Perfect BBQ pork at home

       With the New Years Day almost here you may want some good BBQ.This is a easy way to cook and smoke a whole pork butt at home that is very close to competition quality.
  1 pork roast (butt) 8 to 10 lbs
   Rub Weber's makes a good one I use half rub to half brown sugar.
      Take the butt and rub it all over with your spice rub at 8 at nite.Place it in a pan atleast 4 inches deep fat side up, tent it with foil but don't wrap and seal it.At 1030 to 11 place it in oven at 210 degrees.Now GO TO BED.The next morning around 7 check it with a meat thermometer it should be 175 to 185 in the center.Let it rest for about an hour.
       If you have a smoker place it unwrapped in it and heavy smoke it for 3 hours.If your using a grill place it in the grill and take a tin can with 10 or so charcoal briquettes that are well lite and add hickory,oak or pecan that's wet in it.Place the smoke can in grill and close it up.On a grill it needs 4 hours of smoke.
     It sounds like a lot but you have 15 minutes of work in it and most of the cooking was while you were asleep.After it has smoked you can pull it chop it it will yield about 6 pounds.

Have a Merry Christmas every one !!!!!!!

        Sorry i havent posted in a while with the holidays almost here it has been verry weird around here.Me and the wife have to large a family that think they are still kids .We wish there was a way we could have skiped the kids but still got grandkids.
       I hope every one has a Merry Christmas

survivalism trash talk

     Last post was to make you think about what risks trash could put you and your prep's in.The disposal of packaging is as important as disposal of human waste. Everyone situation is different but you do need to have a plan so that no one knows where it came from.
   Cans need to be crushed or cut and flattened.
   Cartons and bags need to be broke down
    Bottles need to be reused or shattered and bagged
   A spot needs to be set aside for burying what cant be reused

  At present i burn most of our trash.After SHTF i will sort and bury it.Last week i came in from burning the trash my wife asked me what i was cooking? She said it smelled good,I asked what did she think it smelled like she said fry ed chicken.I then informed her it was 2 bags of garbage.It was grease she had put in one bag from chicken wings.The smell of burning trash can carry a long way just like a wood fire.
   This is just one of those things we take for granted trash is bagged and then disappears.You better have a plan,for sanitation and secrecy.

Survivalism Trash Talk Part 1

     Yesterday i was in the back burning the trash.We use a 55 gallon burn drum to dispose of the garbage here at home.Rural pickup runs almost 20$ a month around here i go 2 the dump every 6 to 8 weeks and empty the burn barrels for 8$.Every time i go to burn i fish out the cans that was in the trash from before.In regular times we have a lot of cans.To cut down on the bulk i crush them and throw them in a bag till its time for the dump.Burnt tin cans are easier to crush than just emptied.As i was doing this chore i looked around and wondered if the SHTF how many more cans there would be!

     Now most peppers have a large number of can goods in there food storage.I have read a lot of blogs on food storage but i have never seen any one write about the trash.Have you thought about it?Look at your food storage how many cans will you have to open per day to feed your family?Do you have any idea what your going to do with the cans,have you ever tried to crush a # 10 can ?I have its not easy.Would it be safe where you live to burn your garbage in a SHTF situation?Do you have room to store your waste boxes cans,bottles and other packaging.Will putting bags on the street and risk someone knowing you have food or store them in the corner of your property and risk your families lives?

   

Holiday Blues

          I know a lot of people get the blues around the holidays its normal they think of past family and friends.Some people just dis like the crowds and what Christmas has become.I haven't posted for over a week because i have always been in group 2.It never fails at some point between thanksgiving and Christmas i shut down for a week.this year it was last week.Monday the 25 was my twins birthday They turned 22.Was kinda hard on me when i thought about it now i understand how my mom feels on my and my brothers birthday. I am much better now i am not just sitting and staring at my computer.I did read a lot finish the Dark grid books I highly recommend them. Also read Breakers it was different. Read a short book  Barrows Road it was a housewife point of view survival book.

     Will be back to posting  tomorrow.

Will i brave my first black friday in 15 years?

      This time of year the sale papers begin to fill the mail box.Normally i trash them before the wife gets to them so i don't have to hear,honey look at this every 5 minutes(you guys have been their too).During the holidays i do bring the ad papers in(out of fear) and suffer Thu having to see what caught her interest.This year i am taking her back to Disney world for a week of camping and 4 days in the parks(last trip was cut short because i had a septic spider bite and had to go to the hospital).
     Today we got the Bass Pro Shop ad ! Now i really don't ever sit down and look at ads but today I did.Black Friday they have 500 round bricks of 22 ammo for 25$ and ammo boxes(50 cal.) for 10$. I have been wanting both these items for a while and haven't found many and the price has been WAY to high.The ad is from 5 am till 11 am on black Friday. I think i may brave it.The last time i went to a store on black Friday i saw what the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE will look like.It was the only time i have wondered if it was survivable.
      A lot of preppers write/talk about how they can survive in a collapse. The closest thing i have seen to an economic panic collapse is the Black Friday sales.As a man i cringe at the thought of  being out on Black Friday.So if i do i choose to think of it as a study of TEOTWAWKI.

Benefits of chopping wood

     Today i HAD to chop some wood it was that or piss everyone in the house off.Ever have a day when everyone is in a pissy mood even yourself and no one can agree on anything? that has been my day. I have found chopping wood helps, perhaps that is why a lot of men love to make fires . Sure a fire has a soothing effect but so does planting a perfect swing on a large round and hearing that dull thud as it splits perfect.Now sometimes its the wife or one of the kids that motivates me to make that swing.Other times its just events in life.

      I wonder if more people had wood piles would we have as many problems ? Think of it not as work stress relief workouts it sooths the need to smash something.If nothing else the weather was great and i now have wood for the smoker for 2 months split.

Its getting to be the holidays

     Its almost thanksgiving soon to be Christmas.Now i love the holidays family the food.What i hate is the stress that always seems to come this time of year.My wife always tries to make everyone happy with family plans but its not possible with 7 kids and 3 grown grand kids.I keep telling her we just need to find times where most are happy.She wants us all to go out to dinner,we tried that last year a party of 25 people.You would think restaurant's would like a party of people that size NOPE ,Cracker barrel said no Lone Star said a Hell No.We did get in at an Apple bee,s It was OK service was good food fair.As me and the wife get older we have quit buying presents (we do for the 3 young grand kids) we take everyone out to dinner.

    Even though we don't buy individual gifts for the family we do make boy girl gift bags.We have found it is easier to do than anything else.a girls bag has hand lotion, candle.candy,and a few other things.A boys bag has socks gloves thin mints a flashlight and a Pint of my Moonshine that is oak aged.Some folks may Think its lazy to not buy a gift specific to a person but as a family grows it becomes difficult and i hate gift cards.Last year dinner for 25 and 32 bags the bill was over 800 and we are still adding to the number with new grand kids and great grand kids.\
      Like i said the holidays are nice but the stress takes a lot away from it.With little kids in the picture maybe it will be fun again in a few years.Nothing like seeing a 2 year old shredding paper.The kids are asking what me and the wife want they don't understand at our age we have all of our needs and most of our wants.

