Monday, December 29, 2014

Not for the faint hearted!

Tiny house building is not for the faint of heart.....or those not paying attention. As I found out last Saturday.
I was getting ready to put up my first sheet of siding. Having help that day, we had cut out the window openings, Tyveked the side.
Ready for the first sheet of siding. I was hurrying over to the other side of the porch to help lay it down so the notches for the joists and the opening for the wheel well could be cut out. 
Well, I forgot about the tie down strap. Went down hard, landing on my face. Not a mark on any other part of my body. 
The paramedics were sure my nose was broken,( it certainly bled enough to be broken!) the E.R Doctor thought it was broken, but the Radiologist said no. 
Thank goodness! Dodged a bullet there. 
No one to blame but myself.
So the siding didn't go up, I put some heavy plastic on the inside over the window openings to hopefully hold some heat in.
That's important because it is supposed to start snowing tomorrow! Oh well, the best laid plans and all that.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Christmas..Tiny House style

What are your favorite Christmas gifts this year? My perspectives are a bit different now.
First was my friends who drove up from the Inland Empire to bring me 13 buckets of dirt to start building a berm and take me out to lunch.
Then there was another friend who drove me to Apple Valley to pick up my insulation for my roof (I don't want to use fiberglass there)
Don't let the Blue tint fool you, everything in my makeshift workroom looks blue due to the blue tarp walls:)
Finally, the beautiful view from the skylight in my sleeping loft, the best of all.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



Friday, December 12, 2014

Flood!

Rain in the desert isn't always a good thing.. remember me having to rebuild my driveway to get my tiny house onto my property?
Well, it is gone again!
This is what it looked like going.....
Going....
gone!
I spent most of the day trying to re-direct the water away from my ancillary driveway AND too close for comfort to my Tiny House!
I think I did manage to get the main flow away from the side near my Tiny House. So I am cold, tired and sore but my House is safe! The driveway is toast, so when I am ready to move my Tiny House I will need to rebuild the driveway again! Getting my Truck in and out of the gate will also be a test of skill again..making that right angle turn in a big crew cab dually to get into the gate is interesting to say the least.




Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Got my windows!

With a helping hand from my mechanic (who is working on my truck, so volunteered to hitch up a trailer to his truck and drive me to get my windows!) my windows are here and safe out of the impending weather!


Windows in my sleeping loft!
Windows in my storage loft!
and a BIG Christmas star in between.
So, I may or may not get my siding done and my windows in by Christmas, but even so, it is looking more and more like home.

In two days the  annual Geminids Meteor Shower will start and run for three nights, so I am planning to spend those night in my sleeping loft, under the skylight, looking for meteors until I fall asleep:) What a great early Christmas present!


Monday, December 8, 2014

A Female-centric toilet.

While I wait to be able to find help to put my siding up, I have finished my decidedly female oriented composting toilet!
 After researching urine diverters and 2 bucket systems, I decided I wanted to find an easier way for a female. Since I will be living alone, I only need to satisfy my needs.
 So I discovered a small device marketed to women for camping and "equality" (Being able to stand up and pee) which I thought was hilarious! That was sold by many different manufacturers, really cheap , some under $2!
I ordered a couple, bought some tubing, grabbed a water bottle and gave it a shot.
 The other part of making the system work well is a spray bottle, filled with just water to rinse out the tubing after each use.
I know a lot of folks are kinda "iffy" about a composting toilet. Well, I live in Southern California and we are in the middle of a severe drought! Any water I can save can help keep us supplied with enough drinking water to survive. Why would I want to foul 2 to 3 gallons of perfectly good drinking water, then throw it away? Also, urine is a natural nitrogen fertilizer that is less likely to run off into streams and eventually rivers , lakes and oceans where chemical nitrogen fertilizers cause deadly algae blooms. 

Friday, December 5, 2014

Christmas is coming!

Building is sort of on hold until after the holidays. My helper for my siding bailed, so I've decided to focus on Christmas!
My Tiny House is looking very Christmasy.
I found a really skinny, tall tree. It also has two personalities..the lights change from colored lights.....
To white lights.
The view from the loft is great! I plan on spending at least a few nights in December in my Tiny House. For the Geminid meteor shower nights, so I can watch from the skylight in my loft, and Christmas eve, just because it will be the first Christmas. We will see how well it holds the heat. 
So Merry Christmas to All 
and to all Tiny Nights!