Apocalyptic Homesteading (Day 1160)
Hello Everyone!
Being up all night, Binge watching a survival show, Leaving the water system offline & Cleaning the pseudo-kitchen!
Alright, I am slightly behind schedule on beginning my writing routine this evening... but it is kind of par for the course today... so I am not going to get too hung up on it all. Since I have been running a bit late the last few days with it... I know that over the coming days I need to begin correcting my schedule... but overall I do not think that it is all that big of a deal.
My sleep cycle got even more skewed last night... because I binged out watching an entire season of a 'survival oriented reality show' and wound up not falling fully asleep until after dawn. As to whether the show was really worth watching... I would per usual leave that up to folks own discretion... but overall it really highlights the true dynamics of what plays out in a group setting where lots of money is on the line.
In short, there are always going to be those kinds of folks that will 'do anything for money' but the vast majority of folks (in my perspective) just are not that unscrupulous, immoral or outright unhinged. Having been through enough 'survival scenarios' I know the kind of true grit that it takes to remain ethical... and not undermine my personal integrity no matter the hazards, dangers or deprivations involved... so kudos to those who remained true to themselves in that manner.
Anyways, I did try to go to sleep throughout the night (even while the show was on) but having let my sleep cycle get skewed over the previous two days... I knew that I was fighting a losing battle on that front. Thankfully, when I did finally get to sleep it was after I had tended to all the critters... and therefore I was able to sleep quite soundly.
I did get up a few times throughout the day to let the dogs in and out... and to do some minimal engagement on Hive... but overall I did not get 'up and about' until very late in the afternoon. Which was fine and all because I did not have any huge itinerary for the day... and only needed a few hours to do the things that I wanted to do.
Although I was planning on getting the water system brought back online (to fill some water jugs) I wound up blowing that off altogether. Mainly I put that task off because the wind was gusting super hard... and it was biting cold outside... but I also realized that I had a few jugs of water stored in the refrigerator that I had forgotten about... so bringing the system back online was no longer a necessity.
What I wound up doing instead was cleaning up my little 'kitchen' area and getting as much stuff out of the way as I could to help accommodate getting the mattress out the door... so that I could give it a good freeze tonight. My plan was to also take the mattress out during the daytime today... and clean everything but I let myself fizzle out on doing it... because having the door open that long (with all the high winds) would have turned the place into an icebox.
I did however hang my blankets out on the dog yard fence... so that the high winds would clean them out some... and also just air them out given how much me and the dogs have been cooped up indoors of late. At some point soon I really need to give them a good washing... but I really dislike the idea of going without them for a few days as they dry out.
Well, I have stared at the blinking cursor long enough now... to realize that I am all out of the 'words that I have in me for the day' to contribute to this entry. I hope that everyone is doing well... and not over-romanticizing 'living on the fringe of society' along with all the challenges and hardships that doing so truly presents.
Ta ta for now.
Just wanted to thank you for the help and support on here!
Learnt to a thing... so.....
!LUV
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Your are very welcome! Thanks for being such a good sport and so fun to communicate with. I was just thinking of sharing this with you so good timing there. Keep in mind it was from when I first started sharing my life and much has changed along the way.
🤠🔫🏹 Enjoy!
I really do enjoy our interactions, so thanks for making it easy and fun. 😁 Thanks for sharing! Any suggestion on where to start? I see there's a whole bunch of great looking stuff in there. Excited to get started.
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Good to hear! Yeah, the 'Year One' folder is a good starting point. The first few videos are a bit painful because I am trying to talk real slow. Eventually I figure it out but I was super nervous making them to start with. It was really hard to 'break out of my shell' with sharing my life. That entire series was pretty brutal on the ole psyche but I made it through!
I'll start there thanks!
Well done for pushing through the initial nervous awkwardness! I can barely Skype without hiding half my face out of frame 😆 So that's pretty impressive. Look forward to getting into it! 😁🏹🔫
You are welcome. Yeah, I had gotten over my 'social anxiety' long before then but I was super cagey and had a real difficult time sharing my life in a meaningful way.
I was also struggling with feeling alienated from folks that I knew. It was a really difficult time in my life to say the least.
When I started it all I was hoping to immediately start uploading them to Youtube but that was impossible given that I could barely get an internet connection on my phone.
Early on in it all (thinking things in the videos would be public) I omit mentioning a bunch of things for safety reasons because I did not want the locals coming after me but later on I hedge/omit much less.
Know that feeling all too well unfortunately. Glad you were able to get over it!
Haha the locals sound a little bit scary, should make for interesting watching 😁 trying to wake up enough to remember where I put my earphones so I can get started. 😅 ☕️☕️
Yeah, I do not say it outright in the videos (or even the podcasts) but one of them in particular showed up in the first week talking about how they would eat me. I told him 'Right back at ya!' and not knowing how to deal with someone who was not intimidated he backed down on his intimidation tactics.
There were so many sketchy interactions that I wish that I had not omitted putting them in the videos but again I did not want any blowback by doing so. If it were not for the dogs I am unsure how that 'adventure' would have gone overall.
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😅 Oh wow, the idea of you telling him that made me laugh a little bit more than I should have! 🏹🔫
He had reached out at the time and grabbed me by the shoulder when he said it too. Just putting his hands on me was dumb enough... but what came out of his mouth made it even worse.
