surfwear

the final hoodie I'll look at is made by o'neill

soft warm and cozy

lined w/ sherpa fleece (whatever that is)

cool black white gray plaid

stylish and very warm...
it makes perfect sense to me that surfwear should be warm
it gets cold on the beach when the sun goes down

I've really reluctantly become a fan of the hoodie

I now have five of the damn things

after having spent most of my adult life w/out ever owning one

two others I have but didn't mention recently...

you saw the pic of the schliske bamboo trampstamp

I wore that one everyday working in the shoppe this fall

the other one is a packer football hoodie that's also been pictured here before

I wear that one a lot

especially this time of year eh?

speaking of which, happy new year, all the best, y'know

I doubt that I make it to midnight

I didn't even make it until midnight
and the night was endless...

ballyhoo

so that hoodie shown below is the first one I had since I was a kid

my father gave it to me as a Christmas present one year

his client was involved somehow w/ eminem's management 

this sweatshirt is remarkably well executed and designed

the tag reads...

shady limited

future classic

8

anyways the cut is generous and comfortable

fabric is very warm and soft

love the kangaroo pocket (the primary reason I give the nod to pullovers)

this one's gotta stash pocket inside the joey pouch

here's another one...

but before we get to that here's a shot and a story

that right there is a 1975 edition of that classic album

I hung it on the wall in the tying den the other day

there's honest too goodness pot dust from back in the day

in the crease of the backside of that gatefold cover

nice detail in this macro shot

unfortunately revealing a bit of sloppiness in technique...oh well

still a pretty damn nice and damned effective fly

look at that flimsy rinky dink drawstring on the hood!

the only flaw in a fine garment

very warm durable piece of outerwear

this one's by carhartt
and is the only gift I requested....

tomorrow's new year's eve

and I'm gonna talk about the relative merits of hoodies

tomorrow on new year's eve

that's a preview
and a pretty fine hoodie
too bad it's so obnoxious
I don't care but the wife won't be seen with me in it...

at the bench

so yesterday I spent a goodly number of hours cleaning the tying den

I'm not quite finished but getting there

I really couldn't even walk across the room in any direction

now I can even sit in my papasan chair and relax

the stool is open and the vise available

this really is rather unusual

I may take some pics of the recently cleaned room

I should finish cleaning it though before I do that

just to see how long it lasts...

anyways, today I enjoyed a few hours tying flies

it was pleasant

I opened the blinds for some lovely natural light and noticed a striking shadow...

that's a #16 bwo btw
I was trying to rejuvenate my juju

the importance of my hands

I was talking w/ an old buddy the other day

he said he never rides his hog around town - too dangerous

I agreed and mentioned how difficult things would be w/ a broken leg

I'd be fucked

couldn't fish golf drive whatever

the good news conceivably is that it would heal in time

as bad as it would be to break (or worse yet - lose) a leg

imagine losing use of one of yer hands or - worse yet - both

and now yer really talking fucked

this time of year my hands are a mess

I've got at least a dozen nicks cuts cracks scrapes and microcuts on my ten fingers

and they hurt

there are simple things my stupid fingers simply struggle to accomplish

it would be worse I suppose if I had arthritis or some other chronic ailment

tough enough as it is

when you think about it yer fingers and hands are as important to yer existence 

as yer eyes ears and nose - prolly more important than yer ears or nose

my senses of hearing and smell suck as it is...

fortunately I've discovered a product that takes pretty good care of my hands

despite their shitty shape

it's called "working hands" and you can find it in the solvent section at lowe's

if yer hands suffer you owe it to yourself to try some

meanwhile, next time you find yourself in prayer

thank the good Lord for your hands

year-end photo dump

just a few shots I cherry-picked

while looking through the iphoto library...

almost always my first selection for fishing...

brother in bamboo mike shay's adventure continues...
hopefully in a better place

you just know that there's a slob in there somewhere

I never did find him

guinness braised short ribs - my word!

a favorite shot of steve - back in the day

beloved wife anita on some of the best water in the west

stacked enchiladas and frijoles

this pic isn't so great, but I do like the texture indicated by the cheese on the beans

that red chile sauce is incendiary

latest

tied this up after seeing something similar by the beatties in fly tyer mag...

really it's an excuse to check out the macro function

on yet another new camera

I was just puttering around - nothing serious

I just rarely manage to get around to tying flies anymore these daze...