Tag Archives: Travel

Craft Season is Here!

05 Monday Oct 2026

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Boy Scouts, Family, Kayaking, Life, Photography, Uncategorized, Weather

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Well, craft season has officially arrived.

Actually, I probably should have started working on my crafts long ago, but one small problem has kept me from doing so—the weather.

It has just been too darn hot.

My garage is still packed to the brim, which means I have to drag my woodworking equipment outside whenever I want to make anything. Unfortunately, the early morning sun sits directly on that side of the house, and it doesn’t take long before my little outdoor workshop starts feeling more like a convection oven.

There’s only so much woodworking you can do when you’re sweating before you even turn the tools on.

Thankfully, the temperatures have finally become tolerable over the last few days, so I’ve been able to get back to making things.

Right now, I’m working on some Christmas lanterns. I have two designs that I’m making, with more designs hopefully coming soon. The first is an angel and the second is a Christmas tree.

I decided to put a post on Facebook for family and friends just to see if there would be any interest in them.

Apparently, there was.

I had seven orders within the first hour after posting them.

I’m not going to lie—that got my attention.

Each lantern takes about 45 minutes to make, and that includes using my plunge router to cut the designs into the wood. I really like the way they are turning out, and it’s always nice when something you make yourself actually looks like something you would be willing to buy.

I’ve also been spending some time working on another project—a cargo trailer.

I bought the trailer primarily to store all my craft-show supplies. At the last couple of shows, I had my truck packed so full that I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have room for myself.

The back of the truck was full.

The back seat was full.

And, yes, I even had stuff in the front seat.

At that point, I was basically driving around in a mobile craft store with a steering wheel.

Loading and unloading everything after every show had also gotten old. So when a friend of mine offered me his cargo trailer, I decided it was time to make a change.

It’s actually an old Boy Scout trailer. He is no longer involved with Scouts and had no real use for it anymore. He knew I had been talking about buying a cargo trailer, so he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

I did have to dip into my kayak money to buy it.

But that’s okay.

I had to remind myself that I needed a cargo trailer much more than I needed another kayak.

That doesn’t mean I won’t eventually get another kayak. It just means I have temporarily convinced myself that I made the responsible decision.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

The trailer needs a little work, especially the lights. I spent some time redoing the wiring and replacing a few bulbs. I still have a couple of lights to repair, but at least the brake lights work now.

That seems like a pretty important feature to have on a trailer.

The roof also needs a little loving care. The joints need resealing, and the roof needs another coat of paint. It isn’t leaking right now, but who knows how long that will last. I’d rather take care of it now than wait until I have a cargo trailer full of Christmas crafts and discover that I’ve accidentally purchased a very large indoor swimming pool.

Most of what I’ve made so far fits neatly into plastic tubs, which will make loading the trailer much easier. I also have several tables, a canopy, and a bunch of signs that will fit nicely inside.

Right now, all my creations are sitting in my garage taking up some much-needed space. Moving all those tubs into the cargo trailer will not only make getting ready for craft shows much easier, but it should also make my garage look a whole lot nicer.

And believe me, my garage could use all the help it can get.

The goal is to get everything organized in the trailer, load it up, and leave it there.

Then, when it’s time for a craft show, I won’t have to spend half a day playing Tetris with my truck.

I can just hook up the trailer and go.

There’s still plenty of work to do before the craft-show season really gets rolling, but at least I’m able to make things.

And honestly, after spending most of the summer trying not to melt in my own garage, it feels pretty good to be making sawdust again.

Now if I can just keep the weather cooperating, keep the orders coming, and keep myself from spending the trailer money on another kayak, I might actually be ready for craft season.

Trying a New Approach at Fishing

28 Monday Sep 2026

Posted by in Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Uncategorized

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I had a lengthy text conversation with one of my fishing buddies recently. He’s the one who seems to average about 10 fish every time he goes fishing.

I, on the other hand, average around two.

So naturally, I listen very carefully when he starts talking about fishing.

He has told me about a couple of plastic worms that he uses. In fact, he has made some personal modifications to one of them. He’s even told me exactly what he has done and has given me a couple to try.

I’ve caught most of my fish on “his” worm.

That should probably tell you something.

I’ve been fishing since I was a little kid. My dad would take me to my granddad’s pond, where we fished for catfish. Our fishing technique was pretty advanced back then. We put some bait on a hook, attached a bobber to the line, and threw it in the water.

