Tuesday, June 12, 2012

See Ya On The Flip Side

Sale, Sale Sale, At least that is what the Craig's List and Facebook adds read yesterday morning. By bedtime last night, 1/3 of the animals were already sold. A couple of dollars under premium price and you have yourself a sell. I told the wife who is handling all this, do not sell anything if we will loose money. It is too counterproductive and that ain't gunna work.
I am hoping by the end of the weekend we will be down to the remaining animals we are wanting to keep just for the homestead.

Here is the way I am looking at it. I know you can never be prepared enough. I know that you can never prepare for every thing that may happen. I also know that homesteading is a full time job.
All I am doing is trying to simplify the simple life. Instead of selling three to five hundred chickens a year, I am wanting to scale back to having just what I need. Same with the goats, geese and whatever else comes through here. I should not be pushing myself this hard to live simple, It's stupid.

Call it a midlife crisis, an epiphany or whatever, but living the simple life should not kill you. I already have what I need set in place for survival. If you work as hard as I do to live simple, it's not working. I look around and ask myself, what else do I need just in case I need it. I am at the point of creating things I might need instead of building the things I have to have. The one project I still don't have the way I like it is the outdoor kitchen. If the worst happens, I do have an area I can cook all my meals outside now but it is not a full fledged kitchen. I can work on that as time allows.

I still plan to garden, can and preserve for the winter. I still plan to continue to blog in the future and to build smaller projects when I see fit. The one thing I am changing is to free up some time to live while I still can.
Instead of blogging about my losses due to the heat or how I cant afford my next project because my feed bill is killing me, I want to blog about how warm the water is at the lake, how many fish I caught, how many miles we covered hiking that day and what we saw on the trail. 

If you don't understand like some of the emails I have gotten asking why, then let me put it to you this way. I have lived this way my whole life and only until I started blogging found out other people do this for recreation. I don't have a city house to escape to during the week and only come back to the farm on the weekends. That is not what I want, but I am tired of working till dark during the week and working sixteen hour days on the weekends just for simplicity. Call it burn out, Call it what you want.

So, I am going to take some time off, have fun, relax and do what "normal" people do. (That's funny right there)
My email is moderndayredneck@gmail.com if you want to stay in contact.
I will be back in a few months with some of the How-To books ready to go and hopefully a new focus and direction.
Thank everyone for their continued support and being a part of Modern Day Redneck. You are all like family to me and I hope to hear from you.
Come see me sometime. 

Saying all that, I guess I will see ya on the flip side. Stay safe.

MDR   

  
               
  

47 comments:

  1. Good luck with your new take on life! We wish you and your family the best.

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  2. We will miss you, and your family. Come back soon ya hear! Enjoy your time, provide for your family and best of all live life to the fullest! :)

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  3. We will miss you! Don't forget us!!!! But enjoy!

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  4. enjoy yourself and the time spent with your family my friend. the internet will still be here when you get back. the rat

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  5. Now you are prioritizing right! I will miss "seeing" you every day, but do check in from time to time, you have LOTS of folks that will miss you. I will be looking forward to book talk when you finish reading. Take care, enjoy, and if y'all are ever in the Georgia area, look us up!
    Shar

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    1. Shar, I am done with the first one and have yet the time to start on the second. I hope to change that this summer.
      Thank you

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  6. I am so happy that you decided to slow down. Life is far too short to go full throttle every day, and in the summer heat of TX forget about it.

    That time on the lake was a wake up call??

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    1. Rob, I have been flirting with this for the past couple of months and yes, being stranded on the lake did put it in perspective. It is funny how if I can't make time for myself the good Lord will do it for me.

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  7. Well, I don't see anything wrong with it at all. I can't imagine all you do but I know I have seen myself get carried away and had to cut back now and then. I myself wouldn't mind hearing about the fish being caught :)

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    1. becky, I will post some pics as the summer goes along. I can do that at least.

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  8. Just publish pictures. That will keep you in touch.

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  9. Enjoy your summer with your family. We'll miss you but we totally "get it".

    Take care!

    Blessings,
    Red

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  10. MDR, Enjoy your summer! You know we all will be around dropping in and out over the summer. Life continues on!!!

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  11. Will miss you and your posts. However, family and your health always takes precedence over EVERYTHING else. Enjoy yourself!

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  12. go and live, buddy! enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! we'll all be here if you decide to come back. i'm always an email or a phone call away!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. I will be back Kymber, I think.
      You have my number.

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  13. Good for you. Have fun. God bless.

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  14. All of us get "burned out" at times and need to reshift our focus for adjustments to our life. Do what is needed for you to live as fulfilled as possible.

    Lana

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    1. Thanks Lana, I will. The first thing I plan to do is by me a pair of shorts.

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  15. Bravo! Do what is right for you and your family :) I learned through dealing with my dad's cancer, life is too short to be afraid. Go for what you really want for you and your family.

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    1. Thanks Stephanie, I think I might get me a tattoo this summer. I have always wanted one.

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  16. Keep Right On - K. Enjoy yourself, Sounds like you got your priorities right. Kick your feet up, or put them down and putter around, but you'll never get this time back.

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  17. It COULD be a midlife crisis, and it COULD be burnout, but it's definitely common sense.

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  18. We will stay in touch. I am blessed to have found you and your family. I look forward to still meeting you f2f one day when we get back up that way and are not planned to the gills with family.

    You have given so much through your blog and I for one thank you. You have given me ideas and support as well as the feeling that I am not alone.

    We have not only gotten to see your projects but have gotten to know you and your beautiful family. Thank you for sharing you with us. Now take on the day!

    Yes, we will be in touch.

    - Genevieve

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    1. My sweet Genevieve, Thank you my friend.
      We are planning a trip out East this August so I might get a chance to stop by.

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    2. We would love to see you and yours. - G

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  19. Sigh it seems like every time I find a blog I love, they go on an extended vacation.......starting to give me a complex! hahaha

    Enjoy your summer and I can relate, there have been times I worked myself into the ground for the "simple" life.....it takes a lot to wake up and realize while work, it should not be so much work and to keep things down to a minimum.

    Have a fantastic "normal" persons summer MDR! Wishing you a great one!

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    1. All because you started reading MDR Poor to Rich is the reason I am going on Vacation. Did that help your complex?
      No Really, Thank you for your friendship. I will be a email away if you need anything.

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  20. sometimes our eyes are bigger than our tummy...and other homesteads look greener than ours...you have learned a valueable life lesson about living the simpler life and probably just in time too. and you have learned how to say no...i still look forward to your stories of life on your homestead, your creations, and your ideas...you can live simply, frugally, and enjoy your family and home without being at the beck and call of everyone else. congratulations, you have your life back.

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    1. For now Anony. IF this works out the way I want it and I get some sanity back, then I might have to do this every summer.
      The good thing then I will have something to blog about all winter, right?
      Thank you for your kind words.

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  21. Makes complete sense to me.
    Hope to still be around when you come back. Enjoy!

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    1. Thanks LindaG, I will probably start back in Sept or Oct.

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  22. Thank everyone for your kind words. I plan to buy me a pair of shorts first then I might get a tattoo because I have always wanted one and then I might get a boat.
    Either way I will post some pics here and there just so you know I am still alive.
    Thanks again my friends.

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  23. I am SO going to miss you. I am one of your stalkers, I read everything you write,& cant wait to see what new stuff you come up with each day. Oh well I am looking forward to seeing you come back with some great stories, maybe some new canning recipes.

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