The Window is IN!!!!

Well,
The window is finally in!
I picked it up on Friday, went crabbing on Saturday morning and tyveked the outside of the house Saturday afternoon. Leaving Sunday WIDE OPEN to pull the old slider, fix any dry rot....and if any time allowed?...install the new window! Think i got it done???????????


Here's a shot from Saturday evening. Showing the "done side" and ready for Sunday morning!




Sunday was an early get up, i knew i'd have a lot to do, even if it was a small opening.
Sure enough once i pulled the old sliding glass door and started chipping away near the chimney, i discovered the dreaded dry rot....that eventually all old houses seem to have.
So i spent about three hours chipping away and replacing a couple of old studs, while trying to be careful not to destroy the old lathe and plaster on the family room side of the house.
By noon, i had misson accomplished and after a quick trip to home depot, some even quicker framing, a lending hand of Chris the neighbor, a few choice swear words.......AND....VIOLA....THE WINDOW IS IN!

So above you can see a picture of the entire projects goal...... out with the old and in with the new!


Have to have an inside picture too ya know. although much less dramatic, you at least get a peek of what it's going to look like on the inside.

A little insulation, some Sheetrock, some siding, and........BAMM......BAMMMMM...... i should be done! (not to fear, I'm sure this will take me a couple more weeks to totally wrap this up, between work, fishing, and hunting....so be sure to check back cause I'll have some more to report)

So, after a HOT hard days work, the old dingo and i settled down in the shade of the deck and "cracked" a beer to end the days hard fought victory.

So from the North, where the sun shines during the dog days of summer, and it's HOT TOO!

Mark..........."The Iron Skillet"

PROGRESS MADE!

Hello everyone,
Well, when i left you last time there was a lot of work left to be done, and to be honest there still is. I've had a LOT of help over the last week or so. The family has come back and i've had to really ramp up the amount of work the Iron skillet can produce. Soooooooo, with a skillet in hand.....true work started.......all the sideing removal from the side of the house where the new door, and around the corner where the window is to go started in ernest Saturday....Cal and Trudy no offense but.......i needed to get some stuff done.....sorry if i wasn't real social......


So....skillet and all, this is what was left Saturday night, when i was done in..... both by heat and work! Sunday morning left only the window to be pulled and the new door installed! Yes, i in fact found a door to match both looks and price as Nicole had requested.......see further down for a picture of the fancy new door!


The skillet / window prior to removal.




I had a lot of supervisors and help over the course of this last weekend. One of my favorites and most helpfull was Capt. Kevin and 1st mate Woodrow.....along with an Iron Skillet.....OF COURSE!


Thanks Kev. for all your help, i couldn't belive how strong you were helping me getting the door out of the truck! Good job BUD!



Not to be outdone, the old DINGO, was in action supervising with his favorite Beer! As a side note....did you know that Dingo's actually like a lime in their Corona?......don't ask me how i know this.......

So, i've got to include a couple pictures of progress....RIGHT!

So, here is the new door, with a some insulation installed. We're still waiting on the window...any day now i'm told. Have to say i like this door, although a little paint, sheetrock, and some finishing touches i'll REALLY like this door.

We have to have a picture of the whole scene here....Dingo, Door, and work to be done, pay no attention to the BEER......the Dingo insisted on haveing that in the picture!

So, that's all for now.

From the North.....where projects unfold, Dingo's drink beer and things get done too!

Mark...THE IRON SKILLET

Work in Progress

Hello to all,
Well, while Nicole and the kids were gone, i was told i would have the prime oportunity to start on replaceing the sliding glass door with a new 48" by 44" Garden/bay window and put a regular 36" door where the old window is.
Over course fishing, hikeing, traveling.....etc. kind of got in the way a little while they've been gone, but i did make some progress.



The end of Monday night, found me with one wall stripped of it's Lathe and Plaster. I have to say Demo work is something i enjoy! How could a man not enjoy breaking and destroying something? I first crancked up the music as loud as it'd go playing something like metalica or AC/DC.....Whatever hard rock was playing at the time. Then i went to the shop and got a GREAT BIG SLEDGE HAMMER, came back in, let out a "War Hoop" that ratteled the widows and swung for the fences! It felt great! I repeated the hollering and swinging until i was horse and ran out of cold beer to wash down all the dust that came off of the plaster.
About 10 p.m. i was done, and had things cleaned up enough for a picture. My only company monday night, was the Dingo....Old Man Jed thought i'd gone crazy and would have nothing to do with me!

Tuesday night found me back at it again by 5 p.m.. With a much bigger hammer, some more beer, and an even better hard rock radio station. I made short work of the remaining wall, and had everything cleaned up and in the utility trailer by 10 p.m. (this even included mopping the floors!)



