tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46877236334273777342024-03-04T23:26:03.364-08:00A Great Leap in the DarkAprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.comBlogger352125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-37973482230625720392016-04-04T21:20:00.002-07:002016-04-04T21:22:14.197-07:00RIP Lazlo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfzBZ-d9zNczW1pjdTxaAvSGATPWILj78PuT2VE-dctlAiU4ydl6-FT8aAlC692FfLelsgBS0CATqglxzeryPPY34rxPKPnQoEF4Wf9Z7ni7QmgBMd3OUPJezUJqtM_8l6rq6eeqitEs9/s1600/16942517799_158c1eedbe_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfzBZ-d9zNczW1pjdTxaAvSGATPWILj78PuT2VE-dctlAiU4ydl6-FT8aAlC692FfLelsgBS0CATqglxzeryPPY34rxPKPnQoEF4Wf9Z7ni7QmgBMd3OUPJezUJqtM_8l6rq6eeqitEs9/s320/16942517799_158c1eedbe_k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This picture was taken a week shy of one year ago.<br />
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He went downhill in the past few months, and rather quickly in the past week. Today it was clear he was in pain so we sent him back into the universe. Dug a hole under the cherry tree. Let Mia smell him before we wrapped him up and lowered him in. It'll be hard remembering him for a while. But all good memories. A really stellar all-around dog. Traveled with us to Canada and half way down the coast of Mexico. I miss the sound of him snoring already.<br />
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Lazlo, July 2004-April 2016<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-58079802985295558802014-01-03T10:28:00.000-08:002014-01-03T10:28:14.766-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New year, new things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been thinking about wrapping this here so-called blog for a while now and the new year seems to be a perfect time for endings. The blog is dead (<a href="http://kottke.org/13/12/rip-the-blog-1997-2013">says Jason Kottke</a>) and this one also seems to have run its course. We're pretty stable in our tiny house now (though projects will be never-ending) and eeking out a living here is pretty boring for the most part. There are new things in store for us in 2014, we're looking to the future as always. But I think I'm going to turn inward this year and work on myself rather than putting things out into the world. There's plenty of that already. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll probably continue to post photos sporadically on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/">flickr</a>, so head over there if you feel the need to verify our existence. Otherwise, I'm going dark for a bit. Thanks to any who stopped by and we'll see you later on down the road.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-30916219052965535842013-11-25T17:00:00.000-08:002013-11-25T17:00:17.180-08:00Grateful is as grateful doesSo much to be thankful for, always.<br />
Good health, family all together, enough to eat, a warm place to sleep, dogs to pet, anyone who reads this...And some fall colors from the past couple of weeks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibanaEhkpVlMs9Vr77sw-2d4dIX9dY6g-CEch10eyMoIfJAqLnH6PfIaSJI98621oFC0QQaMiTdhr615984EojDMhq2EGsggNrEXaTQKI9SSP_MGPddHjFWWKdlzM5HF89oQHxyFlqpgJ/s1600/raking+leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibanaEhkpVlMs9Vr77sw-2d4dIX9dY6g-CEch10eyMoIfJAqLnH6PfIaSJI98621oFC0QQaMiTdhr615984EojDMhq2EGsggNrEXaTQKI9SSP_MGPddHjFWWKdlzM5HF89oQHxyFlqpgJ/s640/raking+leaves.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrTLqU4p1DwJlTY0col3K0a8AeXogAxf2S529eCLGFM_GoK9u9gV66B_nx-B46WemEoGOBuMj2Z1oTC5xK345Ocu72zZZg2SmlWCiNK59gmIOihylhBBUd5LVSFvSRuDxJeUdybq3qscV/s1600/ophy+&+kitty+humboltcrud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrTLqU4p1DwJlTY0col3K0a8AeXogAxf2S529eCLGFM_GoK9u9gV66B_nx-B46WemEoGOBuMj2Z1oTC5xK345Ocu72zZZg2SmlWCiNK59gmIOihylhBBUd5LVSFvSRuDxJeUdybq3qscV/s640/ophy+&+kitty+humboltcrud.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-53530040435928496522013-11-06T13:42:00.001-08:002013-11-06T13:44:56.298-08:00Slowing down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first snow fell yesterday. And then melted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a transitional time of year for everyone; we're no exception. Shorter days, colder weather and less money coming in during winter forces us to re-think our habits. Whittling down to where we should be, physically, financially, psychologically. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The holidays are usually not our favorite time of year for a bunch of reasons - one of them being the cultural expectation surrounding gift giving. I am going to try to put an emphasis more on experiences than items when I make my list. We keep trying to opt-out of the family xmas celebration (none of us religious, why do we do this?) but it hasn't happened yet. I may claim to be part of the <a href="http://www.buynothingnew.org/">BuyNothingNew</a> crew. <i>(Bonus reading: <a href="http://www.thiswaytoparadise.com/consumerism-in-america/">How Your Stuff is Killing You and You Don't Even Know It</a>)</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaXbiXfTlZBrnY621lT5YEa2QvlToumAIq6XEV0y6JTftRWfb3lBQpvt72tVxPpS-qKPVszDyTrvSZuq8ohkVp_YKvAuEW75IgUSMT0_AtqmmSCubfhB1ws4bKBlQIVJhshAt1mgVOZsJ/s1600/lazlo+treat+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaXbiXfTlZBrnY621lT5YEa2QvlToumAIq6XEV0y6JTftRWfb3lBQpvt72tVxPpS-qKPVszDyTrvSZuq8ohkVp_YKvAuEW75IgUSMT0_AtqmmSCubfhB1ws4bKBlQIVJhshAt1mgVOZsJ/s640/lazlo+treat+1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lazlo loves hazelnuts. Look at all that white on his face. Considering the fate of our oldest dog who really only has 2.5 good legs on his best day. Winter snow and ice is not going to make that any easier. Hard decisions coming up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1nITQwvX0vK2001vmZv_2xpBoMvn0bCL7SBedOdiANSEtunmspnMWDEHKaVychVyup98wsKlN2FFI9_cFq9IRvbncZZVMkSLwwkEY7RkO-aWZwboydEDPxdjbX2wCyMO33VP5iuYGmJd/s1600/mia+watchdog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1nITQwvX0vK2001vmZv_2xpBoMvn0bCL7SBedOdiANSEtunmspnMWDEHKaVychVyup98wsKlN2FFI9_cFq9IRvbncZZVMkSLwwkEY7RkO-aWZwboydEDPxdjbX2wCyMO33VP5iuYGmJd/s640/mia+watchdog.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mia has a perch where she can enjoy the sun - when it's out. She was a bad dog earlier this year (fighting with a neighbor dog, nothing serious) so the tie-out cable keeps her safe if she feels the impulse to chase marauding canines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My bedside table was re-purposed into our new TV stand. We move it out of the way (or in the way) as needed and it plugs in to the same outlet (outlets are a new development - yay!) as our new heater which is working fabulously. (The slim white thing on the wall there is the heater.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlwePJ6rzIg3e_TQzvykSz6OX1bDDEg2i6hy9LxhtHG18G9tbrNQRYIgy5CONeVT3_bZC_OcAzUwxS4sVnAXSVgzMaKr7BR4lkqlysCQfbSVxy4awRxAym5ULTOci06ibvhFCJ3q4-gFP/s1600/mushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlwePJ6rzIg3e_TQzvykSz6OX1bDDEg2i6hy9LxhtHG18G9tbrNQRYIgy5CONeVT3_bZC_OcAzUwxS4sVnAXSVgzMaKr7BR4lkqlysCQfbSVxy4awRxAym5ULTOci06ibvhFCJ3q4-gFP/s640/mushroom.jpg" width="470" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Huge mushrooms growing under some trees at the end of the driveway</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Keith at Fish Creek on the way home from Missoula where we saw Hank 3 in concert </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl_SvHgiuXzU3tWSHprEiTtympuTUmkf7O9XzVxfZY8gaRUvWbKzfSk96KQNoQLM2zNOSwoNTIWTx1n3e7mk7Kqp8nBgQVJJrhUlqlw2sQtbHKfORybFibUXbi0wpCAv6VbPmGgx1PKFB/s1600/slough+action+movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl_SvHgiuXzU3tWSHprEiTtympuTUmkf7O9XzVxfZY8gaRUvWbKzfSk96KQNoQLM2zNOSwoNTIWTx1n3e7mk7Kqp8nBgQVJJrhUlqlw2sQtbHKfORybFibUXbi0wpCAv6VbPmGgx1PKFB/s640/slough+action+movie.