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

tiny houses

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Why Tiny House Workshops Are Worth The Investment

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Why Tiny House Workshops Are Worth The Investment

People often tell me that they'd love to taken one of our tiny house workshops but they can't afford it. I respond by telling them that if they're serious about building a tiny house they really can't afford NOT to come to a workshop. The few hundred dollars they invest in the workshop will save them significant time, money, and heartache since they'll gather information and learn from other's mistakes. Fortunately, my friend and colleague Alek recently wrote this post about the benefits of taking one of our Tiny House Collaborative workshops. So in case you're not on the Tiny House Collaborative mailing list, I am cross-posting it here. Enjoy and feel free to respond in the comments. Thanks!"

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T42's Maiden Voyage

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T42's Maiden Voyage

On Friday, Dec 30th we moved T42 to her new spot where we're Creating a New Tiny Cohousing Community. Most years I make the transition between one year and the next with some quiet days of contemplation, reflection, and intention setting. This year Isha and I did those things, too, but our days weren't exactly quiet. Instead, we had two tiny houses in motion, which meant figuring, patience, a decent amount of physical labor in cold temperatures, and a lot of deep breaths. 

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Less is More at Yestermorrow in Jan 2017

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Less is More at Yestermorrow in Jan 2017

If you've been fantasizing about a small space of your own (whether that's a backyard cottage, a converted vehicle, or a tiny house on wheels), this course is a brilliant way to dig deep and have a great time exploring the possibilities. I hope you can join us! Please share with other small space enthusiasts who might be interested, too. The more, the merrier!

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My Gratitude Short List

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My Gratitude Short List

Gratitude is a habit of mine anyhow. I note my gratitudes in a journal and when we sit down to eat we all say something we're grateful for. Science shows that people who are grateful are more happy. I can attest that that's true for me. And I love this day that is dedicated to being appreciative of the people, experiences, and things that make our lives better.

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A Minimalist Move

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A Minimalist Move

Isha and I are Creating a New Tiny Cohousing Community and once we got the keys to the new house we began our minimalist move... In the weeks leading up to our move Isha and I both went through our Stuff again. I'd been teaching another round of my Downsizing E-Course, which meant that my collection of stuff was pretty well honed. It took me less than 2 hours to pack the contents of The Lucky Penny! But since Isha and I both had our own households worth of stuff and we moved in together for the first time (after a year and a half of living in his and hers tiny houses). there was some decision making about which things to keep and which to pass on. 

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Tiny House 101 in Austin

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Tiny House 101 in Austin

Saturday we greeted our workshop participants at our awesome venue, Soma Vida. Participants flew from Connecticut and drove from as far as Tulsa, Oklahoma to join us for this workshop. We shared inspirations, considerations, and information and as we helped them identify the big decisions when going small and explore some design ideas for their wee homes.

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Creating a New Tiny Cohousing Community

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Creating a New Tiny Cohousing Community

A week ago today my fiance Isha and I got the keys to our new home and we're eager to tell you all about it! We had this vision in mind but we didn't expect that we'd manifest it so quickly! A couple months ago Isha spotted a property that seemed to meet our criteria. It was a beautifully renovated 1920s home with the possibility of creating a functional ADU, a fenced yard with garden beds, and we already knew some of the neighbors. So we checked it out, decided it would be an awesome fit, and placed an offer. Everything came together so quickly we were afraid to jinx it. Indeed at a few points we didn't think it was going to work out, so we were keeping it on the down-low. But it did work out in the end. 

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The Lost Months: September & October 2016

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The Lost Months: September & October 2016

It's high time for a catch up! The month of September was a fun one because we wrapped up the O'Keefe Tiny House Build Blitz and I spoke about tiny house design at Tiny House Fest Vermont... I kicked off October with a trip to Ojai to teach at Tiny House 101 workshop with Lee Pera and Vina Lustado through the Tiny House Collaborative... and so much more!

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O'Keefe Build Blitz: Days 5 & 6

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O'Keefe Build Blitz: Days 5 & 6

Friday was Day 5 of the Build Blitz for Erin Maile & Kevin O'Keefe's tiny house on wheels... By lunchtime the roof panels were up and we spent Friday afternoon working on a number of touch up tasks... Since the house wasn't quite yet ready for her maiden voyage, we decided we'd better do some more work on Saturday to get her prepped. 

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O'Keefe Build Blitz: Days 3 & 4

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O'Keefe Build Blitz: Days 3 & 4

The Green Mountain Panel crew came out en masse to help us get the first wall panel up. We tipped up one of our slanted end walls and then its adjoining panel on the corner. Once we had a corner in place we were able to work our way around the building in both directions. With a crew that big it went pretty quickly.