Mushaboom

The Call

Sometime in February, while Talitha was living Olympia working on Finishing her Bachelor's Degree and I was hunkered down on the very South very Suburban very Boring side of Seattle starting a Volunteer Service Year (after quitting my Big Kid Big Stress Job), Talitha called me and out of no where spoke a few simple words that would ever so Slightly, with little notice at the time, guide us Down an Entirely New Path, "We should build a Tiny House". To which I probably responded, "A Tiny Whaaa?" or Swooned because my Partner just declared that after 2 1/2 Years together, she wanted to Build a Home with me.

Vesta - Goddess of Hearth, Home, and Domestic Tranquility.

Home has always been an Illusory Flame that we have both tried to Harness and Carry to the Hearth of our Temporary Homes (Apartments). We Paint, We Decorate, We Nest. The Home, eventually, Starts to Smell like Us, Feel like Us, and Look like Us, but it's Never Truly Ours. And while the Deeper Reasons, the Longings to have those Four Walls that are ours or the Past Disappointments around Home, are probably Best Saved for a Late Night over a Cup of Coffee or Glass of Whiskey Conversation, it has been an intimate motivator for us both to Find, Build, Create that Place where your Mind, Body, and Soul find Comfort and Warmth.

Gentrification, Rising Rent Costs, and One Hundred Thousand, Million, Trillion Dollar Houses.

On the Eve of Halloween 2013, Talitha and I were Cleaning out (another) Apartment that we were Leaving due to a Huge Rise in Rent Price. A Police Officer knocked on our Door, he let us know our Neighbor across the Hall, in our 4-Plex Building, hadn't been heard from in several weeks and family out of State were concerned. He let us know, they would be Knocking Loudly and then the Landlord would Open the Door, so they could Enter for a Welfare Check.

Our Neighbor Across the Hall, Michelle, was a very timid middle aged woman. I don't think she had many if any visitors in our year living next to her and it may have been due to a very obvious Social Anxiety she displayed while even engaged in casual Neighbor Conversation. The Last Time Talitha could recall speaking with Michelle had been several weeks Prior. Michelle had Shared with Talitha that her Unemployment Benefits were Running out, she was having difficulty Finding Work, and she couldn't Afford the New Rent Increase the Landlord had enacted. As soon as they opened th