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Designing a New Old Home: Beginnings
In March of 2018, Simplicity and I bought three small former haying fields overrun with pine trees in southern New Hampshire, just outside a historic…
Simon Sarris
May 10
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Welcome, ghosts
There are in this world certain lonely places: The mountaintop when a storm begins, a long drive under the obscurity of night, the unfinished attic of…
Simon Sarris
Apr 28
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Welcome, ghosts
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Patina and Intimacy
“Each one of us has, somewhere in his heart, the dream to make a living world, a universe.” —Christopher Alexander One must encourage some level of…
Simon Sarris
Apr 8
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Patina and Intimacy
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The Frog and the Ox
Dear friends, there is a tale, A little frog, after some adventures landward, came hopping back to the pond in great haste. “Oh my brothers,” the frog…
Simon Sarris
Mar 4
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The Frog and the Ox
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[subscribers only] Ask Me Anything
Feel free to ask about house design, New Hampshire, philosophy, parenting, or anything else you want to discuss. The painting is Rembrant, 1638,…
Simon Sarris
Feb 12
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The Forest Monk
Dear friends, there is a tale: A monk took up residence in a forest hut to lead a quiet life of prayer. He rarely went hungry, for a hunter who lived…
Simon Sarris
Jan 30
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The Forest Monk
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Long Distance Thinking
The knowledge of a carpenter is in his hands. The apprentice must work with his own to discover it. Here is some terrible advice: “If you can't explain…
Simon Sarris
Jan 13
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Long Distance Thinking
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The Sage's Garden
Once an austere philosopher left his home in search of the path to a sweeter life. He traveled through lands of great antiquity, and before long was…
Simon Sarris
Nov 25, 2021
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The Sage's Garden
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What the Lion Knows
There is a saying from Plutarch, “Where the lion’s skin will not reach, you must patch it out with the fox’s.” It is good advice: strength and courage…
Simon Sarris
Nov 20, 2021
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What the Lion Knows
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Photo Editing: Respecting Context
There is no clever formula for photo editing. Like most things in life, the harder you look for absolutes, the less likely you are to find them…
Simon Sarris
Oct 16, 2021
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Photo Editing: Respecting Context
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Quiet Listening / The Last Guest
My father grew up in the slums of Boston in the 1940’s. When he was seven, my grandmother kicked my grandfather out, on account of too much drinking…
Simon Sarris
Jul 19, 2021
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Quiet Listening / The Last Guest
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The Most Precious Resource is Agency
The world is a very malleable place. When I read biographies, early lives leap out the most. Leonardo da Vinci was a studio apprentice to Verrocchio at…
Simon Sarris
Jul 1, 2021
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The Most Precious Resource is Agency
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