Hobbit Houses

http://www.simondale.net/house/

As some of you know, my dream is to have a shared-resource community of like-minded people at some point in our future. (Possibly in Maui, Hawaii.) I've been designing this community in my mind for some time, and was thrilled to hear of the many similar communities popping up all over the world. Obviously, the time is ripe for this idea.

As our natural resources dwindle, and the need for affordable housing rises, we are faced with finding new ways of building eco-friendly communities. In my version of a shared-resources community one would live with others that have similar values and a desire to live in a sustainable environment. This would mean a shared garden, possibly shared living arrangements, maybe communal kitchens for canning, cooking, etc. My idea includes the sharing of cars, trucks, recreational equipment, and farm/gardening tools, but separate living/personal spaces. I like the idea of all ages in this community, as the elderly are often overlooked and underutilized. The very young often benefit from being with older members of society, and the middle years can benefit from household/childcare help while working outside of the community, or doing the heavy lifting, so to speak.

I am aware not all elderly people want to be around young people in their retirement, and in that case this would not be the best living arrangement for them. A senior community would be more fitting. In my world view there is room for all sorts of living arrangements, with no judgement intended.

I ran across this company yesterday while watching the "Cultural Creators" movie. It builds green homes for a fraction of a stick-built home using earth, air, fire and water. These natural elements  lower the carbon footprint of building materials, and actually are better able to withstand earthquakes. They stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

So what do you think? Can you see a planned community with these homes, or how about the one at the top? I love these homes as well. Or better yet, how about a community of all three? 

You know you're getting older when...

You attend a book fair and find someone who has done a small book on your high school that is titled: Birth Of A Hawk - Proctor R. Hug High School Remembered. It was the last word that caught my eye - what do you mean remembered?

Wasn't it just 1968 and I was attending a brand new high school in Reno, the first in some time? One that had the community in an uproar because for the first time it would have white children bussed from all over the city to actually attend school with black children? It now seems so laughable.

I was drawn to the title and sure enough - I found myself in the very first picture taken of the students assembled in the school square. There was one of my girlfriends - wearing one of my cute pink dresses - which she borrowed constantly, as I remember. There was my first love and high school sweetheart, who died at age 20 of a drug overdose in San Francisco, standing next to me. My name is printed in the back as one of the first students to go all three years and graduate from this new high school.

I guess you know you're home when you can attend a book fair put on by the Historical Society and talk to an author from Austin, Nevada, who said your uncle met him every day out in Kingston (about 30 miles from Austin), to collect his mail. This, of "The Loneliest Highway" fame. Yes, the author was also the mailman. Or talk to a lady standing nearby that says she is a cousin of your nephew's father, and knew your father and uncle well.

I came home with a big bag of books, and the feeling that maybe, just maybe, I will somehow end up staying in this place where I was born. That serendipity pulled me back after only six years for a reason. Maybe I was only meant to leave for a while. Whatever fate has in store for me, maybe it's in the place that my family has lived for five generations.

Either way, it feels good to be somewhere where  'people know your name.'

I know what I don't want...

Many of you that follow my blog know that we have moved around a bit over the last six years. We raised our family in a normal neighborhood, in the same house for sixteen years, K-12, with the same families around us. Since that time we moved to Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then to our small place at Lake Tahoe for two years. I'm currently sitting in my favorite chair at the Lake, looking out my favorite window (picture above). And something came to mind after reading Linda's post on My Own Velvet Room.

As many of you may know, we rented our current house in Reno, where my husband is working. We simply did not want to buy another home until we know where we want to retire, which is only a few years away. This neighborhood was known to be very, very nice. Completely out of our price range when we lived here six years ago. I had often thought how pretty the houses were when we would go there for some reason or another. It is a gated community, and the houses surround a golf course. It is only in this market can one find a rental in this area. Our house is lovely, looks out over the entire city and the golf course. The problem? It is the most sterile environment I have ever lived in. There is no one on the streets except landscapers. I have never met, in five months, my neighbors on one side, the other side is for sale and has eight bathrooms. Yes, eight bathrooms. Now if that house isn't the Age of Excess poster child, I don't know what is.

A couple of days ago I had a contractor out to fix my dishwasher. Yes, you can now get a contractor to fix your dishwasher in Nevada.... Anyway, he said he had built seven houses in the area before the bubble burst. He would live in them a year or two and then sell them. You have to remember, Nevada was one of the fastest growing states in the country for twenty years. Anyway, he asked me if I liked the neighborhood, and I answered honestly by saying no. He laughed and said he felt the same way. He asked if anyone had turned their face away when I waved to them yet. I snickered and said no - because no one had ever looked my way, except to tailgate me in the 25 mph zone.

So what's my point?

I know what I don't want when we leave this house in 2-3 years. I don't want to live where people don't know each other, or in a neighborhood that has huge houses. I don't want to live where I can't be a grandma on the block as in Linda's post. I don't want to be isolated behind a gate, where my friends and family can't just drive up to my house.

