One Last Blast

Apparently I spoke too soon in my last post, hasty to get on with Spring in the middle of January.
Mid February has brought some really cold temps and snow, perhaps making up for the easy mild winter we were having.

It's not a lot, just a lot of days.  Lows hit 22 this week and highs are barely reaching 32, very unlike the Pacific Northwest, but becoming more common as the years pass.

So I carry on with work anyway.  I love being self employed, having your own business is very rewarding, but you do question your sanity when you're working outside at 27 degrees cleaning a clients hot tub while it's snowing.  But as good natured as I am, I laugh at the bizarre-ness of it and add it to my list of fun stories I can recount one day.

Having a car with optional all wheel drive and even four wheel drive, gives me more freedom to actually make it to my jobs in winter, however the courage to do it sometimes wanes.  Fortunately I haven't had any negative experiences yet, but have some more stories to recount about driving uphill in deep snow or downhill in a blizzard, neither of which I recommend!

When I'm at home I work for the birds, they want to be fed and have fresh water, so I keep the feeder full and take out some warm water to break up the frozen birdbath from time to time. 

If I slack off there is a particular Towhee who will fly at the window and sit on the BBQ and stare me down in the kitchen window until I hop to it.  

I keep the fire going in the wood stove almost 24 / 7 during these cold spells as the furnace was surely built for some other climate.  I sympathize with anyone who lives in a vintage trailer that has to rely on electric heat.

I was really inspired at the beginning of the year to finish the latest photo book, poetry book and to start shooting black and white film again, and I will get to them, but the inspiration is limited right now.  Extreme weather makes me uncomfortable, and it's best to just get through it, and wait till it's "normal" again, before starting new projects. 

More snow expected this afternoon but hey, at least the power is still on and I can take tomorrow off from the work that takes me away from the house.  There's another perk, you may sometimes work 7 to 10 days in a row, but when you do finally get two days off in a row?  You think you're on vacation!

Till next time~

PS:  Hey did anyone else notice?  I just hit 35,000 visits!!  Woohoo!  Thank you all for sharing my journey!

2018 Projects

Happy New Year!!

I hope this finds everyone rested and ready to head into the New Year, clean slate, refreshed and optimistic.

I made most of my resolutions and goal setting lists on the winter solstice, but have already added, subtracted, and tweaked them to fit into my overall plan:  Keep It Simple!

I have two little businesses and too many hobbies for one person so I have to stay organized and on track!  I support myself and need to make every dollar count, as well as my precious time.

My main business is Hood Canal Services which keeps me busy 5 mornings a week. I currently have three commercial cleaning accounts, basically I'm the janitor, plus one wonderful job where I am an off-sight caretaker for a vacation estate.

This is my favorite account because I get to do all the landscape maintenance and oversee other services and repairs.  I'd love to just do this kind of work, but alas times have changed and one must be diverse to stay self employed - so.....

What I'm adding to this business for 2018 is Landscape Design.  I am still in the program, but hope to graduate with a certificate in a few weeks.  

I want to focus on small spaces, natural landscaping and enhancing wildlife habit.  I have no idea how to advertise this or where the new clients will come from, but like everything else I have done, I'll just put it out there and see what happens.

In my Jewelry business I will continue to create large wearable art from metal and other natural materials.  I have been offering these on my website at www.jgray-design.com and they are available at the Fusions Art Gallery in Ocean Shores, WA. 

In 2018 more of the large pieces will only be available at galleries and I am planning to create some smaller more affordable pieces for the website.

I will continue to make handmade jewelry supplies for my other shop:  www.jgdsupplies.com .  This is where I hand dye 100% cotton fabrics and make them into scarves and ribbon.  I also make Mala tassels and offer other jewelry supplies there.

My hobbies are going to get really fun this year as I revisit Photography!  I have some new equipment that I want to experiment with, a film camera and a longer zoom lens.  I will still shoot with the digital as well.

I've been thinking about some black and white landscapes of our area and I might even delve back into people candids.

I've expanded my photography website so that I can offer all of the best images as prints and products.  You can visit there at http://j-gray.pixels.com .

Currently I have a few images there such as this one  from a photo shoot I did for a local gardener two years ago.

 I almost forgot to add that I am working on a new photo book and a new poetry book!  Due out later this year.  I still have the other books, listed on the Publications page here on the blog.

 The hobbies list got expanded, so I'm not sure if I can cover it all, but it includes learning how to make beeswax candles, learn how to do fermenting, and add more gardening space in the yard for vegetables.  

I bet you were wondering if I was going to work on the house this year.  Well yes, I need to install a window in the back bedroom and I'd like to install those insulation panels inside the skirting.  I can probably just afford to do the back end of the mobile first, later this summer, and then do more as funds allow.

I think that's plenty to cover in one year!

Hope you all are making plans that will keep you happy.

Living the Perfect Life

Finding peace and satisfaction in a stress-free quality of life. Sounds great doesn't it? Too good to be true? It's all in how you look at it.

This morning I was reading the latest blog post on Copyblogger by Johnny B Truant (here).

There was a paragraph about a guy who gave up his big city job, moved to the country, and actually made more money by working less.

It reminded me of one of the many detours I have taken off the traditional path.  I arrived in a small blue collar town full of hard working folk, still recovering from the last recession.  

I came from the big city.  I had a Liberal Arts degree with a background in art and photography, and a dream of opening an art gallery. 

While I did make an effort to fulfill that dream, after 18 months of struggling I realized I was just in the wrong place for this. 

 

I needed income and a friend suggested the cleaning business.  While not so glamorous, it was a job where I could stay self employed.  This friend became my mentor who taught me tricks and tips that wouldn't make house cleaning seem like housekeeping.  (Never underestimate the value of a mentor by the way!)

In 2 years I built my clientele up to a full time income and was able to move to a lovely rural area in lush natural surroundings.

I commuted to all my jobs but it was a different drive every day - through the countryside, or even to the next town.

I know my attention to detail, my integrity, and reliability were some of my keys to success.  I treated it like a business, and not just a job.

Even when the economy bombed I still had work, but more importantly I had the quality of life I had always dreamed of;  no stress, enough income, low overhead, because rural living is more affordable, not to mention more peaceful.  I have enough free time to continue with my art and photography as well as gardening and being outdoors in nature.

Now, 20 years later I am still supporting myself this way.  More commercial work has replaced the residential, but even the residential has evolved into cabin care-taking and landscape maintenance.  Not to say that I haven't tried replacing some income with other pursuits, I even ran a small art collective while still doing the cleaning business.

My point is that you can create your own life - whatever it is you need to feel fulfilled.

It's about being at peace, finding joy, because you live a slower lifestyle.  Enjoying better health, better relationships, more hobbies, whatever.

I own an older mobile home which I got for a steal.  My expenses are ridiculously cheap and my business overhead is low.  It really takes the pressure off my earning commitment.

I did have a plan, and I followed it.  I lived in rentals, took on extra side jobs, and even lived in a travel trailer for 9 months just so I could get into another part of the county.  It still took 2 more rentals after that before I could buy my first house on a lease option.

I'm not done yet.  I still want another house and a less physically laborious business, but I have the formula and the desire, which is all I need to get there.

You can have any lifestyle you want - but you may have to break free from traditional methods and societal expectations.

Only you know what you really want, and at the bottom of the list - or the bare-bones desire - is peace.  Isn't that the real goal?  To feel good about yourself, living the life you choose?

I look forward to your comments about this.  If you have a similar story I would love to do a guest interview about you!!