I really can't believe it has been 3 weeks and this is starting the 4th. I've learned several important things so far and I'm sure more to come. (New Photos this week)
But first let me update you on last week and this weekend.
*I had a friend over on Friday night and that was fun. We sat on the patio in front of the wood stove and talked and laughed for hours. Sounds boring I know, but to me it was a high point.
*A sweet friend at work, after reading my blog and hearing that chocolate was my cure all for any discouragments in life, brought me a whole Halloween basket full of chocolates to the office. Yee Haw! (Oops, now my fitness trainer husband will know about my indulgences at work.) *This weekend was productive but calm and I enjoyed it a lot. I even took a nap on Saturday afternoon in my rocker.
*We have family coming to vistit mid-week and I'm looking forward to that.
*I cooked a successful dinner of beef stew and corn fritters on the fire last night and got an atta girl from Larry. All-in-all a good week.
It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. I'll have leftover beef stew for dinner and hunker down in my tent with a book. The new one I'm reading is about a 50 year old woman who is a bee keeper and lives alone in a cabin in the Ozarks of Missouri. It's OK but too much detail about spiders and snakes that I'd rather not read about before I go to sleep in my tent - if ya know what I mean.
I have had 3 offers by friends to come over and bring food to me and sit around my fire. I must come across as destitute. No... they are just loving, generous people who want to observe this inigma in action - I tried to tell them It's really pretty boring. The most excitment I get is when the wind gusts up and tries to flap my outpost bath canvas screen while I'm enjoying my 2 gallon bath on the morning that the garbage men are hauling garbage from my curb about 50 feet away. WOOHOO!
My Space
Inside my little tent
Rain, Rain and More RAIN!
Well, it had to come and I knew it would eventually. We've got 3 days of steady rain forecast.
I've already started to compromise. I let Larry bring me to work this morning. I was not feeling well and I couldn't face a 2.5 mile bike ride or walk in the pouring rain. I'm not looking forward to this evening under my tarp with the rain pouring off the edges every now and then, either. I also am not looking forward to the bath under the tarp tomorrow, while trying to maintain some degree of privacy and not freezing my buns off. It is only supposed to be a high temp of 63 or 64 the next couple of days and that means bath time in the morning will be even cooler. Oh well, I asked for it. I could see myself being perfectly comfortable with a bath in the corner of a warm little cabin next to the warm wood stove. Nevertheless, my substitute is under the tarp on the patio - I'm going to have to get creative on the privacy thing. I've got some ideas.... I'll let you know what I come up with.
Meanwhile, there's leftover stew for dinner tonight. The rest of the family will have to fend for themselves. I've got a couple of good books that I haven't started yet, so I should be fine.
I was sitting there on the patio last night under the tarp in the rain and my husband and son would pass by the floor to ceiling windows separating my patio from the sunroom and knock on the glass and stare at me as if I was an exhibit in the zoo. I suppose I asked for that, too.
They don't really intend to insult me - but crazy women doing crazy things run the risk of being made fun of. That's something that I'm learning through all this: If your'e going to live in a way that is unusual, you must not care about the opinions of others. You have to be led by your own heart and the music of life in your own head - that needs to be enough - you can't require more.
Staying afloat-I hope,
Kate
I've already started to compromise. I let Larry bring me to work this morning. I was not feeling well and I couldn't face a 2.5 mile bike ride or walk in the pouring rain. I'm not looking forward to this evening under my tarp with the rain pouring off the edges every now and then, either. I also am not looking forward to the bath under the tarp tomorrow, while trying to maintain some degree of privacy and not freezing my buns off. It is only supposed to be a high temp of 63 or 64 the next couple of days and that means bath time in the morning will be even cooler. Oh well, I asked for it. I could see myself being perfectly comfortable with a bath in the corner of a warm little cabin next to the warm wood stove. Nevertheless, my substitute is under the tarp on the patio - I'm going to have to get creative on the privacy thing. I've got some ideas.... I'll let you know what I come up with.
Meanwhile, there's leftover stew for dinner tonight. The rest of the family will have to fend for themselves. I've got a couple of good books that I haven't started yet, so I should be fine.
I was sitting there on the patio last night under the tarp in the rain and my husband and son would pass by the floor to ceiling windows separating my patio from the sunroom and knock on the glass and stare at me as if I was an exhibit in the zoo. I suppose I asked for that, too.
They don't really intend to insult me - but crazy women doing crazy things run the risk of being made fun of. That's something that I'm learning through all this: If your'e going to live in a way that is unusual, you must not care about the opinions of others. You have to be led by your own heart and the music of life in your own head - that needs to be enough - you can't require more.
Staying afloat-I hope,
Kate
Sick and Tired....
It started in the afternoon.... I was feeling a bit tired and draggy. By dinner time I was fearing that I was heading for trouble. By bedtime I was sure of it.... I was ill. I thought I would give it some time and see if I could shake it but, by 10:00 p.m. I was in a lot of pain and had a fever and chills. I knew I was going to need antibiotics. I gave in and came inside. I started myself on some meds that we had for emergencies and climbed into my own bed inside the house, under blankets and very near the bathroom facilities.
I felt defeated in a way. I rationalized that there is a difference in rising to meet a personal challenge and completely losing your marbles. I began to think - how I could have equipped myself properly to stay outdoors in such a situation. I realized I lacked adequate shelter and bathroom facilites in realistically close proxcimity to my shelter.
Nevertheless, as I lay shivering and in pain under my blankets in my own real bed, I was very thankful for a dry home, a warm dry bed and a master bathroom only 4 feet from my bedside.
