2013.02.18 13:00 - That's Me, in the Mud

eliza posted this enchanting session from the auto-listener database...

[13:09] Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Wol :)
[13:09] Wol Euler: hello cat
[13:09] Wol Euler: happy monday
[13:10] Catrinamonblue Resident: Family Day for me here :)
[13:10] Wol Euler: poor old Boxy, I wonder where he went
[13:10] Wol Euler: ah :)
[13:10] Catrinamonblue Resident: I only ever met him briefly once when I first started coming here
[13:10] Catrinamonblue Resident: I undersatnd he is really quite a character :)
[13:11] Wol Euler nods.
[13:11] Wol Euler: I hope he's all right.
[13:11] Catrinamonblue Resident: I hope so too as I would love to get the chance to meet him again

[13:12] Wol Euler: he hasn't been in SL at all since mid-November
[13:12] Wol Euler: unless he's made a new alt that I don't know
[13:12] Catrinamonblue Resident: nods
[13:14] Wol Euler: his website still exists, but that doesn't mean much
[13:14] Catrinamonblue Resident: is there any other way of contacting him? did anybody know him in RL?
[13:16] Wol Euler: we met in Berlin just before christmas, the year before last
[13:17] Wol Euler: and though we spent a week together, I don't know his RL surname
[13:17] Wol Euler: he had a cellphone, but it was obviously a loaner, it had a German number
[13:17] Wol Euler: nobody answers there.

[13:18] Catrinamonblue Resident: oh dear, so no way to contact him at all then
[13:18] Wol Euler: none that I or anyone I know to ask, knows
[13:18] Catrinamonblue Resident: one of the drawbacks to SL I think, when someone disapears you don't know what happened to them
[13:18] Wol Euler nods.

[13:19] Catrinamonblue Resident: I have been dusting off some old dreams of mine this afternoon
[13:19] Wol Euler smiles.
[13:20] Wol Euler: do tell
[13:20] Catrinamonblue Resident: reading "The Self-Sufficient Life and how to live it" by John Seymour
[13:21] Wol Euler: back to the land?
[13:21] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes, I have always wanted to live off the land
[13:21] Catrinamonblue Resident: I have several other books all along the same theme

[13:21] Qt Core: Hi Cat, Wol
[13:22] Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Qt
[13:22] Wol Euler: hello qt
[13:23] Catrinamonblue Resident: It is still a bit of a dream but I did have a plan of sorts for it, thought it was crushed 5 months ago but have been slowly coming back to it again.
[13:23] Qt Core: do we have a topic ?
[13:23] Wol Euler: [13:20] Catrinamonblue: reading "The Self-Sufficient Life and how to live it" by John Seymour [13:20] Wol Euler: back to the land?
[13:23] Wol Euler: that is where we are :)

[13:23] Catrinamonblue Resident: I was just talking about dusting off a dream
[13:24] Catrinamonblue Resident: dreams are goals with no plan :)
[13:24] Catrinamonblue Resident: so I'm starting to figure out a plan :)
[13:25] Wol Euler smiles.
[13:25] Wol Euler: good luck!

[13:25] Wol Euler: how far away from ... dunno, call it "civilization" would you like to go?
[13:26] Qt Core: reading the index on amazon ... no first aid ? i'll hurt myself at the first manual labor i'll do
[13:26] Catrinamonblue Resident: as far as possible :) but have an eye on land in PEI :)
[13:27] Catrinamonblue Resident: another good book is "Story's Basic Country Skills" John and Martha Story

[13:27] Wol Euler: so ... no electricity or gas or mains water?
[13:27] Wol Euler: none piped in, I mean :)
[13:27] Catrinamonblue Resident: drilled well, off the grid electricity (sun and wind)
[13:28] Catrinamonblue Resident: large garden, chickens, cow and sheep
[13:28] Qt Core: i've read something (in the web) about people making micro hydroelectric systems using the hill they lived on
[13:29] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes I have heard of that too :)
[13:33] Qt Core: in an ideal world i my like the energy and waste management part for my dream home... but i'm too urbanized for anything more

[13:34] Wol Euler: I'd be okay with living off the grid, if I still had highspeed internet access, and a choice of cafes and bookstores in walking distance :)
[13:35] Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
[13:35] Qt Core: just the bookstores for me ;)

[13:35] Qt Core: do people have solar panels in SL ?

