"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." - John Steinbeck

From a friend's Facebook page.

After working at the coffee shop for a couple of hours I spent the day in Fred's loft. Got almost all of the paneling and insulation out and old electrical removed. I uncovered more wildlife, including some of the four legged variety. But in a furious game of Whack-A-Mouse I dispatched four of the five that came scrambling out of that far corner when I pulled off the insulation. That last guy escaped to the lower level where I'll eventually get another opportunity.

We have a couple of businesses in Eugene we want to check out. One carries a whole bunch of architectural salvage and may have the barn wood I can use in Fred, and another will have the parts I need to fix my pancake compressor. So Monday will be a "field trip" day. That works especially well because the forecast calls for a 100% chance of rain with over an inch accumulating throughout the day.

We watch quite a bit of HGTV because some of the shows are engaging (Fixer Upper, Property Brothers, Tiny House Nation), and we get ideas for what follows MoHo. I've also learned the term en suite. It's a fancy way of saying master bath. I guess real estate agents like it because it sounds classier.

A few years ago I saw a segment (60 Minutes?) that included an interview with a soldier in Afghanistan. I don't remember the specifics, but some important military effort had gone well despite the need for major last minute changes to the plan. The interviewer asked the soldier how she responded to the need for battlefield improvisation and she said something that stuck with me.
"I learned a long time ago, never get married to your plan." 
That's life wisdom right there! Planning is is good, but insisting on sticking to the plan despite unforeseen realities doesn't make sense. And life guarantees unforeseen realities.

Pam asked me the other day if I'd ever considered getting a mobile home instead of building a tiny house. Uhm...no, not really. I had in my head that all mobile homes are like MoHo - poorly built, cheaply furnished (cabinets, flooring, etc.), not customizable, and pretty close to the same cost. Turns out Pam had done some online research and thought they might be a reasonable alternative and save us significant money.

Don't get married to your plan.
So I did some online research, too, and that may indeed be an option. They still make single wides that would come in at about the same square footage we're looking at, and I'm told they can be fitted with whatever cabinets, counter tops, flooring, etc. you want. The sites don't give much pricing info, probably because of the variations possible, but the "from $xx,xxx" figures suggest it might be significantly cheaper. Transport and setup costs have to be added in, but Robbie (the owner of the coffee shop) says she has a friend here in Veneta who does that and might well give us a deal. Hmmm.
So one of these days when we need a more extended field trip we'll drive up to the Albany/Salem area where several dealers are located.

The best news of my day came early this morning when I read online that my friend who recently had surgery got a call from her doctor yesterday to tell her test results found no evidence of any cancer anywhere. That's HUGE for someone who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. The holidays will be especially happy for that wife & mother, and for her family.
Outstanding.
T'ank you, Fadder.