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We took Mia to The Island for some exercise a couple weeks ago on a gorgeous day</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/">a few more photos on flickr</a></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-74650606362279839472013-10-01T14:56:00.004-07:002013-10-01T15:00:52.634-07:00Kitchen Remodel: Part Two<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First off, the flooring pay off - BEFORE. AND. AFTER.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4BYEi6fIjCkPozdOX57j1GbxAx3fvHeMn_b0HX1w1t-aGKNo4uPMeVNrWvgNI5LrjzpyFX9vCxj3rrvtzKzeOvCpsNyHeUPm3vs_GGjQH8YTkBK1sikec0NO5tdGsRxT0U0qqUWibE84/s1600/kitchen+floor+before+&+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4BYEi6fIjCkPozdOX57j1GbxAx3fvHeMn_b0HX1w1t-aGKNo4uPMeVNrWvgNI5LrjzpyFX9vCxj3rrvtzKzeOvCpsNyHeUPm3vs_GGjQH8YTkBK1sikec0NO5tdGsRxT0U0qqUWibE84/s640/kitchen+floor+before+&+after.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finishing the kitchen morphed into New Flooring for The Whole House. And for the first time in almost 5 years, it feels like an actual house. Not seeing subfloor, having a consistent plane to navigate in the middle of the night. Definite bonuses.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7_dEEJ_aBp7YDaJkFzAgMxwA_BGE1fZYF6ye3PaBe-HsXE2ff37u9QD3yEhyphenhyphenMPU96v0_BRzagQ6kcliOKY53MFmiKUv44zDNV6S6iaGqqxp6mGe457C4sH0MVvI39M5FDJOtHLdv45Vp/s1600/dirty+old+vs+clean+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7_dEEJ_aBp7YDaJkFzAgMxwA_BGE1fZYF6ye3PaBe-HsXE2ff37u9QD3yEhyphenhyphenMPU96v0_BRzagQ6kcliOKY53MFmiKUv44zDNV6S6iaGqqxp6mGe457C4sH0MVvI39M5FDJOtHLdv45Vp/s400/dirty+old+vs+clean+new.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>a piece of dirty old flooring on top of clean beautiful new flooring to show color</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After realizing we didn't have enough of the old laminate flooring to cover the house corner to corner, I coerced Keith into letting me order new flooring. His criteria was that it be under $1/square foot and I scored with a certain orange big box store selling us 8 boxes for $192 (plus tax and underlayment). Keith's working on staining some moulding to go along the bottom and we have about 35 square feet of dark blue ceramic tile to lay at the entry way, but other than that the flooring is completed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrD10M0NZVZFWf68cY2JPWQ2Sg5qkzVqyPsCvox2ylTf0lWakpnHk8iI8sZXqvjwViAFcNXNs3iy-ZTiWURnS8tkVlxtrVvhDuZYHu0RV0pNvH4_naQuMAELx7fU4KZrW5AqjW-Bxa8Gm/s1600/south+end+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrD10M0NZVZFWf68cY2JPWQ2Sg5qkzVqyPsCvox2ylTf0lWakpnHk8iI8sZXqvjwViAFcNXNs3iy-ZTiWURnS8tkVlxtrVvhDuZYHu0RV0pNvH4_naQuMAELx7fU4KZrW5AqjW-Bxa8Gm/s640/south+end+before.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;">south end of the house - before</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After realizing we didn't have enough of the old laminate flooring to cover the house corner to corner, I coerced Keith into letting me order new flooring. His criteria was that it be under $1/square foot and through a certain orange big box store, we ordered 8 boxes for $192 (plus tax and underlayment) and we have almost a full box leftover just in case.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib405YQtu97e_1SOxprj0Or8MQTUw0BiV_GaQzhyxZJta3GbxBkj0aRfhFuDOrdYFUh95ubmBTBVxMjukLvlQRZ_2rcfzuP2ajlLxijc4oE5NA_gt5hSc09RZ8Csu7czfar-Vqnsai8E4P/s1600/keith+scratching+lazlo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib405YQtu97e_1SOxprj0Or8MQTUw0BiV_GaQzhyxZJta3GbxBkj0aRfhFuDOrdYFUh95ubmBTBVxMjukLvlQRZ_2rcfzuP2ajlLxijc4oE5NA_gt5hSc09RZ8Csu7czfar-Vqnsai8E4P/s640/keith+scratching+lazlo.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Lazlo update: his failing back legs means he needs help scratching hard-to-reach places now.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHw7lZtm1LLcL0pHcMBVe9H-phyujiaKtsrGLLXix8KC6mCi7u-U-OXnjCZWECmO0eWBgkcXX5236LfTcVLGkTZCx167EBZK616RB6SWQOEwLhPVn_4uEw59PhcDMlsRTHuVd-eAYd5DON/s1600/first+few+rows+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHw7lZtm1LLcL0pHcMBVe9H-phyujiaKtsrGLLXix8KC6mCi7u-U-OXnjCZWECmO0eWBgkcXX5236LfTcVLGkTZCx167EBZK616RB6SWQOEwLhPVn_4uEw59PhcDMlsRTHuVd-eAYd5DON/s640/first+few+rows+down.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;">a few rows of flooring down on the north end of the house</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYFrvXVI1w2QdSohM6Lzy7VwTOIe_NiOqDoamYOg0eBIXPaGdeVEUNPM6K_iF3e7D58bLJ-q1QHdQ-jCOnUyVJMm9jBQa3gC9W7kPFcOzT6S7YwsPvvVdzNC65Sg8t4FPs0dIuxHJ37Yj/s1600/dogs+on+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYFrvXVI1w2QdSohM6Lzy7VwTOIe_NiOqDoamYOg0eBIXPaGdeVEUNPM6K_iF3e7D58bLJ-q1QHdQ-jCOnUyVJMm9jBQa3gC9W7kPFcOzT6S7YwsPvvVdzNC65Sg8t4FPs0dIuxHJ37Yj/s640/dogs+on+bed.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;">site supervisors were glad to have a warm & comfy place to watch the action</i><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;">yoga mats under the box springs to protect new flooring from getting scratched</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the even bigger benefits to the flooring project was having to take everything out of the house and that brought Keith and I both to a minimalist mind set. Having more space, open space and not clutter, is what's going to get us through the winter inside. So we're being very selective about what we bring back into the house. More on how we're downsizing/reducing clutter later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My hammock came in the mail today so sometime this week or weekend we'll be giving that a try - hoping that it will spare us some more floor space. If it works okay (isn't crippling or super inconvenient), we'll eventually get rid of our mattress/box springs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some people have commented that our house is undergoing evolution. And that's true. This is our first house-building experience and our circumstances and choices make it even that much trickier to find out what does and doesn't work for us. I love the freedom we have to make those changes - adapt and overcome!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-73653194873202659972013-09-16T16:40:00.004-07:002013-09-16T16:45:48.032-07:00Kitchen Remodel: Part OneWe had no choice but to tackle the southern window problem. The second window in that place to crack = no more windows. Our luck is just not good enough to press the issue. So we decided to frame it in and use the interior space differently for a kitchen remodel.<br />
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Our dishes cabinet/folding table/bench concept (pic <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/6988084043/in/set-72157608108817828">here</a>) was nice in theory, but it wasn't practical for us. I think I used the table/bench twice for breakfast alone and that's it. We're obviously not afraid of adapting/revising as we go and we've been griping about how our kitchen set-up is not the most user friendly. Therefore, we are turning the whole corner behind where the window was into better kitchen storage.<br />
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quick sketch of shelving attachment idea</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8uM8agQBi1oIIY7l59iPTXhXYhHGckGohPU6JsKCG6Vb-IT271HAB4ils7kmHPftgAcOiAFCPSNQV7ouJgbmC9Hxjz0Q7_-kj3ChG_5PwfYfhQAgn1zZyl_92-euNWKfiD2pYPDp0-ZA/s1600/south+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8uM8agQBi1oIIY7l59iPTXhXYhHGckGohPU6JsKCG6Vb-IT271HAB4ils7kmHPftgAcOiAFCPSNQV7ouJgbmC9Hxjz0Q7_-kj3ChG_5PwfYfhQAgn1zZyl_92-euNWKfiD2pYPDp0-ZA/s640/south+side.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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south end of the house with cracked window removed and plywood/framing in place</div>
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it's good to know someone who can do carpentry - for free</div>
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with the window out and cabinet removed, this is what we had...</div>
