I have more than a few long time friends. We like each other mutually and on long established and well understood terms. It’s all good. One of the qualities we all share is friendship-without-obligations. We make contact when we want to rather than by rote, schedule or obligation. That is so good for me. But it also means that long-time friends may not be in touch or call or email or even read the blog for years at a time. “Why bother? We like Dave and Sally and Dave and Sally like us……do we need a regular confirmation or ritual over that? Do we need a regular contact?”
And the answer, of course, is NO. Some of my best friends I have not seen or even heard from in years. But, should we ever BE in touch, it is as if we lived next door. It’s all intimate and close and natural from the very get-go. In fact, one of my best friends with whom I have been in touch lately, I hadn’t seen for over twenty years. ‘Cept for a little EXTRA reminiscing, it was the same old friendship from the start. Good ol’ Ted!
So, imagine my surprise getting an unexpected chit-chat call the other night from some very close friends who are usually infrequently in touch. “Jus’ checkin’ in……” ….and we talked for awhile. It was nice. Then, the next day, getting an email from a similar good-but-disconnected friend. He sent an email that was very oriented on ‘cheering people up’…ya know……? Pictures, jokes about aging, jokes about ‘the blues’ or ‘troubles’. All very uplifting. Put a smile on my face…….
Then it dawned on me…these were my friends checkin’ in with me because (and this is the funny-but-lovely part) they sensed from the last few blogs that I was depressed and they cared enough to make a ‘connection’ but it was one that very sensitively danced around the issue. They barely managed to ask, “You OK?” As soon as they knew that I was OK, then “Well, we’ll let you get on with your evening, then. Bye! Love to Sal.”
When I write this crap, it is usually about whatever is going on in my head at that moment. If I write the blues, it is very likely I was feeling blue in that moment but, after a cookie or a laugh with Sal or even a new log salvaged from the sea, the light-grey shadow is lifted and I am fine. I just have moods, ya know?
My moods are not dramatic highs and lows like bi-polars but they are noticeable. I have a Latino-type personality, I guess. And it is noticeable THROUGH the blog! Who knew?
So, today’s blog is just a reassurance for my six or seven readers that I am fine (thanks) and NOT depressed. Well, not today, anyway. But also be reassured, that I will definitely be bleak and blue somewhat over the next three months simply because EVERYONE out here gets a little ‘bushed’ in the winter. The lack of sunshine is a real influence on mood and more and more I am getting sensitive to the winter blahs. And I write the truth about it…..
Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I am going to the garden to eat a few worms……
Our Off the Grid Home 
Hi Dave and Sally – checking to see if I can leave a reply. Testing.
Joy
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Oh, yeah! Test is good. You are ‘in’!
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It sure has been grey since mid Sept!
It shows not just in the moods but also in the propane tank. Last year, the generator came on (AUTO ON) twice. This year, at least this FALL, sometimes twice a week! If we get a bit of Sun every two or three days we are fine, but we’ve gone weeks between true sunny days this year. No wonder all are down. Then of course, that rain. It doesn’t seem to wish to stop. And we sit to watch the news (clips on youtube) in horror at what that rain is doing south of us. Sad and shocking.
Life could most certainly be worse.
I wish You all warmth and dry toes.
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I have dry toes. Sal? Not so much. Birkenstocks are not waterproof and, even if they were, she tends to fully immerse in the sea rather frequently. Good ol’ Sal gets damp. Good ol’ Dave stays dry and takes naps. We both cope with winter in our own way.
I was born in Vancouver. I KNOW rain like a Bedouin knows sand or an Inuit knows snow (or a Manitoban knows mosquitos?). And this…? This rain…? It’s bad. But, so far, it is not the worst I have experienced. I’ll comment more in February when the water levels are higher.
Nice to see ya….
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Believe it or no, I’m always here tho perhaps obscured by the fog.😉
Be Well & stay safe.
All the best to You & Sal!!! D.
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Busy busy busy.
The record rainfall have you climbing the walls?
24 inches in Nov for the Fraser Valley.
Some wags are saying rain gauges in Tofino recorded 950 to 1000mm ( 39 inches) for Nov.
This to shall pass.
I have 3 hummingbirds fighting for dominance at the Burnaby shop.
Tough little bastards.
If I could clone them into humans and pay them in Coca cola (Caffeine and sugar) .
I’d be unstoppable.
Order some books from Amazon.
Nuthing like 5 – 10 “Current Events” books to really get you frothing at the mouth.
I just finished ‘The Long Game ( 100 years of Chinese Supremacy) by Rush Doshi
And now I’m digging into American Kleptocracy to really depress me.
Stock up on books, bullets, beans , bullion and bumwad ….. OTG livin at its best!
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Good to see your always cheery comments, NonCon! Does flooding generate MORE work for your company?
I really need to do a blog on 1st world TP fixation…what a weird fear…..first thing to get bought out when any kind of threat looms. The French use a small spray hose, the more primal use their left hand and then wash, the old farmers used one’s ‘own’ personalized rag hanging on a nail in the outhouse and a bucket of water outside. Bears? Well, I guess they just go fishin’….catch a salmon and clean your nethers all at the same time. But us? We charge into town and riot over toilet paper.
