Monday January 9, 2017

More Snow

Really? I guess we do live in the mountains now and it is to be expected, right? But to be reading on FB that the Valley has been hit with more snow, that’s not so normal, right? I read back in late November, early December that we could expect a Winter of yore this year and I guess for once the pundits were right.

All this snow makes it difficult for the rookie Homesteaders! But it’s good; we know how to plan for next Winter! And let’s face it; Winter is going to be the most challenging out of all the Seasons, right? Though I am thinking early Spring could be a lil challenging as all the snow starts to melt and make molten lava cakes out of our lane, that bit of road down at…Murray Taylor Creek? It already looked pretty ominous in the late Fall last year! I am sure that Murray Taylor Creek wants Lake status and is going to eat the “road” up to achieve its life long dream. Truth be told, there is already a Murray Taylor Lake. Why doesn’t the Creek just flow backwards and become one with the lake that is already there??
There are a few other spots along the way that have me a lil worried. Oh, I know. A regular truck simply will not do! To live here and have full, year round mobility one must have a vehicle that is part snow-plough, part river-raft and while we’re at it, let’s also give it flying capabilities so we can just fly over the whole mess when it gets too daunting!

To be sure, I am keen to make a trip to the Valley but the snow just keeps falling, both here and there. Now remember we were vehicle-less for many years, all the years it snowed, and there hasn’t been much snow since we returned home in 2010/11. And really, when the snow got to be too much in the Valley you just stayed home. Here’s the thing, I am not a skilled driver when it comes to driving in the white stuff and drive accordingly. It probably drives (haha) other drivers CRAZY! But hey, better safe than sorry, right? My lack of confidence keeps me off the roads and to be honest, Highway 20 is a bit intimidating with all those logging trucks, no centre line, practically zero shoulder, and definitely no shoulder lines… I only drove it once on my own before the snow arrived. Maybe next year I will be better at driving the now scary Highway 20?

The snow that fell last night now needs to be shovelled off the myriad of paths we have created about the Earthship and Luke is working today so I guess I am going to easily get my 10K Steps today! Luke usually knocks off for a lil bit in the late arvo, not too late though as we quickly do a few chores together while there is still daylight. Today’s chore will be laying tracks all the way to Chilko Lake FSR. Groan. Even with the added weight from the boulders we threw in the back of the truck we still seem to have trouble in a few spots. The good news is that there aren’t any real steep embankments up our way; the worst that will happen is we will get the truck stuck and won’t be able to get it unstuck. It hasn’t happened yet so let’s just keep our fingers and toes crossed, hey? Oh, and speaking of the truck, it seems we now have a tire that is losing air!!!! What???? Where does one get that fixed in the boonies? Guess we’ll find out.
We ran the generator yesterday because we were socked in all day before the snow came it. With the generator running Luke surprised me with a small space heater in the kitchen! It didn’t throw off heaps of heat, but just enough to take the chill out of the air. The heater combined with the oven going and soon the kitchen was bearably cold. Meh, once you get busy, moving around and doing things you don’t even notice the cold! We got groceries on Saturday so I had to shift a lot of stuff around to make room for the new arrivals. The day after groceries is usually a big cook day too; cooking all the stuff that sorta, coulda been kept for a while longer but now you don’t need to worry about it. There was leftover Polenta that got fried up into Breakfast Polenta with Blueberry Mandarin Sauce using newly arrived mandarins that already looked worse for wear-you know how it goes when you buy a case of them, right? Then there were a few apples that needed to be cooked up into Apple Sauce, which is now in the “freezer” waiting to be cooked into something amazing! Then there were some potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash that absolutely had to be cooked yesterday so I baked them all off and put them in the “fridge”. I’m thinking a Shepherd’s Pie later this week, making a mash from the roasted veg? Oh, I tried to make Whipped Coconut Cream to go with the Blueberry Mandarin Sauce and Fried Polenta but it didn’t really work so I used that up in a Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake! And finally, last weeks Gastropost Vancouver challenge was Tacos so I made Indian Tacos for Lupper. I’ll tell you what; all that cooking generates A LOT of dishes!!! I easily hit 10K Steps without even stepping out of the kitchen yesterday!!

So today is Monday. Happy Monday! We are socked in again today and it is trying really hard to snow but at the same time the Sun is behind the clouds battling to make his presence known; let’s see who wins this battle. I’ll tell you what; it’s absolutely beautiful out there! Yes, the snow is an inconvenience but we have everything we need to stay warm and comfortable in our lil abode. And we really are quite happy with where we are; we just need to be better prepared for next year, next Winter. You know, you read articles where people just pack up and leave the rat race behind not really knowing what to expect. That’s part of the challenge of living, right? To NOT always know what the next moment will bring. It challenges you to really be alive, to really experience each and every moment.

And so now, I leave you, for I am heading outside to live, in the moment!

Cheers!
p.s. It’s snowing 😛
Oh, and I’ll leave you with a few pics!
https://youtu.be/SkV-B154Ht8