PP #11: Settling in to a new settler lifestyle.
Project: Pioneer #11 December 10, 2023 (Sunday 4pm)
Yesterday we did our last big round of organizing—Giavana working the Red House inside hard while I focused on the outside (with pretty nice weather, unlike the disaster in our last post!). Little Pia split her time between us, likely focusing on where and when she was likely to receive a treat, and when it grew too cold for her outside. She’s liking the freedom to roam and be outside more, unlike our stuffy 3rd floor former apartment. So are we!
Project: Pioneer is the live reality journal of a couple and their small dog as they leave their ‘normal’ life in a luxury apartment for a new semi-off grid life in a small recreational vehicle, just at the start of winter. We cover prepping, politics, spirituality, afterlife, RV life, and personal finance. (Audio at this link, Apple, and Spotify)
The clock is ticking, as a pretty bad storm is due in later today into tomorrow, so the outside needed to be buttoned up. High winds and heavy downpours can cause a lot of damage. Much of our stuff went into the underbelly, some into the nosecone storage area, some in the new large deck boxes we bought, some in the trash. This life forces you to examine every item—do we really need this? Do we ever use this? How often? Some very useful items for us are the adhesive hooks and hangers for kitchen/bath and shoes that actually work and hold (don’t want to be drilling holes into Red House),
Just in time, too. My Oura ring has changed its tone from its usual cheerful daily health assessments to using language like “Take it easy today,” “You’re overdoing it,” “Your resting heart rate is high,” and “Your daily stress levels appear elevated.” Whoever thought a piece of (highly intelligent) jewelry could be a Debbie Downer (or, a nag)?
The good news is that everything is now within arm’s reach. The bad news is that everything is within arm’s reach. We have to find ways to exercise. The gym at our old apartment complex is now off-limits to us. We don’t want to end up like those folks in the intro to Wall-E (overall, our species is devolving into this).
I forgot to fill you in on our sewer journey! The big test has arrived, as we’re using “the facilities” regularly now. I’m happy to report that so far, everything is working amazingly well. I’m conditioning that statement because freezing weather can change things, and we haven’t had much yet. Anyway, I take pleasure and pride in pulling those black and grey levers and watching the free flow through the clear end joints of my sewer handiwork. I guess I’m easily entertained, but it’s a huge relief. Our next door neighbor spent most of yesterday battling a clog, and I hope we never have to endure that!
On that subject, remember the Naughty by Nature hit O.P.P? You down with the OPP? We hope not. But, we’re down with the OPB, i.e learning to be strategic about “Other People Bathrooms.” We learn where the nice clean ones are at the restaurants and stores we frequent and use their water and sewer facilities, saving us work and stress on our systems. It may sound ridiculous, but the next post will focus on what happens when the “stuff goes down” and you may be forced into an evacuation with very few or none of your possessions. Since I tend to go down rabbit holes with hacks like this, Giavana has called me out by half-seriously suggesting I just wear adult diapers. I’m not quite ready “to go” there yet :-) However, we are surrounded by nice woodlands… Again, you have to learn to acclimate to survive.
Our other neighbor had a good quip, he said “camping is cramping” when we were talking about how to fit everything into such a small space. But, others do this, right? People live in small hotel/motel rooms and FEMA trailers after disasters. Europeans and other people around the world live in notoriously small spaces (we are spoiled here). Then there’s the tiny house movement. Astronauts live in much smaller spaces, and that’s what we are, all of us, cosmonauts hurtling through space together on this beautiful small blue marble, quibbling and killing each other over the pettiest of grievances.
Our little community had a small holiday gathering today. All pioneers together exchanging small secret Santa gifts, tips for the winter, neighbors who truly know and help each other on a daily basis. You don’t see that very often these days.
Although we can no longer leverage economies of scale by buying Costco-size bulk packages of the items we use, and must now buy the more expensive per unit smaller sizes, overall we’re saving a ton. You should know your monthly cash flow, even if only at a high level. Mint is gone now, and I feel the best tool to use is Simplifi. I felt bad trading my Prius for a truck, from an environmental perspective, but we don’t drive much and our overall environmental impact is now much, much lower. We print far less, instead doing a lot more online. We consume far less heating fuel.
Our biggest battle is with moisture/humidity inside. We’ve tried this smaller dehumidifier, this larger one (top rated on Consumer Reports, but way too big for our little RV!), and now settling on this mid-side one. All are fantastic. We’ve covered our windows inside and out with the amazing Reflectix foil insulation (way better than the clear shrink wrap stuff). DampRid is also great, both the hanging ones and the tubs. The key is air flow, and keeping things from touching the walls, much like in my old scouting days we learned never to touch the sides of the tent when inside during the rain. I have a novel on the planning board that’s a boyhood adventure similar to one of my old favorites, My Side of the Mountain, a wonderful book about running away, to the woods and mountains, with a lot of prepper content as well! I like writing books kids can read, like my DroidMesh sci-fi trilogy.
Oh, about those fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars I mentioned in the last journal. One day last week, Giavana, Pia, and I were all settled in for the day, working at our stations, when there was a sudden rev of an engine and loud impact. Our neighbor had some kind of incident while pulling into her parking spot, and slammed into a picnic table and one of the support beams holding up the large metal roof and structure over our group of RVs. We ran out to help, Giavana asking medical questions to assess her state and I was evaluating the danger from vehicle leakage. Her husband came out immediately but unsurprisingly seemed to be in shock, as his wife was screaming in pain. Giavana called 911, which prompted the big community response. We were close to being evacuated, but in the end it wasn’t necessary. The car was totaled, she was taken in an ambulance and is home now with some fractures. The structure is under assessment. It’s always something, never a dull moment!
What’s next? So, that’s where we’re at currently. It’ll get harder when the cold comes, for sure. The next journal entry will focus on the prepping aspect of all this. We’ll share techniques and products that are essential for anyone. Do yourself a favor—watch the new Netflix movie Leave the World Behind. That’s about how it’s likely to go down (except, this one gratuitously left in power, whereas it will likely be out, so even worse. Suddenly, without warning, there will be no power, no communication, no internet, no GPS, no open stores or gas stations, and probably no water. Panic, chaos, looting will ensue. Is your gas tank full right now? Do you have a paper road atlas in your vehicle?
We have a lot to cover! And how timely, as the new Speaker of the House, second in line to the Presidency, had just claimed that God spoke to him, anointed him to that position, and then he compared himself to Moses. Yet, he wears a Rolex worth thousands but claims to have no financial assets, despite making hundreds of thousands per year along with his wife’s anti-gay deprogramming business for quite some time. Did Jesus ask him to help architect the overthrow of our democracy, the will of the voters, back in January 2021, as he did, and put the legit anti-Christ back in charge? We also have a pregnant woman in Texas who has no chance of a viable fetus, and may likely never be able to have a child, or die, and now she’s forced to go in front of court after court to beg for the health care she desperately needs, while the state fights her at every turn. Is this dystopian nightmare that you want for your daughters? Be very afraid, this kind of religious zealotry and Christo-Fascism is what will spark the end for all of us. And, more pictures coming for you paid subscribers. Please share this post on your socials!
"Wisdom and peace come when you start living the life the creator intended for you." — Geronimo
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I still have a shelf full of my novels and no room for them at Red House. I’ve asked our friends at Wild Lake Press to mark them down to half off, about $5, while supplies last, just for you pioneer journal readers (discount may not show until you check out). That’s pretty much my cost. If you buy any, you can let me know if you want a custom inscription and signature on it. Remember, many authors don’t get famous until they croak, so it could be an investment! Or, not. Sigh.
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