First cabin visit

We finally got back to the cabin today for the first time since May. I was gleeful with anticipation about it, and it did not disappoint. The weather was perfect, the food we chose was great (and fit my diet), and the H labored all weekend to strap down solar panels to the overhang roof and run a cord down to the kitchen area, so we now have a fridge.

We didn’t get to use it as we only just plugged it in as we left, but it, and power in general, is going to be a big upgrade.

I saw in the safety instructions that you shouldn’t keep your fridge near anything with ignitable vapors or open flames, which had me worried about our propane tank/cooktop setup. I’ve never felt great about using propane to cook indoors in such a small space - even though I always keep all the windows & the door right next to it open, it’s still semi dangerous. So we went back and forth about it but in the end decided it’s better to keep the fridge plugged in and always ready for us rather than unplugging as we leave, and to bring in the electric cook top I used during our kitchen renovation instead. I hate electric cooktops, but it’s hardly like I’m doing big cooking projects out there - I’m usually just making a quick breakfast or heating something up. And the safety of not having explosive gasses out there with us present or not I think is worth it. Now let’s just hope the solar generates enough power to use the electric cooker! 

I’m of two minds about having power out there - part of me didn’t want this and just wanted the place to be simple and like camping; but there’s also a male/female element of this I find interesting. I’ve mentioned here in derisive terms about how women go with the flow and work with nature rather than trying to dominate it like men do; and I do believe this is true, and our method is better in many ways. But maybe in this case, I didn’t want power because to my capabilities it was totally impossible; yet he knows he has the physical strength and technical know-how to make it happen, so I was prepared to just quietly suffer and accept less whereas he was not. And now we get to have sustainable, endless free power - no more replacing batteries or re-filling propane tanks. We can keep food safely cold, run a fan or even AC, have lights that don’t require batteries or re-charging. These are all a big plus. 

We have such great family bonding time on these trips. The kids do get bored, so I can’t say at this age that they love going out there (they tolerate it well enough - they never complain), but I wonder if they will look back fondly on it. On this trip they did run around and play a bit more than usual, and I committed to playing games with them on the final day when I knew dad would be working all day and they would be itching to leave. We haven’t played board games together in ages, and it was a blast. 

Our lives at home pretty much consist of me getting them up for school, getting them home, making sure they do homework and brush teeth and shower and do laundry. That’s pretty much it, all week. Taking these weekend trips forces an intimacy that doesn’t exist at home - eating every meal together, watching a movie together, having conversations. It’s why I started the crazy notion of this desert adventure six years ago to begin with. So I was very happy this weekend.