Eighteen Years Off Grid, and a Question About Reality

Eighteen years. That is how long we have been living in far west Texas, in our off grid home, the SkyCastle, 100% off grid, on the side of a mountain, in the high desert. It is honestly the longest I have ever lived in any one place. Not that I moved around constantly. My family moved a time or two, but we usually stayed put for several years at a time. I suppose the second longest stretch was when we settled in a suburb of Fort Worth, toward the end of my elementary school years and into junior high.

When I think about all the places I have lived, born in Texas, several towns around the DFW area and Irving, a few years in Southern California as a kid, and nearly a year in Oregon as an adult, I can say without hesitation that this place, where I live now, is my favorite.

I think I finally became ME here. Does that make sense? I hope so, because it makes perfect sense to me. I got to grow into the ME I am, and I am pretty happy with the person who lives between my ears. It has taken all of my 60 years to become this ME, to grow into this ME. I know, not proper English. It is OK. The writer in me is cringing a little too. She will get over it, and I know you will too.

Today is the first day of 2026, which feels almost unfathomable. I cannot really explain why, it just does. I still remember when our years started with 19. I remember the transition into 2000, leaving the 1900s behind. It felt monumental, almost impossible. Would our technology handle the date change? We went to bed not knowing if computers would work, if we could use credit or debit cards, if banks would function, if gas pumps would work. Thankfully, none of those fears came true. The first day of 2000 came and went like any other day.

Or did it?

Is it possible that something happened, or almost happened, that we were never aware of? Or that a timeline shifted and we simply did not notice? I suppose I have read too many science fiction novels, and yet...

Here is something interesting I realized just a few days ago. Have you heard of the Mandela Effect? If you have been living under a large rock, you can look it up here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=mandela+effect

I think I have experienced several Mandela Effect moments, but this one just came into focus for me. You know electric pressure cookers, right? Those once scary, potentially explosive kitchen devices that now safely cook and can food. Around the time we were transitioning into our off grid life, electric pressure cookers became popular. The programmable kind that can cook all sorts of wonderful things.

Do you remember what the main one was called? Was it an InstaPot? Or an Instant Pot?

Because my memory, very clearly, is InstaPot. Maybe Insta Pot, one word or two, I am not entirely sure, but I remember it as InstaPot. That is what I always called it. It became a generic name in my mind, much like Kleenex or Q-Tips. We ask for Kleenex, not facial tissue. We ask for Q-Tips, not cotton swabs. I remember calling electric pressure cookers InstaPots.

Over the last six months or so, I started noticing them being called Instant Pot everywhere. Online, in ads, on YouTube. At first I thought maybe another company had made a knockoff and had to use a different name. But no. Apparently, they have always been called Instant Pot. There has never been an electric pressure cooker brand called InstaPot.

Now, to be fair, this all came out just as we were moving off grid. We did not, and still do not, have the power capacity to run electric cooking appliances. Anything that intentionally generates heat electrically is a no go for us. The only two kitchen gadgets I feel like I have truly missed out on are electric pressure cookers and air fryers. Both interest me, but neither has been an option.

So I am genuinely curious. What do you remember? InstaPot or Instant Pot? Am I alone in this? I would love to hear what you think.

Wishing everyone a happy, blessed, and prosperous New Year.

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Wretha,

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