https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtLFauQhUCk

so I have been a bit busy here the last 2 weeks or so doing some projects around the house I am staying in.  now keep in mind that all of the materials are being paid for, and my time has been donated for now (I will be re-working my rental contract with the land lord for services that have been rendered and future rendered services).

the first chore was swapping the fence pieces from one side to the other.  why the fence was installed that way from the beginning, I will never know!  but I have fixed the fence issue to where it makes total sense and actually serves a purpose. 

so on one side of the house there was a double swing gate that was approx 119" wide, but it was blocked by a tree that was planted there when the house was built (my neighbor on one side was the second home owner in the HOA when the HOA was being built informed me of just about everything regarding the house.), as well as blocked by several power and comms box's in front of said tree, not to mention the 2 trees behind the fence that were also planted when the house was built (an Asian pear tree and a dog wood tree).  the other side of the house had a single walk thru gate with roughly 25' wide x 30' long of completely open / unmolested / unused ground behind it.

well the HOA president who is a no crap retired Marine Corps LTC (this dude is a true spineless piece of oxygen thief garbage, wait, I wont get into that right now) sent an email to my land lord stating all of these hoity toity HOA rules about having things parked on the side of the road (read my 24' trailer was parked at the curb directly infront of my house).  well when the home owner said something to me about that, he also coughed up the $$$$$ for me to swap that gates / fence.

here is the before pic of the double gate pile of spilt boo boo



sorry, I forgot to take a before of the other side.

here is what I found in the ground on the other side (used to be a wooden fence that went bad and the fence pole was just cut off instead of pulled out......which does not make sense to me because the new pole hole was dug right next to the old.................?) ???







and here is the end result of that side with my trailer nicely resting in its secured area up on jack stands on all 4 corners.



and I only had to lengthen the one big hole for the new pole, but thank goodness they make HUGE cardboard tubes so I wouldn't have to play games with trying to fill in that massive hole or backfill, etc.

and here is the start of the other side that used to be the double swing gate and then became the walk thru gate.  cash here is inspecting things as they are progressing.........;D



and here is the finished fence project.

please take a moment and read this article.  the last section is about spot on!

https://medium.com/@benjaminsledge/the-conversation-about-war-and-our-veterans-we-refuse-to-have-a95c26972aee#.vu9bfmy7p

So what is the consesus on nitrogen in the tires?

so wen I was at the dump the other day getting rid of all the crap that has accumulated at this house from all of the previous tenants (land lord reimbursed cost of dump $116) I saw a guy fixin to throw some cast iron pans away.  I gave him a holler and after a quick conversation he gave them to me. 

as I was looking these things over to see if they were actually good or not, I realized that he just gave me 2 10" pans and one small little newer lodge 4" one.  I told the man thank you and took them home.

here is a pic of one of the 10" ones that is getting done up for my step daughter.

...

so today it is official!!!!!

our fearless site leader is now officially considered OLD.... :o

anybody in need of a roto-rooter DIY kit....... :o

http://bensbargains.com/bargain/10m-6-led-usb-endoscope-borescope-inspection-camera-12-at-ebay-164526/

Darwinism hard at work with this one!

http://thefunnybeaver.com/georgia-shoots-lawnmower-tannerite-blows-off-leg/

Don,

You livin in the tuck, we need to know somethin bout this kantucky pork burger and see how the harward clan makes them.

so this was taken 2 weeks ago, and I have a couple of months until its finalized.

I came across this video and I thought it was an interesting concept / design.  a bit on the pricey side?

https://youtu.be/WP5KbWOe64g

http://www.blackacestactical.com/

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=black+aces+firearms

a buddy and I spent the day having a little fun and relaxation!

today I was informed that one of my soldiers that I truly respected has become a member of the 22!

I am saddened!

please take a moment and offer a prayer for the martin family!

here is the info that I have:
Life celebration of Charles Martin will be Thursday, March 3rd @ 11:00 a.m.
Woodlands Church Atascocita
18111 West Lake Houston Parkway
Humble, Texas
With graveside @ 1:30 Houston National
10410 Veterans Memorial Drive
Houston, Texas
Claire Brothers Funeral Home
713 271-7250

so I have my sister and her 2 boys (2 & 5) at my house till Wednesday. 

