We have a foot, maybe more, of snow now. I feel very fortunate on my daily walks through the snowy forest of pine, fir, and aspen to be here.
My daily walks are a 7-mile loop where I have figured out a way to mail a Netflick movie and receive one on the same walk– by putting the one I‘m mailing in a guy’s mail box on the other side of the street– he doesn‘t get his mail until much later then mine.
It’s weird to have things so sunny but so cold, like a hot fudge sundae. It’s a little disorienting, because it seems like summer, it’s so bright, but then you get the nice coolness of winter and the beautiful sparkling snow.
This morning when I woke up, it was 9 degrees (-13 C) outside and 28 degrees (-2 C)inside the cabin. Which you think would feel cold but it didn’t. I’m so lay-back about my heating that I hadn’t brought in any of my snow covered wood the night before and the propane bottle that is connected to the Mr. Heater was empty. I walked out in the darkness with my headlight to hook up another bottle of propane. With the moon shining and the light of my headlamp making the snow sparkle I thought, “Wow, I‘m so lucky.�
The person that lets me use his mailbox to mail my movies, invited me for Christmas dinner with his family. He lives in a normal house with running water, grid electricity–the whole package. I accepted because I didn’t think it was friendly to say, “No thank you, I like to be alone.â€? Then this morning I woke up with a headache and I decided that was a good reason to call and cancel. For some reason, I felt a little guilty about it, like I was playing hooky, but I also felt happy that I didn’t have to go. One of the great improvements in my life has been that I no longer have to endure large holiday gatherings, because all the elders in my family are dead.
I think people see me as the poor hermit that lives on the hill, all alone in a cold cabin without running water and a bucket for a toilet. For me, it’s my dream life.
It’s overcast today. The solar panel does little work on a day like this. I have to charge the storage batteries with the Honda generator when the sun doesn‘t shine. For some reason the batteries aren’t taking a full charge this morning. That’s the thing about a solar system, they’re not really as easy and lovely as they’re made out to be. You pay a lot for the tiny amount of electricity that you use.
Good thing my 2 watt OLPC computer has arrived. I don’t have a dial-up modem for it yet, though. The keyboard is small
but I’m getting used to it. It’s a great computer for kids. It teaches them programming. They can program everything on it to fit what they need. Soon there will be little yo-yo‘s available to charge them with but now they only come with a AC plug. I bought a iGo DC universal adapter that is for charging cellphones and DVD players, for mine, so I don’t have to run an inverter to charge it. I bought it off e-bay for 5 dollars plus shipping.
They are only letting individuals buy the laptops until December 31st. No one makes any money off of these laptops. They are a non-profit educational project.
UNIX master, Laen Finehack, is getting one too. I’m thinking I can get him to program and set up everything the way I want it on his and then he can send me his and I will send mine to him.
Merry Good Life!
