Ok, I’ve found my next hope. I’ve located THE device that is going to keep me not only MOBILE, but will enable me to leave the office without first packing up everything this side of the kitchen sink and putting it all in a too-big bag to lug around everywhere I go.

The hassle of packing up everything whenever I leave the house, paired with the inescapable urge to take EVERYTHING I might need with me at all times when I leave the farm…. well, it’s made me less willing to step a toe across the property line.

And the more I research and learn about mobile options, the more intrigued I become.

So, I did the research (I’ve done little else but work and research lately) and I made my selections and I ordered it…

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Seems that when the leaves start to fall, my mood follows their path.

It’s nearly winter now, and there is still so much to do before snow flies. As I look around the place, I see everything that is NOT done, long before I see what has been accomplished.

I’m not satisfied with my life right now… so I begin the quest to make it all better… and that usually involves creating a PLAN…

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As the struggle to carve out a life in the woods has continued, one of the most challenging aspects has been defining work space.

Yes, I work “virtually” — and that should reduce my need for… well… something.

I’ve found that it doesn’t. Yes, I can work from anywhere, so long as I have my laptop. That’s true. But, an ideal work environment requires a bit more than that… I need my reference books, my comfortable chair, my ergonomic keyboard (monster that it is), my wireless mouse, my paper files (yes, I still have those, although probably not as many as most folks do), my “special” things, my photos, my STUFF!

I need a clear expanse of desktop to CALL me to write. Even when the computer is my most often used writing tool, I still like to take pen in hand from time to time and write the old fashioned way.

Even when typing, I’m more productive when not all cramped up. Cleared desk space (which is a rare commodity under the current work conditions) is amazingly helpful to the creative process.

I need a room with a view.

I need a PRIVATE room with a view.

I love my family, adore my kids, think my husband is “all that” and more — but to work effectively, I need my own space. Creative space, quiet space, space to THINK.

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As Wayne and my father have worked to build the cabin, and I have worked to buy supplies for the same project… I had all but given up on having an office at any point in the near future.

Building a home for the family was more important. My current office set-up would have to just “do” for several more months, maybe even a year.

Of course, my friend Daphne disagreed. She’s the little angel and alternately the little devil on my shoulder, belting out orders (which shoulder and which role depends both on her mood and what she feels I need most at the time). She continually encouraged me to get a place to work where I would be comfortable and happy.

Originally, the cabin was going to be my office. My rationale was that I spent 16 or more hours a day in my office, and that I didn’t get a break. The kids went to school, I stayed here. I worked here, I lived here, I relaxed here… I was always HERE.

My parents disagreed that the office should get priority over a new primary residence. Mom disagreed often — every chance she got.

Then, my father said adding an extra level to the office-cabin, wouldn’t cost any more than the loft I’d planned. I wanted a loft so the kids and I could sleep there in case of an emergency, or so we could house guests should that ever be necessary.

So the cabin/office grew. It grew to two floors. The kids now each had a room upstairs. I decided that this would be a temporary house for us until I could get the “real” house built.

The three of us would live there, a bit cramped, but still with more square footage than we have now. It would work.

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It took some time to make it back home, recover from the trip and get my business back “under control” from the trip.

The most shocking thing, upon my return, is how much I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. It took a solid week of sleepwalking to begin to feel normal again. Jet-lag is horrid.

It is good to be back in Kentucky again. I missed home. I’ve decided that, although I want to travel, perhaps I’ll do it just a little at a time, rather than taking off to tour the entire world all in one fell swoop. It’s exhausting.

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Riding the wave of the wireless web may be the latest marketing fad… but many indicators say it’s here to stay.The world is becoming more mobile, and so is the Internet. By the end of this year, according to recent projections, more people will be accessing the web from mobile devices than from computers.

This means the way the web is used and the way it is built is also changing. RSS feeds, blogs, WAP sites and mobile web communities are growing daily. The members of these communities include those building wireless-friendly sites and posting wireless accessible information.

And, like the traditional web, more people are using it than building it. According to Wireless Ink co-founder, Dave Harper, his www.winksite.com mobile web community has grown by 5000 since October of last year, and the “page view” count — the number of pages viewed by others using the sites in this community – is astounding.

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