shtf « Robin Writes

Are you in shape? No, in this case, “round” is not a shape! Did you make that resolution, the one you make every year? Yes, that one!

I did not.

I have; in fact, I found Word docs from 2005 and 2009 that detailed that whole “get in shape” thing. Ugh. Obviously, I wasn’t successful.

But I will be this year!

Look, if you’re a prepper, it’s not enough to be able to stock up and learn new skills and be ready for almost anything. You have to be in good physical condition. How would you bug out on foot? How would you have the stamina to work on your homestead for longer than 15 minutes or so at a time?

Let me put it this way: if you had to embrace self-sufficiency today, in a week or month, or in six months, how would you fare?

I decided I wouldn’t fare so well . . .

So I’m going to jump on the New Year Bandwagon of Diet and Exercise Plans, i.e., this is what I’m doing:

I stretch every day, including a few back and neck exercises that are pertinent to my own wonky discs. I was already doing this, but I added a few more. Flexibility is important, especially as we age.
While my coffee is warming in the microwave, I do aerobics. I was already doing this. I drink coffee approximately 5 time a day, a half cup at a time. Ten times. It adds up.
I pulled out my old handweights, oh, about 3 pounds each. I do 50 reps on each arm, bicep curls, while I’m watching TV. Or just gazing out the window. I’m sure the neighbors are wondering . . .
I do step aerobics on the patio wall while I’m waiting for the dog to do his business.
I walk every day, regardless of weather. Okay, I’m not insane, I have limits. Today, it’s 21 degrees with a windchill of 6. Not walking. Of course, as I’m writing this, it’s Sunday, which is my off day.
I dance. Not slow dance, complicated ballroom steps or just, you know, dancing. Twice a week. It helps if I’ve had a couple drinks. Or four.

What makes this all so different? First, it’s things I like to do and, more important, short little bursts. Treadmill walking is boring. Besides, all the standard exercises feel too much like work. You know.

But just like everything else in life, consistency is key. I do these things every day. I don’t have to go anywhere, there’s no equipment (although I did buy a yoga mat, because I have all wood floors and that’s painful)—heck, if you don’t have handweights, use soup cans.

Guess what? In one week, I lost three pounds. Pretty darn exciting. Oh, sure, I watch what I eat, but I’d been doing that and it wasn’t giving me any kind of results. But this is. So far.

So, my advice to you is to do more. Doesn’t have to be a lot more, just a little. But do it every day. You have a lot of things to accomplish, so keep up your strength and build your stamina.

Prep yourself.

We made some decisions this past weekend:

First, there are way too many properties for sale to possibly look at them all.

Second, we could certainly make the barn property work.

And third, with so much work to do, regardless of the property we choose, we really need to get moving on it. And, well, fourth, it can be difficult to search in the winter!

Since the first of September, we’ve driven to/walked over/looked at approximately 30 acreages listed for sale. That’s a lot of driving—oh, a couple thousand miles—and hiking (did not measure that!). I really did think it would be easier and quicker to find what we’re looking for, but I do have a tendency to say, “Gee, what’s over that NEXT hill?” So it’s time to stop.

The barn property is in a good location, decent-looking properties/neighbors in the area, good road in, one-third pasture, and 42 acres with a creek. I’m not going to count that barn, because, even being over 50 years old, the thing’s a hazard. It does have electric, though.

The point is that we can make it work; I can picture it, all the details. And I want to get started.

Which brings me to the third point: all the stuff to be done. Driveway, well, outhouse/septic, pond, fencing, outbuildings, cabin. This is going to take a while, especially since we’re looking mostly at weekends and over the summer—we do still have a kid in school, even though work, for us, is pretty flexible. So I want to get going on this HUGE project!

Which brings me back to winter:

I’m not a fan of driving after dark—and if you saw some of these roads, you’d totally get it—so we’ve got only about 10 hours of daylight, and that includes driving time; that limits the number of places we can check out in any given day. Plus, precipitation is unpredictable, so there’s that. On the other hand, you can definitely see the lay of the land when the trees are bare . . . but there’s mud, snow, ice, etc. And I’m pretty sure AAA has never been to a lot of these places!

So we made a tentative, verbal offer of $1K per acre. That’s slightly above the average listing price for property in that area, but we’ve been told the owner had had a similar offer and declined. Personally, I think she’s asking too much, but we have a little wiggle room. A little.

Why verbal? Well, why do all the paperwork, etc., if the owner is going to say no? Efficient, yes?

And now we wait. We can go up a bit, but we can also move on and continue to look. We do have a few backup properties, and there are always more . . . over that next hill.