No I will never be able again.

          Our rental trailer had a tree fall it was healthy but the roots weren't deep enough .When It fell it crush an old Nissan truck and pinned our renters Jeep sport. I went up to help Jason cut it off his jeep. I took 3 large branches(1 1/2 ft around) off to reduce weight on his jeep. Once those were off we cut the 2 branches pinning the Jeep as they had no pressure now and backed the jeep out clear of danger. By then I was staggering Jason forced me to take a break and my son showed up and they finished without my help. I got to sit and point so they didn't have the trunk roll and pin them. Jason's jeep has 1 dent in the roof and I can press that out next weekend with a 2x4 and screw jack. The Nissan was going to be sold as a parts car so no loss in it.

     The work I did do showed me I need to take a slower approach to getting work done . Last night we had a pipe bust going through the wall to the shower. I went out with a crescent wrench to turn the water off at the meter. I couldn't budge it so my wife called her son the plumber. He came over and turned it off and  at lunch he spliced the break in 10 minutes and was off running to do 4 more jobs.  He is so hyper his boss has to tell him to slow down people get mad when they see him take 20 minutes to do a job (he does great work) and hand them a 380$ bill. I had a T cut  off in the toolbox that got stole on the truck ;( . I could have fixed the busted pipe but T J did it in a 10th the time.

      

My son is stupid and home.

        Yep took less than a week for my son to screw up and get tossed out on his ear. It took 5 days of his whining before the owner of the driving school told him he had 4 hours to leave the school and have his S@#$% out of the hotel. I was afraid this would be what would happen his mouth overloaded his ass with folks that could care less . Friday I had to make the 140 mile round trip to haul him back. On Saturday I found out he went to the school because the friends he had been staying with most the time told him to take his Mooching Ass elsewhere they where tired of him . Now he is with another friend till he does the same thing. 

       Did I mention my Kids take after My Ex. They look like me but act like her. I cant denied them as being mine but Damn they got to change!!!!!!!

Saw my son off to school.

         Friday both my daughters informed me that my son was going to leave for Truck Driving school Sunday. He has talked about going for the last 5 years. Well I just waved goodbye as they left to make it for next  3weeks of classes that start in the morning. I was baffled by him having to be there on Sunday but he said it was today at 4 or in the morning at 7. I wish him luck and hope he gets his CDL .

        Ok I didn't finish this post yesterday because when my son arrived at the driving school it was a cluster @#$% . I had my doubts about it but he swore he had researched them. They did a bait and switch on him . He was told his sponsor/truck line  was evergreen but when he got there they had no record of it but they had a sponsor in PAM trucking available.  PAM,s pay and mileage sucks they have a record of firing short of 12 months and demanding tuition reimbursement. I told him go for it once he has the CDL he will have options . Back in the 90s I worked in Trucking as a dock Forman and Dispatcher for a Major carrier . 
        As a single man my son has an opportunity to make some major money If he is willing to roll. 

Why Harley Davidson Closing Plant Due To Declining Sales

Harley Davidson Closing Plant Due To Declining Sales

From a friend........

Harley Davidson Closing Plant Due to Declining Sales

Apparently the Baby-Boomers all have motorcycles. 

Generation X is only buying a few, and the next generation isn't buying any at all.

A recent study was done to find out why?

Here are the reasons why Millennials don't ride motorcycles:

1.  Pants won't pull up far enough for them to straddle the seat.

2.  Can't get their phone to their ear with a helmet on.

3.  Can't use 2 hands to eat while driving.

4.  They don't get a trophy and a recognition plaque just for buying one.

5.  Don't have enough muscle to hold the bike up when stopped.

6  Might have a bug hit them in the face and then they would need emergency care.

7.  Motorcycles don't have air conditioning.

8.  They can't afford one because they spent 12 years in college trying to get educated.

9.  They are allergic to fresh air.

10. Their pajamas get caught on the exhaust pipes.

11. They might get their hands dirty checking the oil.

12. The handle bars have buttons and levers and cannot be controlled by touch-screen.

13. You have to shift manually and use something called a clutch.

14. It's too hard to take selfies while riding.

15. They don't come with training wheels like their bicycles did.

16. Motorcycles don't have power steering or power brakes.

17. Their nose ring interferes with the face shield.

18. They would have to use leg muscle to back up.

19. When they stop, a light breeze might blow exhaust in their face.

20 It could rain on them and expose them to non-soft water.

21. It might scare their therapy dog, and then the dog would need therapy.

  Shamelessly stolen very blade of grass


    Will post something tomorrow just got back from the lake.

