My latest hobby has proved very fulfilling so far. I find myself drawing parallels between glass blowing and other things throughout the day. As I roll a piece of gum around in my mouth and mold it into a ball I am reminded of spinning a glass marble in a graphite mold. Making something tangible, [...]
I’ve said for years that the ideal situation for me would be to own a good piece of land next to hand-picked neighbors / friends, as opposed to living in an intentional community. Today I signed the contract and paid the down-payment on 17 fantastically varied acres and a nice little home. My neighbor just [...]
The last three months have been wonderful, but full of things that trumped posting on Living a Simple Life. Having recently become close friends with a photographer, I thought the best way to play catch-up and save a few thousand words would be with pictures. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into my lovely and [...]
This morning I woke up without an alarm, cooked oatmeal on the wood stove while heating up the cabin, meditated, ate, and did a couple hours of paid work on the computer. I ran some errands, had lunch, met Missy at the coffee shop, and came back home. I read, went for a run, worked [...]
Anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows that we’ve been having trouble finding our preferred balance between the “Simple Life” and the realities of being parents and technology professionals in a rural area. Our goals have not changed, but a lot of other things have. We have decided that our goal will [...]
I just got back from a meditation course last week and thought it might be good to share my experience here. Although everyone’s experience is going to be different it might help you decide if this is something you might be interested in doing yourself. The center I went to is in Massachusetts and they [...]
I’ll be taking an extended leave of absence from work so I can focus on some of my own projects, especially homesteading and writing. I’ll be updating this blog more with all of the projects we’ve been doing that we haven’t had time to post about. For instance, the composting toilet upstairs and the composting [...]
I mentioned a few weeks ago that there was going to be some good news posted here. It is official now so I can post it. I am taking a three-month leave of absence from work to write a book and spend more time with our son while Missy opens up her own retail shop [...]
We’ve had a LOT of interest in our place. Everyone who comes agrees that the property itself is off a postcard, and the workshop and observatory are huge pluses. However, there has been concern from a couple of visitors about the fact that this is an old farmhouse. Though I certainly understand and respect that [...]
We would love to have a community on our current property. Most of the land would be shared and owned by the collective members of the community in a trust (or however it’s usually done). But looking at the processes involved in starting one, and in maintaining the books, accounts, etc… it makes me a [...]
Everett writes about voluntary simplicity. This blog catalogs his search for "the good life" as he tries to strike a balance between work and play, freedom and responsibility, simplicity and comfort.
