Summertime flying by

I don't think i've ever gone this long without a blog post since its inception.  Really not even a solid excuse for it either...just somehow busy.  It seems so odd that we removed 40-60 hour work weeks from our lives and yet can still find a way to be completely busy for a month on end. Its been a mixture of work and play mostly.  No one thing keeping us busy, but a million small projects and tasks and opportunities.  We pushed hard to get a few things complete on the garage before or next AirBnB guests check in.  Finished the closet and rebuilt the sliding stairs so that Karma can join us in bed.  Also raised the floor to (eventually) hold some canvases and art supplies beneath, but still have to build the drawers to get them in and out.  Gratuitous animations below...

We got a nice repeat visit from Chad and Jess just two weeks after our trip to VAN.  We can never get enough time with these two, but we'll take whatever we can squeeze in around holidays and long weekends.  Not sure they were ready for a mini heatwave in portland during their stay, but we threw the doors open and tried to cool things down in between word cup games as best we could.

I'm also still pushing things on the zenbox front.  The website is up and running but the marketing to drive traffic to it still has a long way to go.  We have had a few meet-and-greets with potential clients to see if anything meshes.

So far its been fun.  A good learning experience without too much stress on anything.  So far if we shut the doors after a year without a client I'd still be okay with it.  better yet, we could test the waters with a client or two, find out we don't enjoy the process and move on.  No harm done.  It's such a different place from the way my brain worked a few years ago.  Every single decision seemed thick with permanence.  Everything had more weight and stress behind it...and most of those decisions were far smaller than starting a new business.  Hindsight is such a beautiful thing.

This week we delivered our first official project proposal for an ADU, so we'll see where that leads us.  Even without stress its proving to be a lot of work, and it's still an interesting process with a lot of emotions putting yourself out there.  Its rather like seeing who gets picked for kickball.  Oddly, we've been playing a bit of that too.  Been heading to the park once a week to join the ADX gang in the park.  Nothing like an afternoon of playing games in the park with a group of people 15-20 years younger to keep things in priority....and kicking around a giant red ball around certainly doesnt hurt the outlook!

Last weekend was both the 4th and my birthday so in addition to other bbqs and plans we decided to host a bit of a progressive party here in SE portland.  We hopped from house to house sharing a meal/beverage at each and even found time for some badminton at the park along the way.  What an amazing and affordable way to get out and enjoy a summer day with loved ones.  Truly terrific, although i may not remember the last few stops...

I also have to give a heartfelt shout of confidence and pride out to our group of friends.  Of the 20 or so people that joined us for the progressive, no less than four people who we recently had conversations with about how they were unhappy in their jobs can no longer say that. They have each recently quit in search of something that makes them truly happy.  Most of them didn't even take months (or years) to decide...they just did it.

They took a deep breath and made a decision that the fear of the unknown has to be better than unhappiness daily.  About half the remaining group are working rapidly toward an early retirement and financial freedom that will allow them to travel and live as they choose.  Both groups are showing a lot of guts - and i'm proud of each and every one of you. Thanks for continuing to inspire us and our journey!