To all vetrans and active duty.

      Today is veteran's day and to all military past and present i wish to say THANK YOU.If at anytime you read on this blog something that is negative about our country's present or resent past military actions it in no way is meant as a slur against our soldiers.I have a great respect our service men and women.All have made sacrifices for the American people and our freedom.At this point in this post it is hard to put down how much we the people owe to our service men but 1 day a year is not even close.

      One thing that grips me is when politions wrap themselves in the flag and talk about our servicemen for political gains.Our military has served without question when deployed.Most of our elected leaders are gutless worms that despise and even fear the men that have sworn an oath to this nation.Personally i think it should be a requirement that a president and congress members have served.If a man isn't willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country by what right should he lead it ? I don't mean to imply that we need a military government but we do need men that believe in founding principles and our Constitution to pledge there life to defending it.This is something veterans pledged to do in the service, and almost all would uphold as  civilians till death.

      We have 1 day to honor our living Veterans and 1 day to honor the fallen.I don't seem right.

I hate this time change

    Twice a year when the time changes it takes about a week for my body to get use to the new time.I don't know about you but everything seems off for a while before i adapt.It also makes me sleep more,eat more and get less done.
      It may have been Ben Franklin's idea but we only do it half the time.See this is a prime example of "A great idea done half way and by government SUXs!!!!!  This week has to end its not been a good week. 3 doctor visits a funeral and the time change.Maybe tomorrow i will have something to right but tonite i just cant think.

CADES COVE foggy morning

Fog was rising before we left but made for a differant visit.

Here is the two animals that I wanted to hide from.The smaller one is capable of running at top speed all day long.The large one isnt as fast but is louder and more annoying!!!! ;)

Never thought i would get a picture of this!

   

30 years of clutter.

     Wednesday i started trying to clean out the garage.There was 4 truck loads of scrap metal that went to the dump.The scrap paid over 240$ total and was welcome. Dragged a bunch of stuff out side so i could start the clean-up made a big mess

    I did found  set of Michelin tires for my Chevy truck 15,s are hard to find used  pull offs for it.Have a man coming for that riding lawnmower am trading for 2 push mowers and will buy the rider back if he can fix it for less than 250$.Did manage to clear the small side for my brew room.

A few pictures

   This was how it looked before i started.

This is stripped and the lean to sheets in place

    Here it is with the new scrap metal on.All that's left is to cool seal it and make it pretty.It has rained twice and so far no leaks but it still needs to be sealed.The fun part will be draging stuff out burning hauling to the dump and scrapyard what has been shoved in it over 28 years.

A nice toy to show up in.

        This was posted on the tiny yellow teardrop blog.I am a huge Fan of teardrops and the Crimson Tide of Alabama so i had to post this pic!!!!!!!

     I like the little guy teardrop but it is just to much for my pockets. Come to think about it the graphics probable cost more than  my teardrop did to build. I know i have posted i was going to build a 5 wide teardrop and will be this winter. All the work on the lean to and garage has been for a place for my hobbies and projects.

    P.S. Check out Christina,s Tiny yellow teardrop blog or her posts on the Tiny house blog.http://tinyyellowteardrop.blogspot.com/

finished the roof

    Got the roof finished on the lean to and garage Wednesday. Got it done just in time for a lite rain on Thursday.Had no leaks that i could find.All that's left is to cool seal it.I will post a picture of it this weekend. I have to run will update on here later.


PS  still at 2 cigarette's a day not bad  in  my book.

The story of dog

     Yes folks i named my dog DOG.She has been with me for 8 or 9 years.The kids call her Baby Girl she comes to both but knows the difference in what name is used.If i call her dog she looks to see what i want her to do,if she is called baby girl she knows she is going to get petted and played with.
     When dog first wandered up i didn't want a dog.I had just had one get run over and i didn't want to go through that again.Well i decided to ignore and not feed this skinny Black Lab and she would go away.After a week i was finding dead rabbits squirrels and other critters in the front yard.This mongrel had to go so i decided to haul her away.I loaded her into the truck and went about 3 miles away and put her out.Good riddance,no more half eaten carcasses to clean up.On the way home stop ed and got me a coke and a bag of chips then pulled in the drive.Sitting on the porch was that skinny black Ker. Damn dog had cut through the woods and beat me home.Well i loaded the dog back up and took off this time i went 5 or so miles out into a rural valley and put he out wished her luck and took off.I went and grabbed lunch with a friend.After we ate we stopped to get some tools at the house and laying in the yard was that Damn DOG.My buddy looked at me and said "if she isn't your dog your her human".After we did our project i went and got her a bag of dog food.
    Dog has been the best dog a man could want even my neighbors have gotten to know her bark.She has her talking bark for other dogs she has a deer bark for when they are in the field.She has one for some one just drove up,God help someone walking down the road she lets loose loud.One day the boy next door was out playing and 2 dogs from down the road started growling at him DOG stood between the boy and the strays till he went inside.DOG waited till he was gone and stared taking chunks out of there butts as she ran them down the road.
      Dog has filled out over the years she is a solid 110 pounds or more.Her teeth are wore down from all the game she has dragged up over the years.Now days she just eats dog food with table scraps.Dog has never been to a Vet for some reason she refuses to get in any car or truck! I hope i have been as good a human to her as she has been a Dog for me.

Been a great weekend.

     This week has been kinda full.I have almost finished getting the garage roof on.Did my BBQ and had good sales i am going to have to increase what i cook am back to running out before 3. I love football season everyone around here watch Alabama or Auburn and i get a lot of orders on game day.Friday seems to be Ladies day they grab whole butts  or 5 to 10 sandwiches so they don't have to cook.Hope it stays like this till Christmas.
    Maybe next week blogger will let me upload a few pics.Got a few of the garage and the BBQ smoker and stand. I would be farther along but going up and down a ladder did my knees in had to take a couple of days off the roof .Did get a few other odd and end piddly stuff done.
     Today was the grandsons birthday he is 2 and we got him a 6 volt rideing car to ride around the yard.Picked the toy car up at a yard sale for 30 bucks and it looked like new.Kids don't know if its new or not.It beat a new one at 129$ .

Made progress on the roof

    Got the lean to roof on and the garage roof stripped.Not a bad days work for a lazy fat man.

This is the old leaky roof and the lean to that was made out of 20 scrap pieces of tin.

    Here is the lean to made with 6 sheets 18 ft long.If you look at the wood on the garage it is over 80 years old and only had 1 board  rotted.It holds my 260 pound butt!Next is to put felt down then the Tin.

