I really have no idea where I am.

I mean this in the sincerest sense. And this has nothing to do with my navigational dyslexia. Yes, I know I can look at a map and see where my SmallTown is in relation to other small towns.


But walking around our neighbourhood, I felt like I was nowhere. You don't get that feeling in a big city. Wherever you go, you are always somewhere. A grocery store, MEC, downtown, the beach, etc. In SmallTown, wherever you go, well, there's wheat. Wheat and sheep.

Couple this with our backyard sheep, not to mention the other day the sheep actually bleeted and baa'ed, and I honestly don't know where I am.

It didn't really help that HippieHusband and I went on a hike outside our SmallTown because although, it reminded me of parts of home, I couldn't place myself anywhere.

Funny Moment: After we ate lunch, we were ready to head out of the parking lot and the MopTopPopTop (HippieHusband's name for the VW van) got stuck. It has a single-wheel drive and that single back wheel dug a big ol' hole into the gravel. We tried putting sticks in the hole to give it traction. Then we tried paper but it just shred it and sprayed paper everywhere. I told HippieHusband that well, we should just wait for some nice strong men to come along and rescue us. Guess what? Ten minutes later five strappin' guys get out of a car. It was a random movie moment. They wore sunglasses and as they walked towards us I could hear the soundtrack to Ocean's Eleven. It took five guys at the front of the van, myself and another girl in the back to get the MopTopPopTop unstuck. End of Funny Moment.

Here's another reason why I'm feeling a little isolated. At the farmer's market in town, which by the way is incredible, we saw BaldandTall, a colleague, carrying three big boxes of peaches. The previous week he was carrying three big boxes of tomatoes. When BaldandTall saw the bewildered look on our faces he responded by telling us that he was stockpiling. Stockpiling? (A brother in arms for Hippie Husband who obsessively reads doom sites?) That same week another colleague talked about canning and freezing tons of different vegetables, herbs, and fruits. Is this because all these different people are seriously worried about the economy or is it because the winter here is so bad that you can't get any of these vegetables? Oh sure, the end of the world - no problem - but winter without fresh vegetables and fruit?

All this talk of canning led HippieHusband and I to go to town on this whole surviving-the-winter-by-stockpiling idea. We are not new to the idea of stockpiling, but we are canning newbies. Peaches, tomatoes, basil, green beans, okra, apples, sweet peppers, you name it we can it.

Okay winter bring it.