When the bobber went under, I pulled on the line.

And if everything went according to plan, I caught a catfish.

Pretty complicated stuff.

I didn’t start fishing for bass until I was an adult. The company I worked for had an annual fishing tournament on Good Friday, and I was fortunate enough to fish with several different people who had their own boats.

Eventually, I had the opportunity to buy my own boat. I purchased a 16-foot fish-and-ski with a 90-horsepower motor. I kept that boat for several years until the cost of maintaining it started becoming more than I wanted to spend. Eventually, I sold it.

During the years I owned that boat, I probably made 50 or 60 fishing trips.

And I didn’t catch many fish.

Looking back, I’m pretty sure I know why.

I mainly used crankbaits. I never really used plastic worms because I had no idea how to properly fish one.

I remember one of our Good Friday tournaments before I bought my boat. I was fishing with a coworker who actually lived on the lake where the tournament was being held. I watched what he was doing, used the same plastic worm he was using and proceeded to catch absolutely nothing.

He won the tournament.

Apparently, the worm wasn’t the problem.

The idiot holding the fishing rod was.

Fast-forward to 2018.

I drove about six hours to a friend’s house and purchased her kayak. She needed the money, and I needed a kayak. It seemed like a pretty good arrangement.

At first, I only fished occasionally, and I didn’t have much luck catching anything. I was still stuck on a couple of crankbaits simply because I had caught a few fish on them.

Then I was talking to my wife’s cousin’s husband, and he started telling me about some different things I could try. One of them was, you guessed it, a plastic worm.

He told me what he was using and how he was using it.

The next time I went fishing, I caught a fish on a plastic worm.

So, naturally, I did what any intelligent fisherman would do.

I kept using that same worm.

And I caught several more fish.

Unfortunately, toward the end of that fishing season, I broke my foot. For the next 18 months, I spent most of my time sitting in a recliner and wasn’t able to do any fishing.

But once I was able to get back on the water, things started changing.

Last year, it is safe to say that I caught more fish in that one year than I had caught in my entire life. I was getting out at least once a week when the weather permitted, and I started experimenting with different colors and types of plastic worms.

Apparently, the fish didn’t get the memo that I wasn’t supposed to be good at this.

I’ve started keeping a record of how many fish I catch and how much they weigh. I just wish I had started doing that last year.

As of today, I’ve caught 31 bass weighing a total of 38 pounds.

That’s an average of just over 1.2 pounds per fish.

Of course, my fishing buddy would probably look at those numbers and wonder if I’m fishing in a bathtub.

But I’m making progress.

The funny thing is that people, myself included, tend to put way too much emphasis on catching fish.

Don’t get me wrong. I love catching a fish. There is still something pretty exciting about feeling that tug on the line, setting the hook and watching a big bass come to the surface.

And yes, I would love to catch a five-pound bass.

I’d probably tell everybody about it.

I’d probably tell people who don’t even fish about it.

But catching fish isn’t really the reason I go.

The real reason is the solitude.

There is something about sitting in a kayak in the middle of a creek or river with nobody else around for what seems like miles. No traffic. No phone calls. No television. No lawnmowers. Just me, the water and whatever wildlife happens to show up.

Sometimes I catch fish.

Sometimes I don’t.

Sometimes I spend several hours throwing a worm into the same general area and wondering if the fish are laughing at me.

But I’m still out there.

And that’s what matters.

Last night, I spent several hours getting my fishing gear ready. I put new line on my reels and added a five-foot fluorocarbon leader to each one, just like my fishing buddy does.

Now we’ll see if all this new line and fancy leader material actually increases my chances of catching fish.

Of course, there’s still one variable I haven’t been able to replace.

The guy holding the fishing rod.

I guess we’ll see how he does.

What’s in my Kayak

18 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Retirement, Uncategorized, Weight Loss

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As I’ve written about so many times, I love to fish.

I have a 12-foot Wilderness Systems kayak that I bought from a dear friend. It has become my little fishing machine, although I’m not sure the fish are nearly as impressed with it as I am.

I found the kayak on Facebook Marketplace when I was looking for one. The only problem was that my friend lived in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Nearly six hours from my house.

Surely, I could have found a kayak closer to home. But my friend was going through a difficult situation. Her husband had taken off and drained her bank account, and she desperately needed the money. I bought the kayak for $700, even though it was worth more than $1,500.

