Liam’s Expedition

Just a little reminder….  If you are feeling so inclined, the deadline for donating to my baby brother’s cross-continent, 8+ month expedition is this Wednesday, April 16.  Thank you in advance!  Here’s where you can go to offer some support:  Liam’s Super Duper Happy Fun Times.

In the meantime ~ Remember those bunnies my dad and brother have been taking on all hiking and skiing trips for the last couple of decades?  Grinny and Gwvera Lapin?  You first met them in this post.  Anyway, they are up to their old tricks, and are pretty sure Liam and his friend, Jake, aren’t the only ones who can plan a little triple-country stroll.

Well my dad, um, I mean Burt (that’s the alias you wanted me to use, right dad?  so that your professional writing career isn’t diminished with silly tales of stuffed rabbits?) recently shared a little story of how the planning is going for dear Grinny and Gwvera….

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Grinny and Gwvera decided (well actually Grinny was the one who decided; Gwvera just tags along — as usual) they were going on a grand adventure too. And THEY were going to be self-propelled as well (except for the Charlie Horse they would take over the busted bridge).

“We’re walking to New Mexico,” said Grinny.  “Any silly old person can walk to silly OLD Mexico!  Anyway Mexico’s old hat.”

Grinny hasn’t a clue where New Mexico is, never mind Mexico. It’s just that he saw the name on a mango and thought it sounded a good place to go, since mangoes are his favourite vegetable. (I’ve tried explaining that mangoes are fruit — but it’s hopeless) Then he saw Ecuador on a banana and said they definitely weren’t going there. He HATES bananas, he says they remind him of unripe carrots–those are the green ones he sees in the shops here, before they gas them. (The bananas, that is.)

A well-wisher — was it his brother Liam? — sent him a hat for the trip: If the hat fits, wear it, said the kindly note . . .  Grinny said it did, without a shadow of a doubt.  And it would keep them jolly warm, to boot, and save taking jumpers (for our American friends, aka sweaters).

They left on the Moon of the Falling Leaves, and it took them three days just to get to Mr. Kimbowsarbee’s who lives on the edge of town. Already Gwvera’s feet were killing her. Grinny said he’d kill her if she didn’t shut up.

“We’ve got to be brave,” he said. Then he slipped on a yellow banana skin (how inconsiderate people are, eh?) and cried like a baby; and then had to go to the doctor’s and get a mustard poultice on his left toe so he could get to New Mexico. (Huh! some hope.)

The way his toe’s swollen up he can’t even get his hiking boot OFF!  Grinny refused to have the doctor cut off the boot since it was the one and only one he had.  Yes, he was only wearing the one boot; he got them on lay-away and could only afford the left one before they left. So the eBay seller refunded half his money and said if it’s alright he’d keep the right one for when he came back.

So Doc put the hot poultice on the boot, hoping for the best.

Gwvera blames the hat for the accident.

“Rubbish!” says Grinny. “I didn’t trip on the hat; I tripped on the bloomin’ banana. Duh!  If it had been the proper colour I’d have seen it.”  (Rabbits are colour-blind; just another example of Grinny talking through his hat.)

Those who bet they WON’T make it can send a dollar, two dollars, ten dollars — as much as they like — to Grinny’s post office box, since he’ll be completely destitute — and broke — after this trip.

Those who bet they WILL make it — well you won’t get a hat since Grinny doesn’t knit. But he might send you a postcard with nothing on it (he can’t write since he had the accident; no, another accident he had when he was employed as a lumberjack and short-order cook — but that’s another story) to prove he got THERE (???).  Don’t be at all surprised if the post card comes from the Yukon, since the last I saw of the two Lapins they were heading in a northerly direction because his World Famous compass is busted. It was in his vest pocket when he slipped on the banana….

The Lapins. Contemplating life. And lunch.

Rebecca Knabe.  And Burt.

