Cell Phones (II)

The time has finally come. It still looks like the Samsung S5 will be my choice. Heading to the AT&T store after lunch to pick one up. I will post some photos soon taken with it. The camera is one of the reasons I chose this phone, so they should be really good photos.

My Blackberry has been a good phone, but it's time for a new one.

A cool morning with Grandson.

I know it's been quite a while since my last post. Nothing much to say. But this morning was different. I roused my grandson Payton from a sound sleep as we had agreed the night before. Then off to the lake for fishing and bird watching too, as you can see below.

Sandhill Cranes

unknown fishing bird.

Pretty good for a lefty.

Smooth as glass.

A bit of a dry spell, ended.

Almost 2 weeks since I caught anything. Of course I did not try too often with the cool and wind and the moon out of faze. Warmer temps the last week and a full moon soon. The fellow holding my fish was preparing to clean a dozen just like mine. So I gave him mine as well. Estimated 15", 2 lbs of good eating Crappie.

Cold and windy.

Not much to report on the last few days. A trip to Orlando to the Golfsmith store. New grips on my irons. Cheaper than new clubs. :)

Could be a twin brother.

I say brother because I believe both fish are male. Caught this one this afternoon after golf. A little smaller, maybe 14", 1 1/2 lbs. Had an audience for this one including a 2 year-old girl whose Grandmother allowed her to touch the fish before I released it.

He didn't do it this time.

Get away that is. At least it could be the same fish. About 15" and 2 lbs of Large Mouth Bass. The largest I have caught so far. Not large by Florida standards but the second largest Bass ever by mine. And a small Crappie before that. All in about 45 minutes after lunch today.

Let's play two.

Two more small Crappie today. A little windy and cooler. Used a small yellow spinner bait. I suppose it could have been the same fish twice. No way of knowing for sure. Anyway it's a rush while they are pumping that rod tip trying to get away.

Another day, another Crappie.

After church and before golf. Caught on a yellow Beetle Spin lure. Near the location of the other caught Crappies. Must be a honey hole. Only 9 inches or so. This one went to another fisherman to be eaten.

Money well spent.

Not as big as the one that got away. But easily landed and released after photos. The end of the net is 15". So about 12" for the Bass and 13 for the Crappie. Yippie Scippy!

The one that got away.

I know, I know, you have heard it before. The story about the fish that got away. Really, this did happen. This morning about 11am I went down to the lake for 30 minutes or so. I made  5 or 6 casts near the same spot where I caught the crappie pictured in a previous post. And WHAM something grabbed the bait and gave me quite a tussle. I tired him out and had him right up to the dock at my feet. Because the water was a couple of feet below the dock I couldn't reach his mouth to lift him, so I tried to lift him part way with the rod and line. Well the hook pulled out and he was gone. :( But take my word for it. At least 15 inches/ 2lbs of Large Mouth Bass. Needless to say, a trip to Walmart and the purchase of a landing net happened this very afternoon.

Looks like I messed up.

At least that's the the way I look at it. I roughed out my federal income tax return today and got the bad news. REFUND. I always try to work it out so I need to send them a check not the other way round. This year I over withheld by a small amount, darn. Some people use their tax withholding as a savings vehicle, getting refunds in the thousands. Not me. I want that money all year long to do with as I please. Besides, they don't pay you interest on that money they have all year. Oh well, better luck next time. :)

Finally.

After 10 or so 30 minute sessions over a week, a catch. The water must be warming up. Used a small beetle spin bait in about 4 feet of water near the dock and weeds. A Crappie about 3/4 lb and 13 inches long. The first of many I hope.

Not much going.

It has been a quiet week. The weather has been less than ideal (cool, wind, rain). A few doctor visits mixed in. Not much golf, but I have purchased a fishing license ($47, 1 year, freshwater) and gear. Here again the weather has not been good for catching fish, but an hour a day gets me out in the fresh air. It may be a while before the water warms enough.  When I catch something I will show you.

Sunday Afternoon.

Just a lazy day spent after lunch in the sun room. A little breezy and 70 degrees.

Great Orlando Wheel

We wondered what this was and the story behind it. Just another victim of the last recession. 

Out to eat.

We went out to eat last evening. O'Charlie's in Orlando. Not far from the Bay Hill Golf Club, where Arnold Palmer holds his PGA tournament every March. One of only 4 such restaurants in Florida. Many more back home. It took about 40 minutes to get there and we did a little site seeing and shopping too. The food and service were good so we will likely return. But if we do I will remember to to head home a different time of the day. Oh the "humanity". Leaving the theme parks and heading home from work. Stop and go and then stop and go again. All this into the setting sun as well. Not much fun. But we made it home safely 1 1/4 hours later.

At least my wife enjoyed it.

I did battle with small lizard this morning. He was where he was not supposed to be. Inside our screened room on the front of our place. I just wanted to move him outside where he belongs. Of course he did not know that. He was trying stay alive. I was trying not to hurt him. He crawled inside a deck chair to hide and so out it went including him. Once outside it still took a few minutes to knock him off the chair and watch him scurry away. My wife said it was very entertaining to see me and my golf club going after that poor little fellow. All clear now. Let's hope he learned his lesson. :)

Temporary Home Sweet Home.

A quiet day in the neighborhood.

Home Entertaining (3)

On my. If this keeps up I will be gaining à lot of weight. We had a call this after noon inviting us to eat over at one of our dinner guest's home this evening. That call came just when we couldn't decide what to fix at our place tonight. A complete meal of meat loaf , potatoes, greens, corn, apple crum for dessert. Yummy.

Home Entertaining (2).