I do want to have a small, cozy little home in an area of other small, cozy, well-kept homes. I do want people out in their yards, doing yard work, talking about flowers and what new herbs are at the local nursery. Walking their dogs, strolling their babies. I do want to get to know the children, and I do want a mixed neighborhood - with all age groups. I do want an environment of like-minded people, who share a somewhat common goal to live in a peaceful place, perhaps with a community garden. I know they're out there, and I have a feeling I'm not alone in my desires. I'll bet these places will grow, just as this neighborhood was once what people desired.

Maybe we have to experience, as a collective, what we don't want, in order to know what we do.

We are already downsizing - one box to Goodwill at a time. Lately we've been eyeing the furniture - what we will keep and what will go. In this new paradigm, we won't need about half of it.

The next place we buy will be our forever home. It will be carefully considered. It may not even be in this country, maybe it will be some other place our extended family might want to live. We are exploring all options. But wherever it is, it will involve a much simpler existence.

My New Home

I'm moving into my new home. Next Tuesday our things should arrive from Minnesota.

It isn't exactly what I was expecting for my next home. No, not at all what I pictured in my mind.

Two years ago, almost to the month, we put our "home" in storage, after selling our house in Minnesota, and moved to Tahoe, into our very small vacation home. Thinking everything would be a short time in storage, certainly not two years, we stored almost everything except for a few clothes. After all, the place at the Lake had all the other things we would need for our short stay. What we couldn't have anticipated, of course, was the economic meltdown our country would experience.

Two years later my husband has accepted a job right back where we started six years ago - my home town. Time to think about a place for our stuff things. The only problem? We have changed. No longer needed is the big home and all the trappings. We can be happy in a downsized environment. But we need a place to do that. A home big enough to hold all the stuff things until we can go through them to sift the gems from the chaff, such as the tiny silver container that holds my children's first teeth, or the gold-sprayed noodle "jewelry box,"made by my youngest in Brownies.  Or what about that Christmas decoration my daughter made in first grade of dough that looks exactly like she did at that age? No, I need time. Time to go through everything we've accumulated over thirty years of marriage, time to decipher what's important and what can move on.

Enter our new home: Looking for a home to lease has become rather easy in this economy. Who knew really nice homes would be available for less than our mortgage payment on our last house, without gambling the down payment, and being tethered to a mortgage? Who knew that we would be in a home much nicer than what we would have looked to buy, if we had decided to do that? Craigslist has many homes I was thrilled to look at, and contemplate renting. The only problem was getting the owners to take them off the market for 2+ years. (Our lease is for two, and a third at our request. By then, my husband hopes to permanently retire and we will move to the Portland area, probably buying our "forever" home.)

So this new environment of leasing one's home is new for both lessors and lessees. When we finally made a decision between three, all of which would have worked for us, the owner asked to meet us and Lucy, our lab. Obviously she was concerned about a big dog on her property and in her beautiful home. They had only cats.

Lucy passed the muster, and we were seated at her dining room table when we started to talk about each other and how we came to be at this place in time.

She said they had thriving business when they decided to take on a partner. This partner ran their business into the ground, severing long-forged relationships and basically ruining everything they had worked their lives to build. They had been in litigation and the result was that they could not work within 50 miles of the mutually owned business for five years. The severe downturn in the economy also hadn't helped.  They had decided to move to California and pursue other avenues until the five years was over, traveling back to the area for nine days every six weeks to keep an eye on the business.

Unfortunately the economy had not only wreaked havoc on their business, but had also left them unable to sell their beautiful home. They were stuck. At this point I asked what kind of business they owned,  and she said a hair salon and medical spa. A light bulb goes off and I ask her if it's @#$%$ Salon? She says yes, and I tell her it was the salon I frequented when I lived there six years ago, but had noticed it had completely changed since I had returned. And it had. It was almost completely empty when I made an appointment. It used to have about 25 hairdressers, often a six week lead time for my hairdresser, a full upscale spa, etc. Now it had about three people working. No one in the waiting area or spa. I thought it had been the economy. At that point I told her who my hairdresser had been and she was shocked! It was her husband! My hairdresser was now renting me his lovely home! He enters from the bedroom area and remembers me with a hug, telling the realtor that he needed to know no more financial background from us because he trusted me.

We feel so fortunate to have sold our home in Minnesota, just as the downturn was gaining momentum, that our intention was to help someone else out, if at all possible. A symbiotic relationship, mutually beneficial, was the goal. We have that and more. I have offered to let them show the house the last month or two that we are living there. Houses usually show better with furniture, and I've learned how to sell a house. Three houses in five years - I know all the tricks. (Washing machines are great places to put stuff from the counter when the realtor calls and wants to show in the next 30 minutes.)

We will live in a lovely environment with a view of the city, something I had always wanted. They, in turn, found a brand new condo on the ocean that was willing to lease, completely furnished. They will only move their beds and the rest will go into storage, until the next chapter. Which, by the way, she says will entail downsizing.

