Good morning and welcome to the Saturday Fishing Report.
This last week of September had temperatures start out hot and then fall almost into line with the averages for this time of year. We're still running above normal, but it's something. The water, naturally, is still warm. And the water is still filled with baitfish for the larger fish to eat. I walked by a little cove in the rocks yesterday and hundreds of little bluegills freaked out. The bass are eating good and don't want my measly worms and my fake food.
Having said that, though, here's how my week shook out...
Sunday - got out early. Checked the park, but it was full of people, so I went to a spot on the main lake. Caught one 8" 6oz bluegill I kept, a smaller bluegill, and a little punkinseed, and a whole lot of sun. Thank goodness for 50 spf or I'd be a crispy critter.
Wednesday - went out a little later in the morning to the park. Nobody there and I found a place to park that shouldn't get the authorities khakis in a wad. I ended up on my favorite ledges. Yay. I caught two big bluegills - 8" 6oz and 8.5" 7oz. I also caught a little green sunfish.
Friday - Nice cool morning, so off I went. Some clouds, too, which is always nice. Didn't catch a damn thing. But I saw an osprey. And I found some gal's smartphone. I eventually got it returned to her, so it's all good.
As an aside, how does a gal with ratty clothes, the nastiest set of teeth I've seen in a while, and a crap-ass pickup truck that took 5 times before it started afford a brand new Samsung Galaxy phone? And when she came to pick up her phone from me, she was holding another smart phone. Ummmm. I guess it's all about priorities. :shrug:
As another aside, I saw a really awesome fishing pole at the thrift store this week. $15. It wasn't in the budget, so I put it back. Which brings me around to a point I want to make - that doesn't have anything to do with financial choices, btw. If you want to fish, but you can't afford to fish, check out your local thrift stores. I've gotten two rod/reel combos at mine for under $5. This one here had a whole bunch of soft fake baits available. Sometimes they have tackle boxes and lures. Sometimes you can find coolers and nets and floats and lifejackets. It's all a matter of keeping your eyes peeled.
And that's it for me this week. If you can, get out and enjoy the cooler weather before it turns into cold weather. ;o)
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Friday, September 29, 2017
Reading Round-Up
Thanks to my friend, Silver James, for suggesting I do a sort of end of the month round up about the new-to-me/underappreciated books I've read.
September I read two books that qualified.
Bewitch Me by Amelia Blake (9/10/17) - YA Paranormal*#
The blurb:
"A messed-up magic spell, three clueless witches, and a six-thousand-year-old demon. What could possibly go wrong?
My name is Emily Fairchild and in all my sixteen years I never imagined that magic was real. That is until my best friend discovered a mysterious notebook filled with runes and magic spells, and the most popular girl in school turned out to be a real-life witch.
As a result of a horrible magical accident, we’re now stuck with a six-thousand-year-old demon who acts like a twelve year old with a really bad attitude and is trapped in our dimension.
And somehow it’s all my fault. So, until we figure out how to get rid of him, I have to babysit a demon who now lives in my room, reads my diary, eats all my food, and stalks blonde underwear models online.
How did my life ever get so complicated?"
I gave it 5 stars.
My review: Fun read, even if the little sister, Chloe, was so annoying I wanted someone to turn her into a frog. Or a dung beetle. Or whatever. But I liked the other characters and it was nice to escape into this book for a while. I can't wait to see what happens to the gang next.
-------------
Caught In Between by Allison L. Perry (9/14/17) - YA Paranormal*#
The blurb:
"She’s not like the others…
Sixteen-year-old Sadie is a vampire who faints at the sight of blood, trips over her own feet, and can only, at best, be called cute.
As the imperfect middle child in a perfect vampire family, she struggles to fit into a world where she is different from everyone else.
Forced to follow her parents’ wishes by attending University, the local finishing school for graceful young vampires, she soon becomes the laughingstock of her oh-so-perfect class. But when the most popular boy on campus comes to her rescue and calls her “beautiful,” Sadie becomes the target of a group of mean girls who rule the school.
Plagued by a series of embarrassing failures, Sadie is kicked out of University and must face reality: she doesn’t belong with vampires. And when a mysterious elder vampire seeks her out with vague and cryptic conversation, she’s even more convinced that something is amiss.
