Ready for Rain is a free newsletter by Lee LeFever.
In 2019, I moved from Seattle to to Orcas Island, WA. This newsletter tracks my transition to a different lifestyle and focuses on what I’m doing, learning, and building. You’ll get to know me and my life.
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“Ready for Rain is a compelling, even addictive, account of Lee’s life and projects on an island in the pacific northwest. I haven’t missed a single issue.
– Ron Lichty
“Lee and his clan transport me halfway around the world once a week to experience a lifestyle I can only dream of!”
– Phil Whitehouse, Sydney, Australia
“It’s like having a calm but invigorating afternoon tea break with a friend who is living a life less crazy than my own.”
– Travis F. Smith, Canada
“A fascinating look at a couple tackling multiple projects as they set up a new life on a rural island off the coast of Washington State.”
– Arelene S.
“An inspiring look at lifelong learning and the adventure of trying new things.”
– Richard Byrne
All Issues From the Past
- For the Health ⚕️(11-29-23)
- Sleep, Creep, and Leap 🌿 (10-4-23)
- Turning 50 🕺🏻 (7-25-23)
- Beds, Benches, and Lessons Learned 🌿 (6-13-23)
- Digiscoping from Flattop 🔭 (5-1-23)
- Anatomy of a Speed Run ⛴ (1-31-23)
- The Wood Shed 🔥 (12-6-22)
- Filet of Sole 🎣🚤 (11-1-22)
- New York, 2011 🏃♀️🗽 🎤 (10-18-22)
- A Train in the Sky 🛰 🛰 🛰 (10-4-22)
- The Most Wonderful Time of Year 🌞 ➡️ 🌧 (9-27-22)
- The Garden Gamble 🌱 (9-20-22)
- Roots 🌿 (7-26-22)
- Adrift 🦐 (6-29-22)
- Island Hardware 🛠 (5-11-22)
- Permanently Incomplete 🌿 (4-13-22)
- The Wood Age 🪵 (3-23-22)
- Dislocations and DNA 🧬(3-2-22)
- Mutiny on the Way to the Great Wall 🏴☠️(2-08-22)
- Smart Rowing 🚣🏼♀️ (1-18-22)
2021
- 57 Recommendations from 2021 (12-28-21)
- Neck Deep in Build Livable 🌊 (12-7-21)
- The Streaming Shuffle 🎥 (11-23-21)
- I Believe 🏡 (11-16-21)
- Home Studio Tour 🎙 🔊 🎥 (11-9-21)
- Witches on the Water 🧙♀️🌊 (11-2-21)
- One Famous Sea Star ⭐️ (10-26-21)
- Permanence, Or Not 🦆 (10-19-21)
- We’ve Got Worms 🪱 (10-12-21)
- Livability and Laundry 🏡 🧺 (10-5-21)
- Boat Creep 🛥 🔭 (9-21-21)
- At a Crossroads ⤲ (9-14-21)
- Designing for Dogs 🦮 (8-31-21)
- Another Man’s Treasure 🏴☠️ (8-24-21)
- The Westward Wind 💨🌲 (8-17-21)
- Lee Night 🥃 🦮 (8-10-21)
- Welcome to Cascadia 🌲 (7-6-21)
- Oh, Deer – An Island-Sized Pandemic 🦌🦠 (6-29-21)
- Bringing Life Back to the Rocky Ground 🌱 (6-22-21)
- Aphantasia – A Different Kind of Blindness 🧠 (6-15-21)
- Catching Spot Prawns 🦐 (6-8-21)
- Feel the Burn 🔥 (6-1-21)
- Using the UV Index in Sunburn Season ☀️ (5-25-21)
- The Time Between Glass and Mirror 🪟🪞(5-18-21)
- The Pig War 🐖 (5-11-21)
- Blisters, Beds, and Bourbon 🥃 (5-4-21)
- The Traffic Jam at Safari Island 🦭🦌🐋 (4-27-21)
- Flattop’s Finer Points 🪵 🔥 (4-20-21)
- The Finished Product: Flattop House 🏡 (4-13-21)
- The Creative Brief 📄 (4-6-21)
- The Move 2021 🏡 (3-30-21)
- Back to the Beginning ↩️ (3-24-21)
- SMASHBURGER! 🍔 (3-16-21)
- The Sticky Notes ✅ (3-9-21)
- This Fireplace Sucks 🔥 (3-2-21)
- The Dogs of the House Project 🐕 🐶 (2-24-21)
- This is About the Ham 🐖 (2-16-21)
- Hibernating in the PNW ☔️🦠 (2-9-21)
- Because It’s Cool 😎 (2-2-21)
- What Does it Want to Be? 🔨 (1-26-21)
- The Blackout ⚡️ (1-19-21)
- Big Stuff and House Flooring Decisions 🏡 (1-12-21)
2020
- Smart Lights, Smart Home 💡🏡 (12-15-20)
- The Time Capsule 💊 (12-8-20)
- Then and Now 📷 🏡 (12-1-20)
- Puzzle Pieces 🧩 and 🍕 (11-24-20)
- Senioritis at the Guesthouse 🏡 ➡️ 🏡 (11-17-20)
- Preparing Drywall for Paint 🧹🧽 (11-10-20)
- Masking and Painting The House 🎨 (10-27-20)
- A Thud, Then a Gasp 🌊 🚤 (10-20-20)
- The Impossible Skyscraper in the Guesthouse 🏢 🛋 (10-13-20)
- Designing Our Blackened-Steel Fireplace 🔥 (10-6-20)
- Being One with the Dirt on Orcas Island 🐕🦺 🥾 (9-29-20)
- Shou Sugi Ban Siding – Fortified by Fire 🔥 (9-22-20)
- A Story On Big Enough Launch Day 📹 📄 (9-15-20)
