Off to a new home!

 

With Bertha back home and ready to pull, The  Tiny House That Grandma Built is off to her new home!

In her new Spot, Home in Arizona. Now comes the unloading, rearranging and re-purposing into a lovely guest room.

Sadly, a few days after the THOW arrived, my sweet Man passed away. This was not what I thought we would be doing in the coming months. I am glad to have the House and the Truck home. But it will take some time to reqroup.

BERTHA is Found!!!

A bit worse for the wear, she;s being towed to my mechanic, but she's found!!!!
I will update when I know more.

TRUCK STOLEN!!!

Bertha is GONE!!!!
you all remember my big truck?
Well, on Tuesday night she was stolen from behind a locked gate! 

She was locked as well.
So if you see her, please call the police!

Truck Protection

Even though this isn't completely a Tiny House thing, most folks that have a THOW, also have a big truck!
This is mine, Big Bertha!

She is a Full Crew Cab and even at her age had a very nice interior when I got her.
I am short enough to sleep on the back bench seat, and so for short camping trips, I do just that!
So I needed something to protect the interior from UV rays and block from view, when it becomes a camper.
Here's what I came up with.

It is an outdoor canvas curtain, that covers the side windows, held on by water bottles who's loops are shut in the doors.
The area of the little front wing vent windows has a dowel through the edge, so that stays in place and doesn't sag.

It works well! So I'm quite happy with it!

Wheel cover!

As you may know, UV light is very hard on tires. That's why you see trailers and RV's with pieces of wood over the tires. I originally had tarps over my wheels, but I always had planned to sew a cover using marine vinyl. That's normally used for upholstery in boats, exposed to a lot of sun!
Finally got a few sunshiny days so here it is!

The ugly blue tarp is covering insulation so my water coming into the house doesn't freeze! But the wheel cover is purple to coordinate with the house.
When I can afford some more marine vinyl I will make one for the other side that is shaded by trees, so the tarp is in better shape.

Bench improved

Well, it's been a wet week. Being forced inside I started looking at what still needed to be done. 
My bench seat had a solid cushion that I had to cut out a section to accommodate the stairs, when they are ready to use. I had been just covering the cut out piece with some pretty canvas fabric when the stairs were up. 
So it was time to do it right!

Here is the space that needed to be filled.
Here is the cushion, I created in place. 

Looks much better! 
I used marine vinyl for durability!

Castle!!

Every year I turn my Daughter's Family gifts into something interesting. 
One year, they became a Christmas Village, one year Animals. This year it was a Castle!!
Including a moat and drawbridge!

The finished Product!

Another Project!

Just because I'm living Tiny full time, I haven't stopped working on projects!
My latest was to repair, sand and paint my glider to match my pantry!

I had to replace some lost wood, repair some original wood, then sand, paint and reassemble it all.
It coordinates with the Pantry

and I think they make a pretty pair!

Christmas Time

The Christmas  season has always been one of my favorites, The cookies, tinsel, songs and hot chocolate all conspire to make us smile as we concoct ruses to misdirect our families guesses as to what their presents might be.

Tiny House deserves to shine too! There were these great organic Italian sodas that came in beautiful, embossed glass, tinted a soft aqua and I knew I couldn't just recycle them! They needed something beautiful to show the Joy of the season.

I filled them part way up with shiny copper coated BB's and tucked in some Christmas lights, topped them with a cork to keep everything in place (and any rain out)

They look pretty nice lining the ramp in the daylight, but they really shine at night!

Looking like Christmas, don't ya think?

Ramp Redo!

My ramp stain was one of the first things I did on my Tiny abode. Followed Directions, and it didn't hold up well.
I needed to redo it all. As I was planning it, I realized I could paint (stain really) the Logo on the ramp before I stained it!

Lower section all sanded and painted!

The finished product!
Great project! Got it all done before the rains hit:)
Now the ramp is icy in the mornings so I need to start looking at ways to make it non-slip without covering up the Logo.

Winter Prep

The first frost has hit and now I need to protect my water line into my THOW.

So, time to get some pipe wrap!

The supply end. The standpipe has always had wrap on it. The green hose is just a garden hose. The wrapped one is my supply hose.

The House end! Should be good to go for the winter!

Stair Winch redo

So my stairs work great! But during a friends visit, the rope to raise them got caught between the pulley and the frame. So, new, bigger rope!

Which lead to looking at what would happen if the rope or pulleys failed while someone was sitting on the bench under the stairs.

New "Failsafe" system!

A hook at the end of the stairs to hook a chain onto when they are raised. 

And with the weight of the stairs on it.

Works well! Peace of mind.