With no other acceptable choice for her future, Sadie must convince her traditional vampire parents to let her do something unheard of for vampires her age. But questions continue to plague her. Is she truly a vampire? Or is she something else?"
I gave it 5 stars.
My review: This was totally awesome. I could really step into Sadie's shoes - even though she's a vampire - and remember what it was like to be different from the other teens. Sure, Sadie's got some problems unique to being a different kind of vampire - like being allergic to blood - but it was easy to feel a sort of camaraderie with her. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of this series and more from this author.
------------
Both books were free at the time I snagged them, but always check prices before you buy. I was really glad I downloaded and read both of these. So much fun! I have a couple of SF/Dystopian books I've downloaded for next month. We'll see how that goes.
Now here's the point where you get to talk. Have you read anything new-to-you lately? Tell me about it.
September I read two books that qualified.
Bewitch Me by Amelia Blake (9/10/17) - YA Paranormal*#
The blurb:
"A messed-up magic spell, three clueless witches, and a six-thousand-year-old demon. What could possibly go wrong?
My name is Emily Fairchild and in all my sixteen years I never imagined that magic was real. That is until my best friend discovered a mysterious notebook filled with runes and magic spells, and the most popular girl in school turned out to be a real-life witch.
As a result of a horrible magical accident, we’re now stuck with a six-thousand-year-old demon who acts like a twelve year old with a really bad attitude and is trapped in our dimension.
And somehow it’s all my fault. So, until we figure out how to get rid of him, I have to babysit a demon who now lives in my room, reads my diary, eats all my food, and stalks blonde underwear models online.
How did my life ever get so complicated?"
I gave it 5 stars.
My review: Fun read, even if the little sister, Chloe, was so annoying I wanted someone to turn her into a frog. Or a dung beetle. Or whatever. But I liked the other characters and it was nice to escape into this book for a while. I can't wait to see what happens to the gang next.
-------------
Caught In Between by Allison L. Perry (9/14/17) - YA Paranormal*#
The blurb:
"She’s not like the others…
Sixteen-year-old Sadie is a vampire who faints at the sight of blood, trips over her own feet, and can only, at best, be called cute.
As the imperfect middle child in a perfect vampire family, she struggles to fit into a world where she is different from everyone else.
Forced to follow her parents’ wishes by attending University, the local finishing school for graceful young vampires, she soon becomes the laughingstock of her oh-so-perfect class. But when the most popular boy on campus comes to her rescue and calls her “beautiful,” Sadie becomes the target of a group of mean girls who rule the school.
Plagued by a series of embarrassing failures, Sadie is kicked out of University and must face reality: she doesn’t belong with vampires. And when a mysterious elder vampire seeks her out with vague and cryptic conversation, she’s even more convinced that something is amiss.
With no other acceptable choice for her future, Sadie must convince her traditional vampire parents to let her do something unheard of for vampires her age. But questions continue to plague her. Is she truly a vampire? Or is she something else?"
I gave it 5 stars.
My review: This was totally awesome. I could really step into Sadie's shoes - even though she's a vampire - and remember what it was like to be different from the other teens. Sure, Sadie's got some problems unique to being a different kind of vampire - like being allergic to blood - but it was easy to feel a sort of camaraderie with her. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of this series and more from this author.
------------
Both books were free at the time I snagged them, but always check prices before you buy. I was really glad I downloaded and read both of these. So much fun! I have a couple of SF/Dystopian books I've downloaded for next month. We'll see how that goes.
Now here's the point where you get to talk. Have you read anything new-to-you lately? Tell me about it.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
Thursday This n That
Yesterday, I had a message on my machine from my doctor's office "...I need you to call us as soon as possible" and no reason why. So I, of course, began the freak out process. Whatever could it be? It's not time for my shot. I haven't had any tests lately. Was it something to do with my last bill? Did they stop taking my insurance? Argh. I picked up the phone right then and called. It was to reschedule my appointment in November. I told her she could've said that on the machine, and she reminded me of HIPAA. I get HIPAA rules and everything, but I signed that paper saying they could leave a message and another paper saying Hubs can have access to everything. They know it's just the two of us here - it's not that big an office and I make myself hard to forget (in a friendly way). Ugh. I bet next time it'll be the same dealie-bob, even though I told her she could leave more details. I guess it's just one more thing I'll have to get over.
