Quick Note

I'm home for the day. Thank the Good Lord for none narcotic pain medication. Movement isn't on my agenda, it hurts.

I want to thank all of you for the kind comments. I'll be fine.

On the bright side I should be able to make a dint in my book stack. Two to three arrive every week but with my work schedule and the normal interruptions of life it's difficult to stay ahead of the deliveries.

Until then.

Stephen

Update

The doctor asked me to drop my trousers. At the top of my left leg is a swollen hard red knot about the size of two softballs. Doc said, "Wow."

Then he said, "Bet it hurts." Doctors, I understand, are considered intelligent.

Bottom line, I'm sicker than I first thought. I'm on three antibiotics, one shot into my hip.

All I want to do is sleep.

I'll live.

Stephen

Bits & Pieces

I feel my age this morning. I hurt. Somehow within the last few days I've caught an infection. The doctors office awaits. Anyway, I'm sure the doctor will prescribe one of his miracle pills and by the end of the week I'll feel like my old self.

According the the calendar it's winter here in Florida. It lies. Warm and humid out this morning. Fog as thick as cotton candy. I hate it. We've had, maybe, three days of winter this season. Climate change, don't 'ya know.

I came in this morning with an idea for a long post. Not gonna happen. Maybe tomorrow, or tonight. Just can't get comfortable. Mild headache.

Rambling, aren't I. Sorry.

There is an outside chance Little Bit's mother, her birth mother, will visit on Little Bit's birthday next month. That is if the stars are in alignment, the earth's crust doesn't shift, and purple rain showers develop out over the Gulf of Mexico. Little Bit hasn't seen her mother in over three years, so I'm not sure how I feel about this visit. What effect will it have on my grandchild when she has to say, goodbye.

Her mother has promised so much over the years and, as is her way, failed. She never follows through. This hurts Little Bit. I hope this isn't another. Little Bit is so excited. Her mother called Sweet Wife a couple of nights back and her mother and Little Bit spoke for close to an hour. She asked what kind of cake Little Bit wanted for her party. They spoke of gifts. Her time of arrival and by which means. Little Bit was jumping up and down with glee. Her mother lives in North Carolina. She has her problems, which we pray she will someday overcome. She really is a sweet person. But, she has her demons.

There is a hole in Little Bits' heart. It needs to be filled. I'm just not sure her mother is capable.

Sorry for the sad tone this morning. Like I said, I don't feel very well.

Stephen

Get Off Your Fat...

butt and take the child to school. Then, return and escort her home, Dad. You sorry piece of sh*t...

H/T Paladin

Stephen

Thanks & Welcome

I seem to have a  recurring problem with the 'follower' thingamajig. I have four nice people which I need to say thank you and welcome but I'm missing one name. Please, whomever you are, if you'll leave a comment with your name I'll take a moment and properly say thanks and welcome. It's important to me.

Now, thank you, Caterina Serra, and to Walter Zoomie, and last but certainly not least to Hobo. Both Walter and Hobo have very interesting blogs. Take a moment and drop by and say hello.

To all of you, I promise to reply to all comments.

Update: My thanks to tiwimon and DFW. If there are any others, please let me know.

Again, thank you and welcome. You are now among friends.

Stephen

God Bless The Children; A Prayer Request

Beth has left a new comment on your post "Heaven Continued; It's The Little Things":

Stephen, I follow your blog tho I have not become a "friend" yet as I am just not sure how its done! Very techo illiterate. Have also responded to your posts about the love of grandparents. Anyway, I have a serious request...my daughter and her husband blessed us with a wonderful granddaughter Natalie. They went on to have a stillborn son, Blaise, at 34 weeks (whom we still grieve for three years later) followed by 13 miscarriages. my daughter is now 22 weeks pregnant with our grandson Sebastian. Yesterday, we found out that our precious little one is in serious danger and needs to reach a certain birthweight to be delivered so drs can address other issues. Essentially, he has stopped growing so reaching that weight will take a miracle. I know how deeply you care for your grandchildren. You know, thru my posts, mine. Please help me to spread the word that Sebastian needs prayers. Serious prayers. As do my daughter, son-in-law, and my granddaughter who is old enough to be devistated by the loss of another little brother. Please pray with us, ask other grandparents to pray that another precious little one will survive and bring so much love, joy, and hope to his family. Thanks.

Beth, as requested. My friends, please keep this baby in your prayers.

Stephen

The Weekend

Good morning, my friends. Yes, I made it back safe and sound - sore too. It was fun, tiring, and since we completed our objectives, satisfying.

The weather out at the Boar's Nest was cool and windy. Perfect weather for hard work. Our goal was to dig, by hand, a trench of 200 feet long, two and half feet deep (in one stretch, three foot) and place a power line and conduit inside and cover the trench in one day. I'm proud to say we completed the job within four hours. Four hard hours, but we did it.