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we're using some leftover tin to go behind the cabinet and at the top of the east wall - OSB was the cheapest material to cover the wall where the cabinet used to be so we did that - we had some white paint and the dark blue left over from trim on the big windows - then I realized, while laying on the bed looking at the space at the other end of our house, that red is our unofficial accent color so I found a can of glossy red paint and added a stripe of that, too and I'm stoked with how it turned out - chalkboard moved from bedroom wall to top of the cabinet for grocery/pantry lists, much more useful there</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgyBYSdE4dvYlZJTyTJ5yG6sUsIhLh9lHK_8y-Vm6qE9ICfcutGgpmp8NyoKTnatGl_RYLHCLQeqIOzeaEQUWG0ia5SFsfvsqG0-ERF-oLhISbvEefOyM3CZQuseg2_CPjiksdqUhaDJ2/s1600/keith+leveling+shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgyBYSdE4dvYlZJTyTJ5yG6sUsIhLh9lHK_8y-Vm6qE9ICfcutGgpmp8NyoKTnatGl_RYLHCLQeqIOzeaEQUWG0ia5SFsfvsqG0-ERF-oLhISbvEefOyM3CZQuseg2_CPjiksdqUhaDJ2/s640/keith+leveling+shelves.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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after dealing with some snafus (installing vertical pipe to a sloped roof), we got it</div>
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still have some trim pieces to paint and put up, doors back on the cabinet, etc. but we're getting close</div>
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necessary tools (beer not pictured)</div>
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second streaming location - if the sun is still hitting the porch, we move everything to the yard</div>
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my favorite new pizza (and Bob's Burgers, hilarious): balsamic vinegar drizzled on the pita bread crust + chopped dates + cheese (Gorgonzola if you're brave). Honey drizzle & cracked black pepper when it comes out of the oven.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-3440988549170226242013-08-21T08:16:00.002-07:002013-08-21T08:19:46.081-07:00Buck up, girlEver feel like life is handing you one shit sandwich after another? Yeah, that's me lately. Legal troubles are bringing me down, man. Things catching up with me, other things rearing up as a result of inattention. Trying to keep a very honeybadger approach to life right now (my natural outlook) is the only thing keeping me from walking on down the road with what I can carry - a fantasy that I play out in my mind too often. Like the late great Levon Helm advises, "There's no running from your troubles / Or you're sure to make them double."<br />
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I am thinking more and more about how - after dogs aren't part of our lives - we can get out of here and become tramps/hobos/wanderers (Jules: "You know, like Caine in Kung Fu: walk from place to place, meet people, get into adventures."). Migrant work, web-based work, whatever. I am just ready to un-tie and become part of the underground economy. Being childfree we will have that luxury after we no longer have dogs. And that time is probably drawing near. Lazlo blew out his ACL on his rear left leg so he's on indefinite restricted activity (as the $3,00 surgery to repair it is obviously not an option) and I tried to convince Keith to make a doggy wheelchair but Lazlo seems to be doing better since we've cabled him to a tree in the yard when we're all outside + put him on a diet. Both dogs are about 9, so while we of course love them, we're kind of also counting down to freedom. </div>
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Going back to PT work is awesome - such a relief, less responsibility, more time to myself/at home. I actually finished a book - maybe the first of the year? and continue to find a plethora of amazing articles via Longreads. Here a few that really stood out to me recently:</div>
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<a href="http://thehairpin.com/2013/08/scandals-of-classic-hollywood-the-ecstasy-of-hedy-lamarr/">Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Ecstasy of Hedy Lamarr</a> (sex + brains in early Hollywood)<br />
<a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/susanelizabethshepard/wildcatting-a-strippers-guide-to-the-modern-american-boomtow">Wildcatting: A Stripper’s Guide to the Modern American Boomtown</a> (the stripper circuit, who knew?)<br />
<a href="http://74.220.215.94/~davidkus/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102:the-boy-who-heard-too-much&catid=35:articles&Itemid=54">The Boy Who Heard Too Much </a> (phone hackers - fascinating)<br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/07/sinkholes-when-the-earth-opens-up/100552/">Sinkholes: When the Earth Opens Up</a> (environmental warning tale)<br />
<a href="http://www.themorningnews.org/article/natural-born-tourists">Natural Born Tourists</a> (hilarious passive-agressive guestbook entries)<br />
<a href="http://superchief.tv/superchief-interviews-zeb-from-po-po/">Superchief Interviews Zeb From POPO</a> (never heard of this guy, but love the interview style)<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21583673-report-national-hobo-convention-riding-rails">Riding the rails: A report from the National Hobo Convention</a> ("hobos were the first migrant workers and that they helped to build America")</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-749891932151666502013-08-09T10:56:00.000-07:002013-08-09T10:56:02.390-07:00Summer hereGoing for short morning jogs, taking in the beauty of the world, listening to the neighborhood<br />
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Coming home to collapse in the hammock in the shade<br />
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Sitting in the yard with Lazlo, torn ACL means limited activity from here on out (8 weeks at least - hoping the other doesn't go)<br />
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Making plans to go camping and then, for various reasons, cancelling plans<br />
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Making hay while the sun shines, Keith has been busy lately with outside projects. which is good for the bank but we haven't done any house projects in over a year, 'bout time to see some hammering'<br />
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Grilling sweet corn, wishing we had garden produce, watering my container tomatillo and peppers, pick a hot Thai pepper to go in chili lime noodles<br />
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Streaming movies and tv shows on the porch - The Killing, Sunny in Philadelphia, Breaking Bad (re-watching), Queen in concert<br />
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Watching the pear tree's limbs bend hard full of fruit, someone needs to prune them, like a professional<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-62543312485695470342013-07-14T21:28:00.001-07:002013-07-14T21:28:30.880-07:00Beat Dat Heat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer montage</div>
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The window on the south end of the house broke - for the second time. Well, <i>this </i>window for the first time. Considering converting this to a wall since windows don't seem to last here. Need more kitchen shelving/storage anyway. We have a piece of rigid insulation in there to help keep the temp down. Standing outside one day, the sun was out, we heard POP. Was that the window just breaking? DAMN! It.<br />
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A couple of Sundays ago I sat down and made curtains for our tiny house with sailcloth from Mexico. More color, but less light/heat. Win.<br />
