"The marvelous thing about a good question is that it shapes our identity as much by the asking as it does by the answering" –David Whyte For years now, I have been making my decisions using a formula designed to help me reach the very best conclusion. For most,...
"One can never have enough socks" - Dumbledore (Harry Potter) When I was still in my teens, my mom taught me how to knit, which at the time, was not nearly as fashionable as it is now. It was reserved for older women, often grandmothers with enough time on...
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill While much of what’s been written about our Shirley adventure has been based on the shiny new starts and wonderful fresh discoveries, there have...
“The cost of a thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it.” –Henry David Thoreau In 2020, the average life expectancy of a North American woman was 84, and for a man, 80. For teens that must sound like an eternity, for those in middle...
In April, we celebrated one year in our new home. While they say time flies, I have felt more like I am living in slow motion than at warp speed. This is partly due I’m sure to the slow and serene surroundings we now find ourselves in but I also think, at least in...
"Simple living is skillful living" - Satish Kumar For many years, I have strived to live a more simplified life. What does that mean you ask? For me it means having more of what I need and use, and less of what I don’t. It means having space around me, and this...
“I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.” Henry David Thoreau Building our new house has always been about the numbers; square footage, the budget, the orientation to the sun, the property lines, the size of the...
circa 1995 “It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! - Dr. Seuss I can see it now. Everyone gathered together just like we have for the past 25 years, around our long dinner table, on Christmas Eve. I’m in the kitchen...
“Progress is not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” Khalil Gibran It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post to update you on the build. What had appeared for ages to be a slow grind, has suddenly gained momentum and we are well...
Recently, during a break in the build, and with some time on our hands, we decided to reflect on leaving our home of 25 years; what will we take with us, what will we leave behind, what has this place and home meant to us. I grew up in different houses; my...
When we married in our late teens, we took ‘till death us do part’ out of the vows we read; we just weren’t comfortable signing off on that level of commitment. Now, nearly 40 years on, we are looking at our final chapter and making plans to support each...
In 1992, having recently had twin boys, we started a conversation around change; how could we raise our children with one parent at home? What might life look like if I gave up my career? And so, after much soul searching and a brief chat with our bank manager, we...