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Smoking good dinner!!

Finished turning the garden for the 1st time this winter. Here's a pic of some of the chickens helping.  I also spent the day smoking ribs and brisket. Must say "Jolly good!" Smoked the ribs till they were 170F. At that time, the fire was just about to burn out, so I wrapped the brisket in foil and finished it in the oven. I'll find out tomorrow how that worked. Made a great rub that I used on both meats and made a BBQ sauce. The rub is great. Definately worth using without modifications. But, of course, the fun of cooking is always perfecting what you've tried before. The BBQ sauce is good but I think it needs quite a bit of work. I probably put in too much onions. It isn't thick enough. It was fine if you spooned some over the meat or spooned it onto bread then ate the bread with a fork. But, that's not the way I want to eat it. I tried to cook it down a while, but that wasn't enough. I may try to use less water and maybe put in tomato paste to replace some of the catsup. I used 2 teaspoons of Tabasco which was a little too much. Next time, I think I'll use 1 teaspoon. I've posted the 2 recipes under Recipes. One other thing I tried was smoking sliced squash. Just an experiment and I'd call it a success since it didn't ruin the squash (high standard, huh?). I got it started late, so I didn't have time to marinate it. I just sliced it up and shook it in a bag with apple cider vinegar. Then, I sprinkled liberally with Bayou Magic Cajun Seasoning. Put it in the top of the smoker about an hour. Not lots of smoke by now, so it seems to work fine. Just too hot! No more Bayou Magic. 

Redneck Story

A couple of redneck hunters are out in
the woods when one of them falls to the ground.
He doesn't seem to be breathing
and his eyes are rolled back in his head.
The other redneck starts to panic, then
whips out his cell phone and calls 911.
He frantically blurts out to the operator,
"O my gawd! Help! My friend just died.
He's Dead! What can I do?"
The operator, trying to calm him says,
"Take it easy. I can help.
Just listen to me and follow my instructions.
First, lets make sure he's dead."
There's a short pause, and then the operator hears a loud gun shot!!!

The redneck comes back on the line and says, "OK, now what?"

Posted at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 28, 2007

Winter Garden Preparations

I spent a good part of the day (after it warmed a bit) in the garden. The last couple of years it has consisted of two beds, 8 feet by 32 feet with about 4 feet between them. It has always been a littly boggy between them, and I never have a big enough garden, so I decided to finally merge them. That meant I had to take out the 2 rows of landscape timbers between them. Joel commented during the job "How come you had to put them together so much?" When I build something, I build it once to last. That means it's a major job to take it apart and this was hard work to get the spikes out of the timbers and pull them out. Once done, I had to cut some shorter to close up the two ends and replace some of the old timbers around the Redbud tree at one end.   Now, I've begun turning the soil to kill the St. Augustine between the beds and to work in the mulch I add during the season. I'm also moving in some sandy soil where the grass is now. I'll turn the entire garden with a shovel at least twice during the winter.

Now, what to plant in the spring? I had some really good luck with okra this past season. I canned some and it is really good. So more is a must. Corn didn't work well so probably no corn. Tomatoes are in. I'll probably stick to one or 2 varieties this time. Last year I had 4 varieties. That's too many in such a small space - can't get enough of one to can or freeze together. Last season was so wet, the tomatoes didn't produce well at all. Worst year ever. In '06 I put up about 65 pints of tomatoes. This year, I think I got 4. Squash and zuchini are always a must for a garden. I saw a nice dish on Food Network today that alternated yellow and green squash. Nice display, bet it was delicious. I'm not real crazy about beans, they are too much trouble to harvest if you get enough (and last year was a bad year). I had really good luck with peppers in the front flower bed. I gave a bunch to Nina at work and she canned some for me. I may have to give her all of mine this year! I canned sliced jalepenos. I've never done this before, and I'm pretty fixated on store bought, but I'll probably never buy jalepenos in the store again. Canned them in straight vinegar and you talk about hot!! Never find them that hot in the store. Maybe cucumbers? Tried them a couple of years ago with no success. Maybe time to try again. I've never tried leeks but I like them. I'll probably put in a few. I need to replant my onions. Planted one bunch a few weeks ago and something enjoyed them!

