So you want to move off-grid? Let me tell you about my day.

Well, this isn't the most auspicious building day we've had.

I went to cut off the excess rebar on the Landlady's retaining wall. Knew I was nearly out of acetylene, but I didn't even get the first bar hot when the torch died. Tried my hacksaw: Wore out my only two blades and only got through four bars. Figured I'd put it off, since I didn't have any choice, until I could get to town.

Weather kept doing weird things. It was below freezing overnight, seemed like it might warm up, then the clouds socked in and the temps dropped maybe twenty degrees in an hour.

Got W's uber-router moved, and for a wonder that project actually went well. His reception is much better, and mine is a bit better too. We've got a cable strung overhead instead of in underground conduit where it belongs, though. That's going to earn me another of Landlady's sad looks and a comment about hillbilly engineering, but for now W can use his computer again. So I blame him.

Went to town. Not surprisingly, the one business in the little town near where we live that advertises welding gas doesn't actually fill bottles, and isn't interested in swapping my puny little one. One of these days I'm going to buy myself a serious welding/cutting rig.

So I went to the hardware and - grumble - bought some hacksaw blades. Also bourbon: This turned out to be providential.

On the way home, though, I thought I'd give the hacksaw a miss and stop at D's to borrow his angle grinder. I can think of things that are more fun than cutting rebar with a grinder, but none of them involve hacksaws. He lent me the grinder happily enough; I ran a whole bunch of extension cord, fired up the generator - need to top off the cistern anyway - and got to work.

Felt like a real safety-ninny for borrowing M's good goggles before I got going. Should have saved the effort and looked more closely in D's grinder kit, because twenty minutes later I was sporting a brand-new bloody lip and loose tooth. After bouncing off my mouth, the grinder grabbed the collar of my sweatshirt and tried to cut my throat. Fortunately it's an old shirt and just tore apart. Of course it was my favorite sweatshirt, but I'm touched that it gave its life to save mine. Should have screwed on that perfectly good side handle that I overlooked before I began. Stupid; too much of a hurry.

Just about then, of course, it started to snow. I'd already given up on pouring concrete this miserable bloody day, but by god I was going to get the last block stacked.

Nearly finished with that, but the last half-dozen blocks I need are holding down the tarp that keeps the weather from ruining my brand-new sacks of concrete. It'll only take a minute to finish with the blocks before pouring concrete, and by god though I'm coming down to the wire and tomorrow is the last possible day I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS CUSSING WALL BEFORE THE HOUSE BUILD. Just so you know.

It is now snowing and raining torrentially. In case the Landlady asks how come that case of beer she bought for the build party is no longer sealed and complete, tell her Ghost demanded a boilermaker.

Weatherman still says weather will be nice for the build weekend. He'd better be right: I've got a gun.