Short Sleeves and Long Delays

Today, I woke up and didn’t see my breath.
No candles needed. No icy shock stepping out of the sleeping bag.
The inside of the camper was 18°C.

I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt. In January. In Northern Ontario.

The weather broke — just a little — and suddenly, everything feels more possible. The milk barn heater, our DIY flower pot heaters, and the thousands of tiny adaptations we’ve made over 12 days… they’re finally working.

And maybe more importantly — today is our 8-year anniversary.

Through all of it — the cold, the stuck trucks, the unread emails from town offices — we’re still standing. Still together. Still choosing this life, and each other.


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As for the furnace:
We finally tracked down the right motor.
It wasn’t easy. The manual part numbers were wrong, the first supplier was out of stock, the second one wanted double the price… but we found a vendor.
It’s on its way. Delivery date: February 2nd.

So we hunker down a little longer.
Keep things warm enough. Keep spirits lifted. Keep one eye on the road to our land — and one hand on the can opener.

We’re still waiting to hear who’s in charge of plowing that road to the property. The town’s still on strike. The ministry hasn’t replied. But we’re poking every angle.
We even got our mailbox set up in town — still waiting on the keys — but hey, it’s something.


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This life costs more than we expected.
In money. In effort. In sheer patience.

But every time I look out at the snow, every time I share a quiet meal with Sandy in this crowded camper, every time we problem-solve our way through one more frozen glitch — I know we’re exactly where we need to be.

Still here.
Still warm(ish).
Still building Our Better Life.

This post is related to the following YouTube video: