building, ADUs, workshops
Lina Menard
Women's+ Basic Carpentry March 2025

I had just gotten back from Wrapping Up Tiny House Design-Build Cert 2025 when Chrissy called to ask if I’d consider teaching Women’s+ Basic Carpentry. This was the first Yestermorrow course I ever heard of - nearly 20 years ago now! I signed up for the catalog - which was snail mailed back then - and I’d flip through it, circling all the courses I wanted to take. It was a couple of years before I finally signed up for the Sustainable Design-Build Certification and got myself to Yestermorrow. But I’ve been going there ever since! So it feels like I’ve come full circle, having the opportunity to teach the Women’s+ Basic Carpentry course.

Women's+ Basic Carpentry March 2025
Community, Intentionality
Lina Menard
Choosing Community (Again)

It’s been a couple of weeks now since we moved next door to my best friend from both college and grad school and her husband. The benefits of community have already been lovely - and quite tasty! Having my fairy godfamily help us unload our stuff the day we arrived and then join us for take out on the living room floor was just the beginning of our participation in this lovely reciprocal community.

Choosing Community (Again)
Travel, Community, ADUs
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Travel, Planning, tiny houses
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, workshops
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

community

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The Newest HELMster

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The Newest HELMster

Today is my 42nd birthday, which means it (and me?!) are the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything! (At least according to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.) And while I certainly don’t feel like I have all the answers, I’m so grateful that the past year brought me the lessons, people, and experiences it did. And I’m thrilled that this new year is kicking off how it is. I recently participated in My 24th Annual Pilgrimage to the Oregon Country Fair and then headed straight to the HELM Construction Solutions annual all-company retreat in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I’m thrilled to be the newest HELMster (as we affectionately call each other)!

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Back Gate Neighbors

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Back Gate Neighbors

My fairy godfamily had been encouraging me to move to Corvallis, Oregon for years and Choosing Community (Again) was easy when the house directly behind theirs came up for rent. Since we moved in a couple months ago, it has been a quick trip around the block to visit each other, but we wanted to create a portal to make it even easier. This past weekend we dedicated to yard projects, including creating a gate in the fence so that we can go back and forth between our houses easily.