I plan on the transition each year, and for now, I wait and watch for signs of change. The weather models are unsure of what will happen. It’s like the dry PNW summer is battling the north pacific currents trying to push into Washington for the winter. Forecasts this time of year often say there is a 58% chance of rain, which is frustratingly noncommittal. They might as well admit they have no idea.
We want to create a similar experience from home, based mostly on our own planning, time, and self-sufficiency. This summer has been a time to share what we’ve grown and caught.
Part of what has gripped me about the garden is the combination of permanence and change. The sumac tree may be here in twenty years, but it will have changed constantly in that time. Every day, I can inspect it and notice the little things. I can see it in different colors as the seasons change.
The Hydrow machine arrived eleven weeks ago and the results are in: I’ve found my exercise. Since it arrived, I’ve used the rowing machine at least 5 days a week and the Hydrow app even more. For the first time in my life, I actually look forward to workouts and feel confident that I’ll continue to do so. It’s become a habit.
A debate about storing ham in a Tupperware container could have gone in a lot of directions. We found a path without hurt feelings.
The winter of 2020-21 was no regular winter. A range of factors all converged to make it like a hibernation that could only end in the spring.
Mike Rhode and I go way back and it was a pleasure to reconnect with him on the Sketchnote Army podcast and discuss communication, creative work, and explainer videos.
I believe that a new perspective is emerging that’s based on time being a form of wealth. It will be the element that people strive to control and design into their lives because it’s a source of real satisfaction and freedom.
What do you do when the power goes out? You see it as a challenge and a game to be played. We asked: how comfortable can we be without electricity?
This was my 2020.
The post below was sent as an issue of my newsletter, Ready for Rain. I’m ready for spring. I’m ready to be done with 2020, done with the election, done with the pandemic. I’m ready to feel a sense of hope along with longer, warmer days, with friends. And those days...
Though it might not be obvious, we live in a world of imperatives. These are not laws, regulations, or other legally-binding rules, but expectations made by culture. We are bound by what others believe is the right path in a given situation. They are norms that, when...
After 16 months in our tiny guesthouse, we’ve gotten used to it. But as the house project nears completion, the small things are becoming a bit more grating.
It's easy to think that wealth is measured in dollars and cents. And that's true. When we think of being "rich", we think of money and what that money could buy, or how it could change our lives. Again, a valid perspective. But when we think about the wealth that...
If you spend your whole life working to avoid the things that might hurt, or that represent a challenge, you risk becoming an entitled and oblivious prick or someone so fragile that reality feels like injustice.
The pile of boxes we have stacked in the guesthouse represent a lot of decisions about the house project.
Being one with the dirt is part of the transition and how you become part of the island itself.
I created the 47-second video below to explain a new version of success and the value of building a business that grows what matters to you.
I was interviewed by Andrew Warner at Mixergy. It was my third appearance on the show and, like the others, ended up going in directions I didn’t expect.
A video tour of a young couple’s off-the-grid cabin in northern Sweden.