Saturday, August 31, 2013

What to do on a rainy day?

Well it is a rainy day here this morning. I guess I will work on the inside of the house. I have some cleaning and organizing that I need to go with paperwork and in the office. I have been putting it off since it both boring and time consuming. But once it is done I will feel a lot better and the office will be a better place for me to work in and use.

There always seem to be so much to do outside when the weather is nice that I don't want to stay in the house and do thing that need to taken care of. I guess I tell myself I can do it when the weather is crappy and I don't want to be outside but that never seems to happen in any reasonable timeframe.

So time to get things accomplished.

Peace,
Pam

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The things we do to live the dream.

It is 5:20am and I am dressed and ready to head to the office for the day. Three days a week I get up between 4:15 and 4:30 in the morning to get ready for work. I then have a two hour drive to and from work each day. The other two days a week I work from home.

Now I must say I am not a morning person. I don't want to have conversations in the morning and I don't want to listen to annoying talk radio. So it is a good thing I have a two hour drive before I have to talk with anyone. I listen to the local NPR station for Athens and then when I get close to Columbus I switch to the local NPR station there.

I decided that the trade off for living off-grid and in a beautiful location is worth it. Some people think I am crazy but I think we all are to a certain degree when we are working toward something that we are dreaming of making a reality.

So time for lots of coffee and to hit the road.

Peace,
Pam

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Do you have an off-grid Bucket list?

It seems that everyone is talking about their Bucket list and what they have on it, what they want to put on it and what they have been able to mark off of it. This has gotten me to think about my off-grid Bucket list and what all I would want to have on it and how I would get things marked off.

Now my list would probably be huge and ever growing as I think of more and more things to add to it. The issue for me would be how to decide what item I would like to mark off. Do you come up with a plan and prioritized the list and decide to go from there or do you just see what opportunities present themselves and take them.

I think I will start my off-grid Bucket list with all of the things I would like to that are not required but would be nice to have in the future. First on my list - wood burning hot tub.

Peace,
Pam

Monday, August 26, 2013

Feeling pretty good

I had a pretty good weekend. I did nothing exciting but I got a lot accomplished this weekend.

For the last year or so I have just been pitching items into my large shed without really putting things away properly. It created a lot of issues when I was looking for things. I would know that I had something but would not be able to find it with out a lot of digging and wasted time.

So this past weekend I decide it was time to take control of the mess and get it organized. Luckily this weekend was great for this type of project. It was not too hot and there was no chance of rain. I started by pulling everything I could out of the shed into the yard. I really recommend do a massive cleanup in this way. You are not limited by space and you can really see what you have and since you have to handle it you are forced to deal with it and not just move it to another location in the building.

I felt really good by the time I was finished on Sunday. It took most of Saturday and about 3 hours on Sunday before I called it finished for the weekend. There is still things to address like how to get rid of a washer and dishwasher that I am not certain why I have. There are kitchen cabinets that need to be installed and lumber to deal with but I can access my tools and can see what other things are there and there is floor space that allows me to work in the shed that I did not have before.

So overall it was a good and productive weekend.

Peace,
Pam

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Is it just me....

While working on cleaning my large shed yesterday it hit me, I have a bunch of stuff. There are tools, paint, equipment, plumbing parts and building supplies. Stuff I don't recall getting but seems to have magically appeared in my shed.

Is it just me that seems to have a collection of things that run from one end of the spectrum to the other or is it something unique to the off-grid/country life style. I know growing up in the country my Dad always seemed to have a bunch of things, similar to what I have now. So I cannot decide if it is something I learned from him or just part of the off-grid/country lifestyle that you never throw anything out cause you might need it or someone you know might.

Just something I got to thinking about while cleaning the shed. I do realize that if I am going to have this type of collection I really need to be more organized about it. If I am going to keep stuff I really need to be able to find it when I need it.

Back to cleaning the shed and to seeing what I have that I did not realize I did.

Peace,
Pam

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Time to get the day started.

Lots of work planned for today. I have been going there a purging stage in which I have been cleaning out closets, drawers and papers. I have now decided to move to my large shed.

When I moved to my house I had a bunch of stuff from my basement and garage that ended up being put into the shed but not in an organized way. I know some of the stuff is not needed or will ever be used so it is time to get in and purge. I want to make the shed a place where I can actually work and do things in but right now I cannot even get into the door.

So I am off to discover all of the things I forgot I had and probably don't need. I will gift what I can to people and the rest I will put up on Freecycle for folks to take or I will take to the Reuse or Restore charities.

I will post before and after pics later.


Peace,
Pam

Friday, August 23, 2013

The little things that make me happy.

One of the things I missed the most when I started living off-grid was not having a toaster. I could live without a microwave but I really missed not having toast with my breakfast and then I remembered the camp toaster my twin sister and I had in our camper. It was long gone but the hunt was on.

Now I remember being able to find these things at WalMart and other stores but all of a sudden they were not being stocked. Luckily I was passing by Cabela's and stopped by and was able to pick one up. I am now happily making toast again.

Living off-grid makes you really think about what electrically appliances you really need but it also makes you think about alternative replacements or whether or not you really need the appliance in the first place.

Peace,
Pam

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Time to start getting ready for Autumn and Winter

I was listening to the local NPR station on my way to work this morning and they were talking about the leaves changing colors and how great is should be this year. While I enjoy the colors of Autumn the story now has me thinking of everything I need to do to prepare for the colder weather.

I still need to finish putting up my insulation in my house and I need to clear out the area where I want to put my firewood. I am hoping to get a layer of gravel down before I start having it delivered. I have a whole list of things that I need or want to get down outside but never seem to have the time to get things done. Some can happen when the weather is cooler so I won't worry about those but there are things like cleaning out the sheds and organizing that I really don't want to do when the temp starts to drop.

So here to spending a few hours on Saturday going around the property and deciding what needs to get down before the weather gets cold and what can wait to be done when the temp drops.

Based on what turns up on my list I might have to see about recruiting people to help. I know a lot of people that would be willing to help just need to get organized so when they show up I have everything needed to get the jobs done and then plan something fun for the evening. It is times when there is a push to get a bunch of stuff done in a short time period when I think about how much easier this would be if I had a partner but then again I don't want to have to rely on someone else to help make my dream a reality but it would be nice to have someone to share the ride.

Well time to get motivated and moving.

Peace,
Pam

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Taking contol of my life. It is all about ME!

I did not realize that so much time has passed since I have written on my blog.

I am embarrassed that I have not been on it for over a year. I don't know where the months have gone. I thought I would faithfully post every day but I never realized how life can get in the way.

I think I had bitten off more than I could handle at the time I started this blog but I have gotten rid of most of the distractions and am focusing on my life and what I want to be doing personally, while what I was doing was important it took a great deal of my time and energy. Now it is all about ME!

So here is to a new beginning for my blog and to getting more focused on my personal life and not getting sucked into other peoples projects that take my time and energy away from what should be important to me.
Peace,
Pam