The Weekend

I went to Costco and bought essentials.


I found out there is such a thing as a saber tooth Deer. Look it up, it is real. A Chinese Water Deer or something like that.


I got all nostalgic thinking about my old friend Peaches. I miss her silliness.


But I have Haley and 4 more great dogs.


I am using my wagon to save my back. I just pull the bags off the seat and they fall into the wagon. Then I roll it to the barn.


I then hand scoop the grain in the container. I am talking care of my back.


We have had waaaaaaaaay too much rain. More is on the way.

This Guy Cracks Me Up

The tan, the confidence, the dog, the flirts, he is almost as cool as the Dos Equis guy. BTW, Southern Comfort is rot gut booze.

© 2013 wReggie’s I’m Always Mentally on Vacation. These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to you when you view, access or otherwise use the blog located at www.wreggie.com (the “blog”). Terms and Conditions can be found at http://reghunnicutt.com/terms.html.

The joke is on Me

Obama does read this blog. He knows my phone calls, my keystrokes as I type this, my internet searches, my email content, my video calls to Bondovia.

And he is building a 1.5 Billion dollar data center to get more information.

Damn. Very constitutional....my ass.

A Contest

A free pack of Newports to the second person who can correctly identify this item. (be nice, this is a family blog)

Goings On

President Obama will be here to see me tomorrow, but I ain't showing up. Its an old trick I do every time he comes to town. This time he'll be at the Quarry in Mooresville, NC. He thinks he is sneaky. I'll be at the quarry Sunday....not worried though....he doesn't read my blog.

I miss Renn and Stimpy.

I miss Beavis and Butthead.

I miss Pee Wee Herman.

I miss Mystery Science Theatre.

I miss Max Headroom.

We may get a bullet train to Atlanta.....and DC Too. My ass can ride the rails fast as all get out to two places I don't care to be.

(Here is an obligatory Picture)



Have a nice day.

The Pudding

These guys enforce Affordable Health Care.

The feds stopped my industry from enjoyment back in 2007.

Sunday

I spent some time Sunday working my crop. Actually crops...there are two tomato plants in that bucket.


I wrapped the bucket in hog wire for support and attached the structure to the bench for more support.

Now I will wait for the harvest.

Feeling Human Again

Today is the first time in 6 weeks that I feel human again. I am healing although I have very strict limitations.

Yesterday I cleaned the Jeep and it took all day. But I paced myself and rested. Then Ludwig and I took a ride.


This morning I jumped in the Jeep early and rode to Bojangles for some ham biscuits with Rush blearing The Spirit of Radio in my ear buds. I felt alive!

Affordable Health Care

Yesterday I went to the doctor for laughs and giggles, and to keep my wife company. Before I knew it I was being dragged back to the exam room where Gigi had been for the past half hour.

Waiting for me was a was a shot for shingles and instructions on what medical inoculations I should get and any procedures I should have before the federal plan kicks in next year.

It seems on demand things like tetanus shots, whooping cough shots, shingles shots, hepatitis shots and colon scans will not be a decision you and your doctor make in the future. There will be federal procedures to follow. Who knows what else?

I was truly surprised.

This is how the feds will make it affordable?

Food Porn

Sorry....the final product was snarfed so fast that I could capture it on film.

Saturday Early Edition

Is this a cool outfit or what? Sir Walter Raleigh the name sake of our capital city of Raleigh, NC. I think this collar is off the hook.


I got the hydraulic jack installed. Cool beans. More to follow.


See you in June!

May

I have pretty much spent 93% of this month in bed. I have maybe worked a traditional "In the Office" routine about 16 hours total in the past 2 weeks. The rest of my work has been off an iPad and iPhone from my bed.

Healing has been strange and very unpredictable. I was in serious debilitating pain before surgery. I was fine a few days after surgery and then the pain returned for about 10 days.

The pain finally left my legs and has made brief visits since.

