Hello everyone!
I am very humbled and honored to be taking on the Open Thread for Thursday slot from Dawn's Meta. I am quite sad that her current circumstances and travails forced this to happen, as I loved her Homesteading in France posts. They inspired me to start thinking about moving overseas myself!

And so, I, will attempt to fill her shoes, as much as I am able.

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.

-- John Burroughs

Side Stepping the System

I don't think we need to accept the oligarchs' neofeudal system. No doubt it will impact us all, but there are approaches to avoid the global power grab and have a full and meaningful life. There are many paths and today we'll look at a few.