Starving with success.

Sylv and I travel quite a bit, mostly in a parochial way.
We do the duty trips back to Blighty for the families as the need arises, but we also do several trips each year to places in our own Canadian back yard.
We like to explore new areas and see things not seen before. Curious we are.
There is something in most of us that lays just beneath the surface of our conscious existence.
Perhaps felt as a restless urge or a discomfort, it niggles away at our soul.
An inner voice quietly telling us that something is not right here.
For Sylv and I, it was this inner directive that urged us to make change in our lives.
Even though modern "logic" dictates that we are a couple of wing nuts out on the fringe, the inner conscience leads us to the path less travelled.
On our journeys, we meet people who talk about the same force within that puts them at odds with their present lives of comfort and ease.
They talk of leaving the pressure and hassle of today's world and going back to a lifestyle of simplicity, like in the days of olde.
Most of these folks are looking back at yesterday as some Disneyland paradise and have little understanding of what that lifestyle would deprive them of.
Almost without exception, those expressing these desires are living very comfortable lives with all the trappings.
And therein lies the paradox.
Despite having all they need, the soul is deprived.
We are starving with success.

Introductions....

We are a middle aged married couple sharing our adventures in off-grid living in Alberta Canada.
As relative newly-weds, we emigrated to Canada from England in 1987.
We have farmed in various parts of Canada, developed a small earth moving business & diversified into welding & machine repair over the years.
Despite being as green as grass about the daily practicalities, we set ourselves up as a living experiment.
Could we live off the grid for an extended period in northern Alberta?
Our postings are nothing more than the things we discovered over the 5 years we lived in the Hotchkiss area (Manning) in the Peace River district of northern Alberta.
There is no rocket science here, just the ideas we tried in an DIY effort to survive in a civilized manor without Trans-Alta Power.
This blog is initially an after the fact account and, we hope, therefore provides an added perspective.
Would we do it again?
We would and we are.
The farm at Hotchkiss was a place to raise not only produce, but to raise our kids.
A safe haven far away from the madness of the world.
It served the purpose well, but change is constant and as the kids matured it became clear that they needed larger fields & greener pastures.
Much though we lamented leaving our farm, we moved them south to the comparatively tropical cultural oasis of Edmonton.
In the two years we have been here, they have thrived and we now know it was the right decision.
We invite you share in our adventures.