    The whole garage is sheathed walls and roof with 1 and 1/2 inch ruff cut pine can still see the blade marks on the planks.

P.S. Smoking is still at only 2 cigs most days its getting easier.

Wrapping up some projects.

    Sorry i haven't posted but been working on the roof of the garage and lean-to.Have also cleaned around the house,its been a great fall so far,mild weather has been nice .This time of year i try to get the outside shaped up.The yard needs 1 more cutting a lot of brush needs burnt.I have to many projects started that need to be wrapped up or at least gotten to a GOOD stopping point.The term running around like a chicken with his head cut off fits last week.
    Will post some pictures latter this week of the garage.Spent 2 days cutting the metal last week.Wore out 3 blades on that metal and still have 4 more cuts to make.Had to stop because of rain coming in off TS Karen didn't want to start the tear off.
     First  thing this morning i have to go pick up BBQ supplies, with all the rumblings from Washington and there posturing i think a few extra supplies are in order.
      The fog is burning off so i guess I'm off to start will go shopping while the sun dries the yard a little.

A Quick update.A little rant

    Well it looks like the Mountains are on hold. With the government shutdown the Smokies,s will not be open and we stay in cades cove campground.Have you noticed how the news keeps telling us about how we are suffering because of this shutdown?If it wasn't on the news would we even notice? I mean really.The main inter action most people have with the federal government is the withholding line on their pay stub!I BET THAT WILL STILL BE THERE.I was watching the news and they had a woman speaking on how outrageous it was that she was losing money on fulow she was a FEDERAL EMPLOYEE!!!!!  Welcome to America ladie it is a land full of layoffs rollbacks and pay cuts in the real world.
    Now i favor the shutdown it is not just politics it  is an action to stop a bad law.3 of our kids were going to be reduced to part-time status so the company's they worked  for could comply with the law.When actions of those in government turn full time jobs into part time and only add new part time then cry over a weeks losing pay don't expect me to care.


   SIDENOTE    It has been 7days since we decided to Quit smoking i have had 9 cigarettes.7 with morning coffee and 2 after nonya dam business.

Fall is almost here.Time for the mountains

   Around here we have been having great weather.Crisp mornings in the high 50s and days in the high 70s. Still a little warm to be Fall but super nice.This year me and the wife haven't spent as much time camping as we have wanted but we are planning a trip to the Smokies in 3 weeks.This year we have camped with the kids and sister-in-law,but we haven't gone alone yet and will be taking the family with us to the Smokies.We haven't took any of the kids to the mountains in 7 years so it time.Even though it sounds expensive its not to bad I pay for 1 tank of gas and the campsite.They pay for the gas to get there and what they find in the shops.Some how I always seem to get STUCK with one restaurant bill for everyone,Oh well i am use to it:).

We are kicking the habit !!!!

    The wife and I have decided to quit smoking.Boy that may not sound hard but i have smoked 32 years and the wife over 40 years.We have tried before it was ugly verrry ugly.Cold turkey is almost impossible,gum my cheek looked like a chipmunks,the patch we could have cover our whole body and still wanted a cig.
    My wife even tried the Chiantis but blamed my smoking on her starting back.I cant take the Chiantis due to the side effects.Last week while removing that sheet metal i was getting winded quick.I have had enough, my father and grandfather died of strokes so i try to watch my health.
    Since i have been out of work :) i have had to watch the money but have smoked so long that it was just lumped as weekly spending.Separating our smoking and doing the math was a shock we both smoked a pack and a half a day.
  3 packs at 4.00 ea
  90 a month that's 360.00
    So Wednesday we got the evod vape system so far neither of us has even wanted a cigarette.sure its still nicotine but if we can slowly reduce the nicotine I think we will make it.Oh the cost for us looks like it will be 35 to 45 a month both.

    Wish us luck  this time i am going to quit.

A unexpected dinner what she wanting?

       Tonite my wife went in to the kitchen, a very rare event.When she starts cooking I tend to hide she like to bang pots and pans uses words i never hear her use anywhere else.Tonite it was raining so i watched  the TV.I didn't hear a sound , I think that scared me more.When my wife cooks i never ask whats for dinner I AM OLD ENOUGH NOT TO ASK.2 wives and30 years of wives i am learning.Anyway she finished called me to fix a plate I walked in to see new red potatoes in butter ,fried squash and onions,corn and fried pork chops.She had cooked everything perfect it was great. AS i sit and write this i have to wonder what she is wanting,what she has bought,what have the kids asked for,the list is endless.A meal like that has a price .At a restaurant its about 12$ when a wife cooks it its much higher!

Here is a pic of a scrap built BBQ stand i built.

   This is built on an old pop up trailer frame.It was my son,s BBQ stand till he developed HEAD UP RECTUM  sickness.

    After i put the new metal on the garage and get it cleaned out I should be able to sheath and roof a 12x12 storage shed with what i pull off.It beats scraping it.

  

Here is those 21 footer,s i have to cut down for the garage and lean to.

Restaurant depot first visit.

    Last week i was on the other side of town and decided to check out a new store.A few friends  had told me about a restaurant supply store that had opened.They said it had great prices and more bulk items than SAMs or COSTCO so while i was in town(witch i hate)we took a little time to go check it out.
    Man oh Man i felt like a kid in a candy store Prices blew the Club's prices away!Even my wife who isn't a shopper was pointing out this and that and how cheep it was.As most of you all know most stores have 25 lb bags of pintos this place had pintos black eyed peas black beans and butter beans in 25lb bags sugar was 3 $ a fifty less than SAMs cases of #10 can veggies cheeses.The spices here was cheep and a huge variety.A lot of ethnic spices that for most folks cost and are hard to find.I also went into the cooler section to check out the meats for the BBQ They had a larger selection at 20 to 50 cents a pound cheaper.This was the first place i had seen that had pork belly and whole pork shoulders (that's leg and pork butt in one)for sell.
     As a cook  I could have spent a 1000$.As for prepps i could see many o those cases of #10 cans making there way into my basement real soon.If you have a Restaurant depot near you it is worth the trip!! Oh just for the record the day i went i had 42$ in my pocket and didn't buy anything but Tuesday i am going back.So i am going to get off here and pay all outstanding bills before i go Tuesday.I want one of those, 2 of those ,6 of them ,4 of that and a dozen of those.

Work is harder than it once was!

