Rum and Coke and Porch Swings

The wind has been honking here for the last week. From the freakin' north also making it chilly as hell. It finally laid down a bit yesterday and the sun came out and for a brief time it was actually warm. One thing I always look forward to with the warmer weather is being able to sit outside on the porch swing. We have a great screened-in back porch that we added on to the house in October 2000-15 by 40 feet with a great view-at high tide you can see the waters of Russell's Creek if you look close enough. One of the first things I did when we moved into our house just over 5 years ago was to get a porch swing. I bought a Pawley's Island double rope swing from a local merchant and brought it home to hang. Before the porch was extended to its present size and I had room to hang it so I could look straight out into the yard, I was forced to hang it in a way that made you swing parallel to the house, if that makes any sense. The house has vinyl siding and of course, the under part of the roof is vinyl soffit, covering the roof structure. I poked and prodded the soffit to try and locate the 2 x 10 joists into which to drill a hole to insert the large screws that hold the swing securely. I had a hard time because I didn't know if the joists ran parallel or perpendicular to the house. After about 30 minutes of poking around with an awl, I hit a hard spot that I took to be the joist. I drilled 2 holes through the soffit into the wood, screwed in the swing hangers, hung the swing and started swinging. Sweet! I used it on a daily basis for about two weeks. One weekend, some of my former co-workers came to visit and I was so proud to show off our beautiful new home. We were hanging out on the porch and I was in the swing. One of my buddies sat down beside me and after about 10 seconds, the whole freakin' thing crashes to the ground, taking down with it all the soffit from the underside of the roof. About 10 pounds of insulation came spilling down on us and on the porch. It looked like Big Bird had exploded. Now the rear of my new, lovely home had all the glamour of a singlewide in disrepair-exposed beams, yellow shit everywhere and a rope swing laying upside down on the porch. At least now I knew which way the joists ran.
We just bought a new swing. The rope swing had started to show its age and the rope had some green mildew spots plus the swing was hard on the ass. The new one is made of that fake wicker and has a comfy cushion. Even with the sucky cold weather, I've been out on it-more than once with a parka and a toboggan (that's a piece of headgear for all you yankees, not a sled). A couple of years back I added some killer stereo speakers to the porch. Crank it up, pour a drink or grab a beer and swing.
For me the true harbinger of warm weather is when I get a craving for Cruzan rum and diet coke in a large glass of crushed ice. In the cooler months, my liquor of choice is bourbon whisky-either Maker's Mark if I'm feeling flush or Jack Daniels Green label if I'm not. I like to sip it, letting that smoky flavor roll around on my tongue. But when the days get warm, nothing is better than a big rum and coke, some great tunes cranked up and my ass on the swing. Today looks like it might be "opening day" of the rum and coke season.