Summertime

We have been having storms almost everyday now. Last few days thunderstorms in the early mornings. The dry spots are getting wet again. This is our standard Summertime weather pattern. Hot, muggy, rain.

I was thinking that I needed to get some fireworks soon. Opened a box looking for something and discovered some leftover from last year. Fountains. I no longer shoot the mortars and repeaters and stuff because they are just too dangerous. Usually by the time I go to light stuff, been drinking anyways. I do like a firecracker cat tail. Usually keep a few laying around during the rest of the year in case the crows come back. They get to thinking you have a machine gun and they stay away. LOL

With the success I had making watermelon rind pickles, I will have to do up some more. I made pickled eggs for her and she enjoyed those so I will have to make more of those. Had I known pickling was as easy as it is I would have made pickled stuff starting long time ago. Vegetables, fruits, meats, all sorts of things can be pickled.

When I was an intern at the Demaine Funeral Home in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Right across the street from the pub where George Washington used to go to get snockered and escape Martha, and old woman came up to me in the parking lot. She pointed to a window and said the most amazing thing. “I know what you do up there in that room. You pickle people.” I always loved that and used that term for the remainder of my funeral service career. Of course she was as crazy as an outhouse rat, but the line sort of stuck with me.

I have been packing lunches for she and I and things are getting kind of boring. Salad, sandwich, salad, sandwich sort of boring. Even roast beef fails to excite me. I put steelhead trout on my salad yesterday and that was OK I guess. Anyways I bought some food prep containers off of Amazon and been learning about assembling food items that can go into the microwave at work. I want to be able to have some variety. She doesn’t much care and is fine with assorted fruits and some hummus on pita bread. Pickled egg if she can get it. LOL

I am still learning how to tie jigs using my faux E P fibers. They make for an excellent body and can be tied in then trimmed to make the shad belly profile I keep telling myself is important. Currently I am laying down a Mare-A-Boo feather for a back and tail, then some flash for giggles, then the fibrous belly rounds out the jig’s shape. I need more practice with the stuff. Hard to use just the right amount. I get lucky with some and the rest get trimmed and trimmed. I need to get a pair of really sharp scissors for this. I like to trim the sides so as to keep that slender minnow shape when viewed from below.

Did I mention I am still waiting on my new mold ? Fat Guys Fishing Large Eye Minnow Headed thingie thing. I hope to make jigs that even better resemble minnows. I have a pile of silver 3D eyes, but shad have golden eyes. Hmmmmmm…..hate to order even more eyes, but will probably have to to get the match right for the new jig heads.

Gotta go

Is Mare-A-Boo considered horse feathers? Asking for a friend:biggrin

a nice rendition of a golden eyed herring at its best .....:highfive

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MCG1

Is Mare-A-Boo considered horse feathers? Asking for a friend

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Might just be, but I do know Mare-a-Moo is cow feathers. :biggrin

Working with the macrame cording material is interesting. I cut off a hang of parachute cording and like working with it as well.

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It has a slight wrinkle to the fibers which produce a nice fish scale sheen. The trick is unraveling the material. LOL. I learned that you work on short sections and take your time. That stuff is wrapped very tightly.

Barbie's favorite tying material is Mal-A-Boo:biggrin Keep creating!

Great looking tie. Never thought of Para cord

Well my friends it is done. I know you didn’t believe me when I said that I would do it. But it is done.











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Her wallpaper is finally up. We worked together as a team, like one that was destined to be laughed off the field, but in the end it looks pretty good. She doesn’t understand what- “Just worry about aligning the edge” actually means. So there is a small gap between two sections near the bottom. Somewhat noticeable by rude guests perhaps. Other than that there are no wrinkles or air pockets. Everything smooth and nice like a professional had done it for me at the cost of $1,000. Considered by me several times but I always said no, I’ll do it.

The really good news is that we had enough wall paper to do the project. It cost almost a thousand dollars in wallpaper to do it, and the only thing I was able to say to her when we finished was, I am glad I don’t have to do that ever again. I think it looks hideous like something some old witch would have in her lair. It is made in Jolly Ole England and is based on a famous painting from 1890 called Strawberry Thief. Birds stealing berries in an English garden sort of thing. Very famous I assure you. Pricing says so, too.

I made a crock pot of beef stew yesterday, too. I kind of like stuff like that. Definitely a meal t prepare when I am away from the house and can’t sniff at it all day.

I also practiced with my jig tying stuff.


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The lower jig has a string (removed from inside the paracord) holding the blade. I am thinking it will sway about in an erratic fashion and produce something. I am not sure what it will produce, but I thought it was a good idea when I made it up. Maybe look like an injured minnow perhaps.

I am still waiting on my new jig head mold. I wish they would hurry a little. I keep checking that email….keep checking.


