I woke this morning in time to get to the first of two softball games starting at 9 am. Needless to repeat I have been quite energy drained and this morning was no exception. I had little more that rice and water for breakfast and headed out to play ball with a water bottle in hand.
To my surprise, I played exceptionally well and hit the ball about as far as I have ever hit it. Now that is pretty impressive. I was very exhausted after the games. On my way home I decided to stop at Sickles to shop for my week 1 rewards (VERY excited!) as well as dinner for Debbie and the kids.
Going into this market at mid-day on a Sunday is like temptation island. There were samples galore of everything from fruits to desserts. This was the biggest test of my will power to date. I kept going over and over in my mind how no one would know if I just gorged my weak self on all of the free samples I could find. Bread, dips, cheeses, honey dew melon, watermelon, cantaloupe, crackers, more cheese spreads, strawberry short cake - Ugh! I did it though - I resisted and made it through unharmed. I also got all of my butter and a pretty cool little bottle of seasoning with four different compartments of seasoning blends - for 5 bucks.
Around 1ish I took the boat out because it was high tide. Once again I was unable to produce. I gave it about two hours and then called it quits. Still no fish. I may end up checking some local trout streams next. Either that, or I'm going to have to venture further out in the boat and try to find where everyone is catching fish.
In the afternoon we all played a couple sets of family tennis where Debbie and Ty kicked my and Jamie's butt. After that it was time to harvest about four asparagus and take a load off. I just relaxed in the living room for a while. I had a thought to make an additional challenge for myself so that it felt like I was earning the food rewards I was getting tomorrow. Making a primitive fire would really give me the psychological boost I have been needing.
I grabbed all the necessary materials and gave it a try. It was extremely difficult. But you know what, in the end I made that muther f-ing fire from scratch and that is an accomplishment that not many people in the world today can say they have done. It is really a crowning achievement and it certainly took my attitude from lowly lows to high high highs! Making fire is a remarkable thing and I am very proud of myself to have done it. Talk about exhaustion though. My arms were about to fall off and I was close to giving up numerous times. On the final attempt I thought about the butter and how much sweeter it would taste if I just make a fire tonight.
One quick tip on making fire with a bow drill - don't keep using the same hole just because it is already drilled and therefore easier to start. If the smoke isn't coming after a couple attempts or if the drill starts squeaking too much, it is a much better option to just start a new hole. And a quick note on holes, as soon as you get the hole started, pause and carve a V notch in the side of the wood, The new holes seem to smoke up a lot better than the older one. With these tips to keep in mind I should be able to reproduce my efforts next week. I should have to make a primitive fire each week before rewards and accepted. Or maybe something else that is 'survivor' related.
Clams with butter tomorrow - looking forward to my newly acquired rewards!
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