I have been reminded for the last 3-4 hours why I made the choice to get a vasectomy when I was 19-20 years old. 

please don't get me wrong, I like children, just not children that scream about everything for absolutely no reason.  I have also come to the realization that these boys father is not a very big authority figure...................#facepalm!

I came across this and thought it was pretty cool and thought I would share.

https://www.facebook.com/doughboy1962/posts/10205860122090363?pnref=story

this has been public information for quite a few years now, why has it taken this long???  people are all of a sudden getting outraged and upset?!

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=wounded+warrior+project+breaking+news

I get to spend the day standing in line at veterans benefit administration just to get my VA claim turned in.



YAY ME!

talk about not being original!

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/01/19/star-wars-character-boba-fett-inspires-body-armor.html

I think the military may have just pulled their heads out of their 4th point of contact!!!!

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/01/13/some-military-bases-no-longer-accepting-ids-from-five-states.html

I am so happy!

here is a recipe that I found on another website, and I thought I would share it over here.

CRACK 'N' CHEESE:

No self-respecting barbecue joint can call itself "authentic" without Mac 'n' Cheese because it is the perfect wingman for barbecue, especially for barbecue with tomato-based sauces.

If you go to the grocery you can find numerous versions in boxes, quick, easy, and loaded with salt and preservatives. The homemade version is not only better, but better for you. It is time consuming, but worth the effort. It is so good and so addictive, I call it Crack 'n' Cheese.

Mac 'n' Cheese is also an important historic dish. The internet is full of unsubstantiated tales of its invention, including the popular misconception that it was created by Thomas Jefferson. The first recipe I can find comes from the book "The Experienced English House-Keeper", by Elizabeth Raffald, published in 1769. It contains macaroni, cream, butter, flour, and cheese, much the same as contemporary recipes.

Cheesy Mac became an American favorite, especially among children, when Kraft Foods introduced the Kraft Dinner in a box 1937. It contained dry macaroni and powdered processed cheese. Just boil water, add the pasta, drain, add milk, margarine, the cheese powder, and bake. It became a popular meal in the US during World War II (1941-1945) when meat, cheese, and milk were rationed. In the 1950s husbands knew their housewives were really stylin' when they riffed on the recipe on the box by adding Velveeta, broccoli, chicken, or even ground beef to make it into a festive entree.

The concept of the dish is elegantly simple and brilliant: Chewy tubes of firm pasta filled with rich creamy cheese that sizzles when it comes out of the oven. Actually a casserole because it is baked, it consists of four components: The pasta, the cheese sauce, the mix-ins, and the topping, and they can be varied endlessly. You can keep it simple by just using elbow macaroni and one cheese, or amp it up with a cheese blend, tasty mix-ins, and a fun topping.
Elbow macaroni is the reliable standard, but there's no reason why you can't use rigatoni or penne, a bit larger and capable of holding more wonderful creamy cheese.

To make the cheese sauce you have your choice of many cheeses, and I recommend several winning combos below. The All American classic is just plain cheddar, but adding zing from fontina, or asiago, or Cougar Gold is encouraged.
You can go with the straight cheese sauce, or mix in everything from bacon to bell pepper to lobster. Then there's the topping. You can go chewy gooey with more cheese, or crunchy with croutons.

Julia Moskin makes her case in the New York Times: "Resist the temptation to fiddle around with bread crumbs, corn flakes, tortilla chips and other ingredients that have nothing to do with the dish. When there is enough cheese in and on top of your creation, a brown, crisp crust of toasted cheese will form naturally. There is nothing more delicious. The moral of the story: When in doubt, add more cheese."

You can do this dish ahead by preparing the casserole with the macaroni, mix-ins, toppings, and cheese sauce separately and refrigerate them a day. Don't combine them until just before you bake it or things can get soggy. And make extra. It's fine as leftovers.