Grandma's Cupboard

Grandma's tiny house was missing an upper cupboard! Here's the wall before.

But, I was missing somewhere to store cereal boxes and similar type stuff. So....

Now I have one overhead cupboard 
above the freezer. 
As the weeks go by, I keep making small changes that make life run a bit more easily. Each change makes my life just a little more enjoyable, and let me tell you, I am REALLY enjoying my tiny life!

Making More Adjustments

As I continue living tiny, I find things to change to make my life easier.
Having a place for my shoes is something I needed. So...

This works great! The really heavy ones like work boots still have to go on the floor, but for the others. This is perfect!

Lots an Lots has happened!

Wow! I have sold the big house (1,600 sq. feet) Emptied it out (35+ years of stuff) The "estate/Moving Sale" took place in 108 degree heat! 
Now I'm living full time Tiny! Legally, as caretaker of my old property for the new owners. Rent and Utility free for the next 5 years.  Whew! Time to take some deep breaths and relax!
Making a few tweaks as I find what works and what doesn't. 
Remember my wardrobe?

The Purple one? I had been using it in my big house for 9 months, with no issues. Well, in the middle of the Estate Sale...it collapsed!!

Great! Ugh! So for awhile I had a big pile of clothes then I hung a rod, grabbed an old bookcase and some plastic carts and made do. 

Now that I have a little time, I have redone  it right with some closet organizers pulled from an old closet in the big house.

Now that looks better! The wire shelves have heavy cardboard on them so they don't leave wire marks on the clothes. I will continue weeding out what I don't love and wear as time goes on.

I'm also pursuing learning about "Permaculture Village building"  with the thought that once my 5 years here are up, I would really love to live in a self sustaining intentional community.

Floor is in!

Getting the floor in was a nightmare! 108 degree heat, 16 hours, no air conditioning!
I think it looks awful, because I see every little imperfection!

My Daughter assures me it looks fine!

I am just eternally glad I will NEVER HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN!

Worse than that? My kitchen on demand water heater started leaking on my newly installed floor!!!!!! The next day!!!!

So, I sopped up the 2 cups or so of water, shut off the water to the house and am waiting for my plumber to arrive Sunday to install; my new 2.5 gallon electric water heater.

So until Sunday....

this is the only water in my THOW:(

Penny Toilet

I always wanted a "Penny Floor", but in a THOW, I can't afford the weight.
So instead I made a "Penny Composting Toilet" instead!

In progress!

Top Done! Next the front!

Lots of work and time, but I think it's worth it! More to follow about the floor and shower:)

STAIRS!!

Wow! Two ways to get to my lofts:)
Another Burner Friend built me stairs!

In the down position they rest on the bench seat. (Making a small pillow that can be removed, out of the space where it rests, so the other seats can still be used.)

When not in use, they pull up and sit level with the two lofts, out of the way and up where they wait to be used. I will likely use the winch more, but it's nice to have an alternative. My youngest granddaughter is too small to use the climbing harness, so she really likes the stairs!

Here's how they attach to the sleeping loft

I will add another pipe rail to the storage loft as well, so that the stairs can be used for both.

And for taller folk (I'm 5 ft. 1 in.) I can slide them along the rail to the center so they have more headroom!

Busy Busy Busy!

It has been a LONG time since my last post. So Sorry, I have been frantically working to finish in time for escrow closing on my big house!
One really important thing is my Lift!

A Burner friend and his Daughter stopped by with an idea for my "Lift"  that is, a way for me to get up and down to both of my  lofts without having to climb a ladder or stairs.

Here is the "First Draft"

The rail goes into both lofts and eventually will be able to slide with me on it! There were a few snags, but with another trip it now is functional!!!

(And I don't hit my head on the rail anymore either)

Side benefit...when I'm not using the rock climbing harness I use to go up and down to the lofts, or to open my skylight in the main living area. It can hold my Air chair while I hang out and watch TV!

Here's what it looks like from above, without me in it.

It raises it up far enough to be above the kitchen counters and so it is at the perfect height to kick back!

I will be posting more, trying to get everyone caught up with the work that has been done!

Earth Day!

Earth Day at Balboa Park with the San Diego Tiny House Enthusiasts group.
What fun! Eddy brought his house and there was a line from before the event opened (other vendors) until they made us shut the door at 5 pm.

Across from us was the Dr. Bronner's Soap People and the

  

folks with the Spira4U , this little car, although it is technically a 3 wheeled motorcycle, 

It Looks like a tiny Car! They come in electric or Gas, and get really good milage:)

Oh and it is the only car that is completely recyclable! 

It was a long Day, but a fun Day!