Fishin report for Lake Iwanttobethere..

Bobby Bass · December 20, 2012

An old friend was over yesterday, not a surprise he shows up right before Christmas and we exchange thoughtful gifts and well wishes. We talk on the phone all the time and spend way to much time in the Puddle Humper during fishing season together, according to the wife. He comes in through the kitchen door, no need to knock and is greeted by all three dogs, none of them which bark. He makes his way to the kitchen table and sits down and spends the first minute or two just petting dogs. Barney leans into his bad knee and my friend winces a little but continues to rub Barney under his ear. Bud being Bud does not wait his turn but presses in from the other side. Duncan with paws up on the table tries to go high for attention. The wife comes in the den and says "Your friend is here" and then heads to the kitchen herself.

I learn a long time ago just to take my time when greeting a friend, I let the wife do her thing first. As I finish up reading an e-mail the wife pours a cup of coffee, offers cream and sugar and sits down to ask questions of my friend. How is the wife, how are the kids, grand kids your mother doing OK? How was that deal with the doctor? Christmas tree up? Is it decorated? I see you didn't bring the new puppy with, do you have any pictures? I wait till my friend is on his second cup of coffee before I enter the kitchen and getting a glass from the cub board I pour myself some juice and sit down at the table. I sip on the juice as the wife is just finishing up on her questions for the suspect, I mean my friend.

With the wife done I ask a few questions and the wife politely listens before getting up and puts her coffee mug in the sink. She has shopping to do but was waiting for my friend's arrival so she could ask her questions. She puts on her coat and tells my friend there is pie in the fridge and make sure I offer him some and with that she is out the door and the kitchen goes quiet. It is better that I let the wife have first crack at the visitors who come to the cabin. This way she can ask all the questions she wants and then does not have to come back later and ask me if I ask him about this and that. This way I don't have to ask questions that I don't really care about the answers nor do I have to come up with answers to questions that I forgot to ask.

With the wife gone my friend pours himself a refill and loads it down with cream and sugar, just like he normally drinks it when not around my wife or his. We bring each other up to speed and soon I am making conies and we are eyeing the apple pie from the fridge. The coffee mugs are put in the sink and I ask if he would like a beer, the cold bottles already in my fingers. We eat conies drink cold beer and eat healthy chunks of pie. We head to the den to exchange Christmas gifts which might not be what our wives expect. I hold my bag up and he holds his up, we then bump the bags together but do not exchange them. We then sit back and start opening the presents that we bought ourselves and are exactly what we want.

Don't remember when we started our tradition of not exchanging gifts but it has worked well over the years. My friend pulls out a new reel from his bag and tells me I shouldn't have, I smile and tell him it is the least that I can do. We lite up cigars from the box that I found in the bottom of my gift bag. We blow smoke rings and I tell him the wife is not going to approve of these but they are a Christmas present and you can't really not accept them. Smoking cigars, rubbing dogs ears and not listening to Christmas music we sit and chat and make plans for fishing, from Lake Iwanttobethere {898,125}

Bobby Bass · December 21, 2012

Well the end of the world is on the calendar for today here at Lake Iwanttobethere, must be why we are so busy at the Lodge. Gus called me at home to tell me when he arrived at the Lodge this morning he had a line of members waiting to get in. I arrived to find the place buzzing and right away stepped behind the bar to help Gus do some pouring. First off everyone was running a tab, if it was going to be the coming of the end the guys were all thinking they would not have to pay their tab off. The Fellow's were all sitting at the big round table and they were playing high stakes poker. Nothing penny anny about this game as there were stacks of quarters and rolls of dimes that were not even broken into yet.

After pouring for awhile we got caught up and Gus went back into the kitchen and I told him I could handle the bar by myself. Gus and Marv were sitting on the wicker couch with ZNN on the TV. They were smoking fat Cuban cigars and drinking some single malt Scotch from the back bar. The bottle has been here as long as I have and I don't ever remember anyone drinking from it. I took the bottle down and removed the cap, I can't describe the smell but I knew if I took even a sip I would be working for free the rest of the day. The top news story was not the end of the world but was of the theft of eighteen million dollars worth of Maple Syrup in Quebec. Chuck was sitting at the end of the bar and I walked over and asked him if he had heard about the syrup heist. "Just my luck the market will be going up with the missing Maple Syrup and I should be making a killing on my Lake Iwanttobethere Maple Syrup and here the world is coming to an end. I could have paid for the wedding rings in one day." And with that he stared into his mug. I filled his mug and told him it as on the house and then added it to the Fellows tab, just in case.

A couple of hours went by and the Fellows started to bet with dimes instead of quarters and the drinking slowed. No longer were guys so quick to yell out about putting other member's drinks on their tabs. Marv and Elmer switched over to a double malt and started cursing the TV If you didn't know any better you would think they were disappointed that nothing was happening. Sure it was snowing in Wisconsin but that is nothing new. Some of the guys were hoping that maybe the world had ended but it had just missed us here at Lake Iwanttobethere. As guys drifted in they sat at the bar and as I wiped out beer mugs with my towel I heard stories of promises made to wife's and girlfriends, because you know the world is going to end and they just wanted to make them happy. One guy promised his wife they were going to sell the double wide and finally get the little woman the house of her dreams, one that had a basement. Another guy actually propose to his girlfriend figuring it would not matter anymore that he was still married.

I poured beer and shots of Wild Turkey and started answering the phone with "HIYA, yes we are still here and yes we are open" At one point their was a brief glimmer of hope or doom depending on how you were looking at it. There was a loud bang and the Lodge seem to shudder just a tad, A few of the Fellows rushed to the main window hoping I think to see a tidal wave coming across the lake or maybe some flaming meteors falling, but it was only DOC Burriem arriving. He had hit a little icy spot with his car and hit the side porch. No damage was done and DOC took the offer of a drink and went and sat down on the wicker couch with Marv and Elmer none the worse for the little fender bender. I retreated behind the bar and watched the clock, the day is not done yet here at Lake Iwanttobethere {900,427}

Bobby Bass · December 22, 2012

It did not happen, the end of the world that is. Today finds us here at Lake Iwanttobethere with temperatures in the low thirties and the sound of a kids yelling and a hockey puck hitting the boards down at the rink. We have the Lodge deck door cracked open a little to let in some fresh air. There was a lot of cigar smoking going on yesterday and with the Christmas party tomorrow we thought the place could use a little airing out. School is out and even though yesterday was the last day of school it was only for the year not forever. I did attend not one but two Christmas pageants or events or shows or what ever they called them. One of the events I went to did not even pass out the programs till the event was over, that way you had no idea when your daughter or son was going to perform. They have all these rules too about not clapping or yelling for your kid's class and holding your applause till the end of the show. I'm sorry, if you sing well I am going to clap and if you make me laugh I going to laugh. Seems most of the parents felt the same way and there was a lot of clapping and parents yelling greeting to their kids on stage. Might be because we get the teachers to give us dirty looks and waggle fingers at us, something as a group we could ignore. Nothing better than screwing off in school knowing there will be no detention.

Ice is looking good out on the lake and a few shacks have been dragged out and placed. Been cold at night and we are coming into a real ice making couple of days. The S.S. Mistake is still nestled up in the trees on the hill but I have heard Chuck talking with the Fellows about a secret midnight launch. The Fellows are itching to use the air boat that they bought on HSOList, they are done hanging tires all around it to be used as bumpers and figure it will be a money maker for them. Since there is no fling the idea is to use the air boat to push shanties anywhere on the lake, for the right price of course. We are having our gift exchange here at the Lodge tonight, I don't know how many guys are going to attend as some presents were past out yesterday during the end of the world party. I expect there will be some regifting done tonight. I took a side trip out to see Vic at the Lake Iwanttobethere nursing home today. I arrived to find his room empty and had to go to the front desk to find out where he was hanging his hat.

