Friday, July 17, 2015

a basement darkly


A BASEMENT DARKLY

Recently, word has come down from On High ( the new Old Lady spoke ) that it was a No Go on moving out to the boonies.  I’m not pissed, as this actually saves me a lot of money I’d have spent unnecessarily ( my daughter has her wedding planned for fall of 2016 and I’m sending her a monthly stipend to defray some of the cost-between that and food and rent I have close to zero extra dollars coming in ).  I wouldn’t have minded digging into savings to build the camping cabin, if there was a good chance it would have turned into a permanent home, but if there is no chance I see little need for it.  In the original plan, it was an investment to eliminate the rent.  Now, it is nothing but a money pit.  So, that plan is over and done.  The new plan, mainly to keep me busy and to stop fretting over living in town, is to turn the basement into a secondary underground shelter.  The house is around a hundred years old, so all the wood is thick and from real trees ( as opposed to pine and chemicals ) and even without insulation on the ceiling, the basement is even better than the boonies Bison Pit Of Doom for a year round even temperature.  Right now it is great for moving a lot of my daily use items into, and there is a great metal clothesline down there.  Twelve hours is usually all it takes for the clothes down there to dry, so you can imagine my excitement about saving dryer quarters and wear and tear on the clothes. 

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I haven’t really figured out why I’d need the basement, other than perhaps a massive nuclear attack or a nearby asteroid impact, or Yellowstone blowing.  In most scenarios I see time to evacuate out to my property.  But, as I said, it is a Make Work project to keep my paranoia in check and too busy to formulate mischief.  I’m not stocking it for a long term stay, at least not yet.  I’ll eventually get around to that, if all stays on an even keel in the outside world.  For now, I’ll just go for a few weeks stay.  I’ve started with water jugs, those stupid expensive ones at about $1.40 for three quarters of a gallon ( Arrowhead brand, I think-I’m paying the premium for the extra quality plastic jug.  Buying two every grocery trip is painless and carefree.  It keeps the girlfriend from questioning my sanity too closely when I describe it as water in case of a power failure.  She is less keen on all the rice I am buying for her gluten intolerant son in law and grandchild, but goes along with it to shut me up ).  Next payday is low cooking time crap like Top Ramen, Minute Rice, white flour and the like.  Her BBQ grill has a cooking burner attachment and we have back-up propane tanks already in stock ( I sold that purchase as a money saving venture when propane went down to an incredible $1.99 a gallon- we BBQ a lot to keep the house cool ) so the cooking issue is resolved. 

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I just ordered a set of name brand high intensity LED flashlights in a three pack, and some more Lite Tubes.  Remember we talked about the trick on those?  You shine a high lumen flashlight in the Tube for a few seconds and it is fully charged for some time, to the brightness you can read by it if placed on the paper.  There are a couple of metal grate covered windows to see enough by the day ( frosted for privacy ).  There is still a lot of work to be done.  Bringing wool blankets from my place, scrounging for extra utensils, getting disposable plates and cups and such, a way to make coffee.  But I think it is shaping up nicely.  A way to make city living more palatable. 

END
 
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13 comments:

  1. Reading between the lines.......I'm glad you have the property.

    Don't get too comfortable..........



    Idaho Homesteader

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really, this isn't about any kinks in the new relationship as much as it is about trying to tamp down my paranoia.

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  2. Durn wimmens , dey always holdin us menfolks reins back I tells ya....

    So long as she does the right thing come the day eh ?

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  3. But we have come to love and cherish your paranoia oh fair haired one. Don't get too soft.

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    Replies
    1. My paranoia levels spiked. Once they come back down, they are still at sufficient levels to entertain and enlighten the masses.

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  4. Compromise is essential in any relationship. That doesn't mean He or She is *right* just that there is a difference of opinions.
    I wouldn't give up on the "vacation cabin" yet. Just make certain to go camping there enough and eventually little improvements - more pleasant bathrooms and cooking setups are a female favorite - Until you say something like 'heck we should make a little cabin here so we don't have to bring a tent and can have a nicer place to have a sit and cook a meal.'
    'And if it is going to be a cabin we can build it so it is durable against the wildfires, and thieves, and weather extremes - so partially earth-bermed would be smart - but some nice windows to capture the views (and solar gain) too'
    Note that you don't have to move there right away. Once it is nice enough to both partners want to stay there full time you can do so at any time. Or just keep visiting and 'vacationing' out there until there is a need to do otherwise.
    Should something

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    Replies
    1. As the cabin is in essence a repeat of the BPOD ( just better with experience ), it isn't essential. It was just a "honey trap". Financially, I just don't think it is going to happen. Remember, I'm not optimistic about the economy. I don't count on any improvements there.

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    2. A crashing economy will mean cheaper used building supplies for a while - or at least that's what I am seeing here near the Bakken Oil fields - Ive gotten 8 large windows (6 opening ones with screens) for less than $600 total plus a couple of smaller windows and doors with storm doors and all the hardware for less than $50.
      None of it 'pretty' but all of it in usable condition. Just needs a sanding and painting.
      I can get several truckloads of pallets free. I still need large dimensional lumber for longer uses but that hasn't gone up much in price.

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    3. JJ Grey, what are you seeing in the oil fields?

      I'm still hearing that it's boom time there???

      Idaho Homesteader

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    4. Boom Time?!? no. Plenty of people are deluding themselves that it is, but that is because many of the oil companies got themselves some extra breathing room with some sort of prepaid contract guaranteeing them a bottom price for their oil - which is just sufficient to keep them running and only laying off a handful of people here and there- and all the infrastructure companies were so far behind on being current with work they are still hiring - for now- but some are being laid off, and if the price of oil doesn't get above @$70 /barrel by the time the contracts expire (about 6 months usually) there will be wholesale layoffs across the board. In the meantime the Oil companies are looking to cut back their growth while pretending to be still growing gangbusters.
      IF OPEC keeps the price of oil suppressed at or below the $60 mark until 2016 expect a wholesale slaughter of these oil companies early next year.
      And, if you are working the fields while living in Company housing you better keep your return bus ticket in your pocket and your stuff ready to be packed - most companies give three days or less for you to vacate their housing once you are laid off. This is now coming up often enough for people to be discussing it.
      If the Bakken region is very lucky the price of oil will creep up to sufficiently high to keep the companies pumping but at a slow enough rate of growth that the local infrastructure can play catch up.
      In the mean time all the opportunists with their ear to the ground are looking for exit strategies, and a number of people who thought the good time was going to last forever are abandoning what they have here and heading back to where they came from.

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    5. Thanks, JJ.

      This is what I expected would happen but I didn't realize that it was happening this soon.

      Thanks for the heads up.

      Idaho Homesteader

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  5. Though, the benefit of not building a new cabin is think of how much improvement you can make to the existing pit of doom.....

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    Replies
    1. I'm not liking the BPOD location because of overpopulation. If I'm going to spend my meager savings, I want an improvement. Far less savages at my front door would be an improvement. It is only a few extra bullets come the collapse, but a quality of life issue until then.

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