      Well got to tearing that metal off the pole barn today.I had already saved 10 12ft sheets that were not on the roof.Went over at 7 am while it was cool to start on the roof.Boy did i get a surprise.Was expecting to have to pull down 30 12footers No that would have been too easy, the roof was 15 24 foot sheets of 14 Ga roof metal.No one was around to help and i am to stupid to give up! I crow bared 10 of those monsters free had to flip them so about 40lb of leaves and dirt could fall off each one.I  had to drag them off the runners to the ground.I bet they weighted 120lb or more to make it worst i had to drag them 200 ft to my fence then lift an end over the fence to my yard.MY arms and legs felt like jelly after the first 5 sheets.It was almost 11 by then i was ready for lunch my shirt was soaked hands shaking legs barley made it in the house.I knew my sugar had to be below 50 i grabbed 2 Cinnamon rolls a buddy bar 2 ham sandwiches a regular coke and 2 bottles of water before i felt better.My wife looked at me and just shook her head,I think i heard the term stubborn jackass more than once by her before my head cleared.I piddled until 530 then got the other 5 into the yard.I still have 5 sheets to get down and into the yard that will be done in the morning.
      I don't remember work being this hard! I  loaded trucks from 95 to 99 i loved to take young guys in to floor load trailers with 4 or 500 cases.Back then hard work was fun.Now its a lot harder than it once was!!!!

A few pics

A lot of junk piled in the front and it looks worst inside.

this is the lean to on the side.

A shot of the roof that will be replaced.

Here is the salvaged metal from the old barn. It is dirty and rusty but will clean up and be painted.This is 14ga high V industrial grade. Spent most the day next door cutting the bushes and branches off my fence and garage. The garage sits dead on the property line to the inch.So while i have no neighbor's I'm trimming everything back a few feet on that side.The old metal roof will be tore off  i think i have a use for it but i better wait a while before i ask the wife.I was given 4 rolls of insulation R25 and 20 sheets of 4x8 foam sheeting with the pull off metal i may make a nice tractor shed and brewing room.

Sheet metal salvage.

      Today i started salvaging  an old pole barn.I am not sure what i am going to do with all the metal but it isn't going to be scraped.The metal off the roof is the thick kind that is self supporting.It looks like about 40 sheets 16 foot long.The metal looks like it was part of an old Butler building that was salvaged.The old man that built the pole barn was a funny fellow he probable got it free 25 years ago when he built the pole barn.May be tomorrow i can post some pictures,I have to decide if i want to re-roof my old shed and clean it out or do i want to build a new work shop.Its the cleaning out that i would dread.When you have lived in the same place for 28 years a lot of stuff accumulates.As bad as it sounds it would be easier to build a 16x16 metal workshop than to clean the old garage out.
      My dear wife has informed me i cant have a new workshop i have to many out buildings as it is.I do have a few 6 to be exact, she may have a point.When i shut down my store i stored 2 coolers 2 quarter pushers and 2 ice cream freezers in the garage.This was added to 2 beds a ton of display racks and a 4000 lb wire forming 4 slide from a past business.Yep life accumulates junk I guess i can scrap the old roof and the wire former for cash and sell the coolers freezers and quarter pushers.The garage is bigger if its cleaned out its 20x36 so this barn metal will be enough to re-roof the garage.The old roof has a few leaks that need fixed anyway.The price is right for the new roof     FREE  all i will have in it is blood sweat and tears.

Changes at the grocery store.

     Last week a local grocery store changed up there lay out in the produce department.They shrank it by half took out cooler and made bigger center tables.The only part that stayed the same was the fruit section.It struck me as odd so when i saw the manager i asked why.
     The store manager told me that the produce sales had been dropping for years.Part of it was the older folks were passing away and the younger folks didn't cook from fresh as much.Also Home gardens had eaten into sales, cost were going up and loss was up because what they could get wasn't the quality it use to be.
    As we talked he said the whole store was being relaid to reflect new purchasing trends more frozen foods and more heat and eats.A lot of the store brands have more shelf space now and a lot of the isles are took up with cheep to stock bulk.
     It is a shame that cooking may one day be as rare as a horse drawn wagon.

Solar charged my truck battery

    Today i went out and tried to crank my ford ranger to go to the store.All it did was click the battery in it has been on its last leg for 2 months so it was no surprise.I haven't drove it in over a week.I made the trip in my jeep but when i got back it was noon sun was out so i got an idea.I have a 80 watt BP solar panel stored in my shed so i got it out leaned it against the truck clamped the wires to the battery.No charge controller just straight 80 watt panel about 4 amps 4 hours of sun 16 amp hours into a wore out battery.What the hell if it works great if it don't i got jumper cables.
   Well went out and disconnected the solar panel from the battery jumped in and the truck barley cranked.Took off to the gas station come back let it idle for 20 minutes.Was happy the panel worked hooked it to my tractor battery for tomorrow to top it up to.
            P.S. before dark tried to crank the truck it just grunted.A solar panel is great when the sun is out but batteries are the weak link.I think i am going to replace the truck battery with a good marine battery this time.

Company

      Have had my mom visiting the last 2 days been kinda nice normally i drive up to see her.This time she came down for a few days she plans on going home Wednesday.Mom is 70 years old and her age is beginning to affect her more and more.I think this visit has really shown me i need to spend more time with her than i have in the past.She has Parkinson's and i do not think she will be driving much by next summer.Its 75 miles to her house and this summer she has had leg tremors in her right leg.I think her long drives are about over when she is at home a long drive for her is 5 miles.I carried her to SAMs club she likes to stock up on some items.I don't like for her to drive here in town her home town has maybe 4000 people in a 20 mile area.

     I think this visit has shown me mom is getting old,its strange you never want to admit that someone you love is hitting the last years of their life but it happens to everyone.My brother lives with her so i do know she is looked after.Really I'm not sure who looks after who but it has seemed to work.My brother is a mommas boy always has been always will be but it has kept her going since my stepfather passed away.I have always been the blacksheep in the family but i think i will be visiting more.I don't want to look back after shes gone and wonder what was so damn important that i didn't spend the time with her i could have.In the end what do we have except for family , friends and memory's?

a quote i found and sounds so true

                     “Government is a disease masquerading as its own cure.”




   I wish i knew who to give credit to for this quote!  It just seem to answer what our government as become.

Well they voted for war.

     Our brain dead leaders on capital hill gave our brain dead president their blessing on a new war front.It looks like we get to send our soldiers into a civil war.What right do we have getting involved in an internal conflict?Yea i know WE say the Syrian government used gas,WE also said Saddam had WMD how did that turn out?Any excuse to stay in a fight.Is there a national interest at stake in this war for the USA.In a civil war as long as it stays within their own borders all other country's should stay out.

    If there was a civil war here should other countries intervene?Or should we be able to settle it ourselves.Now i am not saying no trading France,Great Brittan,and other countries profited of the revolutionary and civil war.Munitions and Loans are the Bank masters profit centers has always been and still are today.My opinion is sell them arms but keep our military out of it.
    Maybe our bankers want us involved because whoever wins in Syria wont have the ability to repay the bankers.So they want us directly involved so their profit is guarantied.
     There is nothing in this for the American people except cost and deaths and future acts against us from the Muslim world.

