Appliances.....I Hate them!

I don't normally like to complain on my blog, but I'm pretty disgusted and can't help myself. It has to do, as you can guess, with Appliances.
We seem to have no luck with them. I'm now convinced that there is no reason to buy a higher end appliance. You get sold on energy savings, lasting longer, an overall better return on your money.....on and on and on they go. I call BULLSHIT! Why you ask? Well, about 6 years ago we did just that! Here is the list of what was purchased around that time frame of say 6 to 7 years ago.
1. a new Amana fridge, great reviews and farily pricy for a normal looking fridge.
2. Over the range microwave
3. Maytag Gas Range with double oven
4. Medium chest freezer made by fridgidare
5. Dishwasher made by fridgidare x 2
6. Washer and dryer made by maytag (the neptune series) very high reviews

So basicly all the major appliances a house would need.......Now, take a guess at what are still working or haven't been repaired......NONE!

1. Amana fridge....Gone, broke two weeks ago!
2. Microwave.....broke.....no cook no more!
3. Gas Range.....computer Brain went out within the first year, still here but who knows for how long!
4. Chest freezer....Gone, lasted 2 years before compressor failed
5. Dishwasher.....yep, on number 2! First one lasted 2 years....and new one doesn't clean that well anymore
6. Washer and Dryer....as of last night main bearing going out in Washer!

Yep, they've all failed! The topper for me is the washer, especially since i have a sour tast in my mouth after just buying a new fridge 2 weeks ago, now i get to deal with the washer!

These were all bought new, and have been treated well, and not abused......EVER!

Ya wanna know what has lasted? My bait fridge in the shop i got for FREE, the upright freezer i got for FREE, and the cheap as microwave we paid 60 bucks for 10 years ago!

All i can say is i'm disgusted!

well, i'll now get off my soap box, and yes i feel a little better!

Signing off from the North.....where thoughts of a clothes line, a wood fired stove, and an ice box dance through our heads!

Mark...."The Iron Skillet"

The Derby and "The Legend"

Well,

At Noon yesterday marked the conclusion of the 4th Bellingham Salmon Derby I've fished in. It was a treat this year to Fish with my Dad...now known as "The Legend" in Bellingham. We had a great time, lots of laughs, and fished hard.....

The rule this year for us was "Plan your Work....Work your Plan" and that's what we did.

What follows is a recap of what happened over the last 3 days......

Day 1 (friday) was a beautiful day on the water. Shorts and t-shirts were the rule! Unfortunatly for us, the fish were hard to find...and the only thing that came to the boat was this wonderfull looking dogfish......SHARK!

"The Legend" insisted on a picture, so i obliged. Sharky was released back to the depths while we ground on, with no fish and calling it a day at 3 p.m.

Day two: Saturday....We awoke to a stiff breeze, and whitecaps on the water. Nice clear skys were in the forcast, but wind and stong tides make for slow going to the fishing grounds. Dad snapped a quick pic. of Bellingham as we were to round the corner of Lummi Island. We were thankfull for the cabin and canvas this morning....lots of spray, and a wet back deck!

We trolled one area, before making the move to where we PLANNED to fish for the day. Just as we setteled into our troll i recieved a multitude of messages from my brother-in-law that he was on some fish and we should head that direction. But, in consulting "The Legend" some words of wisdom were said, "Plan your Work and Work your Plan" and that's what we did....relaizing that running to the hot spot would take quite some time and that by the time we arrived the bite more that likely would be over.....Soooo we ground it out at a trusted spot and at 2 p.m., my rod burried and fish on! After a longggggg run, the fish came to the boat, and "The Legend" scooped her up and a fish was FINALLY in the boat! Just shy of 14 pounds.

We trolled awhile longer and then decided to call it a day, we both felt good. As "The Legend" had stated that morning...we had "Planned our Work...and...Worked our Plan", and in the end it payed off. High fives, and war hoops were the theme as we headed back towards the harbor of Bellingham.....we were on the boards with a Derby fish.

Day 3: Left us with a new plan.....since tides were wrong for where i like to fish we decided to hit a new to me spot, after hearing good things from Brother-in-law Brian. A long run, and sloppy seas we arrived on scene and fished a wonderfull stretch of water. "The Legend" and i both agreed that this was a fishy spot, and a good choice for the last day of the Derby.

We trolled for several hours, had a couple of missed fish and watched a few others get caught. We'd agreed to head in at 10 a.m., fish or not, since the derby ended at 12:00. At the stroke of 10, and as we trolled up to talk to Brian before he headed in, "The Legends" rod shuttered and popped off the downrigger. With lightning reflexs, he was on the rod and fish on! A short battle ensued and another fish was in the boat.........high fives and a fish dance was performed once again as we both gave thanks to Nicole's grandpa, for we both felt he'd helped us out once again.....come to think of it.....this was his old boat, his old rods, and fishing an area he used to love to fish!

So, how big was the fish?????

The fish tipped the scales at just under 6 pounds. Nothing huge, but a keeper none the less, and we each had fish in the derby!

That concluded our trip and we headed for the harbor, in some pretty sloppy seas. We made it in with just 20 min. to spare.

No money was won with the fish but a nice new fishing rod and some terminal tackle was added to my collection.

What a great three days....we fish hard, had fun, and caught a couple of fish too!

So sigining off from the North......were "The Legend" returns..... and where we "Plan our Work...and...Work our Plan" which pays off too!

Mark...."The Iron Skillet"

An Iron Skillet Returns

In the cleaning process of tearing down the old shed and getting ready to build the new carport i came across an old plastic tote containing some camping gear. In the bottom of that tote was an old cast iron skillet wrapped in a towel. I unfolded the towel to find this gem! Just a little bit of moisture i'd say. But, hey it's an Iron Skillet.....they can always be brought back to life right???
I found a wire wheel out in the shop and a couple freshly charged batteries for the cordless drill and promptly went to work. It didn't take long and i was getting some pretty good results, as you can see in the picture below.

Once brought back to life i had to find some oil to reseason the skillet with, but we were out! That's when i ran across this sitting on the shelf! A jar of Barlean's Coconut oil!

It didn't take long and i had a nice first coat on the pan. Actually starting to look like it's comming back to life!

A few more coats of oil and she was ready to be seasoned. The BBQ was a great spot, and the old pan could smoke to it's hearts content......(although Nicole and the kids promplty retreated to the front yard....something to do with the smell of burning coconut oil!)

This picture doesn't really do the smoke justice, but i'm sure get the idea of what's going on here.

And, finally the pan was done and ready for use. Looks pretty good to me, and it cooked up some chicken just fine!

So yet another skillet has been added to the collection...or re-added i should say!

From the North....where things are lost, then found, and re-used once again.....which is nice!

Mark..."The Iron Skillet"