So I made the nearly six-hour drive to Knoxville.

Six hours there. Six hours back.

But I saved over $800.

I’m not sure if that qualifies as a bargain or just an excuse to spend twelve hours in my truck.

The most expensive piece of equipment on my kayak is my Garmin Striker Vivid 7cv fish finder.

Has it helped me catch more fish?

Probably not.

But it does tell me the water temperature, my direction of travel, water depth, sunken structures, and whether there are fish underneath me. It also tells me how fast I’m paddling.

And that’s probably the funniest feature on the entire thing.

I’m pretty sure I could get out and walk faster than I’m paddling.

The fish finder can show me the 37 fish directly underneath my kayak.

What it can’t tell me is why those 37 fish are ignoring everything I throw at them.

I also made myself a fishing crate out of a milk crate. It holds my soft plastics, hooks, weights, and crankbaits. It sits behind me, making everything easy to reach.

It’s even easier to get to now that I’ve lost all my weight.

There was a time when reaching behind me required some planning.

Now I can reach things without wondering if I’m going to flip the kayak.

I carry four rods and reels with me. None of them are what you would call professional equipment. I don’t think I’ve paid more than $100 for any of them.

I have always believed that you can catch just as many fish with a cheap setup as with an expensive one.

Of course, I have absolutely no scientific evidence to support this theory.

It’s just what I tell myself when I’m standing in the fishing aisle looking at a $300 rod.

I’ve spent several hundred dollars on tackle over the last few years. I’m constantly researching what the fish might be biting, looking at new lures and trying to figure out what might work.

I also have a friend who catches a lot more fish than I do, so I pay close attention to what he uses.

There is a lot of truth to the old saying that it’s not the equipment—it’s the person using it.

Unfortunately, I’m beginning to suspect that might be my problem.

But there is one piece of equipment I take with me that is more important than anything else in my kayak, other than my paddle.

My Garmin InReach.

The place where I do most of my fishing has absolutely no cell service. If I run into a problem, I’m on my own unless I have another way to communicate.

There are no houses nearby. No convenient little convenience store where I can walk in and say, “Hey, can I borrow your phone?”

So far, I’ve been lucky and haven’t had any serious problems.

Well, except for the treble hook incident.

I was fishing with my daughter when I managed to get a treble hook lodged into my thumb.

And when I say lodged, I mean lodged.

We were only about a quarter of a mile from the launch, so I had to paddle back, load the kayak into the truck and head to the emergency room to have it removed.

Thank goodness my daughter was with me to help load my truck. I couldn’t have done it without her.

I didn’t have the InReach back then, but fortunately, I didn’t need it.

And just for the record, getting a treble hook stuck in your thumb does not qualify as a true emergency.

It may qualify as an emergency in your own mind, but apparently emergency responders have higher standards.

The Garmin InReach is a satellite communicator. It allows me to send and recieve text messages through satellites to people I have programmed into the device.

More importantly, if I ever have a real emergency, there is an SOS button that I can activate to contact emergency responders.

Hopefully, I will never have to push it.

Because apparently, pushing that little button can get expensive.

Depending on how I need to be rescued, the cost could be more than $20,000.

Twenty.

Thousand.

Dollars.

At that price, I hope the rescue includes a helicopter, a steak dinner and someone carrying my kayak back to the truck.

Fortunately, Garmin offers an insurance option that can cover the cost of a rescue. I believe it costs around $40 a year.

That’s a pretty small price to pay when you consider what a rescue could cost.

The monthly service itself is also relatively inexpensive. I believe I pay around $15 a month and get 10 free messages each month. If my wife responds to one of my messages, it costs about 10 cents per message.

I use the InReach three times on almost every fishing trip.

The first message is sent when I start my trip. I let my wife and kids know that I’m heading out.

The second message comes somewhere around the middle of the trip. Basically, it’s my way of saying, “I’m still alive.”

The third message goes out when I’m finished fishing and loading everything back into the truck.

My wife usually responds to each message so I know she received it.

All together, that’s about 30 cents per fishing trip.

That’s cheaper than most of the lures I lose.

And I lose a lot of lures.

For me, the InReach isn’t really about fishing.

It’s about peace of mind.

If you fish, hike, hunt, kayak, or do anything outdoors where cell service is sparse or nonexistent, I highly recommend having some kind of satellite communication device.

