Now what? With fishing over for the year and the silly seasons of the holidays just about past us what is there to do? Add to that a winter break for those that teach or go to school and you can feel pretty much lost this time of year. The only hurdle left is New Year's Eve which we usually take a pass around and are asleep by 9 pm, which is about our normal lights out time.
The Honey Do List? Why even try to complete it? It's like a spoiled kids want list, it never goes away. While there are some things I'd like to get done, well start if we're being honest, I probably won't do much more then move stuff around or organize a drawer or closet or two.
And what's a better motivator to get yourself, well your house, "organized" and clean, well have intruders over. Last night we had Marc (Fishing bud of course) and his wife Laura over for a nice dinner. While we were all smiles when the door opened at 6 it was pretty much mayhem and choice words for each other leading up to that shiny-happy-people moment at the front door. But it was good. We looked good. The house looked good. The food looked good. And they looked good as well. It was worth the work and getting all those dustballs and stuff left around the house away that have become permanent decorations. It made us almost feel normal.
Earlier in the day I decided to tighten up my fly tying room. "Theresa, I'm going to bring Marc upstairs to show him my fly tying room." "Upstairs?". Ut oh, major violation and cause to change readiness operations from floor one to two. But we did it. Just don't open the closets. My Mom always said there's nothing like having a party as it gets you to get organized and give the house a good cleaning. And having them over was good, for human interaction sake, and to jump to and get ready for it. If you've ever had a party and said after the last guests left, "Wow, we pulled that off", then you know what I mean.
The winter is a great time to catch up on your fly tying. There's nothing like spending some time with a heater under your desk while tying and listening to some fly fishing or tying podcasts. If it's a Sunday the maybe it'll be the ambient noise from the NFL playoffs on the radio or television.
I know for me it's time well spent as I need to replenish my stock of flies, both big and small, for the upcoming year. It's a cross between mummichog type flies all the way through large Hollow style flies. Beast Fleyes, I'm out on. Why? Because I suck at them and don't have the patience to hang around that long on a tie. I also have to spend some time at the desk to get ready for the fly show season. I'll be at the Squimpish Flies booth one of those days at The Fly Fishing Show and don't want to embarrass myself.
Each and every person who has a fly tying space has some signature thing that makes it their own. I like my sticker collection that is on a glass top that sits on my fly tying table. That collection is one I rotate if I need to. In the last few years I have been using Cortland lines so it might be time to swap out one of those stickers for that SA sticker. I went from tying on a Regal to a PEAK vice so those stickers were switched out. Looking at them at this vantage point I see how poor of a job I did in laying them down straight. But it is what it is.
When I take a picture of my space I like to go around the room and pick things out that have some meaning. Pictures, books, artwork, and flies tied by myself or others all have a story behind them. There's no greater room than the one that Bob used for years in his home in Seaside Park.
I have a Tom Lynch photo of that space sitting on top of my converted computer desk top now organizer. I'm not sure if there's a more famous fly tying room then his. It was there where many of the patterns Bob created were perfected as well as the venue
for the early Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders meetings. When people talk about or write about the history of saltwater fly tying and fly fishing in the northeast there is always mention of that room, and of course Bob.
So it's a fitting place to display that photo of Bob. He was always a teacher, always worked hard to encourage those that showed an interest in the sport, and, at least to me, a ball breaker about all things fly tying and fly fishing. A few years back I awoke to a ping on my phone,
Bob always gave me words of encouragement, "Even YOU could tie these!!!!" Thanks there buddy. So I will enjoy looking up as I tie and thinking what he would say about one of my creations sitting in the jaws of my vice. But truthfully though, after his chop busting he would bring nothing but constructive criticism and encouragement.
And in the bookcase I have some things placed there that have, or had, some meaning to me over the years. There's a Rich Murphy Fly Fishing for Striped Bass book, I got the signed #1 copy, the only striped bass fly tied by Pat Cohen, and a Skelfish etched metal striped bass.
There's some pictures that have some special meaning and some model fire trucks reproduced from the ones I worked on in Newark. As Theresa and I continue to whittle things down and organize before the big move, two years and counting hopefully, I'll have to reevaluate things that are must keeps or must get rid ofs. I have come to realize the most important memories in life have far more meaning then holding on to every single photo, thing, and chatchga, that I've touched during my life.
Besides, who's is going to want it and how much space will I have in the nursing home one day.