The Five on My List

1.Venice w/ Tra.  2.Do The Snake w/ Brooke. 3.An African Hunt 4.Pursue Cut Throats via the fly on Missoula, Montana's Blackfoot River. 5.Thru-hike The Appalachian Trail solo.

I. Tracey has always wanted to go to Venice and If you know me, you know I'm a foodie.  With that being said,  why not dream of Italy. In the many thoroughfares of water, I want to be able to take a gondola venture to San Marco, eat real pizza, see all the architectural art.  The trip is not the goal as much as giving Tra her dream. Sorry Brooke, this one for mom and me.

II. If you know Brooke, you know she is a river nut.  Every day that she thinks we can get a trip in on the river she pushes me until I take her.  Our kayaks have logged a many  o' miles on the mighty Ararat. I don't know if it is the name or the location on the river that intrigues me the most, But The Snake is the river trip I dream off. Sorry Tracey, this one is for Brooke and me.

III. Not sure why on this on? Its not as much of a killing thing but a stalking thing.  It is a chance to hunt things that hunt us. In college, Josh and I would watch hunting videos form Africa (Black Death was our favorite.) That was the start I figure. Sorry family, I guess Josh will be with me on this.

IV.  This may go back to favorite movie of mine.  Fly fishing is a passion of mine, from tying my own flies to cooking my fish if catch. Taking Bill with me on this on. 

V.  Last on this list, but first on my bucket list. When I say Thur-hike, I mean only with the supplies I take in, non stop from Maine to Georgia. This should take seven months of my life, but not waisted.  I planning this when Brooke starts college. Sorry all, I'm only taking God with me on this one.


  

Thanks TT, Court and Ash for your post. They were the inspiration for this post. A little off from your format, but still Five.

New Year & New Me

First it was tobacco...Then in '10 Soda Pop !

'11 Processed Meat.

A few years ago I meet a guy by the name of Mac.

 He was from North-West Arkansas and traveled with a few of the most motley guys you could meet. These folks were the "Tile Guys" for a Walmart remodel I was on.  Lets just say, It was a really good thing they worked nights, due to the fact that they really didn't fit in around here in Mayberry. They worked really hard during the night and played really hard during the day!  Before they started work each day, their crew leader would bring their dinner/breakfast into their work area. These guys would always look a little rough and little gangster at this time, always wearing bandannas Tupac or maybe more thug biker style. And eat they would...tons of food,  One night I over heard one of the guys say...Mac, here is your veggie sub. The first thing that come to my mind was....Tree Hugging Hippie! The next few night I payed attention to their food selections, always no meat for Mac. OK...with me being an avid meat lover and a hunter, I had to ask. Are you some type of animal lover? Why don't you eat meat? Vegetarian? His reply was: NO,NO, and NO. I Love meat, but I have given up processed meat. The only meat I eat is from animals that I have killed myself or fish that I've caught myself. Not expecting that answer, I thought that was a really intriguing and got me to thinking. I had tons of questions....

This was in 2007.

I've researched this concept for a few years now. Eye Opening to say the least. I am not going into the details of my learnings, but now it is time for me to make this change... If you know me, you know that I am a pretty big guy that loves his food. This is good and bad for this venture... I have tried every-kind of meat possible, and liked most of them.

(Pig [Domestic and Wild], Beef, Chicken.

Mud Turtle and Squirrel, Family Favorites.

Gator, Rattle Snake, Frog, and Crayfish.

Any species of Fish, Crab, Shrimp, Squid, Oyster, Clam and Scallop.

White Tail, Bear, Raccoon, Rabbit, Moose, and Elk.

Even a few Bugs, Worms, and one Slug.)

I absolutely love venison and trout, and both are abundant around here.

 I once was told by a lady, you really will eat anything that doesn't eat you first.

 On the flip side of this, pork!!! until now, I have eaten pig nearly every day of my life. Breakfast will not be the same without it.

 Not to mention Mom's Souse meat...

