Its Monday, thank goodness for federal holidays!

Let's see, where to start.  So much happened this weekend, its all just a blur.  Had a friend offer me a go cart for the boys, and of course I accepted.  He said it ran the last time they used it....which was apparently a few years ago.  The gas was still in the tank if that gives you any indication of what shape its in.  Now before you go thinking how ungrateful I am, theres a hidden story here.  About two years ago I bought a brand-spankin' new go cart for my oldest.  Bad news was it was one of those Chinese jobs that ran for every bit of 20 minutes before it quit.  After several trips back to the place I bought it from, they kindly informed me that those things don't really come with warranties and that the next time I brought it in they would have to charge me.  Well that right there should have been enough to get my blood boiling (and my money back!) but I'm such a kind soul and besides, I can fix everything.  Well guess what?  I indeed can NOT fix everything, Chinese go carts being at the top of the list.  Oh I fiddled with this thing for over a year, tweeking this, adjusting that; even had my friends fiddling with it, but to no avail.  After finally losing my patience with this thing, I bought a brand-spankin' new engine to go in it.  How hard could it be to simply swap out identical engines right?  Anyway, this friend I mentioned came to get the go cart after I had pushed it to the barn of no return.  Once an item makes it to the barn, its as good as gone.  Well the friend came and got the go cart and said he was going to fix it and give it back to the boys.  Fine, have at it, good luck, and all that jazz.  Fast forward to now, the Chinese go cart is running like a sewing machine.  Unfortunately he gave it to his neighbor and gave me the "sludge mobile" in return.  I'm a little ticked because it wasn't really his to give away to begin with, but this friend has also done so much for us that I really don't feel right saying anything about it.  So here I sit with yet another broken down go cart with 3 eager boys asking if I have it fixed yet.  So far I've torn it completely apart and have a parts list a mile long.  Oh but no worries, I can fix this.

Denise, over at Nittinfool, has been so kind in leaving comments (which I love by the way!) and had asked to see the planter boxes I built.  So here ya go.  They are HEAVY and will hopefully last a season or two.  They are 8 feet long and 3 feet wide and 18 1/2" tall.  No bottoms so the rain can drain right on through.

Blogging takes time!

Well I let it happen.  I started yet another project (this blog) and after a few feeble attempts, I let it go.  But in my defense, alot has been going on lately.  The weather has been downright perfect!  Mid to upper 60's and plenty of sunshine.  Yesterday I think we even topped the 70 degree mark!  I also got approval to work from home 3 days a week!!  This is HUGE and is really making my life easier.  Of course now they are threatening a government shutdown since our continuing resolution runs out on March 4th.  Good times.

The baby donkey is still running around like he owns the place.  My wife has started a very bad habit of letting him run around with us and the kids in the yard.  I say its all cute and funny now, but when he gets to be 300 pounds it won't be cute anymore.  She says he will have a new home as soon as he is weened....we'll see.  The larger male donkey "Cleroy" is awaiting his new home not too far from here.  A fellow my wife works with wants him and since we really want the miniatures, we are happy to let Cleroy go to greener pastures. 

I built two above ground planter boxes the other day.  They are 8x3 and built out of 2x10's.  Seem to be the perfect size.  I will still have the plowed gardens but wanted to try my hand at container gardening.  If it don't work out, I'll slap a lid on 'em and have perfect coffins.

Today is a busy day.  All 3 kids have decided they want to play baseball again this year, so we have the oldest trying out at 10:00 and the twins trying out at 10:30 and then one of the twins has an Awana basketball game at 12:00.  Oh and I think we have a birthday party or two thrown in later on this afternoon.

Since I'm not much on kids birthday parties, I think I'm going to tinker around with the go cart once again.  I bought this thing last summer for $400 and it ran ok for a little while and now won't run at all.  I have been watching You Tube videos and I think I'm brave enough to tear into it.  I need to find a carb rebuild kit for a Tecumseh 6hp and there is only one parts store that would even come close to having one, and its in a neighboring town, in the opposite direction of any of the activities we have planned.

Anyway, I'm rambling, my coffee is cold and I hear the muchkins up and stirring.  Sorry for the lack of pictures...I'll try to do better.

Most embarrassing post EVER!

Well folks, I've got some news that will more than likely put me in the history books as the world's biggest dork, but here goes....
"Sally" is a "Sammy"
Yep, its true.  My wife and 3 kids all missed the um...ahem, "true sign" due to the excessive fluffy fur and the fact that none of us actually picked the baby up and did a good investigation until yesterday.
So there you have it.  My embarrassment is beyond description.
We don't really want to start a donkey breeding farm, so little one has a new home waiting for him when he is about 5 or 6 months old.  An alternate home for at least one of the other males is being discussed as well, and a visit from the vet for a little altering if we decide to keep one.

