I didn’t expect to have today off, and it made all of yesterday kind of a mad dash to get things wrapped up through the holiday weekend, but I’m now off for six days, and heading north early on Friday to winter camp through Monday.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Dinner at my parents house with my neice, nephew and whole family. 🦃 🍽️ Should be fun and special, as it probably is one of the last with us all together. It’s rare my sister makes it down here, wit the winter weather and her extended family up in the Saratoga area. Two o’clock so that will be much of the day, but at least I won’t have to drive after dark.
It was so busy towards the end of day at work, 🏢 I got out of the office closer to 6 PM then 5 PM. Lots of odds and ends to finish up before vacation. I drove past the CSX Holiday Train and caught the tail end of the lit-up holiday train from my office 🚂 a little before 5 PM but then it was checking and finishing up and odds and ends in the office. I decided to get on 787 in Menands rather then drive back through the city, but with the rain ☔ it was a slog to drive, especially with my broken windshield wiper. And of course, there was a crash on the on-ramp to 90 which backed things up on 787. I know better then get on in Menands but I though almost 6 PM things would be moving well. Got some things at Walmart, cooked dinner, looked at rednecks burning shit and other farm stuff and then passed out in bed. 🚜
Got listening to 99% Invisible episode on Murderland, that new Carole Fraser book that tracks serial killers back to the toxic places they grew up in. Ended up watching a video at 3 AM about the toxic copper smelter in Tacoma Washington that spewed lead and arsenic all over the Willamantic Valley for some 90 years before the company abandoned the factory and it’s massive smoke stacks rather then invest the money in trying to clean it up. 🏭 I have put a hold on that Murderland audio book, and look forward to listening to it in the coming weeks when it comes avaliblle.
Today in the mean time is finishing up some loose odds and ends. 🧼 I have some work projects to do, though probably only a half hour or so but I brought my laptop home an will go to library for a bit to work on on it. 🖥️ I want to do a bit of cleaning downstairs 🧽 and packing to get ready for camping, and as long as it’s not too wet out, replace the license plate bulb 💡 on my truck, check the oil and coolant levels. I forgot to get cider vinegar at Wally World yesterday on the ride home so I might go out for a bike ride today, maybe Voorheeesville and stop by Hannaford.
This morning, taking it fairly slow as I don’t have to go to work, 🏡 and I woke up during the night and then slept in for a while. Yeah, I did go for that extra cup off coffee ☕ midday at work and that didn’t help. After a big pan of eggs and onions I finished off in the broiler, I started 2-lbs of dried peas boiling down to green pea soup for this afternoon to be enjoyed with bread I cooked the other day. I am going to bake more bread probably tomorrow and cook down kidney beans to take with me up to camp.
Watching the weather like a hawk but I am probably heading up camping 🏕️ in Eastern Adirondacks either on the East Branch or Boreas River on Black Friday through Monday. I want to have some fires, 🔥 do some cooking, listen and read some audio books off the cellular network and just enjoy the winter weather up north. 🔕 I decided to take Monday off ultimately because I think it looks like the better day to drive back home, as Sunday may be snowy. Not a lot but enough to make the roads crap. 🌨️ I’m bringing a snow shovel and salt to be safe.
I’ve thought about different options for hiking – depends where I ultimately end up camping 🏕️ ☃️ – but Cat and Thomas Mountain, Hudson River Special MA, Camp Santonani – Newcomb Lake (mountain bike), Roosevelt Truck Trail (hike or bike depending on snow), some of other peaks in the Warrensburg area are on the short list. While I have my usual favorites, I’ve been thinking about other new options too. 🚲 🚶It’s just good to get off the grid for a few days, especially the terrible place known as the internet that is such a time suck when I should be reading and thinking. I don’t want to get too far from asphalt all-year around plowed roads in case we do end up with a lot of snow come Sunday into Monday. Probably my last trip to the Adirondacks for the year, though I’m thinking Rensselearville in mid-December and then on Christmas Day 🎄 heading out to Madison County for the State Horse 🐴 Camp, assuming their ain’t too much snow.
I often read a lot about alternative living arrangements from the modern suburbanite way of living. I don’t want a 3,000 square feet home with vinyl siding, I’d be quite happy with a small floor plan structure that is easy to clean. I’ve been reading a lot about cabins, tiny homes, shed-to-home and off-grid-living to see what kind of options are available today. Lots of land, tiny house is what I would prefer. Shelter is important,
The Shed-to-Homes, which are popping up like daisies in the rural south are quite interesting. They are a little more problematic in the north due to concerns over snow-loading, insulation, and zoning codes due to size of the beams they’re built with — below the 6 inches state code requires. They can be done, and I’ve seen them done in a few places of Rural New York but they’re a bit challenging to get approved with state and local codes, especially if they are a permanent foundation. That said, I’m not really interested in setting down roots in New York State. Too expensive, too many regulations, too anti-second amendment and too opposed to self-reliance. It’s fine living in an apartment in New York, but it’s not my future.
Some of the smaller cabins I’ve seen are quite nice too. I was very impressed with the Thomas Mountain Cabin that the DEC recently burnt to the ground and hauled off to thel andfill. Cabins are typically much more robust structure, and free of some of the formaldehyde treated wood that is commonly used to build the shed-to-homes. They are somewhat more expensive, and pre-built you are a lot more limited to customizing the building. I want to go totally off-grid and minimalist. A so complicated, full-featured cabin is not something I’m really interested in. I would rather have something I could do the wiring myself on, primarily focused on 12 volt, low voltage, low amperage design primarily for LED-based lighting and a few higher amperage drawing things like an energy-efficient refrigerator/freezer, water pump, and a laptop charger.
Tiny homes more generally are interesting too. The smaller the home, the easier to heat with wood or maybe anthracite coal. Well insulated building, they will use a lot less fuel and can be heated with smaller fires. Less area to clean and maintain, less area to collect stuff that becomes clutter. I’m not into all of the fancy artsy designs, I’m more concerned with what is durable, inexpensive, and easy to clean. My truck camper is nice, but it’s not insulated, it’s unheated and it’s a bit to small to really spend much time in except for bedtime.
Whatever I end up doing, once I have the money, knowledge and technical capacity, it’s not going to be the boring conventional way of living. I want to have my freedom, not be dependent on the fossil-fuel grid or all of the modern ways that people take for granted. I want to be able to have money for nice toys like four wheelers and guns, be able to burn wood and trash, shoot guns and ride four wheelers in my backyard, and just be left alone by the government.