To prepare myself, I been doing something called "Meat Free Sundays", And no I'm not doing this for religious reasons. Thou some of my concepts towards this I have taken from the bible. While I'm on this subject, one little funny note; When I was telling my Mom about this, the first reaction I got from her was this statement, "What type of religion are you into now?" 

With the help from Brooke, I butchered four White Tailed Deer this year. With eating venison only a couple times a week, this should last me till next hunting season or the next road kill...

My last Meat Meal was Mom's traditional New Year's day meal. Boy, and always, she really did it up right...Hog Jowls, Pork Ribs, Chicken Wings and Porter House Steaks.  Even the sides were seasoned with Fat Back.

I'm a week into it now and really miss some of the meat luxuries' from the past. Health wise, I feel ten times better and my systems work better. I've upped my non meat proteins and taking supplements / vitamins to offset the changes. 

By the way, I'm not depriving my wife and child from meat....no change for them.  Brooke does think I've lost my mind on this one, but she helps me stay in check.

Lights Out for Family Time

My mother always had dinner for us and we ate together, everyday...Even when we started leaving her nest, she would fix Sunday dinner. Even now when visiting, it revolves around food.

I read an store in the LA times that got my mind rolling.

The family dinner: Are there no limits to its power?

What a story, It got me to thinking and researching...

Then I came across a web page...

http://www.poweroffamilymeals.com

In today's world there is a major distraction even if you do eat together as a family, electricity and all the things it powers.  

So now all of this reminded me of an old coworker, at one time he ran a Walmart in Germany.  We often talked about cultural differences.  The one difference that stood out to me, was one he called "down time."  In the community he lived in, everyday at 6pm, the power company would redirect energy.  His family would set down for dinner at this time. 

The power thing is not a new idea, during World War II this was common in this country in war industry areas.  The power was needed for factories.  Many "go green" organisations implements a "lights out" to reduce green house gases.

Here is my plan...

Everyday at 6:30 "Power Down" and phones off. (Just an hour)

I would flip main breaker, butt way too many things to re-program.

This is when we will eat.  We already eat dinner at this time most every day, only difference is everything is on.  After that it will be whatever, just it must be unplugged.  There will be exceptions: Brooke's ball practice/games, work, etc.

Tracey knows plan and loves the idea.  Brooke, on the other hand, has no idea. She will be in shock for a few days. This will be an ongoing post, I'll add pictures and discoveries once it starts. We are starting Saturday.

Back To Blogging "What I'm Thankful For"

It has been quite sometime since I've added anything to my blog, But I have been inspired to catch my blog up. In life a person is faced with many trials and tribulations (some big, some small). Most small trials are dealt with and are forgotten, tribulations can and should be life changing. With that being said...Do not forget about the blessings you possess. Sometimes it takes a tribulation for you to see your blessings.

My tribulation: Almost two years ago I went to my family doctor for my yearly physical. Everything was checking out good...Heart, Blood pressure, Lab work. He asked me if i had any questions for him..."Yes, I do have a small issue, My left ear seems to ring all the time." He asked how long has that been going on?..."A couple of weeks now." What really caught me of guard was when he asked me if I still dipped..."Yep." He then proceeded to look in my mouth, There was a small spot on my gum he asked me about. I thought it was just where I had bitten my jaw. He told me that he was going to send me to a ENT and if I had any preferences. No, Which one would he go to if you were me? The one he recommended was in Elkin. I said why Elkin and not Winston? This man is a very smart doctor and is a Christian. Never heard that from a doctor, but I was all for it. We had just started going to church ourselves.

Three days later I'm in Elkin with my Wife, Child, & Parents to see this doctor. He gave me a CT scan and removed the place on my gum. Then told me to come back in a week, he was going to send the tissue off that he removed to check for Cancer cells. I thought I was going to throw up, when he said cancer. I said "Cancer!" Yes with your hearing loss And the place on your gum, also the fact you use tobacco products, we must be sure. He then told me to pray about it and expect the worse.

