Raci

So much to catch up on, or more than you really want to know

        Well to begin with and as most know that my dog Babe has passed. It was hard to deal with and doubt I will ever get over her , she was a great dog and in retrospect I have to say I may have seen signs of her time coming around. And in contrast I have found another dog I am trying to save and so far have been successful and possibly what has stirred me to start writing again. Her name is Raci. She is in stark contrast to babe and I will go into detail about all of that later. I also need to catch you up on some other facts about my life I haven’t shared too much about , but feel it is important to share at t5his time. Somewhat so that you understand my frame of mind and need to express myself.

        The miracles of medicine have shown some light on me. I said to myself years ago that I would never let myself undergo surgery on my back, but as time went on and further deterioration of my back left me dragging my right leg and being in constant pain and a future of steroids to possibly ease some of the pain I was experiencing.

        I had heard of some amazing medical breakthroughs and consulted with my Dr. as to what could possibly be done. He was clueless but instead referred me to a specialist. after testing It was determined that I could possibly benefit from a major back operation and insertion of steel pins and a cage to separate the discs and relieve the pressure on the nerve root running down my leg. In fact 3 discs were going to be affected by this operation and a fusing into my hip bone would permanently arrest the degeneration of disc space and ease my pain I was experiencing.

      The miracles they are performing in medicine now–a–days reminds me of a story i heard about this young baby that was born without any eyelids, his poor eyes had nothing to bat away dirt and debris or alert your nerves  to the possibility of something foreign accidentally being projected into the eye. This is a rather serious and rare condition but was easily remedied by taking a portion of the tip of the foreskin of the baby’s penis and stitching it on the eyelid. Minute hairs now would eventually be replaced by darker curlier hairs later in his life. A simple solution to a problem that would eventually manifest itself if nothing is done, and Of course it really doesn’t affect his vision but none the less he will always be a little cock eyed.

       Well it was 4 weeks this past Friday since I have had surgery. The leg I was dragging has seen a reduction in pain and nerve response. As well I have noticed an improvement in my left leg as well. still I am awhile from saying I am having total success in having this operation. I was told it would take about 6 weeks to have substantial recovery. Across my lower back I am still having problems and it affects my ability to walk long distances. I can make it into stores including Walmart and have found some therapeutic value of walking behind the cart. I am starting re-hab this week and will spend time in the pool and on exercise machines as I try to strengthen those back muscles. I would be  happy to just walk longer distances of a couple hundred yards , or avoid that low back pain altogether.

     They went in and cut right over the old scar I had from a previous operation and made it longer to acco0modate the work they needed to do. Discs were trimmed or removed and an elaborate stainless steel cage was built in my lower back with the pins holding my vertebrae at the proper distance thus separating them in the process, muscles and tendons were cut and re-stitched back together, as well that at one point there was a concern that I had lost some spinal fluid and there was a hole in the sack that surrounds my spinal cord. All of this has healed back in very well according to a multitude of medical personnel that have had the chance to check it out. All I can do is take their word for it.

      So in that regard I guess if I have some back pain still, it in some respects could only be expected. Still I want to be able to go and do without regard to what I have just experienced or are still experiencing. This includes the monetary cost of the whole thing. I am looking at close to 170000 dollars but that is insurance scare you money, and instead Cleveland clinic settled for 17000, plus a thousand here and there for this and that. My cost so far is around 4500, I imagine by the time they are done. I doubt I have seen all the bills yet. Still for 4500 if I was buying a car I would expect I could find me a nice old muscle care with a decent paint job for that price. With a rebuilt motor and sound suspension could easily last me quite a while. In fact I have been looking at hummers owned by the government for that price and they seem reasonable enough.

      The money I spent is nothing really if it brings me comfort and reduces the pain I was experiencing even just sitting at the desk writing as I am now is an improvement over the pain I was experiencing before. So far so good is all I will say and will move on from there.

     I woke early this am and immediately thought of my new dog and realized something about her that I have been kicking the thought around as to why I have never heard her whimper, whine, bark , or cry out  since I have had her.  She has a problem digesting and now I feed her mostly canned food and also I buy chicken slices and hold those in my hand so that she has to tear them out of my hand. If I don’t do this or watch her portion size she will hack up what she eats in a foamy mess. She re-eats it much to my disgust, but it seems to be the only way she has survived so far. She has spent most of her time under the influence of an Amish breeder and she had a goiter removed , but she only knows what has happened to her and as I go along I wonder if she hasn’t had her vocal cords damaged or removed to prevent her from barking or even uttering a sound. I couldn’t shut babe up and now raci is the opposite. I feel sorry for the dog and I am doing my best to accommodate her and her condition, including multiple feedings at all times of the day. Part of the reason I was up at 3 this am. I feed her more often but less at each feeding. It seems to be working.