I know my wife worries about me when I go fishing by myself. I also know that she feels better knowing that she will hear from me throughout the trip.

And I feel better knowing that if something really does go wrong, I have a way to call for help.

Hopefully, I’ll never need the SOS button.

I’d much rather continue sending my three little messages, catching a few fish, losing a few lures and occasionally getting a hook stuck in something that isn’t supposed to have a hook in it.

Preferably, that “something” will not be me.

Because as much as I love fishing, I really do like coming home afterward.

Fishing Was a Bad Idea

16 Wednesday Sep 2026

Posted by in Cancer, Fishing, Kayaking, Leukemia, Life, Nature, Uncategorized, Weather

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I got up this morning and went fishing.

I’ll have to admit, it probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve made over the last few weeks. As I’m sitting here writing this, I’m completely exhausted.

The wind was horrible. And when I say horrible, I mean horrible. If it weren’t for someone fishing with me, I probably would have called it a day and headed home a whole lot sooner.

Once the wind picks up, fishing from a kayak stops being fun. You spend more time trying to stay in one spot than you do actually fishing. Paddle forward, drift backward. Paddle left, drift right. Before long, you start wondering if you’re actually fishing or just getting a really expensive upper-body workout.

A few weeks ago, I started taking a new CML medication. Within a few days, I was so fatigued and dizzy that I could hardly function. Since that was the only thing that had been added or changed, I naturally blamed the medication and stopped taking it.

After talking with my oncologist, he wanted me to stay off the medication for a couple of days and then start taking it again. I did that, and thankfully, the side effects weren’t nearly as bad the second time around. The fatigue is still there, but the dizziness has pretty much disappeared.

As it turns out, though, the medication may not have been the culprit after all.

My iron levels are extremely low. Low enough that I’m having to get an iron infusion once a week for the next three weeks in an effort to get my levels back up to something resembling normal.

That explains a lot.

It also explains why I’m so completely wiped out after this morning’s fishing trip. Between the low iron and that ridiculous wind, getting back to the launch took a lot longer than I had planned. I had to stop several times along the way just to rest and catch my breath.

Once I finally made it home, I was able to muster up enough energy to unload the truck and put all of my fishing gear away.

And that’s it.

That’s all I’ve got.

I’m done.

In fact, I’m so tired that I’m not even sure I have enough energy to take a nap.

Yes, you read that right. I’m too tired to nap.

I didn’t think that was possible.

Apparently, my body has decided that today is a good day to remind me who’s in charge. And after this morning, I think I’m going to listen.

The kayak can wait.

The fish can wait.

And, thankfully, the wind can wait too.

Right now, I think the best fishing strategy is going to be sitting in my recliner and trying not to move unless absolutely necessary.

Maybe My Fishing Days Aren’t Over After All

28 Friday Aug 2026

Posted by in Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Uncategorized

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After my back started giving me issues a few months ago—and especially after dealing with the pain following one of my attempts to go fishing—I had pretty much decided that my fishing days were coming to an end.

I just couldn’t sit in a kayak for more than a couple of hours before my back reminded me I was no longer 25.

Apparently, my back has a better memory than I do.

After spending some time with my therapist, we talked about some possible solutions. One of those was trying a different type of fishing seat that might provide more support for my lower back.

That sounded like a great idea, except for one small problem: finding a seat that would actually fit my kayak.

After more than a month of research, I finally purchased one that I thought would work. I was hoping it would give my back the support it needed and, perhaps, give me a few more fishing hours before my body decided it had enough.

I received the seat about two weeks ago, but between my wife and my doctor’s appointments and my daughter being in the hospital, I hadn’t had a chance to take it out on its maiden voyage.

There was another problem, too.

If I was going to try it out, I needed to go by myself.

Normally, I would invite my fishing buddy to go with me. But I had no idea how long I would actually be able to stay on the water. The last thing I wanted was for him to drive all the way out there, get comfortable, unpack everything, and start fishing, only for me to announce an hour later, “Well, boys and girls, my back has spoken. We’re going home.”

I knew if he went with me, he would want to spend the day on the water. And honestly, I couldn’t promise him that I could make it through the day.

So, I went by myself.

I didn’t leave nearly as early as I would have if my buddy had gone with me. Normally, we’re on the road around 5:30 in the morning. This time, it was nearly 7:00 when I finally hit the road.

