Stray Observations

• Michigan makes me road ragey. Don't get me wrong - Atlanta traffic stressed me out a great deal when I had to drive in it every day. But moving to Asheville changed our exposure to traffic. I didn't drive much while I was on the mountain, but when I did I never felt like I wanted to kill anyone else on the road. I'm not a big fan of driving in the first place so I would often freak out when I had to drive somewhere I wasn't familiar with. Asheville is a small enough town that I've managed to learn my way around by trial and error. And even if I "error" I can manage to figure it out. Michigan, on the other hand, makes me want to hit other cars with my car. 
• Piglet is less road ragey.  Well, Piglet never drives but in the tiny house at night sometimes she would have a serious case of the crazies. We tried to take her for walks on the mountain and play with her in the house, but every night she would go a little nutty until we went to bed and then she would go to sleep. Of course, she would sleep all day too and I tried to tell her that was why she felt cooped up, but she doesn't listen to me. Now, she has room to run around and shake off some of that energy. She still sleeps all day.
• Allergies? I've always had asthma and allergies. Interestingly enough, when I was living in the tiny house everything was pretty status quo. Since moving into this room I am much more stuffed up. And, even more strange, is that my ears are plugged up every morning when I wake up. This also happened to me in the apartment in Atlanta. I think that the fresh air in the tiny house was good for me and stale air in apartments is bad. All of those insidious little things that we don't know about lurking behind the walls and in the heating ducts - I think those are what bother me. 
• Climbing the mountain was great built in exercise. This is obvious, of course, but because it was just an organic part of our day to walk to and from the house each day, often several times, it just became part of the routine. We've been trying to go for walks around here so we don't lose anything we gained.
• Michigan is very flat. I find these walks extremely easy. No huffing or puffing. No muscle tightness in my calves. The mountains and rolling hills of Western North Carolina make any walk a bit of a work out even if it is to and from the convenience store on the corner. I'm enjoying our time here, but I miss our mountain.