I mentioned before that I had a business proposition in the works. Nothing major. Like I'm not getting a non-writing, outside the house job or anything. My family owns a business up in Michigan and my brother offered me an opportunity. I didn't take it as is. I have too much writing and life stuff to commit to anything so involved. But I did agree to a modified version. It'll make me a little scratch and help Mom out tons, with only some spreadsheet work here and there. As the scratch accumulates, I'll have money for covers and editing, so look out world. LOL
The great thing about Kindle Unlimited is that I got to watch someone read the entire Once Upon a Djinn series over the course of two days. Tuesday they started reading WIOH and I watched the graph for that rise, then IDW, then UWC. They finished WHTF last night. Which was totally cool.
I saw a bald eagle yesterday! I hope this means the migration for them has begun. We do have the occasional sighting throughout the year, but when they've migrated to here for the winter, we see tons. Yay!
The cat is doing better. No barfing since Tuesday and she actually ate a little dry food this morning. (She's been eating wet, but less than usual.) Whatever upset her tummy must be over. :fingers crossed:
Well, that's it for me. Have at it yourself in the comments.
I mentioned before that I had a business proposition in the works. Nothing major. Like I'm not getting a non-writing, outside the house job or anything. My family owns a business up in Michigan and my brother offered me an opportunity. I didn't take it as is. I have too much writing and life stuff to commit to anything so involved. But I did agree to a modified version. It'll make me a little scratch and help Mom out tons, with only some spreadsheet work here and there. As the scratch accumulates, I'll have money for covers and editing, so look out world. LOL
The great thing about Kindle Unlimited is that I got to watch someone read the entire Once Upon a Djinn series over the course of two days. Tuesday they started reading WIOH and I watched the graph for that rise, then IDW, then UWC. They finished WHTF last night. Which was totally cool.
I saw a bald eagle yesterday! I hope this means the migration for them has begun. We do have the occasional sighting throughout the year, but when they've migrated to here for the winter, we see tons. Yay!
The cat is doing better. No barfing since Tuesday and she actually ate a little dry food this morning. (She's been eating wet, but less than usual.) Whatever upset her tummy must be over. :fingers crossed:
Well, that's it for me. Have at it yourself in the comments.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Tell Me Something Good
Yesterday was a wash. I woke up late - which is to say around 6 - and frittered away the first two hours on nothing. Then I remembered that I'd better pay bills or they wouldn't make it to where they needed to be on time. After paying bills, I did my Monday morning phone call with Mom, which involved some businessy things wherein not a whole lot got accomplished but we did manage to figure out what questions to ask so we can accomplish something soon. (Part of that business venture thing I mentioned a while back.) Then I went to Wallyworld and KFC - because sometimes you just need some fried chicken, ya know.
The rest of the day? Got me. I read stuff. I watched stuff on TV. Nothing really got accomplished.
This morning I was awakened at quarter after 3 by the sound of Kira puking. Fun fun. I still have to clean the carpet. For now, there are towels over the offending spots so we don't accidentally step on anything. Yeah, I know, ew, but I am not scrubbing the carpet this early on too little caffeine. She did this Sunday morning while I was fishing, too. Both bedroom carpets. Hubs cleaned up and laid towels. I scrubbed the carpet when I got home because ew. This morning, she only got the office carpet, but in several places. Why on the carpet when like half the house is hard floor, I'll never know.
Not sure what Kira's problem is - and no, she never gets any fried chicken. I learned that one the hard way years ago. I'll monitor her today and see if she needs to visit the vet tomorrow. I dread taking her to the vet. She's agoraphobic and she gets motion sick. More ew on top of kitty angst. Driving down the road listening to mournful meows punctuated by barfing. yay
I really should invest in that carpet cleaner I saw on sale. If it's still on sale.
As you can see, I'm not really Perky Polly this morning. But that's life. I probably should go back to bed. I just don't want to lay back down only to be awakened by the sickening wet cough again.