Posted at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 26, 2007

Original post

Here is the very first post i am making to this blog. Now, what the heck do I want to do with it? Setting up a blog to talk about fishing is a natural, since this is my current obsession. I'll likely put in a bunch of links I've collected. Maybe someone will find them helpful. I bookmarked a bunch of boat manufactureres sites when I was boat shopping. I'll no doubt have an entry about my boat later. I'm 99% satisfied with it and there are a couple of things that the builder should have done better.

How about fishing lures? I just ordered several Rapala lures from Bass Pro Shops. I'm not a big fan of BPS, and prefer to take my business to my local Gander Mountain. I spent some time last nite on the Rapala site (nice: http://www.rapala.com/index.cfm) shopping for a set of lures. Made out a nice list and went to GM this morn. They didn't have 3 of the first 4 on my list, so back home and to the BPS site (http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Shop_10151_-1_10001). I don't have many diving lures, so that's the hole in my tackle box I'm trying to fill (in exchange for the one I'm creating in my wallet). Maybe these will work. Went fishing over at Lake Palestine last Friday, and threw everything I owned to no avail. Should have brought the dynamite!! They were on the fish finder - tons! - just wouldn't bite.

How 'bout BBQ? Janelle gave me a smoker for Christmas. I spent Christmas eve smoking a turkey. There's a learning curve to smokers, but I think I did a fair job on this first one. As I go along, I may post some recipes I try. I'll remind you that I view recipes as a rough guideline, and not a requirement. I tend to substitute things a lot and sometimes leave something out if I don't have it. Some things get doubled or halved, I'm rather careless about reading the instructions (Hey! They are optional for men, you gotta problem with that?). We bought this smoker at my favorite toy store, Gander Mountain (http://www.gandermountain.com/). It is a fair price ($300) but the quality control is suspect. There is no brand name on the smoker. The metal tray over the fire doesn't fit. The grate over the fire had handles in one smoker, no handle in another, and no supports for the grate in another. Still, I like it and plan on wearing it out as fast as I can.

Gardening!  I've gardened since I was a kid. My first gardens had radishes and onions. Wouldn't eat either one, but they were easy to grow! I'm not into organic foods like I once was, but my current garden is semi-organic. That is, I try to minimize my use of chemicals. I use mulch to keep down weeds. I plan several varieties of plants close together so bugs get confused. My fertilize is mostly grass clippings from my chemically fertilized yard. This winter I'm expanding it a little. Can't do it much, the back yards too big. And I've had to put up an electric fence to cut the yard in half. Janelle's stupid damn dogs go on one side, the other side is mine. I can also write about my chickens . I have several breeds among 15 hens and a rooster. It's time to thin them out as I'm getting one egg a day now. The bantams are coming on to 2 years old, so soup!

Weather. I like weather forecasts. If they say good weather, you can be optimistic. If they say bad weather, you know they will probably be wrong like they were about the good weather we were supposed to get. That's what it's like now. Yesterday's forecast said a nice clear day with no chance of rain today. We got 2 inches of rain this morn and it's friggin' cold outside!!!

Running. I like running. It's really the only exercise besides honest labor I've ever enjoyed. I ran the White Rock Marathon in '93. Got my fill of that !! I quit for a number of years - no time, commute, work, yadda yadda. Last January I got tired of being fat so I went on a diet and started working out again. The first month was tough. I was so hungry I was ready to bite someone! By mid-February, I couldn't finish my plate at a restaraunt. Too much food. I started to use an eliptical to build endurance before I started back to running. I was going to the gym at Tyler Jr. College, but eventually quit since the facilities suck so bad. The shower alone is worth a comment of its own. Now, I go to 360 Fitness and do the treadmill and some weight lifting. I sometimes go outside and run (but not today, it's friggin' cold outside!). I'm hoping to do a 10k in the spring. But, I have no aspirations for another marathon. At any rate, I've gone from 204 in January to 167 now! And I can run 10 kilometers, too!

