My mind is full.
It has been for quite some time. 

I have wanted
at several points 
to stop and write.

I wouldn't know what to write
the few times that I really thought about it.

It never went to the point of 
ACTUALLY
sitting down and writing. 

I have written, though.
Songs
Poems
Thoughts

But today I'm sitting down again.
Many things to reflect upon.
Many things have gotten done.
And learned.

Give yourself to the rain when it falls
Give yourself to the wind
Go with it
Blow through the bright dark
Green light on trees
Listen to the rain
Again--through sleep
Dream of it
Brace nothing against it
Safe in your bed
Listen
And give yourself to the rain
When it falls down.

​-by Margaret Wise Brown

There are times that life moves on with the wind at your back, gently guiding you and sending you in the right direction. And sometimes that wind swirls and gusts all around; toppling and crashing down the life that you know. 

The rain has returned to us here in Vermont. We have endured a lot of rain this spring, bringing green and growth to the natural world. Our life here at Tiny House has oddly paralleled these spring rains; it feels like we have had a lot of rain falling down around us these last couple of months. Unexpectedly. Our life - both the present and the anticipated life - falling down. 

And so we return from a whirlwind weekend that contained a trip back home, a family funeral, a door that closed, and an old possibility blown our way yet again. And what else can one do on a cold, rainy day, but follow the wise words of Margaret Wise Brown, and hope for the same green growth that the natural world receives.

​Give yourself to the rain.
​-Becky j

Have you ever seen those signs placed around people's homes that say something about friendship being cheaper than therapy, or something like that?

Today I am thankful for the company that accompanied my morning coffee.

Let me explain.

This morning our youngest child tumbled down our steep, 14-step flight of stairs. If we want to point fingers, it was my fault for walking away from her at the top. That was a pretty rough start to our week. After a long weekend and a week prior to that full of deliberating over a humongous life decision that is of course becoming more complex ...which always leaves me feeling unsettled in my everyday, ordinary, present day reality that hasn't actually changed yet, and may not actually change, but still, the theoretical change gets to me.

I started out the day in this state. Then Anna stopped by with her kids, to play and sit down in my kitchen with me. She asked questions, she followed up, she shared her own stories, she offered advice, she encouraged. But most of all, she just listened. You know what happens when someone actually listens. You feel it. I know I did today. I am still in it, but I feel lighter. 

​So, may this be a lesson to us all.
​Let's remember to Listen.
Thanks Anna!
-Becky j

Everybody ready for another tiny tip to help improve your coffee drinking life? 

Tiny Tip #2 is simple:  Taste your coffee. 

What? you might ask. Yep, I really mean it. 

Pause. In other words, slow down, breathe, pay attention. 

I know that coffee is a substance we often consume prior to our mental and physical faculties operating at full capacity, and I am not expecting you to be mindful of every sip you take, but still, go ahead and give it a shot. It will be worth it. 

Whether it is for a brief moment at the beginning of your morning cup, or it is five whole minutes you have carved out of your afternoon, take time to taste the beverage in your hand. To feel it in your mouth, to notice the flavors as they present, and to think about what you are drinking. Ahh...and don't forget to enjoy.

Tomorrow, repeat. And see what happens from there.
-Becky j

Tiny House Manifesto

The purpose of tiny house living is purpose.
You are giving yourself boundaries 
In a world that currently has none.

Why not simplicity?
Why not "Enough is Enough"?
The wisdom of the ages.

And how hard is it 
to keep up in the life we are given here?

Make it small.
Give it purpose.
Overflow.

To live in Lush Poverty,
to shrink down into a life of scale

Where things come back to you
things that you worked hard for
And they mean more

Living
planting seeds
seeing what returns.

I am missing you today, my fellow Tiny House Coffee drinkers. I intend to check in now and again to share a simple, and yet helpful, tip. About coffee, coffee brewing, coffee drinking, or anything else in life that seems worthy of sharing through this format.

Here goes Tiny Tip #1. This one has to do with storing your coffee beans. 

Upon receiving your Tiny House Coffee beans in the mail and opening up the familiar flat-rate USPS  box, you pause to breathe in the smell of freshly roasted coffee and then you search for scissors to cut open the bag. At this point you excitedly begin to brew yourself a cup of coffee, or, you may desire to do that, but feel like it is too late in the day for another cup of coffee. You will just have to wait until tomorrow morning to taste these new beans. What do you do with your beans until then?

Sealed storage. Use a mason jar. Or another airtight, sealable container. This maintains the freshness of the beans as long as possible, which leads to a better and more flavorful cup of coffee for you to drink. Why? 

Beans lose freshness because of the movement of moisture. Because of this, you want your beans to be in a stable environment. The best place is on the kitchen counter in an airtight, sealable container. If it is going to be a while before you use your new bag of beans, like more than 2-3 weeks from now, the best place to store coffee is in the freezer, because it prevents the movement of moisture. 

Ultimately, buy fresh beans and in a quantity that you can keep drinking fresh.

That's my Tiny Tip for today. Hope it is helpful.
-Becky j

You don't have to live in a tiny house to be a part of the tiny house movement. Maybe you watched a movie about tiny houses, or met somebody who built a tiny house, or even just sort of heard about someone who is living in a tiny house. That's okay, you can belong.

The tiny house movement is more like a state of mind than an in-group. It's a beautiful and creative response to a predicament that has consistently offered us unattractive choices. We don't want this option and we definitely don't want that option. A tiny house is both/and. It is thinking outside the box. It is continuing the conversation. It is using our imagination. It is adapting to the changing world around us. It is living within our means. It is focusing on what is important. It is an opportunity to live out what we believe. 

I hope this is just the beginning.


So, what do you think? You in? 
Join.

-Becky j

Last night we packaged up our September coffee bean orders and sent all of the boxes on their merry way today via gool 'ol USPS. It felt significant, like we had achieved some sort of mile marker in this Tiny House Coffee business endeavor together. Our 13th month of sending out coffee to our friends and family from our new location in Vermont. Our 13th Tiny House Coffee bean's introduction, which also lined up to be the 100th batch of Tiny House beans roasted on Charlotte, the nickname of our roaster purchased almost two years ago. 

This has been fun. We are still doing it. We enjoy the work, almost all of the time. The choosing & ordering, the roasting & profiling, the drinking & tasting, the talking, and of course, the sewing and bagging and taping and stickering. It has been a consistent part of our journey as we have gone through the changes and growth of our family; almost become another member of the family. Moving away from living on a college campus means we have said goodbye to daily check-ins from friendly neighbors and looked elsewhere for the companions to our everyday lives. So, no more midnight next-door neighbors. Hello, Tiny House Coffee.

Thank you, thank you to all of our faithful coffee subscribers, to those of you who open up our small flat-rate boxes in the middle of every month and stop to brew and drink and enjoy the coffee we choose to send you.  And those of you who send us a shout to place the occasional orders, we love hearing from you too. Thanks for helping us stay connected to you and your people in tangible and constructive ways, one deliciously caffeinated cup at a time. We love doing this. 

-Becky j

Tonight is quiet in our house.
The kids are sleeping.
All the busy conversations
and check-ins are done.
The kitchen has been cleaned
and the house has been swept.
I'm thinking about budgets and numbers.
Becky's in the other room changing over the laundry and making tea.

And when I stop and listen
sitting here 
there is so much life out my open window.
So much life.

There are these moments.
Like the wind running  into our home
across my legs
while the moon is setting up the hill 
that snap me back 
and make me realize:
yes
I am here
these things are happening
this endless world is turning.
And I am not the cause or the center.

Everything Everything 
all by itself.