On the way home, for the first time, my child asked me to quit dipping. I gave her the can of Kodiak that I had in my back pocket. She threw it out the window. I thought to myself...What a profound statement, She really wanted tobacco out of our lives! So I promised her the that I would stop dipping right then...

Every night after Brooke would fall asleep I would say my prayers beside her. The odd thing is that my prayers were always more focused towards Her, Tracey, and our Family. Looking back, I really don't think I knew how to pray for myself. That Sunday at church I saw my name on the prayer list. My brother, who had just started going to church there, told the pastor about my ordeal (Thank's Mark). That Sundays service was about turning things over to God. Not knowing what this meant, I really tried to listen and understand. The service was almost over when the pastor asked if anybody had anything that they had to turnover. Wow! it was like he was talking to me. Shakingly (not sure if I was scared because I have never been down to the pulpit or if it was the fact that God is lead me somewhere) I went down to the pulpit and turned it over to God. What a peaceful feeling I had after that.

The week was up and I was back at the doctor. When the doctor walked in he had a smile on his face and that I'd been truly blessed. The only Cancer type cells the found were Pre-cancer cells and that he had gotten all of them removed. If I had waited any longer, I would have had to have treatments. He said that the hearing is gone due to nerve damage, and that the ringing is there for good. That is No Problem with me, it's just a reminder of how lucky I really am.

Before Thanksgiving my Dad was interviewed by a paper. The question he was asked " What are you thankful for?"...Simply said..."To be alive." How true is that.

I shared this story as my way to tell what I am thankful for. And don't wait for a tribulation in your life to see your blessings.

Now I want to add just one more thing....Our wants or maybe addictions.

Everybody has them, Mine at the time was tobacco. I still dream about it, carve it, love the smell of it, But No...I promised Brooke and I will hold true to my word. In January I gave up my second biggest addiction, Soda Pop. This is tough to... This year it will be eating healthier foods. I am cutting out all commercially processed meats. If I choose to eat any kind of meat it will be processed, caught or killed by me. I'm filling the freezer up with deer, sorry rights folks. By the way, I will not force my family to do the same unless they chose to do the same...There is still soda pop in the refrigerator for the family.

So I challenge all who reads this to give something you think that you cannot do without...I promises it will be super rewarding to you when you make it for a year.

Goats

BAAAAAA!!
Eat, eat, eat!!!

These are the clowns of the farm, Billy (brown) and Willy (black/white). They enjoy long runs with the dogs, eating dropped horsefeed, jumping on trampoline, head-butting anything that gets in their path or on their porch. They sleep in lawn chairs with Fancy the peacock. In their spare time they eat everything in their path including all my plants on the front porch and my ribbons on my door wreaths. They are soooooo much fun to watch and play with.

Horseplay

This is Midnight, our barn cat. She's the keeper of the barn and friend to the horses. She rarely leaves, unless she's looking for food at the front door of the house.
This is Whippersnapper's big baby, Molly. She is a handful. She likes to play the fence like a banjo with her teeth, especially when it's time to eat. She can mysteriously get out of the pasture in search of the feed can. When able to find it, she can take the lid off & help herself.

This is Tra's big baby, Boots. Ain't she cute? Looks like Daddy, huh?

Phil doing a little horse-lovin.

Fowl Play

These are Diablo's Fat White Chicks and his two Vixens, Venus and Victoria.
These are our not-so-wild turkeys, Tom and Tanelle. They have been pardoned from Thanksgiving meals. Tom likes to gobble at Whippersnapper and strut his stuff.

This is Fancy our Peahen. She is available.

These are our trio of Lemon Blue-Red Quill mix bannies. Washington is the rooster and his babes are Virginia and Carolina.

This is Raleigh, our first chicken. He's a widower looking for love. He's a Banny Rhode Island Red rooster.

This is Diablo, the caretaker of the fat chicks and his vixens. Yes, that's five hens he tends.

This is Abe & Mary our Americana pair. These guys are the ones that give us green and blue eggs. Not too fancy.

Where fore art thou Romeo? This is our Romeo, a Polish rooster. Next to Phil this is the next best catch.