        She is now eating small amounts of dry food and seems to be able to keep that down. I also feed her scrambled eggs. She likes them well and hardly has a problem keeping them down. Babe would eat once a day and she would eat dry food and most of the time I would share with her , and she would eat her dry food only after I had fed her for the day. In fact babe was eating her supper when she passed. I doubt I will ever forget.

       Raci has an appetite despite having the problems she has. I was hoping it was just a phase she was going through, but now I tend to think she is mute, and never will make a noise, as well she will take a while to fill out . She has gained weight but she still has ways no go. The idea of her waking me in the case of a fire may be impossible unless she comes and grasps me with her mouth. This is something I need to work on with her. Not just for my sake but hers to. I want her to come and grab me if she needs water or to go outside to go to the bathroom. This is something babe did almost right off the bat, Raci needs some work. Raci is a smaller dog but I think she has the potential to get bigger as I think she is still somewhat young.

      I didn’t want a puppy to start all over with, and besides there are so many throw away dogs, that I figured a rescue would come along. She has. And she is a handful, including for the reason she is named Raci is because of her running away. She did it the first day and just recently made a dash for it, so I have kept her on a leash since then , it is tough for both of us. I do have a cable run for her though. But walking her long distances is hard on me now, but a lot easier than chasing her all over god’s creation. She does have moments where you can tell she is happy. Sherry my sister makes her happy, being free, and me returning from store when she is locked inside. A whimperless dance is usually executed.

        Well this is enough for now and don’t want to burn myself out, instead I need to write more often. I will cover some topics in more detail as I go along. But for now this should be enough.

what does trump and the presidency have in common? nothing.

Politics of Blogging

   I was told by a dear friend of mine to leave politics alone. Leave it to those who know. Of course what could I expect from a republican, I doubt if any appreciated criticism as much as they like giving it. Can’t say that I am any different as a democrat and you will notice I didn’t stutter. We have our flaws, but we are working on them and for the next four years we can take a backseat and feel free to express our displeasure as often as we like, and who better to have then the clown Trump to lead the way. My decisions to voice my opinions on Trump and the republican regime as I now call it since they do control both the house and the senate and will also place a supreme court justice to replace the one who died under the Obama administration and the Congress refused to fill the seat before elections. It seems like opinions is all we have as democrats for a while. Besides we heard enough about Obama during his two terms in office that surely the republicans can stand to be criticized for a while.

     So Trump is due to take office in less than a couple weeks and has picked his staff of millionaires to surround him , and has in place his token poor white man known as Vice President Pence , who will no doubt be the brains of the Trump administration. I see his role as similar to that of Cheney’s and that would be the head of the gestapo unit or the SS unit. He will no doubt be in charge of filling Guantanamo bay with more terrorists of both the foreign and home grown type. He will no doubt help Israel take over the West Bank and making Jerusalem the capital of Israel eliminating any chance of a separate and independent state for the Palestinians. This will be the cause for a migration of Arab citizens to run for cover to Iran and will also help the conflicts in Iraq and Syria to reignite. In four years of Trump rule we will no doubt see no end to the conflicts that exist, but instead an escalation of terrorist activities and a need for more money to be diverted to the defense department to prepare ourselves for any eventual terrorist activity that may come our way. In fact seeing how the Mexicans are reacting to an increase in gasoline prices by rioting and civil  unrest, talks of deportation and the wall will be hot topics causing unrest along our borders also if they decide to crack down on illegal immigrants. The war will no longer be across the pond but instead in our back yard. We have the rhetoric of trump to thank for this.

       This will also be cause for more money to be diverted to defense to provide the necessary border control to effectively shut down the border. This will mean that domestic programs will be stagnant or will take a hit in funding as we either borrow more money to cover the cost of increased border control or we cut programs like Medicare and Medicaid as well as any health care to provide the funds needed to cover other costs. An increase in the gas tax will be necessary to improve infrastructure and to provide lip service to promises of rebuilding and reducing unemployment which will no doubt increase after republicans take office.

