It has been a few weeks since I posted. I got pretty busy with life.

As I have mentioned previously, I live in a teeny, tiny apartment. My landlords are very nice, but have been unwilling to do much updating themselves, so I took things into my own hands. I shouldn’t say “I” though, because, as always, I wouldn’t get a thing done by myself. My family shows up, puts up with my ratty attitude, ignores the messes I make, and just gets on with the work. They really are the best.

Twelve years ago when I moved in, I thought it was temporary. I didn’t want a huge house, but I wanted spare bedrooms for guests, a big kitchen for hostessing, and lots of wall space for art. Now, I want things to be tiny and mobile. I still fantasize about a beautiful straw bale house full of art, sunshine, and delicious meals, but I recognize it isn’t the best fit for the life I believe I really want. So, the tiny apartment is good practice for a tiny house, and camper life.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to be brutal about shedding some of the stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. I’m doing OK, but I’ve got a ways to go. Thankfully my Mama is willing to come hang out with me while I go through boxes of stuff. I know some people are really good at that, but it takes an emotional toll on me. Either I mentally wrestle with myself thinking things might be useful, or I struggle to let go of things that have emotional attachments.

We did have a HUGE win, thanks to Mom, Dad, and my sister. In the “bedroom” half of the apartment we pulled up all the old carpet and laid down wall-to-wall Flor carpet squares. I purchased the Flor two years ago, when it was on sale, and I thought we’d complete it quickly. The boxes became my bedside table for quite awhile, and I’ve never been happier to get rid of a piece of “furniture”.

I hemmed and hawed over flooring in the apartment for a long time. The apartment was added to the building at the back of the garage. The concrete floor was never leveled, so the flooring had to go with the flow (to the old drain). I wanted to be able to do the installation without paying a pro, and I wanted something easy to maintain.  I’ll admit, it is a little weird to have all the seams in a carpeted room, but the easy install and ability to replace a tile if I spill a whole pot of coffee on it, is worth the seams. I left the Pythagorean theorem up to Dad and my sister, and after we figured out our square lines, the only hard part was making edge cuts that worked. It never would have happened without the family!

It will be awhile before I get to ChinChin’s interior, but I would consider Flor, and all their fun color options, for potential flooring.

Other things that happened over the last few weeks of note:

• I was cleaning out the closet so hard, I whacked my head on the door frame and gave myself a mild concussion.
• I went up to Lake Tahoe for a work trip with my team. They are insane and lovely, and I’m so lucky to work with such caring, productive people.
• I got the first mechanic’s estimate for ChinChin. It is a whopper, but should leave the transmission and brakes in great shape. Work has gotten super busy, so Dad has kindly taken over as head communicator and researcher for the project.

Finally, I’m feeling tired these days. Life is very busy, but I don’t think that is it. My role at work, and the things I care about, put me face to face with some of the bigotry and sexism in the world. The news is full of senseless violence. Sometimes I’m just not as resilient to the pains of the world. I’ll be fine though. As my Grandma used to say, “A change is a good as a rest.” I can’t wait to get my hands on ChinChin, and seek out an ever changing landscape.