Category: Blog

The Shed

A week or two ago, I hit my head in the bus one too many times.

I’m 6’1″, and the highest point in the center of the roof is 6’1″. Everything else is shorter than that, including the insulated doorway into the living space. When I spend a lot of time here, ducking down is baked into my muscle memory, but lately I’ve been elsewhere a ton, and hitting my head repeatedly. Of course, I’m the moron who made that short door frame. Though I have also hit my head on the metal frame of the bus door. In general, I’m feeling a bit cramped.

This last time I hit my head, I turned into it hard. It was a hard hit, and knocked me down. In my frustration, I punched the ceiling, breaking a board.

This was the tipping point – I’ve never been that upset with the bus before, and something needed to change. I love the bus, but I’ve felt stalled on doing any work here, and I’m not taking care of it anymore the way it needs. Winters in particular have never been easy. The new wood stove I got a few years back made a huge difference, but there’s still so much that needs to be done.

I’m eyeing the shed I bought from Casey. They’d intended to make it into a tiny house, but opted to live further apart from me instead. It’s easily insulate-able (and part of the way there already), and has loads of headroom. In fact, I think I’ll be able to have more storage there in a smaller footprint, just because of the vertical space.

Moving into the shed would also mean moving away from wood heat. Such a small and well insulated space is not a place for wood heat. I’d either roast myself out of there, or be constantly feeding a tiny firebox. So I’m looking at propane heat options, too, which could gift me the experience of coming home to a warm place in the winter. Not having to wake up in the middle of the night is also a perk.

I’ll keep chopping and processing wood, because the bus isn’t going anywhere. It’s role may shift from a bedroom to a living room, and I’m excited about that possibility.

More than anything, I’ve felt myself hungry to sink my teeth into a new project.

I’m excited!

Second shot

Today was my 2nd shot for the Moderna vaccine. Excited to be looking ahead with a little more clarity than I had some months back. Grateful the version I preferred was available to me so easily and without expense.

Still nervous about what the new normal will look like. I went to meet someone today, and though we were both outside the whole time, and she was fully vaccinated, I kept my mask on. Not sure what’s polite or even really, what’s safe, anymore.

And truth be told, there’s lots of situations I’m glad to have a mask on. I do find it makes going out in public easier in general, not strictly for safety reasons. Though I am looking forward to actually learning people’s faces in town. It’s been hard to try to link names to eyes when folks come into the clerk’s office.

Anyway, progress.

Ecofetti in the foreground

Since buying Ecofetti a fews years back, I’ve split my working time between there and Clear.Design. My freelancing web design gig works pretty well for me if I’m not trying to build a house. It can easily pay my living expenses without too much effort. But lately it’s become clear that Ecofetti is where most of my attention should lie – its potential for growth is far larger than Clear, and it’s a job that has very clear hours and goals, something I’ve never had with my web design gig.

I turned down my first job recently, and I suspect I’ll be turning away more in the future. It’s an interesting change of pace, but I’m optimistic about it. I’m still investing my time in a project I’m deeply involved with, which is very satisfying. Casey and I recently split duties into physical & digital – they’ll be heading up day-to-day operations and order fulfillment, while I will be focusing on better optimizing the website, marketing, and customer service. This lets me spend most of my time at the bus instead of at the office in Chicopee, which I’m grateful for.

We’re on the hunt for an office space closer to home. The business’s needs seem to be uncommon, and we’ve had a lot of difficulty finding appropriate space. Definitely open to creative solutions.

Birthday Boy

Casey planned a surprise birthday party for me, but quickly spilled the surprise (accidentally). They’d brought in a bunch of friends & family to help with it, and we rented a house down in CT for the weekend for folks to drop in as they were able. The weekend culminated in laser tag & pizza, and clicked a bunch of nostalgia buttons that hadn’t been pressed in some time.

It was the first birthday party I’ve had in over a decade, and it may be as long before I have another, but it was a great time.

Casey

Nishi is now Casey. Their pronouns are they/them/their. They’re identifying as genderfluid.

They came out publically a week or two ago. We’d been talking about it for some weeks before that. They let me help pick out their name.

We’ve been doing really well lately, communicating well and talking things out. They’re doing especially well since they discovered gluten was the cause of most of their health problems. A change in diet has led to a dramatic change in their life. I’m thrilled about it.

We brought home some carpet for the bus yesterday, and I went to meet with my bankruptcy attorney and shower. When I got back Casey had laid it out underneath everything in the bus – one giant piece of carpet carefully cut around our built-in furniture. I am extremely impressed.

The bus is warm, and we’ll be here this winter. We’ve already had some snow, but not enough to stick. It’s cozy here. :D

Donald Trump and the state of things

I think Facebook is a terrible venue to discuss politics, and I do my best to avoid it. There is no space for nuance or rumination. I can’t recall a single mind I’ve seen changed from a comment thread or meme. Discussing politics on Facebook turns the real problems we face into theater, and treating our politics as if it were theater leaves us with politicians like Donald Trump.

All that said, the recent actions of this administration worry me. Policy that makes selfish action easier for individuals and corporations hurts everyone. I intend to do what I can to make it harder to ignore the rights of racial and sexual minorities, the economically disadvantaged, and in the case of climate change the rights of humanity as a whole.

