August 19, 2011

  • Things That Bug Me

    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

     

    The Beast got an early morning call that got him up before he was really ready.  It was his buddy that has become a bit of a nut since he and his wife retired, sold their home, bought a custom 40 or 45 foot motor home with a special hitch that allows them to carry their motorcycle and a small car behind them.  The car is in a special box-like trailer.  The motor home has two pushout walls.  A microwave oven, a large fridge and freezer, a wall of intruments near the driver that shows everything going on with the engine, axles, air conditioning and there is also a GPS.  I didn't even want to know how much it cost.  They sold their home for $1.2M AND the psychiatrist wife is on a retainer plus she has a pension as does he. 

    They travel all over the USofA and even hit Canada a couple times.  When they got down to Florida the first time in the motor home, they ended up hooking up with some survivalists.  Yes, all ex-military or ex-policemen.  BOTH of them took special training about hiding or keeping covered as  you face an assault or some such rubbish.  I read about what they were doing and it's like they are training to be Rangers or Green Berets.  They wanted the Beast and I to come down for a week or so and take the course.  The Beast seriously considered it because you also learn to fire a bunch of different weapons.  All because these people believe our system is going to break down.  They have built a compound and everyone worked on fencing it in.  It has a huge area where they are building their homes or spaces for motor homes.  There's room for a huge farm so they can grow their own food.  They are raising chickens and have cows and a bull.  I mean, what the hell?  They chose not to have pigs (I don't blame them there....the chicken shit smells bad enough). 

    Anyway, his buddy calls him to talk about guns and other *men* stuff.  The Beast seems to have backed off a lot on his enthusiasm for what his buddy has been preaching but you can still see it in many ways.  It's like all the survival food we have that is in sealed buckets plus the seeds that are specially packed and has a booklet of instructions on how to gather and prepare the seeds from all the plants included so that it's self-sustaining.  It says you only need an acre.  We are just short of that with the house so I can't even imagine what he's thinking. 

    He's got the shelves he built that is stocked with all kinds of foods.  Canned chicken breast, tuna, beans, chili beans, tomatoes, spaghetti noodles and sauces, olives (he loves those), soups, soups and more soups.  Ramen of all varieties.  Mushrooms.  Green beans, beets, corn, peas.  We have rice, northern beans, black beans, split peas (those he got for me) and even some canned ham.  Coffee, creamer, sugar in air tight containers.  Each container holds 10lbs.  I won't even tell you how many different spices we have plus salt and pepper, including peppercorns.  It looks like a darn grocery store, trust me.  I told the Beast if everything DID go to hell and gone, anyone who had seen our garage and was hungry would be trying to break into the garage.  Baron wouldn't be any deterrent because he's such a woose.  If anyone had ever been around Baron, they wouldn't be the least bit afraid of him although there are times I get the idea that he is finally becoming a bit of a watchdog.  He's very alert if there's a strange sound outside the house at night.  He DOES have an incredible growl and a very, very loud bark when he's upset. 

    I was really surprised at his friends strange conversion to a survivalist's attitude.  The Beast said that they have been traveling all over the country for three years and they might just have a better idea of what is going on with all the unemployment, homes being repossessed and other troubles with our economy.  Maybe they do.  However, besides the Beast's collection of guns and ammunition, I'm glad that's as far as HE has taken it.  I halfway expect him to start fencing in all our property.  It would stop the filching of the fruit off our trees but would sure make me feel isolated.  I swear I will have him declared incompetent if he starts anything like that.

    He's so strange about his trees.  Every single one on the properties are ones he planted.  It was naked except for the little trees that are against the  house.  One is finally a nice enough size that I can decorate it this Christmas.  I bought some solar lights for it even.  It's about 3 foot or slightly more now.  Its got a beautiful shape, too.  The Beast planted another kind of fir or spruce almost directly even with the porch but back about three feet from the walkway.   I told him he needs to cut and shape it but so far he's ignored me.  He said it was planted for me since I liked live or fresh Christmas trees and we have limited space inside the house.  It's a couple hundred square feet short of what I would have chosen for a retirement home for us.  However, this was supposed to be just a summer home for the Beast when we lived in Florida.  He spent two summers here before we sold the house in Florida.  We were lucky to get it sold because the real estate market had tanked at the time.  I didn't have a choice and moving from a 2400 sq. ft. house with a huge screened patio and 3 car garage to a 1250 sq. ft. house was very traumatic.  I gave away scads of furniture, dishes, pots and pans, all kinds of things that I just didn't have room for here.

    If there was such a thing as a house stretcher, I would be using it for sure.  I've come to terms wtih it and most of the time, I enjoy my life here.  It's uncomplicated and we are old now.  It's easy to take care of, especially since the Beast put down wooden floors and we got rid of the rugs in every room except my computer room and the guest room.  I can see him doing the guest room but I will fight for this room.  My feet get really cold even in summer and the crawl space under the house ensures that the wood floors get cold during the winter.  I really prefer to go barefoot most of the time but I have learned to wear my slippers now in the winter.  They are warm and fluffy and I need to go to Publix around Christmas time again to replace them since they are getting a bit....well, worn out.    I can always find them there because they are put out as Christmas gifts and aren't expensive, at least not to me.

    Time for me to go soak my foot again.  Love you all and thanks for letting me rant a bit.  We always have something that bugs us, don't we?  Have a wonderful day.