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Had a 2-day yard sale with my parents and all together pulled in over $600. Downsized A LOT, including a dark room set I bought for $10 and never used (sold for $6), tons of camping stuff, a bunch of wooden sash windows Keith got for free. Getting rid of stuff feels gooooooood!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-62367912107530635062013-06-25T19:10:00.000-07:002013-06-25T21:23:34.491-07:00Slipping into summer<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's already the beginning of summer. This time last year we were getting ready to spend the summer apart. This summer we have too many projects...already! I I did break out my sewing machine and make 3 sets of curtains from some rad sailcloth I bought from Mexico via etsy. Pics will be posted once the curtain rods are up. And even though we didn't plant a garden, I have a small herd of potted plants on the porch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's been at least 2 months since I've downloaded any photos from my DSLR (smartphones are wonderfully and horrifically convenient) but I'm including a few below --- in color. I shot some film when we went to visit my sister and her boyfriend (and celebrate our 12th anniversary) earlier this month, but not a whole roll. They took us to a great park and showed us one place where they rock climb. We went to Elkfest (drinking + music) where I had a delicious plate of jerk tofu from a food truck. We had awesome wood fired pizza and I've been trying to to recreate The Gordy ever since: dates, gorgonzola, balsamic. It was amazing. Plus we had a lot of fun visiting and spending time with them. Definitely scheduling another trip up north soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We're spending plenty of time in the hammock in the evening and on weekends. In between rain storms. I'm hoping to pull back at work and return to part-time and start logging even more hammock time. Life is too short - I don't need to work full-time and the money is definitely not a motivator (a pittance, really, even at full-time). I miss having extra time to myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://longform.org/">Longform</a> + Kindle Fire HD = no book reading for quite a while now. This isn't necessarily bad, just different. I enjoy the wide variety of topics from quite a spectrum of magazines...from Playboy to Vice to The Atlantic to Wired. </span><a href="http://www.readability.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Readability</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> favorites of late:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/15-11/ff_cannonballrun?currentPage=all">The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory</a> About drivers trying to beat the cross-country driving record</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all">Some of My Best Friends Are Germs</a> Micahel Pollen writes about humans being vehicles for bacteria. Super. Fascinating.</span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/magazine/could-conjoined-twins-share-a-mind.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&">Could Conjoined Twins Share a Mind?</a> Brings up questions about consciousness and everything we don't know about ourselves, anatomy-wise and more.</span></h1>
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Dragon noodles (equal parts Sriracha, brown sugar, & soy sauce on noodles with egg)<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-80431207279582676402013-05-13T23:15:00.001-07:002013-05-13T23:15:24.263-07:00Monday vacay<p>Got out of town for a Monday concert. Beautiful drive over to Missoula -tons of whitewater and logs, the river was rushing. We remembered what hot springs we want to visit.</p>
<p>I've been having the urge to be a seasonal itinerant worker. Not possible while we have dogs, though. So we'll focus on improvement projects like solar hot water and indoor "plumbing", shelves, a clothesline ... This is our 5th summer in Idaho.</p>
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But colors are popping everywhere.<br>
Crocuses under the apple tree are a color that might phone camera can't compute and survived a night ir two of frost. Birds are singing. Squirrels are running from branch to branch. Lazlo follows them quite closely under the hazelnut tree but his technique never improves. The pear tree and lilacs are budding. <br>
It's almost camping weather. We're counting the days/weeks until Keith's temp job comes to an end.  What better time of year to be "unemployed" than spring? 3-day weekends will seem like a vacation after working full-time. We talk about what we're working toward and how to get there...jobs are part of that plan but we have flexibility for seasonal work for Keith. Which is great because there are a lot if tiny house projects to tackle.<br>
The river is dropping a little and only one in the family is brave enough to swim so far this year. Head under and everything. Swimming season started early. Also rolling in dead steelhead season...dogs are disgusting creatures! Febreeze is fighting the smell in my car. On warmer days it loses. Gag!!</p>
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It's been dark for a few months; now my disco is back.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fJPf5_pVJU8bHthBRq1yLQAqAuVQDYkY9cxGAjrHOqny2Yfg1qOjJxyzt7K2_NQnFwjqfHrnXuvTne5G1NqE_nFTeQXRLsVlSxihVH3pGBLORqq0pVhkeu9DTB1GMdtSwzJNF6TZvvpP/s1600/2013-03-19_08-11-50_692.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3fJPf5_pVJU8bHthBRq1yLQAqAuVQDYkY9cxGAjrHOqny2Yfg1qOjJxyzt7K2_NQnFwjqfHrnXuvTne5G1NqE_nFTeQXRLsVlSxihVH3pGBLORqq0pVhkeu9DTB1GMdtSwzJNF6TZvvpP/s640/2013-03-19_08-11-50_692.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-68027404970037998272013-03-09T09:01:00.001-08:002013-03-09T09:01:52.509-08:00Hi-brow lo-brow<p>Rinsing your french press mug at the rain barrel</p>
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Smartphone for work = easier posting.</p>
<p>Moved the explosives box to the bathroom. <br>
Hung up an agate mobile to compliment the tp dish. <br>
Moved the chalk board out of storage for project planning/diagramming.</p>
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text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrttGGBKt07K2YfoqYkGmZL0NyW13S6ozSKqyid0SnEObsiG2rcZkS-P7cN6MFYu_uHxYa3YHmB5TdAeitEI2p7T2QIBfQhFXI9-YTK59d5FS5fgSNisyguLWWJa6CaZBmRMoeKQ9dBNm/s1600/2013-02-24_11-30-49_370.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrttGGBKt07K2YfoqYkGmZL0NyW13S6ozSKqyid0SnEObsiG2rcZkS-P7cN6MFYu_uHxYa3YHmB5TdAeitEI2p7T2QIBfQhFXI9-YTK59d5FS5fgSNisyguLWWJa6CaZBmRMoeKQ9dBNm/s640/2013-02-24_11-30-49_370.jpg' /> </a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-6798450171100186022013-02-11T08:39:00.003-08:002013-02-11T08:39:46.680-08:00Adjusting as we go...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we moved here it was with the intention scaling back, living simply and getting by on part-time work. On paper, that sounds fine. But after four years of living at/below the poverty line we're putting a plan into play that will allow us to save some money for future (long-term) travelling etc. This means increasing the number of hours we each work and there are some growing pains associated with that - but we're trying. Sometimes it feels like <i><b>struggling</b></i>, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone periodically, right? Right???</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The snow is all gone (again) and it's making us wish spring would get here even faster. Though, on the weekend, when all I want to do is rest, I am glad for the cloud cover that justifies me staying indoors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I planned on writing a post about things we do differently due to space restrictions and one of them is yoga. I only have a small amount of floor space that will accommodate my mat and sending the pups outdoors is the only way I can do downward dog without getting licked. I just never took the time to flesh out the list of what else we've modified for our space, but I will work on that - because it's a fairly lengthy list!