Mr. and Mrs. Kraus Blog

People from different states drive differently. I can understand that in certain states, driving skills aren’t as important (like in Wyoming where the game “padiddle” is replaced with “I can see another vehicle”). But Florida needs to set some ground rules of the road. You should have to make a double lane change and exit off the interstate in a matter of seconds as a part of the driving exam. I admit, Florida has its share of drivers that think they are in NASCAR, and I am not an advocate of them or their mullets, but there should be a separate driving exam for the state of Florida. A North Dakota drivers license shouldn’t allow you to drive in Florida anymore than a liver donors card rents you a book. I wonder what others think should be on this driver’s exam. If you can’t shift, send a text message, and merge on the interstate, you should stop at Georgia.

Comments from old site:

Written by Adam P.
Posted: Friday, September 26, 2008 at 2:39 PM

I’ve heard that the number one reason old people die on the roads today is left turns. So I say we should just eliminate all lefts and make three rights instead. I know that in certain parts of Florida it is nearly impossible for people to even lean to the right, so I don’t know how this would work. Also NASCAR folks like the left turn so much it would be hard to abolish.

Written by John
Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 11:49 AM

What you are describing is the tourists and retirees… and on both of them, I agree with you. I’m talking about the real meat behind the US’s southern dangling member.

Written by Todd
Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 7:38 AM

Florida has the worst drivers in the country. Your state flag should be 2 knuckles and a steering wheel. Old people drive really slow or really fast, all over the road, and truly don’t care if they parish. The 1st question on the test really needs to be can you see this 1st question. 2nd question: Have you had heart, liver, or kidney surgery today? 3rd: Why are you so horrible at driving your HUGE car (essay)?

John Kraus Florida

Something very exciting happened on Friday. Our house went under contract! There was not much activity on the house for a good month and then all of a sudden there was a surge of interest, and one of them stuck. So we are very excited and the closing date is supposed to be early October. Though, we are aware that “stuff happens”.

Why are we selling our house?

The main reason is because Mrs. Kraus is interested in finishing up her 4 year college degree at some point. We thought that would be immediately after the house sold, but now she loves her full time job so much that I’m not sure exactly when that will be. One thing is certain though. Without Mrs. Kraus working full time it would be very difficult to afford our current house. Before we got married I had 2 roommates to help. And it’s ok that they are gone because my wife helps now. But to lose all help and take on college bills would be trouble. At any rate, we will be better positioned now for when she wants to go back. We’ll either buy something smaller, or rent.

Thanks to all the friends and family that prayed for us regarding the house. Mrs. Kraus and I ultimately desire one thing above everything else. And that is for God’s will to be done in our lives. We want to live where He wants us to live. If that is our current home, great. We enjoy living here. If it’s somewhere else, then we are excited to see where that is!

Comments from old site:

Written by Carol
Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 8:21 PM

WOW! Sarah called me last night with the news that you have an offer for your house. I know that you put a lot of landscaping in this year to make it more attractive. I’m excited to see what God has planned for you in the next months—Jeremiah 29:11 Carol

Chad Kraus Florida, Kraus House, Mrs. Kraus

Oh boy. Why must there always be a catch? There always is… My two readers know that I have been writing a lot about my beginning experiences with fly fishing. I post pictures of the small fish that I catch, and I’ve always got a big grin on my face no matter how little they are. It’s Memorial Day weekend, so Saturday my brother and I headed to the lake for a couple hours of fishing. I used my fly rod, and he used the conventional spinning reel. Everything was going fine, and we were enjoying the peaceful serenity of the lake, when suddenly I heard my brother yell, “YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT THE SNAKES!!!”

A very aggressive black snake came out of the weeds at the waters edge and darted at him and then sped across his feet and back into the water. I am SO glad it did NOT bite him. What if it was one of these?

A water moccasin. Venomous. Aggressive. Will approach “intruders”. Crap.

I hate snakes. I’m going back to the lake, but I’ll be sporting blue jeans instead of shorts, and I’m going to Bass Pro Shop to buy a knife. I talked to an avid fisherman today who is dating my wife’s cousin, and he said to always have a knife on you.

“Why?” I asked.

He said, “You have to make sure you can kill the snake if it bites you, because you have to take it with you to the emergency room so they know which kind of anti-venom to give you.”