[13:35] Catrinamonblue Resident: give me trees space and quiet I'll be happy, I am not a city person :)
[13:36] Catrinamonblue Resident: interesting question :) I wonder too
[13:37] Wol Euler smiles.
[13:38] Qt Core: i lived in a house with some garden, several trees (even fruit ones) and a vegetable garden until i was 9, i rember my father loving the work all of that needed... me ? not so much
[13:38] Wol Euler nods.
[13:39] Catrinamonblue Resident: I never lived on a farm but once lived at the end of a road on 100 acres that backed on to crown land
[13:39] Qt Core: (but i loved grabbing the raspberries from the plant)
[13:39] Catrinamonblue Resident: we had wild raspberries all around :)
[13:40] Catrinamonblue Resident: it was wild country and I loved it
[13:41] Wol Euler has always lived in major cities
[13:41] Wol Euler: apart from holidays with farming cousins
[13:42] Catrinamonblue Resident: :)

[13:42] Qt Core: i really loved the apricot tree, i lalways liked the fruit and it had my swing attached
[13:42] Wol Euler smiles.
[13:42] Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
[13:43] Catrinamonblue Resident: (always wanted a swing on a tree)
[13:44] Wol Euler: write that down on the list for the offgrid house
[13:44] Wol Euler: :)

[13:45] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes it's already on there :)
[13:46] Qt Core: i would consider an hammock too (or instead) better for reading i think
[13:46] Wol Euler: have two trees and both of them :)
[13:46] Catrinamonblue Resident: both :)

[13:49] Qt Core: would that mean that you would not have anymore a job as you would grow/breed all you need ?
[13:49] Wol Euler: you'd still need some income for taxes and maintenance, I fear
[13:49] Wol Euler: hello bleu
[13:50] Bleu Oleander: hiya :)
[13:50] Catrinamonblue Resident: realistically I would still have to work
[13:50] Qt Core: hi Bleu
[13:50] Catrinamonblue Resident: there would be things needed to buy and taxes to be paid
[13:50] Catrinamonblue Resident: Hi Bleu
[13:50] Qt Core: a telecommute job then ;-)
[13:50] Wol Euler: if you had the capital available, you could buy more land and rent it out, use the rental income for taxes and expenses
[13:51] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes that is also something to think about too :)
[13:51] Catrinamonblue Resident: but I also enjoy working part time, getting out and meeting people
[13:51] Wol Euler nods.
[13:51] Wol Euler: (bleu, we are talking about living off the grid. I'll give you a notecard)
[13:52] Catrinamonblue Resident: ty Wol :)
[13:53] Bleu Oleander: ty!
[13:53] Wol Euler: yw
[13:55] Wol Euler: thinking about living off the grid
[13:55] Wol Euler: would you keep a horse, or horses and cart?

[13:56] Catrinamonblue Resident: :) I think I'll keep my car to use when needed, might keep a horse in order too learn to ride :) and a tractor for heavy stuff
[13:56] Wol Euler: interesting
[13:57] Bleu Oleander: so far away from entertaining those ideas ... interesting to think about though
[13:58] Catrinamonblue Resident: I just think of it as a way of simplifying
[13:58] Bleu Oleander: perhaps too much a city person
[13:58] Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
[13:58] Bleu Oleander: it does sound nice though

[13:58] Wol Euler: what do you want to simplify? can you put a name on that?
[13:59] Catrinamonblue Resident: slow down and feel the land beneath my feet, the world turning slowly round
[13:59] Bleu Oleander: interesting question Wol
[13:59] Catrinamonblue Resident: each moment slipping past, the heart beat of the earth
[13:59] Catrinamonblue Resident: the dirt in my hair, the mud between my toes, hard labour rewarded

[14:00] Wol Euler: and where is the "simple" in that, exactly? I'm wondering what exactly is becoming "simpler"
[14:00] Catrinamonblue Resident: mmm I could go if given even the tiniest encouragement :)
[14:00] Catrinamonblue Resident: simple in mind and body
[14:01] Catrinamonblue Resident: Not having to work at other's convience only my own
[14:01] Wol Euler: so simplifying your social connections?
[14:01] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes
[14:02] Wol Euler nods.

[14:02] Catrinamonblue Resident: but more than that simplifying my mind focusing down to the basics of me
[14:02] Catrinamonblue Resident: this is me in the mud, planting the seeds that will grow
[14:02] Wol Euler smiles.
[14:03] Catrinamonblue Resident: I guess it is how I see me :)

[14:03] Bleu Oleander: interesting to realize how one sees oneself
[14:03] Wol Euler: indeed
[14:03] Catrinamonblue Resident: I didn't really realize it till just now, thank you :)
[14:03] Bleu Oleander: big picture vs day to day
[14:03] Wol Euler: heheh, my pleasure
[14:04] Bleu Oleander: sometimes not always in sync
[14:05] Bleu Oleander: at least for me anyway
[14:05] Wol Euler nods.

