On the tech side of things, I'm looking at a raspberry pi 4. Apparently RAM is not a huge issue so 8 GB seems adequate. On that note though, would a PI 5 with 8 gb of RAM be better? The 16 GB is pricey. The docs are for a pi 4.

https://ethereum.org/en/developers/tutorials/run-node-raspberry-pi/

Well that question was answered, the PI 5 is too power hungry. 
Here's some rough calculations using chatgpt. I had to modify this many times to get it under 10 watts.

You can just do things. In this spirit, I am attempting to chronicle building a steam powered Ethereum node, API and website.

Comparing the power needs of tech with the depth of family roots, sometimes simple solutions like efficient devices or family trees yield profound insights. Seek balance in tech and lineage! 