netabrookie

Nick, I've been a little busy and missed the original post. when is the deadline on the contest?

Tell her goodbye for me Steve. I remember her well. ........a goatless garage now

I haven't seen the first two that Iroc_Jeff mentioned but I love all the rest except I have never watched Patton yet. Kelly's Hero's and Where Eagles Dare are two of my all time favorites. I like the Dirty Dozen a lot too. I like anything with Charles Bronson or Clint Walker in it or Donald Sutherland also. My all time favorite show is Hogan's Hero's followed very closely by Combat' the series with Vic Morrow and Rick Jason.....in my opinion Combat is one of the best tv shows ever because of the lessons of morals, values and honor that are taught in just about every episode. Gotta mention McHale's Navy too if you need some laughs. Fury was an intense movie but I guess the most intense too me is Rambo, the next to last movie. When he is on that gun and just blowing holes through the bad guys it is awesome to me. You can hear the rounds hitting the shield in front and singing by and you can almost place yourself there gripping the handle and keeping that trigger down.....looking for your next target.... I like war movies...

Flat Rock native, there's probably a zillion different ways us southern folk fix pintos. The old folks used to say we had to "look" the beans, meaning you had to look through the dried beans for any bad looking ones and the occasional small rock. After you "looked" the beans then you put them in your pot or pan (depending on locality I guess, either a pot of beans or a pan of beans....I reckon from a "sauce" pan) but we always said a pot of beans. Cover them with water and let them soak overnight and then drain the water and add new along with a healthy piece of fat back. Some use ham hocks or bacon but the fat back is cheaper and works about as good. A little salt and pepper and you gotta throw some butter in as well and that's about it I guess. In a pinch and don't have any fat back then substitute a few tablespoons of peanut butter. The peanut butter sounds crazy but it does give the beans a great taste and don't leave them tasting like a jar of Skippy. If you get your beans going before lunch then you should enjoy them by dinner time but slowly simmering in a covered pot all day is where the flavor and consistency comes from. Just stir occasionally and add water as needed and let them cook for quite a few hours. When they are done get yourself a piece of cornbread or two and crumble them into your favorite bowl and then add the pintos on top with a lot of the liquid also. Enjoy..... It was mentioned earlier and I agree about the best corn bread is made with buttermilk. My dad used to love a piece of corn bread crumbled into a glass of buttermilk but I hate the taste of buttermilk so I don't drink it, only cook with it. Try cornbread crumbled into a glass of whole milk and it is a tasty treat. Don't anyone turn up there nose at the sound of cornbread in milk until you try it because you could get surprised at the flavor and go back for a second glass.

I had a few back years ago.....but those pesky helicopters kept making me real nervous.....

I got mine yesterday but I forgot to mention it. A great looking assortment. Thanks everyone and thank to BB for another great swap.

Fritters and hush puppies are very different. Fritters are fried in a pan or on a griddle and you pour the batter just as you would a pancake but hush puppy batter is thicker and I always spooned it into the deep fryer. First dip your spoon in the fryer oil and then get a spoonful of batter and let it slide off the spoon into the fryer oil. you can do a few and then dip your spoon in the oil again and repeat the process. With a little practice they will all be similar size (which is necessary for even cooking) and actually start looking football or roundish shaped instead of a ugly glob. You can tell when they are done by the beautiful color and they are floating high in the oil waiting to be dipped out and drained and then enjoyed. Mike is right about the different hush puppies out there because some of them are awful but some are as good as the entree they are being served with. When I make fritters I add a little bit of flour to help keep them together and keep them from crumbling like corn bread does. I'm a southerner but I like a little sugar in the corn bread sometimes unless its with a good pot of pinto's and then absolutely no sugar. And if you ain't had southern pinto's and cornbread in your life yet you are really missing out.

I gotta agree on the corn bread in the pre-heated skillet and then into the oven. I fix the fritters sometimes just to give me something to munch on. If you haven't already, try adding some dehydrated onion or onion powder and a tablespoon or two of mustard into your batter and then fry them. A little garlic doesn't hurt either. I keep a stick of butter handy and as soon as I flip it in my skillet I rub the stick of butter over the hot fritter while the other side is still frying to really give it that extra taste of butter and to further clog up my arteries. It would be like loosing a good friend if something happened to one of my skillets. It's only a 10" but it was my great grandmothers and it has seen a lot of use. All the newer cast iron has a texture to them but the old ones are smooth on the inside. My 8" skillet was my grandmothers and that's my fritter pan. now I'm hungry........

a great looking box of flies arrived today. Thanks everyone and a special thanks to pickin6 for hosting yet another smooth swap

I never got a shirt but I wish I still had my hat because it was one of those ball caps that's very comfortable

I went to the post office, or should I say post offices, yesterday BB. I don't know what you call either of the flies I tied so someone feel free to help me out when you get them. They are both mayflies, one with a uni-flex body and one with a moose mane body. Thank for hosting

I finally remembered to go to the local post office yesterday.....but it was closed.....I went up the mountain to the one I used to use.......it was closed too......so I drove into town and finally had success. They should arrive in a few days hopefully. Thanks for hosting

I need your address BB. I can't find my notebook but I'm not sure if I have your current one anyway, just the old SC one.

