We raise our glass to you Ms Velin. We love you.

My 10th graders just played this for me during our last class together. They restore my faith in humanity and the power of love. :)

I Don't Normally Do This, But...

http://youtu.be/tzrRmB40l00
If we want to change the way humans treat one another, perhaps we need to start with how we treat "the least of these." We have deadened our outrage and arrested our compassion, all in the name of food. How truly heartbreaking.

Dummies Guide to Catching Dinner

Step One: Find way into corner of barn

Step Two: Slither up barn door

Step Three: Climb to the top of the barn door

Step Four: Realize that due to lack of arms, baby bird snacks are just out of reach. Valiant effort, snake.

Barn Befores

So here are a few pictures of our future home on the range. As you can see, it's just shy of livable in its present state. I'm driving up this weekend so we can lay out our renovation plan, and then, depending on how far a hundred bucks gets us, J may or may not be able to camp inside come next week. He's not real worried though, since he's been RVing in the driveway for several days now and thinks he can easily do another month in that lap of luxury. I wonder if he could just drive the Airstream right on into the barn? Talk about the best of both worlds.


There She Is: The Magnificent White Beaut (until we paint her red)



A lot of imagination is needed to see what we see in this photo.

Front doors and downstairs. Bugs and small critters may be a problem given these doors don't quite close.

Downstairs. And tractor oil stains, which I think we'll keep. Adds character.

 Though we are free spirits, we've decided that we do, indeed, need more than a few wall studs separating the bathroom from everything else. Especially since the kitchen will run the length of the same side of the room. That could get really awkward.

So far, the raddest part of the barn: the upstairs oil drum heater. I know it's easy to assume it's just decorative, but it's not.

Upstairs. My favorite part, besides the heater? The lonely sink on the left.



Upstairs front view. When it grows up, it wants to be my writing room.






We Got It!

We are officially landowners in Templeton, CA (next to Paso Robles)! Well, barn owners, too, but once I post photos of our will-be barn home, you'll see why I don't add that in with exuberance just yet. Yet. But once we're done with that puppy, I'll splash it all over this blog like a gigolo splashes on aftershave.

Out with the Old, In with the ????

Last porch-sitting at 513 Goldenrod (notice knee brace...still)

Our pod and old ford truck loaded up.
 Ours is the tiny place between the two big ones.

First, J and I officially moved out of our Corona del Mar beach cottage at 8:00 pm last night and it was incredibly bittersweet. We had three amazing years in that home together, and will miss it dearly, along with our landlords, believe it or not. ;) They are worth staying alone! But, we set this date so we would continue to pursue our dream of working on and owning our own land, so off we go.


Second, we just opened escrow (yesterday morning!) on a 5 acre property (with main house, barn, pool, spa, chicken coops and lots of animal pens) in Templeton, CA, and if it closes by May 18 - not an easy task - it's ours! Here is the driveway, one of the pastures with one of the chicken coops, and a few of the current residents:

Third, I'm staying with my parents until the school year is over and until my other knee rehabs from surgery in June. J and both dogs head up to the trailer park in a few days. If we get this property he will only take up residence there for a few weeks. If we don't, it could be months. Ah, the adventure continues...

And the Dogs, of Course

A friend just suggested this little guy for our little ones. I would freaking die laughing seeing our big trailer and then their two little ones parked right next to us! There literally is no choice here. They must be purchased.

It's GO Time

Well, since we didn't win the 1 trillion dollar lottery last month, we are back to being common folk, and what is more dirt-of-the-earth-American than trailer parks? A while back I jokingly posted that perhaps a good ol' trailer park would be our first destination once leaving our beach side cottage in Corona del Mar. Truth be told, I didn't really believe that. Just goes to show you what I know.

We have yet to even find a property we love, let alone start the tediously long process of escrow. So, in exactly 10 days, we move out of our tiny house snuggled between million dollar homes, and haul our Airstream on up to a...TRAILER PARK in north Paso Robles. I'm not joking this time. And not the fancy one with updated laminate flooring in the showers and a coffee maker in the laundry facilities. Nope. If we're doing this, which we are, we're goin' full-blown. I found the cheapest park within a 20 mile radius, and it is so authentically old school American, that the lady I spoke to asked me my name and phone number and then said, "Alright, darlin. We'll see you and your rig the first week of May for 3-4 months." No credit card, no deposit, nothing. She reserved us a space (we are already fondly saying to friends and family, "When we get our space set up, we'll have to have you over") for 3-4 months based solely on my word. How beautiful is that? Just to move in to our tiny place now, we had to fork over $6300 in cold, hard cash and promise that our firstborn would be tossed in should we default on our rent at any time. But this is Orange County, after all (and little did the agent know we're not having a firstborn. Take that.).

We have already packed up our family and living rooms, and I'm harvesting the rest of my winter garden now before I pull it all out this weekend. It is bittersweet to be sure. This morning we walked out to go to work and there was a "for rent" sign on the lawn. Both of us stopped in our tracks and stared. This is really happening. I can't lie and say I didn't have a tiny tear in my eye. What a magnificent three years this home and little beach community have given us. And my job. God, what an honor it's been to work at a school as amazing as OCHSA. My island of the misfit toys, as I called it my first day there three years ago.

Oh, and if trailer park living isn't exciting enough, I just had gnarly reconstructive patella knee surgery on my left knee, which has left me pretty much useless except to point at stuff with my crutch that J will then pack up. He doesn't really love this part of the move so far. And because I am a class A procrastinator I also have to get the right knee done before the end of June when my insurance runs out. God, my timing is impeccable.

So, in summation: J leaves in two weeks forever, and I will move in with my more-than-gracious parents (once again) for the remainder of the school year and until my second knee heals. I'm guessing I'll be able to join J and the dogs mid-July. Oh, and it tops off in Paso during the summer at around 105 degrees and we have no AC in our "rig". I hope our dogs don't die of heat exhaustion when we make a quick run into town for supplies. That would really put a damper on things.

Better Luck Next Time

It must have been the quarter.

7 minutes to go...