Some people aint right bright

      Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Labor day weekend.I sweat ed for the last 4 days in 95 degrees with 90% humidity next to a smoker.Was a good weekend selling sold out early everyday.
      Sunday a gentleman stop ed by the stand and informed me i should be careful with my potato salad a few weeks before this he had bought 2 BBQ plates from me and he thought the potato salad had made him and his wife sick.I apologized and told him i tried to take great care in keeping it chilled.He told me that they had enjoyed it Friday nite liked the portions because it made enough for the next day.He said Saturday he had microwaved the plates and had them again.Sunday he told me both of them felt sick at there stomachs.
      Now i do feel bad that they got sick,BUT  who in their right mind heats potato salad in the MICROWAVE?Its mayo based, their is a reason its served cold !My best friend turned to me after the man left and smiled.He asked me "Some people ain't right bright are they?

This is a post from James Dankin,s blog.

Normalcy Bias used to mean that the average prepper/survivalist refused to believe that anything really truly bad was going to happen outside a few natural disasters. They could continue to live in huge urban areas, drive their SUV’s and afford really expensive trophy wives. They could have their cake and eat it too. As long as they stocked a case of MRE’s and thirteen different cool looking plastic poodle shooters, they could sleep the rest of the righteous and all would be Double A-Okay. This mindset is everywhere, from “UN forces will invade so stockpile a concrete fortress atop a mountain” blogs to paper magazines urging you to take out a thirty year mortgage on a homestead, assuming that the bankers will take asparagus for the next payment. Now Normalcy Bias means that all the really gruesome crap happening to us is ignored or downplayed, being The New Normal. As in, it seems to be normal when an earthquake destroys most of a country and years later nothing is back to prior conditions. Normal means a city like New Orleans will NEVER be rebuilt. Normal seems to be that we can double the national debt in one Presidential term, and can do it again and again forever without consequences.

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The New Normal means we can invent e-money by the trillions and inflation won’t appear. New Normal is a third of all houses being underwater. New Normal means radiation from nuclear reactors STILL being emitted from an ongoing meltdown years later won’t ever concern us. New Normal is ALL the worlds super-giant ( the elephants ) oil fields in near double digit yearly decline causing no raised eyebrows. Even though frack oil has been no more than a FIVE percent increase in our daily oil use, we seem to think it means a New Normal of energy independence. In short, folks, the whole system is shaking apart. But because it has been in collapse for several years we seem to find this new condition the new normal and are steadfastly ignoring it. Which is why everyone seems to think they have forever to prepare. What they really have is from zero days to Who Knows How Long. But they all act like they have forever. So they go shopping for three thousand dollar 308 AR’s.

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I’m standing at the food checkout the other day, knowing it will be awhile since Sammy Slackjaw is trying to scan barcodes and making it look like a really difficult Jeopardy question from the category “1834 Opera Writers With Syphilis”. I have the unique talent of always picking the cart with the square wheel and the slowest checkout lane. So I peruse the latest issue of SWAT magazine. What the heck, I loved that one as a hormonal teenager lusting after females and firearms. And there it is, a side by side comparison of the newest category to tingle men’s nipples across this great land, 308 battle rifles in the AR platform. I won’t start again on the loathsome qualities of that rifle design ( and don’t get cocky, AK’ers. You can’t hit a barn over a hundred yards ). What I’m arguing against is the extreme price tag. Anyone who wants to spend this kind of coin on a single survival item is, frankly, either retarded or has more dollars than cents ( get it? Cents, sense ). Or both. They are dumb ass yuppie survivalist scum. They don’t rally want to survive the apocalypse, because without an SUV to drive their lazy ass around, without a pretty wife to attract other eyes away from this wretched life form of a husband, without the tens of thousands of rounds to enable semi-autos to continue firing, saving our poor wheezing bastard the hard manual labor of working a bolt action, life simple won’t be worth living. They were raised on pabulum and every labor saving device known to man, and they shall die with a propane gas fireplace remote in their hand. Nothing is too good for our girly-men in hunter cammo.

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For three grand, you could have it all. And by all, I mean a rifle and ammo, a years worth of food for each family member, land without a mortgage, shelter and anything else you need to survive the collapse of western civilization. You simply can’t do so in luxury. Do you hear the ensuing silence? Almost as if a fart in a church pew was unleashed. Live on grain instead of freeze dried food? Live with ONE firearm instead of one each of every kind ever invented? Live on a fifth of an acre without utilities, on a dirt road? Instead of a third of a million dollar McMansion? Oh, the humanity! How did mankind live like this bare assed savage who somehow hijacked this word processor, long before our beloved Oil Age that simply must last forever because I , your dear reader, simply wish it to be so? Who could live without luxury? Why, I’d rather slit my wrist than live in a cold tent eating gruel and being forced to recon without, SOB!, vests full of AR magazines, their familiar weight reassuring me I can win all firefights if only I send enough un-aimed shots downrange like the super stud ninja warrior I am!
I’m going to pretend all of you uninitiated into The One True Way Of Frugal Survivalism are not there of your own accord, but were brutally denied education by all “experts” out there who insisted only the rich deserve to survive. Walk towards the light! You can save yourselves and your families, even as you face declining real wages and inflated necessities prices. You can survive off of feed store grain, bolt action hunting rifles, junk land no one else wants, crude shelters and nothing much more. Gear will not help you survive. Attitude will. And if your attitude is that of a whiney privileged bitch-boy, all the expensive gear in the world won’t save you. Avoiding taste fatigue, having the option of multiple wildly shot rounds, living in only the best residences- none of these help you survive. Having a smidge of fortitude to rough-it a bit in life will allow you to prepare for pennies on the dollar. And immediately, since no one knows when the wheels come off this patched up squeaky malformed engine. Anyone telling you that you have twenty years is just as full of it as one who tells you we will all die tomorrow. Don’t let others pick collapse timeline for you. How about you let your family’s well being decide for you rather than your admiration of an “expert”.

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My weekday blog, with access to untold unlimited wisdom. Includes access to my books:
www.jamesmdakin.blogspot.com 

   He is differant than most maybe a little blunt but he isnt wrong.

The scrap haul and other stuff paid.

    Well i made the scrap run on Tuesday and it was worth the time made 42$ off the junk and cleaned up some of the yard.Now i am not like most scrap scroungers i don't go looking for it.Most of what i haul off is dropped here by family and friends.Everyone has something to scrap from time to time but rarely enough to justify a trip to scrap yard some how a lot seems to make it to my yard.I just put it under my lean to till i have a trip or need gas money.I like to think of it as poor mans precious metals.I do not sell any lead or cooper.I feel the long term increase in price is worth the wait.
      After i had sold the scrap i took my brother in law a gallon of distilled beer:) .When i got home a friend of mine came by and asked if  i would be interested in making 10 $ an hour cutting his grass (his mower and gas)he was hurting in his back.Sure i know it takes him most a day.Now he is a friend and i felt bad to be paid but knew if i refused pay he wouldn't agree to it.I cut 3 acres in 4 hours.Will do the weed eating tonite.My buddy was happy with the cutting and he didn't nit pick the work so i know he had to be hurting.Now a year ago if i had started  week broke i would have been in panic mode but i have learned there is always something someone needs done and stuff that will sell. It may not be as regular as a payday i had 6 hour involved and netted over 140 dollars.still have 3 hours of weed eating to do and 2 more days for odd jobs to pop up.I am ready for this weekend plan on working Friday,Saturday,Sunday and Monday.Last Monday i laid in 20 Boston butts 9 slabs of ribs and 4 chickens(was the reason i was broke)this cost me almost 200 more than a normal weekend.

