We still don't have electricity or running water. We could use the propane to have a working fridge, but we have an ice chest that has been serving purposefully just fine. The reason we still don't have electricity is because we're waiting for ONE stinkin' piece to set up the solar panels. Once we get the pole mount we can set it all up and watch our online shows, blog without paying for coffees/teas every time, and be more consistent with checking our email. We currently check email at coffee shops or in the car either using the car battery or while the engine is running (on the move, of course). We never drained the battery fully, thank goodness. That would be horrible - another stranded situation just like when the truck got stuck in the mud, really.
Running water continuously proves to be a challenge off-the-grid. We've gone through so many different ideas as to what our options are and I'm still unclear as to which option sounds best. We haven't acted on any of these plans. At this point, we might not even need to set up running water. We've made it almost a solid month without a hook-up and it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore to try and get it. (The real life saver here is the fact that we have gym memberships and can shower regularly there). Dishes aren't too challenging without running water, especially when one limits themselves to only one bowl, plate, fork, knife and spoon to use. Dishes don't pile up here at The Lair. (Yay)! As for laundry - we can plug the tub, put the clothes in, add some water from our five gallon jugs we have, pour in a little borax and step all over the clothes to slosh it around and work it. =) Basically the same method for rinsing, minus the borax. Drying the clothes happens by hanging the clothes out on the line between the rent-a-fence panels. No electricity needed! We have yet to try this method.... I trust it should work mostly fine, though! I aim to try the method very soon as our laundry basket is near full.
The situation with the toilet is a little bit disheartening. We have to drain the tank which is approximately 25 gallons into a portable sewer tank and then haul it over to a KOA campground to rid of it. It's just not something we consider fun. This is my least favorite part about not having running water AND being off-grid.
The dogs love the property. They don't care about the ticks crawling on them, but we do. The last thing I did this morning before I left to walk to the truck was pull a female tick off of Axel's cheek. I screamed with disgust as I pulled it off and threw it on the ground. It's abdomen was so huge. We had tried to pull it off with tweezers last night but Axel wasn't having it. The tweezers kept slipping off the tick and we would only end up pulling Axel's skin really hard on accident. Poor guy. Thus, I used my bare hands this morning. Yuck!!!!
Love the photos. Shows the lay of the land!
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