Fishing. I usually fish Lake Palestine. It's only 10 miles to my regular launch site (The Villages N 32 12.869' W 095 28.054'). It's mainly because it's convenient. I love going to the Galveston area. Mostly East Bay. When I bought my boat I made a beeline to San Luis Pass a couple of weeks later and launched at the county boat ramp (N 29 04' 43.46 W 095 07' 50.18). Too shallow getting out of their little area. Headed to Ernies' Bait Barn ( N 29 02' 55.04 W 095 09' 54.46) on Christmas Bay. Just about had to dig a channel to do it. My center console Bay Boat is definitely not the way to fish that area. Next time I fish it, I'll be taking the kayaks (which works really well in that area). Now, if I fish from the Galveston side of the bay, I put in at the Galveston Yacht Basin (N 29 19' 07.18 W 094 46' 28.87). It's about $10 and you pass through a guarded gate, so I assume it is safer for your vehicle. I left my boat there overnite as well for the same fee and it was still there the next day. Arranged through their business office (409-762-9689). If I stay over at Bolivar Peninsula, I launch a couple of miles from the ferry (no GPS local, sorry). The whole bay complex is easy to reach from either direction.

I still like woodworking. Haven't done much the last couple of years. Busy with a lot of other things, and it's hard to get any work done when the first 1/2 hour is spent cleaning up the junk that occumulates. Bet this happens to you. Other people (mysterious, who are these people?) bring things down from the attic but never, ever put it back. Why? I built a pirogue a couple of years ago. It's a simple flat bottom boat commonly found in the south. I took it out a couple of times, but I did it mainly because I liked the idea of building a boat. The fiberglass work on it truly sux, there's a learning curve to that skill. I'm getting a hankering for building a really nice kayak, but finding the time!! For now, here's a pic of a mesquite display case a guy commissioned me to build a couple of years ago .

 

Posted at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Finished turning the garden for the 1st time this winter. Here's a pic of some of the chickens helping.  I also spent the day smoking ribs and brisket. Must say "Jolly good!" Smoked the ribs till they were 170F. At that time, the fire was just about to burn out, so I wrapped the brisket in foil and finished it in the oven. I'll find out tomorrow how that worked. Made a great rub that I used on both meats and made a BBQ sauce. The rub is great. Definately worth using without modifications. But, of course, the fun of cooking is always perfecting what you've tried before. The BBQ sauce is good but I think it needs quite a bit of work. I probably put in too much onions. It isn't thick enough. It was fine if you spooned some over the meat or spooned it onto bread then ate the bread with a fork. But, that's not the way I want to eat it. I tried to cook it down a while, but that wasn't enough. I may try to use less water and maybe put in tomato paste to replace some of the catsup. I used 2 teaspoons of Tabasco which was a little too much. Next time, I think I'll use 1 teaspoon. I've posted the 2 recipes under Recipes. One other thing I tried was smoking sliced squash. Just an experiment and I'd call it a success since it didn't ruin the squash (high standard, huh?). I got it started late, so I didn't have time to marinate it. I just sliced it up and shook it in a bag with apple cider vinegar. Then, I sprinkled liberally with Bayou Magic Cajun Seasoning. Put it in the top of the smoker about an hour. Not lots of smoke by now, so it seems to work fine. Just too hot! No more Bayou Magic. 

Redneck Story

A couple of redneck hunters are out in
the woods when one of them falls to the ground.
He doesn't seem to be breathing
and his eyes are rolled back in his head.
The other redneck starts to panic, then
whips out his cell phone and calls 911.
He frantically blurts out to the operator,
"O my gawd! Help! My friend just died.
He's Dead! What can I do?"
The operator, trying to calm him says,
"Take it easy. I can help.
Just listen to me and follow my instructions.
First, lets make sure he's dead."
There's a short pause, and then the operator hears a loud gun shot!!!

The redneck comes back on the line and says, "OK, now what?"

I spent a good part of the day (after it warmed a bit) in the garden. The last couple of years it has consisted of two beds, 8 feet by 32 feet with about 4 feet between them. It has always been a littly boggy between them, and I never have a big enough garden, so I decided to finally merge them. That meant I had to take out the 2 rows of landscape timbers between them. Joel commented during the job "How come you had to put them together so much?" When I build something, I build it once to last. That means it's a major job to take it apart and this was hard work to get the spikes out of the timbers and pull them out. Once done, I had to cut some shorter to close up the two ends and replace some of the old timbers around the Redbud tree at one end.   Now, I've begun turning the soil to kill the St. Augustine between the beds and to work in the mulch I add during the season. I'm also moving in some sandy soil where the grass is now. I'll turn the entire garden with a shovel at least twice during the winter.

