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3. What did you GET for Christmass???

Obviously nobody wanted much for Christmass.

I got a bathrobe (big deal), no didn't get the rubber band to straighten leaders.

I got Gramma an key ring that beeps when she wistles, perhaps someday she will learn to wistle. For now it goes off whenever our grandaughter hits the right note.

Also got a DIY bamboo rod, also known as a plant. How fast does bamboo grow???

take the bamboo and put it out in the garden in a place where you don't want it to grow more than so big. dont' water it. weed-whack it occasionally. it will grow fast enough to make 100 rods by Labor Day! basically, don't let it out of the house, even in NE

got a swell Orvis fly box with little windows that pop open on one side and some clips made of metal on the other. if you have used one, please tell me:

how do you get the flies out of the little window boxes? don't they try to hold hands and all come out at once in a lump?

what angle should i be using to get the flies under those metal clip thingies?

the auntie who gave it to me has agreed to come on our ladies' fly fishing expedition with my sister-in-law and me, so that was the best present of all!

Well the Big Elf delivered on the Voucher for the 2009 Liscenses.

And a nice camera bag so I can now keep the XTI and assorted stuff in one place. You know that means I must now get more "stuff" to fill out the bag. Amazing how similar photography and flyfishing can be.

YES!!! I have one of those Orvis boxes!! Turn it upside down to get the flies out. Good idea to put your other hand under it first, and make sure only one of the little doors are open. Sometimes you have to shake it if the flies have large hackles (put the varients, spiders someplace else), which makes it hard to catch the flies as they come out. Makes one wonder how Wheatly has been charging exorbident prices for these since time imortal. Gramma has suggested we put a little magnet on a string to get the flies out. She says: "like picking up nails on a magnet, and since one always falls off.. That's the one you want, chuck the rest back in the box." NO, I haven't tried it. She demonstrated with a magnet, and 100 size 14 dry fly hooks (thank god she didn't drop them on the rug). Then she started talking about an electromagnet, blah, blah, blah. She also suggested we get the little fake toe nails they sell for cats to put over the hook point so we don't get hooked ourselves.

OK, I don't know why she came up with this, and I could NEVER express it the way she did. Ballet in a nightgown, might be a good start, as she was prancing around, waving her arms, etc. Keep in mind she is is a well endowed, pleasingly plump, grandmother. Yes, I'm omitting some of the gory details. Fly storage: Get several yards of the plastic canvus mesh (craft store, they use it for cross stich), attach it to a door, and you can hook the flies on the stuff. When I asked how we could take it to the stream, she suggested I roll it up, put it in a PVC tube, and use it as a wading staff. She went on to say we could cover the doors with several layers of the stuff. How many doors do you have?

Guess all I have to do with the bamboo is throw it out the back door. On the other hand I COULD give it to my Mother, with her green thumb half of NH will be covered with the stuff by July, and I won't have to deal with the excess.

Oops, we just found Gramma's keys...again.

On a late note, I got Gramma a pocket book the day after Christmass. Actually two, couldn't decide which she would like. She is out now buying more tackle (just like John) to fill it, while I watch Sponge Bob Squarepants.

I was also informed she is going to tell her sister we need the wide elastics. She will search the internet for them...

No kidding! They're really great hobbies to combine if you like to be broke...

I got money which I used to buy a new 5 weight. Also some of the standards shirt, cards, candy.

yo, Leakywaders! how wide do these elastic bands have to be? Best Fishing Buddy bought entirely too many thinking they would keep lines on the spools and be wide enough to write on. they were, but we'd have to be Ross himself to have that many reels. and how do they straighten leaders?

I got a hobby room! Which for me means it is a room devoted to only two activities - fly fishing (fly tying desk, gear, etc) and music (saxes, flutes, clarinets, keyboards) - oh and my laptop stays there most of the time. AND....it has doors to keep the little ones (and my wife) away from my stuff!

Tying flies in peace....ahhhh...how wonderful!

You can straighten your leader by running it thru any kind of rubber. I'm too cheap to buy one of those made with inner tube rubber. I've been told mail carriers use big rubber bands, is it a federal offense to mug a mail carrier? Acxtually I only need one, but extras could always be used to shoot at the cats.
I tried using rubber bands to keep lines on spools, unfortunatly they turned gooey, and made a mess. Scrunchies (hair elastics) work much better for a lot of things like that, they also come in pretty colors. I started keeping a supply on my stick shift when my daughter was young, and find myself using them for all kinds of stuff. Like on a fly box that won't stay closed.

Tying flies alone!!!! 5 years ago I lived alone, now I have a couple cats, and a 5 year old helping me.
And in the background I hear Mickey Mouse deciding what wrench to use, sigh.

I got a CD of Junior Walker and the All Stars Greatest Hits. 18 tunes. Never mind that in their heyday (back when road signs warned of wooly mammoth crossings ahead..), they only had 2 hits.

I can't say I really wanted it, but now I got it..

I also got an assortment of flannel shirts from Beans, a 3-pack of alder planks for grilling fish/poultry/etc., a Brookstone vibrating cushion for my back (which has never given me problems, to be truthful), a 400 page microhistory of Pickett's Charge and a pair of Bean's tacky rubber/studded wading shoes.

Pretty good, but its still better to give than receive. At least that way, you can pick out stuff that actually interests you..