I was directed to the rear of the building and told to check out the pond. As I made my way through the hall I was thinking about why Vic would be ice fishing on a pond that held no fish in the summer. When I got to the back door a janitor sneaking a smoke told me to check the pine tree with the Christmas lights and I would find Vic. I went out the back door across the gravel road to the tree. There I found a orange extension cord leading down toward the ice covered pond. I found Vic. sitting on a wood bench and wrapped in a red electric blanket. Next to him a five gallon Big Earl General Store bucket and a small cooler. I came up and gave him a HIYA and he looked up at me with a grin on his face and said " Back at ya"

Vic asked if I would care for a cocktail and held out a red solo cup with some clear liquid in it and a red and white striped candy cane as a swizzle stick. I chuckled some and replied why not. The fixings were in the bucket and a moment later I was on the wood bench looking out at the small ice covered pond. We exchanged Christmas greetings and when I asked Vic what he was doing he told me he was ice fishing without the hassle of drilling holes. Matter of fact fishing is as good in the winter as it is in the summer here on the pond. I reached into my coat pocket and gave Vic the small red envelope that I had for him. "Ok, to open it now?" he asked. I sipped on my cocktail and nodded yes. Taking his brown jersey gloves off he open the envelope and read the card and saw the paid Lake Iwanttobethere Lodge membership card. "I don't know what to say" he said. I just sipped from the unknown contents of the red solo cup and said. " Merry Christmas and if you need a ride to the Lodge, call me" from Lake Iwanttobethere {902,421}

Bobby Bass · December 23, 2012

Today finds me once again at the Lodge and bright sunshine is pouring through the windows. That is kind of a dumb statement as who ever said dull sunshine is pouring through the windows. Anyway it, the sunshine feels good as I sit on this end of the bar with the lap top. Two days ago we had the longest night of the year and I don't care what you say I can already feel the days growing longer. Only in December does the sun shine this deep into the Lodge that you can sit at the bar and feel it. Only in the mid teens outside but the sunshine makes all the difference in the way it feels out. Half hour out from watching the football game here and we are going to have a pretty good crowd of guys I think. I had to get out of the cabin as the wife has started her cleaning for Christmas Eve and I have been told I would be in the way. I was told to make sure I was back by six to pick her up for the Christmas party here at the Lodge.

So as guys wait for the game to start there is some talk of how promises made on the end of the world day are going to be handled. The common thought is maybe a few extra gifts under the tree may be substituted for the promise but on the other hand a lot of the guys think the best solution is just deny, deny, deny it ever happen. Lucky for me I have not bought the wife her Christmas gift yet so I will not have to buy extra ones. The Lodge is looking pretty good I must admit, Tess was in early this morning and put down a red stripe of duct tape on the floor that we are not to cross. We are allowed about one third of the main room to watch the football game in and are not to enter the other side. That side has table cloths and candles on the tables and tinsel hanging from the overhead beams. The Christmas tree is on our side but we have been informed that before the party starts the coasters and swizzle sticks and spent shotgun shells will be removed and replaced with more traditional decorations. Most of us being husband are taking a no comment stance.

Game about ready to start here, got sidetracked with Lodge business so I didn't get to finish this report and post it. Will add something after the game and hopefully it will be something good. Have a good afternoon...

Home team wins and there is still a glimmer of hope that there will be a reason to watch football in the new year. The Lodge has emptied out and Gus is busy moving tables and chairs to make a small dance floor. A few of the ladies have already shown up and Gus has been booted from his kitchen. By four the rest of the decorating committee will be here and I will be out the door myself. By seven tonight they will have the place all decorated and the tables all set, Christmas tree will be redecorated and all the decorations in storage will be hanging somewhere. I am off to do some late minute shopping before going home and putting on some clothes more appropriate. I have this Christmas sweater that lights up and the wife hates but everyone else finds amusing. The next few days will be busy so if I don't get the chance I would like to send everyone a Merry Christmas greeting, from Lake Iwanttobethere {903.793}

Bobby Bass · December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Lake Iwanttobethere

Reed the Realtor, Porky's Houseboats, The Johnson Boys Barley and Hopps, Hammering Hank and his wife Tess, Tom Foot, The Dew Drop Inn, You Bet'Em Casino, Mark the mailman, Ms. Molly Bodensteiner, The Watering Hole, Frank the plow driver, Marv's Diner, Marc's Towing and Lawn Service, DOC Burriem, The Sundown Cafe, Gas-N-Go, Jess the paperboy, Old Lady Snaggletooth and her son Bucky, Blaze, Dan Theim, Dusty McMurty, Dale "Frozen Toe" Mitchel, Mabel's Sauna and Hot House, John Lufer and the Power Co-Op, Jimmy, Swen and Leona and their son Lars, Sunshine Ray, KCUM Radio, Stormy Clearweather, Old Man Walter, Surplus Is Us, Floyd's Hardware Store, Nytelyter, Ben and Jeanie, Mr. McPettes, Mrs. Peters, The Jones twins and the Do Me Inn Resort, Peatmoss, Mindy and Mandy, Brandy, Uncle Gus, Mister Big, Candy, The Inn, T's Bait Shop, Big Jim, Skinny, Chuck, Big Earl and Junior, Dug, The Masterbaiters Shop and Vicki, Amy's Bakery, Del's Pizza and Sub Shop, Sadie and Lady, Barney, Bud, Elmer, Mike, Mr. Thompson, Werid Willie, Walter, Old Man Peabody, The Old Goose, Ed and Eddie, Old Man Iverson, Jerry, Jason, Ma and Pa's Grocery, Vic, Vinney, The Fellows, Honey Sauce, Duncan, Fred and Fiona, Tatter, The Wife, grand kids 1 through 4, Marv, Gus, Katrina, Bailiff, Sheriff Tim, Mr. Wilson, The Women's Auxiliary, Burt's Barber Shop, Farmers Market, Jeanie and Stan, Howard and Polly, Tinker's Fly in Service, The Dew Drop Inn, Eagles Nest, Gray Goose Inn, Echo the wonder dog, Grace, Buff and Smokie, Sam, Pepper, Old McDonnell, Barb, Diggers, Close Enough Shop, The Golf Course, Mr. Perch, The Chicken Shack, Little Louie's Liquor and Licorice, Captain Swanson, Duckslayer, Junkyard Mike, Luan, Tongue and Grove, Norman, the Lodge here Lake Iwanttobethere and of course Bobby Bass

{904.680}

Bobby Bass · December 26, 2012

Another Christmas in the books and now a day to just sit and relax. If I didn't have a cold that might be the perfect end to the past few days. But I got myself a cold and I feel miserable and of course the phone rings at seven in the morning and the son has a frozen water line. By eleven the water is running again and I am looking for my bed and some hot cocoa with maybe a shot of a little something. Kids are all happy, think we got them all presents they wanted. Wife is happy, mother in law is happy and as for the dogs it is just another day with to many people around. The three of them are back sleeping on the couch, glad that they don't have to share with any humans.

My book shelf has been filled with books for me to read, guess all the hints I have been throwing out worked. Christmas party at the Lodge went off without a hitch. There might have been a few conversations between wives and husbands as the ladies met Honey Sauce for the first time. Vic got a ride into the Lodge with Marv and Elmer and the three of them hit it off. The last I noticed of them they had a bottle of Wild Turkey sitting on their table and were trading stories. Christmas afternoon found the Fellows down on the ice with their new air boat offering for a small fee to haul shanties out onto the ice. My understanding is they had a few kinks to work out before they got the knack of it.

The first shack to go out on the ice was Steve's. Not a very big shack for a big guy but they figured they would just put a tow strap on it and drag it out to a spot just off Root Beer Island. They started off slow with Steve standing on the step to his shanty and Greg at the controls of the air boat. With a push from the other Fellows they got the shanty moving and Greg gunned the boat. Did I mention that Christmas Day afternoon was a might cold up this way? Matter of fact it was so cold that cold coffee froze real quick. Greg had the air boat blade spinning as fast as it would go and the guesses were that he was blowing a hundred mile an hour winds plus off the back of the boat. With his coffee cold and not thinking he turned his cup upside down to empty it. Well the prop sucked that coffee and sent it right on back towards the shanty, with the cold weather it froze after it went through the prop and headed towards Steve as coffee flying icicles.

Steve was a very lucky fellow as he was dressed in his hockey gear. If you have been one of the Fellows as long as Steve has you know that if something can go wrong it will. Steve was just lucky that he could not find his hockey helmet and had instead worn his motorcycle helmet, the one with the shield on it. The flying coffee icicles nailed his jersey to the wall of the shanty while others just broke when they hit his helmet and shin pads. Greg looked over his shoulder and saw Steve with his arms outstretched urging him on. Truth is Steve's arms were nailed or iced into the siding of the shanty and he could not move at all. They arrived at Root Beer Island and the other Fellows on ATV's soon caught up. Steve was chiseled off the shack wall and it was decided that perhaps they should try pushing instead of pulling, from Lake Iwanttobethere {907,468}

Bobby Bass · December 27, 2012

Pulling in a favor from the Ski Hill we borrowed one of their snow making machines yesterday. Having done this in the past we quickly hooked it up to water and power and we were making snow with the idea to cover the hill below the Lodge so we could fling the S.S. Mistake down the hill. Surprising how making snow can sure draw the people in. I don't think we had been making snow for more than twenty minutes then kids start to showing up with slides and new snow boards. Of course when we say we I am not talking about myself, I was in more of a management role. Matter of fact with my coughing and sneezing people were keeping their distance from me. As the afternoon went on there were reports of it snowing out by Root Beer Island. We found this interesting as there was no snow in the forecast. Sunshine Ray came over from the radio station and for some reason was pretty excited about the falling snow.