</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-53861323311257237792013-01-03T11:52:00.001-08:002013-01-03T11:52:59.075-08:00Cold storage<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is the first year our bird feeder has seen any serious traffic and I am very entertained by them. We've seen a lot of evening grosbeaks and some smaller birds - sometimes up to 5 on the feeder at once. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We've been trying to keep it filled with black sunflower seeds, but they are eating it as quickly as we can refill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcx83kdf0vyLOD7-sHfgDsq2kwmAMcG-GrMbYhAShRqD29jdhMB9BwJhDMn4ZIscQsJ2lKF5nWRGo8NVfOTaoWAGHh63UVwfvSn5s4AtRwFmwtrWCcgVnRM5D7KMlLja1nhWN391FXwsv/s1600/single+bird+bright+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcx83kdf0vyLOD7-sHfgDsq2kwmAMcG-GrMbYhAShRqD29jdhMB9BwJhDMn4ZIscQsJ2lKF5nWRGo8NVfOTaoWAGHh63UVwfvSn5s4AtRwFmwtrWCcgVnRM5D7KMlLja1nhWN391FXwsv/s640/single+bird+bright+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keith enjoyed his first installment of his xmas gift from my sister, 3 months of IPA-of-the-month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's December and they're still digging in the field - no snow has lasted. On our past couple of trips to the river Lazlo's gone in wading. Climate change doesn't seem so bad at this point?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYdqB4DY_swwKySq0EgMAnMuLfYxuJW9gd5o82h8GWNlEVuY2psTdcY1v4-Kc3vJRI6Oj1gWD04T5Tg1Ko8rFejOOqIhxdgynhhaou9BB9mevyIQ1o04F9E39sDoKWh1TMnUyrUPiyLSy/s1600/lazlo+dig+front+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYdqB4DY_swwKySq0EgMAnMuLfYxuJW9gd5o82h8GWNlEVuY2psTdcY1v4-Kc3vJRI6Oj1gWD04T5Tg1Ko8rFejOOqIhxdgynhhaou9BB9mevyIQ1o04F9E39sDoKWh1TMnUyrUPiyLSy/s640/lazlo+dig+front+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Keith dug out this old explosives box to keep our "refrigerated" items in a contained space instead of precariously lined up on the skinny table. It's super cute and works great - not that it has any insulating properties, but it's winter - nature's doing the work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A six pack carrier makes a good condiment carrier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a failed relationship with a hand pump on our water bottles, we decided to go with a gravity-fed dispenser and couldn't be happier with the new "technology." Sub-freezing temps usually cause it to ice up so we schlep the water into the bathroom (where a small ceramic heater runs most of the day right now) or into the house to de-ice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgimiy3JIdhc-hVZ8gTuFqNs-3xsXd2W4gWCdM70c0cg3TUB255IvacbF-CDOQmciSEmgFScPFp9CpN-0Di3GVBpwuDt4-zbGvOtsSYUO5DJEJQL05_hby5mEdm3vBxUa5acPkUoxOx0WW/s1600/birds+on+deck+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgimiy3JIdhc-hVZ8gTuFqNs-3xsXd2W4gWCdM70c0cg3TUB255IvacbF-CDOQmciSEmgFScPFp9CpN-0Di3GVBpwuDt4-zbGvOtsSYUO5DJEJQL05_hby5mEdm3vBxUa5acPkUoxOx0WW/s640/birds+on+deck+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's a new year so we're, again, attempting to say hello to good habits and goodbye to the not-so-good. Part of my good habit routine is trying to eat more oatmeal. I used to be an oatmeal hater - until I figured out I just needed to use less water. That was an epiphany I am embarrassed to admit. So I am gingerly wading into instant oatmeal which is not as good as the real thing, but a step in the right direction. I also flirted with the idea of joining the local gym, but at $40+/mo. I can't justify it since I would primarily just be using the treadmill. So instead I ordered a couple of long fleece active wear shirts during an Old Navy sale and will hit the road/trail. Just trying to make good choices every day - here's to health and wellness in 2013!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-24488643950197876382012-12-23T08:57:00.004-08:002012-12-23T08:57:57.551-08:00False winter?<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's 2 days before Christmas and there's no snow on the ground. We had some a couple of weeks ago, just barely enough for the dogs to enjoy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">playing keep away with a cat toy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">snow + grass = perfect snack!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_DFjoSeX51RJzvgaCT187Uzt8AKR1VrP5eacGhWEUBOdjUl6k557IVAJaNNiU6mkDOAIxOPPEiPrOMsnTBSEnUOjOTbn12Oo9yaICCi98qtTOPI7gJ_ZtD4IHWjxIl8U7pWT6XifsS1o/s1600/running+through+juniper+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_DFjoSeX51RJzvgaCT187Uzt8AKR1VrP5eacGhWEUBOdjUl6k557IVAJaNNiU6mkDOAIxOPPEiPrOMsnTBSEnUOjOTbn12Oo9yaICCi98qtTOPI7gJ_ZtD4IHWjxIl8U7pWT6XifsS1o/s640/running+through+juniper+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lazlo got the zoomies!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How we're spending most of the day during the winter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Happy holidays to everyone out there on the internets. Wishing great things for 2013!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-7998110242197553112012-12-06T10:06:00.002-08:002012-12-06T10:23:13.239-08:00Read(ing)<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All year long I am a book nut but winter seems to be the best season for getting serious reading done, I mean there's only so much you can do after dark confined in a tiny house and even that doesn't take that long (no offense). So, yeah, reading. I am reading a lot these days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I got a funny comment/compliment? from the local librarian a couple weeks ago. I went in to pick up a book I'd reserved and she said, "When I saw this come in, I knew it was for you. It just looked like something you would read." I laughed because that's the kind of backhanded compliment I get from my mom on my clothing choices. Apparently I have a style that is recognizable - don't know if that's good or bad!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Some recent reading treasures, online and in print:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://velamag.com/the-long-haul/">The Long Haul</a> by Amanda Giracca - a <a href="http://chrislatray.com/">facebook friend</a> turned me onto this <a href="http://velamag.com/">online magazine</a> written entirely by women, travel writing/non-fiction that is <b>fantastic</b>. This particular essay is about a small town in the northeast, but I swear it could be Montana, too. Just a snippet to get you hooked: <i>"The porch is so warped to hell, it looks as though it hasn’t been fixed
up since Chief Konkapot signed away this land for three hundred pounds a
few centuries ago, scrawling the only thing he could write: his
signature turkey foot, a three-pronged symbol which stood for his real
name, Pophnehonnuhwoh. Kissed the land around the river goodbye."</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.arestlesstransplant.com/closed-for-the-season/">Closed for the Season</a> on A Restless Transplant - I totally dig this guy's photos and posts from the road and this post is mainly about the Sierra Nevadas. Makes me want to fill up my backpack and lace up my hiking boots and just walk on down the road. With a camera.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1529807.Pere_Goriot">Pere Goriot</a> by Honore de Balzac - Keith calls this "the Ballsack book." I requested this book from the library on a whim after seeing it on a list some snooty guy said everyone should read (or something like that) and it sat on my night stand because it intimidated me and I was sure I wouldn't like it, maybe I should just return it. Then I cracked it and haven't looked back. I'm sure there's a lot of deeper social commentary about French life and politics that I'm not absorbing, but I'm just enjoying the story of a bunch of characters in a boarding house in Paris. The writing (well, translation) is compelling and so apparently there's good reason that it's referred to as Balzac's best.