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By Kera, on April 17th, 2012  My beautiful red hanging fruit basket. Also, note head on armoire in background. Don't mess with the dread lady, just sayin. Life really is about the simple things sometimes. I have lamented on a few previous posts that I was in need of a hanging fruit basket. This has been an epic search since I first moved into my tiny house. A number of friends and some readers suggested I make one using a variety of methods (one of the suggestions was to utilize synthetic hair). I even did some researching on a number of hanging baskets and macrame work. I found some nesting baskets and contemplated using chain and hanging those, but never really found any I liked, that would not have required me buying all the parts new.
I finally had to admit to myself I had my heart set on an old school hanging fruit basket. Eowyn and I happened to be at Goodwill, both of us on the hunt for various items and to get out of the house on a rainy day. While searching through the racks upon racks of miscellany I saw it… I squealed with delight! There was my lovely hanging fruit basket. This treasure was hanging out behind some random cups on a shelf in the kitchenware area, randomly laying there all haphazard-like. I jumped up and down excitedly, drawing a couple strange glances from onlookers. Stifling a laugh I ran to locate Eowyn.
 The hook and handle solution. Eowyn happened to be in another part of the store. I happily skipped up to her with my find and excited chattering. She humored me with a smile and a laugh. She was not nearly as excited about it as me, obviously. We finished our wandering through the store and headed home.
Once home I lovingly washed my new RED hanging fruit basket (the basket being red was a huge bonus to me and was super exciting, humor me). I then stood in my kitchen looking around for a few minutes, as I realized I had not thought about where I was going to hang my beautiful new contraption. I wandered around for a minute, realizing I would likely have to put in a hook through the studs. I am an impatient creature and did not like the idea of having to wait to buy the hardware for that. I also realized that where I would want to hang it would be directly over my stove, which would not be that kind to my fruits and veggies.
Distracted, I lightly bonked my head on my ladder. You could say that the light bulb moment occurred then. I looked at the ladder and remembered the top rung was a handle that Abel had added (he is clever that way). The handle is fairly thin, and the fruit hanging basket has a hook at the top. I had to stretch the hook open a little bit, but not much. The hanging fruit basket hung perfectly from that spot. Problem solved!
I now have an empty counter again, and a fruit and vegetable holder that is right next to the stove for ease of cooking. I am tremendously pleased with myself. It’s the little things, right?
~Kera
By Kera, on March 30th, 2012
 The Fortune Cookie getting started Moving Day had arrived. I had fretted a lot the previous night, and had a rather exhausted, and anxious nights sleep. I was hoping I remembered everything I needed to remember. I was also stressing a bit because I had requested help moving from my friend Azrayel, but after the moving date switched she couldn’t assist.
Her task was to aide me in packing all of my ‘smashables’ into her and my car, as I knew my car would not hold it all in one trip. As a side note Az is fantastic at being organized and level headed when I am being a frazzled, forgetful mess and I was relying on that. If anyone is hiring for the worlds best right hand, I recommend Az, seriously.
Argo originally helped me get all set up when Abel had delivered The Fortune Cookie to me. Knowing the steps I would have to go through to move the vardo, he offered to come help get her moved out and situated again. I was happy and a little relieved.
Argo’s friend (and adopted father figure) Mark was the one who was helping me tow The Fortune Cookie from her current location to the new one today. He had generously offered his time and vehicle to help move me for the cost of gas to do it. Mark had previously assisted after The Fortune Cookie was delivered originally. The rig that Abel and company drove could not get The Fortune Cookie up on the knoll that had been cleared for it (by Argo). Mark drove The Fortune Cookie up a few days later after the dirt had settled a bit more.
Argo arrived on Friday around 8:00 a.m. I had made myself some tea and boiled a bit extra as I knew he would be there soon. As I poked my head out the door, here comes Argo up the hill in the tractor. We waved to one another and smiled. Argo went straight to work.
 Vardo on the way out. He was using the tractor to level out and move a few things in the exit path of The Fortune Cookie, one of which was a gigantic hole where a stump had been the week before. While he was sorting things out outside, I was collecting the hoses and extension cords attached to The Cookie and removing them. I also packed up the last of my kitchen and realized I just did not have enough room in my car for everything.