Now, what to plant in the spring? I had some really good luck with okra this past season. I canned some and it is really good. So more is a must. Corn didn't work well so probably no corn. Tomatoes are in. I'll probably stick to one or 2 varieties this time. Last year I had 4 varieties. That's too many in such a small space - can't get enough of one to can or freeze together. Last season was so wet, the tomatoes didn't produce well at all. Worst year ever. In '06 I put up about 65 pints of tomatoes. This year, I think I got 4. Squash and zuchini are always a must for a garden. I saw a nice dish on Food Network today that alternated yellow and green squash. Nice display, bet it was delicious. I'm not real crazy about beans, they are too much trouble to harvest if you get enough (and last year was a bad year). I had really good luck with peppers in the front flower bed. I gave a bunch to Nina at work and she canned some for me. I may have to give her all of mine this year! I canned sliced jalepenos. I've never done this before, and I'm pretty fixated on store bought, but I'll probably never buy jalepenos in the store again. Canned them in straight vinegar and you talk about hot!! Never find them that hot in the store. Maybe cucumbers? Tried them a couple of years ago with no success. Maybe time to try again. I've never tried leeks but I like them. I'll probably put in a few. I need to replant my onions. Planted one bunch a few weeks ago and something enjoyed them!

Here is the very first post i am making to this blog. Now, what the heck do I want to do with it? Setting up a blog to talk about fishing is a natural, since this is my current obsession. I'll likely put in a bunch of links I've collected. Maybe someone will find them helpful. I bookmarked a bunch of boat manufactureres sites when I was boat shopping. I'll no doubt have an entry about my boat later. I'm 99% satisfied with it and there are a couple of things that the builder should have done better.

How about fishing lures? I just ordered several Rapala lures from Bass Pro Shops. I'm not a big fan of BPS, and prefer to take my business to my local Gander Mountain. I spent some time last nite on the Rapala site (nice: http://www.rapala.com/index.cfm) shopping for a set of lures. Made out a nice list and went to GM this morn. They didn't have 3 of the first 4 on my list, so back home and to the BPS site (http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Shop_10151_-1_10001). I don't have many diving lures, so that's the hole in my tackle box I'm trying to fill (in exchange for the one I'm creating in my wallet). Maybe these will work. Went fishing over at Lake Palestine last Friday, and threw everything I owned to no avail. Should have brought the dynamite!! They were on the fish finder - tons! - just wouldn't bite.

How 'bout BBQ? Janelle gave me a smoker for Christmas. I spent Christmas eve smoking a turkey. There's a learning curve to smokers, but I think I did a fair job on this first one. As I go along, I may post some recipes I try. I'll remind you that I view recipes as a rough guideline, and not a requirement. I tend to substitute things a lot and sometimes leave something out if I don't have it. Some things get doubled or halved, I'm rather careless about reading the instructions (Hey! They are optional for men, you gotta problem with that?). We bought this smoker at my favorite toy store, Gander Mountain (http://www.gandermountain.com/). It is a fair price ($300) but the quality control is suspect. There is no brand name on the smoker. The metal tray over the fire doesn't fit. The grate over the fire had handles in one smoker, no handle in another, and no supports for the grate in another. Still, I like it and plan on wearing it out as fast as I can.

Gardening!  I've gardened since I was a kid. My first gardens had radishes and onions. Wouldn't eat either one, but they were easy to grow! I'm not into organic foods like I once was, but my current garden is semi-organic. That is, I try to minimize my use of chemicals. I use mulch to keep down weeds. I plan several varieties of plants close together so bugs get confused. My fertilize is mostly grass clippings from my chemically fertilized yard. This winter I'm expanding it a little. Can't do it much, the back yards too big. And I've had to put up an electric fence to cut the yard in half. Janelle's stupid damn dogs go on one side, the other side is mine. I can also write about my chickens . I have several breeds among 15 hens and a rooster. It's time to thin them out as I'm getting one egg a day now. The bantams are coming on to 2 years old, so soup!

Weather. I like weather forecasts. If they say good weather, you can be optimistic. If they say bad weather, you know they will probably be wrong like they were about the good weather we were supposed to get. That's what it's like now. Yesterday's forecast said a nice clear day with no chance of rain today. We got 2 inches of rain this morn and it's friggin' cold outside!!!

