunchmeat was kind enough to provide me coffee to help me keep going. Really nice lady. Would have like to spend more time talking with her and the team. My ribs were crap and I had a hard time picking out what to even put in the box. Griff watched me trying to make my selections and I did what I could with what I had. The same for pork (overcooked mushy ugh) and chicken (still hate it) . Ugh. Just not good at all.
I was thrilled to see many of my friends take walks. I was even more thrilled though for the Swine Syndicate (still the cutest little men on the BBQ circuit) for the 1st in dessert. Got a few comments that no one had ever seen me so quiet at an awards ceremony. Usually i am the one screaming and hollering at the awrds. LOL not this time.
I have to also add that if it wasn't for Louisa and John there Vlado would have had to pack up everything himself. I had nothing left in me. They did all of the work on Saturday. I am the luckiest Pit boss to have this type of team. They just went at it and got everything done before the awards.
As soon as the awards were over we didn't stay to chat like we normally like to do. I had to get back to the hotel and lay down before I passed out.
Wish I could have said good bye to a few other people but I got something really important a couple of hugs from two little BBQ men to wish me luck. That was great.