Nice Day on the Lake...

Hit Irvine Lake this morning with the Dad. Gets a little bit cold out there in the morning so I bundled up with the waffle knit, a fleece vest and a top coat. Nice and toasty. Not to mention the skullcap to keep my ears from freezing. We zig zagged all over the lake trolling for a Trout or two but came up empty. Got about 4 hits throughout the day but nothing ever hooked up. Daybreak was kinda nice though and I snapped off some pics... Thanks to the Dad for the breakfast burrito and a fun day on the pond. Better luck next time!!!


Sunrise over the transom...


Saving the ears...




Other lake dwellers...


Prepping for takeoff...


Good seat up front...

We'll have to try this again in the near future...

-Scott

New Template...

Man, I was getting really tired of the blue background with the polka dot pattern. Playing havoc with my eyes. So I started cruising the web for blogger templates and found this little #. Prashant here at work showed me how to grab the source code and make a few tweaks to the margins and viola... Everything lines up just as it should provided you have a 17" monitor or better...

This is much easier on the eyeballs and I think the colors are pretty snappy...

That's Andy MacDonald all suited up and in game action by the way...

Happy Holidays to all,

-Scott

Winds of Change...

Changing things up a bit around the first of the year... Moving to Mission Viejo if all goes well. Nice spacious home with plenty of creature comforts and a very nice host... Ms. Winnie Sille (Wendy) and a Pool!!!! No more sweltering summers for me..

Here's a shot of Winnie and Me at Splitz... We were goofing on Fabian and wouldn't you know it, his new ultra hitech IPhone can't even accept pictures.. What's up with that???

Starting a new job as well. December 10th will be my first day. Without going into too much detail it's a local company, (a whopping 2 blocks from my current employer) with a better rate of pay, a benefits package that puts the present one to shame, 10 sick days, 2 personal and a bunch of other incentives that I just couldn't turn down. I'd slag on the place that I'm at but I was always taught... "If you couldn't say anything nice..." Some of you out there in cyber space know exactly what I'm saying here...


Scott chillin' with Winnie Sille...

Well that's about it for now. Have alot of sorting to do before the move. I've managed to accumulate quite a bit of stuff over the years that I have absolutely no use for at present and don't want to move it. Therefore I'll be tossing a good portion of it away or selling odds and ends via Craigslist...

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving... I'm sure I'll have some pictures of the feast at the Mikkelsen residence...

-Scott

This is getting spooky....

This is just up the street from us.. Phil, aren't you glad you moved to New Mexico?
This is the Foothill Ranch area. Up by Portola Parkway and Bake Parkway...

Be careful out there Pastor Mark Bagley...



This is not good...

-Scott

Woody gets the ink....

OMG, JW gets a write up in California Bowling News!!!


Click on article for readable view...

Sweet!!!

-Scott

Yo Jason... Yo Jason....

Yikes!!!! Guess what Woody did in NFL scratch last night??????

That's right folks, his first sanctioned perfect game... WooHoo!!!

Congrats to JW....

-Scott

My job sucks ass.....

But,... There always the opportunity to throw a line in the lake at dusk..

Got these two dudes in about 20 minutes as the sun was setting today.. Life was good for about a half hour..


The big guy...



The little guy...

Gutted the second guy but I'm getting pretty adept and removing the hook through the gills with my hemostats... No blood and he swam off just fine...

-Scott

The Road Warrior...

Okay, this should be interesting… As you may or may not know, my brother Darryl is an OTR big rig driver for Covenant Transport. You can find out more about the company here. www.covenanttransport.com I was goofing off with Google Earth the other day and decided to capture the 48 contiguous states and put their names in place as best I could with MS Digital Image Pro. Now the deal is, when Darryl checks in from the road I’m going to add a line from his starting point to his destination. He gets dispatched all over the place so I’ll probably have to color code or insert arrows so everyone can tell which direction he’s going. As always, just click on the picture for the full sized version.

Green lines indicate that his truck is loaded and the white lines indicate that he's running empty enroute to his next pickup. That'll have to do for now... Let me know if anyone has a better system...


Tennessee to Long Island, New York 9/25/07
Long Island back to Memphis, TN 9/27/07

I’ll also bump the posts when there’s an update or possibly even just set up another page. That way anyone who’s interested won’t have to navigate a bunch of posts to find it.. One of these days he’s going to have to replace his missing digicam and get me some shots of his travels..



Be well all,

-Scott

P.S. Just put up a dedicated page for this subject.. See the links section...

