SURVIVOR: LA

 
~Stanley, Haiku and THE DAN, hunkered down in the Airstream~

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SURVIVOR:  LA

No, we're not talking Los Angeles - we're talking Lower Awendaw.  Come on now.

It's cold!  We southerners have thin blood (whatever the hell that means).  Some say our blood is the same as everybody elses, and that we are just spoiled (but what do they know?).

Setting:  About three miles from a Super Walmart, two miles from a Publix, and 1.5 miles from the restaurant 17 North:  A Roadside Kitchen - in the Wilds of North Mt Pleasant (affectionately referred to as LA) - and 18 miles from the lovely southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. Live from an acre of land filled with numerous frozen plants, a falling-down home (with running water), and a 1973 Airstream Overlander Land Yacht.  And yes, there are neighbors - but they all stick pretty much to themselves (and indoors these days).

Challenges:  No water (not even cold water - it must be hauled in - I like how using the word 'hauled' makes it sound like I have to travel for miles to get it).  Heated only by a much-loved Vornado space heater (and a cheaper version of the same - but the cheaper version has an oscillating fan, which is quite luxurious).  Filled with assorted floor rugs (to help keep the floors warmer), miscellaneous blankets (to help keep me warmer), and a pack of four-legged creatures who definitely ARE spoiled southerners.

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I must confess that I've never watched an entire episode of SURVIVOR.  But yesterday a friend mentioned that I should start my own series, complete with videos - and I've been laughing about that suggestion all day.  I can see it now - a reality show of my life in the Airstream.

('Boring' doesn't quite capture the essence of what the resulting video might be to watch:  See Pam work on grant.  See Pam let dogs outside.  See Pam make oatmeal.  See Pam get Cabin Fever.)

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However, my Airstream Life has been a bit consuming of late - there's definitely something about this extended period of unusual cold that makes one get in touch with their vulnerabilities.  However, now that I'm a few days into it - and am knee deep in a new grant and even have gotten into a bit of a routine - I'm doing okay.  In fact it's cozy.  And it was nice to get a comment recently from Kay at Gardening with Attitude - a former gardener and Airstream dweller - who shared with me her indoor low (51F) with one small space heater.  (Kay - my outdoor low as been 23F and indoor low 48F.) (I especially enjoyed this post about her new RV toilet - and yep, I understand).

Anyway, I'm dealing with the cold - this weekend will be rougher (highs for us predicted in the mid-30s, very unusual for the lowcountry) for a few days - but I'll make it.

~~~~~

Well, I'd better wrap this up.  I have a grant to write, and a TV show to produce (and star in).  In my new world of irrational optimism - the grant will get funded, and the TV show will be a smashing success.  And as the eclair-baking postdoc responded to me yesterday (after another outburst of irrational optimism):  Download Fascinating1

Comments

[Joan]

Why don't you have any water in the Airstream?

I lived in a half finished cabin with no insulation through a WVa winter hauling water to bath from a creek down the hill. One night with the wood stove glowing red the ash pan in front of it was frozen solid. Yikes.

Get an electric blanket. I swear by them.

[Pam]

Joan, so you've actually hauled water...I'm merely walking up to my old house and filling up a bottle. :)

I don't have water because it's connected to the Airstream via a hose (above ground) from the house - and it's been frozen solid. And to keep the Airstream's pipes safe I had to drain them (I should be okay after the weekend - when the temperatures warm back up to more civilized numbers!)

I used to use an electric blanket in Michigan - loved it! I don't think I need it hear - I'm staying warm enough for the most part (might change my mind this weekend).

[Janet]

I think your own TV series is in order. The lack of water in this bitter cold is not good....make sure you haul enough! Hoping this weather turns soon, I am not a fan of super cold winters.

[Christopher C NC]

Better to haul water than trudge through the snow for water. Granted I only had to trudge twice before the miracle of open pipes occurred. If your hose is froze get an empty hose or a new hose at the walmart, hook it up and leave a trickle of water running and the hose won't freeze.

A wizened survivor would have let the water trickle before the wicked cold descended. I think it takes a few winters to get wizened.

[Pam]

Christopher, I had the hose with a trickle of water on the first cold night (in the mid-2os) and it froze anyway - it's just sitting along the top of the ground, from the house to the Airstream. My pipes in the house are dripping, and those are just fine.

(I'm definitely kind of joking about the hauling water thing - I AM 'hauling' water, but somehow getting it from my other house next door is kinda funny to me).

[zerozero]

Ouch, it does sound cold there. At least you've company. Animals seem to adapt faster than humans to the cold. What is it with the southern US? It seems as if frost is a common complaint. Hope it warms up soon ~ you could do a Survivor show ~ it would be fun to watch.

[Les]

I just saw a blurb on the morning news about iguanas dropping out of the trees in Florida from the cold.

Wrap those dogs around you and know that it will soon be over for you.