Pickles by Brian Crane for January 27, 2023

Gasp! He referred to a crochet hook as a needle. That’s a capital offense in my house.

Nelson, you are right, fish fishing is much more fun that couch fishing.

I’m with Nelson unless the critters have reached a gooey consistency that’s hard to rub/wash off. But then, he’s missing out on the joys of fuzzy candy.

What’s not to like about fishing, Earl? The impatience of waiting for a bite on the line and the line breaking when you struggle to reel in the catch?

a crochet hook could make a nifty rubber band launcher

or a rubber band could launch a mean crochet hook

Wait until you find money.

Earl Pickles… the champion of couch potatoes everywhere and my personal hero. We even look alike, except I still have hair on top. :-)

Don’t belittle outside fishing, Earl. That’s the only way one can legally name taking a nap in the sun “sport”.

There can be worms and flies in a couch, although Opal’s housecleaning skills are good.

If Nelson’s palate were pierced with a perfidious hook and pulled to and fro he’d surely change his attitude.

He got the word crochet right and the word hook wrong? I would have expected him to call it a knitting hook. But I’m not a man so I guess I will just look and be amazed, as usual.

Think of it as a treasure hunt Nelson!

Let the kid play Pirate: Wrap a rag on his head, construct an eye patch for him to wear, and pretend any coins found under the couch cushions are Spanish doubloons. Would Oscar consent to be dressed as a mermaid? Opal, a crab?

Go play with a dead squirrel then.

Earl, go make some memories with your grandson.

On a fishing outing, one of my young nephews asked me, “Do fish feel pain when we pull out the hook?” Not wanting to spoil the fun he was having that day, I intended my response to go over his head while giving him the satisfaction of an answer. “Well, fish do have a nervous system”. He immediately pitched his fishing pole overboard. Apparently, I didn’t aim my answer high enough.

Times like this make you wonder where Nelson’s dad is…

He’s lucky that he found the crochet hook that way and not by sitting on it.

Come on, Grandpa, take your grandson fishing.

LOL! Ok Earl. Take Nelson fishing! You’ve stalled long enough!

Good lad.

Most little boys do like messing with worms and bugs. A lot of little girls do, too.

C’mon Earl. You gotta take the boy fishing. It’s in the manual for Grandpas on page 3.

He meant to say knitting hook.

Now loop the band over the hook, pull back and release the rubber band! Oops!

Oh for GOD SAKE……. TAKE HIM OUT FISHING.!

Just like a kid………

What happened to the hood on his shirt?

Opal uses the crochety needles to inject herself with cranky irritable-itis disease. The disease usually fades away/mellows out within a few hours. She is a habitual user. So sad! ;-p

I tat (which is not the same as a ‘puddy tat’), which uses a shuttle on which the thread is wrapped. Needle tatting is possible also, although my tatting teacher said that it’s a little more complicated than shuttle tatting.