and so it goes,

went out and did some living today, but no, didn’t hit the water like I would have preferred. Instead, did stuff that I keep putting off for better weather, and guess what, today was that better weather day, Wooohoooo!!! That’s good, because next weekend will be either freeze your tuckus off cold or even better than this one. It’s a flippin’ crap-shoot around here,,,

and I even wrote two more posts to boot. One may get published, the other,,, 99995% chance of round file. Not that it doesn’t have something to say, just that it’s more personal than I care to air here, and the target ‘audience’,,, never mind,,,, Its trash,,,

And I won’t lie, there are times where I wish I were in Mark E’s seat,,, Seems hellish in some ways, and pure bliss in others, and I would rather be camping on some islands in Florida than watching the mercury swings here,,, just sayin’.

Looks like he is having a better time of it today, even though he signed off on the day early. Gonna have a big day tomorrow, getting around Cape Canaveral (likely going the Indian River route away from the Atlantic. Not like he files a flight plan for us or anything,,, LOL)

Apologies to y’all that don’t get it,,, Seriously, what he is doing resonates in the deepest parts of my being, and following along vicariously as I am, only feeds that resonance. in other words, I WANNA GO TOO!!!! (heard as a little boys voice) Priorities and obligations, of course,, gotta stay the course awhile longer yet,,,, (but I can dream,,,,)

20 minutes on the erg tonight. BP as I wrapped up 135/87 with 90 pulse. Five minutes later, 118/72 with 71 pulse. Still not liking that high pulse rate, but I ain’t 20 anymore either, and I have allowed things to ‘slip’ for a few years. Keep at it, it will improve. Lord knows my diet is improving,,, Want to go back to full keto, but have you seen the price on meats,,, F@*k-me!!!

BUT, I ain’t surprised either. Some of us saw this coming back last year with all the processing plants getting burned, shuttered and feed stocks plummeting around the globe. What we have is only the tip of whats to come,,, Not that Americans are gonna starve, but ya may wanna tighten that belt a bit. And if you haven’t put away canned goods for lean times, best get on that. as well as make some other options available to yourself and yourn. Stores around here are full to the brim with seeds (not heirlooms though, go figure,,,) and I loaded up on some of my favorites that I know aren’t ‘staples’ around here. Spinach and such, not so much the beans, taters and corn that you’ll see in EVERY garden here. Even did some horsetradin’ today with Unk,,, He needs some welding done on a garden implement and told me “weld that and I’ll put in 6# of taters for you.” DONE!!! I’ll have that thing wrapped up tomorrow. (hell, I was gonna do it for free, but 6# of tater starters should yield a 100# of spuds,,,)

Neighbor recently bought goats. 5 nannies and 2 billies, and two of the nannies dropped kids cupleoweeks back. Love watching the littles bouncin’ around playing, buttin’ heads and being annoying to mamma goat,, And when they get excited about something, it’s like watching a 4 year old Hooman get a sugar high,,,, HIGH larry OUS!!!!

Americans won’t starve, least-ways, not out HERE we won’t. Between the fish in the rivers and deer/elk/squirrels/rabbits in the woods, and our gardens, goats, and yardbirds,,,, We got this!!! (and woe betide any that think we are pacifists,,, LOL or unarmed,,,)

Thats part of why these stories about “outlawing gas stoves” or all the other greenweenie shit they are trying to shove down our throats goes right by me. They can write all the rules they want, but the more they write, the more they have to be able to enforce, and they can’t enforce the basics anymore,,, FUGGEM!!! We will keep on keeping on out here and when their constituents are freezing in the dark next year, they will have no one out here to blame for it: and we will be warm, well-fed, and able to keep on keeping on,,,,

And talking about ‘gas stoves’ Last weekend, I finally got around to installing the parts to get my oven working. Have had them for a couple years, but I really don’t bake that much so hadn’t fixed it. Now its fixed, and I turned out two loaves of bread last week. Simple stuff, but damned tasty, and what I spent on the materials was less than what I would have spent on two ‘store bought’ (with its questionable ingredients) (and i have enough left 2to make a few more,,, total win!) Feel much better about my abilities too,,,, I’ve never baked bread before, Biscuits, cookies, yup, bread NOPES, Till now,,,, YAY ME!

And something that had slipped by me, but one of my local associations mentioned to me; my little ‘mexican brothel’ toolshed I built back when I started this little experiment of homesteading,,, PERFECT for a smoke house to cure full sides of whatever we happen to ‘bring in’. Just enough gaps in the wood siding (rough cut lumber shrinks with age; I swear you couldn’t pass a business card between them when I put them on.) to allow good flow while keeping in enough smoke and heat to do the job. I would only need to relocate what I have in there (and i need to,,, ) and we have a lot of hickory and walnut in these hills, and bradford pear,,, Good smoking woods. (nut and fruit trees make the best smokers,) Sometimes a prep can be an accidental one: this one was,, 😛

I keep talking about wanting to get out of this area, but there are days, like right now, as I am typing this, where I think; ‘I am right where I NEED to be,,,,’ and only time will tell if thats true or not.