Author: Tammy M Cardwell

Tiny House Part 6: The Office

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

It’s probably no surprise, given I’m a writer, that the office area is the heart of my tiny home. There is so much to discuss, so many details of storage and use, that it will get more than one post.

Your first question is probably going to be about the desk. It’s not new; my son gave it to me after he inherited it from someone else. It is my absolute favorite of all the desks I’ve had through the years, and as you can assume from the fact that I’m the third owner, it’s well built. I like not having drawers beside me the way you do in traditional desks; I like to move around too much. With this layout, I don’t need them. I have plenty of storage up high and a great set of shelves that you’ll see later. When I started writing this post I thought I would be apologizing for not being able to help you find one, but I just tracked it down on Amazon! Well, I can’t guarantee it’s exactly the same desk, but it’s super close.

Made by Sauder, this L-shaped desk from the Manhattan Gate Collection is officially 58.74″D x 55.47″W x 42.52″H. Yes, I can confirm that, at nearly 60″x60″ it’s pretty big. In fact, more than one person tried to talk me into selling it and using a smaller desk instead.

I stood strong, however, especially since I not only love its functionality but absolutely adore the color (mystic oak, to be specific) and wanted it in my home. My decision has proven to be a wise one. This desk allows for a lot of storage, which we will get to, gives me room to spread out when I’m working with an assortment of references and resources, and it serves as my dinner table. I love it!

In the “office” photo, you can barely see my bed in the lower right corner. I said in a previous post that we measured everything down to the inch, and you can tell here that I wasn’t kidding. In my plan I had allowed what I figured was 1″ of wiggle room, and what I ended up with is exactly 1 1/2″ of space between my bed and desk. The desk sits a little off the wall to allow for electrical cords to drop down behind it.

I should explain the outlets. As you can see, the desk has an upper shelf. Given the probability of needing to use part of the under-desk area for storage, we decided to set the two outlets higher than usual so they would land in the gap between desk and shelf. If you’re able to enlarge the photo, you’ll see we were a little off on the left outlet. Fortunately, it’s permanently occupied by two cords and nothing is glaringly visible anyway. The other is my active outlet where I plug and unplug as needed.

The photos you see lined up on the desk ledge beside my active outlet are 5×7 prints from a cruise my sister and I took years ago. The frames are simple plastic box frames that I picked up at Hobby Lobby for next to nothing. I use the same frames, in various sizes, elsewhere in the room and you can catch a glimpse of two more in the office photo. They’re around the corner from the black and white art that hangs over my desk. One huge advantage to these frames is their weight. They all hang on pushpins.

Having aphantasia, with no visual memory of people and places, photos are important to me. I eventually want to get a digital photo frame that my kids can fill with pictures remotely. In the meantime, you’ll see several more photos as we tour my apartment. With only a couple of exceptions, I’ve been able to fill the place with personal artwork, pieces created by myself, my friends, and my family.

The black and white pictures that conveniently cover the shower access panel are two of those. That friend, Anna Davidson, is a wonderful artist who started out as an AOL online acquaintance and became much more. These are actually photocopies of old pieces of hers, but they’ve traveled with me from home to home for decades. They always make me smile as they bring back awesome memories of years spent talking, visiting each other, and writing interactive fan fiction with other close friends who lived around the country. She doesn’t have a website anymore, sadly, or I would lead you to some of her newer work.

And….this one is already getting long, so that’s it for this week. Meet me here in seven days and we’ll cover some more office ground.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

American Women: The Ladies of Philadelphia in 1780

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

THE LADIES OF PHILADELPHIA IN 1780

I have not shut mine ears to their demands,
Nor posted off their suits with slow delays.
                                                            Shakespeare

During the long war which resulted in the Independence of the American Colonies, the women all over the land were warmly interested in the condition of the soldiers, and prompt to relieve their wants when suffering. There was, at times, a sad deficiency of wearing apparel; and many are the instances in which a noble sacrifice of ease and a liberal expenditure of time and strength, were made by the ladies that this comfort might be restored to the self-sacrificing soldiers.

