Ken's Boring Life

It's easier but an extra step I try to avoid.

Coal ash was a byproduct of paper mill operations, produced from the burning of coal. It's not an ash like a cigarette ash, but more like a burned rock. When the Great Northern Paper Mill (once the largest in the world) was built here, there were only two farms and no other homes in the area. Since much of the land was either underwater or marshy, coal ash was used to fill in the low spots; thus, many of the homes in Millinocket sit on a bed of coal ash. According to various reports, the land that my house is on was either a pond or a swamp before it was filled in.

 

A Democrat running for Congress came by my house today. His main issues are education, childcare, and banning assault rifles. I think he figured out that he was in the wrong place when he saw the "Don't Tread on Me" flag on my wall. Of course, he should have figured that out from the "Appeal to Heaven" flag flying outside of our door. Then again, he didn't seem to be a student of history, or of current events, for that matter. Otherwise, he seemed like a nice guy. He'd probably be a good neighbor as long as no one brought up politics.

 

I'll be headed up north to our land and camp. We're putting it up for sale - if we can sell it for enough, we'll be buying a home in the UP of Michigan. I need to go up there and do some cleaning and stuff. I was going to camp out but it's awfully hot so I'll be staying in a hotel nearby for a couple of nights.

 

Yeah. The speed doesn't feel as good as at home but it's reasonable. Yeah, it's just me. Michelle's sister is visiting so this gives them some sibling time, too.

 

I'm sore from working today, so I slept from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and will have to go back out tomorrow to finish up. Everything is done but the mopping but I didn't. have what I needed to mop today because a couple of buckets that I have out there have both sprung a leak, and, since we don't have a well at the camp, hauling water with a leaky bucket wasn't something that I wanted to do, especially not in a leased car.

 

Michelle and I drove to our camp today with the realtor and an interested buyer. He seems still interested, and wants to return to walk the land with his son in a few days or a week or so. I hate to sell the land, and if we are going to remain here in Maine, I'd rather keep it, but if we can get enough for it to buy something in the UP Michigan, then it would be worth it, but things would move pretty quickly then because I'd want to buy a place in Michigan before we piddle the money way on other stuff.

 

What am I looking to buy in Michigan? Well, pretty much anything I can afford. I don't need a fancy house, and I sure don't need a large one. I'd like to have at least five acres of wooded land because I'd like to have a place where I can camp out in a tent or hammock without setting it up in my backyard. However, if I can find a house, even in a small town, that is close enough to my hometown, I might go with that, as well. On the other end of the scale, I might settle for buying land upon which I could build a small building in which to live, providing it's near a power line and I have enough money left over for a well and a septic tank. Mostly, I'd like to be near my relatives while we still breathe in air, but I don't want to rent.

 

From the store shelves, things are starting to look like Russia around here. Our only grocery store hasn't had Diet Moxie in over a month. I'm not sure how they expect people to survive.

 

It is, but I didn't want to interrupt a more serious thread with a silly observation, while, at the same time, I didn't want to waste the silly observation. Besides, that one is about movies, while our devastating Diet Moxie shortage is real life.