Running. I like running. It's really the only exercise besides honest labor I've ever enjoyed. I ran the White Rock Marathon in '93. Got my fill of that !! I quit for a number of years - no time, commute, work, yadda yadda. Last January I got tired of being fat so I went on a diet and started working out again. The first month was tough. I was so hungry I was ready to bite someone! By mid-February, I couldn't finish my plate at a restaraunt. Too much food. I started to use an eliptical to build endurance before I started back to running. I was going to the gym at Tyler Jr. College, but eventually quit since the facilities suck so bad. The shower alone is worth a comment of its own. Now, I go to 360 Fitness and do the treadmill and some weight lifting. I sometimes go outside and run (but not today, it's friggin' cold outside!). I'm hoping to do a 10k in the spring. But, I have no aspirations for another marathon. At any rate, I've gone from 204 in January to 167 now! And I can run 10 kilometers, too!

Fishing. I usually fish Lake Palestine. It's only 10 miles to my regular launch site (The Villages N 32 12.869' W 095 28.054'). It's mainly because it's convenient. I love going to the Galveston area. Mostly East Bay. When I bought my boat I made a beeline to San Luis Pass a couple of weeks later and launched at the county boat ramp (N 29 04' 43.46 W 095 07' 50.18). Too shallow getting out of their little area. Headed to Ernies' Bait Barn ( N 29 02' 55.04 W 095 09' 54.46) on Christmas Bay. Just about had to dig a channel to do it. My center console Bay Boat is definitely not the way to fish that area. Next time I fish it, I'll be taking the kayaks (which works really well in that area). Now, if I fish from the Galveston side of the bay, I put in at the Galveston Yacht Basin (N 29 19' 07.18 W 094 46' 28.87). It's about $10 and you pass through a guarded gate, so I assume it is safer for your vehicle. I left my boat there overnite as well for the same fee and it was still there the next day. Arranged through their business office (409-762-9689). If I stay over at Bolivar Peninsula, I launch a couple of miles from the ferry (no GPS local, sorry). The whole bay complex is easy to reach from either direction.

I still like woodworking. Haven't done much the last couple of years. Busy with a lot of other things, and it's hard to get any work done when the first 1/2 hour is spent cleaning up the junk that occumulates. Bet this happens to you. Other people (mysterious, who are these people?) bring things down from the attic but never, ever put it back. Why? I built a pirogue a couple of years ago. It's a simple flat bottom boat commonly found in the south. I took it out a couple of times, but I did it mainly because I liked the idea of building a boat. The fiberglass work on it truly sux, there's a learning curve to that skill. I'm getting a hankering for building a really nice kayak, but finding the time!! For now, here's a pic of a mesquite display case a guy commissioned me to build a couple of years ago .

 

Finished turning the garden for the 1st time this winter. Here's a pic of some of the chickens helping.  I also spent the day smoking ribs and brisket. Must say "Jolly good!" Smoked the ribs till they were 170F. At that time, the fire was just about to burn out, so I wrapped the brisket in foil and finished it in the oven. I'll find out tomorrow how that worked. Made a great rub that I used on both meats and made a BBQ sauce. The rub is great. Definately worth using without modifications. But, of course, the fun of cooking is always perfecting what you've tried before. The BBQ sauce is good but I think it needs quite a bit of work. I probably put in too much onions. It isn't thick enough. It was fine if you spooned some over the meat or spooned it onto bread then ate the bread with a fork. But, that's not the way I want to eat it. I tried to cook it down a while, but that wasn't enough. I may try to use less water and maybe put in tomato paste to replace some of the catsup. I used 2 teaspoons of Tabasco which was a little too much. Next time, I think I'll use 1 teaspoon. I've posted the 2 recipes under Recipes. One other thing I tried was smoking sliced squash. Just an experiment and I'd call it a success since it didn't ruin the squash (high standard, huh?). I got it started late, so I didn't have time to marinate it. I just sliced it up and shook it in a bag with apple cider vinegar. Then, I sprinkled liberally with Bayou Magic Cajun Seasoning. Put it in the top of the smoker about an hour. Not lots of smoke by now, so it seems to work fine. Just too hot! No more Bayou Magic. 

