PP #8: Don't worry, be happy! Cuz...
Project: Pioneer #8 November 16, 2023 (Thursday 9am)
OMG, two weeks from today! Yep, that’s when this all becomes real. It will be our last day in our luxury apartment and our first official night in our new pioneer semi-off-grid abode.
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)
I have cleaners scheduled for that day, to make sure we leave this place better than we found it (a family legacy, something my parents always said to do…). Also, checking the calendar, I just noticed that long ago and far away, we bought tickets to a concert I’ve been dying to see for that night! Uh oh. Giavana is away on another secret mission all this week, so I think she’s going to be surprised at that news too. We’re supposed to go with another couple, some good friends. I’m a live music junkie. Sitting, relaxing, and listening to something with a good vibe, positive, uplifting, motivating, is a magic elixir. Doesn’t matter if it’s a big national act, or (more preferably) a rising star, like this beautiful live song from my friend Pentley Holmes.
Help us out here. What’s your best advice?
I’ll tell you what though. This journal is going to get a lot more interesting after we move in. I’ve gotten to know some of the neighbors in our top-area camp, noting they all have their own interesting stories about what led them to this place in life. However, I’m also hearing things and making observations about the lower camp, the folks with their RVs huddled together in the parking lot down there, like a bunch of covered wagons waiting for the Indian raid. Now that’s going to be interesting, getting to know those eccentric and eclectic pioneers! Stand by for stories! The management is planning a holiday get together. I hope nobody spikes the egg nog.
I mentioned in my last post that it was our tenth anniversary and we might spend the night at Red House for the first time. Full honesty and disclosure, we went out for a nice dinner, got back to the apartment, and were just exhausted and crashed. I did cave and had the shrimp scampi though. It sure was good, but I feel bad :-(
We sold some of our bigger items. To entice folks in our community postings, I’ve offered to deliver them, since many are older and/or don’t have large vehicles like our good old Henrik. I mostly use our two-wheel hand truck since they’re all walking distance. Big mistake. There’s nothing like watching a 7-foot tall 150lb bookcase go flying through the air with a huge gust of wind like a dried-up oak leaf. Ugh.
I’ve been hustling around here, trying to move stuff out by selling and to storage, wanting to make things ship-shape for Giavana when she returns tonight. Pia has been, well, mostly sleeping and looking at me with that “WTF is going on now?” look. She knows. She’s been on the other eight moves we’ve made. She knows when it’s time. She goes with the flow, as long as she’s fed her fresh gourmet food and gets to take care of her bodily functions and hydrant-sniffing in a timely manner each day. She had been long, long overdue for a bath and grooming, so I spent hours on Sunday squaring her away. She’ll be in the next batch of pictures for you paid subscribers.
Years ago we had been spending a lot on pet grooming. I bought this Wahl pet groomer (with a fantastic instructional DVD that shows how to groom common breeds!) and do it myself, huge savings! The first few times, she was embarrassed to go outside around her friends (my work back then more like a Dali than a Rembrandt), but now she’s back to strutting her stuff, as I’ve gotten good at it. Full disclosure, same thing happened when we decided to do similar cost-cutting by buying a Wahl human clipper for my hair and let Giavana cut it after watching a few videos on YouTube university. Ever see a dog laugh? I’m not sure why Giavana won’t let me do her hair.
I went out to Red House yesterday to check on a problem with the security camera, organize the underbelly and nosecone storage areas, and put surge protectors/power strips in strategic places. We’ve had our first nights in the 20s (F) and those were a good test. I used the GoveeLife Smart Hygrometer Thermometer to monitor the underbelly temp, critical to prevent our fresh, grey, and black water tanks from freezing (as well as the plumbing to them). With the foamboard insulation, the temps were staying well about the outdoor sub-freezing temps. Success, so far. But, it’s going to get a heck of a lot colder!
We installed the following items:
Insulated vent inserts
Small ceramic space heater (for under our work area!)
The change away from daylight savings time has been screwing me up. As you get older, it seems to be more difficult to adjust. It’s not as easy as just changing your sleep/wakeup times by an hour. You can’t fool your body, and your natural circadian rhythms. Daylight and darkness are also a triggers. I monitor my sleep patterns and efficiency with the awesome Oura rings we wear. It’s amazing to see just how restless you may have been during the night, and how much time you really spent in REM, light, and deep sleep. Huge difference in your daily ability to manage stress and feel rested. They actually just added a daily stress-level monitor. I hope I don’t break it :-)
Since it’s been colder, I’ve also been running the furnace while I’ve been out to Red House, and set low while we’re away. It heats up so fast and is so cozy!