The Power of Roots

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that after living my entire life in one place, the miraculous finally happened and I convinced my husband to move from the home he had known for 25 years (and the company he had worked for 23 years) and take a chance elsewhere. He was offered a job in the city that I had always wanted to live - Portland, Oregon. Our children followed, and continued their education at the universities in Oregon. My daughter married a native Oregonian and gave birth to another native Oregonian.

 I was happy, but I never really felt a part of that wonderful city. I thought it would just take time. After all, I needed to learn new friend-making skills as I had always lived near the ones that I had known for most of my life. Not much effort needed there. (They were always visiting, so the need to expand my horizons didn't seem urgent.) But before that could happen another opportunity came our way. It was timed in such a way that the decision to leave our children and move to the Twin Cities seemed appropriate at the time.

That too was short-lived. My husband's company merged with another and we chose not to move to the small Midwestern town that was to be their new headquarters. Luckily, we sold our home in Prior Lake, Minnesota and moved to our small vacation home in Lake Tahoe. We have remained here during the economic tsunami that has threatened to drown our country and much of the world. Grateful to have a home when so many have lost theirs.

Now he has accepted a new job offer. Where, you ask?

Well none of the places that have come calling over the last couple of years. Not Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Washington, Hawaii, Oklahoma, or Boston.

No, the job offer that was offered and accepted is in ..... Reno, Nevada. Yep, full circle in just six years. It looks like I will be just 22 miles from our home here at Lake Tahoe, and back in the city where I was born. Weird, huh?

Nevada is drawing new companies due to favorable business taxes, and the lack of a state income tax. It is thought that it will be new companies that will drive the most growth in the near future, especially when it comes to employment opportunities. After all, we know big companies are not worried about keeping their employees any longer. That ship has sailed.

So we will be moving once again. I guess it's time to go home. Those deep, mysterious, roots that started in the 1800's with my great great grandparents have claimed their prodigal daughter.
At least for now.

What constitutes a happy home?

When we think of "happy home" we often think mom, dad, children, dog and maybe a cat. But a happy home can have only one inhabitant, and can be different things to different people. There is no one way to have a happy home. That being said, I do have a few ideas on achieving a happy home, regardless of how many live in the home, or where it resides. I'm sure you can add a few of your own, and I hope that you will.

I think your physical home should reflect what you love most in life. Little physical representations of people, places, moments. A rock may represent a peaceful moment in a special place. A pine cone from that favorite pine tree in your backyard, or a shell from the beach you walk by and admire each day. It can be anything. But what is important about the object is that it has meaning to you. 

I think your physical home should be kept fairly clean. I think when our homes are really dirty it says that something is wrong, and adds to a sense of feeling out of control. That doesn't mean a spotless, sterile environment. Simply run a dust cloth under that stack of books on occasion. And while you're at it, ask yourself whether or not the objects that you are dusting really speak to who you are right now. How many of us keep things because it was meaningful to someone else? After all, that lava lamp that is gathering dust in the corner could be just the item a young teen is looking for to round out their "home." Keep stuff moving - give to charitable organizations those things that no longer represent you, or bring you pleasure. I've begun to cleanse my environment from the objects I really don't like, or have any attachment to. It's freeing.

Bring the outside in. Maybe a few plants, a bowl of fruit, a bouquet of flowers. I really think living things in our home are important. Plants clean the air and look pretty. If you don't have enough light where you live, how about a single flower in a small vase next to your bed?


Cook in your home if possible. I believe the most meaningful thing about a home is that it's nurturing, and what better way to nurture than to cook for yourself and others? We live in transitory times. The economic downfall in this country, and others, requires some adjustment. Going back to the basics can be fulfilling.  Good smells emanating from your kitchen will make you, and others, feel treasured. The price for an at-home meal is so much less than going out, and the atmosphere isn't rushed or full of other people's voices.


And last, but not least, be aware of the thoughts that you harbor. If you are thinking bad thoughts about your housemates, sooner or later you will say something that is hurtful that will make your home unhappy. There is nothing worse than living in a home full of tension. You cannot change the behavior of others, but you can accept responsibility for your own thoughts and behavior.

So here are a couple of my ideas on how to have a happy home. Care to share a few of your own? 

Plant Filters

http://www.terragalleria.com/

I have always loved plants. Taking tours of your beautiful gardens has been a treat. But did you know that houseplants are actually healthy? NASA found over 300 compounds being released into the air on one of their flights and began testing houseplants for their power to absorb pollutants. Not only do house plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, but many are super air "scrubbers". For instance, Philodendrons, Spider Plants and Pathos are expert at filtering formaldehyde from the air released through "off gassing." This compound is found in paints, cushions, fabrics, even shampoos. Many construction materials contain formaldehyde. The toxic FEMA trailers come to mind.

Gerber Daisies and Chrysanthemums are experts at absorbing benzene, a known carcinogen, found in plastics, synthetic rubber and dyes. For more information about plants and their ability to help clean our air, and the ones to avoid if you have animals or small children, go here.

They also will live a long time with a little love and tenderness. I have african violets that were given me when my children were born - as long as 26 years ago! They are still blooming.

So do yourself and favor and surround yourself with as many plants as possible. Not only are they aesthetic, but healthy too.