This Writer’s Home: Our Bungalow, What and Why

The home Marie and I built here on our mountainside property is a bungalow. No, not a dung beetle, not a buffalo, a bungalow.

log homeInitially we were certain we wanted a genuine log home, because they just look so GOOD tucked back into the woods and because their solid log walls are touted as being highly thermally efficient. So I researched the various species and shapes of logs used, construction methods, benefits and drawbacks. I read many personal tales of folks who had built a log home, what worked, what went wrong, and how they felt about it years later. In the end we abandoned the log home idea for several reasons:

Continue reading “This Writer’s Home: Our Bungalow, What and Why”

Driving Through Life

sign, paths, directions, roads, which wayLife is like driving a car.  There are many, many things vying for your attention, some of them important, some of them best ignored. Knowing which is which is key.

Among the most important is the road ahead.  Look as far down it as you can and watch for signs of trouble.  By seeing a potential problem ahead of time you can slow down, look it over, and steer around it safely.

Watch for the signs and signals posted along the way.  They are there to guide you.  When you reach a cross-road, be alert for traffic which may not yield to you, and know which way you need to turn.  Driving around aimlessly is not likely to get you to your destination.

It is good to glance in the rear view mirror from time to time to keep tabs on what’s behind you, but don’t focus on it.  Becoming fixated on analyzing the past will only blind you to what’s ahead and cause a collision with something you could have easily avoided had you been paying attention.

God is the trustworthy traffic reporter hovering high above.  He sees all the roads and crossroads, knows where the trouble is and how to get around it.  Tune Him in and He’ll advise you on how to avoid the snarls and frustrations of life.  Tune Him out and you won’t know you’re heading for trouble until you’re caught up in it with no way around.

If you remain aware of what’s behind you, but focus on what’s ahead and stay open to advice from above, life will be much more simple and you’re more likely to arrive at your chosen destination safe and sound.

Warts and All: Made a Mistake?

gavel, judge, rulingI once posted one of those step-by-step discussions of how we build a piece of furniture; the more interesting discussions from our In The Shop blog become permanent articles in the library section of our custom furniture web site.  In this episode I discovered a mistake had been made in the piece of furniture and discussed my remedy for the error.  Shortly after having posted the chapter I was hailed by a constant reader and frequent critic to ask, “Why in the world did you admit to having made a mistake?  Doesn’t that undermine peoples’ confidence in your work?”

Continue reading “Warts and All: Made a Mistake?”

Dealing with a Speed-Bump in Life

speed bump, problems, life, difficulties,It has happened to all of us; we’re cruising along the boulevard of life, one elbow out the window, our favorite happy tunes playing on the radio, hand tapping the wheel in time with the tempo.  Everything is grand, and we’re having a great time.  So great we miss the warning sign; “Bump Ahead’.  Then BAM-BAM, we’re suddenly careening along, barely hanging on as we try to slow down and get off to the shoulder so we can assess the damage.

It’s never fun to feel like the wheels have been ripped out from under you, but when it sneaks up on you suddenly, out of the blue is especially devastating.  What can you do?  How do you proceed from here?  Continue reading “Dealing with a Speed-Bump in Life”