March forth

Slow Sunday

Working more = appreciating weekends.
Smartphone for work = easier posting.

Moved the explosives box to the bathroom.
Hung up an agate mobile to compliment the tp dish.
Moved the chalk board out of storage for project planning/diagramming.

Adjusting as we go...

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 struggling, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone periodically, right? Right???

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.

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!

Cold storage

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.

We've been trying to keep it filled with black sunflower seeds, but they are eating it as quickly as we can refill.

Keith enjoyed his first installment of his xmas gift from my sister, 3 months of IPA-of-the-month.

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?

 

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.

A six pack carrier makes a good condiment carrier.

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.

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!

False winter?

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.

playing keep away with a cat toy

snow + grass = perfect snack!

Lazlo got the zoomies!

How we're spending most of the day during the winter.

Happy holidays to everyone out there on the internets. Wishing great things for 2013!

Read(ing)

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.

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!

Some recent reading treasures, online and in print:

• The Long Haul by Amanda Giracca - a facebook friend turned me onto this online magazine written entirely by women, travel writing/non-fiction that is fantastic. 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: "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."
• Closed for the Season 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.
• Pere Goriot 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.
• America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation 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.
• Prairy Earth 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, Blue Highways, is in my top 5 books of all time.)
• The Morning News - 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 Sun Magazine, Sparrow, has been making some posts on TMN lately that are great.
• A Hologram for the King 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.
• I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave 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.
• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - Hands down the best book I read in 2012. 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, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, got me hooked and Kafka on the Shore is another great one by him.

(Add me on Goodreads if you're so inclined.)

Thankful

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 November 2010 for comparison)

pretty fall colors on our walk to the river

makeshift kitchen inside and out - we're working on making this process more cook-friendly

taking walks midday helps adjusting to much less daylight 

stragglers gonna straggle

here comes the sun

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!

Thankful there's not snow and ice covering the leaves. The hazelnut leaves are really cool and I've never really noticed them before. Leathery, but light. It's weird to be raking leaves in late November, but I was glad to since I needed them for the compost pile.

Prairie Trippin'

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.  
Also it gave me a chance to practice shooting out the passenger window, a technique that really started to appeal to me on our 10th anniversary road trip 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. 
Plus Keith doesn't like to stop every half-mile.

I did make Keith stop a couple of times - for this Shell station in Craigmont (and also the Fire Department there).

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.
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.
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.

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.!

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 this. There is a snooze button but you don't want to hear that alarm more than once.

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!

Brown is loving squirrel season. Or hating it, I can't tell.

This little beggar just happens to be around whenever we're at the stove.

On our walk down to the river on Sunday we saw some people fishing. The river is gorgeous this time of year.

Okay, time for a composting toilet update.

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. 
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.

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 toilet! The flooring is all in and now the bathroom looks like this.