Some things just make you smile

Came home from work today and had the opportunity to have some one on one time with the newest addition.  Some things just make you smile, no matter how rough your day may have been.

New Arrival!

After months and months, and even MORE months we finally have the new arrival!  Born this morning probably around 10:00am.  I say probably because we didn't know until the kids went outside to play and came back with the news!

Absolutely nothing.

Thats what I got accomplished over the long 3 day weekend.  Oh I had big plans, including building planter boxes, getting a load of topsoil, buying a new mattress and beginning to clean out the small cluster of woods on the edge of our property that looks like snake infested jungle during the summer.  But instead I did nothing except tick off the folks around me with every thing I said or did.  We did manage to clean up donkey poo in the small pasture around the barn.  Its closest to the house and we really have this thing about piles of poo laying around.  Theres a certain amount of sadistic satisfaction that comes from watching your kids shovel poo while you supervise from the tractor seat.  And I learned also that using large round bales to feed donkeys creates ALOT of wasted hay.  I pushed up the two spots where I had previously put bales and there was just an enormous amount of wasted hay.  So I may need to add a spot to store square bales on my summer to do list. 

I'm home today with 2 sick kids, since I'm the one with the great job with a liberal leave policy.  The flu is making its way around these parts, and I just hope and pray this is not that nasty mess.  I'm supposed to go to Birmingham tomorrow to see a doctor about my back trouble, but not sure I'm gonna make it.  Truth be known, I aint' feelin' all that great myself.

Anyway, on the donkey watch, still no baby.  I spoke to their previous owners and they said that since she had a jenny last time, that from now on she will have jennies.  We'll hopefully see soon.  Oh and the chicken I was supposed to dispose of is no more.  Apparently my wife took her frustrations at me out on the chicken.

I hate heat pumps

Where I live the heat pump is the primary heating unit for our homes.  Outside of a fireplace and some who are tied into a gas line and are able to have a gas furnace.  For the rest of us eletrically dependent saps, its a heat pump.  I argue that a heat pump is the most inefficient way of heating a home when the temperature outside drops below, ooohh let's say 40 or so.  Temps here for the last 2 nights have been down in the teens.  That monster has ran non stop for 2 solid nights.  NON STOP I say.  And the temp in the house is still struggling to stay between 60 and 65.  Again, where I come from, thats too chilly inside a house.  If I could move my legs I would be kicking myself in the rearend for not going ahead and replacing the unit before the $1500 tax credit expired at the end of December.  2 folks I know have recently had their units replaced at the tune of a little over $5,000 and that was with the tax credit.  I shouldn't complain, the unit has been chugging right along for right at 21 years.  And I wonder why my power bill hovers around $300 a month  LOL
Went out to eat with our close friends last night at some Chinese buffet.  Wasn't exactly on our diet, but man it was good.  Then went to Academy Sports and spent my $100 gift card I got for Christmas.  I wanted to use that to buy a new deer feeder to put out in the corner pasture, but since the donkeys now have access to that area, it would be pretty useless.  Donkeys would love it, but uselsss otherwise.  So instead I bought clothes.  Yep thats right clothes.  Jogging pants, Magellan shirts and pants and thats all she wrote.  On the way home I took a little side trip through the Ford dealerships parking lot.  I have the new truck bug BAD!  And before anyone debates the whole Ford vs Chevy thing, I like the Ford because of the HUGE back seat on the crew cab model.  My boys fill up the back seat of my Chevy Colorado like sardines packed in a can, and it gets worse when they have football shoulder pads, or bookbags for school.  You should see us leaving in the morning...3 boys, each with bookbags, lunch boxes and whatever school project they may have had, crammed in the back seat with me and my wheelchair in pieces crammed in the front.  The thought of spending $30,000 on a truck makes my stomach turn, but my rationale of buying soon is so I can have it paid off before my 11 year old (soon to be 12) starts driving and we are helping pay a ton on insurance.  I've looked at used trucks and while some are very nice, they are almost as much as the new ones by the time you consider all the rebates and incentives they have on new ones now.  Theres a part of me though that says forget buying ANY truck because the whole economy is about to tank.  Mindless ramblings to start the day I guess.  Oh and one more thing about buying new.  One of the dealerships offered to throw in the cost of the modifications  for me to be able to drive, into the loan on the truck.  If I buy used, I'm stuck with having to pay the close to $10,000 from some other source.
Today is basketball at high noon, then nothing planned for the afternoon (that I know of).  Todays high is supposed to be 54 degrees, which will feel like a heat wave after the past couple of days we've had!  If we don't go looking for mattresses, I may have to go buy some wood shipped from China and start building some planter boxes for the spring garden.  I have a gift card for Lowes too!  LOL  I'm going to leave the big gardens that I plow with the tractor the way they are, but I want some smaller, above ground boxes (maybe 8 x 10) to put closer to the house.  And absolutely nothing will get done if I sit here rambling. 