I did BBQ for sale this 4th

        I did 30 buts and 10 ribs this 4th of July . I was busy and sold out fast I should have done more but I am retired. 2 days work netted me a 450$ profit. I  plan on doing it again on Labor day .
Funny I pop up on holidays and could do a booming business and my son says its not worth his time.  He is mad because he has no water or power. All I have to say "that sucks good luck" then I change the subject.
   
       I spotted him supply money a dozen times I wont do it again . I wont pay his utilities . Its time for him to grow up. 

a lite weight cast iron pot ?

           I love my cast iron skillets and pots but they are heavy. Since my surgery I have had trouble with my left wrist because of the skin graft and nerves that they removed . Some cast iron demands 2 hands to handle. I have mostly Lodge  but a few Griswold and Wagner pieces . I  always keep a 12 inch lodge skillet on the stove .     Remove It and DIE !!!!!    Why, because it hurts my wrist to dig it out of the cabinet. I use it Everyday its my tater and egg skillet .  I also have a lodge 3.2 quart fryer with a skillet lid combo that I rarely use now . My son asked if he could "borrow it"
You know kid code for if you say yes kiss ever  seeing it again  goodbye.  Lodge 
                                                           I was willing to get him his own pot and skillet and found this  at Wal-Mart  In there Ozark trail line .Ozark trail 3.2 combo

          

    It is only a 1/3 as heavy as the lodge but it looks well made and was only 11 $ . So far I have just cooked bacon in the skillet  I think I like it. Time will tell how it holds up and cakes up a good seasoning layer. I may get these down the road . cast iron is a true multi generational item. 

                               2 quart

12 inch

8 inch

Things that make me SMILE !!

   I saw 

   My mind thought of this.

 To stay calm  and start smiling I looked at these.

          Smile  life is what you make of it !!!!!

My daughter broke her vehicle this time..

        My oldest daughter called me this evening and said something popped in her front tire as she got on the interstate. It wasn't a flat so she limped over here to my house. I pulled the passenger side tire off as brake fluid was everywhere. Now imagine me 5 days out of the hospital with a portable I.V. in my arm breaking lug nuts and jacking a car. My kid had drove her car  till the caliper fell out. The pop was her brake pad falling out. Tomorrow I will have to replace her brake rotor, caliper and pads. She has to work in the morning but her car is in my drive, well she eyeballed my white truck and asked how will I get to work. I got my white truck back the morning I was admitted to the hospital. It had 4 freeze plugs replaced . This is the same kid that blew the motor in my Ram . So I told her call your brother for a ride :).

      For my oldest it isn't broke till it quits moving she isn't getting near my vehicle's again!!!! My mechanic is reasonable but every vehicle I have has been worked on the last 2 weeks. Alice has had her car for 12 years she hasn't done any maintenance on it to amount to spit. I chewed her out when I took her home she has to start maintaining what she has and she needs to start planning on a 2nd vehicle . Nothing last forever.

Father's day gift review.

       My kids took fathers day a little over board this year. I now it was because I have been sick, so I didn't say anything like I normally would. Over the last 6 months I have not been prepping or even reading the usual web sites. It was like WHY I mite not make it. In the last few weeks I seem to have come out of my funk, depression. IT IS ABOUT TIME. Now I see my attitude was at bottom for to long.

    Ok for fathers day the kids got me camping/prepping gifts. One is a collapsible fishing pole . It is a foot long extends to 6 ft  and comes with a reel and accessories in a bag. The pole is a medium light duty combo perfect for blue gill or any up to a few pounds. A big bass or catfish would be no fun with this combo. I had been thinking about starting fishing again while camping but hadn't even mentioned it to anyone so I was pleasantly surprised.

    I also got 2 sets of these rechargeable batteries. I think the kids knew they had lost more than a few. EBL rechargeable combo 

They also got me a Yeti cup knockoff  and I tested it, half a cup of ice lasted 24 hours I was impressed.

    My wife got me a set of 4 LED lantern's that are awesome . awesome lanterns . The amazon page says they will light for 10 hours at full charge . I tested one last nite and after 6 hours I couldn't tell if it was any dimmer than one just turned on. Now after 10 hours it was still putting out 75% . Each lantern puts out 200 lumens = to a 25 watt bulb. They have a diffuser that softens the light. I love that these are solar rechargeable or wall plug . It has one feature not listed and that's a USB charging port that my phone mp3 or tablet could get a small charge from.

