Robin's Reports

Happy Labor Day!!!!!

Doesn't everybody's Labor Day start off with a trip to Home Depot?

After we worked for a short while, our tummys were hungry. We have not had any fish for a long while, so it was time to thaw out some of that frozen snapper from a month or so ago. (pictured somewhere below)

Jack's master chef skills were honed in on creating a new blend of seasonings and marinade. Renee, we're going to start conditioning you for when your Ghana boys come home and ask for you to prepare fish. Slow thaw any fish meat. Be careful not to cook the flesh accidentally with warm water. Make a marinade - start with EVOO, spices and whatever you like best. Jack's new recipe is still top secret. ha ha. I can tell you that it has Thyme from our garden chopped into the mixture. We paint on the marinade. (Try this with your little ones.) Coat both sides.

This picture makes it look more yellowy than it truly is. I think you're seeing the golden EVOlive Oil under the flash.

Next, Jack coats the grill with some cooking spray. We put the fillets onto a 450 degree grill. It must be super hot to seer the sides of the fish. Leave for a few minutes.

Be careful when flipping the fish over. Jack uses 2 utensils to move each piece. Also, the oil may cause a quick flame flare-up; however, it should not persist more than a couple seconds.

Cover up grill and let the 2nd side cook a few more minutes. We have large snapper steaks, so those take longer. The boys had the smaller pieces.

Boy, was this delicious!! I rounded out my plate with a bean salad and corn on the cob. The guys also had french fries to add to their plates. I am a fish-eatin' vegan. I believe my Mom called that something like a pesce-vegan. The only meat I eat is fish & seafood. Jack is a vegan that eats meat and dairy and eggs. ha ha.

Anyhow.... enough joking and back to work.

Jack and I labored in different parts of the yard. Here you can see that I expanded my garden doubly. See the darker dirt? That was the original size. I was waiting on Jack to cut my timber when I joked that I could save him the work if he let me continue the garden all the way out 8 feet from the wall. He agreed. Yipee!! I'll be working on that later this week. It will finish approx 8' x 16'.

I love the new timbers. My brussel sprout & carrot seedlings are breaking ground. Yeah!

Jack worked in the garage building this stand to hold his engine once the hoist gets here. It will be the engine's new home for the next couple months. It is not completed yet, but you get the idea.

It should be completed tomorrow. In my next post, I will try to show you pictures of the spider cracks that are coming from the engine mount bracket on the boat. This will require serious attention. The transom (back wall of boat) will need to be checked carefully for any rotting or stress so we can make the adjustments now while things are disassembled. We are also weighing ways to fix the trailer or if we should buy a new one.

I'm afraid this is going to be a long project folks. Now is the best time since the better fishing comes in winter (for bottom fish like snapper & grouper) and spring (for cobia & mahi mahi migrations).

Happy Fishing & Love your boat!

Robin