In 1780, the ladies of Philadelphia city and county, learning that the soldiers were in great need of clothing, sold their jewelry and converted other trinkets into something more serviceable; collected by solicitation large sums of money; purchased the raw material, plied the needle “with all diligence;” and in a short time the aggregate amount of their contributions was $7,500.*

The number of shirts made by the ladies of Philadelphia during that patriotic movement, was twenty-two hundred! These were cut out at the house of Mrs. Sarah Bache, daughter of Dr. Franklin. This lady writing to a Mrs. Meredith, of Trenton, New Jersey, at the time, says, “I am happy to have it in my power to tell you that the sums given by the good women of Philadelphia for the benefit of the army, have been much greater than could be expected, and given with so much cheerfulness and so many blessings, that it was rather a pleasing than a painful task to call for them. I write to claim you as a Philadelphian, and shall think myself honored in your donation.”

*This sum was raised in and immediately around Philadelphia. The efforts of the ladies were not, however, limited to their own neighborhood. They addressed circulars to the adjoining counties and states, and the response of New Jersey and Maryland was truly generous.

______

Excerpted from Noble Deeds of American Women
(Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls)
Edited by J. Clement
——
With an Introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney
Illustrated
BOSTON: Lee and Shepard, Publishers
Entered by Act of Congress, in the year of 1851,
by E. H. Derby and Co., in the Clerk’s Office of the Northern District of New York
______

I Don’t Believe It!

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I recently read an article by Aphantasia Network entitled “John Green Aphantasia Discovery: Shining a Light on the Mind’s Eye.” It’s a fascinating article that I highly recommend.

In the article it appears, if I’m reading a particular quote correctly, that one aphant (One who has aphantasia) firmly believes that no one can truly visualize, seeing pictures or movies in their minds, that the problem must simply be an inability to properly communicate the way our brains work.

The bottom line being that, again if I’m reading the quote correctly, because he can’t see anything, has no visual imagination at all, then no one else does either. 

When I read that part of the article, I immediately thought back to a comment on one of my earliest Facebook posts in which an “expert” assured me that aphantasia isn’t real and of course I don’t have a permanent inability to vizualize. According to that person, I simply never trained my mind, and if I were willing to put forth the necessary effort I could develop my visual imagination. I didn’t even bother to respond to her because I knew she had no idea what she was talking about. Because she couldn’t see the condition, the condition didn’t exist; she didn’t believe in it.

After that memory asserted itself, I made a random connection. This is precisely the difference between those who have a relationship with God and those who don’t believe God exists. I have a relationship with God, and I know He exists just as surely as I know I’m a five on the aphantasia scale. Those who don’t know God can, and often do, refuse to believe He exists.

Whether or not I believe something doesn’t alter truth.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I Don’t Know What to Say

Tammy M Cardwell1 Comment

It’s been quiet here, with nothing happening beyond the appearance of the posts I’d already scheduled, because I’ve had a hard time dealing with what’s going on in the Middle East, the devastation in Israel and the aftermath. I was doing ok the first few days, obviously praying up a storm, but when the photos started hitting my Telegram feed I shut down for a while; I’d had more than I knew how to deal with. And I’m not even there!

Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey. Here in the states, if we hear of 1,200 people being killed in one day we are in shock for sure. But when you compare their population to ours that’s like us losing closer to 50,000 people. Compare that to 9/11, which cost us nearly 3,000…

Again, the photos… Babies beheaded, people burned alive, rape, torture…

I’m praying. I’m praying for Israel. I’m praying for all of the innocents. I’m praying for the families that have lost so much. I’m praying for salvation on all sides. I’m praying for the world because it really looks like we could be on the verge of something worldwide.

I’ve been quiet because I don’t know what to say.
I only know to pray.

Celebrating Jesus anyway,
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 5: The Chair

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I moved with an office chair in tow. It had been serving ok, but there were some things I hadn’t considered, had failed to comprehend until I was actually living in my one-room apartment with my single chair. The reality was that in my previous apartment I’d reached the point where I hardly used it at all.

When you live in a larger home, you don’t think much about where you sit. You just get up and move if for any reason you’re uncomfortable. Without realizing why, I had taken to doing a large part of my work on the sofa. It didn’t take many days of living with my worn out desk chair to see the problem. It was wreaking havoc with my back. My budget was limited enough that I couldn’t purchase a new one right away, but that did allow me time to do the proper research.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I had a “New Apartment” wish list. (I still do, actually.) I put it to work where this chair was concerned, moving potential options onto the list and back off as I compared specs and product reviews. After many days of scouring Amazon and reading reviews, first deciding one way and then another, I finally settled on three that seemed best, and used Amazon’s feature that lets you “see” an item in your home. I quickly realized that two of the chairs I was looking at were too big for the space. That was a challenge I’d not considered, and I am grateful to Amazon for the help!

So I settled on this ergonomic office desk chair, and it was totally the right move!