My Kids and trucks don't mix

       I  have been slow posting lately but that doesn't mean life has been boring. I will be trying to catch up in the next few weeks. Since I got sick and have been sidelined a lot of stuff has gone unattended to. I was unable and the wife clueless on most of what needed to be done.

     One thing that has fallen into disrepair has been our vehicle's.  Not one but all of them need to have work done on them. Her car has a leaking valve cover gasket, drivable but leaking a quart every 2 weeks or so. My white truck has a rusted out freeze plug and runs hot after 5 miles so it is unusable. The black dodge had a leaking p/s hose that was spraying the exhaust and drops out of 4th

 back to 3rd gear at times.

    The dodge went to the shop first as it was the easiest and cheapest repair. I asked them to see about the air that didn't work to. Ok the next day it was fixed new hose and compressor clutch and Freon cost only 150$ . The mechanic had drove it and said the shift modules in the transmission needed to be replaced and would be 300$. Its a common problem in this model and I knew it but had to get my other truck fixed first. I had been babying it and would bring it back after the others were done. He gave me a price of 40$ on my wifes car +part and 100 to 150 on the freeze plug.

     Ok I  was lined up on getting our vehicles back in order. This week we were to go to the lake for a 4 day trip. Monday my daughter called and asked if she could borrow my truck I told her we were going to the lake . She had a coworker that was giving her a washer so she came by on lunch to get my truck. I was reluctant but told her to baby it and what to do if it revved up when it changed gears. An hour later she called crying . My truck was on the side off the road with a blown engine. It had downshifted on a hill instead of backing off the gas she had floored it so it would shift again . Yep it broke the crank and slung a piston oil was everywhere. Call a buddy to tow it (cost a gallon and half of shine)home. Called my mechanic he has a motor and will swap it for 1200$ and would have to be fill in work over 3 to 4 weeks.

Now I am without a working truck and a sick car.

 

President John Tyler's Grandsons Are Still Alive

Here's the most amazing thing you'll ever read about our 10th president:
John Tyler was born in 1790. He took office in 1841, after William Henry Harrison died. And he has two living grandchildren.
Not great-great-great-grandchildren. Their dad was Tyler’s son.

How is this possible?

The Tyler men have a habit of having kids very late in life. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, one of President Tyler’s 15 kids, was born in 1853. He fathered Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. in 1924, and Harrison Ruffin Tyler in 1928.
We placed a somewhat awkward call to the Charles City County History Center in Virginia to check in on the Tylers.
After we shared this fact on Twitter in 2012, Dan Amira interviewed Harrison Tyler for New York Magazine. Lyon Tyler spoke to the Daughters of the American Revolution a while back. Snopes is also in on the fact.

February 15, 2016 -

  If my math is right John Tyler had  Lyon at 63 !!!!
Lyon had his sons at 71 & 75 !!!!!
  
    Found at mental floss

If you knew ?

     If you knew there was a good chance you could die in a year or so what would your reaction be ?  For some it might be to climb into bed and wait for the end in a comatose state. For others it could be just going through the motions of life till the end. Now for most that are reading this I would hope they are like me.   MAN Up try to cheat death and live but just in case get your affairs in order.

     Now I am going to live for a long while but there is a chance my treatments may fail  "In the end the Death takes us all".

     Are your affairs in order ? Do you have a Will ? Are you a collector of guns, tools, cars, or a hundred other items ? Would your spouse or kids have a clue as to the value ? Do you have projects that are valuable if finished ,you should complete ? Do you have property that needs to be shuffled so it goes to who you want it to?  These are morbid thoughts but they are valid for any one sick or of advanced age. Their valid for any one you ever know.

     As I have posted many times I have been working for a year on my daughters place. It is basically finished but when the electrician tried to pull a permit they wouldn't till I go get a county inspector to sign off on what I have done so far. I know the roof I put on will fail and I will have to remove it. I built it on the trailer, according to the county it has to be "self supporting like a car port". So I am 2 weeks out on her moving.

    

  My sons place just need 200$ in material then me to pay the deposits and turn on fees for water and electricity. About 500 total has him a permanent home! Trouble is cash is tight its winter so income is down and the slush fund is dwindling .
    The Blountsville house is under contract to a lady when it sells I will be ok. I will double what I have in it.
    My BOL is still on hold not ready to let it go yet. I have 2 interested parties so that should be an easy sell if needed.
   In the past I bought a lot of beer memorabilia I am going to sell. I have 2 cooper  moonshine stills I will put on e bay.

