Catching up again

I wish I could say that time flies when I'm having fun but for me time just flies.

Paul's job has taken another turn for the worst. He's actively searching for something to fill in the gaps and I'm actively searching for anything. One thing I've learned is that a degree and no experience will get you nowhere. I had an interview at the local market, they were concerned about my degree and my advanced age (I never thought 35 was all that old). I guess you need to be young and uneducated to bag groceries... I've applied at numerous places but haven't received any calls back, contrary to promises made when I dropped off some of the applications. I've applied for jobs that require a degree and no experience but I have yet to hear back from any of those either. I'm feeling really useless right now.

We need to get out from under our mortgage so we are planning a move to a bare piece of land. It's flat, easily accessible, and the owners' are willing to carry. Of course you can't get electricity around here without an address or a well. You can't get phone service without an address, and you can't get an address without a permanent livable structure. So we are going to be doing without all of that once again. We purchased an old RV that will be towed to its new home once the land closes and we will be moving onto the property sometime in the next few months. The kids are ecstatic, their parents are just tired. From our last experience off-grid we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. We've made plans to buy water from someone local and we have a backup in case that falls through. There is a generator in the RV and we are looking at setting up a small solar system for power. We are building a composting toilet to handle waste and we have someone lined up to scrape the sage brush off of most of the land. The biggest hurdle we've run up against is the lack of phone service. There is no cell reception within 12 miles of this area. VOIP might be an option but since we are on satellite internet that's kind of iffy. We are looking into a satellite phone but the equipment is really pricey, I know we will come up with a solution eventually. I'm sure there will be other little bumps along the way but at least the basic are planned for.

So we are in the beginning stages of another adventure. Right now it's kind of difficult to get too excited but at least we have a plan...