I figured if my back was going to ruin my fishing trip, I might as well let it sleep a little later first.

I arrived at the creek around 7:45 and was at my first fishing hole by about 8:30.

I knew almost immediately that the new seat was going to give me more support. The real question was whether it would give me enough support to actually stay out there for a few hours.

I fished for several hours and, while I did start to feel a little fatigued, it was nothing I couldn’t handle. That alone felt like a pretty big victory.

I finally left my fishing spot around 11:30 and made it back to the launch a little after noon.

My back was a little stiff, but that was about it.

And that was a whole lot better than it had been a few weeks earlier.

In fact, I consider the trip a success. I didn’t have to call anybody to come rescue me, I didn’t have to paddle back using only my arms because my back had gone on strike, and I actually got to fish for several hours.

That’s a win in my book.

I also finished my last session of an eight-week round of physical therapy on Monday. The therapy definitely helped, but now I have to wonder: Was I able to stay out fishing longer because of the therapy, because of the new seat, or because of both?

Truth be known, it was probably a combination of the two.

And I’ll take it as a win either way.

Now, before anyone gets excited and thinks I’m going back to spending all day on the water, let me stop you right there.

I’m not.

I’ve learned that I need to listen to what my back is telling me. Ignoring it usually ends with me regretting my life choices somewhere between the kayak and the truck.

So, I’ve decided that 11:30 will be my new fishing curfew.

If my buddy wants to stay longer, that’s perfectly fine.

He can stay.

He can fish until dark if he wants.

He can catch all the fish.

He can even catch the big one that I would have caught if I had stayed.

I’m going home at 11:30.

Because apparently, I’ve reached the age where my fishing buddy isn’t the one who decides when we leave.

My back does.

And believe me, that thing has no problem telling me when it’s time to go.

So maybe my fishing days aren’t over after all.

I just have a new fishing partner.

His name is Lower Back.

He’s not very good company; he complains constantly, and he never helps paddle.

But he always knows when it’s time to go home.

A Calendar Full of Red

15 Wednesday Jul 2026

Posted by in Diabetic, Disability, Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Pets, Retirement, Uncategorized

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My cat Sophia must have decided I needed the extra rest because she let me sleep until 6:30 this morning—an hour later than my usual wake-up call. I don’t know what got into her, but I’m not about to question a miracle.

My wife had a physical therapy appointment today, so I didn’t get much accomplished before it was time to chauffeur her to the appointment at 11:00. While she was with her therapist, I stayed in the truck. I used the time to go over my upcoming Bible study lesson. It was a productive way to pass the time.

I had planned to take my new shoes back to the store because the longer I wear them, the more my right foot hurts. I was hoping I could simply exchange them for a 7E width, but after doing some research online, I discovered that width isn’t available in the current style. Since my wife also had another appointment later in the day, I couldn’t make it to the shoe store. That means I’ll have to make a special trip tomorrow and hope I can find a pair that actually fits.

I have physical therapy in the morning, and afterward I’ll head across town to the shoe store. Once that’s done, I’ll come back home, pick up my wife, and take her grocery shopping.

After we get back, I’ll start loading what I can for Friday’s fishing trip. Unfortunately, I have a late meeting across town, so I won’t be able to load my kayak or fishing rods until I get home around 11:00 that night. Thankfully, it only takes a few minutes to load everything, so I should still be able to get to bed early enough for my 4:00 a.m. alarm.

I looked over my calendar for the next month, and it’s covered in red. I mark all of my appointments—and all of my wife’s appointments—in red so they stand out. Right now, there’s something scheduled at least three days every week, and several days have two appointments. Retirement sure wasn’t supposed to involve this many waiting rooms.

I’ll be glad when my wife gets her car back. Sharing one vehicle has made scheduling everything a lot more complicated. I know it’s only temporary and it couldn’t really be helped, but it has definitely added a layer of inconvenience to our daily routine. Hopefully, things will get back to normal soon.

A Morning on the Water and an Evening Under the Fireworks

05 Sunday Jul 2026

Posted by in Boy Scouts, Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Photography, Retirement

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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

I took advantage of the few hours I had available to go fishing Saturday morning. I didn’t invite my friend Rick on this trip because I wasn’t sure how long my back would hold up. Since the ablation, I haven’t been able to sit in my kayak for very long before the pain starts bothering me.

