Tiny Home Tuesday ~ Tiny Homes on the Move

I got my copy of Lloyd Kahn's Tiny Homes on the Move a while back, after long expectation - reading about the stories coming in, the photos, the production and finally the book in hand. When he was going to be speaking at Powell's Books (a very fabulous bookstore in Portland, OR - with other locations but that's the granddaddy), the come on in went like this:

Lloyd Kahn's Tiny Homes on the Move (Shelter Publications) chronicles 21st-century nomads — people who inhabit homes that are compact and mobile, either on wheels or in the water. Kahn's fascinating book explores modern travelers who live in vans, pickup trucks, buses, trailers, sailboats, and houseboats that combine the comforts of home with the convenience of being able to pick up and go at any time. The stories and descriptions of these moveable sanctuaries will be valuable and inspirational for anyone thinking outside the box about shelter.

This isn't a book to immediately dash from cover to cover, or at least I haven't found that so. In fact, I can only take in a couple of subjects at a time before my brain starts spinning out in a race with emotions - I'm pretty sure emotions don't come from the brain, at least mine don't seem to, but I forgot to go to brain surgeon school so that might be wrong. 

Maybe this is one of my favorites because of inspiring many possibilities for my own tiny houseboat

If you haven't heard of Sisters on the Fly, you should check them out. 

This is barely a scraping of the content in the book, something to get your mind engaged with all of the potential out there to live the life you choose, in the manner of your own choosing. You can get a copy in a few places, but I prefer buying it directly from Shelter Publications, where you can also find more books along these lines. 

As one of our own gets ready to move on down the road in her mobile home, this work from Dr. Seuss plays over and over in my thoughts. Well, okay, not all of it, but I'm including all of it because it deserves it. 

Oh, the Places You'll Go! 

Congratulations! 
Today is your day. 
You're off to Great Places! 
You're off and away! 

You have brains in your head. 
You have feet in your shoes 
You can steer yourself 
any direction you choose. 
You're on your own. And you know what you know. 
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. 

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. 
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." 
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, 
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. 

And you may not find any 
you'll want to go down. 
In that case, of course, 
you'll head straight out of town. 

It's opener there 
in the wide open air. 

Out there things can happen 
and frequently do 
to people as brainy 
and footsy as you. 

And when things start to happen, 
don't worry. Don't stew. 
Just go right along. 
You'll start happening too. 

OH! 
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! 

You'll be on your way up! 
You'll be seeing great sights! 
You'll join the high fliers 
who soar to high heights. 

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. 
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. 
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. 
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest. 

Except when you don' t 
Because, sometimes, you won't. 

I'm sorry to say so 
but, sadly, it's true 
and Hang-ups 
can happen to you. 

You can get all hung up 
in a prickle-ly perch. 
And your gang will fly on. 
You'll be left in a Lurch. 

You'll come down from the Lurch 
with an unpleasant bump. 
And the chances are, then, 
that you'll be in a Slump. 

And when you're in a Slump, 
you're not in for much fun. 
Un-slumping yourself 
is not easily done. 

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. 
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. 
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin! 
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? 
How much can you lose? How much can you win? 

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right... 
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? 
Or go around back and sneak in from behind? 
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, 
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind. 

You can get so confused 
that you'll start in to race 
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace 
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, 
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. 
The Waiting Place... 

...for people just waiting. 
Waiting for a train to go 
or a bus to come, or a plane to go 
or the mail to come, or the rain to go 
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow 
or waiting around for a Yes or a No 
or waiting for their hair to grow. 
Everyone is just waiting. 

Waiting for the fish to bite 
or waiting for wind to fly a kite 
or waiting around for Friday night 
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake 
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break 
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants 
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 
Everyone is just waiting. 

NO! 
That's not for you! 

Somehow you'll escape 
all that waiting and staying. 
You'll find the bright places 
where Boom Bands are playing. 

With banner flip-flapping, 
once more you'll ride high! 
Ready for anything under the sky. 
Ready because you're that kind of a guy! 

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! 
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won. 
And the magical things you can do with that ball 
will make you the winning-est winner of all. 
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, 
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV. 

Except when they don't. 
Because, sometimes, they won't. 

I'm afraid that some times 
you'll play lonely games too. 
Games you can't win 
'cause you'll play against you. 

All Alone! 
Whether you like it or not, 
Alone will be something 
you'll be quite a lot. 

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance 
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. 
There are some, down the road between hither and yon, 
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on. 

But on you will go 
though the weather be foul 
On you will go 
though your enemies prowl 
On you will go 
though the Hakken-Kraks howl 
Onward up many 
a frightening creek, 
though your arms may get sore 
and your sneakers may leak. 

On and on you will hike 
and I know you'll hike far 
and face up to your problems 
whatever they are. 

You'll get mixed up, of course, 
as you already know. 
You'll get mixed up 
with many strange birds as you go. 
So be sure when you step. 
Step with care and great tact 
and remember that Life's 
a Great Balancing Act. 
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. 
And never mix up your right foot with your left. 

And will you succeed? 
Yes! You will, indeed! 
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.) 

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS! 

So... 
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray 
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, 
you're off to Great Places! 
Today is your day! 
Your mountain is waiting. 
So...get on your way! 

~ Dr. Seuss

She Who Does Not Need Wheels or Sails or Engines

I keep this book at the end of my bed to be able to easily pick it up anytime I want to fall into its web and for some reason, the cat likes to sleep near it or on top of it. Maybe she wants some roller skates. Maybe that's just me.

Have a therapeutically timeless Tuesday. Do something trueheartedly transporting.