If I Only Had Twelve Shots

Shutter Sisters site asked today, what if you only had twelve shots?

Well, until I received my camera as a wonderful gift, I would think about it quite a bit. I now have the luxury of shooting over a thousand pictures before I had to worry about storage room. And I would too.

Our little point and shoot had broken. I had dropped it on the floor so last summer while in New Orleans, we bought a small Kodak disposable camera. It had 16 pictures and I chose my shots carefully.

I didn’t know how they would turn out. No preview, you know.

Just a small, very small, trust that what I saw would translate to what my camera would see.

Our view from our hotel room was gorgeous and I couldn’t really capture it well with the disposable but I’m so glad I have this picture anyway. The bend in the Mississippi is straight out of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer could be fishing anywhere along this river.

Some didn’t turn out so well. But I like this picture anyway…

What did I save my last picture for? This one, in front of Ann Rice’s house in the Garden District. If I had my Nikon then, I would have been all over the houses there, they were so gorgeous. But I’m still happy for the pictures I have. After all, they were captured with an amateur’s eye, savoring every memory whether it be digital or analog.

Happy Birthday Bro

We hope you have a wonderful birthday. Enjoy.

Famous Last Words

The husband and the boy were burning some old bushes we had pulled in the back yard – like good old boys.

The husband comes in and asks “Do you want to take a picture?”

I follow him out and say, “Don’t catch anything on fire.”

That was followed by a sarcastic retort of, “Gee we never thought of that.”

Then I came back inside and as I was writing the last post the husband rushes in. I ask, “Can I get you anything?” He says, “I’m looking for something that holds water.”

It took a moment before it sunk in…

I run out to see the boy and the husband trying to put out the fire with a frozen hose. I said, “What happened to my bush?”

This is not Mose’s burning bush. Maybe it will grow back.

We are such hicks.

Cleaning The Fish – Part Deux

Okay, floors mopped and vacuumed. Dinner is in the process of being prepared, and the fire is put out…more on that later today.

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My last post about cleaning fish was nothing compared to cleaning these fish.

These suckers were huge.

And really bloody.

There’s Bruce showing me some grudging respect. And he had the sharp knife too.

But that doesn’t stop me.

While the boys were cleaning the boat…

I was hacking the heads off of about 20 fish. They had the pansy job.

He’s just trying to gross me out. It didn’t work.

The spectators were showing a lot of interest, but no offer to help was forthcoming.

You have to have the killer instinct man. I actually had a beer while I was cleaning the fish. And I don’t drink beer (anymore). Somehow a glass of Merlot and fish guts didn’t go together. All the blood and gore was really starting to go to my head.

The girl was fascinated. I think she’s going to grow up to be just like me. Only better, prettier, smarter, nicer, less selfish, more patient, and with more of a killer instinct. As long as she knows how to clean fish…

We had so much fish that we froze it and brought it home to Maryland in – ready? – the husband’s carry-on bag. He was in his uniform and the least likely to get apprehended by the TSA. All those clothes smelling of fish? In our carry-ons. We were not the nicest smelling family on the plane.

Today we are going to smoke it…I can’t wait.

Back home in Maryland, thawing in front of the fire…

I’ll let you know how it turned out. We’ve never done this before…

Holy Mackerel

My idea of the perfect Florida trip is laying on the beach all day with a good book and lots of sunscreen. The family’s idea of the perfect trip is fishing. They wanted to fish for Spanish mackerel off the shore, at a place where the migratory fish are in abundance. Where there’s an abundance of migratory fish, there’s also an abundance of sharks. Anyway, I asked they drop me off at a deserted island and come get me later.

And there it is. The dock where I would unload and spend a glorious day of doing nothing. This is the only way to get on this island but lo and behold, it was too shallow to dock. They said “I guess you have to come with us mom.”

I guess so. Good bye peace and quiet.

I was disappointed at first but got over it when I saw how much fun the kids were having catching fish. Every single time they put their poles in the water they had a bite.

Here’s the very handsome Chase,  son of BBFs Bruce and Tracey.  He’s only 16 years old and he is a better seamen than most men. He fishes and handles the boat like a pro. This is the biggest fish I’ve ever seen  a human being catch.