Again, i could only find one friend that night, the old Dingo did his job again and supervised me quite well. Although, i found that a can of beer opened or closed is fair game for this dog if it's within his reach.....a true supervisor......
So that's where the project stands. The window should arrive today some time, and i have yet to find a proper door that Nicole will like both in looks and price. Hopefully i'll make some progress this weekend, between all the other adventures that happen up here in the North.


Well, From the North...........Where projects start with WAAAAAHOOOOOOOO and dogs drink beer too!


Mark....The Iron Skillet

The Derby

Hello to all,
I know I haven't posted in awhile, but....i've been busy.
I intended to post about Sarnia but, time is short this morning so, i thought i'd do a Derby Recap instead.
This year, due to a broken boat, i didn't think i was going to get to fish the Derby, and was disappointed to say the least. At the last minute my friends Gene and his wife asked if i'd still like to fish the derby and fish out of there boat. Needless to say i jumped at the chance. In the mean time, my boat was fixed and put back together in working order. So, my return trip from Sarnia was planned so that i would arrive on Friday, and as soon as i got home from the airport i'd be ready to start fishing.
Friday found me home by 2 p.m., and fishing by 4 p.m.. Although solo, it felt good to get my big boat back on the water, even if i didn't have nary a strike, and by 8 p.m. i was headed back to the dock. I was in bed by 11 p.m., as i laid my head down on the pillow that night, i did the math and i'd been up for 22 hours.....what a journey that day had been!

Saturday, 3:30 came all to soon, but i managed to drag myself out of bed and meet Gene and Yolanda at the boat launch at 4:30.
It was a beautiful day and I had a good feeling for the day.

As we were headed out of the Harbor i noticed this little gal in the front window of Genes boat.
A dancing hula girl, placed there for luck. Being pretty superstious myself, i had to give her a couple of "strokes" for luck!

We were fishing by 5:30 at my favorite spot, Indian Village, and within an hour we had our first fish on. It was short lived, and only a few head shakes were felt before it spit the hooks. A good sign, but no fish in the boat.
Another hour went by and down went Gene's rod. A short tug of war ensued, and as the fish was almost in the net, when out pulled the hooks. A sinking feeling to see a 10 pound king laying on it's side for a couple of seconds, just 1 foot to far from the end of the net! Off it swam, back to the depths.

20 minutes later, and down goes my rod. I fight the fish as delicately as possible not wanting to lose it, but 10 feet from the boat, the fish takes a funny turn, and out come my hooks! Another 10 pound fish...GONE!

0 for 3, Things weren't going quite as we'd hoped but, we were to stick it out all day, and stick it out we did.
We trolled and trolled and trolled and nothing happened!

At 5 p.m., we started talking about packing it in and heading in. We'd decided on one more pass, and then we'd go.

Well, that last pass paid off and then some. My rod took a dive, and the fish tripped out of the downrigger before i even got it out of the holder.

My Knuckle Buster reel screemed in delight, and Grandpa George's old fenwick rod doubled under the weight of a big fish!

The fish fought well, with long runs, and powerfull head shakes, a great fight for a great salmon.

Gene did a textbook net job, and fish in the boat!

Back at the docks, the fish weighed in at 25 pounds 13 ounces.

We were in the Derby now!

Sunday, was a weather change and the fish were down, with few biters, and for us that ment none.

At noon, the results were in and our fish placed 9th! Not bad at all. My prize was a $300 Bradley smoker. Something i've wanted for quite some time, but could never afford. So things work out for a reason, i picked the smoker, and then gave Gene the smoker i made of wood, since he didn't have one and i promised to build him one. So we ALL got a prize, and some fish to boot!

So, in closeing, i've included my half of the fish. A true SLAB of meat, and ohhhhhh soooooo good!

From the North, were derbys are fun, and we catch fish too!



Mark....."The Iron Skillet"

Back In Action

Well, thought i should post before i head out for a week, meeting up with the family.
So a little weekend recap is in order.
Saturday found the Big boat fixed and BACK IN ACTION for the San Juan salmon opener.
We went 0 for 3 that day. I still am in disbelief that we lost 3 king salmon Saturday. Hopefully, that's all out of my system and when i return for the Bellingham Salmon derby, luck will be on my side.





The weather was outstanding and the gear....as shown..... was working perfectly!


Have to give you folks a shot towards Anacortes, still amazed with how nice it was!

While returning, to Bellingham we found this floating all by itself.
I swear we saw Somali pirates jumping off the back!

Closer inspection revealed an abandoned ship.....set to drift to find its fate somewhere on the bottom of the San Juan Islands.