My Mother is against me opening a legal food truck.

  Friday i called my mom i hadn't talked to her in a few weeks(I know i should call her more often)as we talked i told her i was probable going to licence up the food stand.Her response was not what i expected she said life is short your making it OK why did i want to take on the headache.You have time to camp you aren't as stressed as you was with a business(at the end of my last business i was kicking doors off the hinges rather than using doorknobs)you even look happy now.My 70 year old mom told me i was right in what i was doing.
     OK here is the back ground for years i said i was going to Quit work and take 3 years off and have a mid life retirement while i had good health and could enjoy living.She had always told me that wasn't how people were supposed to act.You were to work till you were 65 retire and then enjoy life.Well mom retired at 62 but the same year my stepfather got cancer they didn't get to do what they had spent years looking forward to doing.J.C. passed away after 2 years of poor health.After that mom felt cheated out of a good husband and their plans.She called me one day and said if you can survive and make ends meet take a Minnie retirement she wished they had.
     Mom did offer up an idea that i will probable wind up doing.Her idea was to cater company parties and open on Sunday's.Not any catering of fancy events just BBQ employee appreciation lunches stuff like that.Now i have done  few company lunches and tried a few Sunday's  maybe i gave up to soon and should build up that side.I would be able to do this without any cost increases or food inventory costs.

A free water heater can cost more.

     This weekend i had to replace our hot water heater.I have to admit it lasted i checked the date it was put in in 1991 so it lasted 22 years my stepson is a plumber said most last 10.TJ got me and his mom a good high efficacy unit for 400$ its also 50 gallons.

      I could have got a free electric unit from the power company to replace my gas one but i did a little research.The unit they give away was rated at 458$ a year cost the one i paid 400$ for is rated at a annual cost of 265$.So i recoup my money in 2 years and will save 200$ every year after that.Also to go to electric i would have had to add a 220 breaker and run 30 ft of 10/2 wire about 60 bucks for that.Not to mention how slow recovery is on an electric.
When you see the word free alarms should sound it rarely is free.
       I am glad i got it done before winter it was leaking a little and last week the pilot had to be lite every day.Tomorrow i am going to haul the old water heater an old stove and aluminum cans to the scrap yard.After this hit to the budget i have 12 dollars for gas money this week i hope what i haul off brings 25 $.If it doesn't I'm going to have to borrow money from the wife or a loan shark who may give a better rate than she will.Luckily the scrap yards closer than the dump and they pay me instead of me paying to dump it.

A disturbing news item.a Personal delima.

http://news.msn.com/us/govt-aid-pays-more-than-a-minimum-wage-job-in-35-states   


I see my state is a red one to.Not all that big of  surprise just a little sad.

   I have thought about applying for food stamps i wont lie it has crossed my mind more than once.I have no outside income just what i hustle doing BBQ.My wife is drawing her unemployment 120 a week .Me and my wife have never made it official {she would lose about 400 a month when she retires if we did}we both have been married before.She has hide my n@^$ and i have to behave now.My youngest daughter only works part time.On a W-2 we only have an income of 1000 a month.WE are a family of 3 {funny how i pay the bills and buy groceries and they make more than me}and qualify for 390 to 420 a month in SNAP.I guess its pride that stops me.I understand some people need it to eat my oldest daughter was on it till this job.

    Last month i was grabbing a few groceries at the store about 40$ worth had payed all the bills was a cash short week.As i worked my way down the last isle to the check out in line was a Mexican family mom dad and 3 kids.The oldest kid was maybe 10 was translating for his parents they had 2 buggies full {no this isn't a steak and lobster story}of groceries it was 580$.I hear the boy tell the cashier EBT mom swipes the card then i check out.Now this is what got me in the parking lot they were loading a Cadillac excalade with 4000 $ rims and Texas plates.That got to me!
    I ha vent applied for anything in my 50 years and these people had probable moved to Alabama because of lax rules and higher pay outs than Texas.I have never begrudged anyone in need but that seemed wrong on so many levels.Running through my mind now is as a Conservative constitution loving American should i keep making it the way i have or apply for what i qualify for and put that amount into food guns and bullets .Is adding a nail into the government's coffin patriotic or wrong? I love my country our government not so much.
  

a few pics that i meant to post yeterday.

this is a picture of the brisket hash i want to do but i want a few more peppers and onions in it.

I may add tacos and wraps to the lunch but it will be filled with smoked beef pork or chicken to keep cost down.I love BBQ but a lot of people may want a different twist.

  I  am looking at re fried beans and rice one i like them 2 its survival food Mexican style. Like i said yesterday i only have a 70 sq ft kitchen so i will be limited in what i can have prepared.

Some ideas on a food truck.

      Well i wrote 2 post that when i read them sounded like gibberish.I guess every blogger has done it but mine was real bad.Anyway the last few days i have been spending a lot of time looking for recipies that i can cook and serve when i deside to go back into a bussiness.Now i have stated many times that all i have been doing is a roadside BBQ on friday evenings and saturday it has been fun an has added to my abilities in the food service bussiness it is not enuff income long term.Yea i pay the bills and have a lot of free time but i need to be looking to the future.
    What i have is a food truck trailer its only 7x10 or 70 sq ft so my menue will have to be small and quick to fix.The way i have it in my mind is a breakfast setup at a high traffic gas station.I want a signiture dish that is quik easy and flavorful 

this is my smoker and the yellow stand   

   Around here you can get just regular breakfast fair so i think i have settled on something a little differant in a homemade hash i think it sounds good and is cost efective any feedback will be welcome.
 1 1/2 cup cubed red patatoes fried
 1/2 cup red yellow ,green peppers,oinions sauted
  4oz. smoked brisket choped
  combined in a skillet tossed let to blend 2 minates topped with 2 eggs your way.add gravy if wanted served with toast or biscuits
 5.00$ out the window in 3 minates.
  I will have regular items but i dont want to be known as just anouther fastfoodmorter location.the lunch menue is a little easier having done BBQ for years it is my mainstay and what i know best but have found some good wraps and other non BBQ sandwiches that should be doable in the space and setup i have.OH just for the record i do notdo hamburgers!!!!I love good burgers but a good burger cost to make and the average person will not pay for a good burger. A lot to think about before i go whole hog into a full time businness again. But the demgraphics dont lie women under 25 cant cook and women over 45 wont cook.AS for us men we just want good food.