Tell me something good. Maybe if I go back to bed, I can awaken to your good things and start this week over.
The rest of the day? Got me. I read stuff. I watched stuff on TV. Nothing really got accomplished.
This morning I was awakened at quarter after 3 by the sound of Kira puking. Fun fun. I still have to clean the carpet. For now, there are towels over the offending spots so we don't accidentally step on anything. Yeah, I know, ew, but I am not scrubbing the carpet this early on too little caffeine. She did this Sunday morning while I was fishing, too. Both bedroom carpets. Hubs cleaned up and laid towels. I scrubbed the carpet when I got home because ew. This morning, she only got the office carpet, but in several places. Why on the carpet when like half the house is hard floor, I'll never know.
Not sure what Kira's problem is - and no, she never gets any fried chicken. I learned that one the hard way years ago. I'll monitor her today and see if she needs to visit the vet tomorrow. I dread taking her to the vet. She's agoraphobic and she gets motion sick. More ew on top of kitty angst. Driving down the road listening to mournful meows punctuated by barfing. yay
I really should invest in that carpet cleaner I saw on sale. If it's still on sale.
As you can see, I'm not really Perky Polly this morning. But that's life. I probably should go back to bed. I just don't want to lay back down only to be awakened by the sickening wet cough again.
Tell me something good. Maybe if I go back to bed, I can awaken to your good things and start this week over.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 38
Well, it's that time again. Sunday.
Wish Hits the Fan is out in the world, so I spent some time doing marketing stuff for that.
I got back to writing on Early Grave finally. Only about 3K more words on it so far, but I think I have the thread picked up again, so it's all good.
Read two books last week - another Cat Who book and a SF. I also picked up a couple more free books by new to me authors on Amazon, but I went with a classic instead - The Time Machine by HG Wells. I can't believe I'd never read it.
The weather's been too unseasonably hot to go fishing much. I'm still sticking to places I can get to easily and where I can sit. That means baking on the rocks and I'm totally not into that. Plus, the fish are still deep. Maybe I'll go see if I can drown some worms today. I need to flush the brain pipes.
The fawns have all lost their spots. They're like little 'mini-me' versions of the does. We also saw a buck we hadn't seen. We're guessing he's a two-year old. We still have the two yearling bucks - Sym and Oliver. (Sym because his antlers are symmetrical and Oliver because he was a scrawny orphan.) They both look good. We also still have the Sisters - older twin does who travel together. And we have a scattering of other does. Haven't seen any of the older bucks yet, but the rut will be starting and they'll stop by to check out the ladies.
Well, that's about it for me. How was your week?
Wish Hits the Fan is out in the world, so I spent some time doing marketing stuff for that.
I got back to writing on Early Grave finally. Only about 3K more words on it so far, but I think I have the thread picked up again, so it's all good.
Read two books last week - another Cat Who book and a SF. I also picked up a couple more free books by new to me authors on Amazon, but I went with a classic instead - The Time Machine by HG Wells. I can't believe I'd never read it.
The weather's been too unseasonably hot to go fishing much. I'm still sticking to places I can get to easily and where I can sit. That means baking on the rocks and I'm totally not into that. Plus, the fish are still deep. Maybe I'll go see if I can drown some worms today. I need to flush the brain pipes.
The fawns have all lost their spots. They're like little 'mini-me' versions of the does. We also saw a buck we hadn't seen. We're guessing he's a two-year old. We still have the two yearling bucks - Sym and Oliver. (Sym because his antlers are symmetrical and Oliver because he was a scrawny orphan.) They both look good. We also still have the Sisters - older twin does who travel together. And we have a scattering of other does. Haven't seen any of the older bucks yet, but the rut will be starting and they'll stop by to check out the ladies.
Well, that's about it for me. How was your week?
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Saturday Fishing Report - 9/23/17
Hi All and welcome to the Saturday Fishing Report, such as it is. The weather took a major turn toward the hot and the fish are still deeper than I can go from the bank.
Having said that, though, I did go out on Tuesday morning. I fished for a couple hours. Caught 4 bluegills, one green sunfish, and two small spotted bass. Nothing big enough to keep, but it was better than getting skunked.