Our recent dinner party is over and things went well, if not according to plan. The main entree was supposed to be Swiss Steak cooked in a pressure cooker. But part of the cooker never made it on our recent journey. The little weight that sits on top of the cooker to bottle up the steam to a constant pressure was nowhere to be found the afternoon of the party. Fortunately this was discovered early enough in the day so the oven method of preparation could be used for the main course. The old slower method produced a tender juicy  meat to go with the potatoes and other "fixins". Just goes to show there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat.

End of the road.

I got a call from a golfing friend yesterday. He was canceling our golf outing for today. He received word his father in law (94 years old) was not doing well in Illinois.  So my friend and his wife were flying up there to be with him. It got me to thinking about death and serious illness. When old people die there is a lot less sorrow than when an young person does. In fact, when the quality of life of an old  person is poor, death comes as a blessing. That kind of thinking is surely tied to the Judeo-Christian heritage we have learned from our upbringing. We hope that our death is not the end but the start of something better. If that is not the case then death at any age would be as bad as the death of a young person.

Home Entertaining.

My wife and I are giving a small dinner party this evening. That is if all things go according to plan. I can't recall the last time we did this. Of course we do feed our visitors, but they are mainly family and  that is completely different. The meat dish will be cooked in a pressure cooker so that adds a little excitement to the process. There is always the possibility (however remote) of a malfunction and the meat winding up blasted onto the ceiling. Later in our stay we expect to have non family overnight guests as well. Such is the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Or maybe just that of middle class "snow birds".

Low Profile.

I do have a Facebook account but rarely use it. I occasionally "Like" another's post but that is about all.  Yesterday was the exception. I posted this, hoping to warn others.

I just now was fortunate to recognize and defeat a scam attempt by text message. The text in question said to the affect "State Bank Alert" Your VISA card has been deactivated. Call this number toll free. 801.***.****. It did not smell right so I called the number on my credit card to find out what was going on. No deactivation, all transactions correct and accounted for. BUYER BEWARE.

Technology is a great thing but no better than the people using or misusing it.

Healthcare Provider.

We visited our local healthcare provider today and left with surprisingly good feelings about them. My wife needed a routine blood test completed so we called the clinic to get the procedure authorized and they did OK it for tomorrow. Since we were in the area later in the morning we decided to try to have it done today and save an extra trip (12 miles). We had used their services before and thought we new how things would proceed, but things had changed.When we entered the waiting area we were surrounded by ten or more large screen monitors placed around the waiting room with 50 or 60 people watching and listening for their number to be called. The numbers were issued at a centrally located machine which was activated by the touch of a button. After a few minutes your number was called and you spoke to one of seven receptionists. You then went back to your seat for a few minutes more and were called by the same number into one of 15 laboratory stations where your procedure was completed. The whole thing took 30 minutes or less. A good use of technology and manpower to provide an effective and efficient service. 

Neighbors.

I met the neighbor across the street today. He and his wife are from Michigan recently and originally from north Georgia. They have been coming to the area for the winter over 10 years now and purchased their place 3 years ago. Having been here that long you would think he would know about the park rule not allowing more than 2 residents per home and limiting visitors length of stay. He wanted his grand daughter to stay several months while attending college. He seemed real nice, even offered to show us around his home which is for sale. My wife looked thru it last year and thought it was the best one of those for sale in the park.

Hazard (Take Two)

The real estate lady has come and gone. The potential buyer was a lady by herself. It sounded like she was married, so it seems unlikely she would buy without her husband looking also. Unless she returns with him I don't see her making an offer. I told the landlord of the showing, she seemed surprised. Apparently there have not been many this last year. My niece and her husband own several similar properties in the area, They said prices have recovered from the lows and recently the market has been good for sellers. Although places like ours where the lots are not owned by the home owner are the least likely to sell, because of the ever increasing lot rent.

Hazardous Duty.

It depends on what you call hazardous. Fighting in a war zone, a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs, that pretty much covers it. Sitting here watching the neighbor's home being pressure washed to remove and prevent mold and mildew growth on the siding. The fellow doing it is part of the park staff. I think it needs to be done twice a year in the Florida climate. He is not wearing any safety gear so I guess the chemical being used is not too toxic. Just another expense of home ownership in the Sunshine state.

Our latest concern is having our rental sold out from under us. People coming after lunch to look at our place with the possible intent of buying. Not sure where that would leave us. Another kind of hazardous duty.

Something Approaching a Routine.

That's what  I am hoping starts today. I think most people like a routine more than a lot of change, at least I do. Things have settled down from the last few days, So today begins a weekly schedule that should become routine. Golf this morning, followed by a weekend of gospel music and soccer and worship, and golf on TV. Monday morning golf, Tuesday movies at the clubhouse, then Wednesday golf, followed by Thursday BINGO and Friday golf. Did I say I was going to play a little golf. :)

Somewhere in there we need to find a few days for visiting the beach, friends in Venice and Tampa, flea-markets, theme parks, monthly blood tests and all the other stuff that pops up. Knock on wood.

Blogging

Still working out the details of our internet connection. We expect to be gone from our regular connection for a while. So the frequency of these posts is likely to suffer.

On our recent travels the usefulness of our auto GPS was highlighted. Nearing Nashville, Tn on I-24 we encountered stopped traffic about 7 miles from our next turn. So I asked the GPS for a detour hoping to avoid this mess. Well, to make a long story short, it routed us off I-24 to I-65 saving us at least an hour and a lot of aggravation. I know this may  have been a lucky thing but none the less was very welcome. Rain and more rain has been the recurring theme on our travels. At least it's not snow.