Our version of retirement: Living a childhood dream

RadishRose said:
We'll all be waiting to hear from you when you have time
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Yeah, kinda exhausted, but too much I gotta do
I'm taking breathers every so often
Will post pics and stuff when things settle down...if things settle down

The fire is now over 12,000 acres, and only 5% containment last I looked

Drove thru the initial start of it last night, after hwy 97 opened back up
Heh.....'opened'.....one lane, pilot cars.....took 3 1/2 hrs to go the 50 mi to town

Didn't take near as long coming back to the cabin this morn

The blaze is now supposed to blow north, and east and west
That'd be our direction..............

Happily the winds have died down greatly
 
Aunt Bea said:
Gary, It sounds like you had better get out and stay out until this is over.
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We're watchin' it close

Moving along, it's been a rather strange year

Tonight, around 7p, got a call from One Shot Scott, up the path
Told us six steer were wandering down the path our way

Here they come

Then headed north
Not in too much of a hurry


tFTtkh1.jpg





Wife started sharpening her cutlery
 
Gary O' said:
One of them was wunna those tennis racket bug zappers
('tis the season.....might as well make a sport out of it)
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Careful using one!!
House flies can definitely work a person into a lather as they buzz about, resisting all attempts to be swatted. But one French man probably wishes he had simply let the fly that got into his house go about his business, because his attempt to kill it ended up causing an explosion. He was using an electric bug-killing racket, per the BBC, but a gas canister was also leaking, with the reaction between the two causing a blast that destroyed the kitchen and damaged the roof. The man burned his hand but is otherwise OK; he is currently living at a campsite while his home is repaired, It's not clear whether he killed the fly.
 
Well folks

I've gotta come clean

Put an earnest money on a house in town a few weeks ago

We're closing Monday

A couple things swayed me;

My lady is a bit fed up with our cabin (off grid) situation
Oh, she's tough enough, but hey, we've proven ourselves
Why suffer
She yearns for a proper kitchen
Room
Pooping inside (in winter)
Raising a garden that won't freeze (in July)
Raising a garden that won't get eaten (other than by us)
Having to contend with renegades (my friends)


Hey, she's my lady
And if I go down, I want her in town

I have some concerns too;

Thinking about these summer fires
Hasn't been a season we haven't been threatened
Gettin' kinda tired of that

Driving 100 miles (round trip) for needful things
Jeep and pickup, like me, ain't gettin' any younger

The clincher?

2.875 interest rate!!!

Can't pass it up

Could just buy a place outright
But, why....at that rate
....and why lay out all that cash

Aside from my lady's wishes, it's a no brainer for this ol' coot

We'll keep this cabin place
Won't be quite the same.....empty shop

Maybe sell it come spring......maybe
(thinking out loud right now)
 
Sliverfox said:
How close are neighbors and how big of lot?
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We're 3 mi outa town

Good neighbor
Just the one

Behind us is the cemetery,
quiet folks

Other side of us is a city owned vacant lot

We have two lots, approx 100 x 100

The house is ugly (IMO), but solid as a rock
only 900sf, but from what we've been used to, a spacious mansion

aaaaaand, there's a garage......shop....once I build it

Big back yard
equals big garden

Lots to do there

I'll miss the elbow room
But, hey, the place is big enough to keep us busy for a very long time
 
Lakeland living said:
I have power and inside plumbing
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Those two are big

Being an off gridder for five years gets one a bit numb to what's involved
It's all 2nd nature now.

Winter
That's the big one
No bathing in the tub outside
Keeping the well from freezing
Wood
wood
more wood

Keep snow off the roof

Just daily chores

It's rather gratifying the first couple years
A fun challenge
Finally sitting in front of the fire after battling numbing cold all day, is a huge relief
The steaming hot bowl of scrumptious soup, and slice of fresh baked bread from my lady, wiggling toes in front of the fire....whoa.....one becomes grateful.....mighty grateful

The fourth/fifth year?
Still grateful
But knowing you won't see terra firma from Nov thru April lowers the gratefulness to something more like grim determination

The cold ain't all that bad
Anything around 20°F.....not bad
-20°F? Just cold
-37°F Just colder
But, a bit of wind with that? It'll tear yer face off
 

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