After checking the time and a short discussion with Argo, I realized I had enough time to drive to the new location and drop off the first load and go back for a second before Mark arrived. After I dropped off my things and arrived back to The Fortune Cookie, Argo had successfully moved and leveled the area that we had to drive through. He had also lowered the jacks on The Fortune Cookie and had her in ‘go’ mode.
I finished packing my car full of the rest of the things I needed to put away. Mark arrived shortly thereafter, right on schedule. Once he pulled up to The Fortune Cookie we realized something, Mark had arranged to use the tow ball we had used to relocate my house before. However, the tow ball had gone missing from it’s designated area. We all laughed nervously and Argo ran to the nearby auto parts store to grab a tow ball.
We were now ready to roll! I did one final look through of the house and locked the front door. Mark and Argo checked the lights on the rig and The Fortune Cookie and everything was good to go. And we were off!
I was a bit nervous about some of the tight spots in the driveway leading up to my old place, but Mark pulled through them barely having to stop. By the time I got in my car to follow them, they were on the main road. I was following behind for the first stretch of dirt road, so I got a few pictures. I’m a little sad that when we hit the main stretch of Highway I was not behind them. The Fortune Cookie was drawing A LOT of attention. I figure next time I have to drive it somewhere I will slap a banner on her with my website on it.
 On the main road. The Fortune Cookie tows like a dream (Thanks Abel!). We managed to make it from point A to point B in about a half hour. We pull up to the house, I open the gates to let us in. Mark navigates her in really well. I had let them know that to get her into position it would require A LOT of jockeying. Which I was right.
In an effort to help them, I remember I was moving something and then… the funniest and most painful thing happened. I stepped on a rusty nail in a board. I managed to have some good momentum when stepping on this nail, so it went right through my foot. Realizing what I had done, I stopped and ripped the nail back out of my foot (which was harder getting out then going in I’ll tell ya).
What makes this kind of hilarious, is that when Kim and I had been organizing the wood pile around a week or so before, Eowyn and I had joked about how I should just get a tetanus shot. Mainly because Kass is fantastic at collecting things to … rebuild other things out of. Some of these things have questionable …. quality. Basically the joke was to be a member of their house, one should be up-to-date on their tetanus shot.
Long story short, I was not up-to-date on my tetanus shot. I think the last shot series I got was Hepatitis B, or maybe Tuberculosis. Either way, it had been over 10 years since I had received any shots. So, I was not horribly knowledgeable about what happens when you get tetanus. I just know that one should ‘immediately’ make their way to a hospital or urgent care to receive said shot.
 Home Sweet Home! I hobbled around for a bit while Argo and Mark were jockeying my house around in the backyard. Internally fretting about if I should drive to the hospital now, or wait. Seeing as no one present was too concerned but me, I did a quick Facebook poll with my friends. “When one steps on a rusty nail and is not up-to-date on a tetanus shot, how quickly should one go to the hospital?” After being advised of Lockjaw and a few other things, EVERYONE who responded agreed that I should leave for the hospital STAT.
Feeling guilty as hell, I directed Argo and Mark precicely where I wanted The Fortune Cookie to land. I advised that gas money was on the kitchen table in case I did not make it back in time. I then made my way to Saint Joseph’s Hospital (which is a FANTASTIC place to go if you need to go to the Emergency Room, good care and prompt service).
After being given a shot, some warnings, a little jesting and a prescription, I left St. Joes and got my prescription filled. I made it back to the house and Argo, Mark and Tammy (Mark’s wife) had left. I felt like a big jerk-face for having to cut out so soon.
Happily though, The Fortune Cookie is in it’s landing place. I love my new location, my neighbors are fantastic and Riley is quite happy here too. I appreciate the help I received from everyone on Moving Day!