Redneck Story

A couple of redneck hunters are out in
the woods when one of them falls to the ground.
He doesn't seem to be breathing
and his eyes are rolled back in his head.
The other redneck starts to panic, then
whips out his cell phone and calls 911.
He frantically blurts out to the operator,
"O my gawd! Help! My friend just died.
He's Dead! What can I do?"
The operator, trying to calm him says,
"Take it easy. I can help.
Just listen to me and follow my instructions.
First, lets make sure he's dead."
There's a short pause, and then the operator hears a loud gun shot!!!

The redneck comes back on the line and says, "OK, now what?"

Winter Garden Preparations

I spent a good part of the day (after it warmed a bit) in the garden. The last couple of years it has consisted of two beds, 8 feet by 32 feet with about 4 feet between them. It has always been a littly boggy between them, and I never have a big enough garden, so I decided to finally merge them. That meant I had to take out the 2 rows of landscape timbers between them. Joel commented during the job "How come you had to put them together so much?" When I build something, I build it once to last. That means it's a major job to take it apart and this was hard work to get the spikes out of the timbers and pull them out. Once done, I had to cut some shorter to close up the two ends and replace some of the old timbers around the Redbud tree at one end.   Now, I've begun turning the soil to kill the St. Augustine between the beds and to work in the mulch I add during the season. I'm also moving in some sandy soil where the grass is now. I'll turn the entire garden with a shovel at least twice during the winter.

Now, what to plant in the spring? I had some really good luck with okra this past season. I canned some and it is really good. So more is a must. Corn didn't work well so probably no corn. Tomatoes are in. I'll probably stick to one or 2 varieties this time. Last year I had 4 varieties. That's too many in such a small space - can't get enough of one to can or freeze together. Last season was so wet, the tomatoes didn't produce well at all. Worst year ever. In '06 I put up about 65 pints of tomatoes. This year, I think I got 4. Squash and zuchini are always a must for a garden. I saw a nice dish on Food Network today that alternated yellow and green squash. Nice display, bet it was delicious. I'm not real crazy about beans, they are too much trouble to harvest if you get enough (and last year was a bad year). I had really good luck with peppers in the front flower bed. I gave a bunch to Nina at work and she canned some for me. I may have to give her all of mine this year! I canned sliced jalepenos. I've never done this before, and I'm pretty fixated on store bought, but I'll probably never buy jalepenos in the store again. Canned them in straight vinegar and you talk about hot!! Never find them that hot in the store. Maybe cucumbers? Tried them a couple of years ago with no success. Maybe time to try again. I've never tried leeks but I like them. I'll probably put in a few. I need to replant my onions. Planted one bunch a few weeks ago and something enjoyed them!

Original post

Here is the very first post i am making to this blog. Now, what the heck do I want to do with it? Setting up a blog to talk about fishing is a natural, since this is my current obsession. I'll likely put in a bunch of links I've collected. Maybe someone will find them helpful. I bookmarked a bunch of boat manufactureres sites when I was boat shopping. I'll no doubt have an entry about my boat later. I'm 99% satisfied with it and there are a couple of things that the builder should have done better.

How about fishing lures? I just ordered several Rapala lures from Bass Pro Shops. I'm not a big fan of BPS, and prefer to take my business to my local Gander Mountain. I spent some time last nite on the Rapala site (nice: http://www.rapala.com/index.cfm) shopping for a set of lures. Made out a nice list and went to GM this morn. They didn't have 3 of the first 4 on my list, so back home and to the BPS site (http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Shop_10151_-1_10001). I don't have many diving lures, so that's the hole in my tackle box I'm trying to fill (in exchange for the one I'm creating in my wallet). Maybe these will work. Went fishing over at Lake Palestine last Friday, and threw everything I owned to no avail. Should have brought the dynamite!! They were on the fish finder - tons! - just wouldn't bite.

