Find Me a Home

Cleaning house and spring cleaning are not at the top of my list. Occasionally, I tidy up a bit though.

Recently, I found out my cat, Snowball is really a goat, disguised as a cat.

My little "cat-goat" cleaned Gladdies room and ate a bunch of bands, beads, yarn, and a Barbie shoe.  Yes, really!

She became deathly ill.  I took her to the vet and that's when I discovered she was a goat!  Luckily, all the non-edible items were removed and she recovered very well from her surgery.

An organization known as Second Chance 4 Pets, played a big part in her recovery.

They help homeless animals find homes, and generally assist pet owners as needed.

After Snowball recovered, I went to lend em a hand at the Pet Smart adoption booth.

They had several cats that needed a home.  This cat talked: 

The other cats mostly just laid around and waited for some attention.

Occasionally, they would grab at passerbyers. 

More often than not, the passerbyrs would reach in to them.  I would take em (pets) all home if I could! 

The next day, Troy and I got to go fishing for a bit. 

We caught a bunch a feisty little gills, and Troy got some good practice in on his open spin.

We also, did a little window shopping at Bass Pro.  Someone has a birthday coming up!!!  (shhh, it's Troy)   :)

Lake Michigan Coho/ Sick at Sea

I had a fishing dry streak; that is to say, for a few days I didn't get any fish. :(

I kept trying for those Michigan City harbor cohos and never did manage to do well there.

Friends took pity on me, and I got to go after the coho's out in the lake.

Lines were put out and we were ready to reel em in!

The weather was very nice.  A cool breeze was in the air, and it wasn't too hot or too cold.

I find it thrilling to be out on the big lake (Lake Michigan).

The water in the harbor was muddy and calm.

Out from the harbor the water seemed so clear, but was very choppy and had waves rolling in.  It was a blast to cruise in!  I even liked getting sprayed with the mist, but was trying not to be a wet head for the rest of the day.  Garrett made a decent shield though. :) 

Once we reached our destination Plainer boards were set out to keep the lures out and away from the boat.  It was shortly after this point, that all of the sudden, I began to feel ill.

Before I knew it, we had a bite and Garrett handed me the rod!!!  I felt a good, definite tug, and then I still thought I had the fish on, but didn't.  The resistance of cutting through the water using the plainer boards made it hard to tell.

We did catch fish, and they were flippy and slippery! 

We reeled in 4 and missed 2, or in fishing terms were 4 of 6.

The fish were so pretty and it was very exciting and I became very sick.

I hardly ate any breakfast that morning, just a bit of toast and half an apple.  I thought to myself, I am NOT sick.  I DO NOT get SEASICK!  Yet, apparently I do, cause I did, and had to vomit.  Blahhh.

Afterward, I felt much better.  And reeled in more fish! 

I was a bit tired to begin with from not sleeping well, and I wonder if that had anything to do with getting seasick.  Lesson learned-- take some meds before going out on the big lake!

The dry streak was officially OVER!!!!  A big thanks to Hambone and Garrett for some great memories!  :)

Sophie's Haircut

Sophie was ready for her day of pampering at the dog spa!

After dropping her off, I cruised over to Rogers-Lakewood Park in Valparaiso.

I caught the cutest little pike!!!

Or so I thought it was a pike.

In actuality it is a baby pickerel.  Still cute though.  I didn't know that it wasn't a pike until after I texted a few friends, and then looked up how to tell the difference.  The dark line by the eye is the give-a-way.

Other than the false pike-ing, I got some gills and a redear.

 

The day was gorgeous out; turtles thought so too!

Sunny and Springy. :)

Sophie, my Shihtzu, turned Chihuahua, went crazy by running about the house.  I guess her spa day/new haircut made her feel happy! 

Confetti Salad and Salmon Patties

Oh Boy!  Spring has Sprung!!!  

Spring and potluck salads just sorta go together.  Confetti salad is a colorful hit at potlucks and it also makes for a great side dish.

 

Another plus for this salad is that it's easy to whip up.  Start by tossing corn, chick peas, diced ham, fresh tomatoes, and green peas together.  Then add Miracle Whip and gently mix it all.

There you have it-- a colorful Confetti Salad!

I think the sammin have moved out of the harbor and into cooler water.  Not all of em made it out alive though.  A few of em wound up on the supper table.

I cooked the sammin, in a shallow dish with a bit of water, until it became flaky.

Then mixed it with bread crumbs, egg, and a bit of freshly minced garlic.

I used just enough egg and bread crumbs to form the mixture into patties. 

Then they were fried in a bit of peanut oil until slightly browned.

Lloyd thought they were delicious!

:)

Michigan City Harbor

Looking back and reading my fishing journal from my past few outings, my buddy Mark has really been consistent at catching fish in the harbor.
 

I have had the longest harbor skunk run--EVER!  And that's about to change.  I'm talking sammin and trout fishing here.  I'd even count a little one at this point.

Last week, I had the chance to fish the harbor and I kept running into issues with my line.  I had thought I had all that worked out after re-spooling new line when it gave me trouble at the Winter Rebellion.  Josh and Alan make it look so easy.  It's like my fishing line goes nuts on me each time I get within 20 feet of the harbor!

The good that comes from this lesson, is I know how important line type is now.  I'm experiencing first hand the what and the whys behind braided thread, fluorocarbon and mono. Up until this point, variations in fishing line was all as clear as mud to me.  That is to say it was one confusing mess and I never knew what kind of line to use or what I actually needed; now I know!

Troy and Sophie came with me.  Troy wasn't all that interested in fishing though.  It's too bad, cause I'm pretty sure their was a fish down there waiting to visit him.

Sophie enjoyed the new surroundings and patiently waited for me to catch a fish.  It's too bad I didn't get any.  :(

Still, it was nice to be enjoying the weather, fishing, and talking with friends.

When Troy and I got home that evening, the neighborhood kids flocked to the trampoline!  :)

Troy and I had fun bowling the other day too. 

I was taking a shot of my new bowling shoes and for some reason it came out like this:

 

Weird!