Vanchella Vagabonds

2020: Year of the Pandemic has taught us to live in the moment and accept we are exactly where we are supposed to be. As I recently wrote to a friend, I have observed the yin-yang flow of life so much this year, seeing the poles of each situation changing and shifting. For example, it was very down that our years of retirement planning travel went up in flames this year, while it is very up that we get to 'live' in California at the beach and spend lots of time with Emily. That said, the Vagabonds are actually back on track to our initial retirement travel schedule (at least for the next couple of months), as we had intended to spend the ThanksMasEve holidays with Emily in California.  We kicked off the holiday season this weekend with Emily hosting a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Yesterday we returned to her place and put up her Christmas decorations, then headed back to ours for the annual celebration of George Harrison, watching Concert for George. Emily played along with ...

October / November 2020 Home Away From Home Prepping for this blog, I asked myself, "How exactly is tiny house defined?" The reason I began to wonder was that our current stay, at just under 600 sq. ft., doesn't feel tiny at all. In fact, if it were our 'forever home,' we could live quite comfortably in this space. I learned that a tiny house is considered one under 400 sq. ft., while a small house is considered under 1,000 sq. ft.  Two great features of this small house that I think are important in any tiny or small house are high ceilings and lots of windows. The ceilings really help create the feeling of a larger space. The only downside is the webs - cobwebs and spider webs - that we are constantly knocking down. This is the most spider-y place we have ever stayed! On the positive side, it's been great for my Seek species-identification game!       A Long-Bodied Cellar Spider and a Noble False Widow While here I have also identified: jumping spider, mous...