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday and Monday is a federal holiday so yea for a 3 day weekend! 
Day 3 of a diet me and wife are on and while I'm not necessarily hungry, I could eat the south end of a north bound mule if it were smothered in gravy and had a basket of rolls to go with it. 
This weekend is shaping up to be a pretty laid back one.  Tomorrow we have a Upwards basketball game and Sunday afternoon I may try to sneak in a hunting trip with 2 of the boys while the 3rd goes to the Shakespeare Festival with his granny, uncle and aunt to see a play about Bear Bryant.  For those not familiar with him, around here he is said to sit on a throne in heaven overseeing every SEC football game.  LOL
Also, I think the time has come for us to buy a new mattress.  It hurts my soul to pay so much for these things, but something has to give.  We've had one of those fancy, dancy memory foam things for about 6 or 7 years and its wallered out.  Wife was wanting to just buy oldest son a new bed since he's bigger now, but I say why not just give him our old one and buy US a new one.  We'll see how that battle shakes out.

Here's our pea patch from a year or so ago.  It was so warm.  I miss that day.

Dreams of warmer days

I am not a winter person.  Some folks get all giggly at the thought of snow, the crisp wind on their cheeks, or bundling up in layers upon layers of furry stuff.  Not me.  I was going through some pictures last night trying to think how I would keep this blog interesting and things I could/would/should write about and I kept coming back to this picture.  This was, I believe, our first havest from last years garden.  My mouth waters when I think of the bread 'n butter pickles my wife made from those cucumbers, the fried okra, the bacon, lettuce and 'mater sammiches and even that ol' nasty squash.  Last weekend while I was spreading the donkey doo on the garden spot and ran the disc over it a few times, I got the itch.  You know the one...you want to play in the dirt.  You want to be able to say, "Sure is a hot 'un today" when you go to the feed store to pick up some triple 13, Sevin Dust or to see if they have a new blade for the 60" finish mower.  You listen to the other farmers talk about how dry its been and we all pray for rain and secretly wonder how many acres THEY have as jealousy creeps into your heart.

Around here things are far from looking like spring.  Last nights temperature was 16 degrees.  Our heat pump never once shut off, as a matter of fact its STILL running as I type.  Todays high is supposed to 37.  I don't know about where you come from, but around here thats COLD.  The pond has a thin layer of ice on it

and I'm sure the kids are going to make us late by wanting to throw a rock or two on top to see how long it stays there.  Simple pleasure that will only take a minute or two, so I reckon I won't fuss too much.

Well I guess its time to make the morning journey into the big city and play office jockey for the next 8 hours, all the while dreaming of things to come.

Chickens

After using almost a dozen eggs just for breakfast omelets this morning for everyone, I got to thinking.....I REALLY need my hens to start laying SOON!!!!
Here's the rooster that started it all.  My son negotiated with one of his teachers at school and the next think we knew, she's knocking on our door carrying this fine specimen.

And yea, I know, roosters don't lay eggs, but I don't have any pictures of the others yet.  LOL

War Eagle

Congrats to the home team!  I'm not a football fanatic, can actually walk out in the 4th quarter without too much heartache, but I'm glad the Tigers pulled it out.  They announced on the news this morning that pretty much the whole city of Auburn is closed today. 

I think I'm broke

Today is one of those days when I would SO like to be drawing a disability check and staying my butt at home.  There, I said it.  I sometimes have what I call "Wimp Days"  when my back hurts so bad I can't see straight, my legs are having muscle spasms and I just feel downright uncomfortable from having my back twisted out of shape.  After almost 36 years in a chair, you would think I would have learned to adjust by now  LOL
Ok, enough whining, off to work I go.  Ya'll have a good day.

Crying Wolf

The weatherman gets so excited anytime there is even a remote possibility of some bad weather around here.  The huge ice storm we were expecting fizzled a little bit.  Oh sure the bridges and roads are closed in a lot of places, so most businesses and all of the schools closed.  Even my boss called this morning to say we were closed down.  But the tree snapping, power destroying, ice storm of the century was a little less spectacular than we all were lead to believe it was going to be. 
We did get a fair amount here at the house though....