I also made pickled eggs yesterday. 18 of them. I followed the Shotgun Red recipe and added beets from a can to the mix. The eggs are soaking up that beet color as we speaketh. I noticed an empty jar on the counter yesterday and realized that she had consumed the last of the first batch I made, without beets. So I figured to make her more. I hope she likes these as there are a lot of them needing to be eaten.

I might try my hand at pickled sausages. Shotgun Red says most folks use hotdogs anyways. She will sneak hotdogs out the secretly sliced corner of the package, and eat them as is, cold and slimy, so she might like them pickled.

There are basically two types of ants in my area. Sugar freaks and acid freaks. She is more like the acid freak ants than the sugar freak ants. She likes things sour, and well pickles are sour. I even bought the expensive apple cider vinegar to make them, thinking that would impress her.

She loves goat cheese but no way we are getting some dumb old goat.


I have about a hundred ready to go jigs now. Some of them look cool to me, but most are plain Jane. When I fashion up some fur and produce a jig it looks great. After I have made a few others it no longer has my eye. Not sure, but maybe I am just fickle. Like a pickle. I suspect they will get donated to the club like all the others do. I am always chasing something new.

I kind of like this one.

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Herl of peacock there you see. The colors shimmer off of a peacock feather and the metallic greens are gorgeous. Ain’t getting no peacock bird neither. They scream and make a huge mess. Require feedings and waterings and such, too. Coyotes would encircle it and fall victim to it’s claws. We had a man locally who had some sort of large ostrich type bird, and it attacked him. It used it’s claws to open up that man from his sternum to his groin. His guts spilled right out and he floppethed onto the dirt floor of that bird’s pen. The medical examiner staffer told me it was hideous. They had to sort of shove the guts back in to move him and all the while that bird was roaming about. Watching them. I figured it kicked like a kangaroo to do that.

The puppy is doing fairly well these days. She climbed onto her mother’s favorite antique sofa and proceeded to chew a whole in the middle of the back. Pulled out some fluffins and romped about while we were at work. I am certain it was great fun, but like most things in life, the really good stuff has consequences. Her consequence is that she is now an outside dog while we are away from the house. I mean this was not her only violation, but it was egregious and I knew something bad had been done when I got out of the truck, Yup, sure enough, she had done something really bad this time. The shrieks were very audible coming from inside the house. The puppy came outside and saw me and ran up as if expecting me to do something about her mother’s affliction. She was inconsolable, sobbing and mad all at the same time. You know what I mean don’t you.

She has attacked several other chairs, various other soft and squiggly items, and once she even ripped down every garment in her mother’s large walk-in closet. Got them all. It is kind of important for me to not be caught snickering, but she is so cute. Her mother bough her an indestructible toy. I laughed so hard when she gave it to her and said- “There, now she won’t chew my stuff anymore”. I am not sure if she grew up with puppies, but if she did, she sure didn’t have one like my little Charli. She shredded that toy first day. No problem. Like it had all be some sort of challenge.

Her mother was concerned about her being outside all day in the heat. This is a dog we are discussing here. Anyways, when I get home and I feed her she goes right back outside to romp and play. She must be part bird dog because she loves chasing birds. She will sit and stare up into the trees, waiting for a bird to fly thru. Then she chases it and barks at it until it disappears. She also does not like armadillos or squirrels, or her mother’s water pistol thingie thing. Man she hates that thing.

I am going to finally try Diamond Clear Coat for dipping my jig heads into. Not sure if it will pan out for me, but I reckon it will be a great way to secure the eyes to my jig heads. Stick them on and dip the whole head and hang to dry. The stuff is said to be delicate and easily ruined and is not cheap. If I don’t care for it I might try to dip in a UV based clear coat. There are folks that build UV boxes to cure their UV stuff, but I just set things on the deck and let the good old Sun cure them up. The problem I have with that stuff is that when it dries, it leaves a hazy appearance on the eyes. Who wants that of their free to them custom jigs ? No one that’s who.

My A/C unit is on it’s last leg. Been so for a year now. Saving up for that little problem. I have to have some A/C or I toss and turn in my own sweat at night and that is not much fun. Like sleeping with someone that pees the bed. You get up but no way you want to lay back down. My wife dated a man that had no heating or A/C and I remind her of how her life really turned around when she met me. I surmised that he also peed the bed, too. Yes, I am just that petty about things. She would ride me like she does that puppy until a new unit was fully installed. I assure you she would. Mud…..that would be my new name.


Not sure what I will be doing today, but hope it turn out to be great fun with lots of excitement and pleasure. I have some tuna steaks in the fridge thawed and ready to get oiled up and slid about on the CharBroiler. Maybe lay some of that on a salad. Yes, with goat cheese. Of course with goat cheese. YUCK !

I kinda like the wallpaper. It would look good in Antebellum homes down on the coast. Hard to beat a Tuna steak grilled up medium. Blackened is mighty fine as well

Wallpaper looks like it should be in a museum of fine art. Nice work! Herl jig is neat, peacock herl is famous for its fish attracting qualities, but i is very fragile. May be a one and done adventure on that one.