So, i'll keep this short, and will be sure to post after i return from my adventure to the farther North.

From the North....where boats are in worse shape than mine....and still float too.

Mark....."The Iron Skillet"

Preseason Hunting Hike

After what seemed like a busy week, Sunday found my hunting partner Chuck and I looking at Church Mtn., for some preseason scouting for Bears. I Goal for the day was to ascend the Western portion of Church Mtn.. This hike was also to test how good our physical stamina is, and if we needed to put in any extra effort before August 1st. rolls around and the season truly begins.


So here is a shot, not to far from where we parked the rig and started our bushwhacking up the Mtn. (there are no trails that lead to the top of Church Mtn., sure makes for some rugged going!)

Here is the view of Baker where we parked the rig and headed into the "Big Timber"

We started our hike at 6 a.m., and by 9:30 a.m. we were almost to the top. It was windy, wet, and icy cold near the top. The ground got so steep is was like climbing a ladder and every foothold counted. The new green plant growth is sure slick with a little water on it. Neither of us took a picture at the steepest point, it just wasn't worth trying to fish a camera out of our packs at that point.

So on the decent, i found a flat spot and snapped a few shots.

This is a shot of a more manageable portion of the slope, but still steep though.

We side hilled for quite a ways, checking meadow pockets, that we wanted to see.

At one point i looked back up the hill, and saw these clouds blowing through at around 30 mph., they were worth the shot, and i like to call this next picture "Bear Country".... A prime spot to see one strolling through, unfortunately we didn't get to see a bear on this trip, just lots of sign.

Here is a pic. of the clouds that moved in seconds after the above picture was taken, the wind was blowing at a pretty good clip, enough for me to stop and put on my thermal top!
Checking the meadow pockets finally paid off, and we came across these four deer feeding. The one in the lower left corner was a nice buck, he wasn't going to have much for horns, but was big bodied. I took this picture at about 150 yards, i know it doesn't look like much, but the digital camera doesn't do much justice for distance shots. Was sure fun putting the sneak on those deer though, and made the hike that much more rewarding.

And lastly, the find of the day. I found a nice hiking pole, laying in the Salal as we were going through the Big Timber on our way up the Mtn. I guess we aren't the only ones crazy enough to try such a hike. What are the odds?
By noon we'd made it back to the truck and had covered around 5 miles. We both felt good, and weren't to sore or tired. A good preseason hike, to get our legs under us!

This morning as i reflect back, i can't help but think what a difference a year has made. Being 55 pounds lighter, and exercising almost every day, found me with lots of energy and feeling GREAT after a hike that would have destroyed me this time last year.

So, I'll close with that.....From the North.....where we hike for a purpose and see animals too!

Mark....The Iron Skillet

The Weekend

Well,
When i last posted on Friday we still had to finish off they day. So we met up with mom out at school and had a good visit. Then we headed home and prepped for Dinner.
The only way to end a school year off right is with some homemade Pizza!
So i had three "Iron Skillet's" ready and when Nicole arrived home we created our own "favorite" pizza's. Not sure which are which here but, the pictures almost do justice to how good these were!
I think this was Nicole's creation.
I'm pretty sure this one was my own personal creation: Needless to say i ate it ALL!
Saturday found Isa, Gene, and I headed back to Lake Samish in search of some more of those tasty little trout. This would make 3 days in a row for me.

Isa was all smiles as we returned to the Launch with a cooler full of Kokes to take home.
She prided herself with picking out all the worms prior to there fateful offering on "The Hook"
We couldn't just go alone, So my good friend Gene came along. Good company, and GREAT with Isa. Gene (and I, for that matter) finally got our "cup of coffee" on the return trip to the launch....The fishing was just to HOT to stop for a cup!
I couldn't help but snap a photo of "a man with his coffee" since the topic was the punchline for most of our mornings constant fishing action.


And of course,

we have to get one of those signature "limit" shots. So here is the limit for Isa and me. Another good trip!

So you may ask what we did for Fathers day....... well only one guess......

What else, a trip fishing with the family.

Nicole agreed to go and take Kai along for the ride too.

He didn't like his life jacket was the understatement of the day! So fishing was short lived, but we still managed to boat 7 fish in 40 min. of fishing. That's when it was "time to go" as level 4 of 5 meltdowns had started to occur.

I still enjoyed having everyone in the boat, and it was Kai's first trip to boot!

So a picture of the troops to document our first outing all together.

Not necessarily all smiles though.

And, last as a closing shot to a good weekend.

The old Yami. doing it's duty on another trip, pushin' the dory at maximum speed....8 m.p.h.!

Signing off from the North......Where father's fish with friends and family......and have fun too.

Mark......"The Iron Skillet"