Overall I am very easily exhausted from most any activity. My body, and face are swollen/fat from steroids that I have chowed down since mid April with this all occurred.

In the beginning I was sure that I would bounce back and be my old self in 6 weeks....that ain't happening, but it will get there. My new realistic target is 6 months.

A Visitor

A jaunty fellow came calling. Svelte, debonair, sophisticated. He fired up a Lucky Strike, and poured a high ball of bourbon.

We sat and we talked about things like chickens, squirrels, and delivery personnel.

After a while he stomped out his Lucky with his bare foot, exhaled, and bid me adieu.

Geezer Proofing

I continue to geezer proof the place. This time I bought a four wheeled yard cart...better that a wheel barrow for general moving stuff. Check it out.


Easy on the back and easy to pull with those inflated tires.


The sides swing down when I need an flat bed.


It can be easily converted to fit my yard tractor.

Plus I can bring stuff to and from my truck like grain, hay, and scuba tank and lift it with the soon to be installed truck bed lift. Gonna strap a 2000 winch on that lift too. It is on order.

Yes sir, that are many ways to accommodate a bad back.

Small World - I Love Technology

The other day I was looking at the webcam about 1:31 PM, when I noticed this sparrow making a phone call from the web cam.

A few years ago this would have been impossible.

How do they make those phones so tiny?

Improving

My most active day in over a month. I usually try and track 7500 steps a day. It was all light duty stuff, but it was movement.

Steroids have me puffed up big but that will pass too.

This is Not a Good Economy

U.S. stands out as a rich country where a growing minority say they can’t afford food.

Don't let a good stock market fool you into false optimism.

The United States is an outlier from this pattern. Despite being the richest country in the survey, nearly a quarter of Americans (24%) say they had trouble putting food on the table in the past 12 months. This is up from just 16% who reported such deprivation in 2007, the year before the Great Recession began.

Read and weep at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/05/24/u-s-stands-out-as-a-rich-country-where-a-growing-minority-say-they-cant-afford-food/

Why do all I see is fat people? I'm confused.

Think Tank Continues - Technical Grilling

Grill theory. The planning. Grill preparations.


The heat. The smoke. The love.


The outcome.

Ouch!

http://youtu.be/2j9QyiOxVF4


This is exactly what I had done to my back.....yowzah.

On this day...

On this day in 1612, wReginald Fabius Hunnicutt IV, began gathering hardwood to make and stockpile charcoal, so that he could enjoy wagon tail gating at the fall rugby games.

wReginald was famous for his smoked haggis.


The tradition continues to this day.

363 to 721.5 Tailgate Think Tank

What do I do in the winter? I innovate. Capacity baby!

For me to sear/smoke 10 pounds of wings at a tailgate, which is a big Costco bag, it takes me two dedicated 22 inch grills.

Half of that space is utilized because the other half is the charcoal fire to create an indirect/baking effect after searing. The current setup gives me enough room to do one 10 pound batch at a time. Wings take and hour, and time is precious pre-game. I need those wing grills to cook the main meat after the wings. So a second batch of wings is no option.

Many times with large crowds, we run short of wings. I needed more capacity without more grills.

I happen to have an 18.5 inch Weber Smokey Mountain which comes stock with two 18 inch round racks.



Reasoning, I bought a third rack and added legs for three racks. Three racks gives me twice the capacity of 1/2 of two larger racks. I think I can do 20 pounds at a time now. Perhaps different favors on each rack. All smoked and tender. (I'm drooling now) That is a lot of wings my friend.

The proving grounds will be June 8. I will attempt a wReggie wRecord of 20 pounds of wings at one time at the quarry.

One grill and one smoker instead of two grills and more capacity. The same footprint and more capacity. I love it.

#hotsmoke

Good Morning

Thank you for joining me today. To read this blog in Spanish press1 now.

What about the rights of gay terrorists?

