As I get older, more and more things grab my interest. I have thoroughly enjoyed having my disabled son near me; however, it causes a large chunk of my time to be devoted to him. He likes to go to the movies on Tuesday, (so do I) he likes to have lunch at Pizza Hut all-you-can -eat buffet (so do I) and he likes going to the grocery store once or twice a week (he likes for me to push his buggy- and so do I). I try to coordinate those trips, but sometimes, I just can’t. He lives in Geneva; we live in Chancellor and most of our activities take place in Enterprise! But I love it and don’t begrudge a minute of it. There were so many years that I could only see him twice a year!
I have recently re-acquainted myself with my love for fishing. We have a fishpond – the thing that drew me to this property in the first place. We fed the fish the first few years we lived here, then the fish feeders started tearing up and after the third one went kaput, we just stopped. The catfish were big and strong then, now they are squirts. We have recently purchased a new standing fish feeder and as soon as we get it put in, we will start having fat fish again! I try to go fishing every day. My brother-in-law needs catfish for his pond and we have a cazillion baby catfish. I catch them and put them in a basket in the water until he can come after them. During the past two weeks, I have probably given him five dozen or more.
I had a small bream-buster, but it was old and worn out. I decided to do something about it and I ordered a 16’ extension pole from Amazon. That thing is so heavy that I can barely handle it, much less when a large fish gets on the line! I got quite a chuckle out of my silly self. My favorite of all time reel is the Zebco 20/10. They don’t make them anymore and mine broke- irreparable plastic part! My husband did a little research and discovered the Zebco 33 Micro. It is about the same size as the 20/10, but it had a two-prong handle and I like the one prong one like the old one! Anyway, we got it and I enjoyed it, but not as much. It has a 4 lb. test line on it and it won’t throw very far! Last Saturday, I was at Walmart and found a purple rod and reel – model Zebco 202 and it is great. The reel is a little larger than the 20/10, but it only has one handle and it will cast halfway across the pond! Fabulous!
I have also learned that I really love to catch large mouth bass. About 3-4 years ago, we attempted to stock our pond and we put a dozen or so small largemouth bass, some bluegill and some shellcrackers. I have caught three hand-sized blue gill and about 10 bass, the largest bout 4 ½ pounds, within the past three weeks. What a thrill. My tackle is really for pan fish and the big bass really puts a pull on it. I have lost three or four lines, hooks and bobbers with a bass going underneath the pier and the line breaking. Today, I caught three large bass using a small shellcracker as bait. Unfortunately, the bass either got off right at the pier or broke my line going underneath the pier! It is so peaceful out on the pond. I sometimes use Pandora to listen to Chris Stapleton and J J Cale music, but mostly l just like the quiet.
Another thing of interest to me these days is turning cigar boxes into Steampunk Treasure Boxes. Joseph smokes a fair number of cigars, so the wonderful owner of his cigar store gives me boxes in return for boxes dooded-up as steampunkers. He uses them in his photography for advertising. I spend many hours affixing gears, watches, keys, old jewelry pieces, nuts, and bolts to these boxes, painting them and shining them up with metallic wax. No two are alike and they are pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. I’ve even sold two for $100! I may go to a few craft fairs this fall to sell them.
In conjunction with creating these cigar boxes, I became interested in using polymer clay to create characters/images to go on the boxes. Some of them are cool. The polymer clay takes a lot of kneading to get it to a good texture (probably because I buy the cheap stuff). My hands are old and I don’t have a good grip! I made a huge purchase and bought a $29 pasta machine and it kneads it beautifully. I created a witchy lizard!
On a whole other realm, I also started paint pouring. It is a lot of fun, but messy! Some of my projects (maybe all) have not turned out like I wanted them to, so I need to spend a little more time practicing. I really enjoy the way they look after epoxy is applied. I have always been afraid of using epoxy before, now I love it!
In amongst all of this, I love to read. I recently read a wonderfully uplifting book by Liz Huntley, More Than a Bird. It is a true story about a downtrodden child who rises to become a prestigious trial attorney – and more, in the South.
I recently went to Panama City to help a new friend move into her new apartment – moving from St Louis, MO. We had so much fun and she treated me to delicious food at all kinds of wonderful places – including Whataburger!
Last night, we went to a banquet at Geneva County High School in Hartford for our great-nephew, Will. He won 4th Place in an Alabama Future Business Leaders of America presentation and is on his way to Nationals! They held the banquet as a fund-raiser and we “won” a (maybe) 40-pound lasagna in the silent auction and my sister won a cow painting by a local painter! Naturally we had the whole family over tonight to enjoy the lasagna. My son really enjoyed it and got all the leftovers!
I have always had a weight problem, so in January I joined Weight Watchers. I have lost 30 pounds, but here I am, tonight, sitting at my computer eating peanut M&M’s. My husband has always helped me by leaving those kinds of foods at the store, but now? He bought a gallon jug of them at Sam’s today. He has always said he liked “soft women”. I wonder if I am too hard for him now. Health issues are always a topic of conversation between us old folks. Mine current “illness of the day” is macular degeneration. I have the wet kind in the left eye and the dry type in the right. Consequently, I must periodically get “shot in the eye” to help. Today, I got shot in the eye. It hurts, I see bugs floating all around me and I am miserable. I’ve been thinking about unpleasant things today, too. I need to put flowers in the cemeteries. I am the only one who is interested and I feel obligated to do it. A der friend in in terrible condition in the hospital in Dothan and we are just praying he will make it, and a dear friend from Portland OR, just let me know that her beloved husband of 23 years recently passed away from complications from Parkinson’s disease. Next week, I plan to think of happy things! My sister and first cousin are going to Gordo AL to visit my only surviving Aunt. She is in excellent health and is so thrilled we are coming and we are staying for a week! We plan to visit with many more cousins while we are there – in fact she calls it a mini-cousin reunion. I am very excited! I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day and a blessed week!