         Regardless what Trump does it will eventually end up in impeachment hearings and will no doubt shadow him in his ability to get anything done. This will be a long drawn out affair and may end when he isn’t re-elected and Congress will eventually turned back over to democrats. Trump is in it for more than just doing his civic duty. He could have done that in the Vietnam war but instead choose a deferment while others were actually dying to get a chance to eventually become president. The oligarchy that exists in Washington will be replaced with independent senators and representatives who offer a more grass roots movement to be re-elected. Trumps meteoric rise which aptly describes his coming to power as he just blasted in at the last moment to win a race that was looking for something different than what Washington had to offer. Democrats tried to push a damaged Hilary into the office when they knew Bernie was a better pick. They along with the republicans will be lucky to have a party in four years unless they both change their ways. Republicans being in charge are pushing their same old tired issues and so will be wasting precious time having the last say, which by no means will be the last say on issues of abortion and Obama care , as well as a host of other issues that seem to never end in the back and forth of party politics. Leaving bigger issues of global warming and coastal land loss as well energy usage associated with burning of fossil fuels, a dying technology that facilitates the administration  to fill the pockets of the millionaires Trump has on his cabinet.

looking back

2016 In Retrospect

current project- ignore time stamp

   This hasn’t been a year for me to write a lot, apparently. In comparison to previous years I was keeping up with the writing and even feeling guilty about missing a couple of days here and there. That hasn’t been the case in the last year. What I did focus on was my priorities, whether I write or not won’t keep me warm in the winter. As of yet I haven’t received any compensation for my writing thus far. Maybe I need to change that and start submitting. Guess that would be a New Year’s resolut6ion I need to work on.

       According to rule 657. 321 of the wc code, it states, there are no rules to blogs and it is yours to do with as you please. I think I have fulfilled my obligation to you as a reader by doing just that, and not following any rules and in fact and although I shouldn’t allow you too, I still feel as if I owe you the reader more. so in an attempt at brevity, I will just get on with what I didn’t write about , that I thought was relevant to where I am at here on the farm.

     I am still trying to manage my pain and at times it feels as if my right hip is just going to drop off as I walk away, with my hip dangling in the air and blood pumping through arteries as I hop around in circles trying to miss stepping on a cat or a dog or a chicken. This would be my luck, and if the dr. would ask me what my pain level is after I get done throttling him I would say easily a 9. 9.  Not knowing if a 10 would be that same leg landing in a mud puddle and then having it reattached and walking on it again only realizing that they forgot to wash it off first. So not only would have gang green and festering union of two organic surfaces coming together and having dirt and debris in the juncture , and maybe a couple gum wrappers and a cigarette butt wandering around inside. This would be close as I can possibly think one could get to 10. Needless to say I have had to make adjustments for this in my life. Also when you are in pain it is hard to concentrate on what you are writing as I am usually trying to figure out what tyo say as early as possible before I am even writing. And rarely have to stop writing except for mistakes as it should be.

      Sentence structure and all that stuff they taught you go to heck in a sec as I, myself need to keep moving as if I am talking. This is hard and frustrating to do when I am hurting so bad. Oh well  back to my plans and accomplishments for 2016.

     I have had to change my plans as of recently as to the design of my house. I need to build something I can build by myself and using logs is hard and so I have been thinking of using the same floor plan but doing it in a post and beam structure. I can buy 8x8 dimension lumber and notch accordingly and install by myself fairly easy this will give me more free span distance and better control of dimensions. I might still do this with a smaller band-saw mill as I haven’t completely given up on that idea. I still plan on using logs and carvings but more as support posts that are carved and more for aesthetics lending itself to a more rustic charm

     My wine worked as far as I know. I sent one bottle to the neighbors and still have 2 bottles in reserve for what I don’t know. My sauerkraut didn’t do so good and although it may have been ok, I just wasn’t comfortable with it. I made app-le sauce and canned it, as well I canned my own spaghetti sauce, and it is a little hot but still very flavorful. I bought a freezer and from sales and other sources have managed to fill it completely and have the one over the refrigerator an average half full most of the time. I didn’t make hay but instead rented it out and that didn’t go the best in the world as they still left half or better to be brushhogged, so I still haven’t figured out what I am going to do this year for sure. Maybe make myself a bio mass furnace I can drop a whole hay bale into at a time. That way I can use my hay to burn and make hot water to heat my house. Would be easier to handle than wood, would. Might have to burn a bale to see how long they last. I can always take the ashes out and spread on field or include in compost to make better compost.

     I started the drainage around the back room and that has made a difference in my current place as I also included good downspout hooked into a regular drainage system . I covered the whole are with pea gravel and it seems to have cut down on mud in the house. I am working on stuff inside the trailer also as it will still be a couple of years before I remove it , so I need to try and improve and also get it ready to be dismantled when the time comes. When it is cold like this it isn’t hard to try and get things done inside. With my back the way iut is I spend time sitting more than I want top. I now kneel and avoid as much as possible just bending over at waist. I try to keep five gallon buckets close to where I am working or just take breaks when I can’t stand the pain. It sucks, and so does the pain, but I need to persevere to get myself in a better place.

     I am focusing more time on important things that will pay me back in the future. Or paying me forward, as it may be. 2017 will be here shortly so I will go for now and post this and tell everyone happy New Year , only 4 more to go with trump as president. We haven’t impeached him yet? Damn.

guess who?