I launched on the river around 5:30 a.m., and by 10:30 I was ready to head back to the launch. I knew that if Rick had gone with me, he would have wanted to stay out all day, and I knew that just wasn’t going to be possible for me.

The other reason I went alone was that I didn’t want to have to track him down when I was ready to leave. Last week, I told him I planned to head home at 2:00 p.m. By 2:30, he still hadn’t made it back to the launch. I finally left without knowing where he was, and that made me feel pretty uncomfortable.

At least until my back gets better, I think my fishing trips will end around 11:30 each morning. That’s quite a change considering we normally stay on the water until around 4:00 p.m.

Saturday evening, we went to my in-laws’ house on the river. They invited us, along with eight couples from their Bible study group, over for a barbecue and the annual fireworks show put on by their next-door neighbor.

I was genuinely surprised by the quality of the fireworks. It looked like something you’d expect to see at a professional display. I started recording about ten minutes after the show began, and it continued for another ten minutes or so after I stopped. My arm finally gave out from holding my phone up for so long, so I had to call it quits.

https://youtu.be/hIVYBx3J-Q8

As you’ll see in the video, we were very close to where the fireworks were being launched. In fact, I think we may have been a little too close at times!

This was also the first time in about ten years that I was able to spend the Fourth of July at home. In years past, I was always away at Boy Scout summer camp. That meant leaving my wife at home with our two cats, who were terrified by the thunderous fireworks our neighbors set off every year.

It felt good to spend Independence Day with family, enjoy some great barbecue, watch an incredible fireworks display, and still squeeze in a few hours of fishing that morning. Even though my back limited my time on the water, it was still a day well spent.

When Your Body Says, “Enough”

28 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in Amateur Radio, Disability, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Uncategorized

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It’s been a few days since my last entry. Between other family matters and life’s daily responsibilities, I’ve been too busy to sit down and write.

I did get the opportunity to go fishing for a couple of hours last Thursday, but I didn’t have much luck. I only caught two fish before my back started hurting, forcing me to cut my trip short.

Before heading out to fish, I had taken the time on Wednesday to load up my riding lawnmower so I could go to my dad’s house and cut his grass. If my back wasn’t hurting enough after Thursday’s fishing trip, it was screaming by the end of the day Friday. It took me nearly four hours to cut his lawn, and all that bouncing around on the mower certainly didn’t do me any favors.

Saturday started much better. After spending a couple of hours with our Saturday morning men’s group, I headed to Pell City, about 50 minutes from home, for Field Day. Field Day is an annual HAM radio event where Amateur Radio operators practice and sharpen their emergency communication skills. Thankfully, I was able to sit for most of the day, which gave my back a much-needed break.

Then came Sunday.

The pain returned during the church service, and it became so intense that I thought I was going to have to leave and wait it out in my truck. Fortunately, I found some pain medication in my backpack, and after a little while, it started to take the edge off.

In two weeks, I begin physical therapy in hopes that stretching and strengthening my back will provide some relief. I can’t have another RFA procedure for another six months, so I’m hoping therapy will help bridge the gap. Something has to give because I’m growing tired of letting my back decide what I can and can’t do.

My Garage Needs an Intervention

15 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by in Arts and Crafts, Boy Scouts, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Retirement, Twins, Uncategorized, Weather, Woodworking

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I missed a perfectly good day to go fishing.

According to the weather forecast I saw last night, today was supposed to be cloudy with rain. As I sit here writing this, it’s cloudy all right, but there isn’t a drop of rain anywhere nearby. Apparently, the weather forecaster and I have different definitions of “rain.”

Since I can’t blame the weather anymore, I guess I’ll spend the day in my shop doing some cleaning.

The shop is in desperate need of organization. I try my best to keep it neat, but somehow it always ends up looking like the “before” picture on a home improvement show. If the folks from a hoarding television program ever drive down my road, I’m keeping the garage door closed.

My two-car garage hasn’t actually been a two-car garage since my daughters came home from college. Before they moved back in, I told my wife that the girls needed to rent a storage unit for all their furniture. I explained that once their furniture crossed the threshold of our garage, it would become a permanent resident.

I was absolutely right.

Years later, some of that furniture is still sitting there. At this point, I think it’s claimed squatters’ rights.

To be fair, I’m not completely innocent. The side of the garage where I used to park my truck has become home to my hobbies. When I bought a larger truck that wouldn’t fit in the garage, I suddenly had extra space—or at least that’s what I told myself.

