New Mini Additions To The Mini Farm

Here are the two newest additions to the Mini Farm.

The one closest is a Jack and his name is Popeye and the other one is a jenny and her name of course is Olive Oyl.
They are Mini Donkeys, it's just fittin.

I did some trading for them. The o'l boy wanted a couple of mini goats and a couple of mini chickens so I said I really didn't think so.
He then talked to the wife without me knowing it and here you go.
He might have gotten the better deal because his feed bill just went down and mine went up. Oh well, you can't win them all.    

What Happen To All Those Days Off

Seven days ago I was so excited to be off work for the next six days. On the drive home I was piratically as giddy as a school girl thinking of all the things I can get done. 
Today was the first day back and I do not feel rested, relaxed, rejuvenation or anything.

I did have a great time and had some really fun days spending them with the family, cooking and building. During those times I did fell stress free. I woke up rested and ready for the day, I went to bed tired because I was tired and I did not need sleep meds to put me out.
Stress free is an addicting drug my friends.

This morning when the alarm went off it was like all those relaxing days never happened. Instantly I felt tired, stressed, tense, depressed and not wanting to get up. Maybe that is what we call being a adult. Whatever you call it I don't like it, but I am thankful I have a job.

I wish there was a way to bottle the utopia of the drive home knowing you have the next week off work. Maybe they already do, I think it's called speed.

Check Yourself

I don't know if anyone as done this yet so if they have I do apologize for doing it as well. I have not had a chance to catch up on all my blog reading.

With Christmas around the corner and traveling at it's most high, I thought I would share the link to check yourself to see if you can even get on a plane.
You can go to  http://www.no-fly-list.com/ and see if you have made the list.

I am in the clear. There is not anyone with the last name Redneck on there.

I Said I Wouldn't Do It But I Did IT

 Yup I did it. I went into town on Black Friday but I only got plumbing parts. To heck with the masses, those people were crazy.

The black pipe I used was a little more expensive than I remembered and what made it worse, I had to pay full price for the stuff.
I was afraid to use PVC inside the box because the plastic pipe is only rated for 180 degrees.
When the sun was out the other day the inside of the box was already at 180 degrees and the glass was not even sealed yet.

As you can see in this picture I used PVC pipe and fittings I already had once I got outside the Heating chamber.

All the black pipe is plumbed in now and I was able to pressurize the tank for the first time and check for leaks.
After no leaks were found, I sealed it up by putting a foam window sealer around the opening and then gently clamping the glass in place. I also put in a thermometer so I can see just how hot it gets.

The rain is suppose to set in tomorrow so I will have to wait till Monday for any sun. I figure while it's raining I will work on the inside plumbing and see how far I get with what I have on hand.

What made the day even better was the oldest girl came out to help dear old dad.

I caught her playing with my camera and a optic lens I had laying around.    
   

Life Is Good Today

Nothing else comes to mind that could make life any better than right now.
All the work is done. The turkey is in the brine, operation clean up was a success and all the food is prepped for tomorrow.
What makes it even better is that I have all my girls under one roof again. Last night I slept like a baby just for that reason alone. The bickering and arguing I once discouraged was a welcoming sound this morning. Oh how I miss it. I had one more day to be my kids dad.

It has been so long since I was able to sit out back, relax by the fire and just look at my piece of ground and the beauty I am surrounded by.
I have a faithful little white dog that does not leave my side, a cold beer in my hand while watching the animals wonder around scratching and pecking the still wet dirt. When the soft breeze blows my stomach growls because I get a whiff of chicken and dumplings the wife is cooking on the stove.  Today is a good day my friends and I am thankful to be in it.

I hope each of you are experiencing a day like today. I wish y'all a very happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Just In Time

Operation clean up was finally a success and just in time to. A huge storm blew in last night and it came a frog strangler.
We really needed the rain but now everything is wet and muddy and there will be a little over twenty folks here Thursday with no place to park and nothing to do outside.
I was hoping to show off the Solar bathhouse to the ones that have not seen it yet but if it is still muddy that will be out. Maybe the sun will be out tomorrow and it will dry up enough where everyone will not be fighting the mud.

The turkeys are gone now. I was wondering if they would ever sell or not.
Tonight I had a guy come all the way from Oklahoma with a horse trailer to get one.
I asked him, "How big do you think this turkey is my friend?"
He said it was all he had to carry the bird in. Overkill, yea just a little.

The wife has really done a great job on the house. The first thing I did tonight was mess it right back up again. I had to make sure I had all the spices and cooking utensils to start cooking tomorrow. It was a good idea at the time, not so much of one now I don't guess.

Who's ready for Black Friday? Not me, I'm not going anywhere.      

Howdy

I want to say Howdy and Welcome to KittyJo and We The People, the two newest members of the Modern Day Redneck Family.