I was in a former life. I haven't picked up a brush or an air brush for over a decade now . I painted quite a few pictures of old train depots and plenty of grist mills and other buildings also. I had a sign business for a bunch of years and had to do a lot of art work on the signs and I also lettered a lot of race cars and painted a lot of graphics on them. I got tired of painting skulls. One Harley had 28 just on the tank but I did like the little bad ass skeleton with the sub machine gun that I painted on the front fender. The fellow in the video is very good and I don't think my landscapes had hit that good on an average but sometimes I would slip a home run in. Its easier to just cut loose and paint a picture, sometimes, than having to paint what a client wants because you have to try to get in their head and hopefully satisfy them with an awesome piece of work. On the other hand.....I have sit and looked at a blank canvas for hours just wishing someone would tell me what to paint on it... I can really relate with Norm too because I have a T-square that I used when I was doing my brief career as a draftsman. Still have my triangles and some old lead holders too, and an eraser shield that is so worn. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble. New wife's a nurse doing a double tonight and the liquor made me start pushing buttons......

I just got my head out of my rear and read when they are due so I'm in.

BB, I'm not sure of the date when you want the flies but if it's not within a week or two then count me in.

It's good to be back Nick. I am staying at home as much as possible but I remarried and she is a nurse, so.............not sure if we will dodge this one or not. I hope this virus doesn't bite me in the butt because almost 40 years of Camel's, body shop dust and paint fumes has left me in the "don't catch this crap" category. I quit the Camel's back in November and the daily walks outside or treadmill seem to be helping to get me back in shape a little but it's still a little spooky to think about. At least my wife has good life insurance on me so her, the dog and the cats may be good to go. I sure hope everyone out there in fly tie world is safe and healthy?

I need an address also. I went with a little parachute caddis that I don't know the name of and I also did a set of pt nymphs. I can tell I'm a little rusty so everyone please forgive me because I think I was tying better a couple years ago before I quit for bad reasons. Take Care, Tony

A fist full of toilet paper... For a few rolls more... Two rolls for Sister Sarah... The good tp, the bad tp and the ugly tp... The toilet paper outlaw Josey Wales...

It's been a while. I think I was in a swap or two of yours 10 or so years ago. Count me in if you will. I haven't been very active for a while but it's time to change that and tie some flies. It's good to see you back. I will probably tie some kind of dry flies

The package arrived and then another one did! Sorry I haven't responded sooner. My phone was crazy for a while and I didn't have a keypad in anything. I couldn't text or type anything, no searching for anything on Google without using the microphone and youtube was either watch what I already have or use their recommendations (which usually don't agree with me). Yesterday the keypad was magically back. I'm in the process of moving and my internet was finally transferred but I couldn't find my tablet. I'm anxious for tomorrow so I can tear open the packages. Thank you Nick for doing a great job again. Thanks to everyone else also. Take Care and Merry Christmas, Tony

As long as the creeks aren't blown out due to heavy rain or frozen over and the temperature isn't so cold that your guides are freezing and the fly freezing while casting you should be good to go. March winds are rough sometimes but you may find a creek you like that's down in a hollow and out of the heavy gusts. Mike's right about the cold water but nothing that warm layers can't handle.

Nick, if you will have me after having to drop out like I did in the past, I would like to join. I took a long break from tying and fishing but I think it's time to get back in the game. I hope you are doing well after your mishap. If you would rather not have me since I dropped out of a few things I understand. Thanks and Take Care, Tony

I really screwed up on this and I am sincerely sorry. I forgot. There's no other excuse. I tied the first set and then couldn't think of what else to tie and then I forgot all about them. I think this is a first for me because I always get frustrated at the late swappers or no-shows and now I am in that category myself. As I said before, I am sorry about this.

I'm glad they arrived safely and thank you for the kind compliment Breambuster. I thought they looked like I was a little on the rusty side. I intend on getting back in practice all I can soon ( I hope )