{Every week, I publish a series of inspiring links. Enjoy!}

What the Internet is doing to our brains.

Embrace your voice.

Getting intentional about inspiration.

Minimal web.

Wish you were here.

Simply undeniable.

Don’t forget to smile!

On my nightstand: “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges.”

Small things.

Have an awesome weekend!

Be well,
Tammy

{Every week, I run a photography series called “Everyday Magic.” Enjoy!}

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.”

~Chaim Potok

{Every week, I publish a series of inspiring links. Enjoy!}

A beautiful, true, and eye-opening talk: “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace.

Tiny house, big heart.

If money doesn’t make you happy, consider time.

Loved this article by Katie!

7 day vegan.

Are you fighting or flowing?

Fantastic photos by Katie Awrey.

It’s national photography month!

National photography month – virtual exhibit.

I started to use Goodreads and I’m digging it!

On my nightstand: “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges” and “Flow Magazine.”

What are you reading this week? Share your recommendations in the comments section.

Be well,
Tammy

Every time we move, our cats adapt to the new environment quickly. Both cats are slowly exploring their new home and they seem to like my mom’s place. Although, they have to deal with my mom’s rambunctious dog, Henry. He’s a five-year old Australian Shepard with a lot of energy. In addition, my mom has cats. Sable, a fifteen year old girl, and an “adoptee.”

The adopted cat has been hanging around the house for the last year. My mom feeds him, but he still didn’t have a name when we arrived on Sunday. I decided to start calling him Mr. Dude. Over the last few days, the cats have sniffed, hissed, and chased each other. We’ve been supervising their play and have a squirt bottle handy, just in case a fight breaks out.

Currently, we are parked in my mom’s drive-way and when I open my front door, I look at my mom’s house. The drive-way resembles a half-moon and there are big shrubs between the house and the street. We have enough privacy and the street isn’t busy, so I’m not worried about the cats getting hit by a car. Plus, they stay close to us. For instance, as I type these words, I’m sitting on my front porch and I have one cat on each side of me. They are loving the spring weather!

Our french doors open to the side yard. It’s a sweet little spot because the grass is green and my mom has a rose garden that sits on the side of the big house. Beyond the beautifully manicured lawn is a little orchard filled with orange trees and the RV garage. The garage is where my parents stored their 30-foot long fifth wheel. My mom sold the fifth wheel right before my dad died, last year. Now it’s empty. The cats are digging the orchard and the RV garage. Before I started writing this article, they were patrolling the area.

Across the street, there is a big open field that Christie was romping in this morning. (So much for supervised play.)

My mom’s house sits on one-acre and in addition to the side yard, she has a huge back-yard, with a pool and a garden. Henry — my mom’s crazy dog — owns the backyard. When Henry is in the backyard, the cats stay away. Henry likes to herd cats, birds, and neighborhood dogs. The cats aren’t fond of Henry’s behavior and they don’t like his loud bark.

For now, it seems like the cats and the dog have sorted out their territories and segregated themselves. It’s been great to watch the cats explore their new environment, and since we can tow our tiny house with us, it’s nice that they don’t have to adjust to a new home. If they get scared or hear Henry barking, they run right into the little house. Both cats know it’s their safe space.

Be well,
Tammy

Over the last seven years, we’ve moved six times. I don’t think of myself as nomadic, yet I can’t deny that we move a lot. On Sunday, May 5th, we moved again! We hooked up our tiny house to my mom’s Ford F350 and headed south to her place in Red Bluff, CA.

The Why Behind Our Move

There were a few reasons we decided to move away from Portland last year. In short, my dad died and Logan’s job was moved to Boston. Leaving Portland wasn’t an easy decision, but we followed our instinct and moved back to California. For the last eight-months we’ve been living on my in-laws ranch, outside Yreka, California. Originally, we were going to stay at the ranch for a few months and then move to Chico. But we liked the ranch so much we decided to give rural living a try.

It was a great experience. I loved living next door to my in-laws and the ranch is incredibly beautiful. However, there are drawbacks to living in such a rural area. It was hard for Logan to find paid work and I felt isolated. After a lot of thoughtful consideration we decided to move to Chico.