An unusual thing was happening weather wise. With the temperature the way it was and the slight breeze along with the moisture content in the air somehow we were seeding the low clouds. We even made the news as our snow gun was making snow a mile away and it was not the snow from the gun but snow from the clouds. Of course no sooner than the news hit the airwaves then people around the lake starting calling the Lodge wanting us to make snow for their part of the lake. It lasted for a few hours then the winds shifted and things changed but over an inch of snow fell on Root Beer Island.

The Fellows are still shuttling shanties out on the ice, pushing works better the pulling with the air boat. You can stand on top of the hill and see right where they are by the white out the air boat makes. Add the new snow and it looks like a blizzard behind them. They have also started taking the small two man pop up out on to the ice. They lash them one to each side of the air boat and run them out. When they are close to where the owners want them they just cut the rope and send them skipping across the ice. Thing is with the Fellows it did not take to long for them to make a game out of it and they now think they are a PT boat with torpedoes. The challenge is for them to see how close they can come to hitting a shanty already out on the ice with one of the two man pop ups.

So we have the snow gun for twenty-four hours and the hill is white again. There is snow on the Luge and the Fellows have promised they will get the S.S. Mistake down the hill later this afternoon. I am debating on whether I will be on board when it happens. I know Chuck can't wait to fish from the old pontoon boat and with some snow we might not have to bank the sides up with the hay bales. We have several orange barrels already down on the ice as a few of the more adventurous teenagers here at the Lake are getting inside the barrels and riding them down the Luge run. As long as they go down the Luge with the open end facing the up the hill they are good. A few of them have ridden it with the open end facing down the hill so they could see where they are going. A problem with that as the barrels soon fill up with snow making the rider look like snowmen when they exit. From Lake Iwanttobethere, were making snow and ice today {908,882}

Bobby Bass · December 29, 2012

Like nomads the grand kids have been visiting their aunts, uncles and now the past few days the grandparents. With school vacation almost half done the kids have been here the past two days and this afternoon they will move on to their uncles for the rest of the weekend. Pancakes were on the menu for this morning and each one of the four kids had to cook their own on the griddle. With sausage that grandma cooked they had to eat all that they made. Some like big pancakes while the youngest prefers making them silver dollar size, but lots of them. With grandma busy watching over their shoulders at the griddle the table was unattended and the Lake Iwanttobethere Maple Syrup might have been poured by the kids a little heavy. Matter of fact the plate of pancakes that I got looked more like a beaver house in the middle of a syrup pond.

Yesterday we receive some more snow and the number two grandson received a Tonka grader for Christmas. He was soon dressed in snow pants and coat and was out the door grading the snow off the deck one board at a time. With the deck almost half cleared I brought out a thermos of hot cocoa and I poured some in to the silver cup that serves as a top. The grandson stood holding onto his cup and sipping from it, steam rising from the cup. He stood surveying his work and I stood along side acting like a foreman offering suggestions on where he should move the next load of snow. Inside the two granddaughters somehow were convinced by the wife to dust the collection of outdoor magazines that I have collected over the years. Left on their own they removed all two hundred plus magazines from the shelves and rearranged them according to picture covers not dates.

Last night we had a Scooby Doo marathon in the theater. One of the granddaughters is a big fan and she was in charge. We had popcorn and some magic potion that she made up for us. I think it was cranberry juice added to water bottles and then shook real hard. Since she was in charge she also started a check sheet on all of us. A check sheet is where you do something wrong you get a check behind your name. Since we were watching TV shows you would get a check mark if you talked out loudly. I found out that I got two check marks for falling a sleep and snoring but I don't know what the punishment is or was.

In an hour or so I will load them all up in the Tahoe and drive them over to the son's house. I will then check in at the Lodge and a trip to visit Vicki at the Masterbaiters Shop before heading out on the ice for the early evening bite. The S.S. Mistake was launched, successfully I might add last night. With the snow that was made and the snow that fell the Fellows with their ATV's moved the Mistake to the hill and it took off by itself down the hill and out on to the ice. Greg had the air boat at the ready and he swooped in behind the Mistake and added some push sending the old pontoon about three hundred yards from shore and straight out from the Lodge. The location just happens to be over one of the well know secret spots on the lake. This evening I will spend some time fishing it with Chuck and if we catch a few I will haul my shanty out on to the ice and set up close by either tomorrow or Monday so from Lake Iwanttobethere have a good one. {910,372}

Bobby Bass · December 31, 2012

Up early this morning as Duncan woke me up trying to get under the covers with me. The sun is rising but it looks cold out and that is confirmed when I open the deck door to let the dogs out. The days of just walking out with nothing on your feet are long gone but will return. The night had been forecasted to be cold with strong winds but this morning finds it calm. It being the last day of the month and the year I was toying with the idea of getting one last grouse hunting walk in. After feeling the cold air swirl in the cabin after opening the door I have decided that I will try a mid afternoon hunt instead of a morning one.

A quiet cabin yesterday as the grand kids were all at the son's. I was out getting firewood for the rack and I saw a couple of puffs of smoke from the direction of his cabin across the lake and I thought maybe he was sending a signal. I mentioned it to the wife in passing and she said that maybe she should go and check on her babies. I assured her that he has a phone and no one uses smoke signals anymore. She then reminded me of Elmer and Marv in the yard with a wet cow hide last summer practicing their boy scout skills. I suggested she just call the son and make small talk with him.

Yesterday I made a pot of chili and had a few of the guys over to watch the football game on the big screen. A couple of loaves of bread were baked and the hint dropped that all that was needed was a twelve pack of beer. At half time we made it to the kitchen to ladle scoops of chili into bowls and grabbed a platter of hot sliced buttered bread. Back in the theater we shoveled in spoons of chili and made a few side bets on the game. The best football games are always watched when there are fans of both teams playing. Yesterday there was a token Packer fan who came boasting and left shaking his head with "Wait till next week" I already have Saturday evening penciled in for the rematch and pizza on the menu.

With the New Year just a day away I am already going to make a prediction, Cabin Fever is going to come early this year and it will strike hard. I received in the mail my first fishing catalog for the new year and I have already paged through it twice. With everyone trying to be ahead of everyone else I can't imagine that the seed catalogs will not be too far behind. My summer excuse of inside work is meant to be done in the winter is being quoted to me by the wife. I have started on converting a storage room into another bedroom to be used as a bunk room for all the grand kids. I have been reminded by the wife that I actually started this project last spring but summer got in the way.

Last spring I gutted it and put up insulation and got half the sheet rock up before I was sidetracked by warmer weather and outside projects. It is a good place to hide out with a book and some juice and sit in front of the window that faces the lake and lets in lots of sunshine when the sun is shinning. I found that I could read and be undisturbed in the room, all I needed to do was start the circular saw every few minutes and pound on a two by four with a hammer before going back to my book and reading a few more pages. Nothing keeps the wife away better then the sound of a man cutting and pounding, from Lake Iwanttobethere {914,064}

Bobby Bass · January 2, 2013

New Years Eve party at the Lodge was a black tie event this year. You needed to have a tie and a date when you came through the main door but a few steps inside and the ties were taken off and stuffed in coat pockets. With the Women's Auxiliary having a beachhead inside the Lodge the women of Lake Iwanttobethere are expanding their presents inside what once was a man's domain. Lucky for us the Women's Auxiliary spent most of their time in the side meeting room drinking what I have been told was an excellent mushroom tea. Their husbands took over a table by the fire out of sight and ear shot of their wives.

The Lodge crowd was pretty much an older membership kind of thing, the younger members having starting their celebration early and they were down on the ice where a couple of shanties had been placed close together and a tent erected between them. The Fellows were split between the two parties, those in a relationship were in the Lodge and the ones trying to get out of one or no longer in one were down on the ice. A normal meal at the Lodge for New Years is a buffet with platters of wings and hot sauce along with bowls of chips and dip and bottled beer in iced buckets. Kettles of chili and cookie sheets covered in layers of onion rings would be set on a couple of tables with a few rolls of paper towels. Pretty much like a Lodge after meeting snack. But this year we had to do it a little different, the women's idea.

