merry christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Biltmore House

In Asheville, NC there is a monstrous house of stone called the Biltmore Estate. The once home of George Vanderbilt was built in 6 years along with a town in which to support his realm. Anyway I took the wife for the Christmas candle light tour of the house this past Sunday and it rocked hardcore we go to the estate yearly but this was the first candle light tour for us. The home if it can be called that was a product of the Gilded age of America when only a very microscopic portion of the population controlled all of the wealth. I do love the house and the architecture, skilled labour that went into it and the fact that none of his descendants can afford to live in it hence the tourist spot. this was only one of the homes Mr. Vanderbilt owned and in its restoration came the birth of new technology for restoration projects as Biltmore restorers and their tech are used around the world for restoration projects. OK i dropped a little knowledge on you now f-off i missed a day of trout fishing for this but there are great fishing spots in the area of the house so blaaaaa i always carry a rod....

just in case anyone is actually reading or cares here are before and after pictures of my living room. bought this house one year ago and trying to remodel without a home loan and doing all the labor ourselves. me and the wife have been working on one project after another to bring the house up to the level of a home. it was bought for a steal and by doing the projects ourselves it is coming along slowly but nicely and on the cheap, by cheap i am not talking about the craftsmanship but the price tag of the projects. so far in the first year we have redone the laundry room (cut out floors and replaced warped joists replaced all from floor to ceiling for $500), replaced roof shingles (hired a contractor for roof i hate roofing), replaced all windows (total cost $1400), and a lot of work on the property(it is not there yet but one day it will look great). my next project is to extend the Kitchen hardwoods (i installed) into the hallway and on into the bedrooms. soon crown molding will be installed in the living room along with bamboo hardwoods with a greenish tint. if you are hiring a contractor to do any job do alot of research get as many free estimates as possible and take the time to see a few of the contractors actual finished projects before hiring anyone.

3 kings

Three kings are in a row, caught these baby's 20+miles off shore out of Carolina Beach,NC 3 weeks ago. also caught Grouper, snapper, and Shark yummy shark fillets are great when soaked in lemon juice for awhile. had a great time except for the motion of the ocean was in overdrive. 3-7 foot seas at times was a bit tough for a small 6 man charter at time 35 miles offshore but the rewards were great and i as per usual did not get sick although two others were blowing chunks, one Guy for the entire 18 hour trip. I love the streams and rivers of the North Carolina mountains but the sea is a great place to visit a couple of times per year to harvest its bounty and replenish the freezer for the fish fry/ cook outs that enable alot of beer and BS fishing stories to be told by all. OK most of the time (98.6%) catch and release but every now and again it is good to eat those we catch for well the taste is far better than that of a farm raised mechanically packaged pre-made meal at outback. anyway here are three of the Kings i caught for you to see and enjoy as i have already enjoyed them steaked and grilled.

stone mtn

fishing stone mountain today, man was it fn cold in the water. the wifey told me to wear extra socks but being a man had to go out with only a pair of socks and non insulated waders a bad choice for me. caught 7 trouts one brown , one brook, and 5 rainbows 2 on the fly 5 on spinner before my feet were too numb to feel and i could not tell if the line was in my fingers. note to self, self buy fn cold weather gear and stop being so fn cheap. Scott brought in 9 all on a variety of spinners, i think him seeing me fail at the fly thing has kept him away so far. i did catch 2 on the fly but the two were either suicidal or just plain retarded not sure at the moment which. ok ,ok when spinning i remove the barbs and haven't killed one in about 8 months that has seen off hand. the key seems to be in setting the hook before the fn thing swallows it, pretty easy 99% of the time unless you are one of those that sets to soon or waits until the fish has swallowed then moved halfway down stream before you set the damn hook. the fly thing is great until a snag then i go atomic and then it is like an fn hurricane of f-ups until i get out the spinner and calm down before breaking the rod and all things around it. need training not just youtube videos i guess, who knows.

Helton Creek

it was a cool Saturday morning the rain was like a foggy mist hanging low and clinging to everything like a mass of ethereal mana. Helton creek was the stream of the day and only one other pair could be seen braving this gloomy dismal offering of a day. many a warning of the bone numbing weather was bestowed while planning this weekend trip as the work week rolled by. so a moment was taken to contemplate the day ahead as the waders were slide on and lines were checked before entering the chilly waters of helton. today would be spinners a white mepps single hook with a nice silver blade to be exact a weapon proven to overcome my prey without doing any serious damage to its structure. trout are a warrior breed thriving in cold foamy chop between rocks and roots carving out a life of opportunistic yet cautious feeding. but this day would find skill over nature a true triumph of man as one trout after another scummed to mans offerings before being released to learn and fight another day. in all 16 trout with representatives from all three local species the brook, the brown and the rainbow were taken in combat but not without a warriors struggle til the end and beyond. homage and a tribute was paid to each of these captured but not broken creatures of the stream before they were released with care and ease in hopes that each will become a larger, stronger and smarter prey for a future battle upon the stream.

is anyone up for???

