Hours in the day

There just aren't enough of them...  Seriously, sometimes I just can't figure out where the day goes.

Let's take a quick look at my life shall we? I'm unemployed,  we purposefully have no major commitments, we don't really watch tv to speak of, and to top it all off I rarely sleep more than 4 hours a night... and yet I simply can't find time to do and try all the things I want to accomplish, or try or to create.  I can barely start prioritizing items on the list, much less make any headway on completing them.  I really don't know how others do it, especially after a full time job.

The millions of ideas circulating in my head of things I'd like to make, to do, places to visit, things to write, art pieces, design projects, paintings, sculptures...  it's completely overwhelming at the very least.

I need a full time workforce just to get it all written down, much less to undertake the projects and check them off the list.

I always hear people say they could never retire because they'd be bored out of their mind. Really?  How is that even possible??  I feel like I could work 24/7 for the next 10 years and not even get all the furniture crafted that I have floating in my head...and that doesn't even start on all the other fronts.  I certainly wouldn't call us "retired", but whatever you call this phase of life- it's anything but boring.

We got home from the trip and immediately found ourselves among a flurry of activity from our absence. Catching up with friends and the breakfasts, lunches, dinners, game nights and wine tastings that go with it.  Absolutely no complaints there!  We are having a blast and are so excited to be back home among those we love.  Portland it seems, is just as happy to see us as we've been wearing our flip flops daily, and have only seen rain once since pulling into town. Odd, but amazing!

We also found ourselves with two zenbox client projects pushing towards permits in the coming weeks.  Yikes!  That means client meetings, contractor meetings, and a lot of time wrapping up the designs, details and plans that I started while we were on the road.

Both of these projects kind of developed right as we were departing for our trip and we slowly realized a few weeks into driving that I was working remotely.  I remember a few years ago not believing there was any job or skillset we could do from the road.  This one certainly wasn't part of a plan, but we were happy for the work both keep my mind busy and to keep a small amount of income coming in to offset our travel costs.

The first project is a true tiny home for our client so she can rent out the main house or have it available for her parents to live in as needed.  We are designing a (under 200 sqft) garage conversion, but for a homeowner who still wants to live large.  We are working hard to incorporate all the comforts of her current house into one that's almost 1/8th the size.  To call it a challenge would be an understatement.  We love it!

The second is a ground up build in our clients' back yard.  This one is larger at about 450 sqft Detached ADU, would include a full bedroom on the 2nd story and has several features we are thrilled to be working on such as a living/ecoroof, accordion door, solar array pergola, industrial decor and a stair that should prove to be a full on work of art.

In both cases, the plansets are nearly complete, we're working on materials/finishes and finalizing the budgets, and soon will start the permitting process with the city in hopes of breaking ground next month.

I am so excited to see these projects get built that I'm almost giddy.  It was an amazing experience building our place last year, but this is the first chance to really design something from start to finish and then watch expert craftsmen build it rather than us spending all waking hours trying to stay under an impossible budget for our own checkbook.  A dream come true, really.

We've also had a couple meetings with neighbors and prospective clients since returning. These conversation continue to feed us with energy as well.  Such a great opportunity to see what and how others are planning to change their living environment and lifestyles, and to meet/get to know our neighbors.

This is all really fun work and our current clients are great; but between their home project and ours, we certainly have plenty on the plate at the moment. Back at the garage, we have been mostly trying to wrap up loose ends.  Things that we never got around to because we moved in and got comfortable last year.  Up until now, our countertops have simply been plywood placeholders in hopes of eventually pouring concrete replacements.  It seemed to be taking so long that I was considering hiring a professional before we left for our trip, but the work would be at least  4k that we simply don't have - which put it right back onto our to-do list.

That project is now officially underway, and so far we're only in it about $300 in materials. Definitely more our range!  The forms are made and scattered around our kitchen and living space (lack of workspace being one of the only drawbacks to no longer having a garage). Concrete purchased, mixer rented, we do a confidence check and then set at pouring the initial 2 counters and a handful of concrete backsplashes in a matter of about 2 hours.

It was back breaking work for certain, but way worth it! Now we move onto other projects while we wait for them to dry.  Patience isn't really my forte, but we have plenty of other projects in need and it shouldn't be too difficult to take my mind off these for a few days at least until dry enough to safely remove the molds.