As a simple explanation, the location of our Boar's Nest serves two purposes. It is a location for our group to gather and camp, shoot, and relax. Our firing range is within yards of a nice wild river. It is also our BOL if and when needed. As such we utilize redundant systems, a backup to a backup to a backup.  The power line we installed this weekend is our second means of electrical backup. Our first is a gas operated generator with a hard wired panel. The third system will be solar. These systems take time - we use cash. A person asked me this weekend whey we didn't just rent a power tool to dig the trench. I said we have eight men and a boy....with shovels. We're frugal.

The weekend in pictures, in random order...warning, this post is picture heavy.

The trench. The pipe to the left is a ten foot section of conduit for the power line. The power line is forever known as The Modern Day Redneck power line. Our good friend, MDR, donated the wire for our installation. We've adopted him into our group. As old timers once said, he's family.

We hit water.

Above, Rebel sizes up the situation. We had to trench under the house. He's thinking, I'm slim so they'll make me do it. Rebel is one of the hardest working men I know....he's fine people and I'm proud to call him my friend. As a side note...to the left is our radio tower...it's on the list of things 'to do.'

This is ShooterSteve. He's a master electrician, and a valuable member of our group. Here he's prepping the MDR wire for removal and placement into the conduit. The one strand he holds measured two hundred and forty seven feet.

We had to dig one section of the trench under two sections of fence through a horse corral. Above, the conduit about to be placed into the trench.

ShooterSteve and Rebel as they pull wire through the conduit.

Above, the starting point of the trench, a nearby farm. Here's Duke (wearing the 1911) Rebel, with the young man in the forefront, William, and ShooterSteve, all hard at work on a gas line repair (yes, we cut it). I'm of course holding a shovel and camera. Duke has a unique gift...he can repair dust, torn trousers, tractors, children's toys...or severed pipes with ease.

Above, my friend Duke hard at work beginning the dig under the Boar's Nest.

We didn't work all weekend. Here's a shot of the guys on the firing range. Our friend, Senior, husband of Jacked Up Glock Mom, built us a rolling target stand. We had fun. Senior did a fine job. The stand is attached to a rope. Place rope in someone's hands, tell them to run....fast. Try and keep the front sight on the target and not the runner. All joking aside, the runner is well out of range....

This is Duke drawing a bead on the moving target...look closely to his right, just under his arm, see it in the distance...my camera doesn't do well on long range shots. The river is just beyond the trees. When the river floods it fills the background of the range. Then it's time for catfishing.

Tools of the trade. All these men are exceptional riflemen. You do not want them shooting at you. Each are veterans. Two of us with combat experience, including my friend Duke. Together, God help those that pose any threat to our families.

Just another picture of the range. It was a beautiful day. This is a pretty good shot of Senior's target stand. It has four tires and rolls fairly fast. It's a challenge at fifty yards - the sucker bounces.

Camp life at the Boar's Nest. In the foreground is ShooterSteve's tent...he snores. The fire bucket ready for a night of lies and yarns of old. To the right is our generator. ShooterSteve took a basic generator, donated to the group by Senior, and installed a marine stainless steel tank, 32 gallons worth, and made other improvements. On the far edge of the picture is the MDR deck table...

Just before sunset. Rebel relaxing with a cup of coffee. You know, any man that will refuse a cup of coffee, at any time of day, must be a damn communist. Nice fire. It will be two years, this April, since we began construction on the Boar's Nest. It's been hard sweaty work, but worth the effort.

Above, here is the most valuable man in the group. Please, may I introduce, Jim. Jim is our medic. He patches us up when we're hurt, which is quite often, makes us eat correctly, mends our souls, and is just an all around nice person. Like Duke once said, Jim has the biggest heart among us. I'm proud to call him friend. Before I forget, he's also our group secretary. He collects our funds, sets aside money for group projects and makes sure (along with Senior) that we make group stored food purchases. This month it's Winter Red Wheat. We would like to thank all of the nice people at our local LDS cannery for their help and kindness. Even though we're not members they treat us as such with grace and gentleness.

Another deck picture. I had to post this one of Rebel. He hates me to post his picture.

This is Senior, making breakfast. He did bacon, eggs, and grits. Did a fine job of it too.

Above, an American made kerosene lantern I found at a flea market last year. We use it on the deck at night as a reference point for when we visit the outhouse. Its tank holds plenty of fuel for a long nights burn.

Which has reading materials suitable to its purpose. All firearms related, by the way.

Here's ShooterSteve's fine craftsmanship. Notice he fabricated and installed a muffler. Soon we'll build a generator house and Shooter will wire our generator to a panel.

The fuel filter.

Nice work, isn't it. ShooterSteve, like Duke, can repair a drowned mouse.

And, last but not least, Rebel's 1986 Dodge van, beautifully restored. He sleeps in it....he likes his privacy you know....most of us sleep in the Boar's Nest. We're normal. To the right is ShooterSteve.


Thanks for your time. I hope to be able to get around to all my friends blogs today....can't promise. I've been away from my business for the last four days. I've much to do...Oh, I haven't the time to edit this post, so please, ignore my mistakes.

So, until then. God bless.

Stephen