[14:05] Catrinamonblue Resident: no it's not in sync but maybe that's what dreams are for to find and sync to who we are
[14:05] Qt Core: lowering your need for external "help" make you able to be more choosy about when and who meet
[14:05] Wol Euler: me too, bleu; probably for many people
[14:05] Bleu Oleander: yes
[14:06] Bleu Oleander: visualization is effective

[14:06] Wol Euler: it's funny that I stated cafes and bookshops as my reason for living in a city, but I haven't been in either of those in 2013 yet
[14:07] Bleu Oleander: really?
[14:07] Wol Euler: mmhmm
[14:07] Bleu Oleander: not as many bookshops around these days
[14:07] Bleu Oleander: but I go to a cafe almost every day
[14:07] Bleu Oleander: bring my own books :)

[14:07] Wol Euler: cafes because cooking and eating at home to save money; bookshops ditto but also becahse I have a huge number of unread books on my shelves
[14:07] Qt Core: and most of them are just shops that sells books, not bookshops... :-(
[14:07] Wol Euler: I did too, before Christmas

[14:08] Wol Euler: I'm now living for a week on the amount I spent on lunches before Christmas
[14:08] Wol Euler: it#s amazing :)
[14:08] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes
[14:08] Catrinamonblue Resident: learning how to budget was a big revelation for me :)
[14:08] Wol Euler smiles.
[14:08] Bleu Oleander: ah yes budget
[14:09] Bleu Oleander: need to be strong willed for that haha!
[14:09] Wol Euler: mmhmm

[14:09] Catrinamonblue Resident: I find it fun now, challenge myself to see how little we can live on :)
[14:09] Bleu Oleander: I practice the "hope it all comes out in the end" kinda budget haha!
[14:09] Wol Euler: heheheh
[14:10] Catrinamonblue Resident: yes Bleu I did that too for a while but got in trouble
[14:10] Catrinamonblue Resident: so now pay better attention :)
[14:10] Bleu Oleander: well that's the downside
[14:10] Bleu Oleander: :)
[14:11] Bleu Oleander: the money thing can get in the way of a good time
[14:11] Wol Euler: so true
[14:11] Bleu Oleander: so trying to find a balance

[14:11] Catrinamonblue Resident: But planning for the good time gives less worry at the end :)
[14:11] Bleu Oleander: yes but old by then :)
[14:11] Wol Euler: "money can't buy you happiness, but it gets you into a better class of problems"
[14:11] Catrinamonblue Resident: :)
[14:11] Bleu Oleander: hehe

[14:12] Catrinamonblue Resident: gtg get food on for the kidlets (though really they are old enough to do this themselves) :)
[14:13] Catrinamonblue Resident: it was great talking thanks guys :)
[14:13] Wol Euler: bye cat, cook well
[14:13] Wol Euler: likewlse!
[14:13] Qt Core: bye cat
[14:13] Bleu Oleander: bye Cat

[14:13] Wol Euler: I wonder whether "the simple life" isn't as much a misnomer as "global warming"
[14:13] Wol Euler: the one isn't really about simple, as the other isn't just about getting warmer
[14:14] Bleu Oleander: really should be called climate change
[14:14] Bleu Oleander: some places will get colder actually

[14:14] Wol Euler: to me getting electricity from a socket in the wall is much simpler than running a solar array and a wind generator
[14:14] Wol Euler: indeed
[14:14] Bleu Oleander: haha yes
[14:15] Qt Core: but then no issues with the electricity firm

[14:16] Bleu Oleander: we probably are not very good judges of what will be simpler and what will make us happy ... something other than what we're doing always looks better and simpler :)

[14:16] Wol Euler nods.
[14:16] Wol Euler: simpler because not fully known and understood
[14:16] Bleu Oleander: right
[14:16] Wol Euler: professional farming is anything but simple!
[14:17] Bleu Oleander: seems to me also
[14:17] Wol Euler: the amount of financial risk that my cousins take on each year is absolutely horrifying
[14:17] Bleu Oleander: wouldn't even know where to start
[14:17] Wol Euler: (to me)
[14:17] Wol Euler: they spend the equivalent of a Mercedes Benz limo on each field, each year -- and HOPE to get some crops off
[14:17] Bleu Oleander: just having two dogs challenges me
[14:18] Wol Euler: :)

[14:18] Wol Euler: anyway, not to rain on Cat's parade. I encourage her to pursue that dream
[14:18] Bleu Oleander: yes
[14:19] Wol Euler: my dears, I shall move on
[14:19] Bleu Oleander: disclaimer: all my comments are directed towards me
[14:19] Wol Euler: lovely to see you tonight :)
[14:19] Bleu Oleander: ok me too
[14:19] Bleu Oleander: nice to see you both
[14:19] Wol Euler: enjoy the evening / rest of the day
[14:19] Bleu Oleander: u 2
[14:19] Qt Core: bye all
[14:20] Bleu Oleander: byee