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9396287-america-aflame">America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation</a> by David R. Goldfield - I'm not too far into this massive door stop of a book yet, but so far it's very dense and informative and I think a good case for why I should be reading more non-fiction, there's just so many gaps in my knowledge about history and American history in particular.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1389630.Prairy_Earth">Prairy Earth</a> by William Least Heat-Moon - Probably one of the best books I read in 2012 and of particular interest to me because it's about Keith's home state of Kansas. One particular county, in fact - very in depth, covering everything from the pre-settler history to archaeological records to gossip from the stores and diners and dreams about the place. If I was a writer, I would want to be like William Least Heat-Moon. (His other book I've read, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Highways-Journey-into-America/dp/0316353299">Blue Highways</a>, is in my top 5 books of all time.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.themorningnews.org/">The Morning News</a> - I read this online at work mostly (hey, it's news) and there's always more interesting things contained in it than I have time to read (while still looking productive). One of my favorite writers from <a href="http://www.thesunmagazine.org/">Sun Magazine</a>, Sparrow, has been making <a href="http://www.themorningnews.org/post/preparing-for-winter">some posts on TMN lately</a> that are great.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13722902-a-hologram-for-the-king">A Hologram for the King</a> by Dave Eggers - I'll pretty much read anything written by Dave Eggers but this was a stand-out for me this year. Completely foreign location, strangely modern plot, lovely tactile cover (bonus!) - I don't know, I just liked it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor">I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave</a> on Mother Jones - Shopping an Amazon (with a Prime membership = free shipping all year) has been a bad habit I've indulged this past year and this insider look at what goes on behind the scenes is good reminder that cheap stuff almost always has a human price. Namely shitty working conditions for whoever facilitates us getting our stuff faster and cheaper than ever before. So before I click "Add to Cart" again on Amazon, I will remember what I read here.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10357575-1q84">1Q84</a> by </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span itemprop="name">Haruki
Murakami - <b>Hands down the best book I read in 2012.</b> It's really hard to
provide a synopsis for any of this books in less than 50 words, but
it's about parallel universes, basically. The first book of his I read, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Up-Bird-Chronicle-Novel/dp/0679775439">The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle</a>, got me hooked and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kafka-Shore-Haruki-Murakami/dp/1400079276">Kafka on the Shore</a> is another great one by him.</span></span></span> </li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(Add me on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11341280-april-blankenship">Goodreads</a> if you're so inclined.) </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-75821771004460694632012-11-26T21:11:00.003-08:002012-11-26T21:12:43.594-08:00Thankful<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thankful for my family, of course. My husband who tries so hard to make me happy. My dogs who always want under the blankets. My health. Our house.Tofurky and pumpkin cheesecake from Costco. This really warm weather. (See <a href="http://agreatleapinthedark.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html">November 2010</a> for comparison)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">pretty fall colors on our walk to the river</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">makeshift kitchen inside and out - we're working on making this process more cook-friendly</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">taking walks midday helps </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">adjusting to much less daylight </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">stragglers gonna straggle</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://youtu.be/U6tV11acSRk">here comes the sun</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ophelia has come to live with us. She doesn't get along with my parents' new indoor cat, Skritch, so we put a food dish at our house, she has a little cat bed on the porch for daytime and she spends nights inside with us. Which is quite a challenge for Mia! And now another cat, Shadow, is lining up for the chow line at our house, too. Moochers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2huS8YCxK9H5zIg5V-anH8O12bWOeXvhTG257luVGYp91bXbd9yVDWkOjBWQBQWPW3WpTMt1QDkeh91BicwSd35UwXBObsW7LwJlTFgjLWz1-8F9ipg9TUWvHNSAYRio3mfxLO_ZU7MsU/s1600/raking+sp+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2huS8YCxK9H5zIg5V-anH8O12bWOeXvhTG257luVGYp91bXbd9yVDWkOjBWQBQWPW3WpTMt1QDkeh91BicwSd35UwXBObsW7LwJlTFgjLWz1-8F9ipg9TUWvHNSAYRio3mfxLO_ZU7MsU/s1600/raking+sp+web.jpg" height="442" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thankful there's not snow and ice covering the leaves. </span>The hazelnut leaves are really cool and I've never really noticed them before. Leathery, but light. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>It's weird to be raking leaves in late November, but I was glad to since I needed them for the compost pile.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-66569286284429802672012-11-01T15:10:00.000-07:002012-11-01T15:24:18.708-07:00Prairie Trippin'<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We were getting a serious case of cabin fever last week so we decided to go thrifting on Saturday. There's only one thrift store here (we pick it sporadically) and one antique store, but up on the prairie there are many more places to find goodies.</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hiCpgTD1ZctYxvDmJYy-YxoK8y2S2yg0tbSRBnmkX9d6Ql-xLziZvsn4WeVJg5fvWoXW3gcKr6Wuvg8aKrMnaNdCEXwblxo2igLwEK-88aOI5Uz-vtKa3siQootNANHzpNeVpHPG__yQ/s1600/farm+road+blur+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hiCpgTD1ZctYxvDmJYy-YxoK8y2S2yg0tbSRBnmkX9d6Ql-xLziZvsn4WeVJg5fvWoXW3gcKr6Wuvg8aKrMnaNdCEXwblxo2igLwEK-88aOI5Uz-vtKa3siQootNANHzpNeVpHPG__yQ/s640/farm+road+blur+web.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Also it gave me a chance to practice shooting out the passenger window, a technique that really started to appeal to me on our <a href="http://agreatleapinthedark.blogspot.com/2011/07/scenes-from-10-day-roadtrip.html">10th anniversary road trip</a> last year. I like looking ahead for things that might make a good photo and then trying to guess at what angle/speed/distance the composition will work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Plus Keith doesn't like to stop every half-mile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I did make Keith stop a couple of times - for this Shell station in Craigmont (and also the Fire Department there).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlADp8gdRDJQ0NH61nabgLOxOl6cdxkayaQ5Qe_x9JmRsi5e48OV2NoKKpbLtOGVCmapa6Mr8w7GcXE_uzG4A1XAEx8f9CQB8qFaCmDvlu0m_J8Vh_sxVYLlT5eJ6qoBRz8-skMZ9_6AnT/s1600/craigmont+shell+station+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlADp8gdRDJQ0NH61nabgLOxOl6cdxkayaQ5Qe_x9JmRsi5e48OV2NoKKpbLtOGVCmapa6Mr8w7GcXE_uzG4A1XAEx8f9CQB8qFaCmDvlu0m_J8Vh_sxVYLlT5eJ6qoBRz8-skMZ9_6AnT/s640/craigmont+shell+station+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5biNX9myzdO9uv6SKheLRF3jqpSjMOmlKSr2QyYoNI7MIp9GTAwlM778tCyG6WSLi0vKvjkUaB4qn5vbNFmHHQyLAt7-kk_EsI9zlND1budr5AZnQhU6JX0nnVp8qukqP29BKn1WR2FE/s1600/records+vert+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5biNX9myzdO9uv6SKheLRF3jqpSjMOmlKSr2QyYoNI7MIp9GTAwlM778tCyG6WSLi0vKvjkUaB4qn5vbNFmHHQyLAt7-kk_EsI9zlND1budr5AZnQhU6JX0nnVp8qukqP29BKn1WR2FE/s320/records+vert+web.