We had table clothes on the tables and I mean they were unfolded and covered all the burn marks on the tops Chrome napkin's holders were gone along with the salt and pepper shakers. Ketsup and mustard and hot sauce, not to be found. Instead the tables had the same number of chairs as plates. Each plate had three forks and two spoons and one knife that was so dull you could not cut through a French fry with it. I was later informed it was a bread knife but I could not tell since the only light we had was from flickering scented candles on the table. Each setting also had a flat glass that was worthless to drink out of. Someone refereed to as a "Finger Bowl" I just used my to rinse off my fork when it fell on the floor.

Fluted glasses that you could fill up three times with one bottle of beer which meant you spent more time pouring then drinking. Water glasses that to me just took up space that could have been better used for shot glasses. Although I did notice by later in the night they were being used as shot glasses. The meal however was pretty good, we had prime rib at my table or our table I should say. That was another thing we didn't get to pick our table but had to look for these little cards that had our names on them. I somehow was seated with three of the women's auxiliary members and their husbands along with Doc Burriem who to his credit found a way to use his water glass by adding to it from the flask he always carries in his vest pocket.

We sat at our tables and servers brought us our food. I have no idea who the servers were, I am guessing high school kids that somehow were in debt to the women's auxiliary. Being polite I made small talk with the ladies and avoided the kicks under the table from my wife who would bounce one off my shin when I started to take the conversation in the wrong direction. The ladies headed to the side room to drink tea and the wife to one of her girlfriends. I grabbed a water glass and went to the deck door to look down at the other party on the ice, wishing I was there. Skinny stood on the ice looking up at the flickering light coming from the Lodge and saw the curl of smoke rising from the chimney, shivering a little and eating a cold sausage he held the ice cold beer in his numb hand and thought about them lucky guys in the Lodge, from Lake Iwanttobethere {916,162}

Bobby Bass · January 4, 2013

Holidays are behind us and grouse season has come to a close. I did manage to take a walk behind the cabin one last time and Bud and Duncan both went with. Was so busy with other things that I failed to mention the walk or maybe it was that we didn't kick up a single bird and it was pretty cool out that day. Something has been having a good season as next door Chuck has lost two of his ducks the past week. Something is coming in the pen during the night and killing the ducks and the culprit is at large and unknown. A trail cam is going to be set up and the killer will be dealt with I have been informed. Echo the wonder dog is still too small to be of any help but she has grown to over twenty pounds now. I can hear Chuck yelling at her from time to time to stop picking on Tatter, his two hundred pound mastiff.

Killing time this morning waiting on the sun to climb a little higher in the sky and warm things up some. Not a cloud that I can see and we might just reach thirty above and beyond maybe. Have to go down and see Big Earl at the General Store. The wife's washing machine died and nothing I can do to fix it. She has been without the machine for two days and told me I need to go and get the cover off the Dodge and get down to Earl's and bring her a new washer. I made some off hand remark to her about taking the spud to the creek and breaking ice and just pounding some clothes on the water covered rocks, was good enough in the old days to wash clothes that way. I managed to dodge the wooden spoon that she tossed in my direction and told her she will have a new machine installed by this afternoon.

Ice houses are scattered across the lake and fishing has been poor or no one is saying anything. The past few winters have been not what we would call normal winters and this year is turning out to be the same. Not a lot of snow and late ice again has meant that a lot of the bigger houses are not out yet. Seems more people on the lake are just putting their house right out from their cabins instead of hauling them down to the access. Matter of fact mine is still not out and I am thinking I might just set up right off where Elmer has his dock in the summer. I know he has a good brush pile out there. Of course having the S.S. Mistake out in front of the Lodge is a plus and it will give us two different locations to go fish. Grand kids are also getting a little older and are more willing to spend time on the ice, especially if it is just a toboggan ride down the hill from the cabin.

Honey Do List has plenty of jobs on it to do but I have been staying away from it. Told the wife that I am on vacation till further notice. With the grand kids back in school I need a vacation from their vacation. Read two of my books that I received for Christmas and if all goes well with the washing machine I will be able to catch some afternoon sun and start reading another one. I can already see a trip to the dump in my future as the old machine will have to be hauled away and I am sure the wife will find something else that should go with it. Big football game tomorrow night so Sunday should be a day spent on the ice fishing, hope to have a tale to tell you soon after, from Lake Iwanttobethere {918,411}

Bobby Bass · January 5, 2013

Yesterday afternoon it got as warm as thirty-five above! Which is a lot better then thirty-five below this time of year. I spent the afternoon on pins and needles waiting for something bad to happen. I say that because I hauled out the old washing machine from the basement, and installed a new one and not one thing went wrong. I took the tarp off the back of the Dodge and turned the key and the old truck started right up. The bed of the truck was dry and clean of snow and when I made it to Big Earl's General Store the washing machine was waiting for me on the dock with a new set of hoses, at no charge. I took the machine out of the box on the deck and I had already cleared a path down the stairs and to the laundry room. The new washer was hauled down the stairs and hoses installed and slid in to place. I had to make just one small adjustment to one of the legs to make it level and it was done.

The old washer was hauled upstairs and then dragged over to the lean to and tucked away, when I entered the cabin the wife asked me why I just didn't put it on the Dodge and haul it to the dump. Thinking quickly I told her I was going to take the machine apart and use the drum to make a new fish basket for the dock. She nodded her head in agreement and said that it would be a good recycling project. I headed for the den but she stopped me with "So now that the Dodge is empty you can run over to the lumber yard for them two by fours you said you needed for the bedroom job." Caught in mid stride I turned slowly thinking quickly for an excuse not to go to the lumber yard but I had nothing. I tried telling her that I didn't really have a count on the number of two by fours I needed. Holding my chin in my fingers I acted like I was thinking. "Hmmm it was either six or eight, I better go and recount" I said. Looking back at the wife she stood by the door holding my coat for me and simply said " How about you just pick up ten to be sure and if you leave now you will be back in time to get some work in today."

Taking the coat from the wife I smiled and almost made it out the door before she reminded me to grab my wallet. I walked over to the Dodge and opened the driver's door and out of no where Duncan jumped up on the seat and made his way to the far side where he sat down leaning against the door and gave me his best going for a ride look. I turned back to see the wife in the doorway waving good-bye, guess Duncan was going shopping. With the heater on high and the sun shinning in the windows it was almost warm enough for the drive to the lumber yard. The Dodge in the last few years has become a summer truck as I lose a lot of heat through the holes in the floor boards and along the bottom of the doors. I arrived at the Lumber Yard to find Tongue and Grove the owner's sons sipping on coffee and leaning on the big doors to the mill shed. I pull up and tell them about two by fours and they tell me to help myself and that they are closing soon. They waved me on and I drive over to the lumber shed and pull inside.

Cold, lumber yards are never a warm place to work in. They stay cold in the winter and never really warm up in the summer. I park by a unit of two by fours and with Duncan watching I begin to sort. Standing on one end of the unit I pick up a board and look down it's length for bowing if it past the test I set it to the side. I wonder to myself how many times I have done this and how many thousands of boards I have looked at over the years. I am always reminded of the year I spent building tresses and how cold it got in the building. I put twelve two by fours in the Dodge and drive out of the shed, as I pass Tongue and Groove I just tell them to put twelve eight foot sticks on my bill, you see I didn't need my wallet, from Lake Iwanttobethere {919,532}

Bobby Bass · January 7, 2013

Helpers, I need more helpers. Sitting at the desk in the den I find myself coming up with more projects that need to be done but what I need is helpers to do them. We are not talking elf's here but I am guessing the wife would welcome some elf's to take down the Christmas decorations that are still scattered around the cabin. There seems to be an endless and growing list of things to do around the cabin and I keep getting distracted when I start doing something. Duncan is to blame as being the biggest distraction. Coming up on two years old and like any two year old he is demanding. Even as I write this he is standing on his hind legs next to my chair with his front paws on the desk top and his nose resting against the keyboard. I can't be sure if he is reading what I am typing but I would not be surprised.

I had to take a break and let Duncan outside, I tried distracting him with a biscuit but that didn't work. He ate the biscuit and came back so I gave him three more which he can easily carry in his mouth. He brought the biscuits to the living room where he dropped them on the floor in front of Bud and Barney who were laying on the sun covered rug. The two old dogs eyed the dog bones like they were eyeing a box of chocolates before each selecting one. Duncan took the last one and crunched it up before licking his paws clean and returning to jump back up on the desk alongside of me. In the summer the dogs can pretty much come and go as they please through the deck door but with winter we have the inside door closed and they have not yet figured out how to open it. A few years back I installed the lever style handles on all the doors making it easier to open the doors when you have your hands full. It also makes it easier for the dogs to stand on their hind legs and open the doors for themselves. They have just not figured out how to pull the door open but they have the open and push the storm door down pat.