The only things I admired about my president is he kept his promise to get a dog, and he blew up people with robot planes. How cool is that?

A remote control, a big plane, a joy stick, and a big gun or missile. Then you simple find a bad guy in Pakistan whilst sitting inDenver, and bam!

This kept me safe, and I liked that.

Yesterday, the knuckle head announced he is going to cut back on his habit of shooting bad guys remotely. And he would certainly try to avoid killing bad Americans abroad.

Why? Screw that it is technically illegal to attack sovran nations just willy nilly. The prez so got over that 5 years ago.

So what is the real reason? I suspect some terrorists killed might have been gay. How embarrassing would this reveal be to the administration?

Thursday

The old back felt a little fragile today so I stayed at home and took it easy.

About 10 AM I got a delivery from the John Deere dealer. No, not something new, but a refurbishment of my 10 old plus lawn tractor. It is one of those orange Home Depot, Scott's Tractor brand, but built by Deere.

It had been in the shop about three weeks getting virtually new deck gearing, blades, belts, tires sealed, complete service and tune up. I swear it looks new......but better.




Then I could no longer resist. A few days ago I took deliver of this truck lift. It looks well made and functional. I clipped it together with pins and it was ready in minutes.

The problem will be to get this bolted to the frame where there is no frame. So I'm going to have an extension welded and the base installed by my mechanic.

Gotta take care of your shit, and your back.

Baseball

My Old Pal

My old pal, the big red truck turned 300,000 miles today. A milestone.


I have towed tons of RVs down the road, dogs loaded on camping trips, week after week of tailgating off this truck, scuba off this truck, hay and grain off this old friend, I have towed a few horses, made many trips on business, towed my Jeep behind, and used the tailgate as my yard work bench for 13 years.

The old boy got a new transmission a few weeks ago so I am keeping him a few more years at least.

I have always done the required maintenance and replaced anything that is broken. It has never been wrecked.

Overall a fine purchase in 2000 with no regrets.

This is Brilliant

Supposedly in Boston you get to pee on the competition at their stadium. I need to get some Dallas, Atlanta, Philly, and New Orleans logos to paste up on the urinals at Carolina.

Stuff I Like

Tailgate and grill.


Hang at the NC and GA coast.



Scuba.


And I have done none of the above lately.

Location:Pinewood Ln,Midland,United States

Per Rock Chef

Your request sir.

I'm coming back to life

Slowly the steroids are doing their trick and I have had three days of relatively pain free heaven.

I am staying off my feet and only venture to feed the horses.


The horses insist on my cooking, and the chickens are no trouble either. Twice a day I do this.

Today I ventured out and bought a scuba cylinder from Craig's List.



It is a dandy 80 aluminum cylinder that needs testing and cleaning before I'll breathe from it. It was a steal at $75. Otherwise if it fails it will make a nice lamp base for my screen room.

I simply drove to he meeting place and exchanged money and he loaded the cylinder.

What a Difference a Month Makes

I've been in bed coming up on a month. Every time I attempt activity, the pain knocks me back in bed. Activity is defined as not being in bed and walking modestly....about 5 minutes slow walk to the barn and back.

I am on my 4th round of strong steroids with all the side effects of puffiness, sweats, jumpiness, sleeplessness, buzz head, etc.

Yesterday and this morning I feel better. There is very little pain and I am going out to eat breakfast with friends. I am thrilled with anticipation of shredded hash browns.

I hope for the best and know I am healing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be down this long.

There is a long recovery period yet getting back to my active lifestyle. I day dream of diving and being the independent person I was. I know it is coming back.

Support

I have been over whelmed with support of friends, fellow bloggers, tailgaters, divers, business colleagues, and long time friends. It means a lot to me to get a call, email, text or whatever to just check in on me.

It appears all is not going as it should, and we are devising a plan to resolve my less than stellar recovery.

I will let you know what is going on when I know, but for now the pain in my leg is back along with numbness.