Although I considered doing plenty of things in that moment that would have escalated the situation I just returned the favor (so to speak) and casually twisted my left arm around his right arm (that was on my shoulder) and gently gripped him by his shoulder.
He had a big walking stick in his left hand and was so focused on my face he did not see my right hand drift to the knife I had on me of its own accord. It sounds like it would be a big aggressive scenario but it was all calm and 'casual' as if we were discussing the weather.
After me saying with a big grin 'Right back at ya!' and laughing he let go and I did as well. He was completely unnerved by it all.
Haha call me a little bit twisted if you want, but that's the best damn thing I've heard all day! 😆🤘
Sounds like you have had some sort of training, but I don't know enough to guess which!
Can just imagine the look he must have had on his face. I am (mostly) not a violent person, but I do believe that if someone is going to (for lack of a better term) fuck with you, you have to put them in their place, which clearly you did, in a pretty epic way. 😁🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹
I know this doesn't really have too much to do with anything... but what kind of knife was it? Just because, I don't know... Knives are awesome and you can't mention them without me going all "Ooh show me the knife!" 😅😅
Haha @hellsveiah Yeah I get it and figured that no matter how twisted it might sound that you would get it.
I have never had any formal training but my life has been a violent one to say the least. I know how that sounds but my youth was pretty horrific in many ways and I was always getting into fights with bullies and often groups of them.
Later in life I learned to take on roles that put me between such folks and others (like being a doorman/bouncer and such) because when it comes right down to it... winning or losing a fight will not make or break me. Which I guess is just something that happens once a person gets desensitized to the threat of violence or violence itself. I often term it as: I have picked myself up enough times out of a pool of my own blood not to give a damn anymore.
It is so weird because I am such a mellow frigging person at this point in life that when faced with imminent violence or the threat thereof... I tend to let out a big sigh, slump my shoulders and spread my feet so they are beyond my hips, let my knees bend a bit and do not even bother to ball my fists... all without giving it a second thought. I also tend to fake people out by making it appear that my non-dominant side (hand/arm/leg) is my dominant side.
It is funny that you ask about the knife and I do not know how to spell it out clearly but I will try. It is a handmade knife that I got when my biological father passed away. It is about a hand's length long with a double-edge blade and a deer antler handle. The fella was a very violent person but the wingnut extremely mentally ill psychotic and aggressive kind with a bad temper to boot.
When I buried him (I guess around ten years ago) I kept three items which were a zippo lighter, a belt buckle and that knife. The only times that I wear that particular knife is when I am feeling a bit crazed myself (or just in a dangerous scenario where I need to remember to keep a good temperament) and I only wear it to remind me not to be like him. I never draw it from its leather sheathe and often refer to it as 'my knife to kill things with' because that is what he used it for. Honestly I never want to have to draw it but as with that one encounter it was nice knowing that it was on my hip.
That was hard to spell out but I am glad that I did! My go to knives and the kind I like to carry (and use) are Kershaw pocket knives. They are built to last and worth every penny!
I actually do get it, maybe it is strange but I usually find it easier to relate to and get along with people who have less than ideal pasts. Maybe it is a 'like attracts like' kind of thing.
It is weird but at the same time, it also makes a lot of sense...I suspect that people who go through certain things tend to go one way or another, they break and become just as bad as the things or people that broke them or they go the opposite way, survive and end up better than the things that made them who they are (if that makes sense)
Reminds me of a quote or something that I can't quite remember... boils down to something like peaceful people are only peaceful because they can do some damage but choose not to. (I'll have to look it up)
I am glad that you turned out to be chill and awesome, after everything.
I think you spelled it out very nicely! (Hope it didn't steal away too many of your words!) Sounds like a rather scary knife, all things considered. Get why you wouldn't want to use it, kind of like your mindset around it all though. Thanks for sharing this with me, even if it was hard to spell out.
It is probably weird to say and slightly unrelated...(but I'll say it anyway because it isn't like I have social skills or an ability to hide my weirdness anyway...) but it would be kind of awesome to draw you as a comic book type of character. 😅🏹
Yeah, I am a firm believer in that also when it comes to either 'rising above' such behaviors or 'sinking lower' into them. The former is incredibly challenging and the latter is quite easy but I am glad that I chose the difficult path.
There are many variations on the quote you mention but here is one of them:
"You can't truly call yourself peaceful unless you're capable of great violence. If you're not capable of violence, you're not peaceful, you're harmless"
Oh! I would be honored if you drew me! I used to model for a painter friend of mine and enjoyed it a lot.
P.S. Ha I did consider my words for the day in that... and deemed it worth it! 🤠🏹🔫
Yeah that's the one! 😁 I really like that quote.
Great! Then I'm definitely going to try and do a decent drawing of you sometime. Should be fun. 😁🏹
Glad it was worth it. Really do enjoy these conversations, more than most on here.
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Oh I do not envy you living through the cold winter!
Do you have a fireplace indoors?
It has been a particularly long cold snap for this region. Nah, I just use an electric recirculating oil heater and have a propane heater for a backup in case of a prolonged power outage.
I need to remember how the autovote works or does it not anymore, I haven't changed it since setting it up but I see it's not been voting
I think folks use https://hive.vote/
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