~Kera
By Kera, on March 27th, 2012 2:00 p.m. It is the day before the move, I am full of excitement and nervousness. The move got switched to Friday instead of Sunday. We had originally agreed to move around 2:00 p.m. on Friday and then it was switched to noon. I am staring at everything in my vardo wondering where to start. I feel a little ridiculous actually. My whole house should be packed right now, but it isn’t.
I realize that when you do not have a lot of items, it makes it hard to decide what to pack. I am boiling it down to items that can break or that can scratch my floor are going in my car. Anxious I am not going to get stuff done in time for move tomorrow morning.
3:00 p.m. Pick up all recyclable materials around The Fortune Cookie. Decide that I am not going to keep the glass bottles I was given at Christmas time to paint. Clean up all garbage in and around vardo. Decide to look in my trunk that has not been empty since I moved in. Organize and sort items, find three things I’ve been looking for since I moved in. Rejoice. Sort out two bags of ‘Goodwill’ items, since I obviously do not need these things.
After staring at car interior, decide to detail the inside of my car. Throw away garbage, clean under seats, make it tidy. Clean inside windshield. Remove items from back seat to trunk. Trunk is full again, but I now have one place to put all of my interior Fortune Cookie items.
4:00 p.m. Drive all garbage and recyclables to main house and sort as needed. Decide to go to store for dinner items and dog food since I am already in my car. Remind myself continually not to buy very much as I am moving tomorrow. Walk around in circles for a bit before reminding myself what I actually needed. Appreciate the fact I do not have cash to purchase Girl Scout cookies.
5:00 p.m. Clean off shelf with books. Put books and shelf items in empty wicker laundry basket. Pack small collection of DVDs into my reusable grocery bags. Clean up dog toys. Riley then promptly removes half of them back onto the floor and looks at me indignantly. I laugh at him, hand him his favorite and then put them away again.
 6:00 p.m. Make dinner. Watch an episode of House on my laptop (thanks Robyn). Realize I should get back to work. Decide to play ‘throw the stick’ with Riley instead. We don’t play fetch, as that would insinuate he returns with it. I throw the stick, he proceeds to have me chase him through the yard saying “I’m gonna get it” as he runs and dodges.
7:00 p.m. Get back on task. I decide to whittle down what was in my file folders for some unknown reason. This ended up with me being distracted with burning things for a bit. While burning things I was admiring the stars (if I was to guess Mars and Venus were quite visible) and the almost full moon. I lamented the fact that I did not have any wine, but knew I could not go to retrieve any since I had an active fire going. Made mental note to make tea, then promptly forgot again.
8:00 p.m. Become distracted by Facebook. Then realize I’m being distracted by Facebook. Make comment on Facebook that I might need a hand, this isn’t for grunt labor so much as someone to keep me on task. I seem to not be so good at staying on task.
8:30 p.m. Clean off all flat surfaces in The Fortune Cookie. Wash dishes. Pack what dishes I can. Pack dry foods that I’m not leaving in the cupboard. Stare at magnetic spice rack and debate removing spices, decide not to. Clean stove. Make tea.
9:30 p.m. Come to the conclusion there isn’t anything more I can do until tomorrow morning when it is daylight. Sit down with Pure Moods Volume One and drink tea and blog. Excited about move.
~Kera
By Kera, on March 23rd, 2012  When I am going through my things, I sometimes miss my house before I moved my stuff in. I was staring at my ridiculously crowded house in dismay. I was feeling really overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in my space with the upcoming move date inching closer and closer. What made matters worse was that one of the items taking up my house was a huge futon mattress, which was dominating my entire downstairs.
The futon mattress was my previous mattress that I had in my loft. I was the lucky recipient of a queen size memory foam mattress from Kass and Eowyn. After helping me move the queen sized mattress into my house an up into the loft, Kass chuckled at me and wished me good luck with the futon mattress as he drove away. I shook my little fist at him and proceeded to stare at it for a few days. Riley rather adored having this huge new dog bed, since I took his last one and gave it to Robyn’s dog Marti.