   In the yard I have to decide about 2 vending trailer and 2 trucks that are taking up space.

    Now I am not planning on death but I am going to have my affairs in order the way I want. I have never seen anything as putrid and despicable as the way some families act on settling an estate!!!!! The squabbling over petty stuff and legal actions over property have left me  ashamed I knew or was related to them. Yall understand what I am saying!!!!
As a prepper I looked at a dozen different ways life as we know it could end but never its actual end. I now understand as a husband a father and a Man I should have . Regardless of your age or health if you haven't given it a hard look it is an eye opener. MAN UP its your family take care of them don't think it will work out and they will do ok.
   

Prepparing for illness

     Ok this is not a poor pitiful me post . I feel good about the future but there are some hard decisions that will be coming in the future. I understand I will have to face one or more things surgery, chemo, radiation or a combo of all 3.

      Now I run my house the old way, I am head Jackass!! I pay the bills do the shopping earn the funds, make most the important decisions .I do listen to everyone's points of view on stuff but since I pay for or have to do the work I have veto power. With the possibility of me being down for a time I have to prepare the wife and family to take over some things they have no clues about.

    Most of us that read prepper blogs are Alfa personalities and have never considered if something happens to us will our loved ones be able to take over our jobs. In my case it will be illness taking me out of daily chores, income, spending management. Not only have I been sheltering the wife I have found she doesn't want the responsibility shifted to her. I tried to talk to her and it was a stone wall if she wont accept it, it wont happen. She will be getting a crash course in household management over the next 2 weeks. I love my wife but her money skills suck plus her shopping skills can net us 2 meals and junk food for 100$ a trip.

      It will be an interesting next 2 weeks . In the morning I have to go for Labs, X rays, CT scans, at 8 o'clock on the way back I have to pick up 350$ worth of wiring and electrical conduit for my daughters. after lunch I will stub it in from the pole. Thursday I see the ENT about doing the biopsy then meet the electrician to pay for permit and him to connect what I stubbed in. Sunday my step son will do the rest of the plumbing and gas for me and her place will be ready to move in.

    Hopefully the next week I will have a break between doctor visits. I need to install an exterior electrical load center on my sons house the old one has been gutted and wiring cut. It will be about 12 hours work but will allow him to move in after a few other odds and ends he can do.

 

     Preparing my family to move forward while I am down is as much for me as them. The kids moving out was delayed because of me feeling bad then the holidays now its time to get them set. The wife has become a couch potato the last few years and that's my fault. Once she is up to speed I will rest easier .

 

    Thinking about preparing for being out as leader and if my loved one could carry on while sick during good times makes me think have many preppers thought about it to? 

Family

   Sorry for not posting for a while. We all know life gets hectic at the holidays. I hope every one had a good Christmas and New Year. It seems like for 2 weeks we have run somewhere  every day. All in all it was a nice time with family .

     It looks like me and the wife will be getting our house back to our selves by the end of the month. I am down to odds and ends on my daughters place before she can move in. My Son got the Deed he has been waiting on and we put in a couple of days their .  All he needs me for is to have a new power panel set and re splice the house wiring . The step daughter and grandkids HAVE TO GO!!!!
We love them but the level of activity and noise is unbelievable. Its beyond normal the mom is a hollower on face book 24/7. The kids want to be entertained and are incapable of imagination or self amusement .

Household growth

     For over a year I have been trying to get my 2 kids out of the house. I am about 2 weeks from my daughter's place being ready for her to move into. My son just got the paper work on that piece of property we have been wanting for a year. This one just need power and 2 days cosmetic work inside.

     Just when it looks like we get the house back the wife's youngest daughter and the 2 grandkids moved in 3 weeks ago. Her and her husband lived in a basement apartment at his mothers house. Bla bla bla mom in law got into a fight . His mom told her to get out. The fight was because our daughter doesn't work . Now in our daughters defense the most she has ever made was 9$ an hour . She would have to pay 300 a week for day care resulting in a net loss.

   Long story short her and 2 kids (2 and 4) are living here. He is living there, they are sleeping in my camper :( while he has to make do with a 3 bedroom, living room, kitchen 2 bath apartment alone. His mom has money and he is scared  she would cut off his freebies. He makes 18.25 an hour they pay NO rent or utilities and are broke.

    I blame  Both him and our daughter for being spineless leechs . His mom is one that dangles a carrot from a stick so she can control them.

