Six Sentence Story--Design

Photo: A wooden house emerges out of a Scotch-broom covered hill

The concept fit more neatly into Middle Earth, or perhaps into a future, more well-received environmentally-conscious age, but regardless of whether it was an old idea or cutting-edge, the point was that the House-Built-into-the-Hillside was a dream come true. The planning started well before the blueprints were drawn up, for in order for a passive-solar, underground home to work in cloudy Oregon, the slope and orientation of the hill had to be just right to maximize exposure to the sun. Once the perfect property was located, and the concrete slab was poured so the only exposed side of the house would receive the sun's rays, the outer shell of the house went up quickly. The family moved in prior to interior completion, but the home was abundantly filled with the most important ingredient--love--so what the house lacked in "finishing touches" (i.e., interior doors) provided personality rather than embarrassment. Even the teenager, who wasn't excited about moving away from friends, was excited to live in the unique home. The parents, whether unintentionally or by design, through the experience of dreaming, designing, building, and living in the hobbit house, taught the children important lessons which would last a lifetime.

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Linking up with Denise for this week's Six Sentence Story. Go over to her blog to check out the other entries and feel free to link up your own!

Ten Things of Thankful: 39 Years Edition

A political map of the world circa 1987. The Soviet Union takes up a sizable portion. A lot has happened in the last 39 years. The Berlin Wall came down. The Soviet Union collapsed. The Twin Towers fell. Technology has changed: landlines and phone booths are practically extinct, and random questions can be answered in seconds by asking Google, Siri, or Alexa. No longer do drivers keep the Thomas Guide in their cars; navigation systems will give turn-by-turn directions, and recalculate when the driver doesn't follow the directions. Some cars don't even need drivers. While many shoppers do their shopping in-person, some simply log into Amazon and have their item show up on their doorstep--sometimes within hours. I've seen pieces of the Berlin Wall. I've traveled to places that used to be behind the Iron Curtain. I've been to Ground Zero. I no longer have a house phone, and have looked up the answers to countless questions using my cell phone. I do not miss the stress...

Ten Things of Thankful: April Showers Edition

A red peony bud prepares to open fully After an incredibly dry winter, we had a bit of precipitation this past week, in the form of falling snow. We didn't have much, and it didn't really stick, but we'll take water however it wants to come. Fortunately, my peonies seem unaffected by the cold snap, and are ready to put on a show here soon. 1. I'm thankful for moisture. 2. I'm thankful the flowers are still going to bloom. I don't know how the colder temperatures will affect the fruit crops. The strawberries look like they are still planning to set fruit. We'll have to see what happens with the peach, apricot, pear, and apple. (The apricot only bears heavily every other year anyway, and I think this is an "off" year--though I could be wrong.) Strawberry plants in full bloom 3. I'm thankful for anticipated berries. We continue to clear out and otherwise prepare John's parents' house for sale. I've been going through old photos and...

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago. I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon. (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...

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