I'm seeing scads of bait fish and small panfish along the ledges. I'm also seeing a boatload of turtles - all makes and models. I'd also like to say it's been a banner year for seeing snakes in the water. I'm thinking it all has something to do with the flood, but I don't know that for certain.
Checking out the local fishing reports tells me what I suspect - the fish are deep and they really aren't that interested in the food I'm presenting them because the lake is filled with shad and the bass are gorging themselves on those.
I may go out today because I'm getting cabin fever. I don't expect to catch anything of note, but like I've said before that's not the only goal of my fishing excursions. Sure, I'd like to catch fish to bring home and eat, but if I don't, it ain't no thing.
Well, that's it for me. I hope y'all have an awesome week and get out into nature at some point.
Having said that, though, I did go out on Tuesday morning. I fished for a couple hours. Caught 4 bluegills, one green sunfish, and two small spotted bass. Nothing big enough to keep, but it was better than getting skunked.
I'm seeing scads of bait fish and small panfish along the ledges. I'm also seeing a boatload of turtles - all makes and models. I'd also like to say it's been a banner year for seeing snakes in the water. I'm thinking it all has something to do with the flood, but I don't know that for certain.
Checking out the local fishing reports tells me what I suspect - the fish are deep and they really aren't that interested in the food I'm presenting them because the lake is filled with shad and the bass are gorging themselves on those.
I may go out today because I'm getting cabin fever. I don't expect to catch anything of note, but like I've said before that's not the only goal of my fishing excursions. Sure, I'd like to catch fish to bring home and eat, but if I don't, it ain't no thing.
Well, that's it for me. I hope y'all have an awesome week and get out into nature at some point.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Thursday This n That
The other night, I was trying to figure out what to read next. I'd just given up on the time-travel romance and I couldn't decide. So, I downloaded some free, new-to-me books. But reading on the Kindle wasn't blowing my skirt up. I keep meaning to read some more of that Andre Norton collection I bought years ago, but I never know which ones are parts of series or even what order they're in or anything. This lead me to a bibliography of everything she'd ever written. Holy crap, the woman was prolific. I printed the list out and sat down at my bookcase. It took me about a half hour to sort through them all and get them in some semblance of order. I sorted them by series and publication date. Then I picked up the earliest 'single title' - Huon of the Horn. But it's a historical with SF/F elements and I wasn't in the mood. Next up in the single titles was Dread Companion - a straight SF. So far, so weird. It makes me wonder if Andre was smoking something. We'll see if I stick with it.
One thing I did discover, though, is that most of this collection is comprised of first edition paperbacks. Way cool. I think a couple might be rare. Even cooler.
I did this same thing earlier this year with my collection of Mickey Spillanes. And wouldn't you know it, I don't have all of them or even all of any particular series. Same with the Andre Nortons. Ack.
The problem with collecting old books... well, one of them anyway... is that I'm not quite sure in my head which ones I have or which ones I need, so I end up buying by author name and hoping I'm not duplicating. Unfortunately, this is how I ended up with two old copies of The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. Which I discovered when I reorganized my bookshelves a while back.
Oh, well. They're books. And they're old. And I love them.
Heh, I didn't start out to make this an all 'book collecting' edition of this-n-that, but there it is. Anything you want to add? Do you collect books by any particular authors?
One thing I did discover, though, is that most of this collection is comprised of first edition paperbacks. Way cool. I think a couple might be rare. Even cooler.
I did this same thing earlier this year with my collection of Mickey Spillanes. And wouldn't you know it, I don't have all of them or even all of any particular series. Same with the Andre Nortons. Ack.
The problem with collecting old books... well, one of them anyway... is that I'm not quite sure in my head which ones I have or which ones I need, so I end up buying by author name and hoping I'm not duplicating. Unfortunately, this is how I ended up with two old copies of The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. Which I discovered when I reorganized my bookshelves a while back.
Oh, well. They're books. And they're old. And I love them.
Heh, I didn't start out to make this an all 'book collecting' edition of this-n-that, but there it is. Anything you want to add? Do you collect books by any particular authors?
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