Wednesday, January 20, 2010

That's it, we're MOVING (just kidding... well, kinda)

The official verdict is in! Not only did people vote on this issue, but many of them felt the need to comment and/or make suggestions as well. All of this information was duly noted and appreciated. It appears that for the next 361 days, I will be trying to bring my coffee with me as much as possible, and should the need arise, try to purchase a cup from a local vendor. There were lots of people who commented that I should try to give up the habit entirely, and I think that I can honestly say that the lack of Starbucks in my future should ensure that less coffee gets consumed by this little lady! So, for now, consider the 'coffee crisis' solved!

Next, I wanted to share that one of my 'groupies' has also decided to join me in the effort to live with only the 'MareBare Necessities' as well, and I think that this is absolutely wonderful - if you are also interested in doing so, I encourage you to do so and write to me about it so that I can share your experiences on the blog as well! Even if you are wanting to make some smaller changes - again, please share and we can post your ideas. All ideas are welcome!

In other 'marebare necessities' news, I had a very interesting conversation with my husband last night about this whole 'living with less' thing. Remember how in the last post I mentioned that living where we live isn't really conducive to living the type of lifestyle that I value? First off, I guess that I should elaborate a bit on this point and explain this comment. First of all, our gas bill. Oh my goodness do we pay a lot to heat this house! This is one thing that could of course be avoided if we lived in a different climate. Next, our growing season. For the past four summers I have had a HUGE garden but the harvest season only lasts for about 1-2 months -- I am certainly not a gardening expert either. Furthermore, in the fall, I have attempted (and spent hours, upon hours doing so) to try and preserve as much of the food as possible with pretty dismal results (again, not a preserving expert either). Finally, living out of town. A good friend of mine suggested that I try biking to/from town to save money/reduce my impact. Now, granted she lives in Australia and hasn't been to my house, and the notion itself isn't even a ridiculous option for me to do on my own (it is about 20 km one way on a narrow road with no shoulder), but I could never do so with my little guy. Anyways, my husband (who you should also know is only mildly on board with this project, but only because he thinks that it might save us a bit of money), commented that "if this really does work (in other words, if we can actually cut our costs significantly), maybe we should move to a warmer climate". I was stupified! He hasn't been reading the blog (again, he isn't that interested) so he couldn't have known that I was thinking the same thing.

Now, I know that this will start up some more debate and controversy because there are changes that we could make to live where we live more efficiently (I am open to suggestions by the way), and I will admit, that moving is a bit rash and, perhaps, impulsive(!). I am just throwing it out there as a thought for now, and maybe we will see where that thought takes us... One thing I know for certain is that my parents would have to come too - I could never give them up, even if meant that I could wear shorts and flip flops everyday!

So, for today's post, I think I will end with a few pics of some of the tropical places that I have had the pleasure of travelling to. The first was taken in Maui and the other in Thailand. Ahhhh... warm thoughts!






Cheers everyone!
Marebear :)

2 comments:

  1. How could Trent ice climb if you lived in a warmer climate?
    Good on you Maren, best of luck!

    J.

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  2. I was so excited to see this entry! You should definitely come join us in the ever growing Kelowna. Did you know that my dessert plants have been living all winter? And I ski on the weekends very close to my home. Best of both worlds!

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