I got jobbed...

Ringing 10 pin in the second shot of the 10th frame.... Oh what could have been..
Not sanctioned, just playing with my friend Lisa... Still... How sweet would the 300 have been?....

Ouch!!!! Click on the image to enlarge and then make mad fun of my plight...


The numbers are as follows:

289 personal best..
For the set.. 212, 225, 289...
Scratch series, 726
3 game average, 242

I can live with that...

-Scott

Roboworms Work!

Got a couple more Sunday evening... 1 little guy and then this dude...


Good size fish for this little lake...

Sure beats being at work...

-Scott

4th of July...

Hello all. Had a great Birthday and 4th of July celebration yesterday. Woke up at dawn as usual and noticed some jumping activity on the lake. So I grabbed my pole and a worm and started teasing some of the fish that were lurking in the weeds. The bass were being somewhat cautious but I managed to dance the worm in front of one of 'em a couple of times and he finally hit it.. Nice hookset in his mouth and after a pretty good little fight I landed him. I knew it was going to be a good day. Got some coffee and kicked around the house for a bit then headed down to Dana Point for a 4th of July gathering. Our gracious hosts were Rob and Adrienne Turner.

Some of you may know them from the Bowl. I had never been to their place before but knowing Rob is a long boarder from back in the day and based on the remodeling stories he had related in the past I was looking forward to it. The house looks like any other on the block from the outside but once you walk through the front door you're transported into what appears to be a beach resort in Hawaii or something. It's really great. Definitely a beach/surf motif thing going on with memorabilia and boards on every wall. Super cozy and comfortable. They were prepping for a bunch of company so we cracked open a couple of cold ones and he gave me the grand tour. Awesome little place with a few antique pieces and lots of fun paint schemes in the rooms. Headed out back and chatted with some of the others in attendance and just enjoyed the sun and conversation. Rob cranked up the BBQ around 3 and everyone macked on burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and a number of other tasty treats.
Goofed off on his mini bike that he takes with him when he goes camping. That was interesting as I haven't been on one of those since I was a kid. Has a few electric scooters as well. Pretty much just sat around talked all evening. It was a great day… I've included a smattering of cell phone pics that I snapped off throughout the day… Thanks for having me down Rob and Adrienne…



Rob "Mr. Miyagi" Turner


Long Board Central

-Scott

Summer BBQ time !!!!!

Got skunked fishing on the lake Saturday but managed to make a day of it anyway. Jason spent mad cash at the grocery store and had some friends over for a BBQ. Summer has officially begun. Had a great time visiting with He and Melissa and of course goofing off with their son Gavin… That kid absolutely loves the water. Even Capone (their dog) went for a swim a couple of times. The food was out of control. Cheryl, Jason's neighbor did the deviled egg boogie and of course the guests laid waste to them pretty quickly. The grilled Mexican green onions were crazy good too. Everyone was sated to say the least. Here's some pics of the goings on… Lots of pool action for sure...


Laura and Mary enjoying the water and a beverage...



Laura, Mary and Melissa keeping cool...


Stan, Cheryl and Rosemary chillin'...


Melissa and the water baby Gavin!


Mary played with Gavin a little too...


A bashful blonde lady and pool noodle warrior princess...


Relaxing at poolside...

Many thanks and mad props to Jason and Melissa for hosting this shindig. It was a great way to spend a summer Saturday...

-Scott

Catch of the Day...

Decided to throw a line in the water after work and had Pat come over to partake. Our little lake is overrun with algae and weeds as I mentioned in a previous post but we fought through it. Cleaning your worm after every cast is a royal PITA! Too hot earlier in the day but when the sun started to set the fish got a little more active. I caught a little tiny one and then it kinda slowed down. Pat saw a very large bass swim past the dock so he started using a little drop line technique with his pole. Snagged the fish about 2 feet from the dock... Good sized dude too...

I took a liking to that style as you didn't have to cast too far and it lessened the chances of your worm coming back covered in ick... I saw a decent fish swim away from the dock to my right so I opened the spool and just pitched my line in the approximate direction I saw him swimming. Tossed it right behind a party boat's pontoon and got hit immediately!!! Nice.. Turned out to be a decent size fish as well. We got in 2.5 to 3 hours.. Lesson learned? Wait until dusk otherwise you're pretty much wasting your time. True at this lake anyway...

Here's the action.. These were taken with the cams in our cell phones so the quality isn't that wonderful. Click on a pic to see the original sizing...

















Pretty nice afternoon on the whole...