 My cozy sleeping space. I asked around to a number of my friends and no one seemed to want this obnoxious bulk of an item taking up my downstairs. The rain had finally ceased for a few hours and I decided that I was absolutely and completely irritated at this object enough to get it out of my house. So, mustering up the strength of She-Ra, I lugged this awkward and immensely heavy mattress out of my house by myself.
A stream of creative profanities escaped my lips as I proceeded to shove the mattress into my back seat. Mind you, I was not sure that it would fit into my back seat, but I was determined to defy space and time to do so. Triumphantly, I lodged the mattress into my car successfully after moving the passenger seat a bit. I managed to also fit a three drawer plastic rubbermaid contraption into the front passenger seat.
I drove myself to a Goodwill donation station truck and they advised that they did not take furniture, only clothes and books. I then drove to the Goodwill and they advised that they could only take the dresser, not the futon mattress. A bit exasperated, I asked if they knew who might take the mattress. Helpfully, they advised that there was a Saint Vincent De Paul down the road that probably would.
I was a bit nervous at this point, I did not want to have to keep this mattress. Not to mention, it was in good condition and had a nice cover on it. I fretted that I might have to take it to the dump. I got lucky, Saint Vinny’s took the mattress. Ironically, someone happened to be picking up a futon frame at the time I was dropping off my mattress. So the mattress instantly found a new home, I was pleased.
After I got home I set about doing some spring cleaning. I was delighted that I finally got to sweep my floor. Between recent company, myself and Riley, a lot of dirt had been tracked into the house. In the midst of cleaning, I realized that I had the desire to start condensing even more of my things. My house still had way too much stuff and it was driving me batty.
My eventual shower space has become a sort of storage spot in my house. I cleared that out and picked out a ton of items in there I no longer wanted, nor needed. I then went through a large box of items that were items from my younger years, and a lot of photo frames. I condensed that box from one large tote, to a very small box. The large tote then got loaded into my car with all the other Goodwill items.
 The armoire. Where I hide my clothing. Next stop was my armoire. Due to all of my physical activity and my diet being a lot better, I have been shedding pounds. My clothes are starting to melt off and get rather baggy. So, it was time to clear out a bunch of items that are not fitting right and I’ve been reluctant to get rid of. I also sorted out some of my costuming (belly dance related and SCA related) into boxes, as well as my summer gear into another box.
Eowyn advised I was allowed to use the little shed in their yard if I wanted to store some of my seasonal clothes. I was a bit excited by that, as my armoire is not quite big enough to house both summer and winter clothing and allow me to still remain neat. Knowing I can move some of my costuming into a tote is also nice. I’d be willing to store these under my house, but knowing I can do so in a shed makes me a bit happier.
I originally swore against storing anything of any type, no exceptions, but realize that is a tad lofty due to my penchant for playing ‘dress up’ under the guise of re-enactment groups and belly dancing. 25 yard skirts take up a lot of room, and I only have two! My goal is to get two storage totes. One for summer/winter clothes and one for garb. That should make things much nicer and spacious in my little house.
The one thing I am realizing is that when you have hobbies, they take up a lot of room. Living in a small space and having hobbies and a business that involves copious amounts of hair do not seem conducive to one another. If any of you hobbyists are reading this, how do you stay organized?
~Kera
By Kera, on January 23rd, 2012  Fortune Cookie, earning it's name. There is nothing like being away from home, to remind you once again how much you love it. I have made no small mention of how much I adore The Fortune Cookie. Well I was house sitting for a dear friend in Olympia for a little over a week. With her two dogs and my Riley. It has been a fun adventure with lots of cuddling and constant playing.
 Fortunate indeed. Then the snow hit. Now, I was really enjoying the snow. Taking walks in it every day and enjoying it’s general splendor. I was enjoying walking to the store, as it was little over a mile round trip and worked through some of my cabin fever. I was getting dreads done and enjoying my tea. Then it started to get a bit colder and wetter and even more snow. I can say that this is the most snow I recall ever participating in, or being stuck in that did not involve me being on a mountain.