Macaroni & Cheese Recipe:

The secret to great macaroni and cheese is to have a big, rich, gutsy, cheesy flavor. To get there, you can shred just one cheese or a blend of cheeses with the large holes of a box grater. With each cheese you use, you add a layer of complexity. Just be careful, not every cheese will work in this dish. Here are some combos you can try:

A) All American. To make the classic All American version use medium cheddar or a blend of equal amounts of mild cheddar and sharp cheddar. Make it Southern by turning it into a Pimento Mac 'n' Cheese by adding a medium chopped grill roasted red bell pepper.

B) Italiano. 2 parts fontina, 1 part asiago, 1 part Parmigiano-Reggiano.

C) Ole Smoky. 2 parts smoked cheddar, 1 part smoked gouda

D) Dutch Treat. Equal amounts edam and gouda.

E) French Accent. Brie or camembert and fresh chevre

F) International. Mix and match from any of the above or try gruyre, manchego, or appenzeller.

G) Tried and true. Use a blend of cheddar, gruyere, and gouda.

Yield: About 4 servings as a side dish, 2 as a main dish

Preparation time: 1 hour, cooking time 20 minutes.

The Mac:

- 4 ounces by weight of elbow macaroni
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 quart water

Optional (but not really) Mix-ins:

4 strips bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 small sweet red bell pepper chopped into about 1/4" chunks (about 1/3 cup)
1 green jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeds removed, then minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped fine

The Cheese Sauce:

4 ounces cheese, shredded (see above)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk or 2% milk, but not 1% or skim
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

2 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon paprika

About the macaroni. Rigatoni, ziti, penne, and mostaccioli are fatter tubes than elbow macaroni, so there is more room inside for cheese and sauce to collect. Other pastas work fine, especially fusilli (corkscrews), spiral rotini, and cavatelli. Don't spend a lot of money on artisan pasta, it just gets lost. It is really just a vehicle for the cheese and sauce. Click here for a fun website that shows scores of pasta shapes.

About the cheese. Get good cheese and shred it yourself! Pre-shredded cheese may have been coated to keep it from clumping in the bag and it is much more expensive, and cheese loses flavor once it is grated. A box grater is cheap. If you have a food processor you can even use that. To go another way altogether, one of my recipe testers swears by queso and gorgonzola cheese as a topping.
About the jalapeño. You may want to omit the jalapeño/serrano if kids are eating this dish. On the other hand, if you use green jalapeños and red bell peppers, kids and wusses can pluck out the greenies. For extra heat, substitute chipotle powder for the paprika in the sauce and or the topping. But go easy, that stuff is hot.

More optional mix-ins. Create your own signature Crack 'n' Cheese by adding one or more of these: 1/2 cup chopped cooked lobster, crab, shrimp, smoked chicken; leftover pulled pork (without the sauce); 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (not the kind in oil) soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and drained; 1/4 cup chopped broccoli; 1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas an/or sweet corn and/or black beans; 1 raw apple, peeled and chopped into 1/4" cubes; or 1/2 tablespoon shredded truffles. For a little kick, add 1/2 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped fine.

For a creamier version. Add 3 ounces cream cheese and substitute cream or half and half for the milk.
About the topping. You may need more or less topping depending on the diameter of your pot.
For a crunchy topping. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and mix in 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs, panko, croutons, crumbled Ritz crackers or saltines, or French's fried breaded onions from the can, or a blend. I'm partial to Ritz Crackers with French's Onions. Add this last after the cheese.

Optional toppings. Sprinkle fresh parsley, chives, or chopped green onions on top before serving or you can put them in a bowl on the table for people to use if they wish. Caramelized onions have a big wow factor.
A secret. For a brighter yellow color, add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric to the cheese sauce. I also like to add 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder. In a pinch, you can use a one of those packets of mustard that come with Chinese carryout. Make sure it is fresh. It does not age well.

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F and put a 2 quart pot with 1 quart of water on a hot burner, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, and crank it up. You'll need it boiling by the time you get to step 4.

