Seth is currently completely obsessed with the 'Tiny House' movement. He relentlessly tries to convince Craig and I that we should be downsizing and opting to live in a tiny house. Craig tells him that we did once live in a tiny house when we bought our first home, and that it was cramped and that he has just forgotten what that felt like because he was tiny himself back then. Our first house was definitely not a tiny house, however in comparison to where we live now it would seem small. We did have to renovate the crap out of our first home to make it larger and more accomodating for our expanding family needs, and even after we had stretched it to its absolute limits, it just wasn't big enough for our family anymore. However, that doesn't mean that we won't need to downsize sometime in the future, but Seth wants to live in a tiny house right now.
Now I don't want to deter my son's ambitions to be more environmentally sound and eco-friendly, but there are a few obvious problems with Seth wanting to live in a tiny house in the future, the first being his size. Seth is clearly going to be bear-man when (or if) he ever stops growing. My side of the family is known for being a sturdy bunch and Craig's side is all height, put those two body types together and add a lot of man hair to that, and you have something that resembles a bear on its hind legs. He is already way taller than me now and he is only 13. These proportions are going to present more than their fair share of problems for Seth in a tiny house, but this has not deterred him.
The other problem with Seth's tiny house concept is where his tiny house will live, which I can answer immediately, our backyard! I have visions of Seth squeezing himself onto a tiny porch every night in our backyard to go to bed, which in reality will not be downsizing at all, it will be expanding. There is more than enough space here for him in the house, adding another tiny house to our land will not be downsizing! I see the logic in this, unfortunately he does not.
If it was mobile and he could travel with it, that I could understand but to build another smaller house off the size of our already adequate house seems ridiculous to me.
I think that he may just be attracted to the idea of a glorified cubby or tree house if I am being honest about it. As a small child Seth loved to make blanket forts and would hide away for hours under a blanket tossed over a clothes horse or sit in a one man tent with Zoe listening to stories. He has always loved confined spaces and we spent hours extracting from him from under tables and things that he had got himself stuck in as a child, and maybe that longing for small spaces has just never gone away for him.
I do totally concur with him on the carbon footprint thing though, a tiny house is so much better for the environment and so much cheaper to manage overall, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't love the amount of space that we have out here and that I have grown quite accustomed to a palatial lifestyle. However, in growing accustomed to certain privileges, one must also be responsible for them and Craig and I are both really serious about our impact on the environment. We have put in solar panels as a means of generating green energy and reducing our footprint out here and we do recycle diligently and compost all of our green waste which goes back into feeding our own vegetable patch and garden beds. We use tank water 95% of the time and use grey water on gardens where we can. We reuse everything, only buy or replace things when it absolutely necessary and we never waste food or other precious resources. But who knows, maybe in the future there will be ways to be even more environmentally friendly without having to compromise on life's luxuries or the feeling of having space. I know that I would certainly be all over that.
Now I don't want to deter my son's ambitions to be more environmentally sound and eco-friendly, but there are a few obvious problems with Seth wanting to live in a tiny house in the future, the first being his size. Seth is clearly going to be bear-man when (or if) he ever stops growing. My side of the family is known for being a sturdy bunch and Craig's side is all height, put those two body types together and add a lot of man hair to that, and you have something that resembles a bear on its hind legs. He is already way taller than me now and he is only 13. These proportions are going to present more than their fair share of problems for Seth in a tiny house, but this has not deterred him.
The other problem with Seth's tiny house concept is where his tiny house will live, which I can answer immediately, our backyard! I have visions of Seth squeezing himself onto a tiny porch every night in our backyard to go to bed, which in reality will not be downsizing at all, it will be expanding. There is more than enough space here for him in the house, adding another tiny house to our land will not be downsizing! I see the logic in this, unfortunately he does not.
If it was mobile and he could travel with it, that I could understand but to build another smaller house off the size of our already adequate house seems ridiculous to me.
I think that he may just be attracted to the idea of a glorified cubby or tree house if I am being honest about it. As a small child Seth loved to make blanket forts and would hide away for hours under a blanket tossed over a clothes horse or sit in a one man tent with Zoe listening to stories. He has always loved confined spaces and we spent hours extracting from him from under tables and things that he had got himself stuck in as a child, and maybe that longing for small spaces has just never gone away for him.
I do totally concur with him on the carbon footprint thing though, a tiny house is so much better for the environment and so much cheaper to manage overall, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't love the amount of space that we have out here and that I have grown quite accustomed to a palatial lifestyle. However, in growing accustomed to certain privileges, one must also be responsible for them and Craig and I are both really serious about our impact on the environment. We have put in solar panels as a means of generating green energy and reducing our footprint out here and we do recycle diligently and compost all of our green waste which goes back into feeding our own vegetable patch and garden beds. We use tank water 95% of the time and use grey water on gardens where we can. We reuse everything, only buy or replace things when it absolutely necessary and we never waste food or other precious resources. But who knows, maybe in the future there will be ways to be even more environmentally friendly without having to compromise on life's luxuries or the feeling of having space. I know that I would certainly be all over that.
DOWNSIZING
Release Date: 2017
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 134 mins
Unfairly slammed by critics, this latest installment from one of my personally favourite directors Alexander Payne, is an enjoyable and thought provoking watch. Who doesn't want to reduce their carbon footprint and get rich in the process? Downsizing tackles issues relating to the environment and human sustainability in a refreshingly fun way, so don't be deterred by the scathing reviews that it received.
Scientists have discovered a way to shrink genetic and plant matter down to tiny proportions, making it possible for people to live more sustainable and eco-friendly lives. Paul (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) have decided to abandon to their 'big' lives and try 'downsizing' for themselves.
The tone and pace of the story does change quite a bit during this movie, so what starts out as an amusing traipse through the pitfalls and benefits of downsizing turns into a thought provoking moral tale about life choices and love. Does that it make it bad? Not in my eyes it doesn't, but it could explain people's frustrations with the film.
Matt Damon is really good at portraying everyday people and he brings a lot of believability to the character of Paul. Hong Chau, although sporting one of the worst Vietnamese accents that I have ever heard, portrays one of the sweetest characters to ever grace the screen and she is just a joy to watch. Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig also deliver strong support to what is essentially a very original and enjoyable quirky tale.
FINAL SAY: When you know death comes soon, you look around things more close.
3 Chilli Peppers
Release Date: 2017
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 134 mins
Unfairly slammed by critics, this latest installment from one of my personally favourite directors Alexander Payne, is an enjoyable and thought provoking watch. Who doesn't want to reduce their carbon footprint and get rich in the process? Downsizing tackles issues relating to the environment and human sustainability in a refreshingly fun way, so don't be deterred by the scathing reviews that it received.
Scientists have discovered a way to shrink genetic and plant matter down to tiny proportions, making it possible for people to live more sustainable and eco-friendly lives. Paul (Matt Damon) and his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) have decided to abandon to their 'big' lives and try 'downsizing' for themselves.
The tone and pace of the story does change quite a bit during this movie, so what starts out as an amusing traipse through the pitfalls and benefits of downsizing turns into a thought provoking moral tale about life choices and love. Does that it make it bad? Not in my eyes it doesn't, but it could explain people's frustrations with the film.
Matt Damon is really good at portraying everyday people and he brings a lot of believability to the character of Paul. Hong Chau, although sporting one of the worst Vietnamese accents that I have ever heard, portrays one of the sweetest characters to ever grace the screen and she is just a joy to watch. Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig also deliver strong support to what is essentially a very original and enjoyable quirky tale.
FINAL SAY: When you know death comes soon, you look around things more close.
3 Chilli Peppers
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