Tag: Reh

  • Declutter

    Declutter

    Where can you reduce clutter in your life? Where, oh, where can we reduce clutter in our life? Everywhere! So much stuff — physical, verbal, creative, emotional, psychological, social — ready to be filtered and distilled. Things to downsize. Bits and bobs to organize. Debris to purge. Busyness to abbreviate. Distractions to alleviate… Over the…

  • Do Differently

    Do Differently

    My existence, so far as I can tell, is largely rhizomatic. Not always. But often. Most often. My life tends toward a nonlinear network more than a bifurcating path. And yet some pivotal moments stand out — opportunities, considerations, deliberations, decisions, actions, and consequences — that fundamentally alter the network. Such moments, beginnings and endings,…

  • Mileage May Vary

    Mileage May Vary

    Slide into the wood and leather cabin of our hand-me-down 1949 Riley RMB, and you’ll be transported (despite the sad fact that this handsome saloon has not been driven in about four decades), transported to an earlier time when details, materials, and finishes mattered. A time when motoring was an appreciated privilege whether commuting to…

  • Bird’s Eye View: Backyard

    Bird’s Eye View: Backyard

    Over the last year, I’ve often relied on aerial photography to help me conceptualize icehouse rehab plans, visualize topographical integration, and plan landscape / hardscape layouts. Over the years I’ve relied upon bird’s eye view photography (thank you drone technology!) for many of Susan an my projects, so this isn’t something new. And yet, it’s…

  • Yard Sale Postmortem

    Yard Sale Postmortem

    One week ago today we celebrated Essex Day with the mother of all yard sales. This recycling and reuse extravaganza was cohosted with several friends who were similarly interested in downsizing their possessions. If something’s not being used regularly, pass it on! Today it’s time for a quick yard sale postmortem. Prologue For prologue, this:…

  • After Wake Surfing

    After Wake Surfing

    Day’s end. After wake surfing… I’m overcome with gratitude as we head home following an end-of-day, end-of-weekend, end-of-yard-sale wake surf. Thank you. Thank you, Susan, Denise, John, and Cheri, for joining us in a colossal re-homing extravaganza (aka “yard sale”) for Essex Day. Thank you, Pam, Tony, Supi, Glen, and Peter for helping us pull…

  • Yard Sale on Essex Day

    Yard Sale on Essex Day

    Jumbo yard sale tomorrow! Amid the rainy, muddy mess we took a break from carpentry and painting and stone wall building to prepare for our big yard sale this Saturday, August 5 from 9-4 and Sunday, August 6 from 10-12. That’s right, we will be hosting a recycling sale this weekend to coincide with Essex…

  • Fowl Fertilizer

    Fowl Fertilizer

    When it comes to organic lawncare for our holistic home, I’m enthusiastic about composted manure. From locally sourced cow manure and alpaca “beans” to not-so-locally sourced bat guano, we find that nature offers up some of the healthiest nutrients for cultivating gardens, orchards, lawns, etc. Hurrah for free, 100% organic fowl fertilizer! Waterfront Waterfowl The…

  • Re-Homing Stump-to-Lumber Ash & Elm

    Re-Homing Stump-to-Lumber Ash & Elm

    Today I’d like to touch upon a recurring theme: re-homing materials and items still potentially useful to others (if no longer to us). We’ve been fortunate over the years to pair Rosslyn’s storage capacity in the carriage barn and icehouse with local expertise — specifically sawyers with portable sawmills able to custom cut logs on…

  • Re-Homing Exterior Door

    Re-Homing Exterior Door

    In the spirit of reducing, reusing, recycling, and repurposing, it pleases us that Tony Foster will be re-homing this exterior door from the icehouse. After months of icehouse rehabilitation, this door is no longer needed. But it still has plenty of life left in it. Given Tony’s commitment to this project since day one, it…

  • New Year’s Day: Writer’s Garret & Other Wonders

    New Year’s Day: Writer’s Garret & Other Wonders

    We survived 2022, friends, and in some fortunate cases, we even thrived. Cheers to surviving and thriving an occasionally challenging year! That means it’s time for a meandering year-ender…  Retrospective I’d like to jumpstart my retrospective with a positive personal milestone. Yesterday’s post, “New Year’s Eve”, was my 153rd post in a row, completing a…

  • John Deere Truckling Rehomed (and Renamed!)

    John Deere Truckling Rehomed (and Renamed!)

    Truckling’s New Owners, Lee and Heather Maxey (Photo: R.P. Murphy) We told you last week that we’d decided it was time to “rehome” our John Deere “truckling”, and yesterday the handoff was made to Essex neighbors, Heather and Lee Maxey. Congratulations, and thank you! The truckling (actually a John Deere AMT 626) has been a reliable workhorse…