Thursday, June 15, 2017
Living in a Tiny House on Wheels
In May 2016 we purchased a Shasta Camper, which is now "home"...to follow our adventures:
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
The "Nomad' Adventure
Through a wild amount of "serendipity" in the past month, we are now "homeless" in the best sense of the word.
I'll save you the whole month of twists and turns and just highlight the past week...
A week ago sitting in the Fort Myers Airport, we received a call from our property manager. He told us the owner of our house offered to release us from our lease. The roof has major problems and water had leaked into three walls. The owner plans to do major repairs and then put the house up for sale. However, we needed to be out of the house in a week. We told them we'd let them know our decision the next day.
It was not a difficult decision to make, because we wanted out of our lease. We had planned to honor it and stay until the end, but we really did not want to be there.
Last Wednesday, after arriving home at 2 A.M. after lots of plane delays, we signed the paperwork and began the moving out process...in SIX days, we sold ALL our furniture, packed up mementos and items we did not want to part with, put them into a small controlled storage unit, and moved out of our 1876 Sq foot rental home (which had been a downsize from our former 2,400 Sq foot home we moved out from last December).
Now we are sitting in a hotel room with two suitcases each and ready to begin our "Nomad Adventure!"
I'll save you the whole month of twists and turns and just highlight the past week...
A week ago sitting in the Fort Myers Airport, we received a call from our property manager. He told us the owner of our house offered to release us from our lease. The roof has major problems and water had leaked into three walls. The owner plans to do major repairs and then put the house up for sale. However, we needed to be out of the house in a week. We told them we'd let them know our decision the next day.
It was not a difficult decision to make, because we wanted out of our lease. We had planned to honor it and stay until the end, but we really did not want to be there.
Last Wednesday, after arriving home at 2 A.M. after lots of plane delays, we signed the paperwork and began the moving out process...in SIX days, we sold ALL our furniture, packed up mementos and items we did not want to part with, put them into a small controlled storage unit, and moved out of our 1876 Sq foot rental home (which had been a downsize from our former 2,400 Sq foot home we moved out from last December).
Now we are sitting in a hotel room with two suitcases each and ready to begin our "Nomad Adventure!"
Monday, May 4, 2015
MTHFR
Almost looks like a bad word.
In fact, I have seen t-shirts that say, "Genetically I am one bad MTHFR."
MTHFR aka Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase
"Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the methyl cycle, and it is encoded by the MTHFR gene." ~ Wikipedia
I recently found out that I have two copies (homozygous) for MTHFR C677T.
It seems to a large "missing piece" of my health puzzle. Perhaps several missing pieces!
Some more information on MTHFR:
MTHFR.net
MTHFR Mutation: A Missing Piece in the Chronic Disease Puzzle
In fact, I have seen t-shirts that say, "Genetically I am one bad MTHFR."
MTHFR aka Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase
"Methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the methyl cycle, and it is encoded by the MTHFR gene." ~ Wikipedia
I recently found out that I have two copies (homozygous) for MTHFR C677T.
It seems to a large "missing piece" of my health puzzle. Perhaps several missing pieces!
Some more information on MTHFR:
MTHFR.net
10 Health Tips for Anyone with a MTHFR Gene Mutation
Thursday, April 23, 2015
My Hawaii (and Florida) Travel Capsule Wardrobe
Yes, we are heading back to Hawaii for three weeks. Yay! For those of you who may not know, I have lived on two of the islands in the past and we like go back as often as possible (plus, I like my dentist there). After we return from Hawaii, we'll be heading to Florida two weeks later for about two weeks, so this capsule will work for that trip, as well.
Note: These are all items in my current Project 33 capsule wardrobe, I just made a smaller capsule for travel.
My tropical capsule travel wardrobe:
Sundress (1)
Shirts (8):
White tunic (that doubles as a swimsuit cover-up)
Bottoms(4):
Black cotton crop pants
Flip flops/Sandals - 2 pairs - grey and black - (brand is Vionic, so they can be used for walking, beach,etc.)
Short robe (for sleeping or cover-up), underwear, 2 bras
Hat, sunglasses, tote, and small grey purse
Update: 5/16/2015 - After using this wardrobe for three weeks, there are several items I never wore. I could easily remove at least five items (and probably will before heading to Florida in a couple weeks). My husband and I were talking yesterday and decided if we added a few items to what we brought that is all we'd ever need. It has again shown how little we actually need/use.
Note: These are all items in my current Project 33 capsule wardrobe, I just made a smaller capsule for travel.