My car had been stuck in place for a number of days and the snow was starting to freeze on top. Then the power went out. Thankfully, the house I was sitting at had a gas stove. Then it started to rain, freezing rain. Living in ‘The Evergreen State’ means we have a whole lot of trees. When freezing rain happens, it tends to stay on these trees. It looks really neat, seeing whole trees encased in ice. However, the trees do not take too well to this after a short time.
For three days I was listening to whole trees around me crack and fall. Branches falling all the time and ice making loud boom noises as it crashes to the ground. These trees and branches taking out homes, power lines, cars and out buildings.
 Lucky little house Tales of the property where The Fortune Cookie is stationed were nerve-wracking. My land-mates have been having a heck of a time. Seeing as the property is home to 22 dogs, 23 if you count Riley and 6 (sometimes 8 ) people, if you include me. Trees are falling all around them. All the fencing and many of the kennels had trees fall on them. All the people and dogs are safe thankfully, but man is that scary. My heart and prayers have been with them the whole time.
To top it off, The Fortune Cookie got it’s first war wound. Apparently a small tree fell on my house and cracked a shingle. I was updated with pictures and reassurance that The Frozen Cookie is okay. Along with a pic of a couple large trees laying rather dramatically alongside my house. Man, talk about having nightmares. Being a home owner of a large, medium, or tiny sized house is scary business during weather emergencies.
In an effort to keep an eye on my house in the back lot, my land-mates pretty new Subaru got stuck in the back property. I appreciate their diligence and feel really bad. Many branches have blocked the drive to my house in the interim. Luckily, they were able to get the Subaru out after a couple days when the snow melted a bit.
However, I am home now. The power is still out, so dread making is at a halt for the time being. So, my posts may be a little scattered for now. However, on Wednesday you can expect a beautiful feature post on dreads. So keep an eye out! Just know that I am snug in my little house and grateful for my propane heater and stove.
Hope all of you survived the storm intact!
~Kera~
By Kera, on January 7th, 2012  Shelf light. A place for my books! Going to have to find some neat book ends now. So Abel dropped by the other day to finish up some odds and ends in The Fortune Cookie. It’s been awhile since he has popped by, so I was pretty excited to see what he had planned. I knew he was going to install some lights and trim but was not sure what else was in store.
To start, I received a shelf with lights in the bottom which is positioned near the end of the vardo, to the left side of big round window. I have been waiting on this particular light since I moved in, mainly because I knew it would be a fantastic work light. Oh, and I am pretty excited to have a shelf, as it is my first shelf in The Fortune Cookie. The shelf is just wide enough to shelve paperback book. However, I have told myself I am not allowed to stick candles on this particular part of the house, for I would likely catch the place on fire in short order due to the wall slope. Obviously not on my to-do list.
 Trim around the windows. Abel also installed an overhead light directly above the armoire, to the right of the round window. This light will be especially nice, as that end of the vardo tended to be pretty dark. So between the two light additions it has brightened it up in here massively. I also have a nicer place to perch when I want to read downstairs. The lights that were chosen are quite fabulous as they are not bright white, but a softer yellow tint.
The other thing Abel did is trim all the interior windows. This may have taken me a bit to notice, had he not pointed it out. Mainly because the windows looked fabulous without trim. Now they look even better, subtle as the difference is.
 The kitchen table in the collapsed position So, prior to yesterday I had been using a set of tier blocks and a large piece of wood with a rug on it as my stairs. Abel brought my new set of stairs and they look fantastic! I will feel a bit more classy entering my house now. Riley already approves as his jump is not as far now as it was before. The match the exterior color of the house too, which is a nice touch. I will snap a couple pictures of it when the weather allows me too. It’s been raining like crazy. I now reside in a mud crater.
 Table in the 'up' position. How rad is that? Abel is a wizard, he's got to be. The last item on the list of awesome is my kitchen table. This table has had a 2×4 propping it up since I moved in. It was designed to be collapsible, but the 2×4 was screwed into it because Abel had planned on putting something else under it eventually. I left while Abel was still working on The Fortune Cookie, as I was attending Beats Euphorium in Tumwater that night and had some dreads to deliver.
