We Received a Nice Surprise:

Good morning, and welcome back to Ridin Out the Recession. What a beautiful day today, it’s a little breezy because of a front pushing through, but it cooled it down some and it’s really nice out. Also, let me say thanks for dropping back in to visit with us again.

Well, Deb and I had a little surprise about a week ago. We had a greenhouse delivered to our place, and man are we looking forward to having it set up! This will really be used a lot, especially in regards to keeping a few vegetables going year round and supplying us with fresh juice even during winter.

We have a buddy, Billy, who has worked around the nursery business here in Central Florida for many, many years. He’s built them, maintained them, shoot, there ain’t too much of anything Billy can’t do period!

So, he’s been looking for us a GOOD, used greenhouse, and the scoundrel came up with one for us. I originally wanted a 24’x60’ or so, and Bill said go ahead and get a 30’x100’, if he could get one run down. I thought this might be a little overkill for our needs, but as Billy says, “You’ll ALWAYS use the space, SO, if I can find one you ought to go ahead and take the extra space…you will use it.”

Well, I got to thinking that if a greenhouse is anything like a barn, you can’t ever have too much space, so I told him to go ahead on!

He couldn’t find one that size, so I told him just to see what he could find pretty quick, because we need to get it up. A couple days later he calls and says, “I have a 16’x60’, ya want it?” I asked him why it wasn’t here yet, he laughed and said I’ll have her to you just directly…and he sure did! My ole buddy, Billy…what a guy he is!

Deb and I both are ecstatic over this, and the 16×60 is much more what we had in mind originally, so the size made no difference to us in the least. We are just happy to have it here on the place, and we’re kinda “bitin at the bit” to get it completed and producing!

We’ll probably put it up sometime between the 11th or 12th of December and Christmas. Deb and I are leaving next week for 10-14 days, then once we’re back, she and our two boys and their families go to N. Florida for her families “early Christmas.” THEN, we’ll try and put it up.

Also from about mid-November until about the second week of Jan. is our slowest time of the year in regards to our paving business. So, this will supply a little work for the guys on the crew as well.

We’ve also got a friend in Virginia, Bobby, and he’s just built his second, or will soon be completing it. That dern guy has some of the prettiest tomatoes growing I’ve ever seen…RIGHT NOW! Bobby is a great gardener and very knowledgeable in this.

He’s a good Christian, and shares his produce with any and all. In these tough times he realizes there are some not quite as fortunate as he is, so if need be, he’ll pass out what not needed by his own family. This is a good example of friend helping friend, and neighbor helping out neighbor. All throughout my lifetime I’ve always felt this as… “THE American Way!”

Sadly, our government has decided it’s THEY who should take care of us, instead of OUR taking care of us! I’m no scholar, but it’s quite evident that they SURE ARE making a mess of things, and have NO concern whatsoever in regards to what they’re doing to our Country.

If we’re not real careful, we’ll soon be known as “we the peasants,” instead of “we the people.” Total control is where we’re headed, and if we don’t pay close attention, they’ll legislate our freedoms and Constitutional rights right on out the door. At that point I can only imagine the number of people saying…”What happened?”

Anyway…

You guys know that Deb and I can most of the vegetables that come from our garden. We love the convenience of poppin open jars of peas, or greens, or tomatoes for example during the months when we can’t get them, BUT, our biggest reasoning, far and away for gardening as much as we do, and putting up what we can was simply…the economy!

We have never for one minute considered being a burden on anyone. With this being said, once we saw the economy headed South, we went into a much more self-resilient mode, and went right into doing whatever we could possibly do to insure if times got really, really bad, we could at least put some food on the table for family and friends.

This comes from the goodness of our hearts, just like I stated earlier, friend helping friend…True Americans don’t have to be made to help, we do it because…we want to! Always have, if you take a look back in history.

So, as you’ve heard me state on our site numerous times… today, food is literally an investment, and a dern good one at that! Deb and I both feel that in these times, there is no investment better than…FOOD!

Food prices are increasing daily, and I wouldn’t look for that to be changing any time soon. All we’ve done down here at ole Dub and Deb’s is simply made our family and friends aware that if times get tougher, we’ll at least be able to lay down at night…with something in their belly!

As I’ve also stated several times in the past, if our economy takes off for the good again, we’ll just eat the food we’ve put back anyway! On top of this, what we’ll be eating will be considerably cheaper than we could replace it at today’s inflated pricing! So, with this being the case, how could this not be a win-win situation? Honestly, I don’t see any possible way it wouldn’t be, how bout you?

So once more, if at all possible, buy a little extra each week. As a good friend of ours likes to say, “The sun don’t shine EVERYDAY!”

In closing today, I’d like to show you guys a video of our greenhouse. It’s not put up, and is literally stacked in our barn for now, BUT, it IS here, and it’s ours!

You guys take care, and God Bless you and yours. As my wife Deb likes to say, “Keep a smile on your face, and one in your heart!”

I gotta tell you too, that in regards to her statement about smiling…she practices what she preaches! I rarely see ole Deb anymore without a big ole smile on that pretty face of hers! There’s no question that I indeed did marry “above me!” Some of us just have all the luck, huh? LOL!

Dub and Deb