Communities

Ugggg! Will it ever stop raining? I am thankful that we aren’t experiencing the ice like our neighbors to the north… Today I went outside to check on our stuff, our last load of stuff is sitting out on a trailer, it’s covered with builders plastic, it’s basically super heavy plastic, that’s the only thing protecting our belongings. It was still raining a little when I went outside, I noticed that water had pooled in places on the plastic, gallons of cold water threatened to soak everything underneath it. I was able to pull the plastic taught and let the water drain out onto the ground. Ohhhh, it was cold as it flowed over my arms, refreshing!!! It appears so far that everything is OK under the plastic, we will find out when we unload it.

Now on to a more pleasant subject, I have had lots of fun driving my new/old bug! I drove it over to my Dad’s house to show it off, he lives about 30 minutes away, that gave me a chance to try out driving in it, one thing I learned, I’m glad I’m not driving it to west Texas, I will be towing it, just driving to my Dad’s house and back was fun but rough, I don’t think I’d like being rattled for 12 hours. It does need some work, the dash has gaping holes, in case you aren’t familiar with old bugs, the engine is in the rear, the front has the gas tank, wires, the spare tire and the rest is open space, it’s the trunk. There used to be a radio and speakers in the dash, these are missing, and the glove box is missing too, you can look right through from the front seat into the “trunk” area, that means that all the cold air comes right in through all the holes in the dash to the inside of the cab. My husband did have pity on me though, he took a can of spray foam and plastic bags and filled up all the holes in the dash, at least no more air leaks in. Once we get settled in at our new home, he will work on a better solution. When I got to my Dad’s house, he came out and looked it over, just like most dad’s, he wanted to pop the hood, so I showed him the trunk, the first thing he noticed was all the foam, not standard issue on most bugs, I explained that it was temporary. Next I showed him the motor, I don’t think he is very familiar with bug engines, he is a real do it yourself kind of man though, and has changed out his fair share of motors on many other vehicles, so he was able to appreciate the simplicity and durability of the elegant engine that was staring …

Well I guess the message is now being heard even by the big wigs on the coast because they are holding a conference in December to teach the entertainment industry how to do it green.

I would take this as a point for the green team…. but not sure if this about publicity or the bad publicity they are afraid of. I think we’ll hold off on assigning points yet.

But yes Hollywood goes Green is set to be held December 11-12 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. You can register online with prices starting at $595 for one day and $795 for both. I think I’ll just wait for the movie.

Even though this post is a little off topic the reason behind it was to show that going off-grid can no longer be considered just for the wacky people. If Hollywood is concerned enough to hold a convention about going green then maybe people are waking up to the fact that the way we have understood as “normal” doesn’t work and we are now paying the price for it. Some of those prices are literal as in the cost of goods, but some are the quality of life we have become accustomed to, the options we no longer have, or the choices we have to make between bad and worse.

More main stream organizations are realizing that not only will their image be improved by thinking of the environmental impact of their decisions, but it’s the right thing to do. If the trend keeps going we may even get to the point were everyone demands the opportunity to be more self-sufficient in their lives.

Here is to wishing and working for a self-sufficient world that can sustain itself without sacrificing the world we live on.…