Four Years

 

Four years is a relatively long time.  It’s enough time to graduate from college, or give birth to two separate elephants (although I would only recommend this if you were an actual elephant).  It is also the length of time I’ve lived in the pink trailer.  And that is the longest I have lived in any home, other than the one in which I grew up.

There have been ups and downs in my little portable palace, but overall, it’s been a good time.  And it has been a great life lesson.  Here is what I’ve learned:

Less is more.  Living in a tiny space forces you to keep only essentials.  This means I have fewer clothes, shoes, keepsakes, mementos, and furniture.  But it also means that the things I do have, I love!  It is very satisfying to love all the things you see in your home.  And when you fall out of love with a certain item, or curtain, or whatever it may be, then you can replace it with a new love.

Don’t always feel like you deserve better.  I’m not taking about sociological or psychological behavior – of course nobody deserves to be abused or anything like that.  What I’m talking about is the way advertisers love to tell you, “You deserve the best!”  “You’re worth it!”  “Get the ____________ that you deserve.”  These slogans are out there, not to remind you that as a human you should hold your head up high and realize you are special, but to sell you crap you don’t need.  To make you believe your life will be better if you have newer things, a faster car, a bigger house.  But all these things often just lead to a larger debt.  So if piles of bills is your thing, then by all means, you deserve to go and max out your credit cards.  But if a happy life is your thing, realize that the size or grandiosity of your home is no reflection of what is in your heart.

Contentment is key.  I have an uncle who is an atheist, and we were at lunch together a few years ago when the host prayed before the meal.  One of the things he prayed for was to be content with what he had.  Although he is non-religious, my uncle was very impressed with that thought, and decided to remind himself of that idea regularly.  To be content.  The desire to keep up materially and economically with those around you will literally drive you crazy.  Learn to accept what you have, as well as your situation.  Reuse your things, fix stuff that breaks, and feel the beauty that comes with feeling satisfied with what you have.

Keep your eye simple.  This means don’t complicate your life with acquisitions.  Yes, sometimes it would be really fun to own a boat and a quad and a dirt bike and a snowmobile and a….  But all those things need maintenance and time, and honestly, how much would I use them?  It’s the same with a home – a guest bedroom would be great, and an extra room for a ping pong table, and a space for a big dining room table for large formal dinner parties, and a separate living room and family room which would be great for entertaining….  But, honestly, would the number of times a year I would have an out-of-town guest or a formal dinner party really be worth all the extra money I would have to pay for a place big enough to support those moments?  For some people it would be worth it, but not for me.

Swallowing your pride isn’t as bad as you’d think.  My neighbor, Natasha, and I were roommates long ago – back in the 20th century – and we often laugh about how our 20something selves would be horrified that our 30-40something selves are living in a trailer park.  We were too proud.  And we were too worried about what others may think.  Now?  We realize that choosing to live the way we do has nothing to do with being “trailer trash,” but how we want to spend our time and money.  And it has a lot to do with our own creativity.  It’s much easier (and takes way less time, money, and effort) to renovate and re-renovate a trailer than it would a stick-built home.

Success in life has nothing to do with stuff.  I work at an estate planning law firm, and regularly meet with clients who have more stuff than they can list or remember.  They are busy trying to decide who will get the stuff they’ve forgotten they have when they die.  Sometimes they like to micro-manage their assets from the grave.  Often they have a larger retirement account than they do a measure of happiness.  And that is sad.  Focus on your quality of life, rather than your quantity of stuff, and when you die those around you will be so sorry to see you go, rather than kinda excited at the prospect of inheriting your junk.

So that’s some of the stuff I’ve learned.  A lot of it I knew, but putting it in action is much more monumental.  And most of those points are generally related.  Basically, be happy with what you have, don’t long for what you don’t.  Live small.

Puffins are happy just hanging out. I should be too.

Rebecca Knabe

The Top 5 Things That Don’t Fit in My Trailer

1.  Secretariat.  Sure that Triple Crown Racehorse was only 5’6″, but he weighed nearly 1,200 lbs.  Sometimes during exceptionally vigorous P90X workouts, I worry that I will break through my floorboards.  And, thankfully, I weigh vastly less than that giant fella.  And horses smell bad.  And have freakishly large heads.  Terrifying.