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We found a bunch of small things to buy (brass hooks, etc.) and a great deal on records. I walked out of one store with 9 records (because I got tired of digging through the stacks) and the most expensive one was a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles LP, $3. Also scored Supertramp, Blondie, Best of Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Dwight Yoakam, Radio Active and the Baja Marimba Band.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I also found a wire rack for records and now the record player has its very own table (instead of taking up valuable counter space like it did all summer) and the records are just below it. It's a great feeling to just open it up and spin a record and rock out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A couple changes we made over the weekend really changed how our house feels, it's efficiency and spatial energy - one is moving the record player to a dedicated space - and that table was formerly my bedside table.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZWJmE2DETBGW4cVKE_GAO79Y0aSY1XDBhwczczPdD2RSha2n3NJykCRodWOfU8XIph7xCG7ipB0nBSiy_cYcMAy4gi3tqAUZApx4ZbeYkgOgKVDpEJA9K_5kjPPVdm-4daKSwtc-Tm_d/s1600/new+nightstand+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZWJmE2DETBGW4cVKE_GAO79Y0aSY1XDBhwczczPdD2RSha2n3NJykCRodWOfU8XIph7xCG7ipB0nBSiy_cYcMAy4gi3tqAUZApx4ZbeYkgOgKVDpEJA9K_5kjPPVdm-4daKSwtc-Tm_d/s640/new+nightstand+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But my new bedside table is even better! Keith had picked an old Singer sewing machine base from somewhere over the past year or two and it was sitting way back in the car shed collecting dust. I wiped it down and gave it a coat or bright red paint, we put the (warped and therefore not useful) cutting board that used to fit over the sink and made that the top. Much more room for books, etc.!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My old clock radio (10+ years old, likely) was on its last leg due to age and repeated drops to the floor, so I was in the market for an old-timey alarm clock when we thrifting and found this beauty for $2! There's no radio, just a clock and alarm that sounds like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCvCfh-bE-Q">this</a>. There is a snooze button but you don't want to hear that alarm more than once.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We're cooking ALL of our meals at our house now, which is awesome. If not dark and a little chilly. But we're fuerte!</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gmUV8sgetEbvK9W8Xku1t0HmPE9s9_BgEH6bzZgqFJV5S5wVYPdeTIsvPK4n4807YG-ZAEqxCw-_y01L2RVy5GWAFYq7H-RwRmBw1Ho8FMCPclHs0vGGS7PBCo1Cse4Kfsk_GPcMfY8i/s1600/brown+turned+head+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gmUV8sgetEbvK9W8Xku1t0HmPE9s9_BgEH6bzZgqFJV5S5wVYPdeTIsvPK4n4807YG-ZAEqxCw-_y01L2RVy5GWAFYq7H-RwRmBw1Ho8FMCPclHs0vGGS7PBCo1Cse4Kfsk_GPcMfY8i/s640/brown+turned+head+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Brown is loving squirrel season. Or hating it, I can't tell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This little beggar just happens to be around whenever we're at the stove.</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNBqSEDjF4Vv5681TjAIYwk4oSql1CdajbxV38XkDRsGEj5KASw_TbpfPU6keSYRNX1Yj8dwgczq5UpxKlRWgrsZohcr8SlmKqNaAV6hPdLoJsZ4F_1unWJG4EANPi27_pjJU0zQ2uzkL/s1600/fishing+on+river+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNBqSEDjF4Vv5681TjAIYwk4oSql1CdajbxV38XkDRsGEj5KASw_TbpfPU6keSYRNX1Yj8dwgczq5UpxKlRWgrsZohcr8SlmKqNaAV6hPdLoJsZ4F_1unWJG4EANPi27_pjJU0zQ2uzkL/s640/fishing+on+river+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On our walk down to the river on Sunday we saw some people fishing. The river is gorgeous this time of year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Okay, time for a composting toilet update.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9a0SjnFuGTtFePAlQbVo9RqrcitElOaN2Q3FtuTjWCl0STkKzshBXwzxJuPkBG3fhhhNOaSZUzPhvEehCSfABO2TONbIm4e6lDcuDH5_AcJcOWGBZv4ODA-U9DOK9n9L8itWxM5JKDfS/s1600/emptying+toilet+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9a0SjnFuGTtFePAlQbVo9RqrcitElOaN2Q3FtuTjWCl0STkKzshBXwzxJuPkBG3fhhhNOaSZUzPhvEehCSfABO2TONbIm4e6lDcuDH5_AcJcOWGBZv4ODA-U9DOK9n9L8itWxM5JKDfS/s640/emptying+toilet+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Keith and I agreed we should take turns dumping the toilet. And although he was very chivalrous and offered to take my turn last week, I told him we should stick to the original agreement. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. I was wearing gloves obviously and breathing through my mouth (just in case) and it went fine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's not my favorite thing to do, but it wasn't scary or even all that gross (no grosser than changing a baby's diaper and I luckily will never do that) and I think next time it will go even better since I will know what to expect. After turning the bucket upside down into the compost pile, I used dry sawdust to scrub/wipe out the inside of the bucket (which really came pretty clean when I dumped it). Then cover everything with the cherry tree leaves, put some dry sawdust in the bottom of the bucket and start all over again. I will only have to empty it about every 20 days or so anyway, which I can totally handle.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbOgYFpi_02MxxrAepxVY38e0_e9oMwNz8mU-kVfafuVJVjZW4qzsZpS6hgANqW3NxHE_VbR0x1-esQmWk1uVi8yw1mQ1bFzpKB4DQGz_N1G7KKGky7LgL_uVrSqwUvZ36nTQ_X_7yukQ/s1600/view+from+toilet+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbOgYFpi_02MxxrAepxVY38e0_e9oMwNz8mU-kVfafuVJVjZW4qzsZpS6hgANqW3NxHE_VbR0x1-esQmWk1uVi8yw1mQ1bFzpKB4DQGz_N1G7KKGky7LgL_uVrSqwUvZ36nTQ_X_7yukQ/s640/view+from+toilet+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And to end on a nicer note, here's a shot of the view from the toilet. The window is coated in some kind of material so people can't see in even when the leaves drop off the trees. And I just noticed we can see our compost pile from the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/8119689359/in/set-72157608108817828/">toilet</a>! The flooring is all in and now the bathroom looks like this.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/preciousroy/8119703284/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="flooring in, tub in by Precious Roy, on Flickr"><img alt="flooring in, tub in" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8119703284_cfa6cdd923.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" alt="" style="vertical-align:middle;border:0"/></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/AGreatLeapInTheDark" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></p></div>Aprilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13545902890959118689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4687723633427377734.post-7396801988879496502012-10-10T14:14:00.001-07:002012-10-10T14:19:47.498-07:00Bathroom update and more on the composting toilet<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Team KBAB is happy to report great progress on the tiny house bathroom and has provided these snapshots to illustrate. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgBQmjzP5XDaESwi8-8lCyc3hzMu9qCgm9ib7GQXCgeYStUj6ftV-SAz35UcL0YwO59Rqxy_yQM0T1yv-_PIUa5-YrvLNziady5yx1QrccVabin58tTkkzXnrEUysUu5acfqhQ8W7Tr9K/s1600/keith+bringin+in+plywood+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgBQmjzP5XDaESwi8-8lCyc3hzMu9qCgm9ib7GQXCgeYStUj6ftV-SAz35UcL0YwO59Rqxy_yQM0T1yv-_PIUa5-YrvLNziady5yx1QrccVabin58tTkkzXnrEUysUu5acfqhQ8W7Tr9K/s640/keith+bringin+in+plywood+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keith wanted to raise the existing floor of the bathroom to be level with the threshold so we added a sheet of CDX to the subfloor.