We’ll be using a PO box for our mail. It’s one we’ve had for years, for the business. Since we don’t get much business snail mail (love that electronic opt-out!) I don’t check it much. But since we’ll use it for personal now as well, I have to get back in that habit. I went yesterday, and found a love note from the IRS demanding $420. Sigh. It had been in the PO box since September. Whoops. Yet another project on my plate, to deal with this. How about grabbing it from those billionaires and massive corporations that don’t pay a dime? Anyhoo, our friends are always complaining that we screw up their address books with all this moving. I tell them my best advice is to get a separate book just for us, cuz we special!
Anyway, rather than feeling more stressed as the big day nears, we’re feeling excited and positive. We’re not in bad shape (we think!). Giavana has been a whirlwind around here. We’re getting close. Will the remainder fit in Red House and the small storage unit? We’ll see! Henrik sucks gas, so there’s more expense there. But, hey! The new numbers this week show that gasoline, oil, natural gas, eggs, Thanksgiving food, used vehicles, medical care, and overall inflation are way down versus a year ago. Bet you don’t hear that news on Fox “news” channel! It’s incredible how well we’ve done managing the inevitable inflation that results when you pen people up for two years, fill their bank accounts, and then set them loose, versus the rest of the world (no, it wasn’t Biden’s fault, or Hillary’s email, or Hunter’s laptop that caused it). And doing so without causing a recession is an incredible feat.
Yet, polls show people think the economy sucks. Check your 401k lately? The S&P 500 is up almost 20% this year. Almost no unemployment. Wages up. Every restaurant we go to is mobbed even on off days/hours. Hello?? Don’t be gaslit. If you’re not doing well, get this book. It’s like the migrant thing. One side came into power two and a half years ago with a solid plan to fix it. But, the other side hasn’t allowed the plan to pass, because they know those images you see upset you, and are good for them come election time. Lots of outrage, no solutions. Have you asked what their plan is, other than a 17th century solution that doesn’t work (wall) or taking breast-feeding babies away from their parents forever? Did those “murderous” caravans of rapists and terrorists they told you were coming multiple times ever appear? I only saw people with nothing, other than carrying their kids on their backs, or pushing strollers, desperate for a better life, like our forbears were. None have caused terror, none were carrying drugs (those come in via freight and other means). These people stay in the shadows, pay billions in taxes for services they’ll never be able to use, and do the work nobody else wants to do. Be honest with yourself—would you feel the same if they were all blonde haired blue eyed Scandinavians?
All this gaslighting started back when they put Rush Limbaugh on AM radio to spout propaganda and enrage working people with lies. The plan was to anger and weaponize those who aren’t necessarily the best and brightest of us, turn them against the government (the best in the world). The result speaks for itself. Watch the videos of Jan 6, 2021. Note that a lifelong con artist who couldn’t get through high school without paying people to take his tests for him, ripped off anyone who got near him, squandered his father’s fortune, went bankrupt six times, cheated on all his wives, best friends with two of the worst pedophiles in history, got elected to the highest office in the land.
But, I digress. It’s holiday time! I like that. I just saw an Amazon commercial set to the Beatles tune In My Life that was really uplifting. I love those. I love the “moment of zen” little clips that YouTube TV shows instead of commercials. I love the holiday music. Life is short. Don’t worry, be happy, cuz every little thing, gon’ be alright!
What’s next? Giavana returns tonight. I’m putting a hold on everything else the next two weeks, especially the weekends, to bring this across the finish line. Yeah, I may not go to see my kids/grandkids on Turkey Day. It’s not my favorite holiday anyway, based on a history lie, a genocide dressed up as an act of goodwill. I may look to go volunteer that day, like I did a few years ago, my best Thanksgiving day ever.
We had no churches, no religious organizations, no sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we worshiped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble to sing and pray; sometimes a smaller number, perhaps only two or three. The songs had a few words, but were not formal. The singer would occasionally put in such words as he wished instead of the usual tone sound. Sometimes we prayed in silence; sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us. At other times one would rise and speak to us of our duties to each other and to Usen. Our services were short.
Geronimo
Got questions? We’re happy to answer them, just post away below!
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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