No…the biggest fish is this one the girl caught and BFF Bruce had to take off the line for her…

Or wait…it’s this one that the boy caught.

Look at the boy’s line bend. It’s a big un.

It IS a big one. The biggest one…

For those of you who are fish aficionados, I know that’s not a Spanish mackerel. That’s a blue fish. Even better for fish tacos. We did catch mackerels too.

There’s one right now that pretty girl is holding. Watch out for their teeth Jackie-girl.

Here’s a mackerel whose tail was taken off on the way up. I told you there were sharks down there. No swimming today.

Once again, God makes a decision for me that I could not have made on my own. Like bringing in a storm and making the sand bar higher so I can’t go off on my own to a deserted island…

And miss all the fun of watching a pelican take Chase’s fish.

We literally caught over 40 fish that day. The girl counted them. Two got away, sort of.

I’ll show you how I cleaned the fish later today. I’ve done it before…you don’t want to miss it. But first I have to mop the floor. I gave the maid the day off today.

Florida's Gone To The Birds

Gazing at the water.

Feeding frenzy.

Look at me.

He’s old and cranky, I can tell.

Keeping warm.

All by myself.

You looking at me?

Playing hard to get.

Perfect form.

Wish I had legs like that.

And finally…my favorite.

This little guy has only one leg. But he’s soars beautifully. It’s a wonderful metaphor for life.

Back To The Project

Today, the girls are back at it again.

They are really working hard. I don’t know why I’m surprised.

The girl took a small break to talk on the phone and eat a snack. But it’s progress people!

Christine-girl left a few minutes ago. I then noticed that the cat has on a tie. I have no idea when that happened. I thought the girls were working. Very sneaky indeed.

Jackie-Girl And The President

I just want this disclaimer out front: This is not a political post.

I don’t want to be snarky, mean, uncouth and snide because we have so much of that in our political discourse. The down right hate is really scary.

So I’m just trying to be humorous, not disrespectful, because I love those two ladies above.

This young lady is BFFs Bruce and Tracy’s little girl, Jackie-girl.

She is really pretty.

And she’s really a sweetheart, she’s BFF Tracy II.

And you can see why President Clinton likes her. BFF Tracy said, “He held her hand for ten minutes.” He’s a charmer.

I’m sure he held her hand for so long because he knew that she’s quite the fisherman. Sorry, it just slipped.

Our Diggs And Our Good Friends

When you go to Palm Beach, please look us up. If we aren’t there you can stay at our winter place.

And use our boat.

Or you can use our butler’s boat. That’s him and his girlfriend on his day off.

Ok, maybe not. But none of that compares to what we really have. Wonderful friends who will let us come and hang out at the last minute. We can call and say “Hey the kids have a few days off can we come down?” And the answer will always be “Sure!”

And BFF Tracy will also put a flower in your hair as you swing on the hammock. You can’t beat it.

BFF Bruce and the husband have been friends for years. They played soccer in high school together and we spent hours going through old high school photo albums and scrapbooks. We do this every time we’re together by the way. BFF Bruce was the best man in our wedding. And he’s been a constant in our lives, through just about everything.

The lovely Tracy is a honey.

She’s as nice a person as you can ever meet.

I can see why the husband would date her…yes, they dated while they were in high school before she hooked up with BFF Bruce and they’ve been married over 27 years. She and BFF Bruce that is, not she and the husband, who happens to be my husband. If I had to pick an ex-girlfriend for the husband, I would pick someone just like her.

I know this is getting weird, but wait…it gets better.

Here’s BFF Bruce, the husband, and BFF Tracy with Robin, a woman I just met last weekend when she came over for dinner, so she’s not my BFF.

Anyway, Robin and BFF Bruce used to date in high school, the husband and BFF Tracy used to date, but BFF Bruce and BFF Tracy are now married and yours truly is behind the camera.

I think I’ll stop here.

Palm Tree Break

I have been working on a project all day and my bottom is really sore.

I thought you might like to see a palm tree or two. I know I did.

Hope it’s warm where you are.

Good-bye.

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