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzFi1T8imcDsoS-jXbB2LG2y1wUkzvBfKk0fu3ZMRCOwdOaqAxio3cAkMeCh3YjqqC3GnGZQZsdseg0qFBfrxiod-6_1GjPTceOKw2rTKnLfwzPbIG1tjfVp_Net4g-eQ-OhePuYt3axY/s1600/keith+tracing+tub+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzFi1T8imcDsoS-jXbB2LG2y1wUkzvBfKk0fu3ZMRCOwdOaqAxio3cAkMeCh3YjqqC3GnGZQZsdseg0qFBfrxiod-6_1GjPTceOKw2rTKnLfwzPbIG1tjfVp_Net4g-eQ-OhePuYt3axY/s640/keith+tracing+tub+web.jpg" width="562" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keith traced the footprint of the stock tank tub and cut that hole out of the CDX with a jigsaw so the tub/shower basin will sit just a tad lower.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu80Jg_vB9pMJOYlQJqKliB3zQni64mDLyo1-5_C4txduC5S6Ik0SsDjPVG8GEVZGxnJeA5MeOK3l643_keEb135bmTMslXwe676-XFcIsIt7Psrsw-7SIAPp7hghcOes1gleXm8_ym6Wq/s1600/cdx+on+floor+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu80Jg_vB9pMJOYlQJqKliB3zQni64mDLyo1-5_C4txduC5S6Ik0SsDjPVG8GEVZGxnJeA5MeOK3l643_keEb135bmTMslXwe676-XFcIsIt7Psrsw-7SIAPp7hghcOes1gleXm8_ym6Wq/s640/cdx+on+floor+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A view of the floor with all the CDX in place - next step, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Roberts-70-025-Underlayment-Laminate-Moisture/dp/B001CXYYVA">underlayment</a>. What is underlayment? It provides a cushion between the subfloor and bamboo flooring we're going to install and also acts as a vapor barrier.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXtsXmlQO0bFjWTMenm6b-281F7cfI8PJ5ZD0PkHBnCIzYsyugNEwkc1bjIyPX6KPKrkliXzUhOdzgPt1KA0QNLfVBH-utZA3LjvDpxCVcQ4UQl_0jXv2_3ocmk6YHK9qHHJSzSUmjsmi/s1600/underlayment+and+tub+in+place+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXtsXmlQO0bFjWTMenm6b-281F7cfI8PJ5ZD0PkHBnCIzYsyugNEwkc1bjIyPX6KPKrkliXzUhOdzgPt1KA0QNLfVBH-utZA3LjvDpxCVcQ4UQl_0jXv2_3ocmk6YHK9qHHJSzSUmjsmi/s640/underlayment+and+tub+in+place+web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We cut the underlayment to fit and then placed the tub in its hole so we will have a seamless vapor barrier for the floor. Especially important once the shower is operational. After the underlayment was in, of course we had to see what the flooring is going to look like so we laid down some pieces for fun and also to protect the underlayment while we're using the bathroom and finishing the flooring.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqDxJJcllQytcLdOUShA_-K7VvbV7ZzDVlHRK0hRis-4o242fcsNeg_mHRbxrYwwN7XjgmWJBF7IbR94DS-gaCnc4ikGuLPi7ZXCT3NCMi8ZpAiRTIJvAnlJpmdmWFKidxWHwdJHoxrot/s1600/drain+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqDxJJcllQytcLdOUShA_-K7VvbV7ZzDVlHRK0hRis-4o242fcsNeg_mHRbxrYwwN7XjgmWJBF7IbR94DS-gaCnc4ikGuLPi7ZXCT3NCMi8ZpAiRTIJvAnlJpmdmWFKidxWHwdJHoxrot/s640/drain+web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After checking out all our drain options at the local hardware store, we chose this set for its simplicity. We probably won't worry about plumbing and drainage this year, though, since we don't have a water line to the house.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx74p7lh5Ltd8wJDXaqqCCz98VobV34-Bvh19eubqYyyOxE50QhGtF1em6BAJiMya6nSb2VVmouqIZ-RXLabn_cH9P2C_DgZ8fAWPoX7lJjanMLl5Yr5vDraAwqrg3_LZwDdlSh6f_m6m/s1600/cows+in+clearwater+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx74p7lh5Ltd8wJDXaqqCCz98VobV34-Bvh19eubqYyyOxE50QhGtF1em6BAJiMya6nSb2VVmouqIZ-RXLabn_cH9P2C_DgZ8fAWPoX7lJjanMLl5Yr5vDraAwqrg3_LZwDdlSh6f_m6m/s640/cows+in+clearwater+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>entering Clearwater, the welcoming free-range cows</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a that's-the-way-the-universe-works kind of way, we volunteered to deliver a lawn mulcher my dad sold to a guy who lives in a nearby town (nay, village). As we drove up the road looking for the landmarks he'd given us to find his house, I said, "This is a cute place!" and it just happened to be where we were going.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh4Z-6BjNEf_or7r-zDE8TRTV0dAWH_iRLqN3hvjUJU4EDng1LMMVZD1TBlHvDtgIqW0tBnAQLEaxE-v2zgIxwMC-40nbjMjwbLK_ERHO0khnBILdrfORWXelFZ3qHfmMCQz03lAjMCLv/s1600/clearwater+guy's+house+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSh4Z-6BjNEf_or7r-zDE8TRTV0dAWH_iRLqN3hvjUJU4EDng1LMMVZD1TBlHvDtgIqW0tBnAQLEaxE-v2zgIxwMC-40nbjMjwbLK_ERHO0khnBILdrfORWXelFZ3qHfmMCQz03lAjMCLv/s640/clearwater+guy's+house+web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We ended up chatting with him for about an hour about composting toilets and more. He's lived there off the grid for 16 years and composts everything (including poop), has built up a small garden (thanks to his compost) despite the land being VERY rocky, has a neat rainwater catching and storing system and has done all of the work himself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We told him of our plans to have our own composting toilet and he gave us a tour of his set-up and showed us the 2-year-old bin (which is how long you're supposed to compost poop before using it on a garden) where he buried a rooster that was completely consumed by the microbes in the pile. We talked about the <a href="http://humanurehandbook.com/">Humanure Handbook</a> and how a lot of people have "fecalphobia." He encouraged us to jump right in and just start the composting toilet and even offered to send us home with a bunch of sawdust to start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a great experience to see humanure composting in action instead of just reading about it online and in books. After talking to him we decided against diverting the urine (less plumbing - yay) and promised him we'd definitely follow through with our plans ASAP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ASAP turned into This Week. Monday while Keith was working on installing the bamboo flooring he stepped off the deck into a hole the dogs had dug and badly sprained his ankle. (Immediately followed by threatening the dogs with bodily harm.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6QboCP8JJ-swViUYuP2fuIUn8D111KxY94pnjyNQiFIvkIgaWROHhT2n8-nBuzhmkbeBSsRssvxFaS3J4hsnAdHCdYQzwgN97_mYHBbTJEnTPr8LFlm7k2Y1pFb2nKM0dmMW9siTbrYD/s1600/mia+sleeping+on+dog+bed+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6QboCP8JJ-swViUYuP2fuIUn8D111KxY94pnjyNQiFIvkIgaWROHhT2n8-nBuzhmkbeBSsRssvxFaS3J4hsnAdHCdYQzwgN97_mYHBbTJEnTPr8LFlm7k2Y1pFb2nKM0dmMW9siTbrYD/s640/mia+sleeping+on+dog+bed+web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> totally not concerned about her owner's physical pain and/or dr. bills</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It became apparent that we'd need our own functioning toilet sooner rather than later so Tuesday morning I filled up a bucket with the leaves I raked up from under the cherry tree. Viola! Composting toilet!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX35soCfryUjfUhzFhrVqBJ3UHVHyVbiqTlDaPypNmrSyb5yyGFoRjtAVTjqRZkgLjPLDEmRGfk0U0l8zldd6tPbtUCjMFvYiIXdwEBtPcFxDhh1Q6cFf5wKMax2W6ROs0dIx_m2_2Wptc/s1600/toilet+and+leaves+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX35soCfryUjfUhzFhrVqBJ3UHVHyVbiqTlDaPypNmrSyb5yyGFoRjtAVTjqRZkgLjPLDEmRGfk0U0l8zldd6tPbtUCjMFvYiIXdwEBtPcFxDhh1Q6cFf5wKMax2W6ROs0dIx_m2_2Wptc/s640/toilet+and+leaves+web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sawdust is rumored to be the best "cover material" for composting toilets and hopefully our source will come through for us sometime this week. But until then leaves are working and we can now use the bathroom in our own house! This is HUGE - especially since one of us is on crutches. We've already decided we'll be taking turns emptying the bucket into the compost pile and then washing it for the next round of use. (More on that as it unfolds...)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX35soCfryUjfUhzFhrVqBJ3UHVHyVbiqTlDaPypNmrSyb5yyGFoRjtAVTjqRZkgLjPLDEmRGfk0U0l8zldd6tPbtUCjMFvYiIXdwEBtPcFxDhh1Q6cFf5wKMax2W6ROs0dIx_m2_2Wptc/s1600/toilet+and+leaves+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju6QboCP8JJ-swViUYuP2fuIUn8D111KxY94pnjyNQiFIvkIgaWROHhT2n8-nBuzhmkbeBSsRssvxFaS3J4hsnAdHCdYQzwgN97_mYHBbTJEnTPr8LFlm7k2Y1pFb2nKM0dmMW9siTbrYD/s1600/mia+sleeping+on+dog+bed+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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