2) Optional Mix-ins. You can skip the mix-ins, but they really amp this dish up to 11. In a frying pan cook the bacon over a medium heat until done on one side, turn, and cook until crunchy. Remove the strips and set aside. Eat one strip. Meathead's rule: Always cook an extra strip for the chef. Chop the rest into 1/4" chunks. Pour off all the rendered fat except about 1 tablespoon. Add the onions, the bell pepper, and jalapeño pepper, and cook until the get a little limp, but not cooked through. Leave a little crunch. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Set aside.

3) The Cheese Sauce. In a 2 quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over a low heat. Add the flour, and, with a whisk, mix them together, and cook for 5 minutes, or until it turns the color of straw. This is called a blonde roux. Be patient if it takes longer. This takes the raw pasty flavor out of the flour and eliminates the grit. Add the milk slowly and whisk thoroughly while adding it, so there are no lumps. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn, until it bubbles and thickens a bit, like latex paint. This is called a béchamel sauce. Add the cheese mix, 1/3 at a time, and continue stirring until the cheese is melted and there are no lumps. Mix in the salt, black pepper, paprika, and the add-ins. Turn off the heat.

4) The Mac. Add the macaroni to the boiling water, and stir. When the water comes back up to a boil, turn the heat down a bit and boil until they are almost al dente, still noticeably crunchy, about 2/3 of the time recommended on the package, probably about 6 minutes from the time it begins to boil. Stir occasionally. Take them off when they are still just a bit chewy because it will cook some more in the oven. Drain in a colander shaking vigorously to get as much water out of the tubes as possible, and leave them in the colander in the sink until the cheese sauce is done. Pour the Mac into the cheese sauce and stir thoroughly.
Optional: You can cook the mac until it is tender, then pour it in the sauce, mix and serve if you are in a hurry. But to amp it up to 11, proceed to the next step.

5) Bake. If you used a 2 quart pan and the handle is oven safe, you can bake it right in the pan. Otherwise, pour the whole macaroni shebang into a 2 quart Pyrex or CorningWare baking dish. If you prefer, pour it into individual serving size oven proof dishes or ramekins. Sprinkle with the cheese topping and then the paprika. If you are going to add a crunchy topping, add it now. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes or until it begins burbling. Keep an eye on it so the top does not burn.

6) Rest. Let it cool for about 15 minutes so nobody's tongue is scalded. That cheese holds heat.

Leftovers:

1) Scoop the leftovers into an oven proof bowl or ramekin.
2) Grate enough cheese to cover the top and sprinkle with paprika or chipotle powder.
3) Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and it begins to brown.

not sure if I have posted this yet or..................?

TOMATO BISQUE (think creamy tomato soup)

ingredients:

5-10 lbs roma tomato's
olive oil
garlic
chicken stock
basil (if you are going to can then do not add this)
balsamic vinegar (I have never used it so.......?)
kosher salt (because of the big granuals)
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
heavy cream
jalapeno's/serano's/habanero's/whatever pepper (to your heat liking/profile.....completely optional)
2 really big yellow onions

directions:

1. quarter onions

2. half roma tomato's and peppers

3. wrap garlic cloves in aluminium foil

4. place all vegetable ingredients as they will fit on to however many sheet trays (cookie sheets)

5. drizzle olive oil over the previous vegetable ingredients, sprinkle with kosher salt (to your flavor profile) and wrap garlic tightly

6. place trays into preheated 350 deg oven for 1 hour (optional step if you like the flavor of roasted vegi's, I have done them on my pellet smoker before and love the flavor profile)

7. blend all vegetable ingredients together in a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot

8. bring all vegetable ingredients to a boil and finish the seasoning with cream and whatever you feel you would like in your soup. (note 1: molasses helps to bring the heat level of the peppers down.  note 2: your spice level will increase after being canned, so if you choose to omit the cream or molasses portion, then you can always add it to the pot after canning and as you are preparing for service.)

9. process in a canner for 90 minutes @15lbs pressure for pint jars, (rarely will I do this recipe in quart jars, because a pint jar of soup for one person will definitely fill you up)!

Can anybody guess where the wife and i are today.......

So today i had to go thru all of my TA-50 and see what i am missing.  I hate TA-50 and CIF.  Not sure on the CIF turn in date yet......

http://faithtap.com/2153/a-christmas-hallelujah/