What's on your Monday Menu?

Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy Everyone! Welcome to a wonderful new week! Let's do this!

This morning we are taking the kitties to the vet. Our two cats are an interesting case for Nature v Nurture. They are from the same litter and have never spent more than 5 minutes apart in their lives but they are such different creatures. Innie is one our tribe--the poor guy just can't get enough food. He'd eat himself into a coma every day if it was an option. Fezzie, on the other hand, just isn't motivated by food. He uses it as "fuel" and only takes what he needs to function. The moral of my tale of two kitties is that we are born like this and shouldn't be judged for how hard it is for some of us, damn it!

QOTD: Let's talk artificial sweeteners. Do you use them? Do you have a preference? I add Sucralose to my coffee and I don't avoid foods with them except for sugar alcohols which make me feel ill.

Accountability: Decent weekend, but I did enjoy a birthday cookie yesterday. I woke up stahhhhhhviing and was hungry all day but that was my only indiscretion.

Good morning, everybody!

I finished up and have a bamboo fly rod! Friday was attaching the line guides. That process is done by wrapping a single layer of silk thread around them, no knots (a little trickery with a loop. Full disclosure, the instructors wrapped one of my ferrules for me. Then they are coated in varnish. Around 5:00 the rods went into varnish. They are dipped, so no paintbrush.

Saturday was an easy day. Sand and steel wool at 8:30. Only the wrappings were sanded. Sign the rods. Back into the varnish from 10:00 to 2:30.

Steel wool at 3:00, and back to the varnish. Then we settled our invoices and had a few hours to fill. I filled mine with a rather robust cannoli.

We head to Atlanta in about 90 minutes and fly back to Chicago. We shipped the rods to keep them out of baggage claim. I loved the class and Blue Ridge. I plan to return to make a fresh water rod the commemorate my retirement in a few years. This week is bonkers, but that?s tomorrow?s post.

Yesterday I did catch a rainbow trout in the Toccoa River.

That engraving is cool!!

Very nice work. That looks like a lot of fun.

I've loved following this process! They look awesome!

Wow, they are stunning Jim!!

How awesome. I sent the website to DH and I am thinking great 50th B-day gift February 2025.

I think they are taking 2025 reservations now. Marilyn's fishing guide told her that February is the best time of the year to fish.

It is such an amazing experience to have completed a project like this. That rod will be something you will enjoy and be able to pass down as a treasured object in your family. Enjoy your fishing with it.

It looks amazing!