-Scott

Pop's back ...

The Dad just returned from his annual sabbatical to the “Old Country” and land of my birth. This would of course be Springfield, Vermont. And or Perkinsville if you want to get technical. He brought back some pics of the native woodland creatures that roam the area. These were taken at my Aunt’s place… Beautiful no?





Bear passing through...




Moose on the loose!!!




Pretty crazy huh? Any wonder why it's called The Green Mountain State?

-Scott

Sweet....

Man, this is turning into a fishing blog... Wanted to kill an hour or so the other day and decided to throw a line off the dock for giggles. The lake has a preponderance of weeks and algae build up lately due to the warm weather. You end up spending a lot of time cleaning off your lure or worm and less time actually casting. Got lucky on this outing though… Pitched the line out by a moored boat and as soon as I took the slack out of the line I got hit! Not exactly a giant but it put up a good fight. barely hooked him/her and there was no internal damage to the vital areas so it was pretty easy to dislodge the hook and let 'em swim off… Very relaxing… Click on the pic to SuperSize...

-Scott

Nice ...

Wow, another season has come and gone. It seems like it was just a few short months back that I posted a pic of a Carolina player hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. Congrats to the Ducks and especially Teemu for his persistence… I'm still a Kings fan, (since the 70's) but I love that the Disney era is history. This team actually showed signs of being a genuine NHL franchise at the beginning of the season and look what they pulled off… Love it..


Teemu!!!!


Best picture ever. Rob and Scott flanking Mom...

Still the coolest game on earth...

-Scott

Restful Holiday ...

Hi all. Had a really nice Memorial Day. Somehow managed to shake off the cobwebs enduced by rampant socializing Sunday night and rolled out of bed at 7am. Got a little breakfast and such and received a textie from Jason who had a fishing jones. We had discussed the possibility of hitting the lake the previous evening but neither of us were sure how we'd feel about it in the morning. Decided it was a go so I gathered up my trout pole and tackle box and set out for his place.

We goofed around for a little bit and ran into a logistics problem. We could have taken his truck and towed the boat over to the lake but that would have left Melissa without a vehicle for a number of hours so that wasn't going to work. I backed my truck up to the hitch only to discover that my tow ball was slightly too large for his hitch. Answer? $8.99 at Kragen Auto Parts for a new ball that fit. Dashed over to Kragen and back in about 20 min. Now mind you Jason has a pretty decent set of tools in the garage so I grabbed the required socket and a monster torque wrench and had the existing ball off the bumper almost instantly. Slapped the new one on we were ready to roll. Heck even the trailer lighting set up worked perfectly. Jason picked up this aluminium fishing boat and trailer for the amazing low price of um, let's see... Zero.. from his brother who wasn't using it at all.. Gotta love that deal. Just need to make a few repairs to the seats and maybe beef up the trolling motor situation and it'll be perfect... Maybe get another battery and run dual motors fore and aft and source an aftermarket prop or 2... Those little twin blade props that come stock on the trolling motors just don't cut it...

Motored out around the bend after launching and started dropping poles in the water. Got hit about every other cast all the time we were out there. I would estimate solid fishing from roughly 10 'til 2. and though we got some little ones there were plenty of big bass in between. I've attached a phone cam picture of the largest one which Jason snagged. And of course there was a monster that jumped off of the line at one point. Nothing better than setting the hook, playing with the catch for a little bit and then having them run on you.. My pole was bent below the water level on several occasions. One of the larger ones actually got up to the boat and then took off with a bunch of line. My drag was set relatively lightly and I had a blast watching him take the line... Jason was getting hit pretty regularly and we estimated 20 some odd fish were caught during the course of the day. We made it back to the house around 2:30ish and then just kicked it by the pool for another hour or so and had a couple of beers. Also got to spend a couple of hours with the lovely Miss Lolli Laura in the afternoon. She's always a gracious host and just plain fun to be around. A nice relaxing holiday to be sure...



The largest one to make it to the boat. Nice !!!

Can't wait to do it again...

-Scott

This is sick! ...

Bugatti Veyron at Top Speed... I'd poop my suit...



That's pretty quick eh?

-Scott

Got one! ...

Hit the dock in the backyard before dinner last night. Thought I’d get in some casts before the sun went down. Gave my self a 5pm deadline as I had to be somewhere shortly thereafter. Stood out there for 30 minutes or so getting nothing but weeds off of the bottom. This isn’t a real big lake and I’m actually surprised there’s any but carp and catfish in it… So anyway, I decide to get one more cast in before leaving… Look what happened at 4:59 !!!





