Holy mackeral, Robin!

Only it's really Holy Bluefin!

Robin had the opportunity to go out on a charter boat and came back having hooked not one, but TWO bluefin tunas! Robin spent 30+ minutes hauling in a 158 lb. bluefin tuna.

See the photos of this huge fish!

Bluefin tuna is the source of some of the best and most expensive grade sushi, toro. A bluefin could sell on the black market for thousands of dollars. The guys on the boat split the one tuna. [NC regulation -- yet another long, long list of do's and don't from this over-regulated state -- says you can only keep one per boat.] We've been eating toro sushi and tuna steaks all week. Yum!

Now, the hunt for our own boat will reach a new height soon. Time is ticking and the fish are starting to come in. Robin is frantically searching Craig's List and calling people ~every~ day!

On a side note, Callie, the outside cat we inherited and who doesn't belong to us, is looking much better, thanks to the fresh bluefin tuna scraps she's getting this week (not to mention the salmon, halibut and deer scraps that go her way).

You know you're a redneck when...

One of the criteria for our rental house was storage: either having it or being able to put a storage shed on the property. After a couple years being separated from all our stuff, we were in a bit of a panic that soon it would all be in one place. We didn't have a place for everything. It has been in storage somewhere in Virginia (the closest government storage facility). They have finally located it (see The Hunt for Red February) and will deliver it next week.

Our landlord, a local character named Winkie, is awesome. He said we could do whatever we wanted. We took him at his word and went on a whirlwind hunt for storage. We ended up finding an awesome carport that has storage in it. (You know you're a redneck when you own a carport and are proud of it!)

We then had to arrange to have the car port taken apart, delivered here, reassembled, etc. Plus we had to prepare the foundation for it, which involved a lot of hauling gravel and smashing it around. Fortunately, our man Winkie had an excavator he let us borrow and my man Robin knew how to use it!

See some photos of this involved project.

Grandparents!

We are now the proud new grandparents of a bouncing baby girl, Hannah Jo. Hannah arrived late last week, an early Valentine's present. All are doing well and are settling in at home.

The Hunt for Red February

In this elusive cat-and-mouse game, breaths are held as the moving and storage company, Atlas Van Lines, tries to find, locate and deliver a couple's entire household and lifetime belongings. Robin Leatherman and Karen Smith star in this not-to-be missed adventure. Lots of plot turns and twists in this low-tech thriller. The hunt is on.