When I came home, the table was the first thing I noticed, mainly because I had forgotten I had cleared it off and recalled why. Abel installed a fabulous piece underneath it. The table now collapses with style. I’m pretty excited about this new feature. With the ability to put the table down my house seems way larger, which is always rad in a tiny house.
Abel is scheduled to come back out in a couple weeks to add a few more fixtures. He always does such awesome work! Riley was pretty excited to have him over because Abel shared the skin from his smoked salmon with him. Abel advised Riley he’d be back to share his lunch with him again soon.
As an update on Abel, he apparently is getting ready to launch a tiny house book of his own. Additionally, he is drawing up plans for a $20,000.00 model tiny home! That is such fabulous news for the tiny house community and all of you waiting to buy a tiny home! I cannot wait to see what Abel comes up with! Go Abel, GO!
~Kera~
By Kera, on December 20th, 2011 I just wanted to send another big thank you to Steven over at Tiny House Listings! I was featured again on an article he posted yesterday, December 19, 2011. I was listed with some of my favorite other Tiny House Residents and am quite flattered. You can see the article here.
Tiny house living is on the rise and that is so exciting! If you are thinking about making a transition to a tiny house and have any questions, feel free to send me a private e-mail or add a comment here. If you are a tiny house owner, I love to connect with other Tiny House Residents.
~Kera~
By Kera, on December 19th, 2011  Riley the Shih Tzu The life of a dog is certainly one to be envied. We get to sleep, play and eat all day. I used to live in a large home, where I used to play Nascar in the house all day with my terrier friends. I miss that sometimes. I grew up in the big house and I was allowed to run in the yard without a leash or a fence. Occasionally, I would chase the neighbors cats. Mom never really liked that. For the most part, life was pretty grand. There were a number of humans in the house, so I was rarely left alone when mom was at work or dance class.
One by one the humans left. I would look for them, but could never find them. Mom kept switching which room we would sleep in, that was a bit confusing. She seemed okay with it, so it did not bother me too much as long as she told me which room we were in. Then the stuff started leaving and moving. I did not like this much either. Mostly because all the places I liked to sleep on, play on and hide under kept changing. I got used to that after a bit too. Mom took me to the dog park more often, and this cheered me up.
Then one day, we left the big house. I did not think much of it, mainly because we went on road trips and camping a lot. I just expected we would be home eventually. Mom seemed nervous though, so I wouldn’t let her leave my sight. When she did, I would be very upset with her. I would whine and sigh dramatically in the hopes of getting her attention.
 Riley, proud of his find. We stayed at the place she had been working, a dog rescue. I was allowed to hang out with mom all day, so that was pretty awesome. We had a big trailer to ourselves for about a week. I figured we would go back to the big house, but we did not. Again, I did not mind too much. The daily routine had not changed much, other than we weren’t in the car for a couple hours a day.
One day mom got really excited. She kept saying that we were ‘almost home’. I thought she meant the big house, so I kept trying to get in the car. When she wouldn’t go to the car, I thought she was messing with me.
Then… The Fortune Cookie pulled up. Once it was positioned in place, mom let me in. I loved it! I found my favorite spot, the bathroom, and made myself at home. During the summer, mom left the doors to the house wide open. So I would come and go as I pleased. We have a big yard here, so I get to run and dig in the dirt, chase birds, the neighbors chicken, the occasional cat that dares come up here, and gophers. My favorite place to sit was inside the front door on the floor mat. I could bask in the afternoon sun, while keeping an eye on the property.
However, once Fall set in… mom started keeping the doors shut. I did not like this much. Mom has a set of bells next to the door that I ring with my nose when I want to go outside. So, for the first week the front door was shut I rang these a lot. She would let me outside. When I saw that she was not following me, I would scratch at the door to come back inside. She would let me inside. I would continue this a few times, but this game did not entertain me too long.
 Us going for a walk Thankfully, we started going on walks more once it got cold. Wintertime is boring. Occasionally, I need to remind her that I would like to be outside. I will put my paw on her leg when she is working on dreadlocks and make my grunt/whine noise. Then I will sit by the front door and stare at her intently. Sometimes I just want her attention, so I will paw at her leg repeatedly. She usually laughs and puts down what she is doing to play with me for ten or fifteen minutes.