In the interim, we are staying with my mom in Red Bluff. She needs help with a few projects like decluttering the house, putting in a new fence, starting a garden, and going through my dad’s belongings. The lot we are going to rent in Chico won’t be ready until the summer and Red Bluff is a perfect transition place for us. It will be easier for Logan to interview for teaching positions in Chico and we can help my mom out. Currently, we are parked in my mom’s driveway and we live about 10 miles outside of Red Bluff, in an area called “The Bend.” It’s sort of like a suburb, but more spread out. It’s close to the Sacramento River and we have a lovely view of Mt. Lassen.

Questions and Answers

I’ve received a lot of inquires about the tiny house move. Below are a few of the commonly asked questions that have been posted on Facebook and Twitter.

Did you prepare for the move? A few weeks ago, we turned our house around and packed our books, mason jars and other goodies. I’m glad we prepared because it made the moving weekend less stressful.

Did you get any funny looks on the highway? I loved seeing people’s reactions as we drove down Highway 5! Lots of folks did double takes, took pictures of the little house, and gave us the thumbs up sign. It was awesome and made me want to go on a tour with the tiny house, just to make people smile.

The funnest part of the move was getting a text message from my brother in-law, Tyler. He was at the Anderson outlets, with his wife Tina and the kids, when he saw our tiny house going down the freeway. It was a serendipitous sighting! They ended up coming over for a tiny happy hour after their errands.

How are the cats doing? They are doing good. On the way to Red Bluff, they rode with us in the cab of the truck, in their carriers. Earlier today, Elaina, our grey cat, had a little supervised play time in the yard. Christie, on the other hand, has taken very tentative steps outside the house.

When I brought Christie home with me — ten years ago — she wouldn’t come out of her carrier for hours and it took her three days to explore the living room. When I brought Elaina home, she cased the entire apartment in 30-minutes. Some things don’t change.

Will you still cycle everywhere? Until we move to Chico, we will be sharing a car with my mom to get to and from town. In this part of Red Bluff you literally can’t bike into town. Part of the route includes a stretch of Highway 5 and bikes are not allowed on the freeway. Unfortunately, because of the Sacramento river, there is no other way into Red Bluff and for now car-sharing with my mom is a good solution.

Parting Words

Prior to our move, I felt anxious. Moving is always challenging. It’s difficult to uproot and leave certainty behind. However, as our moving date approached I felt at ease and happy with our decision to uproot again. I haven’t lived in Red Bluff since I was teenager and being at my childhood home feels good. Plus, Logan and I are CSU, Chico Alumni and we can’t wait to explore Chico as “adults.”

Audio Love & Photos

Below is a photo round-up of the tiny house move and an audio recording. Listen to the audio below or click here to download the segment.

I’ll post more photos of our surroundings in Red Bluff soon!

Be well,
Tammy

{Every week, I publish a series of inspiring links. Enjoy!}

Registration for “Writing in the Digital Age” closes today; Friday, May 3rd at 6pm PST. I hope you’ll join us for the spring session! Course details can be found here.

Now onto this week’s inspiring links . . . 

A gentle approach to better blogging.

Tiny house, big heart.

Amplify your joy.

Pedal, stretch, breath.

Naj Haus: Art, nature & transformations: lessons of a tiny house.

Coming up for air.

Sentimental stuff and clutter.

Thoughts on wine, wonder and worth.

On my nightstand: “Carry on Warrior,” “I Can Barely Take Care of Myself” and “Cracking The Code: Tiny Houses And Building Codes.”

What are you reading this week?

Be well,
Tammy

Sending letters and care-packages makes me happy and it’s one way I practice gratitude and mindfulness. The act of physically writing a note and creating packages forces me to slow down and to be more thoughtful in my everyday life. And as a bonus, I get to buy stationary from small business owners.

Lately, I’ve been sending packages and letters to friends who have experienced loss and big life changes. Coping with loss and change isn’t easy and I hope my packages bring a little brightness to my buddies.

Below are a few goodies I’ve sent to friends lately:

• A self-care package that included a journal, a letter, a tiny house drawing and “Pedal, Stretch, Breathe: The Yoga of Bicycling.”
• A writing themed care-package that contained “Writing Down the Bones,” a journal and a letter.
• A coffee themed care-package that included a bag of freshly roasted beans, from North Bound Coffee Roasters, and a coffee themed mini-card.
• Lots of thank you notes.

