Can you picture doing your daily routine "manually" without hot water, electricity, convenience, and outside in humid, 100 degree, unpredictable weather? Just like most people, we wake up in our beds (whether in a tent, on the deck, or in the house), have coffee, exercise, do yard work, laundry, feed our animals, have 3 meals, work on our vehicles, and enjoy some relaxation or fun; however, it's all with a Fiji, off-the-grid twist!
Imagine having to workout to be strong enough to start a boat motor or a generator just to have power! Or keeping inventory of your food because you don't have refrigeration to keep it more than a day or two. Or timing your workout for early in the morning so you don't die of a heat stroke during!! (Which is the norm for my family in VA ;)) No two days are the same and much of what we do depends on good weather and skills we cumulatively possess. Car maintenance is sometimes a group project (the animals like to "help" too) and we are blessed to have a mechanic in our group. Normal, everyday things you may not think twice about require time, strength, and preparation out here. And since everything is from scratch or manual, you truly appreciate what you've accomplished at the end of the day.
So here are a few off-the-grid versions of otherwise-normal activities:
1) washing machine = hands and a rain barrel
2) 4-wheel drive is needed to leave our driveway and village
3) trash collection = burn barrel or driving 2 hours
4) our mailbox is a 45 minute drive
5) cold showers only (but desired, trust me!)
6) refrigerator = cooler and ice, if we're lucky
7) watching a movie = hoping it was sunny enough to solar power a computer
8) clothes dryer = clothes line and a sunny breeze
9) oven = easy-bake size stove-top oven
10) the closest grocery store is 2 hours away
11) the closest hospital is 2 hours away
12) lawn mowing = weed-whacking 5 acres
13) toilet use... we have one but I'll just say "no TP in the hole"
14) using a blender requires a generator
15) internet is via a satellite "stick" and depends on good weather
16) one pot of coffee = a 30 minute process which requires boiling water, grinding whole beans with a hand crank, husking and milking our coconuts for cream
17) meals are all from scratch
18) dog and cat food = rice mixed with mackerel or any fresh fish we catch and coconut (everyone's favorite)
19) yard work = palm tree debris and coconut round-up
20) air conditioning = praying for a breeze!
I would love to elaborate on anything we do here so please feel free to ask! In fact, by request, I will be dedicating one of my next blog posts to the Food Situation at our house. Enjoy today's pics!
Imagine having to workout to be strong enough to start a boat motor or a generator just to have power! Or keeping inventory of your food because you don't have refrigeration to keep it more than a day or two. Or timing your workout for early in the morning so you don't die of a heat stroke during!! (Which is the norm for my family in VA ;)) No two days are the same and much of what we do depends on good weather and skills we cumulatively possess. Car maintenance is sometimes a group project (the animals like to "help" too) and we are blessed to have a mechanic in our group. Normal, everyday things you may not think twice about require time, strength, and preparation out here. And since everything is from scratch or manual, you truly appreciate what you've accomplished at the end of the day.
So here are a few off-the-grid versions of otherwise-normal activities:
1) washing machine = hands and a rain barrel
2) 4-wheel drive is needed to leave our driveway and village
3) trash collection = burn barrel or driving 2 hours
4) our mailbox is a 45 minute drive
5) cold showers only (but desired, trust me!)
6) refrigerator = cooler and ice, if we're lucky
7) watching a movie = hoping it was sunny enough to solar power a computer
8) clothes dryer = clothes line and a sunny breeze
9) oven = easy-bake size stove-top oven
10) the closest grocery store is 2 hours away
11) the closest hospital is 2 hours away
12) lawn mowing = weed-whacking 5 acres
13) toilet use... we have one but I'll just say "no TP in the hole"
14) using a blender requires a generator
15) internet is via a satellite "stick" and depends on good weather
16) one pot of coffee = a 30 minute process which requires boiling water, grinding whole beans with a hand crank, husking and milking our coconuts for cream
17) meals are all from scratch
18) dog and cat food = rice mixed with mackerel or any fresh fish we catch and coconut (everyone's favorite)
19) yard work = palm tree debris and coconut round-up
20) air conditioning = praying for a breeze!
I would love to elaborate on anything we do here so please feel free to ask! In fact, by request, I will be dedicating one of my next blog posts to the Food Situation at our house. Enjoy today's pics!
Good morning from the tent!
Or from our "room"
Step 1 of Operation Morning Coffee: retrieve coconuts
however possible
Step 2 of Operation Morning Coffee: husk coconuts
Step 3 of Operation Morning Coffee: crack and shred coconuts
Step 4 of Operation Morning Coffee: milk coconut shreds
Grind and steep...and viola!
breakfast time!
I think Roscoe likes it
slack line warm-up
Ring workout
Laundry
Getting some cast net practice
Weed whacking AKA weed whipping AKA whipper snipping AKA brush cutting
Preparing plumerias for planting
Weeding completed!
Sweeping must be a hard job
Some unlucky soul
Looks like Chief will clean the shower
Trash incinerator
Pajero transmission on the porch
Sounds like a group project!
Hand-line prep with Roscoe
Catching cats all day!
Relaxation
Playtime for everyone!
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