I entertain myself when she is busy by throwing my toys with my mouth across the floor, then chasing them. When mom is cooking, she usually takes out the cutting board. I love vegetables and will patiently wait for her to give me scraps where she can see me. When she has forgotten that I am there, I will ‘sit pretty’ to make sure she saves me some.
There are three ‘poufs’ in the house, mom usually sits in one. She either sets the other two out, or stacks them under the big circular window so that I can look outside. After she put a blanket on the pouf, it has become my favorite place to sit in the house (and also hide vegetables for consumption later). I used to have a big dog bed, but mom got rid of it when I stopped using it.
The biggest thing I like since we have moved into The Fortune Cookie is that we go outside and on walks a lot more. Mom also makes time to play with me more. I am rarely left home alone now. I also exercise more and get into trouble a lot less because I am not as bored. I would say that living in a tiny house is definitely an improvement.
~Riley~
By Kera, on December 13th, 2011 As I become more settled into my new home, I find that it is slowly lending itself to my creative juices. I have mentioned [previously] that I am more at home here than anywhere I have lived before. This has had a number of positive effects on me. I am a lot more comfortable in my skin and thus my surroundings.
There is an adage that has been tossed around a lot by my peers lately, which is “fake it til you make it.” This particular adage has been very true for me, especially in regards to business. Unless you enter into a business plan with a single-minded desire to suceed, you are dooming yourself to fail.
Many times I felt like I was flailing about aimlessly due to fear. Much of the time I am. Thankfully, it is short lived due to my impatience with myself.
I enjoy crafting items, a lot. Especially, when it does not involve a sewing machine in any way, shape or form. I began dabbling in body products about the same time I started making dreads. This particular joy has resurfaced again. After conducting a bit of an impromptu poll among my friends, I was surprised at the response that I should sell these items as well.
Keep an eye out for my line of body products in my Etsy Shop!
~Kera
By Kera, on December 9th, 2011  Frost on the wildlife near the Fortune Cookie. After much deliberation, I have decided to stay at my current location through the Winter season. The roads were getting a bit treacherous locally for me to really want to migrate too far. The dirt road and driveway leading up to the Fortune Cookie are especially muddy. I love myself and my home too much to put me through that sort of anxiety.
What I also found is that I draw a lot of inspiration from my current surroundings. I really have my own slice of heaven in the back 40 where I am at now. I live in Graham, Washington. I am far enough in the boonies that we do not actually get mail service here. However, UPS and FedEx do deliver here [Family and Friends: hint, hint].
 Frost on the Fortune Cookie. It was a bit chilly this morning. I am far enough from city lights and house lights that I can see the stars beautifully. On a clear night, the moon lights up the whole yard and it is breathtaking. Additionally, Riley can run around without me being concerned about him running into the street. I also have a stellar alarm system, having 22 wolf hybrids to alert me should anyone come up the driveway.
Amusing fact, we cannot get regular mail here… but Dominos will deliver to my little house directly. This entertains me greatly. I order pizza rarely, but they come all the way back here and usually bring dog treats. Riley finds this arrangement acceptable.
The downside of being out in the boonies is that anything I drive to is a minimum of 45 minutes away. My favorite co-op in Olympia is an hour and a half away (as well as many of my good friends). Belly dance lessons are in Tacoma, which is about 45 minutes away. Downtown Seattle is about an hour and a half away. My parents are between 2 – 3 hours away. This also presents issues for my dating and social life.
I appreciate that the Post Office, Feed Store for propane, and Library are fairly close. This is really nice in the event that it snows, I only have to walk a few miles to the Post Office if I need to get some dreads mailed out to a customer.
So, bring on the snow. I am feeling a lot more festive about the holiday season now that I do not have much to fear. The only thing I become a little frustrated at is that it is cold enough to freeze, which means my water supply now has to be carried in. Thankfully, I do not have to wander too far for it.
I hope that Winter finds you happy, warm and festive dear readers.
~Kera~
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