There were certain things I was specifically looking for in a new chair. Clearly, I wanted quality. I also knew I needed lumbar support, preferably adjustable support, and I wanted arm rests that flipped up. This, of course, enables me to push it under the desk when I’m not using it; regaining those few square feet is a plus. Lower on my list, but still necessary, was the ability to raise and lower the seat and the option of letting the chair rock if I wanted it to. (I do. Often.)

So, the fun stuff. I’ve been putting together my own furniture for a while, simple things anyway, so I wasn’t intimidated by this project. When it arrived, the box was a little heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t carry it safely (I’m not 20 anymore.). It was packed impeccably, with every part clearly labeled with a letter (A, B, C) and it came not only with printed instructions, but directions to a YouTube video that took care of every question I could have possibly had. Bonus? Angels started singing when I pulled out the supply kit and saw a REAL allen wrench. If you’ve dealt with many self-assembly items, you’ll understand my joy. The thing has an ergonomic handle that made putting the chair together easy. I will not be loaning it out; it’s mine.

So yes, I put the chair together myself with no problems. I’d tell you how long it took, but I didn’t pay a bit of attention to that. Just know that at no point did I suffer any level of frustration.

My new chair has been a true blessing. It’s sturdy, has great casters, offers an adjustable lumbar support (See photo above.), and has those arms that swing up out of the way. It is comfortable even after hours spent hard at work doing all of the things. It’s my dining room chair. It lets me kick back while chatting on the phone. It’s great. Regardless of the hours I spend in this chair, my back is now happy.

Finding just the right chair when you’ll only have one to use is a big deal. I’m so happy I discovered the right chair on the first try!

Next week, we start discussing the center of my home: The Office.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

American Women: Elizabeth Heard

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

ELIZABETH HEARD

Kindness has resistless charms.
                                                Rochester

Why should’st thou faint? Heaven smiles above,
Though storm and vapor intervene.
                                                Park Benjamin

Mrs. Elizabeth Heard, “a widow of good estate, a mother of many children and a daughter of Mr. Hull, a revered minister formerly living at Pisquataqua,” was among the sufferers from captivity by the Indians in the latter part of the seventeenth century. She was taken at the destruction of Major Waldron’s garrison in Dover, New Hampshire, about 1689. She was permitted to escape on account of a favor which she had shown a young Indian thirteen years before – she having secreted him in her house on the “calamitous day,” in 1676, when four hundred savages were surprised in Dover.*

Having been suffered to escape, writes the Rev. John Pike, minister at Dover, to Dr, Cotton Mather, “she soon after safely arrived at Captain Gerish’s garrison, where she found a refuge from the storm. Here she also had the satisfaction to understand that her own garrison, though one of the first that was assaulted, had been bravely defended and succesfully maintained against the enemy. This gentlewoman’s garrison was on the most extreme frontier of the province, and more obnoxious than any other, and therefore incapable of being relieved. Nevertheless, by her presence and courage it held out all the war, even for ten years together; and the persons in it have enjoyed very eminent preservations. It would have been deserted if she had accepted offers that were made her by her friends to abandon it and retire to Portsmouth among them, which would have been a damage to the town and land.”

*Drake’s Indian Captivities

______

Excerpted from Noble Deeds of American Women
(Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls)
Edited by J. Clement
——
With an Introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney
Illustrated
BOSTON: Lee and Shepard, Publishers
Entered by Act of Congress, in the year of 1851,
by E. H. Derby and Co., in the Clerk’s Office of the Northern District of New York
______

Tiny House Part 4: Under the Bed

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

One of my early tasks was to figure out how to deal with those things I could not let go of, but could store – things like Christmas decorations, out-of-season clothes, and photo albums.  As I said in a previous post, I refused to keep anything that has to be stored outside of my apartment. The obvious solution was to buy a new bed frame, one that would be high enough to hide several tubs.

After reading stats and reviews of an annoyingly long list of bed frames, I finally settled on my choice and added it to my Amazon “New Apartment” wishlist. Then I took careful note of the measurements, taped off a correctly-sized area of my floor (including marking where the center support leg would fall) and started playing a game of “fit the totes.” I marked the floor because I held off on purchasing the heavy frame until I was close to moving, and I had it delivered straight to the new place.

What you see in this photo is mostly empty totes, because I hadn’t decided what would need to go in them. There are also a couple of filled totes, some absolutely essential totes (think permanent records), and a footstool that I thought I might possibly need when getting into and out of bed. This collection of tubs became a vital work in progress and a site of multiple mini-purges so that what I thought I needed to hang onto could morph into what I really could keep.