Wow. I have a new-found respect for Florida fisherman. They risk getting bit by snakes of all kinds, sharks, and whatever else is out there, just to experience the joy of their hobby. A couple days ago I just noticed a brown recluse spider crawling close to my foot while I was out fishing. I have been bit by one before. That’s not fun, but it’s a story for another time. I’m not even going to post a picture of one of those wounds because you might lose your lunch. I’ll leave it up to you to search for it if you really want to see it.

Back to the conversation with this avid fisherman though. He started telling me about his experiences fishing on his boat. He had stories about sharks, they all do. That should tell you something. But he also had a snake story. He told me about a sea snake that came at his boat and TRIED TO GET IN TO BITE HIM. He had to beat it down with an OAR! Wow that is straight out of a bad dream. I’m getting a knife.

Oh by the way, remember those other reptiles in Florida that live on the water?

I’m getting a knife.

Comments from old site:

Written by Chad Kraus
Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 at 3:56 PM

HAHA! I remember that knife. That was a BIG knife!

Written by Chris
Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 3:49 PM

Hey Chad, I think it was you who asked me what kind of knife to get. I assked what are you using it for and you said fighting crocodile. At the time I said a bowie knife, but now that I think about it… do you remember that knife pic I showed you the last time you were looking for a knife? If not, I think I still have it on my computer somewhere.

Written by Lisa P
Posted: Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 6:37 PM

Hey Chad! It was great to see you guys this weekend. Aaron happened to show me this website when we were comparing laptops at the hotel. Think I’ll add it to my “favorites”! We have a cute website for Nathan - next time we’re on skype I’ll give you the address.

Written by Aaron
Posted: Monday, May 28, 2007 at 8:02 AM

Whoa, can’t wait to see what kind of knife you get. Just don’t bring it to the airport on Thursday. And if you feel unsafe without it, I’ve got plenty of knives you can carry with you while you’re here

Chad Kraus bro, fishing, Florida, holidays

By no means am I a good fisherman. I have been going fly fishing when I get the time, and I have a long way to go before I know what I’m doing. But I am having a blast! I go down to the lake in Fellowship Park next to my church before sunset because that seems to be the time when the fish start biting. When the bugs start swarming, the birds start making a unified squawking noise, and the sun starts to set, is when the fish start biting.

I have gone fishing twice in the past few days. Mrs. Kraus and I went out with Captain Jeff on Sunday evening. We caught lots of brim, and one small bass. The bass was a lot of fun to catch because it jumped about five times. Mrs. K was fishing with a standard rod and reel and she got a huge bite from a large bass. She shouted, “Oh my gosh!” as an impressive bass jumped out of the water and through the air. It was so big, and fought so hard that it ruined her reel! (Crappy Big Lots reel). Unfortunately, it got away.

I went out alone today after work. I caught 2 fish! One small bass, and one brim. The bass was great fun because, surprise surprise, it jumped. I don’t know why I love that so much, but I really do. It’s especially great with fly fishing because sometimes they jump out of the water to get the fly off the water’s surface. I was proud of myself today because I made some tough casts to get the fly in the right spot to catch those fish. It was crazy windy today, so it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Oh, I really shouldn’t brag though because no tree was safe. I definitely caught more trees and plants than I did fish today.

My evening ended right before dark when I had cast past some weeds and started to pop my fly every few seconds. After 2 pops, WHAM! A huge bass jumped out of the water and tore my fly right off the line. It wasn’t even on the line for a second. It just tore it right off. That initially ticked me off, but what followed was very thrilling. The bass continued to jump out of the water, three times! And it was HUGE. I wouldn’t say it was as large as Lorrie’s fish a couple weeks ago, but definitely impressive. I think it was ticked off because the hook was probably lodged in the side of it’s mouth. That’s the only reason I could figure it would keep jumping. Maybe next time it will let me catch it so I can snap a picture and take that hook out of it’s lip!

The wife and I are thinking about going out to the lake tomorrow after work to kick off Memorial Day Weekend. We will be making a trip to Bass Pro Shop soon too to get her a new reel. I also need to buy some more flies, because those trees I keep catching like to swallow them! At least the fish usually give them back.

Chad Kraus Captain Jeff, fishing, Florida, Mrs. Kraus