I let Duncan out and followed him out on the deck, the bass thermometer's red needle is resting on thirty-seven and I tapped the glass and it jumped to thirty-eight. For noon at the end of the first week in January not bad at all. As long as I was outside I figured I might as well do a little work, well Duncan should do a little work. With Duncan sitting and looking at me I told him to go get some wood. He raced off the deck and jumped the stairs headed for the wood pile. He reached the pile and turned to look back at me. I yelled BIRCH and he grabbed a split stick of birch and headed back to the cabin. When he got to the deck I took the split piece of birch from him and said "Wood" I tossed the wood onto the rack and looked back at Duncan who was already waiting at the wood pile. I yelled MAPLE and Duncan went to the other side of the wood pile and started tugging on a good size piece of maple. He was having a problem so I yelled out "Smaller" he gave up on the round piece and grabbed a split piece of maple and made his way back to the deck.

With the wood rack filled again Duncan and I returned inside the cabin, him to the floor for a puppy nap as I like to call them and me back to the keyboard. So I sense a few of you may be shaking your heads about Duncan retrieving wood. What, I told ya he has a really big mouth, from Lake Iwanttobethere {921,019}

Bobby Bass · January 8, 2013

The remolding of the storage room and former office space to what will become a bunk room for the grand kids is moving along at an acceptable pace. The walls have been gutted, insulated and vapor barrier installed. Over half of the room has been dry walled, of course this was all done last spring. As for now I am working on studding up a closet wall and still trying to decide how best to utilize the space, shelf's or hanger rods. With two grand sons and two grand daughters both groups have different needs. Every time they come over they head for the bunk room to inspect what I have done. They are worse than the wife as far as having a time table for completion. Number two grandson is concerned I will not have enough room for his trucks. Number one grandson wants to know where the shelf will be for his tackle box and number one granddaughter a book shelf and a safe. The safe is to keep her brothers away from her "Good Stuff" that I guess at eleven you start to get. Number two granddaughter just keeps changing her mind on what color I should paint it.

After Duncan and I filled the wood rack yesterday we took a drive into town. As I grow older Doc Burriem keeps finding more reasons for me to stop at the pharmacy each month. I left Duncan in the Tahoe sitting in one of the grand kid's car seats and went inside. I waved a HIYA to Dave working the counter and headed back to see his brother Dave at the pharmacy counter. His name really is Dave but he is Dave's cousin not his brother but we like to kid the both of them. I tried to get the HIYA discount but Dave just smiled and took my money and gave me the little white bag. Same kind of little white bag I get at Amy's bakery but according to Doc one has good stuff in it and the other not so good. I prefer the donut bag myself it is a lot cheaper.

Next stop was the hardware store to pick up a few electrical boxes and some switches. Need then for a closet light and moving the room light to a better location. So much work that is done behind the walls that no one ever sees. I tell Chuck that is why I am taking so long doing the remodeling job so the wife will appreciate it that much more, so far it is not working. I did drive by Burt's Barber Shop but I saw there was a few cars parked out front and someone was in the chair getting clipped. Time for this years first haircut and the wife suggested I should get my beard trimmed by someone who does it for a living. I have had a beard for about twenty-five years and normally I wear it pretty closely trimmed but this year I decided to let it grow.

The hair on the top of my head grows slow compared to my beard which has taken off. There is a length where the beard becomes itchy and I made it through that and now it is just soft and the kids like to play with their fingers. The threat of a whisker rub is an empty one now as the beard is soft and not scratchy. I do tell the youngest daughter that I am just going to let it grow to ZZ Top length and she keeps threating to cut it off when I am sleeping if it gets that long. I have been told that I look like a out of work Santa, I just reply it is the off season. I expect come fishing season I can charge a little more for my fish guiding services, I will advertise as a grizzled fishing guide and with a flannel shirt I will at least look the part. So far no problem with the longer beard except when smoking a cigar I have to be careful when the gar gets short not to set my beard on fire from Lake Iwanttobethere {922,317}

Bobby Bass · January 10, 2013

Some grumpy guys down at the Lodge yesterday and I am guessing it is the sum of a lot of things. Time of the year when the bills are coming due for all that Christmas shopping not to mention that Mayan calendar fiasco. Also I had to issue the bar tabs to a few members who have reached their limit, the best way to do that is over a beer. By the end of the day I was a few beers past my limit. Fellows were sitting at the big round table only a few of them were in the sun. On a good note we have gained almost twenty minutes of sunshine as the sun is retreating from inside the Lodge and getting higher in the sky.

As I drifted around the Lodge main room I overheard a lot of different conversations and participated in quite a few. Without mentioning names there was a conversation about going winter camping, actually two conversations as one group was talking about snowshoes and a tent and another group was talking about a hot tub and a floating bar. Another group was talking about lake trout fishing and an interesting conversation at the Fellows table about tuna and marlin fishing. In the past week there was a news story about a tuna being sold over seas for 1.3 million dollars and the on going legal battle of a large marlin worth almost a million dollars in prize money. The Fellows are working on a plan to bring tuna and marlins to Lake Iwanttobethere. I over heard some of the conversation so I pulled up a chair to listen in some more. Always a good idea to have an ear open around the Fellows when they start scheming things.

The Tuna and Marlin has already gone past a few round table discussions that I missed out on. Of course we have no Tuna or Marlins in Lake Iwanttobethere so the first order of business is to get some. I found out that Greg was already on that as he is dating Bonnie the owner of Fin's, Tails and Sushi. Like most business ventures here at Lake Iwanttobethere you have to be diversified so you can make a living year round. Bonnie has a tropical fish shop and also sells sushi. Not out of the same door though, She has a corner store with the fish shop on the street side and the Sushi Bar on the avenue side. Anyway Greg is working on importing the Tuna and Marlins from her and then selling it back to her, the Tuna that is. The marlin would be used in a fishing contest charging big entry fees.

As with almost all of the Fellows ideas they needed someone to come up with the venture capital. They told me their idea like they were pitching a business plan complete with diagrams on paper napkins. I sipped on my beer and listen to the Tuna projected sales and on how they could get maybe twenty or more boats fishing for Marlin. They could all become charter captains and the Lodge could sponsor the contest and make the news. With the presentation complete they all sat back to sip their beer and looked at me for my approval. I set my beer mug down and moved the empty mug to the center of the table. Wiping a little foam from my lips I simply said "You know Lake Iwanttobethere is fresh water" and with that I rose from the table and moved on. Twenty minutes later I happen to walk by the table and I over heard Steve talking about the big salt pile that the county does not use anymore and how Mike has that pond, from Lake Iwanttobethere {924,316}

Bobby Bass · January 11, 2013

Here at Lake Iwanttobethere like everywhere else when it is slow and there seems to be nothing to write or talk about we always have the weather. This morning I woke up to let the dogs out on to a rain covered deck and an ice covered yard. I knew it had rained overnight as I was out to get some tools from the shop last night. The snow had a glaze over it and I pulled the hood up over my head to keep the rain drops off. This morning it is still dripping out and there is some ice on the pavement but the ground has ice and is not safe to be walking on. The wife walked out to the Jeep to go to work and as I watched from the kitchen window she started the truck up and started to go sideways in the drive. I met her at the back door and she said she was not going to work, can't get out of the drive.

I made a few calls around the lake and it is just wet on one end but the other end, the trees are covered in an ice glaze. Maybe later in the day things will improve so I can get out and take some pictures or it will get colder here and the trees will lend themselves to some pictures. Right now we are just a tad too warm and the rain has stopped. Three of four grand kids are here they all have a cold and are coughing away. There was only a half day of school scheduled for today and they were not going to go as they are sick. Of course we didn't tell them that, was going to be a surprised then the oldest granddaughter heard on the radio that school had been canceled for the day. They are now all under the electric blanket on the couch with hot cocoa and Duncan trying to get petted by all of them. This of course means that a cold is in my near future as it is impossible to avoid the coughing.

North of here heavy snow is falling but nothing falling here. I noticed yesterday there was a pretty good line of cars at the self-service car wash, I even pulled in and rinsed my truck off. Funny how little things can put a smile on your face as when I went to put the quarters in I found a couple resting on top of the machine. After I rinsed off the truck and got the windows clean again I reached into my pocket and put a couple of quarters back on top for the next guy to find, might as well pass the feeling on. Went over to the general store to pick up dog bones and kitty litter. Good thing I got the big bag of litter as it may have to be spread on the sidewalk if this ice stays. Was thinking about walking down to the mailbox but I am not going to go land on my kister to pick up a few bills. Besides I got a new fishing catalog yesterday that I have not yet looked through.