For instance, I had too many framed photos and nowhere to put them. So I pulled all photos out of their frames and set the frames aside for donation. I also went through everything in my two-drawer filing cabinet and the permanent files tote and purged those areas yet again. Some records I passed along to whichever son they actually pertained to and others, after verifying that I didn’t really need them, I shredded.

Random note. The shredder is one of the absolute necessities that traveled with me. In my tiny abode, I can’t let papers pile up; I have to deal with them. So that shredder sits plugged in and ready to chomp as needed.

When the boys put my new bed frame together for me (easy peasy), and my daughter (I don’t do in-laws. I love the daughters my sons gave me!) crawled under to settle the tubs into place, everyone was joking about how I could lease a second space under there. And they’re right. I have a massive amount stored under my bed, including a few items (Like a massage mat) that sit on top of the boxes as well as a case of water that landed where the unneeded step stool had been.

Yes, even though I chose a bed with 16″ of clearance, I am still well able to get into it unassisted. Had I thought it through ahead of time, I’d have known that, but the extra space was a bonus!

So, under my bed, there is a full art/craft tub, a tub filled with blankets and other things, an ‘office/tool” tub, a tub of out of season clothes and another of jackets and wraps, one tub of scrapbooks and another crammed with photos (I hope to share with my sons and eventually eliminate one of those), a tub of permanently-filed records, a Christmas tub that may well lose some of its contents this holiday season… I’ve lost track. Is that It?

I’m not sure, but as I packed them I put large labels on the tops and on the sides so that I can find what I need relatively easily. I’ve already pulled out a few and done some rearranging as I recognized the need for more ready access to two or three in particular.

For the record, the bed frame I bought is the HAAGEEP 18 Inch Queen Bed Frame and it is every bit as good as I expected it to be. It’s sturdy and not noisy at all. Another huge plus is that the mattress fits inside it, which means I’m not dealing with a sliding mattress. That was a common complaint in the myriad of bed frame reviews I scoured. I had considered purchasing corner guards, because one reviewer said they kept hitting their legs on the corners, but I’ve not had that issue at all.

Holy cannoli!

On a whim, I checked to see if Amazon carries my mattress, which I love, and they do! Ok, so my Nectar mattress is several years old. That means they’re not going to have the exact same one. But let me tell you, if I were in the market for a new mattress I would get another Nectar! They’re awesome and come with the best warranty I’ve ever seen in a mattress. It came in a box, delivered right to my front door. I opened it, rolled it out, let it pop up, and put it on my bed. It’s not too heavy and, though I’m sensitive to odors, I was able to sleep on it the very first night with no issues at all. So no, no offensive off gassing in my experience. Literally the only thing we dealt with was my husband thinking it was too firm. I emailed the company asking for suggestions for ways I could make it softer, because no, I had no desire to return it, and they shipped me a mattress topper, a good one, at no extra charge. Again, that was years ago and I can’t guarantee they would do the same thing today, but that’s some serious customer service!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The Aphantasia Guide

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

The above photo is from the Aphantasia Guide

I learned about aphantasia back in February when I discovered I had it. That graphic you see above? I’m a 5. I always assumed phrases like “close your eyes and imagine” and “enter the theater of your mind” were figures of speech. I had NO idea what those words meant to most of the people around me. You can read the start of my aphantasia journey in my post entitled “I Can’t Imagine.”

In my research, I discovered the Aphantasia Network, and today I received an email from them that contained a link to the Aphantasia Guide. Yes, I’m linking to it twice in one post. There’s a reason. It’s that good.

If you have recently (or not so recently) discovered that you have aphantasia, you probably have myriad questions. The Aphantasia Network has created a free guide that contains answers to those most commonly asked and links to articles that offer deeper study. It also links to online aphant hangouts like the Facebook Aphantasia Support Group.

If you know someone who has aphantasia, I encourage you to check out the guide as well. It will give you a much greater understanding of the differences between you and them. In sense, we seem to live on different planets, so understanding helps – from both sides.

It’s a fascinating study, really. God has designed our brains so precisely, and with such diversity, that it never ceases to amaze me. Am I handicapped because I have no visual imagination? Of course not; I’m just different. Frankly, I wouldn’t trade places with a non-aphant if I had the chance. That’s the honest truth.