7 inches of ice!!

The Perfect Storm

Weatherman says its the end of time, Mississippi River she's a' goin' dry....oh wait thats a little drastic.  But seriously, it wasn't supposed to start snowing until late this afternoon, but as I sit here drinking my coffee I see flakes of the white stuff lofting down every now and then.  Not a full fledged blizzard by any means, but for central Alabama enough to strike panic in the hearts of natives.

Hey guys, the grass IS greener over here!

Yesterdays running around getting things ready paid off because its 31 degrees with a wind chill of 22 out there right now.  I have my wood piled up on the utility trailer, a mere steps from the back door, covered to keep it dry and the boys brought in 2 buckets full of dried twigs and pine cones to get things started.  The donkeys had a full day to get adjusted to their new access to another couple of acres and were running around like excited puppies all afternoon.  I even got around to scooping up donkey poo and spreading it on one of the small gardens and ran a disk over it to work it in a bit.  Hopefully by turning the ground over, the hard freeze will kill the pesty weeds and grass I already see have taken root.  So now its time to sit back and wait for the storm they have been warning us about for days. 
I think todays schedule includes a heavy dose of house cleaning, as ordered by the true head of the house.  I doubt I will get around to working on the food storage closet but after reading Modern Day Rednecks post and seeing what an outstanding job he did, at least I have motivation.  Only one problem I see with his design....he left the light switches open within easy reach.  Now see, that right there shows he put thought into his project.  If I had done mine first, you would have seen the light switches hidden under one of the shelves.  Thats just how I roll   LOL

BBRRRRR

Folks its getting colder by the minute outside.  Me and two of the boys ran up to the Farmers Feed and Seed and bought a load of firewood this morning.  Based on what the weatherman is saying, we could be in for a real mess tomorrow afternoon into Monday morning.  Ice and sleet wreck havoc on powerlines and our house is all electric, so a little voice told me I needed to have something to keep us warm, just in case.  Good thing I got there when I did though, because they were down to only a couple of half racks left!  Around these parts, when anyone mentions even a remote possibility of snow, there is a mad run on grocery stores for bread and milk.  Even folks who are lactose intolerant buy milk!  Go figure.  Anyway, I feel somewhat relieved that if the power goes off, at least I have warmth and I guess push come to shove I could figure out how to roast a hot dog.  That reminds me, we need hotdogs.
One of the boys is playing Upward basketball at a church down the road and he has his first game today at noon.  He is so excited and I can't wait to see him play.  After that me and the gang are going to go shopping for a birthday present for their Mom.  Then when I get back home, my plans are to put some donkey poo on the garden spots and maybe run a plow through it. 
Oh and good news!  After months of planning and working, the donkeys were released into the larger pasture this morning!  They are acting like kids in a candy store.  I'll try to get some pictures posted later if I can squeeze it in.  Right now though I gotta get moving to a basketball game!  

TGIF

Friday was a long time coming, but its finally here and I will not complain about it one bit.  It's been a rough week at work and I have accomplished absolutely nothing here at "the farm".  I have yet to make it to Tractor Supply to get the chain to latch the gates shut, so the donkeys are anxiously waiting.  I swear they know the big open pasture is for them.  Weatherman is calling for a pretty cold and windy weekend with a good chance of sleet/ice/snow beginning Sunday into Monday so tomorrow I will HAVE to finish the gates or else I will be faced with having to move a 1,000 pound round bale of hay several hundred yards around a fence, house and pond with a John Deere 2305, which is not up for the task.  When my neighbor delivered the hay I said, "yea just put it out here close to this gate since I'm going to have the donkeys in here later today."  Ah yes, planning means everything  LOL 

I was looking at my stockpile closet last night and I have my work cut out for me.  It's a bigger mess than I thought. 
At least its close to our old cast iron stove, in case we have to resort to using that! 