  I don't know how this will turn out. Everyone is Mad at me now . I made my view known . Told him all this was her buying him back because she abandoned him and his brother with their father when he was to 2 and returned when he was 28. And he was a SORRY S.O.B to allow his wife and kids to be run off while he stayed  for the free ride instead of leaving with them and getting them a home of their own. If he didn't like my opinion he was welcome to try and knock me on my ass but it wouldn't end well for him.

   Ok I have vented  . Thank you!

Kids and Guns.

    I found this article today about a Mom whose son attended  a  NRA  Eddie Eagle class.

florida-mom-livid-after-school-teaches-nras-gun-safety-program/

  Now I applaud this program and think all kids should have some knowledge of what to do and Not do if they find a gun.

    The school failed to send an opt out letter to this mother and she has a right to be upset on that point. At the same time she is in the wrong because her child had no exposure before this class and would not know what to do if he found a weapon.

    Now I will climb on a soap box !!!! When the boy says toy guns are ok . I call Bullshit!!!!! Toy guns get kids killed  they get adults killed, at 50 ft a Leo cant tell them from real. A child will pick up a real gun because it looks like his old toy one. Parents think its cute to see kids play cowboys and Indians . I think its a dangerous  attitude towards firearms. My kids had Nerf Blaster's laser pistols and other toy guns but none resembled a modern firearm.

Short vacation.

    Me and the wife went camping this week the temps have been perfect to be at the lake. I didn't want to go but she whispered promises in my ear so I was game. We had planed on leaving Tuesday morning but we kept the grand kids (4 &2)and that takes a day to recover from. I had to come home this morning to do BBQ but I will go back tomorrow after I get done. My wife's sister is staying with her while I am here. Even a short vacation helps recharge the batteries.

    I hate leaving the wife but the BBQ has returned to good profitability .After a long hot slow summer it feels good to be making decent money again. Which is needed because the water company finally approved to install the water meter at my daughters place. That's next weeks project having the water turned on and running down and fixing leaks. I still haven't found a licensed Electrician to run from the pole to the trailer. The power company has a new policy any inactive addresses for 2 years requires an inspection . I will set no dead line I have said end of the month since July and its now October .

Hot summer blaaa's and work.

     Like every one the heat of summer is getting to me to. I have been trying to limit outside jobs but a lot seems to be falling my way.

  I just took on cutting my oldest daughters yard every week. It only takes 30 minutes to cut and trim her place and it pays 20$ . Why did I take the job ? Its 20$ for 30 minutes DuH. Yes I am charging her, she is lazy . A teen up her street was doing it but it was to hard and hot so he quit, (wussey). I did pick up and swap out her  dryer today ( no charge That is a daddy job) I haven't told her I made 12$ scrapping her old one on the way home :). It is back to painting tommarow on youngest daughter place 2 more days and it will be painted. Electrician may show Thursday waiting on that call.

     Other than that I have been staying in just piddling dehydrating some stuff . I got 4 gallons of potatoes done and 6 lbs. of carrots next is going to be Vidalia onions. I have rendered 30 gallons of beer down to 6 gallons of heaven .

1 more day of work then a new list.:(

    Making a list has helped move the job along on my daughters place. It has been hot and humid this week and has limited me to 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening. Even with limited hours I have framed a wall, door and hung the sheetrock . The hardest part was doing the ceiling . For that I used 4 x8 sheets of luan OSB it paints well and was lite enough for me to put up solo.

    Today I mudded the sheet rock and plan on sanding it in the morning . So my daughter now has a 7 X 13 second bedroom and a small  12 X 13 living room. This is the last of the building stage, next week will be trim inside and out . There is a lot of trim work to cover my poor building skills. I will try to remember to take pictures of the place it has been a while.

   I added this picture to remind me this is what I started with it makes me smile .

Project knock out list. The end is near.

    Spent a few hours working on my daughters place today. I have to admit I haven't done much the last month over there. Today I did replace the utility room floor and patched a few ceiling holes.

   Did a walk around to see where I am  work wise and it isn't as bad as I thought. I think 4 days hard work next week will get the inside construction / repair finished. Once that's done it will be time to hire the electrician to do the pole and breaker box wiring.

    When that is done it still need paint and flooring but I have the material already to go. I think I will have to drop 500 more between the electrician and some luan panels . If I am right I will only be 200 over budget on the place.

   While I am doing this for my daughter it has a carrying cost that is up to 100$ in credit card payments a month. Now once she moves in and we secure her loan that goes bye bye. She will have 5 years at 232$ a month .