2.  Shaquille O’Neal.  At 7’1″ he won’t fit.  An inch too tall for trailer living.  But it’s ok, because I don’t really know the rules of basketball, and I’m sure he doesn’t really know the rules of trailers, so it’s unlikely we have much in common.

(He’s the tall guy in the back)

3.  Thailand’s Largest Reclining Buddha, Phra Buddhasaiyas, at Wat Pho.  Not only would it be impossible to get the 150 foot long, 45 foot high statue inside my home, I think the multiple plane tickets needed to get that thing a flight from Bangkok to Reno would be pretty cost prohibitive….

(He’s the long guy in the back….)

Pretty hard to get a decent photo of this gigantor.

4.  The Duggar Family – Jim Bob and Michelle, and their 19 reality-TV-darling offspring.  Technically, they could probably fit.  I’ve had parties with more than 21 in attendance.  But why would anyone want 19 children in a single-wide trailer.  That would just be stupid.

5.  The Z Gallerie Conversation Pit.  9 1/2 feet wide, and 6 1/4 feet long.  Granted, my trailer is 10 feet wide.  But that is the outside measurement.  So if you factor in a few inches of non-existent insulation, baseboards, and the weird thingies that jut out from my windows, there’s no way you could squeeze in that couch.  It also costs nearly as much as I paid for my house, so there’s that.  However, it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever set my tush on, so perhaps I should just sell my place and live on the Conversation Pit.

Rebecca Knabe

Where Have I Been?

I don’t really have a good answer.  The best I can come up with is that I’ve been tired….  I know, that’s a terrible response.  But I’m back, and have a bunch of pictures of the stuff that’s been keeping me busy (and tired) for the last 2 months.

I helped this wonderful couple, and two of my favorite friends, celebrate their 10th anniversary:

Then I watched the Sierra Nevada mountains go from this….

…to this:

I also had a myriad of visitors!  Some stayed with me in the pink trailer, and some did not.  Some were invited, and others, not so much….

Cassi’s best friend, Bella. Cassi and I, and Bella and her mama, Shawn, all lived together in Bend, Oregon in 2003/04.

A great night out with Shawn & Steve, visiting from Oregon.

Dannica (we have been best friends for nearly 40 – ugh! – years) visited from Kelowna, BC for our annual super-happy-fun-extra-long-weekend-and-Black-Friday-shopping-extravaganza.

Next, my sweet sister-in-law, Sierra, visited during the coldest few weeks of the year.

My favorite fella, John, visited from upstate New York for a few weeks.

And I can’t forget Joey, my frequent uninvited guest, who loves to rub his hairy butt all over my bedding. Good thing I’m allergic to cats….

With all the extra days off during the holidays, I had a few sleepovers at friends’ houses.  Conveniently also during some very cold days and nights.

Here, all are participating in a community napping session.

New Year’s Eve was spent trading makeup and falling asleep before 11:00 with these two beauties.

I nearly froze to death, on a couple of occasions.  On nights like this, living in an un-insulated trailer feels like barely a step up from being homeless.  But I’ve managed to figure out a system with my space heaters that prevents my pipes and I from freezing solid in the night (even when the temps hit 0F/-18C), without blowing a fuse, and while keeping my electric bill under $200.

Even on bright sunny days, the pink trailer was home to many icicles.

Beautiful icicles flanking the laundry room of a local trailer park.

Then my friends let me babysit.  Although “let me” doesn’t sound quite right.  I wasn’t exactly begging to do it….  But remember the 10th anniversary friends up above?  As part of my anniversary gift to them, I bought them a movie date and offered to babysit.  It was my first babysitting in a couple of decades.  No one died, no one pooped, and we only had one crier, so all in all, a pretty successful evening….

I have also been spending a little time at a great new local coffee shop, Coffee Bar….