That space is now occupied by a motorcycle, shelves full of Dutch ovens, camping gear, fishing equipment, ham radio supplies, woodworking tools, and a collection of items that I apparently purchased because I was convinced I would need them someday.

Someday has not yet arrived.

The side where my wife once parked is home to my daughters’ furniture, my CNC laser, a newly acquired 3D printer, and a worktable where I paint and assemble projects. Unfortunately, the worktable is currently so covered with stuff that I couldn’t work on it if I wanted to. In fact, I’m not entirely sure where the actual tabletop is anymore.

I know it’s under there somewhere.

The garage also houses my table saw, miter saw, drill press, nail guns, sanders, drills, rotary tools, clamps, and enough miscellaneous hardware to open a small branch of Home Depot.

Need a screw? I’ve got 10,000 of them.

Need the specific screw I’m looking for? Not a chance.

I’ve decided that I’m not starting another project until I make significant progress organizing the garage. This is a bold statement considering that starting new projects is one of my favorite ways to avoid finishing old ones.

The problem is that I have no idea where to begin. Every time I move one item, I discover three more things that need to be moved first. It’s like playing a life-sized game of Tetris, except none of the pieces fit, and I can’t find the instruction manual.

To make matters worse, I have a storage building in the backyard that’s almost as crowded as the garage. Before I can organize the garage, I’ll probably need to organize the storage building.

Of course, organizing the storage building will require temporarily moving things into the garage, which seems suspiciously similar to the process that got me into this mess in the first place.

Maybe I should have gone fishing after all.

A Much-Needed Day on the Water

04 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by in Family, Fishing, Kayaking, Life, Nature, Photography, Twins

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Today was exactly what the doctor ordered—except for having to get out of bed at 4:00 a.m. I’ve never been much of a morning person.

Of course, it’s not just the early wake-up call that comes with a fishing trip. There’s all the preparation beforehand and the unloading afterward, both of which I could happily do without. Still, neither can be avoided if I want to spend a day on the water.

I’m always worried I’ll forget something important, and more often than not, I do. Today it was my camera’s SD card. I had removed it to download last week’s video and never put it back in the camera.

Despite that minor oversight, it turned out to be a great trip. Rick and I both caught fish, and that’s always a win in my book. In fact, I was already floating in the water waiting for Rick to launch when I decided to make a few casts. On my third cast, I landed a nice one-pound bass. It’s hard to ask for a better start than that.

The fishing trip couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re still waiting on AT&T to repair the damaged wiring in my parents’ neighborhood, and no one has been able to provide a timeline for when service might be restored. Dealing with that situation has certainly elevated my blood pressure over the past week.

Then there’s another situation occupying my thoughts.

My daughter’s boyfriend is planning to propose on Saturday. Quite a few people know what’s supposed to happen, and I guess that’s what’s making me nervous. The more people who know a secret, the greater the chance someone accidentally lets it slip before the big moment arrives.

I have a location-sharing app on my phone that allows my daughters to see where I am, and vice versa. Before Saturday gets here, I’m either going to turn my phone off or figure out how to disable location sharing. The last thing I want is for technology to spoil a carefully planned surprise.

I’m not in charge of the proposal, but I still feel responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly. There seems to be a hundred different ways things could go wrong.

As if that weren’t enough, my son spent this past week in Orlando, and my daughters have been taking turns checking on his two cats. During one visit, one of my daughters noticed the house was unusually hot and humid. After looking around, she discovered that one of the kitchen windows had blown open.

She did what she could, but when my son called, he asked me to stop by and see if I could secure it better. Once I got there, I found that both window latches were broken beyond repair. I ordered replacement latches and plan to head over tomorrow to help install them.

Saturday morning will be devoted to cleaning my truck inside and out. I managed to cut the grass yesterday, so either tomorrow or Saturday, I’ll need to finish the trimming.

Needless to say, there’s a lot on my plate right now.

That’s why today’s fishing trip was so important. For a few hours, I was able to leave the worries behind, enjoy some time on the water, catch a few fish, and recharge my batteries.

I’m looking forward to a stretch of days when life slows down a bit, and there isn’t quite so much going on. There are still plenty of projects waiting for me around the house and yard, and I’d like to spend some time working on them without feeling pulled in a dozen different directions.

Until then, I’ll be thankful for days like today.