Ever since I stopped working for someone else (35 years ago) I've chosen to work at home. We did travel great distances to do murals and many large projects for a number of years, which was quite the adventure on most occasions. The rest of the time I worked from the house with my studio in the basement early on. Later we built custom houses with a studio planned into the main floor plan as I liked to have an office with a window - preferrably with a view. I didn't even have to put on a pair of shoes to get to work.

Nine years ago when we moved onto our current property we built a real shop and for the first time I worked away from home but only about 300 feet away. Now I could make noise, dust and weld without making things uncomfortable in the house. It made perfect sense. But that meant my distance to work increased greatly. And now I had to put on a pair of shoes, except on the warmest of days.

The vehicles are now in our driveway most of the time. I still drive into town a time or two each week, combining chores to make the best use of my time and the fuel we burn. On rare occasions I go into the big city, and see with awe the thousands of other folks on the freway who do make the trip every day. I couldn't imagine spending hours each day on the road - simply to go to and from work. But many folks do just that and have little choice in the matter. I would think that is one reason I seem to get so much accomplished each day. Since I don't commute I simply have more productive hours available.

While working from home wouldn't suit everyone, we sure enjoy it. The non-existant commute is one more reason we like to think we have a perfect lifestyle instead of a real job.

-grampa dan