I think I am just going to head out to the shop and lite a fire in the pot belly stove, crack the door open and light a cigar. I could do the same thing down at the ice house but it looks pretty sloppy on the ice. Sort through some screws and put tools away and maybe cut up a few scrap pieces of wood to feed the fire. Now that I think of it I do have that spare wheel bearing for the Puddle Humper that should be packed with grease. I am sure I could work on that and get distracted by something else. Always something to do on a rain day, even if it is in the middle of January, from Lake Iwanttobethere {924,841}

Bobby Bass · January 12, 2013

Wife was doing house cleaning yesterday and she flipped over the mattress and found my new wallet that she bought me for my 708th birthday. She brought the wallet into the den and holding it in her hand she said "Thought you said you lost this?" Looking up from the desk over the top of my glasses I replied with "No, I said it was not ready to be put in use yet" The wife shrugged her shoulders and dropped the wallet on the desk and left mumbling something low that I could not make out. Seeing that she was clear of the room I picked up the leather wallet that I had totally forgotten about and inspected it. Like a new baseball glove a wallet has to be broken in. This new leather wallet I had filled with old business cards and rubbed some oil into the leather. I then put several rubber bands around it and tossed it under the mattress to cure so to speak.

A man's wallet is not like a women's purse or purses. First off a man's wallet does not have to match the clothes they are wearing that day. Writing this I am trying to remember just how many wallets I have had in my lifetime and I am stuck at three, four if you count this new one. The current well-worn wallet has a corner missing from when Pepper was a puppy and chewed it off. It has teeth marks from Smokie my retrieving cat and some of the stitching is a little frayed. The leather is a dark rich brown while the inside is a lighter brown, the original color. It is of modest thickness as it only has a few cards in it and never enough money. Fishing license and boat registration and a gift card to one of them big box fishing stores. All in all a pretty simple wallet compared to others I guess.

My oldest son has a rat pack wallet, filled with receipts and coupons and discount tire cards. Of course he is still on his first wallet and his is splitting from too much good stuff in it. He wears his wallet in his jeans so it has that rounded shape to fit his back side. Mine on the other hand is always kept in a coat pocket or tucked away in a truck window visor. When fishing it is stuffed in a side pocket of my soft fishing cooler which I guess could be compared to a purse. A mans purse of course, one that is big enough to carry a couple of sandwiches, some soda, a banana and some peanut butter wafers. A hand towel and a couple of them small cooler blocks to keep everything cold. Bug spray and forceps along with my pencil and notebook for logging fish and of course the camera. Guess it is not a purse it is more of a catch all bag. Kind of like the wife's purse that seems to have everything any anything needed at any given time. Really if a disaster was to happen the first thing I would grab would be the wife's purse.

I took the old rubber bands off the wallet and flex it a few times. I add a couple more cards to the slots inside and rub a little mink oil to the leather that I just happen to have handy. A few new rubber bands and the wallet is good to go back under the mattress. I don't need to replace my wallet now as it is in perfectly good shape. Besides the new wallet might just be a good present for the oldest son, his birthday is only ten months away, from Lake Iwanttobethere {926,132}

Bobby Bass · January 13, 2013

Middle of January and the middle of winter as far as I am concern. We survived a second freezing rain event and other then the inconvenience nothing was broken around the cabin. Nice to have warm temperatures in the middle of winter but rain is not really welcomed this time of year. Today finds low clouds over the lake and a few snowflakes fell a few hours ago. Just enough to track dogs across the deck and make the ice covered snow in the yard interesting to walk on. The sun is getting higher in the sky but winter is still pulling on it. It tracks low just above the tree line and as I write this it is trying to burn through the clouds. Winds are calm and we are in single digits above zero, good ice making weather and if you are moving around outside it is warm enough.

Yesterday Abner from the Foggy Bottoms Dairy dropped off a brand smacking new milk box with two glass bottles of milk and a quart of ice cream. I was in town and was talking to his dad Virgil who for years we used to get milk from. As the kids got older we just stopped for some reason. I ran into Virgil at Burt's barbershop and we got around to talking about how the dairy was going and I mentioned how much time the grand kids were spending at the cabin. Well it didn't take to much for him to talk me into giving the dairy a try again and yesterday his son Abner showed up with the new ice box and we rolled back the clock some. I am sure it is just the idea of having fresh milk waiting outside in the box that made my bowl of frosted flakes taste extra crunchy this morning. Even the wife poured some milk in her coffee and left the spendy creamer in it's spot in the fridge.

For me football season is done, all the teams that I follow are out of the playoffs and I need something else to waste my time on Sunday afternoons. I of course do not say this out loud as the wife would bring the Honey Do List to my attention. I have started to do a little cleaning in the den, with new fishing catalogs arriving and seed catalogs I am sure on the way I need to make room. Of course I do not just take the fishing catalogs and toss them in the garbage as I have to sort through them and of course hold on to the Master catalogs for future research. I like to track the price on some of my favorite lures so that when I buy them in bulk I can point out to the wife how much money I saved, even if it does take a few years.

I really should sit down and make a few new lists of projects that really should get done this summer. I should make a list of lakes to be fished and add a few new ones to that list. I need a new rod to replace the one that the tip got broke on. It still works but now it is a few inches shorter and after all it was a few years old and I might just have caught all the big fish it had on it. A few ideas for some videos are banging around my head and even a few photo's that call for me to be at the right place at the right time of the year. Bud and Barney are not getting any younger and I want to spend as much time as I can with them, not to mention the grand kids are getting older and want to spread out and do more discovering. I am going to have to make a list of the lists I need to make or no list at all and just let it all happen. Most of the time that is how it works anyway. Always some distraction that replaced the tasks you are working on and at the time it seems to be the most important thing. With that thought I should just spend more time on the waters of Lake Iwanttobethere and everything should just work out, from Lake Iwanttobethere {927,298}

Bobby Bass · January 15, 2013

One thing for sure, when you live out on the lake and the sun goes down it sure do get dark out. A friend of mine was up visiting from the big city and he made that comment to me over supper last night. Guess I just take it for granted and Doc Burriem says I have great night vision and I always keep a flashlight in my pocket. Those little LED flashlights sure are handy to have around. Of course one of they first things we did when we remodeled the cabin and started having kids was to put spot lights up at the peaks of the cabin. I remember we ran a lot of wire in order to get all the lights to just a few switches at the same spot. I always felt that just because it got dark at four thirty it should not be a reason for the kids to stop being outside playing or doing chores. When we wanted to call the kids into the cabin we would just flash the lights a few times and they got the idea. We do the same thing with the dogs when we let them out and Duncan is catching on that flashing lights means he better finish up with business and get to the deck door.

Grand kids are all back at their houses but will be here for the extended weekend as yet another day of no school on Friday and then a holiday on Monday. I don't remember having nearly as much time off from school as these kids do. I still think about the kids all the time as they left me their cold and it is now my time to be coughing and looking for the tissue box. I was declared officially sick with the cold yesterday morning when Bud climbed into bed with me. Whenever anyone is sick at the cabin Bud will find them and stay by their side, kind of like a nurse with no benefits. He will not bring the tissue or fill your juice glass but he will be there to clean up your plate of any meals that you don't feel like eating. He is however warm and prefers to sleep with his back pressed up against mine. Yesterday was a good day just to lay in bed and read and that is just what I did. Even had an hour of sunshine to enjoy before the clouds drifted back in.

My friend stopped by shortly after the sun set and even though he was warned I had a cold he still kicked the snow off his boots at the door and came on in. The wife was making potato pancakes and sausage and she told my friend it would be no problem setting another plate. Would be just that much less that I would get to eat. You see I don't get potato pancakes very often, it seems I almost have to get sick to get them come to think of it. With the wife frying pancakes we chatted and caught up on man gossip. Man gossip is a tad different then women gossip as we seem to cover a lot more topics in a lot less time. What can take a minute or so for a man to pass on can be a solid forty-five minute conversation between a couple of ladies and if there are three of them involved in the conversation it is an easy hour. It might be that when men gossip both parties know the parties being gossiped about where as a couple of women neither one might not know anyone involved.

