Today, I'm excited to give a progress update on the process of building a tiny house. All along, we (meaning Brian, with occasional under-skilled help from me) have been steadily building, working on a sub-floor here, framing there, planning and purchasing as we go. In the back of our minds, a vague deadline looms, and motivates us to finish before cold weather arrives and makes camping with two small children unreasonable. This house will be tiny - just under 200 square feet for 4 people. While I am definitely a fan of a small footprint, it will be interesting to see how we will all fit comfortably in such a small space. But as we laid out deadlines and timelines for building, we were … [Read more...]
A Moveable Homestead Chicken Coop
In between house building, blacksmith work, and all-around handyman activities, my husband Brian has been hard at work building our chickens a home. Back in Oregon, he envisioned a moveable chicken coop on wheels and created this: Nest boxes on both sides that were easy to access from the outside for egg collection, a large fold-down door at the rear for bedding changes, bike wheels for easy transport, and a front door that led into their run. Functional, very practical, but not really sexy. Building this new coop provided Brian with a chance to create what he always envisioned - a gypsy caravan-esque structure that is as adorable as it is functional. A trailer tongue … [Read more...]
Setting Up: An Outdoor Kitchen
Week One of living on the land. It has been so wonderful. Truly, just so lovely to fall asleep here each night, listening to the sounds of owls, crickets, frogs, and birds. So nice to stay late after dinner without worrying about rushing back to town to get the kids fed and put to bed. So easy to wake up in the morning and jump right into the tasks at hand. The biggest task this week has been setting up our outdoor kitchen. Imagine trying to fit the contents of your home kitchen into an outdoor space, in a neat, organized, weather-proof, and critter-proof way. Imagine cooking all your meals almost entirely from scratch without hot running water, refrigeration, or the type of cook stove … [Read more...]
Sometimes…
...Things don't work out exactly as you've planned. Remember this cute perky tent? The one we were just days away from calling home? With a little strong wind and heavy rain, the tent now looks like this: Yes, we are all safe. No, we were not in the tent. We had just climbed into our car to safely wait out the storm, and minutes later watched the tent crumble to the ground in a swirl of wind and rain. Which means that our move to the land is postponed for a wee bit while we figure out the best solution. Buy a new tent? Quickly build a roofed tent platform? Purchase an old RV or bus in which to sleep? One thing is for sure about building a homestead. It is anything but … [Read more...]
A Sneak Peek
Well, here we are, back from cake land, and once again firmly rooted in the reality of building a homestead. Unfortunately, we have been rained out of our big moving day, which was supposed to be today. We will wait at the cozy town house until things dry up enough to move heavy furniture across wet ground. While I've been sharing endless photos of cakes and decadent icing, we've actually been hard at work creating a rustic camping situation that will be comfortable enough to live with for three or four more months, or until we finish the house. So here is a little sneak peek of our soon-to-be home! The garden is really coming along. I still have peppers, basil, and some okra and … [Read more...]
Preparing
Making the best of a very cold, rainy day last week, Brian traveled with truck and trailer across the state line to Illinois to a large building supply warehouse. He went with lists, measurements, and a vision, and came back with ten windows and two doors for our small cottage. In the building process, as in all areas of life, nothing seems to go as expected. In our case, the building we had originally planned to be a non-insulated "Summer Shanty," is now shaping up to be an 18 x 20 foot insulated house. This decision was born of our desire to avoid moving out of a non-insulated structure next winter to find a warm place to live. As we fell more in love with the land, we realized we … [Read more...]
Taking Stock
Some days, it's a very good idea to take stock. It's easy to think about how much has NOT gotten accomplished, or to stress about the very long list of things-to-do. But when I really look back and realize that just in the past two weeks, we've gone from this... To this... To this... And from this... To this... And this... It all feels really darn good. (The above photo is a newly planted bed of perennial flowers, herbs, and fruiting shrubs that got dug up in Oregon, moved cross country, heeled into top soil over the winter, and now planted on the land. We'll see which ones make it!) Wishing you a wonderful weekend, taking stock of what is truly good about life right now. … [Read more...]
What’s Growing
Robins on branches, 70 degree days followed by snow, dirt under my fingernails - Spring is coming! There is so much preparation, planning, and doing these days. I finally got around to placing my fruit tree order after spending days agonizing over which varieties and limiting myself to only 20 trees and a few bushes (I ordered from One Green World and St. Lawrence Nurseries). Some of the highlights are "Arkansas Black" Apple (a fantastic keeper), "Olympic" and "Nijiseiki" Asian Pears, and "Meteor" and "Bali" Sour Pie Cherries. While I wait for their delivery, I'm reading all I can about fruit tree planting and care (this book has been particularly helpful), and setting out stakes for … [Read more...]
Breaking Ground
Hello! Thank you all for the kind words of support after my grandmother’s passing. I was able to spend the weekend with my extended family on the East coast to celebrate her life, and especially to remember her legacy of four children and over 30 grand and great-grandchildren! Upon our return we hit the ground running with the myriad building details for the “Summer Shanty” (or as a friend suggested, the Summer Cottage – sounds so New England!). The Shanty will be a 20 x 20 foot uninsulated wooden structure. Half the structure will be enclosed and screened for a sleeping and living space. The other half will remain open-sided and will function as an outdoor kitchen, storage and living … [Read more...]