     Sorry for the print size change and mis-spellings blogger freaked out as i finished writing.

WOW gun control isnt working.

  Was watching the news on fox this morning and it had a  blurb at the bottom.5 slain and 25 wounded over this weekend in Chicago. Now i may be wrong but doesn't Chicago have one of the most sweeping handgun bans in the nation?It must have been bad for FOX ot have admitted it on there news. I Looked at some news pages on line and none had it listed but i admit i didn't dig for details.You and i know the only application of the term GUN CONTROL should be when you empty a clip and punch out the bulls eye on a target.

about sums it up


    

My daughter is going to become a machinist?

    Yep last week my daughter asked if she could borrow 200$.Normally you would think house payment power bill or something else.No her boss offered her a chance to go to school and get a LEAN certification (its a safety and procedure course that OSHA likes company's to have)and after that they want her to take basic machine shop operation plus CNC operation.If she passes a course they repay her 100%.The company that she works for was started by a woman and they make Molds for other company's.When she got the job i have to say i was kinda proud.My daughter has only worked fast food(about 8 different ones) and they didn't pay much over minimum wage.The part that i was proud of is she got this job with no help from me but i have known the owners for almost 25 years.Right now shes running a molding machine making test part for customers( if you fish with plastic bait 80% chance the molds came from here).When she passes the LEAN program she will also handle the paper work and compliance with OSHA.once she passes the machine shop courses and has those certificates they will train her in house on manual and CNC.I told her that the average age of a machinist around here is 55+ and as a woman she could work anywhere once she had some experience.When she asked what her pay could move to she almost fell out when i told her start over 16.00$ an hour up 24.00 after a few years.The  company shes with now will probable move her into that range.Last week i took BBQs down for there lunch and to say hello to the owners a worker in the shop told me i need to go in the office due to shop safety Regina the owner informed him i had been in shops before he was born.
    I think my daughter has a future as a machinist.The owner Regina is a great machinist and her partner ray is a engineer that builds molding machines.A female will get a fair chance with them because they built their company working can to cant.I think training a female to run mills lathes and drill presses is fine if she wants it.Its rare but not unheard of.
    Companies are beginning to wake up that skilled people are not available in alot of positions.A shop is a dirty hot place and most kids do not want to do those jobs.I know many companies that have men in there late 60s still working at great pay because there is no replacements.

Doonsday preppers tonite on TV.

        Tonite is doomsday preppers on the discovery channel.I love watching this show some of the people are either crazy or made to look like they are.Now we know most preppers are not as dramatic as they ar made to look.Most people that prepp are generalist there is no one thing that is all consuming that they prepp for.Around here tornadoes are the main weather threat and so i use my basement and storm cellar for storage.Now i don't know about anyone else but my food prepps are 3 levels and cost is an issue

Level 1 is 30 days of food that we use everyday

level   2 is got more caned meat vegetables soups spaghetti's sauces and other single dish items about 90 days worth

level 3 i hope is still unused when i die its wheat rice beans noodles flour corn sugar honey powdered milk and other long life staples  i only  have maybe 6 months worth of calories for me and my wife.

     Now i know this is nowhere near what a lot of people have but i feel comfortable with 8 to 12 months food on hand.I treat prepping as a hobby it allows for other hobbies i love.

Camping makes use of a lot of  my prepps

Solar energy learning its limits

Gardening growing some fresh vegetables (ps didn't plant squat this year)

History i think our future will resemble our past

Shooting i love target shooting out of 15firearms i only bought 2 at a store.(when someone needs a loan i take firearms for collateral if i get re payed fine if not fine ).

Beer brewing and Distilling.learned both from my exwifes grandfather.(i do not drink)

   I guess i became a prepper because it includes a lot of things i liked anyway.I started prepping by accident it was more of a name change than anything.When i first quit working it sure made the first year a lot easier used a lot of supplies up and are SLOWLY putting them back.Did you just wake up and start worrying or were yo almost there before you even heard of prepping?

Foxfire books a must read

      If you have never heard of the foxfire books please look them up online and read 1-5.What they are is a collection of stories wrote in the sixties by high school kids talking to their grandparents great aunts and uncles about life in the Appalachian Mt's.Most of the books are first hand accounts of things that had to be done to just live a lot of how to a lot descriptions of there daily life.If you do read the books remember they had no electricity no cars few stores and little money.
      I have a lot of respect for the abilities of the people in these books .When i read books of this type i look at modern things that we have available for off grid living today vs back then.Our modern mountain families even if they are off grid and living off the land have it so much easier than the folks in the 1800s had.By the same token people from back then knew more about what it took to live that kinda life.If i had to live off the land with only 1 modern item i think i would pick a chainsaw.The amount of time they took with falling trees and making lumber and usable items was huge.A chainsaw would free up a lot of time for other things.You may wonder why not a truck? No roads .Solar panels ?Why a lantern was available and candles.Guns yea modern ones would be nice but black powder was OK and it wouldn't  save time.A fridge? No i have waded a mt stream its plenty cold for milk and most food .So i am back to the chainsaw.Even with a good chainsaw falling cutting and splitting a cord of firewood is a lot of work.Could you do  it using a 2 man saw bucking horse saw then split it?
     If something happens and we devolve back to this level read these books and choose what you could do to make it as manageable as possible.For me a chainsaw is my pick i have 3 and 10 gallons of Coleman fuel for long term.I also have a 10 gallon ethanol generator (a still) that i have used for many years.What do you think your 1 item would be for you.

why didnt I get anything done this week?

     Look we all have projects that we want to get done.If you are married its double the projects your and hers.This morning i got up early to put 10 butts on the smoker to sell today and i got to looking around at some of my projects.Since way before the 4th of July i cant think of 1 project i have completed.So when i get done i think i will make a list of projects ON PAPER that away i can see what i need to get done.What i want to get done.Also what the wife says i MUST get done{or else}.The last year i have got terrible about forgetting to pick up odds and ends that we need so i have a notebook that i jot stuff down on.Now it looks like im going to have to make myself a todo list also.
     I am begining to understand the the term oldhiemers and sometimers all  to well.when i was working i had no trouble prioitizing work and planning a day.Maybe it was because i always had dead lines but now I am my own boss(ok shes the boss but dont admit it)and need to get my act togeather.Lists,Lists,Lists.

Why bib overall matter.

