ADU, Travel, Community
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Tiny House, Travel, Planning
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, Workshop
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

transition time

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Transition Time

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It’s August 1st and today marks the first day of the rest of my life. Perhaps I’m being dramatic, but today feels like a pivot point. It seems I often set myself up so that several major things change all at once in my life, but this particular moment in time feels more extreme than usual.

My last three shifts went like this:

1) When I first moved to Portland My Tiny House Adventure Began right between my grad school orientation and the first day of classes. I left the last orientation activity, drove up to Olympia, and the next morning we drove Bayside Bungalow down to Portland. My sisters arrived that evening and helped me move in. We ate dinner at the Grilled Cheese Grill (which is next door to Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel – things seem to come full circle!) The next day I settled into this charming little tiny house on wheels. And the following day my Masters of Urban and Regional Planning coursework began.

2) The day before my 29th birthday we got the Tiny House on the Road Again and returned Bayside Bungalow to its bayside location in Olympia. So I had began A New Year in a New Home. I spent my birthday settling into My Summer Garden Cottage, while continuing My Summer Dream Job: Design Building Tiny Houses.

3) In late September I Downsized from a Tiny House to a Tinier House and moved into my Home Sweet Yurt the weekend before starting my second year of grad school. It’s been a great ten months here in the yurt. I’ve enjoying going through (almost) a full set of seasons here.

The past 10 days have been a time of big transitions. I celebrated another revolution around the sun on Monday, July 22 with A Big Birthday Bash at the Tiny House Hotel. A week later on Monday, July 29, I turned in my final project for Urban Design Methods and finished up my masters coursework. (I celebrated by contacting Rob at Iron Eagle about my tiny house trailer order!) Tuesday and Wednesday I wrapped up my work with Intrinsic Ventures as the Planning & Communications Coordinator for their Ford District properties. This coming Monday on August 5th some friends are helping me move from the yurt to a new tiny house on wheels, The Sweet Pea in Pod 49. I’ll be doing sustainable design consulting through my company Niche Consulting and working with Dee Williams and Joan Grimm of Portland Alternative Dwellings.

So this morning, after 10 hours of sleep, I woke up ready for Lina’s Next Adventure. But first… a break. My to do list is a mile long, but I’m giving myself the day off today. I love the idea of finishing everything on the to do list and then being able to relax, but it turns out I never do seem to finish everything on the to do list. There are too many opportunities, too many ideas, too much potential for the list to ever be empty. So I’m trying to teach myself to relax sometimes anyhow. I find that even if the things I’m doing are super fun, I don’t really feel like I can unwind unless my time is unscheduled. So I’m giving myself a secular Sabbath today. Nothing scheduled. I’ll base my actions on my whims.

This is sustainability, right? My health and happiness depends on my ability to recognize my own limits and to live within them so that I can thrive. I’m so curious to see what the day will bring! It's drizzling today for the first day in months. I may get out there to explore yet, but right now curling back up with my kitty for another nap sounds awfully nice!