The Happiness Thread

My money for selling my old legos on ebay has come. I have $150 now.

 

I've been overweight at 188 lbs. Been hitting the treadmill for two weeks now. I lost 3 pounds. It's a start.

 

I reached the 50k word mark in my novel this morning, and now I'm at 50,304! To top it off, the novel's now in its final story arc, which is the one that sparked this book in the first place. I'm super stoked!

I just need to remember to breathe and keep everyone in character . . . and avoid the bunny trails.

 

I'm happy to have joined this site, and happier still because of where I am atm in terms of my writing.

 

Today was awesome. Me and my bro chilled with an old friend from our old neighborhood. Played gears of war 4, Destiny and Battlefront ( I love shooters ). And he showed us the new dragon quest game on PS4.

i only ever considered one kid from my " home town " to be my only true friend. Anyone else was a friend of my brothers or cousin, but this guy made me feel like we were old pals. The most epic part about hanging out with him is we never would have found him if we didn't run into him at a video game store. I have a new/old friend purely by coincidence. Maybe God isn't such an asshole after all. I certainly do blame him for a lot of things that went wrong in my life. I can't give God all the blame for the bad and not credit him for the good things.

 

Very happy with my Colonial Mystery. Never thought I'd enjoy writing about ol' Amos Garnier again but guess I was gravely mistaken.

Mishu Jerni: "Hey, maybe you can also write about me after you do him, hmm?" <brandishes her stick> "C'mon, get with it!"

 

I'm thinking about moving out to the woods, like the real woods. Pretty much off the grid. It would be a big change, but I think it could be good for my soul. Would you guys ever do it?

 

If I wasn't financially responsible for a child getting through college, I might well do something like that. Maybe some day

 

A short story that has been killing me looks like it is finally coming together. Going to try to get some eyes on it and maybe submit by the end of the week.

 

Good news! My friend's sister is OK! She's anemic, but the worst is over.

 

I'm thinking of doing it for real. Log-cabin-chopping-wood kind of lifestyle. Letting the dogs run in the snow and reading books by a fire. I really need a drastic change like this and have a real opportunity. The friends I've told think it's crazy. I really want to get away from all the people who think I'm crazy.

 

Do you have any experience with that sort of living? Do you know how many cords of wood you'd need to to heat even a small dwelling? Are you prepared to be truly isolated (no phones, no internet) for extended periods?

Our summer cottage was off the grid for the first fifteen or so years of my life, and that was before solar power (expensive and not that reliable) got very good. It was lots of fun in the summer. But we'd go up for a week or so in the winter and probably 50% of our time was spent on the basics of survival - staying warm, making sure the pipes didn't freeze, sorting it out when the pipes DID freeze, schlepping groceries in from the main road on Xcountry skis, etc. It was really fun... for a week per year. Long-term? Not for me.

I'd definitely recommend finding a way to make a trial run before committing to this long-term. But the financial commitment required for even a trial run will be considerable - in a real wilderness situation the right boots, warm clothes, etc. are a necessity, not a luxury.

 

@BayView has already sounded a note of warning...on the topic of how much wood you'd need to chop, my research tells me you'd need around a ton of wood to keep you warm through the winter - probably double that or more if it's your only source of heat, and your insulation isn't A1.

I, too, love the idea of retiring to somewhere remote. And then I look at how often my wife needs access to modern medical technology (like, she'd be dead now if we'd been living in the backwoods) and I'm content with where I am.

 

My folks have 40 acres out in the woods. With an electrical connection and two 600 gallon LPG tanks, which is enough for about four years of heating and cooking.

The supermarket is about 45 minutes away though, but it's all hardtop once you get out of the driveway. That seems like a good compromise to me.

 

I'm worried about something bad happening and not being able to get help fast enough. I've experienced some accidents here in the city and waiting for the ambulance is the worst even though it comes relatively quick.

My mom lives in the sticks, and while I know she's tough, e.g. hitting a deer in the dark and receiving a faceful of glass and deer rear would leave her fending for herself for a long time -- who knows how long it'll take for somebody else to pass by . Or if she calls for help, it'll take forever for the ambulance or helicopter to get to her.

But I guess those who move off the grid accept the risks.

 

I've never tried to convert cords to tons, but the internet says 2 cords of ash = 8600 lbs. I used to burn 2 cords a year for a small, fairly well-insulated house and only heating part-time with wood (I worked during the day and would often use electric heat during the week to spare myself the trouble of getting the fire started every evening when I came home). I know people who heat their houses with wood who burn 7-8 cords a year - but those are bigger houses.

 

The heating shouldn't be too much trouble if the cabin has decent insulation and you have a decent wood stove/fireplace insert, depending on where you plan to live. Here in VA (with admittedly much milder winters than ya'll experience up north), my family heated a 1,500 square foot house with just a (good)fireplace insert for 12 years, and modern wood stoves are even better. An old-fashion fireplace, though, is more cosmetic than helpful. Those suckers lose the majority of their heat through the chimney.

 

I've done trips out to this place. Every time I'm there, I feel like I never want to come home. The funny thing about isolation is that you don't have to be in the middle of the woods to feel it. My life now feels isolating. Out there in the woods I feel surrounded with life and beauty.

 

Is there telephone and internet? What's the longest you've ever stayed there?

 

I get that there's a lot to be done, but I think it's doable. And I don't know if a plan like this will be realistic in my future.

 

I'd want electricity and an internet connection, though being far away from the nearest neighbor and out in the woods suits me fine. With satellite internet, you can get it almost anywhere.

 

I am fully aware of the risks. It is a little scary, and this isn't something I'm going into lightly or without thought.

 

No phone or internet. No electricity. No running water. My spot is pretty out there. But it is beyond wonderful. I've never felt so good if my life. I don't know how long I would want to stay there. Maybe a year. Maybe forever. Maybe just a few months. It just seems to make more sense than anything I'm doing now. I haven't been happy with the way a lot of things are going in my life. Out there I'm truly happy.

 

While there isn't any Internet out there now, last time I was out there I was talking to a neighbor (not too close by at all). He was saying that I could buy a booster of sorts that would probably bring Internet to my location out there. I don't know anything about these boosters. I haven't looked into them at all. I don't know if I really want to have Internet out there. Can you really go off the grid if you're still on facebook?