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January 26, 2016: Time away from Home

Now hanging out in dreary, overcast Portland – sort of the same old same old. I have never known it to be any different here at this time of year. El said that a few weeks ago they got quite a bit of snow. Earlier today, when I was out for a walk, I saw some small piles in yards.

Kitty corner to El’s place they are building an apartment complex. This is part and parcel of a new trend, called low density housing.

It’s a strange phenomenon. When sites of habitation become too populated, people start living next to, and on top of one another. In this instance, there has been no or little forethought as to the transportation issues that will go hand-in-hand with having so many people



occupying such a small area. Anybody with a brain in their head can see that there are going to be hardly any parking spots available. And no, not everyone is going to want to get around by bicycle or bus. And even if they do, they will likely still have cars that will be parked on the street.

In thinking about this, I realize just how lucky I am to live where I live. It will in time get more crowded. Right now the fact that our end of the road area is off the grid is keeping this from happening. A mile from here, Ridge Runner Circle, those who live on this road are on the grid, and there are more people there than here. Pete and I have watched all the lots sell, and the occupants build new houses. These people are close to state land and they think they are getting the wilderness experience. Problem is, the more people you have in an area, the less wilderness experience you get.

El is at work. I will soon motivate. I’m going to the store and getting some items so that I can make her some soup. She lives like a bachelor. She needs a wife. I will be her wife for the next few days.

I talked to Pete last night. It’s getting warmer at our end of the world. The temperatures are climbing. Rover is now outside during the day and in at night. Pete got him some barley grass sprouts. He said Rover gobbled them down. So it very well may be that he is rallying.

Sitting here, it comes to mind that Pete and I have been working very hard lately. We take it for granted, for example, that heating with wood and doing all that goes with it, takes considerable energy. I found the thermostat – how easy it is to raise or lower the house temperature, this as opposed to going out into the shed, bringing wood into the house, and then starting a fire.

I feel like I’ve gotten a lot done since finishing the anatomy course last December. I got Dad’s book typed up, got two articles out, got several dispatches written, got two job applications out, got a poetry project going, got several poems written. If I lived here I’d get even more done. Maybe I can be Eleanor’s writer in residence. I could write about low density housing, and what’s good and not so good about it.

Next: 27. 1/27/17: In Portlandia, Again

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