I have since April caught a trophy size trout for all 3 trout species in good old North Carolina. this gives me great joy and hours of not watching television or cleaning my guns.
Saturday i attended two parties and did not drink during either but did provide some good ole mountain dew for both events. the second event was the best by far having given a quart jar to my friend and host, he at once began to guzzle the damn thing and get down right belligerent with everyone except me. his wife is still not talking to me. anyway he was a blizzard of honesty and made me laugh harder than i have in a long time. (i want to kick everyone heres ass he said to me then tired for awhile but he was unable to stand properly, this was a relief to all those who had not already left for fear of events to come). i will not bore you with details but when he called me Monday along with everyone else that had attended his annual event to apologize for his behavior he was still hungover. i know i kknow this post has no real content but what the hell i just wanted to type.

Brave New World Of ???????

woke up this morning to take fish on the fly, or spinner whichever works best. just so happens the spinner produced more fish than the ole fly rod but the fly rod gives a bit more of a thrill when a nice 12" plus Rainbow trout takes the nymph. nothing can compare to a nice mountain stream on any day the trout are biting. 7 trout all over 12" thought for a split second hey this looks like food and the fight was on. (all fish were release unharmed save a nasty hook hole somewhere around their mouths). it may seem cruel to fish and then release but trout learn quick what not to do, so next time a fisherman will have to use a different lure and approach to catch these fish again. there was a happy mid-sized raccoon walking about the banks of the trout stream quizzically looking in my direction to see if dangers was about and deciding he had no worries stayed around a bit to watch a strange man waving a stick at some fish before departing for the rest of his journey for the day. for some reason i am unable to insert a picture for today's post so maybe i will edit later.

the freezer is almost empty of yummy and delicious fisihies from the sea. time again to venture out upon the ocean towards deep water where no cities can be seen all with the hope of restocking the freezer. soon, soon, soon i say the salt will sting my eyes and make bitter my tongue as fish after fish becomes my prize.

only 3 more weeks until we set sail for a real family event, well all family except for the alcoholic from the center that will replace my alcoholic uncle who is now off the wagon and unfit for the sea. my good ole uncle always throwing a curve into the mix, he is the alcoholic with the stack-o-dui's and i get stuck with a buddy of his on a boat for 18 hours without a beer. see dad says we should respect others and since the guy is a recovering alcohol i should not drink while the drunk is on the boat. i say leave the drunk behind so i can drink , does this make since.

he--multi dui, loser, cant control drinking, lost wife, kids, house.

me- drink responsibly, no drink and drink, 3 drink max, no dui(never drink and drive).

so why am i the one being punished here?

ok i know ahhd and all plus the can't put sentences together properly thing is a bad way to draw readers. run on run on fragment is my game.

anyway i do this for me to keep my fingers happy, and my mind.

and by the way i eat every damnable one of those fish. yummy.

Dreams of other things

Today i built a new drawer for the kitchen because the old one was shit. Now finding it more durable and sturdy than the other drawers one must consider building all new drawers for the kitchen. Question to myself, self, is it worth the time and effort? not sure i must reply to myself with a brief pause before deciding it must be done at any cost or that little space in the back of the ole brain will niggle at me until it is done.
Also been spending alot of time cleaning up this half acre peice of heaven which means alot of time spent with one of the worlds greatest tools. Yes i am talking of the wonderful multipurpose invention known as a Chainsaw. i have even used it to open a can of beer, no i do not condone the use of a chainsaw while drinking but what the hell one needs liquid refreshment whilst carving up the landscape on a sunny septmber afternoon. the added bonus of visibly slinging about a chainsaw while having a cold one is that the neighborhood busy bodies tend to not bother you during the course of your work. fewer distractions leads to fewer mistakes one must rationalize.
now you can not over indulge with the liquid bliss while using the chainsaw or a limb of the wrong sort may be detattched by means of an accident. so please be careful operating anything that can remove body parts and enjoying a nice warm beer.