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I am not ashamed to say… well maybe a wee bit, that I was an absolute Warrior in the TP War of 2020. As C19 landed and the war began I, and We, did our due, and over due diligence and collected a ‘few’ packages of the stuff. That was just before we moved here, and we brought most of it with, with the 2nd anniversary of our being Home coming in May, and we’ve not bought a package of tp here as yet. I don’t imagine that we’ll have to this year or in the foreseeable future. Warrior in deed! (with just a touch of insanity I ‘spose🙄)
Now if only there was some Scotch Wars!!!😉🙂🤩🥰🤪 David.
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You SHOULD do a blog on the 1st world TP fixation. The first Asian girl I dated decades ago, uttered the immortal words: “Most white people don’t wash afterwards, they just use tissue. It’s disgusting honey!”. I became an instant convert and have not used the vile stuff since.
A bit of Google research reports that, n 2018:
“On average, an American can be expected to get through 141 rolls of the stuff per year, equating to roughly 12.7 kilograms. Not too far behind are the Germans with 134 rolls being flushed down the toilet every year. In third place the UK consumes 127.”
Can you imagine? The pollution, including from the creation of all that bleached paper, transporting it, and on and on? The trees felled for that wasteful (no pun intended) purpose.
Another one of my pet peeves is “garbage bags”. I could never quite accept the notion of buying something for the express purpose of throwing it away. Surely a sign of having too much money. And it’s just that much more garbage to boot. Someone I know, who knows garbage, told me that if you excavate a landfill, you will find garbage bags, many years old, that if ripped open, reveal what looks like yesterday’s garbage.
I read here always, but I am not among the indomitable Group of Seven respondents, let alone the Magnificent Seven. If I comment, I tend to attract the undue attention of “anonymous”, esq., who will follow up my posts with either sharp criticism or the bald, two-word calumny, “a screed!”. If I want insults, I can find sufficient in other venues. On jdc’s genteel blog, such unfriendliness seems a tad unseemly. So I say little, to help maintain civil discourse, which is the hallmark of the 7 stalwarts. But the exchange that goes on here, while I read in silence, I find worthwhile. But, once in awhile, I find a delightful topic, such as TP! I cannot resist the temptation to pen a screed. I suppose I am old enough to know better, but too young to resist.
Should our host see this screed as too likely to provoke an uprising equivalent to the Stanley Cup riots, I trust he will relegate it to the dustbin with alacrity. Maintaining order is paramount.
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Truly Rjukan,
You should reply more often, all dim bulbs aside, as it could be very entertaining, and educational, to enjoy you and our esteemed host, ping pinging 🏓 with the rest of us, on lord knows what.
Do have a fine, and Peaceful, day. D.
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Thank you for your comment, dlwnolonger56. You too, have a fine, peaceful day, and many more.
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“Stock up on books, bullets, beans , bullion and bumwad ….. OTG livin at its best!”
BTW
Words to live by!!! 😉🤣 D.
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How about The Economist?
Not a bad read.
And it arrives every week.
Pour over the World’s weekly problems and be happy in your snug abode in the hinterland …..far from the insanity
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Now, now…..we do definitely live in a paradise and I with an angel but insanity is NOT too far away. Living OTG gives license to ‘be yourself’ unhindered by the restraints and constraints of social convention. And, when you got a lotta leash to run out, most people run it out. And we even have a few a smidge too long off-leash. Eccentric is the norm, whacked is pretty common and outright nuts shows up frequently. Still no one is dog-eat-dog, few are greedy and only a few are ‘tight’ with their energies or resources. Very few. We are a subset of society that is fiercely independent without being fierce, we are generous but have little, we are considerate mostly by walking away, we are able in so many ways and disabled in a few that make us less comfortable in ‘ordinary’ life. Put more succinctly: I am the most sane person out here. Sal a distant second.
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Well, I dont think brain eating Zombies can manipulate an outboard motor so you should be safe….. for a while.
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We each have our dark moods or moments, usually they pass and we get back to being our “happy” and normal selves. But times are depressing and there is no bright light at the horizon unfortunately. Glad to read you are still doing fine ;-). Would like to see the other islanders if you are the most sane person on the island
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I would encourage it. Just remember the five basics. All first greetings are done with quick body language, a nod, a look, a proximity of less than ten meters. #2 do not smile or look directly into their eyes, any weird scarring, missing limbs, hair-cuts, clothes or their dog or spouse. Shuffle and look at feet when saying first words. #3. Do not speak in complex sentences. Simple singular noun/verb constructions in the beginning. #4 Do not make a gender mistake. It is all too easy to do – we all dress the same. #5. When in doubt, call the man, Doug. All women are ‘ma’am’. Half the men are NOT called Doug, of course, but half are and we have all come to answer to Doug.
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Readers who don’t make comments still count! Not sure if we are included in your 6 or 7 or so readers.
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You are on the membership cusp……..get in a comment or two every month and I will accord you #8. Officially. #8. With that official status comes an invitation for a scotch. Or a Rotary beer. With that designation also comes uber respect from the Magnificent Seven……do I hear an eight? Excellent Eight? Going once…..
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Nein?
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Sorry, JA, you cannot be nein or even nine. You are one of the M-7.
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