Like I have said before, your comments are always welcome and will be replied to as soon as I can.

If y'all haven't already, please go and check out WeThePeople's blog. Great read.

Thank y'all again and welcome to the family.

BTW - If you get the chance, run by the Bathroom wall page and check out the newest names on the list. You might just know them. 

The Bill Dookie

Thanks to everyone who participated in the little "Name it" game about the shovel.

This is what we have:

This shovel is from the Spade family and the universal name is the Sharpshooter. This is my go-to name when the guys do not know what a Bill Dookie is.

The name Bill Dookie was used for this shovel by plumbers for the obvious reason, to dig Dookie ditches.
It is what my Dad always called it and it is what my kids call it.

Through your responses I have now learned other names for it as well. Here is a list of the different names,

• Sharpshooter
• Trenching Shovel
• Trenching Spade
• Drain Spade
• Bill Dookie (Dukie)
• Gardening Spade
• Thor's Tomahawk
• Post Hole Shovel
• Tile Spade
• Cam Digger
• Skinny Shovel
• Hot Shot
• Peat Spade
• Spade
• Clam Gun
• Number 2 Pointed Shovel
• Manhole Opening Shovel
• Spud Spade

18 names in total for one shovel and I bet there many more out there.
I can understand the confusion. I also call a Spade an Sharp Point and a Square shovel a Flat Point.

The idea for this post started when I told a guy to get me a monkey wrench and he came back with the wrong type of wrench.
Even my kids know to bring back at least four different types of anything I ask them to get because I guess it all depends on the day is what it will be called.
 

What Do You Call It?

For years I have worked with this type of shovel. I have also been around people from all corners of the earth who have done the same.
I have heard this shovel called many names, but there is only one I use.

When I tell someone to "Go get the ______ out of the truck", I always get a funny look and then I think, they must not be from around here so I will use another name for it.

What do you call this shovel?

I want to see how many people call it the same as I do.    

50,000 CELEBRATION

IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE

50,000 VIEWS

 Sunday, December 20 2009 at 7:21 AM, I had an idea to start a blog about me, a close to forty year old Redneck and the life I live and how I live it.
I never could have imagined that MDR would have as many family members as it does and close to 500 visitors a day.

I want to let y'all know, you people are some of the best folks I have ever known. Y'all have seen me at my best and sadly, also at my worst but yet you keep coming back for more.

Those who have been with me from the beginning has seen many changes in my life, in my family and in me. I could not have gotten through some of it without your kind words, prayers and support.

Even though we may be miles apart, the friendships I have made through MDR are priceless.   

My deepest Thank You to each and every one of you who make up the Modern Day Redneck Family.

Congratulations, we made 50,000    

Solar Water Heater Build

Operation "Clean Up" has taken a back seat at the moment.

This morning started off with my Pops bringing over a load of compost and I had all intentions to finish filling the gardens with this, but I got side tracked again.
At least it's here and I can do it at my leisure   

With the newly obtained sheet of OSB, I was able to finish the housing for the water heater and get it mounted on the Bathhouse wall.

I made sure and calked every seem to keep the heat in. (That's the white stuff)

 After the chalking had dried, I started to fit the reflective back insulation board.
My buddy Dave had three badly beaten up sheets of this stuff that he was going to throw away and I told him I wanted them. I was able to piece all the good pieces together and it looks new.

I did not use any other insulation in the box because the only reason you would do that is if you planned on taking your showers in the morning. I would also have had to build a insulated cover for that.

I plan to use the shower in the evenings and being in Texas, the water will be plenty hot.

I fitted the glass just to see if it would fit and it fit great.
If I did not tell you, I picked up this piece of glass at a Lowe's sidewalk sell a couple of weeks back. It was priced $68.00
This is how the conversation went,

Me: "I am not paying that for a piece of glass".

Sells guy: "Then make me an offer".
  
Me: "I will give you a five dollar bill for it"

Sells guy: "No way! 10% off is all I can do"

Me: "Why not? You know if you don't sell it you will have to cart it back in and restock it tonight, plus you know nobody is going to pay that much for a piece of glass"

Sells Guy after much thought: "Give me $10.00 for it".

Me: "Meet me in the middle at $7.50"

Sells guy: Deal

Howdy

Here is a big Welcome and a Howdy to Sarah ,  Shepherd K and Kris  for being the newest members in the Modern Day Redneck family.
Thank y'all for hitting the join button and be assured, if you leave a comment I will reply as soon as I can. My email is on the right if you need anything.

Shepherd K and Kris have real nice blogs and I encourage you to check them out.
Kris has also secured her place on the Bathroom Wall.

Again, Thank you both and welcome.

Also a big Thank You to mmasse. He has added his name to the Bathroom Wall as well.
To see the list of sponsors, click the Bathroom Wall tab at the top of the blog and please drop by their blogs to show your support.