Do you send out letters or packages in the mail? If so, what kind of goodies do you send? And where do you buy stationary?

Be well,
Tammy

P. S. I’ve been buying stationary from Karen. You can learn more about her work by clicking here.

Also, registration for “Writing in the Digital Age” closes on Friday, May 3rd at 6pm PST. I hope you’ll join us for the spring session!

Here’s a snapshot of my writing e-course:

Learn how to tell your story in the digital age, how to feed your creative juices, and much more. I’ll be sharing insights, inspiration, and the lessons I’ve learned over the last five years as a blogger and writer. In addition, you’ll be hearing from a variety of guest experts too!

• Start date: Monday, May 6
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Cost: $97.00.

course details

{Every week, I run a photography series called “Everyday Magic.” Enjoy!}

I spent a few hours on Sunday morning cleaning the tiny house and packing mason jars, food, and books, while Logan made sure the Powermover was working. We bought the Powermover for our move in 2011 and it’s been a great tool!

After I finished packing, we used the Powermover for a mini-move. We turned the house around to prepare for our upcoming move to Red Bluff. It will be easier to hook the tiny house up to my mom’s monster truck with the house turned.

Once we got the Powermover set-up, it took less than 20 minutes to turn the house around. Now, our picture window frames Mt. Shasta perfectly! I love the new angle of our home.

I’m really excited about the move and I’m also anxious and sad. Moving is never easy and last night I questioned our move. I’m thankful Logan talked some sense into me.

He said, “It’s natural to be scared. But we’ve thought about this decision backwards and forwards for months. We are doing the right thing and we can always come back. I need a job, your mom needs help at her place, and you need to be around more people. We’ve made the decision, so strap on your seatbelt and get ready for the ride.”

I loved Logan’s advice and I slept better after our talk. This week, I’m going to prep for my upcoming writing class and I’m going to make time to enjoy Little Shasta.

And last but not least, yesterday, we recorded an impromptu audio segment. Listen to the audio clip here.

In the audio, I mentioned Logan’s blog and our Powermover. For more on information on our Powermover, check out these resources:

• Powermover.net
• Settling into Smalltopia
• How We Moved Our Tiny House

Enjoy the photos from Sunday’s mini-move.

Be well,
Tammy

P. S. Registration for “Writing in the Digital Age” closes on Friday, May 3rd at 6pm PST. I hope you’ll join us for the spring session!

Here’s a snapshot of my writing e-course:

Learn how to tell your story in the digital age, how to feed your creative juices, and much more. I’ll be sharing insights, inspiration, and the lessons I’ve learned over the last five years as a blogger and writer. In addition, you’ll be hearing from a variety of guest experts too!

• Start date: Monday, May 6
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Cost: $97.00.

course details

{Every week, I publish a series of inspiring links. Enjoy!}

On my nightstand: “The Coffee Manifesto,” “Letters to a Young Poet” and “The Power of Starting Something Stupid.”

21 tips to keep your shit together when you’re depressed. (via What’s Your Grief)

Type so hard you bruise the screen.

A lovely video by Kyeli: Are you an impostor?

A sweet clip of Theron & Maddie.

Capturing simplicity.

Love these photos! You can’t go wrong with babies.

How nature can help us heal from grief.

What are you reading this week? Share your recommendations in the comments section.

Be well,
Tammy

P.S. Registration for my writing class is open until Friday May 3rd. I hope you’ll join us for the spring session! Click here for the details.

Yesterday afternoon, Logan and I sat on the front porch and talked about our recent mini-adventure. I told Logan, “I hope the sunset is amazing tonight! I want to take a lot of photos.”

Logan said, “It’s a beautiful day so I’m sure you will get your wish.”

He was right! The sunset was stunning and the moon was big and bright. I had a blast taking photos of the landscape and my kittens. I hope these images inspire you to capture everyday magic.

Enjoy!

P.S. My writing class is filling up quickly. I hope you’ll join us for the spring session! Click here for the details.