After supper I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and we headed to the den. I brought the lake finder site up on the computer and we compared some men gossip on a few lakes down his way. Mostly ice fishing talk but we were making plans for some soft water fishing that is only four months away. The wife hearing us talk about fishing was no longer interested and headed to the living room and the phone, no doubt to pass on the kitchen gossip she had just overheard, from Lake Iwanttobethere {929,034}

Bobby Bass · January 16, 2013

Tax season is upon us but what is more important it is also the beginning of Girl Scout cookie season! I don't even know how much they are this year but I will be ordering my fix of Thin Mints to be hidden in the bottom of the freezer. I think I heard four dollars a box as the price being mentioned by the guys at the Lodge in the know. Way to much for a little box of cookies but they are Girl Scout cookies. I have had work done on my roof in the dead of summer by merely waving a box of Thin Mints at Skinny. It is not so much that I eat them but what I can get for them out of cookie season. Fishing with Chuck and reaching into the soft cooler bag and coming up with a handful of Girl Scout cookies can really put him off his game. I have even gotten Elmer to give up his last cold beer for a Tagalong making him think it is my last one.

Of course my wife makes her own imitation Tagalongs using Ritz crackers, peanut butter and dark almond bark. If you put them in a Tagalong box you can't tell the difference, at least Elmer can't. I remember when a box of cookies were four bits, for you younger guys that is fifty cents. Even at that price they were making money for the Girl Scouts and at four dollars a box that is getting a little steep to go out and buy a case anymore. But I will buy a few boxes and the wife will buy a few boxes and we will hide them away from each other. Some will make it to the freezer upstairs and some to the basement chest freezer. I am sure a few more will get put away in the shop to be nibbled on when I am out there. One year I gave Elmer a whole box of the Thin Mints but I put it inside a wood box with a glass front on it. The box was all glued together and the glass was a pane of bullet proof stuff that I got from Mike at the junkyard. I gave him a cheap two dollar hammer from Big Earl and attached the hammer with a little chain to the box. Painted the whole mess red and put a little sign on it to break glass only in an emergency. Got a lot of laughs as he could not even get in with a sledge hammer.

Couple of days into my cold and from what I hear I am not the only one. Saw Dave at the pharmacy in search of some vitamin C and he was all out waiting for a shipment. I did stock up on some cough syrup and a few bags of cherry cough drops. Also made a stop over at Little Louie's Liquor and Licorice and picked up a jug of brandy, strictly for medical reasons. A warm thirty plus outside so no need to zip up the coat but I heard Stormy Clearweather calling for a couple of cold nights. Minus twenty or maybe even colder, knew we had to get some real winter weather here sooner or later. With no real snow on the ground when it gets that cold it really feels cold out.

Went by Reed the Realtor storefront, he has two banners up in the windows, one saying he does taxes and the other promoting his travel agency. I think the goal is to get your taxes done there and then let Reed set you up to spend your refund on a vacation somewhere. Funny thing there is his cousin does the same thing I hear down in Florida. Only he wants to send you up on a vacation here at Lake Iwanttobethere, go figure. Well after two here at the lake, safe for me to take a couple of cough drops. Going to pour myself about two fingers of brandy in a glass and drop a couple of cough drops in instead of ice, using cough drops this way has work well on my colds in the past, Elmer taught me this trick, from Lake Iwanttobethere {930,719}

Bobby Bass · January 20, 2013

I'm not saying it is cold out but my neighbor Chuck told me that this morning one of his chickens laid an egg, and the other chickens all gathered around to get warm from it!

HIYA from Lake Iwanttobethere where when it gets this cold we have a hard time convincing people it is the place to be. I am sure it is cold outside your door today to and there are places even colder then here at the lake. Sunshine Ray has been repeatedly telling everyone to just stay inside today as we have a wind-chill advisory up till tomorrow. Temperatures are going to go well below twenty below tonight and will be a stretch for it to see single degrees below zero tomorrow. Not a big deal but it has been a few years since we have seen a stretch of cold weather like this. With almost no snow on the ground the frost is going to be heading deep and that will create some problems even after it warms up in a week or so.

Dogs can be timed with a stop watch when they go out to do their business. They are out the door, off the deck and back again. None of them are interested in making the rounds and checking the yard. Looking out the window here sipping on some hot cider I have been looking for birds and have not seen a single one. Turkey cooking in the oven and the wife is washing bedding both good ways to keep the kitchen warm and the dryer is vented into the basement so it helps warm the laundry room. Duncan just came by the den dragging a towel so I am guessing he is helping bringing the laundry down.

Been a few days since I have written about the lake and fighting the cold that the grand kids gave me. So far I think I am losing as there has not been much of an improvement. Was a good excuse yesterday just to sprawl on the couch and watch hockey games all day and also catch a few fishing shows. Doc Burriem advice is to wait the cold out, as the good doctor says he can treat me for the cold and it will last a week or let it run it's course and it will last around seven days. The good part is it does not seem to be getting any worse, the bad part is it does not seem to be getting any better. The youngest granddaughter called me just a little while go and asked how I felt and if I was getting any better. She then told me she was sorry that she gave me her cold and hopes I get better so I can take her sliding. Pretty tuff to blame a sweetie like that for your cold.

Bud has been spending most of his time with either me or the daughter who also is sick. We call him our nurse but the wife says he is more then likely spending so much time leaning against us because we are warm. Probably true but he does feel good when he lays next to me and his head is in my lap, I would like to think he is there for me. So a few more fishing shows to watch and then football for the rest of the day. A turkey dinner to look forward to and warm blankets out of the dryer to sprawl on the couch with. If I am going to be sick I am at least going to milk it for all that it is worth, from Lake Iwanttobethere {933,582}

Bobby Bass · January 22, 2013

Met up with Chuck down at the Lodge last night, we could have stayed home but been in the cabin so much I needed to get out. Cold is still hanging on but I think I am feeling a little better. Instead of coughing all the time I just have a few spells that I go through. Of course after coughing I get the head buzz and my chest feels like someone is standing on it. Coughing outside in twenty below weather is an entirely different matter, that will bring tears to your eyes which then freeze as they run down your face. Twenty-nine below last night or I should say right before dawn this morning. Don't care where you are that is down right cold. Add in the wind-chill if you are dumb enough to be outside with exposed skin and it is something you will remember.

Fellows were at their round table and trading stories as the guys tend to do about how they have been in colder weather then this. Nothing recent as all the cold weather seems to have happen when they were younger guys. Funny I to seem to remember colder days then last night but the memories are somewhat blurry. I sat off by myself at the end of the bar and I was not the only one who had isolated themselves from others. Matter of fact there were several Lodge members with various stages of sniffles and sneezing. There was one interesting moment last night as a few of the Fellows started to challenge anyone in the Lodge to go streaking with them. Streaking in minus thirty degree weather would sure be something you could mark off your bucket list and not many other people could say they did it. At the time it was only minus twenty-four out and several of the Fellows said they would do it but only if it was thirty below cuz anyone can do it at minus twenty-four.

A little after one in the afternoon now and sunny out, if you don't go outside it looks pretty decent out. Bass thermometer on the wall says it is actually five above. Three of the grand kids are here as school was canceled and they get yet another day off. The wife spent the morning baking cookies and I spent the morning sleeping in late. I have a little headache and I am blaming it on the cold not the wild turkey. Still a couple of cold nights ahead and I do need to head into town and get some errands done. Just a little more than fifteen weeks till I can get the Puddle Humper out onto the water and be fishing. The idea of sitting out on open water with a little warm breeze in my face makes me smile. Another week of cold weather then January is done with and we move into the short month of February. Some snow will finally arrive in March and April will bring running water from snow melt and we will be just a few short weeks till opener.

Sipping on some hot cider and with grand kids yelling in the background I can just make out Mark the mailman's van weaving down the road. I am sure I will have mail and I just have to decide if I want to go down and get it or send a grand kid. Sometimes them grand kids are handy to have a round. I yell at the kids to all go get dressed, they might as well pick up Elmer's and Chuck's mail to, from Lake Iwanttobethere {934,703}

Bobby Bass · January 24, 2013

Cold enough for ya? That greeting never seems to get old up here at Lake Iwanttobethere. Of course we do have a hard time knowing who we are talking to as I have had entire conversations with people who I thought I knew and found out later they were someone else. Heck when we get minus twenty below weather and you have it for a few days after awhile you do have to get out of the cabin and run errands. I was down on Main Street yesterday afternoon and it is almost impossible to know who you are waving to or talking with. Just like when it is raining out that is a good enough excuse to get out the duck coat, when it gets cold out that is when the old arctic gear comes out. Of course currently there are a lot of guys wearing them colorful ice fishing garb with the matching coat and bibs. I still have an old green air force parka, forty years ago it was several sizes too big and now it might be a size too small. But it does have that snorkel hood on it with the wolf hair trim. You zip that baby up tight and all you get to see out is this little hole rimmed in the wolf hair. Face is all warm and just enough open space to blow your breath out.

