When I began this blog, or at least when the original concept for the blog came to me
(well over a year and a half ago now), I was extremely passionate about what it was that
I wanted to do, that I had something relevant to say, something that I believed would
interest, and perhaps even inspire readers (my mom, my sister, and best friend at first,
and then perhaps if I was right...in time...maybe, even a few strangers).
Inspiration first came when Jeff and I were living in a 90+ year old cabin in the middle
of the San Juan Mountains just outside Telluride, Colorado. The cabin was charming
and quirky, and was exactly what we were looking for. We knew it was going to be much
different from anything we were used to, a little harder, and liked that about it.
Jeff split wood while I would stack it (he would later re-stack it because he is a
perfectionist, which is one of the things that I love about him), we burned the wood for
heat, and we made everything from our bread to the cat's food ourselves (in part as a
conscious decision, and in part because the nearest mini market was an hour round trip
drive in the snow, and four hours round trip to the grocery store). Trash collection was
minimal, and so we reused and re-purposed absolutely everything. We didn't have TV, and
did not get cell reception. We did have internet, but it was spotty due to winter storms,
so mostly we didn't have internet. This was an incredible life experience, and a test
of what it means to live simply (hence the name of the blog).
The cabin was the first place that Jeff and I lived together, the place where we learned
so much about ourselves, and one another, the place where our daughter Lola was
conceived (no TV, no internet, barely any heat...we had to do something) and
a place that we both loved (I can say love now, because distance in time affords
you the benefit of nostalgia).
Since the first concept for this blog came to me, many many things have changed in my
life (having a baby, moving across the county, the decision to pursue a career as an art
teacher, and quite honestly a better understanding of blogs), and as a result so then will the
content of the blog, although my original concept of living simply, creating by hand, seeing
beauty in flaws, and striving to make the world a bit of a better place environmentally,
socially, and aesthetically both locally and globally remain.
I imagine that as I now start posting regularly (something that I have not been able to
do until now) I will start with the present, and occasionally tell you some of our wild
stories of life in the mountains (like the time that we had a sheet of ice coating
the entire inside of the exterior wall in the kitchen, or when I stepped in snow in bare feet...in the living room, or how we hiked on snow shoes several miles into the woods during
a blizzard to cut down our own Christmas Tree...and then had to drag it back out...with the ropes we intended to use forgotten on the porch). The truth is, I intend to allow "Simply Living" to take on a life of it's own, and allow it to grow as it does. No formula, no strict schedule, just aspirations of fantastic blogging, and simply living of course.
