On a river bank with all my friends
A big old rope tied to a limb
And you’re a big old wuss
If you don’t jump in the water

Brad Paisley, “Water”

Good morning y’all. Turn on some circa 2005 country hits this weekend. If summer has a soundtrack, it’s Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Sugarland and Shania Twain.

https://castironsoul.com/2025/07/17/upside-down-skillet-pizza/

Some of my most fondest summertime memories involve enjoying “lake life” as a teenager on Lake Murray in Columbia, SC. Ironically, it was that same lake made the heat and humidity rise in the area to an unbearable number for most of humanity. But when you’re young, hot weather and long days are more of an invitation than impediment, and we embraced them in full.

July is the month most associated with lightning bugs, drawn out sunsets, cold drinks, and the smell of sunscreen. It’s these last few weeks that tend to separate those who were raised by the heat and those who merely adopted it, and can be the best time of year to gather from 6PM until late because it’s light and warm outside.

So make a pizza with some friends this weekend and enjoy the thick of summer. Everyone knows that come December we will complain about the icy roads, the pipes freezing, and be missing the days of getting sunburnt.

Sweat it out this weekend y’all. Let’s get supper on the table.

Commandment #16 – Don’t use metal tools, it will scrape off the seasoning. Plastics are fine, wood is better.

As always, thanks so much for subscribing to this page, it is truly appreciated. I hope it brings a little joy to your inbox and kitchen table each week.

Y’all be good. – Hendo

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