Moving from our home in Vermont to our temporary housing in Montana involved a notable down-sizing of space. For the most part, that's fine because nearly all of our earthly possessions are tucked away in storage units. Yet, as this is temporary housing, the opportunities for the usual "around the house" activities have been reduced to almost zero. No garden to manage. No garage to tinker in. No house projects to undertake. Admittedly, I generally spend large chunks of time sitting at my computer, sometimes working and sometimes playing, but I do like to move around and find different places to sit and take in a different view. In the evening, when the mosquitoes and gnats are not out in force, I enjoy sitting on the patio as the sun sets and the valley below turns to a sea of black with the little sparkles of house and street lights and the headlights of moving traffic. Until the moon rises, my space is lighted only by the glow of screens and a...