Tiny Home Thanksgiving Thoughts

I am happy to report that so far I am actually loving living in a tiny home! Over the past few months I have been expecting to find something that I don't like, to feel cramped, or to wish that I was living somewhere more spacious. At this point, however, none of these fears have happened.

This little space is a shelter, and refuge. It is a safe place, a cozy place, a place that fits how I want to be in the world. There is nothing overwhelming about it - it is not difficult to clean, not too expensive to own or to heat or to keep. I have few payments and no mortgage. 

The house also helps me to remember to cut down on what I have, consider what I buy and be more mindful of the kind of lifestyle I want to live. It is comfortable and practical and designed by me, for me, so it fits me. Perhaps things will change, but at this point, I wouldn't want to live in bigger house.

Life has been busy, as usual I suppose, though it seems that things are moving faster and I am away from home a lot. However, there has been time to relax at home from time to time, and to just be thankful for the silence. I have gone out on the lake at night several times in the past week, paddling softly on the dark water and being expanded by the stars. Last night it was very windy, but I went out for a short paddle during a bit of a lull. The milky way arched across the sky and a patch of faintly green northern lights hung as a counterpoint in the southeast.

Today, clouds have returned and it has been raining for most of the afternoon. Now the air is still again, and the lake is a dark mirror, reflecting the damp October grays and blacks. Only occasional brushes of dampened gold remain, water-coloured lightly by the late fall forest.

Only a week ago it was much different, with brilliant sprays of golden orange in dazzling sunshine. I paddled to the island and spent a few hours on the hilltop there, soaking in the last of summer.

The seasons turn and winter will be here soon, but I'm glad to be in my little home, and looking forward to what the turning of seasons will bring. There is a great deal to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving weekend. I feel very grateful for all of the circumstances that have brought me here, the friends and family who have helped to make it possible, John and Jen for providing a place to park my house, the abundance that makes itself known all around me, and the silence deep beneath everything else - that deep stillness that whispers - "everything is OK".

Wishing you all a weekend of deep gratitude for all that is present in your lives - the kind of gratitude that recognizes what is already here and opens the gate to receive more of what life has to give...

 The old picnic table on the island hill. Thanks to Pete Rodseth for the table and the trail.

 Many of the leaves are gone, but still some colour holding on.

 Autumn Gold...

Getting Settled

I have been somewhat disinclined to do much work on the house since I got it set in place, and have been putting off doing the skirting. However, I finally got around to it recently and this picture shows most of the skirting in place. I had some 3 inch foam panels left over from insulating the ceiling and I used these, along with a treated 3/8 inch plywood backing, as the skirting material. It should help to keep things closed in and a bit warmer underneath. I also put a heat tape on the incoming water line and on the drain trap under the shower - - the only part of the sewer line that is susceptible to freezing.

 New stairs.

Skirting in place and paddles at the ready!  I had some wonderful help and was able to get most of the second coat of stain on the house in one day - one of the advantages of small buildings.  I am going to stain the skirting as well, but have been waiting for some dry weather. This picture was taken on one of the very few sunny days we've had this month.

I would also like to note here that the dish antenna on the end of the house is NOT, repeat NOT a satellite TV dish. It's for receiving an internet signal from a station on the mountain. If I sound a bit defensive about this, it's because I am.   :-)

Looking down the hill from my house. I'm very fortunate in my view and placement! I've found that sitting in the hammock, or the glider rocker, and looking out at the changing moods and aspects of the lake is a very relaxing meditation. Much better than television!

The bench cushions are still in the works. The hammock is hanging in the corner though, and the blanket and pillow add a bit of colour, and soften the seating marginally.

The kitchen is all set up and so far has been working really well. I have to say that I love the dish drainer. It's wonderful to just put away the wet dishes!

The desk area and bookshelf are all set up. This space has proven to be quite handy as well, to date at least, and doubles as extra kitchen counter space when necessary.

Looking down the length of the house from the front door. One small annoyance is that the washing machine shakes the house a bit like one of those old vibrating beds sometimes found in cheap hotels, and the pictures are always hanging a bit out of square. I guess I should be glad that my complaints are so minor however!

The drawers are working well. This one contains most of my dried things - flower and sugar, nuts, seeds, raisins etc.  I've started using a Nutribullet blender lately and concocting all sorts of different mixtures of vegetables and nuts and things for breakfasts. Today was beet, apple, spinach, chia seeds, hemp hearts, sesame seeds, protein powder and water. It sounds somewhat awful, but actually they taste pretty good and I've been feeling better - more energy through the days. In any case, this drawer is well used!

 Looking up to the loft.

 The bed, to state the obvious...

 Looking the other way. Lots of morning sun comes in, and the morning mist on the lake is a nice thing to wake up to.

No larger screen yet, but the upstairs desk has been quite useful.

 All of the bathroom components are working well so far. The outside edge of the tub unfortunately leans slightly out and back - perfect for water to run down the corner onto the floor. I put a small dam across the runway and it's OK now.  There are several of these kinds of small idiosyncracies about the house - little things that aren't a big problem, but do require some extra attention from time to time.

There are definitely some trade-offs with the small space. Laundry loads are small and it takes more time, and I'm not always sure where I'm going to be able to keep things. I still have things that need to be sorted and organized, and it is easy for things to start feeling cluttered. So far though, I haven't felt cramped or unhappy with the space. It has been very comfortable to come home and to spend time here.

