Living the Simple Life

Two weeks in and time has slowed down. We’ve settled into a routine of chores.
Living takes all day.
living can be exhausting

Up before the sun, light the stove, boil the water, top off the coffee cups with a layer of whip cream, sweep the bat guano out the screen door, pet the dog sleeping on the porch, slurp delicious sweet caffeine while sitting in a plastic chair and appreciate the sun rising through clouds over the volcano.

well pumping

High tide mornings send us slipping through a barbed-wire fence, taking a quick walk down to the beach to paddle out. Low tide mornings mean there’s time for chores before the sun gets too high and hot. Well pumping, bucket carrying, garden watering, weed pulling, rock moving, hole digging, fruit tree planting, dish washing, clothes washing, hanging to dry on the clothesline.

using a nail to put holes in a rusty old paint can and turn it into a planter. when the only solution to trash is burning or recycling, there’s good incentive to get creative.

filling the bottom with sand and rocks for drainage

filling with topsoil

baby watermelon sprouts

harvesting basil for pasta

chopping pasta ingredients by candlelight

showering by candlelight

fighting back crabgrass

Drive an hour to town to buy bricks, windows, wood, cement, groceries. Oversee the construction crew as blocks become walls.
the youth dance team showed up to ask for donations for costumes

buying ice at the local town

Drive five minutes to a smaller town for ice, eggs, tomatoes. Chicken costs just under $2 a pound and it’s all free range.

Starting the wood fire just before sunset. BBQ meat while the dog waits patiently and politely for scraps. Eating inside on the floor to avoid the hassle of keeping candlelight-attracted bugs out of the salsa. Asleep just after dark. 7:30pm.