Hey old friends

[DancingWaters]

Welcome back, quite the unexpected adventure! Glad you are on the other side of the hurricane. If I remember correctly….you were a dancer? I’ve been thru a storm myself but I’m past that also. Enjoy your Jeep

 

[nomoretslt]

Geekette, glad you are safe. And glad you’re so resourceful. I hear you about chainsaws. They terrify me. DH now has a very decent rechargeable one, not that something like that is useful when you can’t recharge. I was thinking about you when Helene struck. Last year someone was wondering about you and someone mentioned they would see you on Facebook sometimes ….I don’t do Facebook. We also relocated to NC, near the beaches, 4 years ago from the northeast. the natives here are really great people. Unfortunately so many people relocated here from the northeast and they bring bad manners and ideas with them. I always say stop it, this is their place and it’s charming stop trying to change it….isn’t that why you bailed out of NY/NJ/CT. Our county is one of the fastest growing in the country. Our local PD, fire department, churches, etc. have drop off locations for donations for Helene victims. The first time we went my DH and I were moved to tears. The generosity was astounding. Pallets of paper towels, water, diapers, canned goods.
our area was extremely lucky….nothing really happened here. But I remember how soggy August was…..storm after storm, then a tropical depression that hung around, then Helene.
I’ve read some heartwarming stories….I particularly liked the one where a group of Amish travelled from Pennsylvania and helped build some tiny homes.
Good you got to know your neighbors. People need people.

 

[Glynda]

Good to hear from you! I remember your posts about selling your house and planning your off-grid adventure and having to make a change from the original plans and site! I've wondered how it turned out.
I do believe you have a book in you! Best wishes for the New Year!

 

[sue1947]

I do believe you have a book in you!

I was thinking the same thing and can't wait to read it.

 

[easyrider]

Welcome back !!!!

Bill

 

[geekette]

Gosh, I miss you folks! The odd part about being where nobody knows you is that, well, nobody knows you! The assumptions get interesting, and I’ve learned that woman alone is a curiosity. ok. you guys know me, I’ve spilled a lot of myself here over the decades (I believe I got here in 2004).

Yes, I was a dancer, miss it greatly. The local radio station is good time oldies so I get my dance on, solo, periodically. That’s the beauty of having shotgun ranch, I’ve got a straightaway from my bedroom through the kitchen all the way through the living room. After Helene, I could see much more of the neighborhood below and at one dance session, it occurred to me that now I could be seen! Decided I didn’t care, I just make sure I’m covered vs close out the Mountain View.

I will say, nobody has ever seen me on Facebook as I have never, will never…

I have seen best and worst of people, and happily report mostly I see the good, the helping others from those that can barely help themselves. So many people lost everything that giving has been easy, it’s the receiving that’s hard for me. Need is different so when DNR came around on ATVs I did accept canned goods, we couldn’t leave neighborhood but gotta eat. We did do some big group cookout/pitch ins as guy I’ll refer to as Mountain Patriarch has a great outdoor setup and used to be a chef. It’s his John Deere tractor that made a lot of our recovery possible, we were simply lucky that the tractor was on our side of the gone bridge, as our side has more mountain so dirt and rock could be scooped and dumped in. I got a kick out of having a big tractor parked beside my car. Country living!

The offgrid situation…. That could be fine and happy with the right people, just turned out the landowner …. Well, let’s just say that anyone that had chosen to live there fled and went no contact. I know of 5 of us refugees, could be more by now. One time when I escaped to a timeshare for some comfort, on my return I discovered she stole my solar panels and propane tank! I’d put her on the “worst of people” list. While I could have stolen her tools in retaliation, I’m not that kind of person.

The other nasty piece dealt to me was on the land I bought and moved my cabin and container to from her land …. Turns out, the major landowner there refused to grant easement so I could have electricity. Had something to do with an old dispute he had with the elec company (Duke). That was a gut punch, fouled all my plans as I was ready to live normally, had a mobile home ordered, well was getting drilled (super long wait on that)… I sure didn’t say goodbye when I left. I know he was mad that I got that land at a great price and I hope he has indigestion over the profit I sold for. I hope the new owner fares better.

I have excellent southern exposure here and elec is a co-op that will partner on solar, so I do expect to be mostly solar here. I’m putting on a metal roof with the extra support for panels and will then keep on adding them on my hillside with tall flowers around to make it prettier. That hill is across my driveway and is currently a fairly ugly landscape fabric with old tires holding it down. Some of the tires are painted but that doesn’t really help the eye soreness. Sure, the summer wildflowers helped but it’s mostly Yuck. I won’t grow food on that hill because I don’t know what may leach from tires into soil and I’m adamant about my grown food being Clean. Things are going to start out pretty ugly in the spring, it’s going to be container garden made of cardboard boxes while I slowly get beds in and cardboard will nicely decompose. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a dumptruck of good soil up here, could be dump trucks remain exclusively on gravel duty, and if we don’t get gravel for our bridge, I can’t ask a dump truck to risk it. So, bags of soil mixed with my compost is probably how it will go.

I’m grateful to have found Home. It was a desperation buy that’s turned into a smart move. Still don’t know if I’ll be here 5 years or to my end, but that’s just not something I care about right now. It wasn’t until mid November that my other land sold and by then I could actually get the rest of my belongings up here (right past Thanksgiving) so having a couch and dining table is still new for me. Before that, if it couldn’t fit in my car, I couldn’t have it (so much more to that story before Helene, kind of a strange Hatfields vs McCoy thing with someone trying to shut off deeded easement access with steel poles at hairpin uphill curve, it was scary taking my car through, no way I’d wrap a rental truck around em — those poles were yanked out and are now helping support our bridge…). Don’t have sewing machines set up yet, still putting together shelves, etc., that were dismantled for move. Honestly, I don’t get as much done as I should because my view is so good that I end up enjoying that more than getting stuff done. There is something special at sunrise and sunset with the rays playing off the clouds and peaks. The colors are amazing and I don’t seem to get my fill. I just don’t think Productivity needs to be my driving force, having played that game through my career, which I don’t miss. I do want to get on the making and selling this winter, but, first things first, and the key torment is deciding and un deciding about what goes where in kitchen and pantry. I’m a terrible organizer and seem to keep shuffling as it seems each box I open causes a change of decision. At least it’s me tormenting me and not an outside force!

 

[rapmarks]

So happy to hear from you again and definitely one of the most fascinating posts here

 

[PcflEZFlng]

It's great to hear from you again after such a long time. And I agree: you have a fascinating story and much to tell.

 

[DancingWaters]

What an adventure of trials and rewards. Glad to hear you are still dancing . Your new place sounds beautiful

 

[GregT]

Welcome back Geekette, a remarkable journey for sure. I hope the future is a little bit "easier"!

Best,

Greg