I felt somewhat better the next day, but allowed myself to take an indoor bath (it was still raining outdoors) and to accept a ride to work from my hubby. I worked all day and was tired again at 5:00. I let Larry pick up dinner at the local eatery and I luxuiated all evening curled up on the real leather couch, under warm blankets in my lovely family room and slept for a second night in my bed indoors.
This morning I woke and had my coffee inside at my kitchen table while watching the news on TV. I looked around me and figured, this is it, I've given up. I've learned all I needed to from my outdoor experiment and I don't need to finish out the month. "Twenty -two Days in a Tent" sounds better for a book title than "Thirty-one Days in a Tent" does anyway. So, I went out to retrieve my granola for breakfast from my outpost kitchen and to my surprise found there on the outdoor kitchen counter, a bucket full of bags of chocolates (thankfully all preserved in plastic wrapping) The chocolate fairy had been there. I was moved by the kindness and thoughfulness of a friend who went out of their way to encourage me. I stood there in the drizzling rain and looked around at my wet and soggy backyard outpost and then looked into the windows of my warm lovely home and contemplated what to do. Go back inside - or return to the Outpost. It only took a few minutes to come to a decision. I grabbed some newspaper and the few sticks of dry kindling and started a fire in the wood stove to heat bathwater. It was about 47 degrees out and I could see my breath in the air. I thought to myself, "This is gonna be a chilly 2gallon bath" and it was! But, I managed. I had my granola outdoors, took my antibiotics and got dressed for work. I'm back in the saddle again .... fueled by chocolate and the love and encouragment of friends.
I got here to work this morningn and my boss told me she had cooked my dinner to bring to me tonight. Others are showing me love and support in lots of ways. How can I give up now?
Thank you all....Love, Kate
I felt defeated in a way. I rationalized that there is a difference in rising to meet a personal challenge and completely losing your marbles. I began to think - how I could have equipped myself properly to stay outdoors in such a situation. I realized I lacked adequate shelter and bathroom facilites in realistically close proxcimity to my shelter.
Nevertheless, as I lay shivering and in pain under my blankets in my own real bed, I was very thankful for a dry home, a warm dry bed and a master bathroom only 4 feet from my bedside.
I felt somewhat better the next day, but allowed myself to take an indoor bath (it was still raining outdoors) and to accept a ride to work from my hubby. I worked all day and was tired again at 5:00. I let Larry pick up dinner at the local eatery and I luxuiated all evening curled up on the real leather couch, under warm blankets in my lovely family room and slept for a second night in my bed indoors.
This morning I woke and had my coffee inside at my kitchen table while watching the news on TV. I looked around me and figured, this is it, I've given up. I've learned all I needed to from my outdoor experiment and I don't need to finish out the month. "Twenty -two Days in a Tent" sounds better for a book title than "Thirty-one Days in a Tent" does anyway. So, I went out to retrieve my granola for breakfast from my outpost kitchen and to my surprise found there on the outdoor kitchen counter, a bucket full of bags of chocolates (thankfully all preserved in plastic wrapping) The chocolate fairy had been there. I was moved by the kindness and thoughfulness of a friend who went out of their way to encourage me. I stood there in the drizzling rain and looked around at my wet and soggy backyard outpost and then looked into the windows of my warm lovely home and contemplated what to do. Go back inside - or return to the Outpost. It only took a few minutes to come to a decision. I grabbed some newspaper and the few sticks of dry kindling and started a fire in the wood stove to heat bathwater. It was about 47 degrees out and I could see my breath in the air. I thought to myself, "This is gonna be a chilly 2gallon bath" and it was! But, I managed. I had my granola outdoors, took my antibiotics and got dressed for work. I'm back in the saddle again .... fueled by chocolate and the love and encouragment of friends.
I got here to work this morningn and my boss told me she had cooked my dinner to bring to me tonight. Others are showing me love and support in lots of ways. How can I give up now?
Thank you all....Love, Kate
It Was a Wild Ride
I was fueled by love and chocolate yesterday to continue my "wild ride" of the outpost experiment. But the 3rd night of cold rainy weather dampened my spirits and I headed home after work with dread of going out to my windy, cold, wet paito to sit and wait till I had the courage to make a dash to my damp tent to try to get warm enough to go to sleep. I thought about it a little and said, NO WAY! It's finished....Kate's Outpost is over.
I believe I have learned what I needed to know...
*I could do it if I wanted to with the right shelter and equipment.
*I have most of the skills I would need to live OTG (off the grid)
*The romance of the life-style has been realistically contained in my mind
*I'm not going to run away to live in the mountains any time soon
*I hate lots of cold rainy weather, so Seattle will not be one of my pick cities for future retirement.
* I have a great husband
*I have some really supportive and loving friends and family
*We take most of what we have for granted
*I'll be much more aware of what I consume, waste ...throw away
*I should always explore my dreams rather than stifling them
So, I'm signing off... Thanks again to all of you who have cheered me on. I'm a little disapointed that I did not make the full month goal but I'm satisfied with what I accomplished.
Dream on everybody,
KATE
I believe I have learned what I needed to know...
*I could do it if I wanted to with the right shelter and equipment.
*I have most of the skills I would need to live OTG (off the grid)
*The romance of the life-style has been realistically contained in my mind
*I'm not going to run away to live in the mountains any time soon
*I hate lots of cold rainy weather, so Seattle will not be one of my pick cities for future retirement.
* I have a great husband
*I have some really supportive and loving friends and family
*We take most of what we have for granted
*I'll be much more aware of what I consume, waste ...throw away
*I should always explore my dreams rather than stifling them
So, I'm signing off... Thanks again to all of you who have cheered me on. I'm a little disapointed that I did not make the full month goal but I'm satisfied with what I accomplished.
Dream on everybody,
KATE
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