Afternoon sunshine streaming in.

I had hoped to have an open house this fall but a combination of a very busy September and a lack of sunny days has dampened (pun intended) these plans considerably. It will hopefully still happen - but no fixed date so far.

I am still considering installing a heat exchange ventilation system in order to get more air circulation happening while losing less heat. I've been procrastinating though as it would be expensive and bit tricky to install. So, I'll see how I do for a while. I do find that air quality is an issue and I want to have windows open most of the time - which then makes it colder and a bit drafty when it is cold outside. I'm still experimenting with this to see how best to manage it.

Otherwise, so far so good! :-)

Moving and Moving In

I have been living in my house for almost two months now! The summer has been such a full and busy one that I have neglected this blog and also neglected putting up pictures of the house in it's new location.

Here are a few pictures now:

Since the house was only moving a few kilometers, and since it's quite heavy, we decided to pull it over with the tractor. The Tractor also made things a bit easier to maneuver when we got to the site.

All Set to go - except for the stairs.

 Heading down the road...

 A bit of a tight fit in the driveway

 Pulling into the place where it will sit. There was a cabin here at one time, which has since burned down. The stone chimney still stands though. There is a great view of the lake down below.

 What a mess!  The sorting and letting go of things that I've been avoiding for quite a while is in full swing in this picture. Lots of stuff is moving in, and lots of stuff has also gone into the "give away" pile.
Since I first moved in there have been quite a few people suggesting that I should build a shed to keep things in. My father has fairly good reason for this actually, since quite a few of my things are still stored at his house. However, I've been resisting the temptation, for now at least, wanting to see how close I can get to actually fitting in this space. Part of the idea of this is a lifestyle choice - to reduce how much I have. It's going to take some time to find out where my balance point is.

It has also been a challenge to resist the urge to get more things, or to learn how to say "no thank you" kindly to generous offers. Whenever one thing comes in, something else has to go out. This makes the choice of what comes in much more important!

 I put some carabiners on a hammock and ropes on the beams so the hamock can clip on quickly and easily. It's a nice place to sit and read a book or watch the lake.

Getting a few things on the walls...

A birthday party...

Finally the Floor

The last big project is done!  Like many things in a tiny house, the floor is small but it was probably as time consuming to install as a floor in a much larger house due to all of the small spaces and many nooks and crannies.  Here's what it looks like though:

 

Getting the underlay down

 Nearly running out and piecing little pieces together to finish the last bit

The first line of flooring is established here

 The line is growing...

 and all done. It happens so much more quickly in pictures!  Here's the bathroom,

and the view from the deck.

Another project this weekend was to finish the area around the desk. I decided to cover the plywood wall partially with pine and then made a frame for a cork bulletin board. The cork is glued on with contact cement. 

Stay tuned - moving day is near!   ...and then will come the great sorting saga - what will fit and what won't  :-)

More Projects

The list of projects still to do continues to slowly diminish - it's looking like a moving date of between June 30 and July 5 is a pretty safe bet. I've been continuing to plug along on most of the weekends and here are some of the recent projects:

 The "guest bed" is in place. I still have to get some foam and make cushions for it, but the fold up section is attached.

 Here's what it looks like underneath. It has three support pieces that swing out to support it.

and this is what it looks like when not in use.

This is after finishing with Osmo polyx. It brings out the natural colour in the wood well.

 I added a small support for the counter overhang,

a door for the boot/shoe cupboard,

and did lots of finishing with Osmo and Varathane Diamond Coat. Neither of them are terribly bad smelling, but I'm rather sensitive to paint smells, so here I am looking like I'm ready to head for the trenches...

 Handles are on all of the drawers

and doors.

The Electrical inspector came and was happy with most things. Unfortunately however, I had intended to use under-cupboard lights with low voltage feeds from a plug under the counter. I then found lights that have the transformer in the light itself, so the connection is high voltage AC current. The wires I used were wrong and I had to replace them with larger and apparently more suitable wires. This involved drilling some holes in the wall and doing some wire fishing. It turned out OK though - so hopefully he will be happy with it this time.

One of the new wires, now outside of the wall and inside shielding.

 I also had to add a ground wire from the electrical box to the gas pipe under the floor. This is the clamp for around the pipe and the connector for the frame of the trailer.

 Here's the line with the wire clamped in place,

and here is the frame connection.

This is a shot of the blown foam insulation under the trailer, and the gas line running down the middle.

 The tile back-splash is installed. This shows the first step, which was to sand the wall and then apply these cool tile glue pads.

 I just discovered these. They make gluing tile on much simpler as you just peel and stick. They're supposed to be just as good as the more difficult glue you spread on. Hope so...

 Grouting messily in progress.

Tiles in place and grouted. Not sealed yet though.

Last on the list so far is the porch ceiling. This was another of the "dreaded" jobs as there are compound angles and difficult places in abundance. 

 Thanks to my father's help, we got it done today though.

I haven't decided yet if I should leave the ceiling the natural colour, or if I should paint it the same colour as the outside of the house. So far, I have two votes for natural and none for colour...

That's it for now. Still to go - a corkboard and frame on the wall beside the desk, a bathroom mirror, railings on the deck, a box on the tongue to hold the external plug-in wire, break lights and running lights, the floor of course, and various other small finishing sorts of things.  Quite a bit to do - but the list is definitely shorter!