Nice little Bass...
Gut hooked her, and unfortunately I don’t think she’s going to make it. I’m sourcing a D-Barb tool so I don’t injure the fish if my hookset is off or a little late. These little guys have no problem wolfing down a 4.5" worm in an instant when they're really hungry. That and discerning a strike or nibble from weed snags on the bottom can be a little tricky. I need a kayak and a trolling motor.


-Scott

Easter Sunday ...

Had a great Easter Sunday...

Started off oddly enough throwin league with Chase Pearson down at the bowl. Had to call ahead and make sure the schedule hadn't changed due to the Holiday. Made it down there in time no problem. Took 3 of 4 from the "2 Witches".. which used to be quite a feat with their handicap but they're getting better all the time! Sometimes we get lucky...

Was heading for home to do my laundry when Mike Mikkelsen called and said they were having Sunday brunch at his place. Told him I was going home to do some chores and he said to bring the laundry over to his place and do it while we ate. Paddy was kind enough to let me squeeze in a couple of loads inbetween her stuff so I got that knocked out. Erik (youngest son) was busy concocting one of his culinary delights. He loves to experiment in the kitchen. Sunday's creation was Chicken Saltimbocca. I'd list all the ingredients (you've probably figured out the chicken part)but I'm way too lazy.. That's what Google and the Food Network are for... I will say it was mighty tasty and the lemon sauce was killer. Almost as good as sqeezing a lemon over King Crab legs or Lobster... Yum Yum... I've posted a picture of the finished product. Sucked down a few Mimosas as well and he whipped up some deep fried bananas and ice cream for desert.




Chicken Saltimbocca!!!

Once the laundry was dry I dashed over to Laura's where she was patiently waiting with Jason and Melissa Woody. She had a hankerin' for some company that afternoon and invited us all over for a boat ride and some fishing. I got to meet her puppies Schlitz and Guinness,(Dacschunds of course) and play a little tug 'o war with 'em.

They groove on the lake. Especially Schlitzy.. He loves to chill at waters edge and look for fish. Pretty cool little dude. Jason had rigged a couple of poles so I grabbed the spinner and started casting. Laura was skippering the boat and would position us just so and then we'd cast in between moored boats. Jason got hit right away and pulled up a pretty good size fish. They were all bass and they were hitting pretty regularly. That lake is full of the things. We stayed out well after sunset and took the scenic cruise. One house in particular looked like someone had bought at least two lots, bulldozed everything and built a waterfront corner mansion on the property. Gorgeous!!! No flash on my cell camera or I'd have posted a night shot of it. I'll take care of that next time out... I've included a shot of one of the little ones I pulled from the lake. I'm pretty sure I got 4 bass from the 15 or so casts. Plastic worm worked like a charm. The photo inset in this section is our most gracious host and skipper. Capt. Laura Stern... she's the sweetest thing and can drive a boat. Who could ask for more?




Jason with Moby Dick....

Back to the dock and in for dinner. I didn't know we were gonna eat but Laura had whipped up some pasta and salad for us. It was delicious and went down pretty quickly. Got to meet her Mom too. Really nice gal. Very upbeat and jovial. Except when I tried to do the dishes! She wasn't having any of that! Hope to visit with her again sometime. Laura and Mom whipped up some coffee and Bailey's for us too. That really hit the spot. All in all a wonderful Sunday. Great food, great people...
Who could ask for more?

-Scott

Heck, the place is almost finished...

Remember way back when I posted the pics of the Mikkelsen demolition? After numersous expenditures and quite a bit of elbow grease by way of Lon, the remodel is coming together quite nicely. The hardwood floors are killer and the kitchen is nuts cool. Huge island area that could probably sleep two comfortably. Super sweet cabinets with drawer sliders that prohibit slamming. You can shove 'em really hard and they stop at about 2" and then just slide shut ever so gently. Here's some before and after shots...
We'll start with a shot from Thanksgiving that gives you an idea of what the kitchen looked like prior to demolition.


November, 2005

Lon started tearing the place apart right around Xmas.. What a mess!





Looks like the Incredible Hulk was visiting huh?



Tooks these shots just the other day.. 3/7/2007... What a difference eh?



The kitchen in all it's glory...



The sitting room and/or family area...



And lastly the reworked hardwood staircase...

Quite the upgrade wouldn't you say??? All that's really left is to fasten a fixture or two here and there.. Doorknobs etc. Sweet...

-Scott