It’s Been Awhile

 

     

         Since I have last written.  I have been lax and at same time just taking a break, re-evaluating what I am doing. Making sure that I am trying to be the person I write about in my blogs. I have no intentions of being fake or unrealistic. I have no one to prove anything to except myself and that can be a task at times.  So I am on a dating site, called POF, Plenty Of Fish  , which I am sure a lot of people have seen or used, in fact I just read a study the other day that said that 30 percent of the people on the dating sites are in fact married.  No wonder you can’t meet anyone on there. Always someone is trying to game someone else. I digress, as what I really want to do from here on out is document my house building. I will take you back to when I started and will hopefully carry you all the way through to a point in time when I have done all that I can do the house , I can possibly do. In those terms I doubt if I will ever reach that point so I guess you could say that my blog will probably go on indefinitely.

        So in that sense I will chronologically bring you up to date with pics and progress I have made to date. I am also finding out as I go along that this is also an exercise in getting my shit together, so to speak. I have had to make changes to my present living situation in order to accommodate my future needs. I have had to install a new wood heater, rebuild the chimney after having it collapse on me. I have installed of all things a clothes line , to dry my clothes and in winter I dry them by the wood stove. It works and it is great because I am sure I am saving AEP American electric power a shit ton of coal every time I cheat them out of a kilowatt of power. I would like to think I am just getting started. Last month’s bill was 1 dollar. Unbelievable but yes it is.

      What it actually amounts to is an estimated bill that was finally brought up to date. They had overestimated my usage and I actually came in with less kw’s than they actually estimated. What gets me is they have the ability to read the meters without even getting out of the vehicle. They just need to get close enough. We have a drive within ten feet of the power pole, and yet they have to estimate. As people say go figure, might as well they didn’t. It cost 41 cents to mail the bill. Hope they don’t get too rich on their 59 cents this month. I am sure the electric will be back up next month. This is the time of the year when AEP threatens all the back due customers so that they can get federal heap dollars to repay back bills. First they have to threaten a shut off before heap will help with emergency funds.  Oh well someday my goal is to not have to buy anything but internet service to keep me on the grid. I have no desire to make a monthly rent payment to AEP or any other utility. It is just like paying rent only with a gun at your forehead. If you don’t pay, your food spoils in the fridge because you have no electricity. You can’t shower or shave, and basically if you were in jail you would be much better off. at least paying rent , it takes 3 months without payment to throw you out of your house. Try living three months without electricity. I am going to try.

      My plan is to invest in solar , wind, bio-gas , or any other technology that will eventually allow me to gain whatever from nature to provide the necessary electricity I need to heat and cool my home as it will exist. What I have to look at is that I have an income from social security that will never increase beyond cost of living allowances. Most times these increases are behind the actual inflationary values, and will fore3ver doom me with less value for my money as I age and need it more. so I need to spend money to eliminate any extra expense I can , so I can do more with what I have. Easily said, harder done.

        So I plan on using the format where I post pictures and directly below the pictures I will give a thorough explanation of what you are looking at. I will try and brief as I have to do all editing myself directly on the blog. And in the main body I will have a discussion and it could be about anything the title might suggest. The title should be an indication of what the discussion is about. It may not always be related to the building of the house, and could include any subject I have covered thus far, and also some new 

just a pretty pic, from somewhere in pennsylvania. 

the above pic of my house is from 7-2015 . at that time i had was still contemplating where to build , design considerations , etc.. this pic is from 10-31-2015 , and i have finally decided that in fact i am just going to add on to what is existing and then subtract what i dont want want after i finish building. in the meantime i will have a place to live . my old place as it still exists today is an old chicken house from sears (the rounded part) and a trailer combined . this is not my doing . instead something that has been bequeathed to me in a manner of speaking. it is nothing i would ever do and that is tie a trailer to anything. i hate trailers. but it is a roof over my head. it is a place to lay my head till i can build better . so here i am using the tractor to excavate out soil in the area where i am going to build. sears and roebuck used to build and sell chicken houses as well as a real house you could buy from their mail order business and have delivered to your building site . the top part of the house part was a chicken house unit , that grandpa bought in late forties and built it on top of the foundation of concrete blocks. peeps at most were kept in there at different times. and people lived there over the years for the most part. we had  an outhouse that served as the toilet for years till my brother jim modernized the house by attaching the trailer. it is an abortion and i hate it. did i say that before?  i will go into why i needed to build here as i add more pics and also describe my considerations i had toi take into account. i will also get into more about how long it is going to take me to finish at least the main part, and some of what i am going to have to do to make it happen . 

 i am going to try and chronicle all changes from the pics i have and bring you up to date.