My tropical capsule travel wardrobe:
Sundress (1)
Shirts (8):
White tunic (that doubles as a swimsuit cover-up)
Light pink oversize shirt (also doubles as a swimsuit cover-up)
Blue Ginger tropical print tunics - blue and red
Purple knit shirt
Light grey tank
White tank
Black cami
Bottoms(4):
Black cotton crop pants
Black cotton shorts
Grey cotton crop pants
Khaki cotton crop pants (these are old and falling apart, perfect for sea glass hunting...this will probably be their last trip though)
Sarong (1) - white, black, silver pattern - (doubles as cover-up, skirt, dress, blanket on the plane,etc.)
Swimsuits (2) - black and purple
Flip flops/Sandals - 2 pairs - grey and black - (brand is Vionic, so they can be used for walking, beach,etc.)
Short robe (for sleeping or cover-up), underwear, 2 bras
Hat, sunglasses, tote, and small grey purse
(On the plane rides I put my small purse in the tote and then later use tote for the beach.)
Update: 5/16/2015 - After using this wardrobe for three weeks, there are several items I never wore. I could easily remove at least five items (and probably will before heading to Florida in a couple weeks). My husband and I were talking yesterday and decided if we added a few items to what we brought that is all we'd ever need. It has again shown how little we actually need/use.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Big Sur Coast
San Simeon to Carmel, California
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| Elephant Seals |
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| Ragged Point |
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| Beautiful Big Sur |
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| Carmel Highlands before Sunset |
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| Carmel Beach Sunset |
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Our Slow Journey to a Tiny House or Small Home
2015 is our year to get ready for a smaller footprint. We are decluttering, rethinking, researching, and on our way to a smaller home, perhaps even a tiny house. It is nice to have a year to get ready, makes a slower gentler process possible.
"What makes you think you can live in a smaller space?" A question some ask, often in a round about sort of way.
For me, I have done it before!
When I was younger, I lived on a 42 foot boat with my family (5 of us). It was an incredible experience! I never missed "stuff."
When my daughters were younger, we moved to Oahu, Hawaii. The five us lived in 1,000 sq feet. While not a "tiny house," it did show me that we do not need that much space. We later lived on Maui, also in about 1,000 sq feet.
Fast forward to 2012 or as my husband and I call it, "Our Year of Being Homeless" (in the BEST sense of the word)! Our plan was not to be "homeless" it just happened. We returned to the mainland from Maui and were not sure where we wanted to live. I should also mention that we were job-less at the time. In January, we stayed with family, a hotel, and later a small two-bedroom rental. Then a job came in February...which required a lot of travel. So, we just traveled...all year! My youngest daughter (age 21 at the time) was with us part of the time and the older two visited when we were in exciting places like NYC. We stayed in all sorts of places...mostly small places, so I know we can do small. The two things about the year I'd rather not repeat...do not bring two suitcases (one will do just fine..."Less IS More"...it really is, even for a year) AND avoid hurricanes! We just happened to be in NJ for Hurricane Sandy!
Back to the whole tiny house idea...not sure if we can do a tiny house, but I know we can do a small home. We keep flirting with the tiny house idea though...Tiny House Nation makes it look very doable!
"What makes you think you can live in a smaller space?" A question some ask, often in a round about sort of way.
For me, I have done it before!
When I was younger, I lived on a 42 foot boat with my family (5 of us). It was an incredible experience! I never missed "stuff."
When my daughters were younger, we moved to Oahu, Hawaii. The five us lived in 1,000 sq feet. While not a "tiny house," it did show me that we do not need that much space. We later lived on Maui, also in about 1,000 sq feet.
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| Our view in Kaneohe |
Fast forward to 2012 or as my husband and I call it, "Our Year of Being Homeless" (in the BEST sense of the word)! Our plan was not to be "homeless" it just happened. We returned to the mainland from Maui and were not sure where we wanted to live. I should also mention that we were job-less at the time. In January, we stayed with family, a hotel, and later a small two-bedroom rental. Then a job came in February...which required a lot of travel. So, we just traveled...all year! My youngest daughter (age 21 at the time) was with us part of the time and the older two visited when we were in exciting places like NYC. We stayed in all sorts of places...mostly small places, so I know we can do small. The two things about the year I'd rather not repeat...do not bring two suitcases (one will do just fine..."Less IS More"...it really is, even for a year) AND avoid hurricanes! We just happened to be in NJ for Hurricane Sandy!
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| Post Hurricane Sandy |
Back to the whole tiny house idea...not sure if we can do a tiny house, but I know we can do a small home. We keep flirting with the tiny house idea though...Tiny House Nation makes it look very doable!
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