Edit/Addendum to the August 5 Post

Update: I am, as expected, unimaginably sore this morning. Between the too-heavy Beretta, the recoil from the too-heavy Beretta and the lack of Pilates for the past few months, I feel roughly as though I spent yesterday playing catch with a 40 lb. medicine ball. That, or possibly some novel circuit training protocol involving chin-ups, push-ups and being repeatedly kicked by a mule. But that is clearly a far more awkward simile, so I'm going to just stick with the medicine ball comparison. Still totally worth it, though! I'm already looking forward- with a vengeance- to heading back for another go-round with a nice, adolescent boy-size boomstick.

Also with slightly less DEET; I seem to possess a near supernatural ability to become very literally covered with mosquito bites over every square inch of exposed (and often not-so-exposed) skin while those around me get off with nary a nibble. While I've been told by an extremely credible source that my mosquito-magnet mutant ability is most likely related to an unusually efficient O2/CO2 metabolism, good pulmonary function and thus technically a healthy sign...even so, all I can say is all the puffing power in the world is cold comfort when I'm eating Benadryl like candy and soaking in calamine whilst my allergic asthma-troubled DH remains in skeeter stealth mode. I'm sure, of course, that it's a clear grass-is-greener issue, but there are plenty of times I'd rather need an occasional huff of albuterol than lose sleep as I scratch myself bloody and spend mornings wandering around in a post-Benadryl haze. In any case, I soaked myself in hi-grade DEET to the extent that my lips, gums and tongue were numb, my skin took on a saran-wrap like sheen and the fumes rising from my sweaty self burnt my eyes worse than the powder blowback. I did not, however, sustain a single bite, so in hindsight it still may well have been an acceptable unpleasantness.

In a Gift of the Magi-ish twist, my gift to the DH (a shooting vest and shooting glasses) were replicated by my in-laws. At least the vest. Thankfully, their gift is a lightweight mesh and mine was a heavier, leather padded model, but still, I feel a tad crappy for not double checking with them first. Live and learn, I suppose. Naturally, the DH was his usual gracious self, and being the practical sort of guy that he is, I have no doubt that he'll make good use of both vests; considering it's still in the 120 degree fahrenheit range back on our home turf, the mesh one may turn out to get a heckuva lot more use for the next few months.

My purchase for me, on the other hand...sadly, I can't see much use for a crab trap in the low desert. Maybe I can rig it out for crayfish with some extra mesh...word on the interwebs is that you can catch bushels of the invasive little bugs less than an hour from my house. SoCal etouffee, here I come!!

After I catch my bluefish, that is. So, um, crap. On reflection, I may never get to go home...