Today I received three messages within an hour, saying “I heard you on the radio!” So I knew the story about Yestermorrow’s 2025 Tiny House Design-Build Certificate went live today. In case you didn’t happen to be listening, I’m excited to share it with you, too.
Wrapping Up Tiny House Design Build Cert 2025
This past week of the Tiny House Design-Build Certificate at Yestermorrow flew by. We got so much snow over the weekend that we made Monday a studio day and everyone worked on their own designs. I shared information about small space appliances and fixtures and we discussed small space design tricks to make a small space more functional and appealing.
Tiny House Design-Build Cert 2025 (Week 3)
What an awesome week it’s been at Yestermorrow, teaching and learning through the Tiny House Design-Build Certification! A big snow storm came through last night, so we’ve got about a foot on the ground and more still falling. This is a pretty darn cozy place to be snowed in! I’ve got some sweet rolls rising in the Yestermorrow kitchenette, so it seems like a good time to catch up on this past week.
Jumping into Tiny House Design Build Certificate 2025
Last night over dinner I said to my companions: “Okay, so where are you when you’re eating pad kee mao (with kale?!) while listening to live folk music on a snowy night and discussing building a small house out of bamboo in the Philippines and a tiny house on wheels in Greece, mostly in English, but also a little in Spanish?” They laughed and said “Yestermorrow!” Close enough. We were actually at Fit to be Thai’d at Sugarbush in the Mad River Valley, just down the road from Yestermorrow. But it was a Yestercrew. What a joy it is to be back here to teach the second two weeks of the annual month-long Tiny House Design Build Certification!
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.
My Apartment at Punalu'u
On Tuesday, I moved from My Brattleboro Landing Pad into an apartment on the property of my friends Erin Maile O’Keefe and Kevin O’Keefe…Now Erin and Kevin live in their tiny, which is considered a detached bedroom by the town. The house is occupied by some great folks, too, and now I’m in the apartment, which means that I am once again living in a tiny house community. This is the third one I’ve lived in, after Simply Home Community and Going Places.
Tiny House Design (Online)
In early 2020 I traveled to Yestermorrow to teach the 3-day Tiny House Design at Yestermorrow (Feb 2020) course with my friend and colleague Erin Maile O’Keefe… It seems strange to think back on that now, how that was the way we always taught design classes, in real life and in close proximity. Amidst the global pandemic, we pivoted and by June we were able to offer a Tiny House Design (Online) course. It immediately filled and a waiting list was started.
How Are You Hol(d)ing Up?
“How are you holding up?” It’s a question I’ve been getting a lot lately. And a question I’ve been asking a lot lately. Even of perfect strangers: the checker at the grocery store, the person I’m video chatting with for tech support, the neighbor at the end of the block sitting on their porch.
I think part of the reason people ask me how I’m holding up is that I live in 100 square feet. And it’s true that there are a couple of challenges with this…
Real Virtuality
When I was little we used to talk about how cool it would be if we could see people while we were talking to them on the phone. Now it’s the future. Most of the things I did this week involved seeing other people while talking to them, but virtually. It occurred to me, part way through the week, as I was popping in and out of zooms and facetimes and hangouts and phone calls and texts that we’re now living in real virtuality!
Not Alone in Solitude
“Strange times,” is a phrase I’ve heard a lot this week. And it feels that way. So I’ve been pondering how to act and react in these strange times since it seems we have a stretch of this ahead of us. I’ve decided that since I am one of the healthy (at least for now) and one of the wealthy (at least by world standards) my approach will be to follow best practices regarding social distancing and to find a balance between connecting with others virtually and embracing some mandatory me time to do a few more indoor projects and savor some solitude and reflection. I chose to act with goodwill and good judgement and to hope that others will do the same.