Thankfully I have been able to give rest a serious try and could get used to it, but rest is not helping.

I am able to work some from bed with my iPad, iPhone and two border collies lying on each side of me.

Gigi is taking great care of me, and I have hired out most of the heavy work needed to be done around here on a weekly basis.

So for now, more powerful steroids, rest, reading and keeping my fingers crossed.

Meat Marketing

Grass fed, hand cut meat. Huh? Wtf?
Before, did the butcher tear the meat with his teeth...or did robots cut the meat?
My horses are grass fed. Common knowledge to a 3 year old. Cows eat grass too.

Good News - Very Affordable Healthcare

I have met my $6,000 yearly medical deductible.

$18,000 for the surgery and hospital, and $2,770 for the MRI did me in.

Not bad for 70 days. From now until March 1, 2014 everything is free after I pay $1400 a month in healthcare premiums.

$22,800 a year for healthcare at group rates. I hear my costs will soar neat year when Obamacare kicks in 100%.

People are going to absolutely shit next year when you have to buy this stuff or have the IRS take from you.

So What the Hell do I do With This?

They are $80 on Amazon. Gigi and I have three now, a walker, crutches, two canes, shower seat, and bed side potty.

Seems like I could make something cool out of this.

Life Cycle of a Cooked Hen

Last night it was rotisserie chicken with rice and green beans.

Today is will be chicken soup.

Cripple Upgrades

Now that I am old, spent, and cripple, the mind comes into play. Check out this hydronic lift that I will mount to my old 5th wheel mount in my truck bed.






Scuba tanks, grills, generators, camping equipment may take a bit longer to load but they'll never get my back again.

I should have done this years ago. I may attach a come along for hay to drag it on the bed of the truck.

I Can't Clean

The dog pool is up for the season. God the dogs love to lay and play in this pool.


I can no longer pick up the edge and dump it.....so....I siphoned it yesterday, cleaned it gently with a string mop instead of scrubbing on all fours, and filled it again with minimal stress on my back. I'm learning to protect my spine.

I siphoned the water off the jeep tarp too. Usually I would just muscle the water to the edge and create a giant waterfall. Saved by back again.

My old golf cart has been pulled from the well house and is being converted into a small hauler for stuff around the yard like spray tanks, scuba tanks, coolers, camping stuff, etc. More attempts at reasoning with my back.

I may try and mount the pressure washer on the cart soon to blast off the deck and patio.

I Love This Boat

They really have old Reliance looking spiffy. A lot of decking and staging work was done last year and the hull was painted before the season. Now the top is trimmed out in diver red and white with contact information.



Captain Cook waves from the top deck as she pulls into harbor. Scott Cook is a hoot. I always enjoy his company and remarks.

The Diesel engine on Reliance is old, smokes, and sputters, but seems to work good enough.

It is better to look good anyway.

I Was Indestructable

I have followed the doctors new orders carefully since my flair up and I am better. Bed rest and steroids are doing the trick.

I realize recovery is a mind game. I keep wanting to do stuff because I measure accomplishment subconsciously by the stuff I do.

Yesterday I had a "must do" meeting because of time constraints involved with an investment. I asked my business partner if he could drive me out of town so I could continue rest and yet work. A 90 minute ride in a Mercedes was a breeze. It was nice to get outside and sight see.


Finally, I really like ducks.

A Nice Eternal Place

My last shore dive on St Croix was to this old Danish anchor resting beside a coral head. The spot is about 100 feet down and just a few kicks downhill is the Wall which plunges thousands of feet down. The place is breathtaking.

The surreal images are the closest you'll ever get to be in a living Roger Dean "Yes" album cover.

So I'm leaning to this place to drop off my ashes when the times comes. Mix me in with some Concrete Mix and a plaque, and old wReg should be just fine here for a few centuries.

I'd prefer to be over there to the left, kind of under that coral....a nice place for me and a lobster.

