Nov 3 – Forgot that I had created a Youtube channel. So far only half a dozen videos, but hope to add more content going forward: https://youtube.com/channel/UCEUlgwrTf3Us2cDeY6X2gOg

Nov 5 – Amazing how the weather changed in 48 hours. Two days ago it was -5C and we had received about an inch or two of snow. Today, sunny and +8C.

Nov 8 – John was to have come home today, but will take a trip to Oshawa, then home tomorrow. Can’t believe he’s been gone 5 weeks. Just got home myself from the usual laundry/grocery trip to Kapuskasing. Once a month, I head to the laundromat as we don’t have a washer/dryer. I’d love a washer/dryer but being off-grid, we just cannot generate enough solar power for the next six months. I find the laundromat to be convenient in that I can do 7-8 loads in under an hour. I’m thinking how long that would have taken in my previous house where we had a washer and dryer. Would have taken at least a full day or maybe two. Add in electricity and water costs…meh…I don’t mind the laundromat. It is what it is.

Quote I read the other day by Mark Twain: “There are two important days in your life: the day you were born, and the day you learn why.”

Nov 16 – I think the snow that recently fell will stay as the forecast for the next two weeks is below zero. Winter has arrived. Since we have the wood stove going all day, decided to make a stew and cook on the wood stove – sort of mimic a slow cooker. I can alter the temperature either by the fire itself and/or placing a trivet under the cast iron Dutch oven. Using a trivet and creating a bit of air beneath the pot allows the stew to simmer, rather than boil. Todays stew is “pork, fennel and roasted red peppers.” This will take approximately 8 hours and served over smashed taters.

Just got home from my first winter bike ride. Two years ago I had purchased a fat bike, but the seat was so uncomfortable I couldn’t ride it. Finally got a new seat and took the bike for a 6km ride on an icy/snowy road. For those who aren’t familiar, a “fat bike” is sort of like a mountain bike, but a lot sturdier. The wheels are about 5 inches wide and have studs with tiny little metal rivets. This helps grip on ice and enables the bike to ride through six inches of snow. A terrific workout!

Johnny is busy up at our other property. He’s been busy changing brakes, tires, oil changes and so on. All the stuff I have no clue about. It’s nice that the distance between our house and our other place is only 600m. When we remember to charge the walkie-talkies, we’ll keep in touch that way.

One of Johns hobbies is model railroading. Couple pics from what he’s created in part of the garage:

Nov 20 – Our least favourite day since we decided to move off-grid: cleaning the compost toilet. I’ll spare you the details, but cleaning the toilet isn’t really all that bad. We do this not-so-fun chore every other month and takes maybe 20 minutes. The upside is we don’t need a septic bed, no worries about lines freezing and the cost of septic is about $15,000 versus $1,500 for a compost toilet.

Nov 21 – went for a bike ride. We have some snow and the roads are a bit icy, but no worries with the fat bike tires.

Nov 29 – last minute decision, we’re driving to Timmins today – about 1.5hrs south of us. Shopping up here kind of sucks, so it’ll be nice to hit up Bulk Barn especially. Haven’t shopped there in three years. We’ll spend a couple nights enjoying a few dinners out, shopping and spending time in the “big city.” LOL…population 42,000.