I remember getting a good deal on the coat from a friend who had a buddy in the service. The price was right and I bought it and it still hangs in the front closet these many years later. Both of my sons have borrowed the coat and when they were young they drowned in it, but like me they have been growing into it so to speak. The coat has made it to many a December football game and even a few fishing trip's way up north. One or the other son wants to bring it to their closet telling me they will take good care of it but it remands hanging in my closet till we have days like today. Use to have a matching pair of the white moon boots to go along with the coat but those are long gone. Son's borrowed them and forget to tell me, by the time I noticed them missing I would have had to contacted the FBI to track them down. You see that is just one of those things about getting old. I am getting to the point that if I don't lose my good stuff or borrow it out I will never out live it or out grow it.

Sunshine Ray was saying on the radio we had over eighty some hours in a row of below zero weather, I believe him. Normally I don't pamper the trucks but after the second day of minus twenty nights a couple of extension cords were plugged into the shop and ran over to the grills to plug into the tank heaters. Come the morning the bright orange cords looked actually the same way as I had left them the night before. The cords frozen in loops and curls looking more like frozen snakes who died trying not to touch the ground. I turned power onto the tank heater and after an hour I started the Tahoe and let it warm up. I unplugged the extension cord and tossed it away from the Tahoe only to have it stand up in big curls and loops like barb wire tends to do. With a mug of hot coffee I climbed into the front seat and clicked the seat belt and made sure I had the heated seat switch too high.

Another sign that it was cold out was no frost on the windows and the seat didn't go down an inch when I sat down on it. I rolled down the driveway on what felt like square tires and it took a minute or so till they felt round again and the ride got smooth. I was heading for the pharmacy for cough drops and I waved at everyone who waved at me. Didn't have a clue who most of them were as I could not see any faces, just eyes behind scarfs or mad fur trapper caps pulled down tight. I drove by Mabels Steam and Sauna and I am thinking it might be time for a visit, from Lake Iwanttobethere {935,778}

Bobby Bass · January 25, 2013

Inside taking a break from shoveling, over night and during a brief burst this morning about three inches of light snow fell. The sun came out a little while ago and I decided that I would grab the shovel and move some snow off the deck. Bud, Barney and Duncan all joined me and with in minutes there was not a square foot of undisturbed snow. The dogs have been cooped up in the cabin and with the temperature almost thirty-five degrees warmer than yesterday at this time they were feeling a little frisky. I got the deck cleared of snow and took several short breaks making sure I was standing out of the wind and in the sunshine. The wife seeing me outside gave me that look over the top of her glasses and mouth something at me through the door window. Of course I could not hear her but I am guessing she was telling me I was a fool for being outside with my cold.

In my younger days when I got myself a good cold I would go split wood and just sweat that cold right out, of course that was in my younger days. I am unhappy to report that I still have the cold and a few days ago I thought I was getting better but the last few days I have been back to coughing and sneezing again. I think this cold is like a hurricane and I just went through the eye and now I just got to survive it a while longer till I sail clear. Yesterday I totally understood the term "Coughing an Eye out" I had a coughing bout so long and hard I thought my eyeball was going to pop out of my head. Only way to explain it is a lot like when a dentist puts pain killer in the roof of your mouth and it feels like the needle is stabbing you in the eye. What a happy thought eh!

So now a half hour after being outside I have not coughed once, might just go back out and shovel some more. I do know that wood has to be hauled down to restock the rack on the deck for the fireplace. You get several of them twenty below nights and the wood burns quick or so it seems. I was on the phone with Elmer this morning, he told me that Gary, one of the Fellows came by looking to see if he wanted his sidewalk plowed at the book and cigar shop. Normally that is something that Marv himself would take care of as he actually finds shoveling snow invigorating. But Marv is also from New York and minus twenty days are not something he is used to nor is something he wants to become used to. Elmer and I got around to talking about the snow plowing business and how and lot of guys with the fancy rigs are no longer plowing snow because there just has not been any snow to plow the past few winters. I didn't remember Gary having a snow plow and asked Elmer what truck was he using. Elmer told me he didn't have a truck, was using his bike!

Elmer had my attention and I sat on the stool in the kitchen and listen as Elmer took his time describing me Gary's bike that he had converted for snow plowing. Like you I was thinking it is a mite cold to be running a motorcycle in the dead of winter but Elmer told me Gary was using his mountain bike, the pedal one. He had taken the handles off a couple of curved plastic shovels and mounted them to the front wheel and then using a hockey stick he made a wing plow that was attached to the post of his seat. With this lite snow it actually did a pretty decent job as long as he kept his speed up. From what Elmer told me he has almost all the business along two blocks of Main Street. I hung up the phone with an idea, I think I still have one of the kids tricycles around here somewhere, from Lake Iwanttobethere {936,703}

Bobby Bass · January 27, 2013

Well, I could not find that tricycle, I think it is buried in the snow alongside the vegetable garden. I did find a big wheel but them things are all show and no go. I had an idea that I could mount a plow on it and the youngest grandson could take a go at clearing the drive with it. The big plastic tires just spun out on the snow and I was not going to be pushing him around so we trashed that idea. It has warmed up some and if the sun was out today it would be a nice one. Big ice fishing contest going on and I have a pretty good vantage point here at the cabin to see the comings and goings. Only bad part is we are downwind and I can hear the roar of hundreds of holes being drilled. Also a cross country ski race later this afternoon, the few extra inches of snow that fell the past few days was enough to guarantee that the race could go on.

Snow is also good for the luge run as it was getting kind of rough, pretty much just some tuff ice to slide down the chute. I did make a stop at Mabel's Steam and Sauna and I did spend a good hour between the hot tub and the dry sauna. I was just planning on taking a quick dip but I ran into Elmer and Marv and Vic who of course had a coupon. After a hot dip I was persuaded to walk over with them to Del's Pizza and Sub shop where Del is now advertising his place as the "Home of the 10,000 mil Sub's" We each ordered a sub and once again Vic produced a coupon. The better part of the afternoon was taken up and I did notice that I was not coughing as much as I have been. Might be the sauna or maybe it was the sub but either way I felt better. Heading back to the truck I saw Sunshine Ray on the sidewalk and we exchanged HIYA's did a little small talk and I continued on my way. I didn't ask him about the weather as I know it bugs him when everyone asks him about his forecast but I know it bugs him even more when no one asks him at all.

Little snow melt dripping off the eves here I just checked the Bass thermometer and it is thirty-five out, turning into a nice afternoon after all. Saw Eddie the squirrel high up in the cedars bouncing from limb to limb making it look easy. Didn't see his partner though and I even stood on the deck and looked for a while. Few rabbit tracks in the yard so the bunny is still around. Duncan came out with me and was not to interested in the tracks so they may be old. No deer tracks at all which is kind of strange, usually this time of the winter there are tracks under the apple trees looking for that apple they just might have missed. Plastic sleds are stacked on top of each other under the deck and they are tied to a post with a knot that only a six year old could make. Wind was up the other day and blew the sleds into Chuck's yard and the grand kids had to go and get them. I see now they have been secured.

Kids are with their dad's down at the Ice Fishing contest I expect them here later this afternoon. Peace and quiet for a few more hours before the truck door slams and they march into the cabin leaving mittens, hats and scarfs in a trail behind them. I will be brought up to date on the fishing contest and will hear who ate the most cotton candy and maybe even find out if one of them caught a fish. I already made a side bet with the wife on which one of the grand kids will be the first to ask about riding a plastic sled down the clean snow to the lake. As soon as one of them brings the idea up the rest will join in and they will all head to the hat chest to grab dry mittens and hats and pull coats off the pegs. Dogs will all get excited and their dads will cave in and tell them to go ahead with Papa and they will catch up. Somehow without even trying I am now in charge of the four grand kids and three dogs and the wife will smile at me and push me out the door. I will then find myself trying to untie the special secret knot of a six year old as they chase barking dogs.

With the knot undone the sleds are grabbed and as quickly as they can the kids will run to the track that leads down to the ice and the ice house. Looking back at me I will wave them on and with each one having a dog running alongside them they will launch themselves down the hill. The youngest granddaughter is last and I see she is waiting for me. Holding on to her plastic sled she says "You can ride with me" I sit down on the sled and she sits in my lap and I push us over the point of no return and we slip down the hill. We make the transition to ice and make it a fair distance away from shore, just a short walk to the ice house. Feeling my age I will get up off the sled and the granddaughter will already be running towards the others, "Papa, don't forget to bring the sled" I know this is what will happen as it has happen before time and time again, I am always a sucker for a cute blond, from Lake Iwanttobethere {938,802}

Sign In

GUESTS

Fishin report for Lake Iwanttobethere..

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Del Sauter

Bobby Bass

Bobby Bass

Posted Images

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

Topics

Important Information