     Yesterday i made a comment on farmer in bib overalls.Well this is how i learned about the men that wear them.
     When i was about 12 my grandfather loaded up about 6 cows for the auction.We has 6 cows in a 68 model Chevy and i mean aload so off to the sale we went.For a 12 year old at his first cattle auction i was mesmerized by the cows and bulls the ring men and the cadence of the auctioneer.The place was full of old cattlemen with muddy boots and overalls telling lies and caring on and grand paw was right in the middle with them with me tagging along.Now you could spot the meat company men because they wore suits and sat on the front row.I still remember when a Brahma bull cleared the ring and the handlers jumped the rail and landed in the lap of the men in suits.All the ranchers and farmer roared laffing.When it was all said and done we went up to the office to settle up.As the bills were tallied my grandfather and a group was betting on coke bottles.The game went like this old coke bottles had a city and state listed on the bottom showing where it was made who ever pulled the bottle from the farther est point won the pool.There was about 10 overall wearing farmer playing at 5.00 a pull so it was a 50.00 pot and grand paw was right in with em.Well one of the girl hollered at one of the men his bill was toted he said who owes who she told him he owed almost 6000 for what he bought.Well he pulls a wad of hundreds out of that bibb pocket and tosses it to the ladie  tells her to peel it off of that he is busy playing.When she counts it out marks the bill paid she hands it back to him he shoves it back in the pocket.She asks him count it to make sure he just turns around and says it feels about right then he tells all the men  he has to go been fun.When we were in the truck i told my grand paw that roll of cash was more than i had ever seen and how could a man dressed in overalls carry it around like that.Old gran paw told me that that man could buy and sell most 10 times and had earned it the hard way.He told me tha if i ever dealt with a man in bibb overall and mud to his knees.He may be broke but his word was his bond and if he was buying he would have cash in his bibb pocket.Well in my life i have never been done wrong by a man in overalls and i have seen handshake and cash deals done in a minute that most men would need legal papers drawn.On more than one thing some of those old timers have used the phrase "just you wait and see if I'm right"I don't drought what life has taught the few that were old bibb overalls .Ever since that cattle sale i know never to make lite of those men.

What will our food options be in 10 years.

       Last nite i was watching a local show it had a local farmer on it.The farmer runs a large U pick it farm.He was talking about most his customers we older because they still can and freeze fresh produce.He said it was a shame that younger folks was losing the knowledge to feed themselves.The old farmer made a statement that rang true to me he said 50% of all food was grown on cooperate farms and if it continued in 10 years 80% of all food would come from a few conglomerates.He said the family farms were dying  due to age and cost lower profits.The next statement he made got my wife's attention.The old man said in a few years it may be not how much food cost but how to get enough to eat and will it be what you want or fit to eat.
        Now that is a scary thought.What if 80% of food is controlled by 5 or 6 food companies will we have a choice or will we be fed soy lent green and told its organic( OK maybe not soy lent green but you get the idea).Marketing is these companies strong suit and when they control the supply they set the price.
        I know i haven't made any new revelations here but i felt it was worth a few lines. I learned as a kid that men in bibb overalls knew a lot more than most in Armani suits.what worries people in overalls should worry us all!

left over biscuts are the best.

      My wife makes good homemade biscuit's a few times a week.Now i  love fresh biscuit's i can eat 3 or 4 easy but sometimes she makes a few to many.I love leftover biscuit's the next day i make bacon grease biscuit's they are simple just fry 4 or 5 slices of bacon in a skillet add a little butter split 3 biscuit's in half place soft side down fry till nice and toasted add bacon jelly more butter ENJOY. Now i do not claim its healthy but its gooood.

no sleeping on the beach

  Some people just cant keep up with us old folks.


the family hoped a seagull well you get the idea

    My step daughter took a nap as we played in the sand.

our spoiled grandson Noah

The little one was wide open all day even as his momma was snoring in a chair. Its funny you have kids when your young but there no fun until you get thegrands.Ever wish you could have skiped kids and gone straight to grandkids? I have.Hear is my sister in law building a sandcastle in the surf.It was more like a hole with sea water in it.


digging is useless on the beach

 Everyone needs a break even an unemployed fat man like me it was nice to have some of the family togeather with us.Normaly me and the wife camp alone but i think we will be inviting our son and linda to go with us on more we had fun.The bigest reason we cant is they work durring the week and i do the BBQ on the weekends.If i worked a regular job i couldnt afford or have time to enjoy life.Unlearn and live!
     It is amazing what you can do when you owe no banker and keep what you earn.STARVE THE BEAST and OWE NO BANKER!!!!!!!

A few pics of the coast.

     I just wanted to post a couple of pics of us enjoying being away from home.

     The surf was mild and the water was shallow so everyone could go in. There is somethin about the ocean that a river or lake cant match.


    Afew hours of sun and surf wore us out. 

blogger has gone apeshit will try more later sorry!!!!!

The things you learn around a campfire.

    Saturday nite was one of 3 rain free nites we had last week.It was also when we had 8 family members with us at the campground so we had a campfire made smores roasted marshmallow's and talked.In this day and age talking is becoming a thing of the past testing face book and tweets are the norm for our kids.A real phone call means something has happened most of the time.But have you noticed conversations on the phone never get to the personal level any more?As the kids went to bed the adults got to catchup with what was going on in real life.I don't mean we hit the high points there is something about a fire and a quart of strawberry moonshine that relaxed everyone and we caught up on our kids real lives more in 2 hours than we had in 2 years.
     The glow of a fire stirs something primal in people like little else can maybe its thousands of years of a fire and groups using the flames to feel secure.We all talked and laffed in a different way than any time i can think of.Some may say it was the moonshine but i think it was the fire and the stars.I think I'm going to make a fire ring here at the house maybe we be able to learn and guide or kids better when they talk open like they did that nite.
        PS i rarely text i do not face book and what the hell is the use in a tweet?If  have something to say I CALL and if its important i drive over to talk.Technology is great but its is not a substitute for interaction face to face.

Florida is wet!

  Just got back from a verry wet week on the coast.When we arrived on sunday the sun was shining the humidity was unbeable mudpuddles were everywhere in under an hour it was pouring again. Our campsite was dead center of a large swag that was full of water but we were dry except getting in the car.Will post more tommarow i need a shower an good nite sleep. Nothing is like your bed at home!

Packed up and ready to go

    Well every thing is loaded except the ice chest. We have let the kids use our teardrop camping so i stripped it down and repacked it for our trip.For some reason the wife is acting like we are going to be in the middle of nowhere she basically wants to take the house with us.This is only going to be a 10 day trip  I do not need  a suitcase of my own we are going to the beach so what if i wear my cloths more than once.Men and women do not think alike if i have a change of cloths I'm good for a week.
   Back when i first got divorced i kept a change of cloths and a shave kit in my truck box because i never knew when id take off somewhere or a cutie would let me sleep over a weekend.
   It seems i have won we have one duffel of cloths and just normal camping gear loaded.{I think i really lost i just don't know how yet}This trip should be fun next weekend we have her sister and our son and his wife coming down for 4 days.I payed for the camp sites and all i asked was Saturday morning we go to the navel air museum. None of them have ever been,The Pensacola navel air museums is a must if your anywhere near it.Oh and its FREE!!!will be back on the first