I got the idea to do a book on tiny houses about a year ago. After all, the main theme of our 1973 book Shelter was the small house. Instead of borrowing money from a bank to buy an existing house, you’d do it yourself. We showed designs, with drawings by Bob Easton, of five small houses, each with a different roof shape.

This idea has really taken off in the last few years. There’s a ton of material out there on tiny houses. So I began exploring the web and copying down URLs of websites with good material. I did this on and off for about a year, while we finished up other projects.

In December, 2009, I started a review of all these websites and all this material. Which I’ve just finished. I have about 100 folders assembled here: tiny houses on land, on wheels, on the water; cabins, shacks, sheds; saunas, studios, greenhouses, chicken coops;. Small living — urban or country. A ton of wonderful material.

Next week I’ll start contacting these people. I’ll be seeking permission to use photos and stories. We can’t pay much, if anything for photos, since our books have 1000-1200 photos each. And, as is usual, I have no idea what the book will be like. My method is to start assembling pages and let the book take on its own form. So here goes, our first major building book since Builders of the Pacific Coast.

Above: my photo of cabin by Vin Gorman (one of the featured builders in the above book).

In December I mentioned that the cafe/coffee roastery at Small World Coffee in Princeton, NJ, did a name and logo for a new blend based on my surfing and skateboarding and I guess, long hair — calling it the Crispy Hippie roast. To tell the truth, I’ve never thought of myself as a hippie, although I guess I am compared to all my friends from high school and college who didn’t smoke dope, get immersed in rock and roll, and drop out (back in ’65). “I’m proud to be a hippie from Olema…” Small World owner Jessica Durrie just sent me this t-shirt.

Lew just discovered an interesting website called Goodreads, with reader book ratings and reviews; it’s tied in to Facebook. For one thing, it’s a way to cross-check Amazon customer reviews. Here’s a comment on our last major building book, Builders of the Pacific Coast:

“In a time when more people are thinking “green” and “sustainable,” this book is even more fascinating. “Sustainable” is not a slick, well-marketed, over-packaged solution you can buy at a local big box store and get delivered – it is noticing and respecting the woodgrain, the type of stone, and the stories of the place. There is so much room for quiet reflection in this book, it took much longer to read it than I expected from a large format, photo-heavy “coffee table” book.”

-Jess

–https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1661976.Builders_of_the_Pacific_Coast

I looked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and there were 28,000 reader ratings.

No sooner do I exult about Spring and sunshine and blue skies and green grass than Winter kicks back in. Tuesday night Eric and I headed south, running along the coast from Muir Beach, up trails leading to ocean lookout spots. We could see bands of rain out on the horizon, moving in from the ocean. It started drizzling and suddenly got a lot colder and just as we got to the top (maybe 1000 ft. above the ocean) and started heading back, it started hailing. No trees for shelter. So here we are running down a fire road, high winds, getting pelted by hail, freezing water running down our legs into shoes…It may sound like I’m complaining here, but in reality, the discomfort was worth it when we got into dry clothes and in to the pub, and beer and hot shepherd’s pie. It was an adventure! “If it doesn’t kill you, it’s good for you,” invariably true.

The rain (1″ this week) and new storms next week are good. Our local lakes are full, but Lake Shasta can use as much rainfall as it can get.

Then yesterday I ran down to the beach and found a bunch of new graffiti. I love this art form.

Winter has been long and cold (for our part of the world, that is). It seemed like 4 months of darkness and rain. The only heat I have in the office is an 800 watt radiant electric heater that I keep right next to the computer and turn on for maybe an hour in the morning. Otherwise. I wear 5 or so layers of clothing: cotton, silk, and wool. A homemade Merino wool scarf and wool hat, sheepskin Ugg boots, and fingerless gloves complete the early morning attire.

In running each Tuesday night, it was chillingly cold at the start of each run, then invariably feet wet from the puddles. In the evenings we were going through firewood at a good clip.

Then the world suddenly changed. The rains have diminished, the sun has been out (a lot), the hills are a verdant green, life is more relaxed. The time change has helped. It’s also my time of year, born in late April. Last week I ran on the beach to get warmed up, then swam across the channel and ran on Stinson Beach. I was almost ecstatic with the sunshine and blue water, running in and out of the white foam from the waves. The beach is the interface of land, water, air, and sun, a powerful chi generator. Red-winged blackbirds are chirping their Spring notes, and a robin has been warbling melodic triplets. Spring has sprung!