- Making The Trailer Video for Big Enough – ⛰ 🐕🦺 📹 (9-8-20)
- The Dread and Delight of Publishing Big Enough😕 ➡️ 😍 (9-1-20)
- What to Consider Before Drywall is Installed 🤔 🏡 (8-25-20)
- Big Enough Book Video Strategy 🍿📚 (8-18-20)
- Mindfulness and Just One Thing 💦🌲 (8-11-20)
- Publishing Big Enough in 41 Days (8-4-20)
- The Smell of Crabbing in the Salish Sea 🐟🐕 (7-28-20)
- Cedar, Big Enough, and Boats 🌲📔🚤 (7-21-20)
- Link Roundup 📚 🦠 🔥 (7-14-20)
- Shaking the Snow Globe 🌨 (7-7-20)
- Sweat Equity and the House Construction Project 💦🏡 (6-16-20)
- A Walk on Orcas Island 🌲🚶🏻♂️🚶🏻♀️🌲 (6-2-20)
- Inside the COVID Bubble 🔒 (5-12-20)
- City Life Versus Island Life 🗑♻️ (4-28-20)
- The Pandemic’s Impact on Home Construction and Book Publishing 📐 (4-14-20)
- WHOOOOSH and the Whales 🦌🌲🐋 (3-31-20)
- A Dispatch from the Covid Quarantine 🦠 (3-17-20)
- In an Instant, She Was Gone 🌲🦮🌲 (03-05-20)
- Home as a Platform 🏡 (2-18-20)
- The Moment Everything Changed at Common Craft ⚡️ (2-11-20)
- Summoning the Gumption 💪 (1-28-20)
- Surprisingly Interesting in 2020 📒 (1-21-20)
2019
- Ready for Rain Year in Review 🗓 (12-24-19)
- Why Home Construction Takes So Much Time ⏳ (12-17-19)
- Gettin’ Hygge With Indoor Living 🌧🔥🍷 (12-10-19)
- A Return to Herb’s 🚢🎒🚢 (12-3-19)
- Beefy Structural Steel 🏗 (11-26-19)
- Making Media for Ready for Rain Newsletter 📹 📄 (11-19-19)
- The House Project in Pictures 📷 (11-12-19)
- Changing Plans During Construction 📐👀 (11-05-19)
- Crabbing in the Salish Sea 🦀 (10-29-19)
- The History of Concrete and Our House Foundationr 💧 (10-22-19)
- Getting the House Out of the Ground 👷🏻♂️👷🏻♂️🏡 (10-15-19)
- Your Questions About The House Project, Answered ⬇️ (10-8-19)
- Everything is Temporary in the Guesthouse 🏡 (10-1-19)
- Geology and Site Work on Orcas Island ⚒🗻 (9-24-19)
- Seafaring with Our Boat, “Short Story” 🌊🛥 (9-17-19)
- Removing and Using Big Trees 🌲🔥 (9-10-19)
- The Demolition of the Yurt-Shaped House ⚒ (9-03-19)
- Goodbye to the Yurt-Shaped House ♻️ (8-27-19)
- Why Orcas Island? Why now? 🌲🛥🦀 (8-20-19)
- A More Affordable Home Design 💲 (8-13-19)
- Changing Course in House Planning ➡️ (8-6-19)
- The Reveal of the House Estimate 📄 (7-30-19)
- The House Plans 🏡 (7-23-19)
- The Grinch on the Hill 😡👉 (7-16-19)
- Finding The Builder 👷🏻♂️ (7-9-19)
- Finding the Guest House 🏡 (7-2-19)
- Good Lives Make Bad Stories (6-25-19)
- Sharing a Brain 🧠 (6-18-19)
- Getting the Construction Project Started (6-11-19)
- Phase Change (6-4-19)
- The Surprising Origin of the Name “Orcas” Island 🐋⛵️ (5-28-19)
- Some People are Born to Move Houses 🏡 📦 (5-21-19)
- Goodbye, Seattle 👋 (5-14-19)
- Finishing the Hunter House 🏠 (5-7-19)
- Living the Half-Life 🏠 🚙 🏡 (4-30-19)
- The Inspiration for the Name “Ready for Rain” 🌤🌧 (4-23-19)
- Utter Destruction at the Hunter House ⚒️🪓 (4-18-19)
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night 🪓🌧 (4-11-19)
- The Hunter House Renovation Project in Seattle 👷♂️👷♀️ (4-10-19)
- Aboard the Elwha Ferry ⛴ 🐋 (4-08-19)
- Living in Public in Seattle 🏙🌲 (4-07-19)
- Breaking the Rules at the Westsound Potluck 🍽 (4-06-19)
- The View from the Yurt on Orcas Island 🏝🌊🐋⛵️ (4-05-19)
- The Second Place on Orcas Island 🏠🏡 (4-04-19)
- The Deer Trap 🦌 (4-03-19)
- The Day the Kingdome Came Down in Seattle 💣 (4-02-19)
- We Bought a Yurt-Shaped House ⛺️🏡(4-01-19)
- The Yurt-Shaped House on Orcas Island ⛺️🏡 (03-31-19)
- Common Craft and Camping on Tuesdays (03-30-19)
- Dreaming of Orcas Island – As The Salmon Sizzled 🐟⛺️🔥 (03-29-19)
- Fear of Missing In 🌃 (03-28-19)
- The Guy on the Ferry with South Carolina Plates ⛴ 🚙 (03-27-19)
Ready for Rain is a newsletter that's personal
On most Tuesdays, I share a story from my life on Orcas Island and a recommendation for something I love. I'm interested in how to design work and home for lifestyle, livability, and fluffy dogs. Learn more.
I care about your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.