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.