How 'bout BBQ? Janelle gave me a smoker for Christmas. I spent Christmas eve smoking a turkey. There's a learning curve to smokers, but I think I did a fair job on this first one. As I go along, I may post some recipes I try. I'll remind you that I view recipes as a rough guideline, and not a requirement. I tend to substitute things a lot and sometimes leave something out if I don't have it. Some things get doubled or halved, I'm rather careless about reading the instructions (Hey! They are optional for men, you gotta problem with that?). We bought this smoker at my favorite toy store, Gander Mountain (http://www.gandermountain.com/). It is a fair price ($300) but the quality control is suspect. There is no brand name on the smoker. The metal tray over the fire doesn't fit. The grate over the fire had handles in one smoker, no handle in another, and no supports for the grate in another. Still, I like it and plan on wearing it out as fast as I can.

Gardening!  I've gardened since I was a kid. My first gardens had radishes and onions. Wouldn't eat either one, but they were easy to grow! I'm not into organic foods like I once was, but my current garden is semi-organic. That is, I try to minimize my use of chemicals. I use mulch to keep down weeds. I plan several varieties of plants close together so bugs get confused. My fertilize is mostly grass clippings from my chemically fertilized yard. This winter I'm expanding it a little. Can't do it much, the back yards too big. And I've had to put up an electric fence to cut the yard in half. Janelle's stupid damn dogs go on one side, the other side is mine. I can also write about my chickens . I have several breeds among 15 hens and a rooster. It's time to thin them out as I'm getting one egg a day now. The bantams are coming on to 2 years old, so soup!

Weather. I like weather forecasts. If they say good weather, you can be optimistic. If they say bad weather, you know they will probably be wrong like they were about the good weather we were supposed to get. That's what it's like now. Yesterday's forecast said a nice clear day with no chance of rain today. We got 2 inches of rain this morn and it's friggin' cold outside!!!

Running. I like running. It's really the only exercise besides honest labor I've ever enjoyed. I ran the White Rock Marathon in '93. Got my fill of that !! I quit for a number of years - no time, commute, work, yadda yadda. Last January I got tired of being fat so I went on a diet and started working out again. The first month was tough. I was so hungry I was ready to bite someone! By mid-February, I couldn't finish my plate at a restaraunt. Too much food. I started to use an eliptical to build endurance before I started back to running. I was going to the gym at Tyler Jr. College, but eventually quit since the facilities suck so bad. The shower alone is worth a comment of its own. Now, I go to 360 Fitness and do the treadmill and some weight lifting. I sometimes go outside and run (but not today, it's friggin' cold outside!). I'm hoping to do a 10k in the spring. But, I have no aspirations for another marathon. At any rate, I've gone from 204 in January to 167 now! And I can run 10 kilometers, too!

Fishing. I usually fish Lake Palestine. It's only 10 miles to my regular launch site (The Villages N 32 12.869' W 095 28.054'). It's mainly because it's convenient. I love going to the Galveston area. Mostly East Bay. When I bought my boat I made a beeline to San Luis Pass a couple of weeks later and launched at the county boat ramp (N 29 04' 43.46 W 095 07' 50.18). Too shallow getting out of their little area. Headed to Ernies' Bait Barn ( N 29 02' 55.04 W 095 09' 54.46) on Christmas Bay. Just about had to dig a channel to do it. My center console Bay Boat is definitely not the way to fish that area. Next time I fish it, I'll be taking the kayaks (which works really well in that area). Now, if I fish from the Galveston side of the bay, I put in at the Galveston Yacht Basin (N 29 19' 07.18 W 094 46' 28.87). It's about $10 and you pass through a guarded gate, so I assume it is safer for your vehicle. I left my boat there overnite as well for the same fee and it was still there the next day. Arranged through their business office (409-762-9689). If I stay over at Bolivar Peninsula, I launch a couple of miles from the ferry (no GPS local, sorry). The whole bay complex is easy to reach from either direction.

I still like woodworking. Haven't done much the last couple of years. Busy with a lot of other things, and it's hard to get any work done when the first 1/2 hour is spent cleaning up the junk that occumulates. Bet this happens to you. Other people (mysterious, who are these people?) bring things down from the attic but never, ever put it back. Why? I built a pirogue a couple of years ago. It's a simple flat bottom boat commonly found in the south. I took it out a couple of times, but I did it mainly because I liked the idea of building a boat. The fiberglass work on it truly sux, there's a learning curve to that skill. I'm getting a hankering for building a really nice kayak, but finding the time!! For now, here's a pic of a mesquite display case a guy commissioned me to build a couple of years ago .