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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Raffi and I woke up in Rochester, NY yesterday morning and set the GPS coordinates for Brattleboro, VT. After nine days on the road, Brattleboro Bound, it was neat to have the final destination be the next one. We had said Bye Bye Walla Walla, traveled through Big Sky Country, saw Rainbow Land & Rainbow Sky and appreciated some Mideastern Hospitality. Finally, we were on the Home Stretch of our crosscountry journey.
I’m Brattleboro Bound and by the time I’d said Bye Bye Walla Walla, made it through Big Sky Country and South Dakota (which I discovered was Rainbow Land & Rainbow Sky) the Midwest felt like it was very far indeed from the West Coast. I understand why it was dubbed the Midwest long ago, but perhaps a renaming is in order because it’s certainly to the east of middle. It’s really the Mideast. Or perhaps the Eastern Middle. But that Midwestern hospitality I’d heard about? That’s a real thing.
Raffi and I are Brattleboro Bound and we’ve enjoyed a couple days of Big Sky Country. Fortunately, when I asked some friends who have made the trip many times about the route and Covid-safe sites along the way, the responses were unanimous: South Dakota for the Badlands!
Montana is a big state. Over the past couple of days Raffi and I have traveled from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Monday morning through Montana, a snatch of Wyoming, and into South Dakota where we spent the night last night. I woke up in Billings, MT yesterday morning in an Airbnb called Linda’s Loft that was a cleverly converted attic.
I’m Brattleboro Bound and today was the second day of my journey east. Last night I left Seattle mid-afternoon and retraced the path that took me from my hometown of Seattle to Walla Walla where I went to Whitman College and then lived for an additional six years.
The Lucky Penny was a splendid place to pass the first seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic... But I’m ready for a change of scenery. And you know if you’ve been following along for a while, I’ve long-loved Vermont. Since I’ve been working remotely for the past seven months, I’ve learned that it’s feasible. So I asked my supervisor if I could work remote-r from Brattleboro, VT.
“How are you holding up?” It’s a question I’ve been getting a lot lately. And a question I’ve been asking a lot lately. Even of perfect strangers: the checker at the grocery store, the person I’m video chatting with for tech support, the neighbor at the end of the block sitting on their porch.
I think part of the reason people ask me how I’m holding up is that I live in 100 square feet. And it’s true that there are a couple of challenges with this…
I’ve particularly appreciated how many people have been offering skills and teaching others. So as we settle into Real Virtuality I’ve decided to offer my Downsizing E-Course again. If all this time at home is making you antsy to FINALLY DO SOMETHING about the clutter, sign up to do some spring cleaning with me. Registration for the April-May Downsizing E-Course closes Wednesday, April 15 so that participants can get started on their first lesson and challenge. Claim your spot today! Let’s do this!
When I was little we used to talk about how cool it would be if we could see people while we were talking to them on the phone. Now it’s the future. Most of the things I did this week involved seeing other people while talking to them, but virtually. It occurred to me, part way through the week, as I was popping in and out of zooms and facetimes and hangouts and phone calls and texts that we’re now living in real virtuality!
