Got Water?: First Alabama Fishing Trip

 Got Water? Yes

Yesterday Dad and I took the boat out for the first time in Alabama.  Dad named the boat Got Water? back when we had it in Arizona.  Now that we live in Alabama we most definitely have water.  In particular, the main river around here (Tennessee) actually has water unlike the "rivers" of Tucson being dry 99% of the time.

It took us all morning to get the boat ready to take out, as we had to install the fish finder I bought for it.  We decided to take it out on Lake Guntersville for our first outing.

Got Fishing Gear? Not so much

When Dad went to get the fishing gear from the storage unit he could not find one of his tackle boxes.  A quick look in the house and shed also did not locate it and we do not remember seeing it since the move, so it is likely still in one of the boxes that have not been unpacked.  That tackle box had his reels, so his poles were useless, but we still had my pole and one of the extras we had gotten when my pole was missing (something was actually found in the move! Mine had been lost in the garage for years until we found it preparing for the move).

With two poles and one of Dad's tackle boxes we headed on the lake.  Once out on the lake we discovered we only had the ability to set up one of the poles (not mine, sadly) because we did not have anything to cut the line with.  If only, we had noticed that before we were out on the lake, as we could have taken the scissors from the truck.  Luckily, the one pole only had a swivel on it and Dad had one spinner.  It was not the recommended color for the lake, but at least we could attempt something.

We did not catch anything, but we enjoyed getting the boat out and the fish finder definitely works great with the main reason we wanted it was to know depth.  Dad even let me drive the boat on and off the trailer.  I totally stunk at getting it up to the dock for Dad to get on after we launched it, but I did get it onto the trailer on the first try.

This trip was certainly a good practice run for Thanksgiving.  Now we know we have to find that tackle box or what we need to get before we go.  Perhaps, it is also time to upgrade from my kiddie tackle box, which was in the one tackle box of Dad's we found.

Reindeer Dilemma

The other day Mom and I went to the Disney Store in Tucson and I got the big stuffed Olaf snowman guy from the upcoming Disney Frozen movie.  I was going to use it to replace the big penguin on my bed at home, since it is old and wearing out.  I almost also got Sven the reindeer, but he wasn't as big and mixing a reindeer with the other penguins on my bed seemed almost as bad as a polar bear, which I absolutely hate when they get mixed with penguins in designs because they are from opposite parts of the globe.

In the end, I left Olaf in Tucson to have when I am staying at the studio and I bought another one online for at home in Alabama.  I also got a Sven then, too. (Replaced Mik's Grumpy pants the carpet ruined last month, too)

When Sven arrived yesterday, Mik told me I couldn't put it with the penguins or he'll come throw away the penguins.  Mom said they could be mixed because the reindeer is Norwegian like our heritage, so an exception should be made.  I will probably just move the penguins to my office, though, as that's where the rest of my penguin collection is anyways and Sven and Olaf go better with my bed since my Disney stuff is displayed on the walls by my bed. How the giant pumpkin pillow I keep on my bed all year round fits in to the theme I don't know.

The Killer Carpet

Friday Mik texted me this photo of his knee sticking out of his favorite pajamas pants.  His only comment was that next time we are at Disney he needs to looking for new pants.  Ever since we moved into the house the transition areas of the carpets have been annoying, as the carpet they were putting in the day we put an offer on the house is crap.  Mik has ended up with several cuts from crawling over the area between his bathroom and room and now he got a big hole in his Grumpy pajama pants.

Dad Watching Baseball on TV

The other day Dad texted me and said it was cool to be watching the World Series in a ballpark we have been to.  He says that kind of thing all the time as if only certain MLB games he watches on television are being played in a ballpark he has been to.  My response is always, you've been to every MLB ballpark, so no matter who is playing you've been to the ballpark.

Is it downsizing or upsizing our fleet?

Ever since we moved to Alabama the driveway has been overcrowded with the four vehicles (5 if you count my scooter).  They all fit at first, but then the Homeowner's Association said I couldn't park my scooter on the porch and we actually began to keep the wheelchair rack on the van, so they all didn't fit.  Since we were looking at houses here, I also have wanted a boat and then we would need a truck to be able to tow a boat.

Last month Dad took me to the dealership on one of his off Sundays because I was asking him something about trucks (probably what colors Chevy makes).  At first we looked at and test drove an Avalanche, but in the end we (i.e. I) decided on the Silverado because they still make them and thus there were more to choose from so we could get the options I liked the most (mainly the bench front seat, which had a better console and storage for road tripping).

Mom was hesitant at first because she did not want to give up her Smart car, but it had not even been registered in Alabama, yet, and thus she had not driven it in at least six months anyways.  Thus, by trading in both the Smart cars and the Dodge Grand Caravan for one vehicle we downsized our fleet to one vehicle per driver.  It also meant now all the vehicles fit in the driveway.

However, Mom calls it the big ass truck.  It is big and the driveway does end up seeming kind of more crowded, but it is much more suited to our needs. For one, it can pull grandma's boat, which we are keeping in Alabama for the winter instead of storing it like is usually done when the cottage is closed up for the winter.  Secondly, the mini van was not exactly suited for Mik's heavy powerchair and this will work out much better for family road trips, especially once the seat lift is installed for transferring Mik into the Silverado. Thus, it is somewhat upsizing our fleet.

Captain Morgan in the front yard

While not as strange as the onions in the backyard I posted about earlier, the Captain Morgan in the front yard was another new experience.  Growing up in this university neighborhood and living at different places in it over the years, finding empty beer bottles or cans when cleaning the yard is pretty much a given.  So, when I was cleaning up some of the trash in the yard of the rental property I was not surprised to find two cans of Coors in the bushes.  What I was surprised to find, though, was a bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum.

It would be one thing for there to be an empty bottle, but it was almost full.  It was not even hidden deep down under live bushes like the cans, but rather was right up near the sidewalk by the dead bushes.  Someone trying to stash it to come back for it later?  Well, too bad for them it is now poured down the drain and the bottle recycled.

How you don't want onions in your backyard

This month I am staying at my grandma's property that we rent in Tucson, as it is transitioning between renter's and we are keeping the studio for using when in town.  One morning last week when I went outside to walk across the backyard to the front house where I have been using the fridge and thought it smelled funny.  Not necessarily a bad smell, but odd. Then I noticed there was oddly some things on the ground on the dirt part of the yard I had just cleaned up the day before when I was rediscovering the brick path (another post on that later!).  Since, I had just been working in that part of the yard I knew it had to be something newly there.

It turned out that it was onions in the yard.  Now suddenly finding onions in your backyard may not be a bad thing.  However, mushy cooked whole onions that must have been thrown over the wall or fence from a neighbor's yard is not the kind of way you want to find onions in your backyard.  Of all the strange things that end up in our yards living in the university neighborhood, this certainly ranks as the most incomprehensible strangeness.