New Year, bad old habits

Well, as is the case with many of the projects I start, I have gotten off to a bad start with blogging by not keeping it a daily part of my routine.  I will do my best to change that.  In my defense, I have spent a great deal of time over the past few days contemplating where I am in life, where I need to be and how to get there while making sure my family is on board.  After reading Modern Day Rednecks blog the other day, I was relieved....nay OVERJOYED to know that I am not the only one thinking about "what if IT hits the fan".  My wife is as sweet and loving as the day is long, but she is not much for non sense, hearsay and what if thinking.  So after months of me casually mentioning having a small stockpile of things "just in case" I was absolutely floored when she came up a few weeks ago and said I could take over the closet in the foyer and turn it into our stockpile!!!  Its only about 8 x 3 with bi fold doors, but it beats nothing.  Its currently crammed full of my hunting gear and tools, so I have a strong suspicion she is just using that as a way to get me to clean it out! 
But in all seriousness I am struggling with the whole prepping thing because I am a pre-tribulation believer.  I believe my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, will return to this earth and take his people into heaven with him before the 7 year tribulation begins.  So if I begin preparing for "IT" am I really denying that I trust in God to take care of me??  But the other side of me says that the Isrealites were allowed to roam the desert for 40 years.  And I keep thinking what we consider as bad times are NOTHING compared to what folks back in biblical days had to contend with.  They would laugh at us for getting all in a frenzy because we were without electricity for a day or two.  So if any of my fellow Christians care to share your thoughts, either in favor of, or against stockpiling and prepping, I'm all ears.
Now to happier thoughts.  I came home from work Monday evening right at dark (as usual) to find my oldest pounding the metal t-post to fill in the gap between the gate and the corner post where someone had set the posts too far out and left a gap.  I was so happy!  So I rushed right out and tacked up the pieces of chain I was going to use to secure the gates when as luck would have it, my chain was too short!  Sooo, the donkeys will have to wait until I get by Tractor Supply to get some more chain before they can enjoy to tall grass that awaits them. 
Since its the New Year and its customary for me to make resolutions that I rarely keep, this year shall be no exception.  So here goes...
1.  Get organized!!  Throw out and clean up.  I am a pack rat when it comes to old bank statements, tax returns and stuff that I'm not sure if I should keep or throw away.  I have a folder that has ever owners manual to every appliance, tool, etc. that I have ever bought.  I'm so ashamed.
2.  Turn closet into mini stockpile once I am comfortable with my decision.  If I decide not to stockpile, then it will remain as is.
3.  Lose weight.  Yea I probably just lost some credits on my man card for that one, but man I have GOT to.  I feel like a slug and hoisting my heavy self up on the tractor and into my truck and pushing this wheelchair around are taking their toll on my shoulders and wrists.  Part of that is cooking and eating healthier.
4.  Speaking of cooking and eating healthier, I will begin taking a stronger role in the cooking.  Being in a wheelchair, I have to ask my wife to handle chores that I would normally do, so its only fair that I exchange some duties.  I will pledge to make weekly menus so she will know what to buy and I will cook more.
Well thats all I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure I'll come up with more as I go.
Hopefully in the days to come I will share my plans for this years garden!  I am excited about it and can't wait to play in the dirt.  I also hope to chronicle a first for me....desposing of a chicken that is not healthy.

It all begins

After being told NUMEROUS times that I should write a book, I am finally making it a 2011 goal to start a blog that will document our life on our little slice of the world.  Up front I want to apologize for the title being a little crude, but hopefully over time you can forgive me as I explain how I came about the name.
I guess I should maybe introduce me and my family to you.  I'm Steve, a 42 year old average 'Joe' living in central Alabama.  I was in a car wreck when I was 7 years old that left me a T-2 paraplegic.  For those that don't have a clue what that means, it means my back was broken on the 2nd thoracic vertebrae, leaving me paralyzed from about the armpits down.  To me and my closest friends it only means I sit down....alot.  Over time I hope you will realize I am not your average person with a disability.  I assure you though, everything I write is true, so if I say I dug post holes, then you can bet your bottom dollar I dug post holes.

I am married to the most beautiful woman I have ever had the fortune of meeting.  She literally came into my life at a time when I had hit rock bottom.  Despite that, she loved me then for who I've become now.  I say that a little tongue in cheek, because I don't see how anyone except Jesus could have loved me as I was. She is rather picky about me saying stuff about her, so if I don't mention alot of detail about her, that is why.  We have 3 wonderful children, all boys, ages 11, 7 & 7.  Yes twins.

Now for the secret behind the name of this blog.  A few months ago my wife had an opportunity to bring 4 donkeys into our little world.  I had never been around donkeys, nor had I ever had the desire.  I looked at them as a possible way of reducing the amount of grass I have to mow in the Alabama heat, so I said sure.  I was under the impression they were miniatures (hence 'half assed' ), when in fact I think 2 of them MAY be a little smaller than your normal donkey, while 2 of them to me appear to be standard size.  In any case, they are here and we've fallen in love with them.  We also have a few chickens that we hope will help subsidize the 1/2 dozen scrambled egg habit my boys have gotten used to every morning.  We have one cat that showed up as a wild kitten this past summer and a small 1/4 acre pond with some catfish and a few bass.

I don't want to bore anyone on my first post, so I'm going to leave it at that for now.  This is my first attempt at any sort of writing or blogging, so if you have any suggestions, please share.