And, just for fun, here’s a third link to the Aphantasia Guide!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

American Women: “Mother Bailey”

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

“MOTHER BAILEY”

No braver dames had Sparta,
No nobler matrons Rome.
                                    W. D. Gallagher

Anna Warner was born in Groton, Connecticut, on the eleventh of October, 1758, and married Captain Elijah Bailey of the same town, in 1774. He. participated in the hardships and dangers, and she in the trials of the struggle for Independence. He is dead; she is still living.*

She was a witness of the terrible massacre at Fort Griswold, in Groton, on the sixth of September; and the following morning she hurried off to the scene of carnage, a distance of three miles, to search for an uncle who was among the brave defenders. She found him among the fatally wounded: at his request that he might see his wife and child before he died, she ran home, caught and saddled a horse for the feeble mother, and taking the child in her arms, carried it the whole distance, that it might receive the kisses and benediction of its dying father!

In the month of July, 1813 a blockading fleet appeared off the harbor of New London; and on the thirteenth, demonstrations were noticed of an intention to attack the place. Intense excitement now prevailed not only in New London, but in all the adjacent towns. Fort Griswold was once more occupied; small cannon–all to be had — were planted, and every preparation possible was made for a vigorous defence. The greatest deficiency was in flannel for cartridges; and in the emergency a messenger was dispatched to the village to consult with Mrs. Bailey on the most expeditious method of obtaining a supply. She promptly offered to see that each family was visited, and the wants of the soldiery made known. This was done, and each individual in the neighborhood cheerfully presented her and her co-laborers whatever of the desired articles could be spared, some in garments and some in the raw material. When these were delivered to the messenger, and there was still found a deficiency, she slyly slipped an under garment from her own person and charged him to give that to the British. As the enemy did not deem it expedient to make an attack, it is difficult to tell what aid that garment rendered; nor does it matter: its patriotic surrender showed the noble spirit which has always actuated “mother Bailey,” and was an appropriation for her country which never caused her a blush. **

*We are Informed by the Postmaster of Groton, in a letter dated the tenth of December, 1850, that Mrs. B is still living, and that her mind is somewhat Impaired. She ls now in her ninety-third year. 

**The editor of the Democratic Review, to whom we are indebted for a portion of these facts, visited the heroine of Groton in the fall off 1846, in the number of his periodical for the January following spoke of her as a remarkable woman, physically, as well as mentally und patriotically. She was then eighty-eight years old, yet as agile as a girl of eighteen, and neither sight nor hearing had began to fail. “Such then,” he adds, “is Mother Bailey. Had she lived in the palmy days of ancient Roman glory, no matron of the mighty empire would have been more highly honored.” In the same article Mrs B. is spoken of as the Postmistress of Groton, an office, which the present Postmaster assures us, she never held.

Since the above was originally stereotyped, Mrs. Bailey has died. Her demise occurred in the winter of 1850-1.

______

Excerpted from Noble Deeds of American Women
(Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls)
Edited by J. Clement
——
With an Introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney
Illustrated
BOSTON: Lee and Shepard, Publishers
Entered by Act of Congress, in the year of 1851,
by E. H. Derby and Co., in the Clerk’s Office of the Northern District of New York
______

Sometimes You Just Need a Do Over

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments
Back to the Beginning

Years ago, my aunt gave me starts from my grandmother’s hen and chicks plant. That plant, which grew quite large, was my favorite of everything I had. It was the only plant I brought with me to my new place.

But on the day of the move I was tired and stupid. I parked a plant that had been inside for nearly a year outside in full sun while we were in a drought with hundred degree days. I cooked Granny’s plant.

Once things calmed down and I’d regained a few brain cells, I went outside to check it out and discovered a few (exactly 7) pieces that were still hanging on. In hopes of salvaging something, I cut them off and put them in water to hopefully root.

They did root, and today I was able to put them in this cute little planter on my window shelf. And I felt better. Granny, or the plant she nurtured, is with me again just as I’d hoped. Even better than I’d hoped, actually, because while this little planter works on my window shelf the larger plant could only be outside.

Sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we blow it so completely that we destroy something we love. But then there is grace. God cares about even the little things in my life, and though I’d personally signed that plant’s death warrant He saved part of it for me.

So…I start over. I’ll care for this new pot and get to watch my plant grow all over again, see the crazy ways it spreads out, and start new plants off fallen leaves. Grace gave me back what I’d thought completely lost and now I’m totally prepared to move on forward without feeling quite so bad about that particular mistake.

Sometimes going back to the beginning is a blessing.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C