A Small Setback

It has been a week since surgery and since I have followed the rules wReggie style.

It means I pushed a bit too hard yesterday and now I am in the bed by orders from the doctor.

Apparently my walking activity was excessive and I have enflamed stuff in that general area. Now it requires bed rest.

And so I am in bed again.

I'm Not Impressed

My used tire experience hasn't been pleasant.


I was taking my walk and noticed my new used tire had exploded. But, I did it the redneck way and saved money.

Now I have an exploded $25 tire (useless)...$50 in pocket. Could have had a $75 good new tire (useful)....$0 in pocket.

The redneck sorrow continues. I also have a bad battery in the truck.

River of Life

Life just keeps on flowing, but my perceptions have changed. This is my second week of dealing with getting well. I don't much care for this assignment ,as my regular life was much more interesting to me.

But life keeps on keeping on and I am trying to deal with this new reality.

Today I will attempt to go out on my own just to see if I can. I'm headed to a place that replaces iPad screens.

Then, if it all works out I will kill the rest of this day until bed time. What a waste. No interest in cooking, scuba, camping, etc.

Can anyone recommend a good book please?

And Lord, please no more HVTV.

I Am Not a Patient Patient

I am bored shitless. There is not enough stuff to read on the Internet.

Yesterday I more or less built a new scuba regulator. Then I read some, and took a nap.

The body and back are sore. My gut is about back to normal too. How come the gastrointestinal track gets so messed up after surgery?

Honestly, 5 more weeks of taking it easy is going to kill me. It has only been 4 days since surgery.

Maybe after a week I'll get in a groove.

Let The Healing Begin!

I think I am cured or at least on the road to full recovery.

I am at home, and am resting per doctors orders. They say 6 weeks of light duty with no compromise, and no lifting over 5 pounds. Frequent short walks are the key now.

The surgery was necessary. I could barely walk in on my own power on Wednesday. Now, there is zero pain in my leg, and only some dull pain from bone chipping and the incision site.

The surgeon reported major compression of the spinal column so the MRI was accurate.

I plan to rest next week and ease on back into a light work schedule after the 6th of May.

Day of Fog

Chalk down May 1 as a day of fog. Keep in mind I am writing this at 4 AM on a morphine pump so I'm sure things will get worse pain wise once that comes off.


We arrived early around 5AM for surgery. My pain was steady so I knew something was getting progressively worse.

Before long I was set up with an IV and being briefed by the ER Nurse, Surgeon, Anesthesiologist and such. Soon I was given a cocktail to relax me and that is the last thing I remember. Nice in retrospect.

I woke up not in horrible pain like I expected, and I was aware of what had happened. My leg pain was gone and my back hurt a bit but all in all so far, so good. My mind was a fog of pain drugs.

I wasn't nauseated however my body and face were, and are very bloated.



Soon I was moved to a room and met with Gigi and some dear friends.

Drugs and muscle relaxers kept me comfortable.

Eventually as the day wore on I began feeling more soreness and back pain and realized for sure I had just received real back surgery.

I have been warned over and over that not matter how good I think I feel, that I have had major trauma to the spinal column and I must take it easy for 6 weeks.

I woke up a few hours ago after about 4 hours of fitful sleep. What the heck....I have nothing but time to sleep now.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes.



Oh, and the food is not bad at all....just bland.

Success

So far an outstanding success. I know it is early, and the morphine may be talking, but by golly I feel 100% better here in my hospital bed. The legs and butt pain are gone.

Amazing that just a few hours ago another human being was poking around on my spinal cord removing unwanted fragments.

I woke up, was fully with it, and ate a decent lunch.

Tonight and tomorrow will tale another story perhaps but for today I am impressed.

May Day

Surgery is today and it couldn't come any sooner. I am in pain.

I went to bed early, I slept very well, had my sanitize shower with the fancy soap, and I am ready.

I'll keep you posted as soon as I know and fell like posting.

Cheers.