I’m available if you need help.

The Story of Mario the Dog

I’m spending tonight reading through old entries I’ve written, and stumbled onto the obituary I wrote for Jack. It brought back so many emotions, and made me realize that in neglecting this blog I’ve also failed to write down some major events.

Mario passed away at home in Niantic on October 17th. The weekend before he had come up to Northfield along with my parents, sister, and her boyfriend. He had a great time, and though he had a little trouble on the slick wood floors, he continued to refuse to act his age.

The story of Mario getting older is really just the story of his body forcing him to slow down, because he wasn’t about to otherwise. He sprained a leg chasing a ball down the hill in Niantic, and was mostly just angry about not being able to run after the ball for several days.

When we first got Mario, I wasn’t ready for another dog. Oreo was still on my mind, and I missed him. I resented this replacement dog that my mom had gotten because the house was so quiet. The irony was the Mario was an exceptionally quiet dog. My dad wanted to call him Harpo because he was blonde and mute. I remember being very upset when Mario would mess the house while I was away at school. I didn’t like having to take responsibility for a puppy I hadn’t wanted.

He grew up and learned his manners, and became quite a good friend of mine. It just so happened that my bed at Miner St had a great view of the backyard, and it was his favourite perch. On weekends I would wake up to him laying on the bed (or me) looking out the window. Mario was friendly and adorable, and loved by everyone who met him.

He and I had more of a roommate relationship than owner/pet. He was always my parents’ dog, and they were usually responsible for feeding, walking, and taking care of him. He and I would hang out and play on occasion. Every now and then I’d watch him for a weekend, and the shift in relationship was uncomfortable for both of us.

When I arrived in Niantic that Monday, Mario was laying on the couch. It was the first and only time he didn’t get up to greet me. Mario took his role as The Welcomer very seriously, and the only time he would ever bark was at the new person coming in the door. My dad sat beside him on the couch, and I could see Mario breathing heavily. He was happy enough to see me, but he was a little distracted by everything going on with his body.

He had cancer, and it had grown quite large in his abdomen making breathing a chore. He was happy to receive pets, and lay his head on my leg, but that was about all he was capable of. My mom was overcome with emotion, and after some time my dad suggested we both take a walk. We walked around the block for about twenty minutes, and when we returned Mario was dead. I remember him looking up at us, surprised to see us leaving. I’m probably projecting, but I felt like his look said “Where are you going?!” My dad was with him at the end. They had a fantastic connection, the two of them. Really subtle, but so strong.

More than anything, I think I’ll remember hanging around in the grass at Miner St with Mario. He loved to lay in a firm patch of grass, and take in the day. In the summertime, he often had more hair than was appropriate, so he would wear a panting smile.

Ever since I moved away from home, Mario refused to say goodbye to me. I would come home, and he was overjoyed to see me. We would play, and cuddle, and go about our business. When time came to go, I would squat down and call him over to me. He usually would show how unhappy he was to see me leave, and mostly kept his distance. I always thought of that as a compliment, but I still always wished for a goodbye.

Goodbye Mario.

Seems Clear

I’m feeling really optimistic tonight. Work has been going really well, and though it could certainly be steadier, it seems like it is going to work out. All our clients are really happy, and referral work is starting to come in.
Our personal lives are coming together too – the bus keeps inching closer to a finished home. I can see it, and I like what I see.

Bus Life

We’ve been living nearly exclusively in the bus for a few weeks now. The temperature outside has steadily dropped while we’ve been out here, and we’ve been persistent in trying to keep ourselves comfortable. Our insulating curtains are not yet complete, and the windows are a great source of heat loss. We took some batting left over from Nishi’s upholstery supplies and covered the windows. Far from perfect, and further from beautiful, it has made a tremendous difference in the temperature inside the bus. The windshield and door, which remain uncovered, can be felt as the massive sources of draft that they are.

I’ve been reading Isaac Asimov’s Foundation lately, please forgive my writing style.

In addition to wood, our wonderful little stove also burns coal, so I made a point of picking up a few bags the other day. We’re still figuring out how to best use this fuel, but it’s incredible. The first night we used it we woke up warm for the first time in days. Sadly, we don’t have the perfect chunks of hardwood necessary for a long burn on wood alone, and our fire usually dies out in the middle of the night. Since our home is less than ideally insulated, most of that heat leaves us before we wake up.

Still no running water, or even a plumbed sink. We can heat water on top of the woodstove, but our cook stove is not attached to propane yet. Our electricity still comes from either an extension cord or a battery bank that is recharged from the mains. But we’re in our own space for the first time in years. I can’t express how happy this is making me. We’re going to make steady progress on finishing our missing utilities over this winter, and we should be ready to move in the spring.

Charlie loves the bus. I’m not sure why in particular, but he’s always taken to it quickly, even on our little road trips. He recently found the warm spot on the bench across from the stove, and will happily lounge there while we go about our business elsewhere in the bus.

As I write this I have a stove half filled with coal and half with wood. I’m continually trying new things to see what works best in here. I’m doubtful (but hopeful) that we’ll wake up to a warm bus, but as long as I keep learning something new, I’m pleased with our progress.