…where Marty McFly’s De Lorean was recently parked:

And finally, I had a fantastic long weekend in Vegas (one of my favorite cities to visit), catching up with friends and family:

Wearing blue to Blue Man Group.

Enjoying The Strip at night.

Watching the Bellagio fountains, Ocean’s Eleven style.

Beautiful Red Rock Canyon.

The breathtaking Nevada desert.

So that’s a little of what I’ve been up to, while being the world’s most neglectful blogger.  I promise to be better.  I promise.  🙂

Rebecca Knabe

5 Small Space Reminders

Yesterday morning’s Daily Shot With Ali Wentworth on Yahoo was an interview with Maxwell Ryan, the Apartment Therapy blog guy.  He gave 5 quick tips for thriving in a small space, and he reminded us, “It’s not the square footage that makes it feel small, but a sense of smallness, or the way your eye moves about the room.”

1.  Have breathing room.  If your book shelf holds 30 books, only put 25 on it.  Don’t fill it up.  Declutter.

2.  Lighting.  There needs to be 3 points of light in every room.  Your eye removes shadowed areas, so to see the entire room, it needs to be lit.

3.  Add some color to white paint to bring a soft hue into your room.  Light colors expand and dark colors contract, so using an “off-white” paint brings in light and color.

4.  Take doors off whenever possible.

5.  Add vertical elements to accentuate height.  Use floor to ceiling elements, like curtains or bookshelves to draw the eye up.

See the whole interview here.

Rebecca Knabe

 

Sunrise at Virginia Lake

Early October saw some truly awesome sunrises at Virginia Lake.  It’s like a reward for getting up before the sun, and a motivation to do it again soon.

It looks like the ducks are enjoying the scenery too.

Rebecca Knabe

Autumn

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.

~ George Eliot

*****

I have a love/hate relationship with autumn.  I love the intense color and beauty of the season.  But it is also the threshold to winter and cold, and the pink trailer and I aren’t as happy during those months.

But for now let’s just enjoy the lovely parts of this time of year….

Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky in morning, sailors’ warning.  This time of year, red sunrises are sure to mean a blustery day.

But there are some spectacularly clear days too.

Leaves and grasses give us one bright splash of color before hiding away for the rest of the year.

Happy Autumn!

Rebecca Knabe

 

Lake Tahoe Half Marathon Round 2

September was a busy running month for me.  Two weeks after the Emerald Bay trail run I found myself doing this.

Last year I ran the Lake Tahoe Half Marathon, and this year I decided to do it all over again.  This was my fourth half marathon.  And while I didn’t do my personal best time, I improved my time greatly from last year, and I completed the race with much less difficulty than usual.  So woohoo!

The race wasn’t complete without a piper to start it all off….

The first big challenge was the aptly named Hill From Hell.  500 foot elevation gain in 2 miles.  UGH!

But another visit with the piper was enough to keep me going.

The scenery was lovely as always as well.

And the best part of all?  When it was finally all over.  🙂

Rebecca Knabe

Emerald Bay Trail Run

On September 14th I ran my first ever trail race.  It was a lovely 7.5 miles around Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe.  The race was quite challenging, but absolutely beautiful.  And any race that offers free beer at the finish line is a great race in my books.

The early drive up to Tahoe was well worth the lack of sleep, as I got to enjoy the stunning sunrise.

The starting line remained elusive until the last few minutes before the race began.  Many of us were wandering around the general area where we thought the race would probably begin when a truck pulled up, a man got out, and drew the official starting line on the road with a piece of chalk.

I had never seen Emerald Bay from lake level before, as the road that winds around it is several hundred feet above the shore.  So this was a real treat.

When I wasn’t distracted by the beauty of the lake, I was enjoying the interesting rock formations, and the even more interesting rock art.

While I certainly didn’t finish first in the race, I didn’t come in last and I didn’t get lost or fall over.  Success!

Rebecca Knabe

Guess Where I’m Going Tomorrow….

I’ll give you one guess….

Rebecca Knabe